The Hitchcock 20 Find and how it probably got away...
Operating the VMPF Facebook page is sometimes a lot of work and then sometimes a lot of fun. We admins (Matt, David and I) moderate the page and get questions about values and authenticity. We enjoy answering and discussing the movie poster(s) in question and feel satisfied that we are contributing to the hobby in that manner. However, every once in a while something super exciting comes along such as a dialogue that started about finding some old posters in an old abandoned factory in the UK...
We get a message about these old posters with a couple of images - "Do you know much about them?":
The person having the poster informs us through more discussion that he has 20 posters (ended up 25) that are all UK 3 Sheets but they are stuck to a fabric and that many have been cut but that he has saved the bits...
So we are drooling and thinking what else does he have????!?!?!?!? He indicated he would like to sell them and wanted to know what we thought their value to be. We discussed the need for restoration and the potential costs of getting them ready. We again ask for images of the other posters and then he informs us that there is a Hitchcock but it is missing a piece. Then we get the image dump...
David and I collectively agree that we admins should make this guy an offer (we just figured Matt would be game)... We do our analysis which was very difficult considering many of these posters had never been sold or seen... We figured the restoration cost for each poster would be well over $500 each - closer to $800. We did some more calcs, discussed it over the phone (David is much more Australian over the phone btw) and shot the guy an offer. He said he would consider it but that was almost 45 days back, so we figure he's found a better deal. We sent him a few more "we are still here" messages that went without reply.
But that doesn't mean we shouldn't let you guys enjoy the first VMPF "under the floorboards" moment... Now just to sit back and wait to see where and when they pop up again.
We get a message about these old posters with a couple of images - "Do you know much about them?":
The person having the poster informs us through more discussion that he has 20 posters (ended up 25) that are all UK 3 Sheets but they are stuck to a fabric and that many have been cut but that he has saved the bits...
So we are drooling and thinking what else does he have????!?!?!?!? He indicated he would like to sell them and wanted to know what we thought their value to be. We discussed the need for restoration and the potential costs of getting them ready. We again ask for images of the other posters and then he informs us that there is a Hitchcock but it is missing a piece. Then we get the image dump...
David and I collectively agree that we admins should make this guy an offer (we just figured Matt would be game)... We do our analysis which was very difficult considering many of these posters had never been sold or seen... We figured the restoration cost for each poster would be well over $500 each - closer to $800. We did some more calcs, discussed it over the phone (David is much more Australian over the phone btw) and shot the guy an offer. He said he would consider it but that was almost 45 days back, so we figure he's found a better deal. We sent him a few more "we are still here" messages that went without reply.
But that doesn't mean we shouldn't let you guys enjoy the first VMPF "under the floorboards" moment... Now just to sit back and wait to see where and when they pop up again.
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Oh they are pretty.
You never know...you still might get that email.
So they are on linen stuck to board?
I still reckon the big ones are harder to move with a few rare exceptions of course...but they sure are pretty!
Thanks for sharing and fingers crossed he gets back in touch!
Given the overall no-name titles and cost to restore we definitely think our offer was fair, but who knows who has been in his ear - everyone thinks they are having an Antiques Roadshow moment when it comes to these sorts of things and someone may have just oversold it to him. Either way we hope to see them again somewhere.
Of all the questions that comes across our desk on FB from time to time this is probably my favorite, well except that Franky original we were offered but couldn't raise the $16K he wanted in time...
How does it compere to Bruce's recent Argentinean find ?
The three times I've seen argentinean 20s posters surface, there was a bunch of them coming from the same source, and almost all in great condition (probably because good quality paper was used down here in those days).
I dare to guess one difference could be that the UK find is really a find (since the posters were in possession of someone completely unrelated to the hobby) and the ones at Bruce's came from a collector who decided to let them go (and this is just a guess, I have no idea where they came from)
Yes indeed. The owner of the posters said he rescued them from being dumped. I guess he has done a lot of research into them and hopefully will get a good price. One thing that put me off was the cost of getting them to Australia because they seem to have been stuck to board.
That's it! Thank you...
On looking further into these obscure film titles some more of them are turning out to be films from France and even Germany & Sweden but the majority are from the U.S.A. The British distributors had me into thinking some were British films along with some British actors appearing in them. There are some British films though including The Farmer's Wife and a few other Wardour releases.
As nice as these are, I'm thinking you guys have over cooked the prices and worth. I don't know what you offered the fellow, but looking at your restoration costs, and figuring in postage etc, I think your pricing is way out..
Don't get me wrong, I would love them myself, but it would only be from a technical point of view for my website (if I ever get it off the ground), if I had money to buy them, I would definitely buy something else that I like instead. Sounds harsh, but there isn't a huge market for these kind of silent cinema posters as I've found out...
How do you figure that?
I tried to sell two from the silent era from that bunch the guy I know had, and for only £200 each and had no luck, not even an offer... I'm guessing you must have offered the fellow a fair bit more than £200 each?
No doubt he has been swayed by some people chirping in his ear about his Antique Roadshow find, and it will be interesting to see where they appear - if they do.