Newbie here, my first post!

[isitabee]

Hi folks...

New APF member checking in and saying hello. I (still) consider myself a novice poster collector even though I've dabbled in collecting for almost 10 years. However, most of that time until recently I was in college studying for my masters and Ph.D. I'm out of college now, but looking to start my career, which translates into «still not having the money I need to devote to or support my poster collecting.»    I live in the Northeast U.S., just about an hour north of Boston.

I started poster collecting by purchasing a few urban art prints I enjoyed: "Lady Day" by Mr. Brainwash and "Liquidated Coca-Cola" by Zevs. Later, I expanded into alternative movie posters like: "Mulholland Drive" by Kevin Tong and "The Wizard of Oz" by Tom Whalen. Lately, I've dipped into vintage cinema posters purchasing a 1962 "What Ever Happened To Baby Jane" U.S. one-sheet and last week, a 1980 French "Muppets Go Hollywood" Jaws parody poster which I think is totally awesome. Have you seen it before? It's amazing!

I hope one day to have the ability to buy posters and/or art that intrigues, fascinates, and makes me laugh, instead of holding my breath, pinching pennies, and waiting, and waiting, and waiting some more to add pieces to my collection. I only have 50ish, being generous, posters, prints, stickers (from Invader, whom I love, they're the only thing of his I can afford of his), and other miscellaneous pieces combined. This is why I still see myself as a novice in the greater poster collecting world. I have yet to really experience and immerse myself in the activity.

My collection and interests cross typical boundaries. I’ve found that most poster collector's focus their collections on one area: urban art enthusiasts collect only urban art, alternative movie posters connoisseurs collect exclusively AMPs, collectors of vintage cinema posters limit themselves to cinematic posters. I've collected all three–I must be crazy, right! That’s why when looking to join a new poster community, I chose APF. I think it'll suit me well?  *fingers-crossed*

Thanks very much for reading. Please feel free to say hi. I'd really like to find a group of folks who share similar interests to connect with. Furthermore, I'd very much appreciate connecting with someone who has experience much more vast than my own, who would't mind mentoring a newbie as he delves deeper into the world of poster collecting...

Below are some pieces from my small collection. I think they're a good representation of what interests me–in no particular order. Please let me know what you think!

Looking forward to making new friends-

Take care,

isitabee

P.S. Are you someone who's a fan of the artist Zevs (aka Christophe Aguirre Schwarz)? If so, please DM me because I'd love to connect with others who are also into him.


2016 Nick Smith, Starry Night 2016


2011 Mr. Brainwash, Keep A Child Alive - Pink Variant


2012 Zevs, Liquidated McDonald's


2015 Kevin Tong, Mulholland Drive - Blue Variant


2011 Olly Moss, Fly My Pretties, 1 of 1 Paper Cut


Here's my current favorite: 1980 French Muppets Go Hollywood
Displayed here beside the parodied French Jaws Poster.

[Stefano]

Hi isitabee, and welcome. 

I've been collecting for 20 years, but still no expert.  As with many things, sometimes you get to a point where the more you know, the more you realize you don't know.  But we all have our niches.  I'm a big fan of '60s/70s horror and Euro-thriller posters.  But I've also dabbled in children's film posters.  Hey, nobody said this hobby had to make sense. 

Oh, that's beautiful country north of Boston.  A few years ago, I took a day trip up to Salem while visiting Boston.  What a breathtaking area, but so expensive!  But then everything on the MA coast is expensive.

Sounds like you have a neat collection of varied interests.  Honestly, I hadn't heard of Alternative Movie Posters until you mentioned them, but it's always cool to learn about other areas of collecting outside my own bubble.  I'm sure you'll find many people on here who share the same interests and who can help guide you in many areas of poster collecting! 

[eatbrie]

Very nice collection, isitabee, especially the Tong!  I missed out on that one and only got the pink version.

I'm finishing a two month trip to the North East and spent some time in the Rockport, Gloucester, Marblehead area.  I really liked it.  Are you close to there?

T

[isitabee]

Hi isitabee, and welcome. 

I've been collecting for 20 years, but still no expert.  As with many things, sometimes you get to a point where the more you know, the more you realize you don't know.  But we all have our niches.  I'm a big fan of '60s/70s horror and Euro-thriller posters.  But I've also dabbled in children's film posters.  Hey, nobody said this hobby had to make sense. 

Oh, that's beautiful country north of Boston.  A few years ago, I took a day trip up to Salem while visiting Boston.  What a breathtaking area, but so expensive!  But then everything on the MA coast is expensive.

Sounds like you have a neat collection of varied interests.  Honestly, I hadn't heard of Alternative Movie Posters until you mentioned them, but it's always cool to learn about other areas of collecting outside my own bubble.  I'm sure you'll find many people on here who share the same interests and who can help guide you in many areas of poster collecting!

Hi Stefano,

Your collection sounds fascinating ('60s/70s horror + Euro-thriller). I love horror films. One of the posters that's on my wish list (or must have if it ever shows up on eBay) is a Dememtia 13 (1963) Australian daybill. I'm sure you're familiar. It a horizontal poster of just the eyes of a creature. Not sure what it has to do with the movie, which I have watched, but it's fabulous nonetheless!

Any idea where I can find one?

Another poster I keep an eye out for is The Sentinel (1977) which has an absolutely superb cast including: Ava Gardner, Burgess Meredith, Christopher Walken, Jerry Orbach, and Beverly D'Angelo. Have you heard of it? It's a bit more obscure. A US one-sheet came up on eMoviePoster.com a few weeks back but the condition wasn't what I had hoped, so I passed. That was probably a mistake because they don't come up for auction that often, the last one being January 2019, plus it only sold for $32! Maybe next time.


Thanks so much for you post, I am happy to have 'met' you and hope you don't mind if I hit you up for a question or 2 sometime in the future...

isitabee

[isitabee]

Very nice collection, isitabee, especially the Tong!  I missed out on that one and only got the pink version.

I'm finishing a two month trip to the North East and spent some time in the Rockport, Gloucester, Marblehead area.  I really liked it.  Are you close to there?

T

Hi T,
Thanks for the compliments. I actually bought the Tong on the secondary market and used some of my tuition money to cover it    ...put me in a bit of bind for a semester, but it was worth it in the end...

I'm much more west, like towards Nashua NH, than Glouster or Rockport, though I'd love to live on the water again. I lived within spitting distance to the ocean one summer season as an undergrad living on Cape Cod.

If you're visiting the north east I assume that means you're from elsewhere? Where abouts? I've always lived in NH or MA, though I've traveled some. As part of my graduate programs, I studied in Ho Chi Minh City and De Nang, Vietnam (which was quite a hoot); Florence and Rome, Italy; and Paris, France. I've traveled with family to Vilnius, Lithuania and the Azores, Portugal (where much of my family emigrated from in the 1920s)–not to mention Toronto, Canada and a small Mexican border town outside of Yuma, Arizona. In fact, I was doing research in Paris in March 2019–just one month before the Notre Dame Cathedral fire.

Thanks so much for taking the time to write me a welcome message. I guess this forum doesn't get the traffic it used to because I expected a few more hellos. Regardless, that make the two I did receive so much the more special!

Take care,

isitabee

[Stefano]

I don't have any Australian posters in my collection, so that Daybill is new to me (thanks for sharing the pic).  Very cool poster in an unusual orientation.  Easy to see why it made your want-list.  If you're really desperate to find a copy, I would suggest asking in the "Posters by Country" section for a list of Australian dealers, then contact the relevant dealers with your interest.  But otherwise, if you're patient, I'm sure another will show up on eBay or EMP.  It seems to turn up from time to time. 

Yes, I've heard of "The Sentinel" ('77).  Have seen the trailer for it, and was wanting to watch it, but never got to it.  As I recall, it's one of those urban apartment horrors, a sub-genre that was en vogue in the late '60s and '70s, probably kicked off with "Rosemary's Baby."  I won't ask anything else about it, to avoid spoilers.  But that one-sheet reminds me a bit of the 1972 Italian giallo/thriller "All the Colors of the Dark" (US title: "They're Coming to Get You!").  Looks like there are a few Sentinel one-sheets on eBay, but I haven't looked too closely, and they might not meet your preferred condition criteria. 

Feel free to reach out any time, especially if you have a question about '60s/70s British or Italian horror films.  If I don't have an answer, I'll at least know which direction to point you in.  Always happy to chat, but if I don't respond right away, I promise I'm not ignoring you, but I haven't used the messaging system on here, so I don't know if they'll send me an email notification, and I'm often engaged in other projects.  But I will always respond!  I just might take a while to do so. 

You mentioned traveling with family to Vilnius.  Are you of Lithuanian ancestry?

[Tob]

Welcome isitabee!

Nice to see some of your collection! The Tong Mulholland Dr. is one of my favourite Mondo prints too. 

I have similar collecting habits to you...I used to collect street/urban art prints (I like Invader a lot too, also Faile, Banksy, Blu, Phlegm, Pejac etc). I'm in the UK so used to like that scene in the heyday of POW, but these days it's mainly just film posters and film prints that I collect.

[Antoine1973]

Just chiming in to welcome you and mention that The Sentinel, while not without its flaws, is a lot of fun due in great part to its incredible cast, awesome make-up effects (courtesy of the late Dick Smith), and setting (a beautiful apartment building in Brooklyn Heights, where I briefly lived when I first moved to NYC in 1994).  It has a bit of a wacky vibe, and the decision to use people afflicted with actual physical deformities (as in Todd Browning's Freaks) during the film's climax to evoke Hell is certainly problematic,  but I still recommend it for any fans of 1970s horror.

[marklawd]

Welcome isitabee. The UK poster for The Sentinel had the same great tagline as the US one sheet - “There must forever be a Guardian at the Gate from Hell”- but had a different design. It intrigued me and as I was under age for an X film I sneaked into the cinema to see it. Full of bravado I stole the poster from the display case as I left  - I still have it.

Mark

[Stefano]

[...] It intrigued me and as I was under age for an X film I sneaked into the cinema to see it. Full of bravado I stole the poster from the display case as I left  - I still have it.

Hah!  Great story.  Was that the start of your addiction to posters?  Ever nab any others in your youth?  I promise I won't tell the cinema manager.

[eatbrie]

If you're visiting the north east I assume that means you're from elsewhere? Where abouts? I've always lived in NH or MA, though I've traveled some. As part of my graduate programs, I studied in Ho Chi Minh City and De Nang, Vietnam (which was quite a hoot); Florence and Rome, Italy; and Paris, France. I've traveled with family to Vilnius, Lithuania and the Azores, Portugal (where much of my family emigrated from in the 1920s)–not to mention Toronto, Canada and a small Mexican border town outside of Yuma, Arizona. In fact, I was doing research in Paris in March 2019–just one month before the Notre Dame Cathedral fire.

All of these places sound great.  I love traveling but between 3 kids under 8 and Covid, I've had to refrain myself a bit.

I am French from Paris but I have spent 1/2 my life in Southern Cal.  I live a few blocks from the beach here in LA and when I moved to Marblehead, MA, for the month of July my kids' nanny said that I had left one small town on the West to move to the exact same small town on the East.  She wasn't wrong.  We loved it there, though.  Right on the water.  Then we went to Martha's Vineyard for 2 weeks, NYC for 10 days and I'm now driving back home (sans the wife and kids but with a 110lbs dog) going thru DC, Nashville, New Orleans, driving as fast as I can through Texas (not my thing) and then back home.  Fun times.

T

[BwanaDik]

Welcome isitabee!

Nice to see some of your collection! The Tong Mulholland Dr. is one of my favourite Mondo prints too. 

I have similar collecting habits to you...I used to collect street/urban art prints (I like Invader a lot too, also Faile, Banksy, Blu, Phlegm, Pejac etc). I'm in the UK so used to like that scene in the heyday of POW, but these days it's mainly just film posters and film prints that I collect.

Ahaha, same here, I was a UAA member since the early years, the POW times.  Never bagged a Banksy though, signed prints were 500USD, I regret it now...   But then UAA turned nasty, too many players and prices went up like crazy.  Bought a few nice pieces (Invader, JR, Murakami, Pure Evil, Todd James, etc.), there are all framed and hanged... and a few under the beds.  And yes, most of them are all in bad state now   Thanks to the equatorial African sun and amateur framers.

[Monster_A_GoGo]

Welcome isitabee...and excuse my tardiness to the welcome wagon. Hopefully you've had ample time to look about and get a feel for the place. Jump in anywhere and know that you are welcome here. CHEERS!