I was just browsing for random things on eBay when I came across a folded Halloween one sheet. It went for quite a bit of money…
So I looked around some more and noticed they were all folded on both active as well as completed auctions. Mines rolled and now I have doubt.
Obviously posters at the time came in both formats depending upon the theaters they were shipped to ect, but it always freaks me out when I can’t find something I own on eBay!
Any experts out there? I’m gonna say it’s legit as it even has a (smeared) “Property of Nation Screen Service…” stamp on the bottom, but I’d still feel better if someone agreed with me!
It looks and feels right and this may sound strange, but I have no recollection of buying it! I’m not old enough to have it from ‘78, so I must have gotten it at the very earliest in the 90s at a Con, but unless I got it for a steal, I would have remembered paying a premium for it. Even if I payed $100 back then I would have taken better care of it, ya know? Not just had it laying in a bin with other posters.
That’s probably the scenario. I was a broke teenager back then, prob got it for nothing at a Fangoria Con and just hung it on my bedroom wall. Since I don’t normally look up prices of things I have no intention of selling, I just never thought about how much it might have been worth until last night.
Post a picture of the corners while unrolled. Rolled '78’s do exist. They are much more rare because a lot were folded.
I have a '78 original rolled one sheet. I just need to see more of your poster. Just use books or something to hold the edges while you unroll it for photos.
I wanted to see the corners for the printer alignment marks. Yours has them. Everything I can see looks good and I don’t see any red flags. Is the paper thin or thick?
I’d have to say it’s on the thinner side unless the matte paper is just making it feel that way. It’s definitely not on the thicker side, regardless.
I’m curious, did you frame yours? Any suggestions if so? I can’t really afford it atm, so a tube is gonna have to do for now. I’m
Just thankful it wasn’t damaged any more than it is. Nothing worse than a dent in a rolled poster than turns into 20 creases when unrolled.
Thin is good.
I had mine professionally linen backed. It preserves and protects old movie posters. I have also been collecting posters for about 20 years and have a metal flat file to store posters in. Do whatever you can to keep it stored flat. Posters will develop issues if stored rolled like that for years on end. Like any collectible, condition is everything. The nail holes, edge damage and all those marks in the border obviously hurt the value. If you’re just looking to throw it on a wall in a frame grab one of these. Easy to load, safe, and much better than staying rolled up.
I was gonna ask about linen backing just to keep it from getting any further damage. Like you said, it’s definitely not mint, but it still should be valuable enough due to its rarity as compared to folded to want to keep it from getting any worse over the years, right, or do you think it’s a waste at this point? Personally, if I were on the lookout for one to display, I’d prefer a “fine” graded rolled over a better condition folded.
Thank you for all the help, everyone, and thank you for the frame suggestion! I’ve been looking for frames for some other one sheets as well as a sketch Clive Barker did for me on the back of a Nightbreed poster years back, but all I ever found was either custom or $12 plastic garbage from target. These are a great middle ground and they have 27x41, so perfect in this case!
And I assure you, my vintage action figures, games, cards ect are all kept mint and in good storage conditions!
One day I would like to go back and actually start collecting posters and lobby cards proper. Not just horror, but 40s-60 Noir stuff, too.
If you’re going to get it linen backed then make sure you do your research and get someone good. Depending on the quality of the person doing the work they can often times fix blemishes and restore the print. It just depends how much money you want to put into it. I absolutely love mine. When I had mine linen backed it cost me $215. That’s been some years ago. I am not sure what it costs now. The process is also completely reversible too.
Good luck with whatever direction you decide to go with.
Sounds good. I’ll definitely look into some more. In the meantime I’ll be getting the frame you suggested so I can hang this up properly. Thanks again!
Well, it looks to me like your '78 one sheet is missing two holes near the center that should definitely be there if you’re looking for the real deal. Sorry for the bad news, man.
