Questions That A Vintage Poster Collector Should Ask

Start your vintage poster collection by understanding the history of posters.

Posters became very popular in the late 1800s because of the advancements in printing techniques. Stone lithography was used for the mass production of poster at this time. Jules Cheret is known as the father of placard advertisement. He built a lithography house and created numerous posters.

Stone lithography was eventually replaced by silk screen and photo offset, which made poster production cheaper and faster. Stone lithography during that time may be seen as an expensive printing technique because you can only use one stone with one color in a single production. Posters made from stone lithography rarely have other copies. This is why these posters are considered very rare and expensive.

Choosing Vintage Posters
There are several types of posters that you can choose from. The most common types of poster that are collected are the movie and political posters. Here are some factors you have to look in to when deciding on buying a vintage poster

Who is the artist?
Works of famous poster artists can be really pricey and rare because most of these posters are created during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Here are some poster artists that you might be interested in:

• Alphonse Mucha
• Jules Cheret
• Eugene Grasset
• Raymond Savignac

These are some contemporary poster artists that have been famous for their works:

• Andre Francois
• Milton Glaser
• Paul Ford
• Rafal Olbinski

What is the condition of the poster?
Is the poster well preserved? What are the methods used to preserve and restore the poster? You should consider these things because you will be the new owner of the poster. You have to know how the poster was treated and taken cared of. Do you need to have it restored or do you need to store it more carefully because of the condition the poster is in?

Restoring and preserving a poster is not easy. Collectors pay a high price just to keep their posters in good condition. Why? Because vintage posters, when well taken cared off, never depreciate in value. Some people look at them as investments that they can and will eventually sell to other people to earn more money.

How many copies of the poster are there?
For most collectors, knowing that they belong to that small group of people who owns a vintage poster is enough to be considered as an accomplishment. Some collectors see this as the chance to have bragging rights. You don't want to pay thousands of dollars for a poster that has hundred of copies circulating the market would you?

Today, it's very rare to find posters created from stone lithography or by famous poster artists. The technique used for printing and the period the poster was printed would give you an idea as to how many possible copies a poster has.

Is the poster popular?
The price of a poster mostly depends on its popularity. Film and propaganda posters are valued differently depending on the film's popularity and the propaganda's appeal on the people.

These are the simple things that you have to know when buying a vintage poster. The next time you are looking for a vintage poster, make sure that your questions are answered before taking that poster home.