Poster Restorers, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

[paul waines]

I know this may have been covered in some other corner of the interweb, but after reading the thread "off the radar", I would like to know experiences you have all had with Linen backing to full restorations. I am of the thought, head straight to Studio "C" for anything in this area. I thought Posterfix was one of the better one's though it seems not.

I have only ever had three posters done, the first at I think they were called Vintage poster company down London, and would never use them again in a million years. The second was someone from Ebay who just did a basic linen-backing which was jolly good, and Studio "C", which had some restoration done as well, and was first rate. I don't have any before pics, which I should have taken. Though I got them done well before I started going on Poster forums, and Taking photo's of them.    

[CSM]

Others to consider based on opinions of collectors I trust:

Dario Casadei (http://members.shaw.ca/vintagemovieart/)

Precision Restoration (Sylvia Locken - http://www.precisionrestoration.net/)

Jaime Mendez - IF you can get past the whole Universal Horror scandal, the work I have seen is great (http://www.restorationbyjm.com/)

[Dread_Pirate_Mel]

I like checking out the before/after pictures and what posters other collectors think are worth repairing.  Poster Mountain has a huge database of repaired posters in reverse chronological order:

http://www.postermountain.com/form/

[MoviePosterBid.com]

best linenbackers/restorers

Studio-C
Postermountain (although his authentication skills are questionable)
Dario Cassadei (in recent years I have only used Dario, but then again, in the last 5 years I've only had 2 posters worked on)
Poster Conservation in CT

avoid these at all cost
Posterfix
Posterfix
Posterfix
Posterfix
Posterfix
Posterfix
Posterfix
and
Posterfix

[paul waines]

Are they in order of preference, Rich?

[Harry Caul]

best linenbackers/restorers

Studio-C
Postermountain (although his authentication skills are questionable)
Dario Cassadei (in recent years I have only used Dario, but then again, in the last 5 years I've only had 2 posters worked on)
Poster Conservation in CT

avoid these at all cost
Posterfix
Posterfix
Posterfix
Posterfix
Posterfix
Posterfix
Posterfix
and
Posterfix

I'll post this here as well... Is there a write up somewhere as to why some people have a problem with Posterfix?  I used them before and while they were EXTREMELY slow, I thought they did fine work.

[Dr Hackenbush]

http://stylec.yuku.com/topic/7520/t/posterfix.html

[MoviePosterBid.com]

Are they in order of preference, Rich?

no..

except the avoids.. avoid them in that order

[MoviePosterBid.com]

PosterFix is run by a major assclown - Chris Cloutier

their work also looks like a kid with crayons

[oldposterho]

A big vote for Sylvia at Precision Restoration and Dario up in Canadia.  You can get a great combo deal from Sylvia if you're having your poster framed by Sue at Hollywood Poster Frames as well. 

--Peter

[velvet11]

I've used J. Fields Studio a few times, and I've been very happy with their prices, work and turnaround time.

As others have noted, Dario is first rate as well.

 ron

[Simes]

I've used PosterScience in London as well to great effect.

Top notch.

[50s]

I use StudioM in Sydney. Turnaround could be a bit faster though (they have too much work), but very happy with the results.

I ask to leave the penciling to me as it saves me a bit of dosh, I enjoy, and I do a mighty fine job anyway.

[brude]

A couple of months ago, Sam of Empire Posters brought up several interesting comments about the use of paper backing as opposed to linen backing in a MoPo thread. He brought up many interesting points. He is a member here, maybe he'll read this and add his comments.  Sam, you out there?

[paul waines]

Some interesting stuff here, Though I don't know why Turn around time is important? Unless you plan to sell the item. I know we hate being apart from our beloved posters, but quality would be my main concern. Do we think in rushing these people the job they are doing suffers!

[CSM]

Some interesting stuff here, Though I don't know why Turn around time is important? Unless you plan to sell the item. I know we hate being apart from our beloved posters, but quality would be my main concern. Do we think in rushing these people the job they are doing suffers!

Agree with you Paul.  If I am keeping the poster, I don't care if it takes six months so long as I get my $$$ worth in the restoration...

[paul waines]

I noticed on MPF someone was wanting an alternative to Studio "C", anyone know anything? Have they done some bad work, Prices too high?

[Dr Hackenbush]

I know of at least one long time collector that had a bad experience with Studio C

[paul waines]

Do you know any of the details Angelo?

[Ari]

theres is long stories of old things, long done thats I know of, but cripes this is to my knowledge ancient history. ]Some of this stuff, like the others, search mopo, if ou arent a member, go to filmfan.com
join if you want, or search the archives for past threads.
its the oldest movie poster forum, and still going strong.

to put it simply, its too difficult to type up a synopsis of it all, and even after reading AL< the mopo stuff on the studio C contraversy, you will not know the full story. Interesting though it may be.

But there may be new stuff, i dont know, the stuff I know is dating back a long time, and mainly involves someone who no longer works there, but that depends on who you blame.
Cripes, I talk too much, really read old Mopo posts and make your own decision.

[Dr Hackenbush]

Do you know any of the details Angelo?

I know the person involved but not the details, per se.  Seemed a rather sore point so I refrained from asking

[paul waines]

I am a MOPO member, and do recall quite a lot of....................things going on, but I have had nothing lately as my Email has changed. I must look into getting swapped back over.

I don't recall anything said about poor workmanship though?? 

[erik1925]

This seems like a way to help those in need of a good restorer, based on personal use, quality of their work, pricing, turn around time and the like and to also help those to avoid and stay away from the ones that do poor work, are exceedingly slow or hold posters for months due to work load or backlogging.

Makes sense since there is a similar topic to list and talk about those dealers that get both a Thumbs Up, and the one to steer clear from.

I have used John Davis at his company, Poster Mountain, here in Los Angeles. He and his team do great work, are great to deal with, personable and his pricing is competitive. I would recommend him to anyone looking for quality restoration.

Jeff

[erik1925]

Based on comments in another thread... i think that Chris Cloutier certainly can be added here, too..

POSTERFIX-- AVOID! 

[erik1925]

I cannot recommend the restoration work done by L'Imagerie Gallery, in So Calif. I had a poster worked on by them, and was disappointed. (I was new to collecting and went with them because they were recommended by a fellow poster collector). However, I would not go back to them again. The work was less than optimal.    The "plus" side was that I discovered Poster Mountain because of the previous situation and they fixed the issue with the poster.

I give John Davis and Co. a HUGE

Jeff