My pockets are full today, but my hands are empty and my heart is sunk
The big boys must have caught wind of the auction I'm about to share with you all as I was outbid on everything I was interested in. I have known about this auction for a month, and I was in it to win it with some pretty large max bids. However, even though I wasn't outbid by much on the first stack of posters, it was by enough to know it was futile to think I could up my bids just a little bit and still win. And after I was blown away by the final bid on the second stack, I knew I would be leaving empty handed. Some of you may be asking yourselves, "WTF is 'ole Harry blathering about?" Well, I'm blathering about
probably the biggest find of early movie posters in recent history. Just remember, you read it first here folks...
Apparently, the winter of 1930/31 was a cold one in central Pennsylvania. By spring it must have been too much to take as the owner of a small little bungalow went searching for insulation material for his attic. I can only assume that the owner or someone they knew worked at the local theater as the owner gather up about 30-50 one sheets, all between Dec. 1930 and May 1931. Clearly they had access to stacks of very recent posters. Regardless of how they were acquired, the owner neatly stacked up about 5-15 posters in 6 little bundles and put them between the rafters. And there they sat for exactly 80 years... likely oscillating between freezing/dry winters and hot/humid summers in that attic... until the owner of the house passed away late this summer and the contents of the house were auctioned in an estate sale this afternoon. What was most surprising was that the posters were, miraculously, in better shape them I'm sure anyone could have imagined...
Over the years the stacks had fused together, but when the auctioneers found them they were a still pliable if a bit brittle. They took the largest of the stacks and submerged it in a tub full of water. I'll give you all a second to curse/smack your foreheads/stare dumbfounded/etc.. at this point. They washed off the top poster of the stack and this is what it looked like after it was 'cleaned up':
They must have been thinking, "that doesn't look half bad!" Their 'success' and curiosity must have gotten the better of them, as then decided to try to divide the stack in half to see what poster was in the middle. Ugh, I know, but the stack apparently pulled right apart and this was what a poster from the *middle* of one of the stacks looks like:
This collection really needs to be name the "miracle collection" or something, as there is no other way to explain how they stayed in this good of condition, after both the 80 long years in storage and the abuse they suffered after they were found!
Luckily, the auctioneer quit their 'restoration' efforts while they were ahead. They let the newly divided stack dry (so we are now up to 7 stacks total) and set them aside for auction. Here are the full photos I was sent of the fronts and backs of the 7 stacks that were to be auctioned:
STACK 1: LITTLE CAESAR - Pardon my language, but holy fucking shit. Presumably, this one will clean up as nicely as the dunked Criminal Code above. The colors are incredible and it is in surprisingly good shape. I tried to do some photoshop voodoo on the back image (boosting contrast, curves, etc...) to try to pull out the title of the poster that was on the bottom of the stack... but to no avail.
STACK 2: CRIMINAL CODE (style A?) - This is the stack that had been close to 15 posters, but it was now down to 8-10. I'm floored at how saturated the colors still are! After some photoshop voodoo, you can clearly see the name Otis Skinner splashed across the lower portion of the poster on the back. Presumably this is a poster for Kismet which was released in late 1930. And it looks different enough in layout that I think it is a different style from the other Kismet poster below. In the middle of the stack, which they (sigh) pried apart, you can see 'Old English' with George Arliss. And I was also told that on the other side of the pried apart section, you can see 'Seed' with Bette Davis!
STACK 3: CRIMINAL CODE (style B?) - Again, incredible shape. On the back you can make out 'The Seas Beneath,' an early John Ford movie about WWI U-boat hunting... I can only imagine the stone litho design is breath-taking. Although, I'm not sure if it is complete or not given all the layers on visible from the back.
STACK 4: REACHING FOR THE MOON - Again, this was what a poster looks like, if it is intact, from the *middle* of one of these stacks! Sadly, the posters on the back do not look in tact and I couldn't make them out anyway. Is that possibly Claudett Colbert? Unfortunately that poster isn't being revealed under the other layers, but instead those three colorful pieces are all that is left
STACK 5: MILLIE - Now we start getting into stacks that are beat up. This one has what looks to be black mold stains on the front, and the top and sides are missing a good few inches of paper... artwork too, not just borders. On the back you can make out "DI" in the lower right (after flipping it horizontally so the text is in the correct direction) and "GLEN" in the top left. I'm fairly certain the back poster is this one from Dishonored with Dietrich:
http://www.movieposterdb.com/poster/499c9658 Aside from the trimmed edges, it looks to be in very good shape!
STACK 6: MALTESE FALCON / KISMET - This one made me want to fucking cry. As far as I know there is no paper larger than a lobby card for the first film version of Maltese Falcon. That LC sold for $10K. I can only imagine how much this one sheet would have sold for if it was complete... which it is not. What you see is what is left of it. There is a different style Kismet under it. From the upper-middle right-side of the back, you can make out the names "Lloyd," "Lawford," and "Simpson," which corresponds with Kismet. I don't know if that is yet another style one-sheet, or the back of the one you see from the front.
STACK 7: MILLIE - Finally, another Millie poster (looks like the same style), but it is in terrible shape with layers of multiple other lost posters on top. They didn't even bother with a backside image of this one...
So what were the results?
1. Little Caesar + 3-5 more -- $9,250
2. Criminal Code A, Old English, Seed, Kismet A, + 4-6 more -- $16,500!!!
3. Criminal Code B, Seas Beneath + 2-4 more -- $1,600
4. Reaching for the Moon + 3-5 more -- I think around $900
I quit phone bidding there and hung up. If I wasn't going to be going to the trouble of restoring something I knew was worth while, I didn't want to bother with the other stacks. All of these would have to be shipped flat and based on the damage, you never know what will be intact and what won't.
Anyway, so there you have it. I'm sure after a restoration delay, 30-50 newly discovered one sheets from early 1931 will be probably be coming to auction soon. Only about a dozen of which do we know the titles for.
And for those of you keeping track of dates, Dracula was released dead in the middle of the range covered by these posters, in February 1931 
If a previously unknown one-sheet turns up at auction soon, you'll know where it came from!
