To Catch a Thief Quad Restoration

[scartacus]

here are some before and after restoration shots of my To Catch thief quad which was made for a one night Royal Performance showing of the film. I thought long and hard about whether to have it linen backed -- althought the paper was in good condition in a lot of areas, it was absolutely filthy and and had mold and some stains -- plus I wanted to get a replacement corner done. The gallery who did the work have a real aversion to chemicals -- perhaps overly so. The old stains are a lot better but there are still traces. The painting on the missing top left corner is very good -- the join is still visible.

 



 

[quadbod]

Hi, Scartacus!
Looks nice.  Incidentally, the 'Royal Performance Film' credit at the top of the poster would not have been for that specific screening only, they would have used that credit on the poster when the film was on general release after its Royal screening.
Best wishes,
Terry - www.quadbod.co.uk

[scartacus]

Thanks for that Terry. The guys at the gallery told me it was a one off for the royal film but given how much you know about quads, I'll take your word as gospel! (I was alslo told that there are other TCAT quads which don't have the royal performance moniker, but that might just be hearsay too) 

[Harry Caul]

Wow, it turned out beautifully!  If that is what teh restorer was warning you about I would say it is pretty minor.  I saw the before pictures and I was expecting big black water/mold stains to still be present.  I also think the new paper will be barely visible once it is framed. 

Bravo! 

[Harry Caul]

By the way, I just checked Christie's as they are usually a better source for quad sales and all their past TCATs have the "Royal Performance" line at the top.

[scartacus]

great link, Harry. Interesting that some of the christies quads do look like they've had some serious restoration/ painting done to them.  Cary Grant looks like a waxwork in a couple of those pics with very pronounced eye wrinkles -- but I guess that could just be the photo enhancement software coming into play. The only paint on my poster is in the replacement top left corner.   

[paul waines]

Now that is one nice Quad.  Terry is right, that release would all have had the Royal performance credit on, it would be re-releases that did'nt have it.

[Harry Caul]

So is this on your wall yet Spartacus?  I'm curious to see how you framed it...

[scartacus]

Hey Harry,

I'm getting a batch of frames done at the moment, should be ready next week -- I'm a little peeved the restorer refused to trim the linen, leaving me with a 25mm border. H recommended I keep the 25mm border and use a matte -- but I prefer my movie posters without mattes.

So I will have to trim it myself -- I plan on leaving around 6mm of linen around the poster and fingers crossed the lip of the frame should eat most of that.

Also getting a couple of others framed -- bridge on the river kwai red half sheet, Seven Year Itch German 196Os A1 (Marilyn in the newspaper dress)  -- will post pics as soon as they're up.

[Harry Caul]

Those are some sweet posters.  I love that Marilyn image!  Definitely post pics when you get them up.

As for the linen, just get yourself a nice straight edge (I used a metal yard stick.... errr meter stick for you) and an exacto knife.  It is a little nerve-wracking, but I've done it a few times now without issue.  Oh yes, just in case, put the metal over the poster part... that way if you mess up, you just cut into the area you were removing anyway.  Better that than the image! 

Also, get a second pair of hands if possible.  My wife helped hold while I cut and that made it MUCH easier to be so exact.  Good luck.

[scartacus]

Thanks for the top tips, Harry. I don't mind telling you, I'll be cacking my load (now that is an English expression)

[scartacus]

It's finally up...

[supraman079]

It's finally up...

Very nice!

Chad

[Harry Caul]

It looks fantastic!  Definitely one of, if not the best, poster for the film. 

[Zorba]

Im going through the older threads to see the stuff I missed before I joined and ....WOW...Sweet!...This title is on my Top 10 Id like to own one day list and this poster is just beautiful.

[erik1925]

here are some before and after restoration shots of my To Catch thief quad which was made for a one night Royal Performance showing of the film. I thought long and hard about whether to have it linen backed -- althought the paper was in good condition in a lot of areas, it was absolutely filthy and and had mold and some stains -- plus I wanted to get a replacement corner done. The gallery who did the work have a real aversion to chemicals -- perhaps overly so. The old stains are a lot better but there are still traces. The painting on the missing top left corner is very good -- the join is still visible.

 



 

Dom,

That is some beautiful work, cleanup and corner restoration that was done to your TO CATCH A THIEF quad. Water marks and black mold areas reduced or removed and that upper left corner replacement looks fantastic!

And now should be asked.. quad or OS??   


Jeff