Welcome back to the Shock-O-Rama Poster Show. This edition is a bit different. As you may know, with certain exceptions that may come my way, I've by and large
stopped buying posters. This post isn't about new posters. Instead it is about my first experiencing linenbacking posters.
If you've read any of my posts before, you will know that I am NO FAN of linenbacked posters. However, as my collecting days were slowing/coming to an end, getting things on linen seemed to be the only way I'd be ever able to enjoy certain posters if I wanted them. I now have several linenbacked posters in my collection. I'm about to have four more...
I am still working through a move I made 2 years ago. I am trying to get my poster collection organized in some sort of manner. I am still going through boxes and tubes, trying to frame them or add them to my flat file drawers (or set them aside for either auction or to donate to thrift stores). During one such effort to (stupidly) pull my GODZILLA VS MEGALON poster out from under a very large (and heavy) pile of rolled posters, it ripped almost all of the way across the cener fold. (The picture below does not show the full extent of the tear.) F@#*!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Initially I was planning on just trying to repair it with some archival tape (which I ordered, but as I write this, has still yet to arrive). The archival tape seemed the perfect solution and it wouldn't be that expensive. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized if I used the tape, I might not get the seam straight or something. Plus, well.. It was RIPPED regardless of any tape repair. ARGH!!! After years of resisiting having anything linenbacked (and I have several candidates that could use restoration or saving), I decided that I would bite the bullet because I needed to "rescue" this one.
For years, I've had posters with issues. The first copy of OLGA'S HOUSE OF SHAME that I got decades ago had a big rip on the top corner. The end was hanging on--but just barely. After the move, though...the corner had come off. UGH!
I had saved the corner--but... I never anticipated having the poster repaired. It was one I had recently come across again--so it went into the pile to have repaired.
The U.S. one sheet for the cult movie FORBIDDEN ZONE is a rarity. Except for the one I have, I have never seen another. Mine was water damaged before I bought it...and I was aware of it, but I bought it anyway. I like the poster and, despite the issues with it, I framed it.
However, the issues with it, while diminished behind the plexiglass, were still very visible.
The water damage was scattered throughout. Okay--this one went into the linenbacking pile.
There was also a stain in the top, center margin...which I belive is also from the water damage.
MALIBU HORROR STORY? What is that? This was a fairly recent flick--from 2022 or 2023. I'd never seen or heard of the movie when I saw the one sheet for sale...and had never seen other copies of it. (I've looked on eBay recently--and there are several now. Hmm.) The seller had two copies, both in "very good condition." I ended up buying both. When they arrived, both had obvious handling crinkling. One had a two or three-inch tear on it. The other though had a huge rip more than half way up!
My finger points to where the rip ends. Grr! I was ripped off. However, even though this isn't worth much and is fairly new, I couldn't just trash it. I decided to send this off, too (even though I found a brand-new copy for far less than linenbacking this one will cost).
I jumped onto AllPosterForum.com to ask for help with finding a reliable linenbacker. The last two entries in the linenbacking thread were by users Crazy Vick and Big Mike. Both raved about BackingToTheFuture.com's work. However their pronouncements were a couple of years old. I asked the forum for updated recommendations. Big Mike got back to me and again praised BackingToTheFuture.com. Great! I contacted Dan at BackingToTheFuture and sent the posters off. Now I am just sitting and waiting. The upside is that they'll be repaired and it doesn't sound like they'll be very difficult to deal with. The downside is that BackingToTheFuture is located in Canada--which adds to the shipping costs, customs, etc. Oh well.
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I sent the posters off. The company acknowleged receiving my package on June 17th. I know companies get busy and I have no idea how long it takes to linenback/repair a poster. When I didn't hear anything after a month, I sent a note (on July 23). I heard back a couple of days later, saying they expected to have them done by the end of summer.
I later (July 30) received this note:
"We have started working on your posters... I noted Malibu Horror Story is a double-sided poster... if we try and linen back a double sided poster there is a risk it will disintegrate... do you want us to try and linen back it... or just use archival tape and fix the tear and replace some of the missing colour?"
I told them that I had scored another copy of the poster and to just trash it.
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The posters arrived on August 27th. When Dan told me that they were done, he said they'd been sent already...and included the invoice. Junkies! I was shocked they trusted me to pay with the posters in the mail. (I paid right away, of course.) For the three posters (and postage), it was a walloping $645. EEK! Of course, that is Canadian dollars. The total in U.S. dollars was $490.71.
Dan and company did a good job. There were some imperfections still--but I was LOOKING for them (and knew where to look). Still, I was pleased overall.
The poster I thought they did the best job on was FORBIDDEN ZONE. The fold lines were still somewhat visible (unlike other linen posters I have that were originally folded), but I was still happy with it and popped it into the frame I had ordered especially for it.
Interestingly there were these certificates included, showing that these titles were linenbacked from Backing To The Future. Is that a thing? This was my first-ever linenbacking--so I don't know. However, I never got one from other posters I'd gotten at auction before. Hmm.
I do have a few other posters I really need to consider linenbacking that are in worse shape than these. I just need to come across them first. NO-I'm not a fan of linenbacking. I do, however, understand the restorative and preservative nature of the process. While I am open to other poster restoration suggestions (especially in the US, where the shipping costs might be lower), I was pleased with this experience and will probably go back to them with my other restoration needs.
Thank you, Dan and company at Backing To the Future!
