Polish Posters

[brude]

I didnt see a Polish poster thread here in the Genre section so thought I'd start one.

I only have one, so far, and the Poles have created some far out and amazing poster art -- interesting interpretations and the like.

Here's my loner, at this point, for the 1987 Polish production, Bialy Smok (White Dragon):

I really like this design, Jeff.
And it's a Polish country of origin poster to boot.  Nice.
 

[erik1925]

I really like this design, Jeff.
And it's a Polish country of origin poster to boot.  Nice.
 

 

Thanks, Ted.

[poster art]

We don't need a Polish poster thread, we just need to know Dr. J...  Can't wait until he bombards this thread - about time he is recognized for being the king of Polish (and Czech) paper...

Who's Dr J? I am must challenge him, I will be the new King of Polihs and Czech posters around here!

[poster art]

I don't want to leave y'all empty handed so I'll post my newest acquisition  




While it may not be to everyone's taste (it's not my favorite Polish poster by a long shot), I cannot overstate the rarity of this poster.  It's a first release Citizen Kane from 1948.  And though this poster is absurdly rare, the image is not.  A bit of history helps to explain why...

Early elements of the abstract Polish designs actually start before WWII, but after the war when the communists first came into power all those elements came together as we know them today.  The communists were in power in Poland after WWII, but there was a fair bit of autonomy. This creative period was short-lived though -- basically only 3 years from 1945 to 1948.   In 1948 Yugoslavia rather publicly distanced themselves from the Soviets.  Not eager to allow others to follow, strict Stalinist rule was implemented in most Eastern Bloc countries starting in 1948.  All printing presses were confiscated by the state and run by the Russian-trained propagandists (the art during this time looks very Russian and nothing like the Polish designs we know and love).  All distribution of Western films in Poland was essentially halted.  This period lasted from 1948 until 1956 when, 3 years after Stalin's death, Khrushchev denounced Stalin's cult of personality and started allowing more autonomy again.  Internationals films were again screened and many of the designs from the 1945-1948 period were re-released.  This is also when the "Polish School of Posters" really started to flourish.

So basically, that is why this image is common -- because there have been many sales of '58 re-release version.  Interestingly, before the Soviets took over in 1948, movie posters in Poland were B1 size.  However, with the Soviet crackdown came a standardization of printing across most Eastern Bloc countries.  That is why Polish, Czech, Hungarian, and East German posters are all A1 size.  The '58 version is also A1 as would be expected, but this first release poster is B1.  The Poles returned to the B1 size for movie posters, but not until the late 70s.  

I've always wanted this design for my collection and I just assumed I would be buying the '58 re-release -- mainly because a 1948 version had never been sold at auction before.  Well, I recently met a really cool collector who has an incredible collection and he offered me this first release poster.  I was hesitant at first -- mainly because I wasn't sure how the market would value it.  Would people care about the history and place a premium on this poster for being a first release?  Or I guess, more importantly, would TWO people care and fight over it so I could recoup my money someday?  So I started to ask around to various Polish dealers to find out what these sell for.  I got the same response from everyone -- in the 20/30/XX years they had been collecting and selling none of them had ever seen one change hands.  There are also many museum collections in Poland and they said very few had this poster.  

That was convincing enough for me and I went ahead with the purchase

Wow, very lucky to have this one, very rare indeed (insanely jealous)! Can I ask how much you paid for it! Must have been a lot? I have never seen one for sale in my 10 years of collecting Polish posters. Apart from this one on Ebay now. http://www.ebay.com/itm/CITIZEN-KANE-ORIGINAL-POLISH-POSTER-VERY-RARE-/321756608126?hash=item4aea30367e And not sure that is original. Was the same poster reissued?


The only one I possess is this one by artist Grzegorz Marszalek.

[erik1925]

Wow, very lucky to have this one, very rare indeed (insanely jealous)! Can I ask how much you paid for it! Must have been a lot? I have never seen one for sale in my 10 years of collecting Polish posters.


Apart from this one on Ebay now. http://www.ebay.com/itm/CITIZEN-KANE-ORIGINAL-POLISH-POSTER-VERY-RARE-/321756608126?hash=item4aea30367e And not sure that is original. Was the same poster reissued?

This copy is being sold by Dominique Besson. A 100% reliable and wonderful dealer.

John, what year was KANE first released in Poland?

[poster art]

This copy is being sold by Dominique Besson. A 100% reliable and wonderful dealer.

John, what year was KANE first released in Poland?

I think it was 1948 or that was the year that the by Henryk Tomaszewski poster was issued (which would have been for the release). I think it was reissued ten years later but not altogether 100% certain about that.

[eatbrie]

This copy is being sold by Dominique Besson. A 100% reliable and wonderful dealer.

 

[poster art]

Interesting article here you might want to read about the artist who did Citizen Kane.

http://www.iconeye.com/opinion/icon-of-the-month/item/12111-the-polish-film-poster

[ladeda]

 

Ooooh, what's the deal with him? I've always been lukewarm to his inventory but he has some Charles Boyer posters I need sharpish.

[eatbrie]

Wow, some pretty amazing collectors of Polish posters in these parts.

I have a small collection, nothing compared to the big wigs, but it's growing.  Here are a few pieces I like...

Le Mépris by Janusz Rapnicki


Star 80 by Maciej Woltman


Jaws by Andrzej Dudzinski


Barbarella by Jan Mlodozeniec


The Empire Strikes Back by Miroslaw Lakomski


Alien by Jakub Erol


E.T. The Extra Terrestrial by Miroslaw Lakomski


Gandhi by Maciej Woltman


Close Encounters of the Third Kind by Andrzej Pagowski


And a few Raiders of the Lost Ark...



T

[eatbrie]

Ooooh, what's the deal with him? I've always been lukewarm to his inventory but he has some Charles Boyer posters I need sharpish.

Highly, highly, highly overpriced, doesn't tell you anything about the condition of his posters (which I hate), misrepresents a lot of posters on his ebay sales (I bought from him and got posters that were not even the ones pictured)...

T

[erik1925]

Highly, highly, highly overpriced, doesn't tell you anything about the condition of his posters (which I hate), misrepresents a lot of posters on his ebay sales (I bought from him and got posters that were not even the ones pictured)...

T

That is SO not good... and yes... he is the Benito of France, price-wise, many times (on his fixed priced items on his site, I mean, as he does have ebay auctions that start at 99¢)

[erik1925]

I think it was 1948 or that was the year that the by Henryk Tomaszewski poster was issued (which would have been for the release). I think it was reissued ten years later but not altogether 100% certain about that.

Thanks John.

So then it comes down to the idea of whether that poster was reissued 10 yrs later, and, if so, if that copy on ebay is the 1st or later RR version.

[erik1925]

Interesting article here you might want to read about the artist who did Citizen Kane.

http://www.iconeye.com/opinion/icon-of-the-month/item/12111-the-polish-film-poster

And i want to read this, but on both my browsers (FF and Safari), it doesnt show up, for some reason. 

[erik1925]

T, ive always loved the one Raiders poster, with the red going thru the holes of the skull.

GREAT imagery there!

[poster art]

And i want to read this, but on both my browsers (FF and Safari), it doesnt show up, for some reason. 

Not too sure why you can't read it as I just clicked on the link and it worked for me ok.

[erik1925]

I think its just my browser version..and has nothing to do with the site itself.

[poster art]

Wow, some pretty amazing collectors of Polish posters in these parts.

I have a small collection, nothing compared to the big wigs, but it's growing.  Here are a few pieces I like...

Le Mépris by Janusz Rapnicki


Barbarella by Jan Mlodozeniec



Nice small collection. These two on my WANTS list if you want to sell anytime.

[poster art]

Here's a few more of my favourite Polish posters from my collection.


Trad (Leprosy), designer: Tomasz Ruminski (1971)


Family Plot, Hitchcock, from one of my favourite Polish Artists Andrzej Klimowski (1977)


Max et les ferrailleurs,(Max and the Gang), Designed by Andrzej Krajewski (1972)


Friends for Life, Italian / French film by Franco Rossi, designer: Jozef Mroszczak (1959)
One of my top five this one along with Summertime (already posted).


Wild Strawberries, Ingmar Bergman, designer: Jerzy Flisak (1960)


The Story of Tosca, Italy,  Carl Koch, designer: Jerzy Srokowski (1953)


I Know that You are The Killer. Czech film, Petr Schulhoff, designer: Andrzej Krajewski (1972)


Men on a Business Trip, Bulgaria, director: Grisha Ostrovski, Todor Stoyanov (1969)


Brief Encounter, England, Dir, Alan Bridges, designer: Romuald Socha (1976)


Up the Junction, England dir: Peter Collinson, designer: Andrzej Krajewski, (1970)


Heroin, Germany - East, dirs: Heinz Thiel, Horst E. Brandt, designer: Andrzej Krajewski (1969)

Well that's all for now, maybe post some more tomorrow. Hope you guys enjoy these. Comments welcome.

[jedgerley]

Nice stuff.
Did you hear about the new Stadium they built in Warsaw?  Well they had to tear it down because of a design flaw. It turns out no matter where you sat in the stadium you always sat behind a "pole". Har har har!

[poster art]

Nice stuff.
Did you hear about the new Stadium they built in Warsaw?  Well they had to tear it down because of a design flaw. It turns out no matter where you sat in the stadium you always sat behind a "pole". Har har har!

tut tut!

[brude]

 

[DarvishJo]

Art by Eugeniusz Stankiewicz (GET):

[img width= height=]http://www.musicman.com/00pic/14013.jpg[/img]

[Harry Caul]

Wow, very lucky to have this one, very rare indeed (insanely jealous)! Can I ask how much you paid for it! Must have been a lot? I have never seen one for sale in my 10 years of collecting Polish posters. Apart from this one on Ebay now. http://www.ebay.com/itm/CITIZEN-KANE-ORIGINAL-POLISH-POSTER-VERY-RARE-/321756608126?hash=item4aea30367e And not sure that is original. Was the same poster reissued?


The only one I possess is this one by artist Grzegorz Marszalek.

I just saw this old thread… Sorry for not replying earlier. The poster linked above is from 1958 I believe when the design was reissued (after the Soviets relaxed their grip of course. Notice the lack of the RKO logo in the lower left...

If you follow Polish posters you'll notice a lot of the early abstract designs from that 1945–1948 post-war period were reissued in the mid to late 50s --  A few that come to mind are citizen Kane, black narcissist, wages of fear, etc. The 1950s release posters are still quite valuable but they are nowhere near as rare as the original 1940s printings.

[110x75]

A few that come to mind are citizen Kane, black narcissist,...