Good results at Sotheby's for vintage posters from classics to more recent titles

Over the past five to ten years, the collectors' market for vintage film posters has been shifting more and more towards relatively more recent cinematography, in particular that of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Explains Armando Giuffrida, one of the leading experts in the sector, dealer and consultant for Bolaffi Auctions "this shift in interest is largely due to the generational change between old and new collectors. The young collector who approaches the sector today is looking for posters of films that he has experienced and that have conveyed emotions to him. Titles such as The Godfather by Francis Ford Coppola, the dollar trilogy by Sergio Leone, the science fiction of Barbarella by Roger Vadim and "Back to the Future" by Robert Zemeckis, "A Clockwork Orange" by Stanley Kubrick, "Bullitt" starring Steve McQueen, together with classics by Fellini and Antonioni, represent the new poles of interest for the generations that are now entering film collecting. The great classics of horror and fantasy, such as Frankenstein, continue to maintain a strong investment value, but are hard to come by.

On the contrary, for minor titles the market has shrunk considerably, also due to a lack of widespread awareness and less cultural recognition on the part of younger audiences". Starting from these considerations, let us talk about the good results of the latest auction of vintage film posters promoted by Sotheby's, which offered 146 lots online to collectors from 5 to 20 May. In the top ten lots was La Dolce Vita, the famous 1960 film by Federico Fellini, a four-sheet poster (201 × 140 cm), illustrated by the artist Giorgio Olivetti, which fetched €32,000, starting from an estimate of €17-23,000. Olivetti, originally from Bologna, created one of the most iconic images of Italian cinema, with Marcello portrayed with a dangling cigarette and languid eyes towards Sylvia. The specimen sold is among the best to have appeared on the market in recent years, as it was recently found in its original state, folded, and subsequently intact, having never been opened for over fifty years.

The highest bid went to the poster for the James Bond film 'Dr. No' (76 x 102 cm) directed by Terence Young and starring Sean Connery and Ursula Andress, which was released in colour in 1962 and which, starting from a valuation range of between EUR 16-23,000, fetched EUR 52,000. Next among the best adjudications was a 1933 poster of the film King Kong (144.8 × 113 cm), directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack and made with the special effects of Willis H. O'Brien, a pioneer of animation, fetched €44,000 against an estimate of €46-€69,000. Unmissable Audrey Hepburn with "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (152 x 102 cm) from 1961 directed byBlake Edwards, which fetched 18,000 (estimate 17- 23,000) and a 1954 still from "Sabrina" directed by Billy Wilder, which fetched 5,000.00 euro (estimate 3,400-6,000).

Akira (1988)

Surprisingly unsold are the posters of the Italian version of 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' (201 x 140 cm) with an estimate of 20- 28 thousand euros and 'Roman Holiday' (201 x 140 cm) directed by William Wyler in 1953, estimated at between 7- 9 thousand euros, both illustrated by the master Ercole Brini. 

Among Disney classics, the price obtained by 'Alice au Pays des Merveilles' (160 x 119 cm) from 1951 is interesting at EUR 14,000.00 (estimate EUR 8,000-11,500). The poster is a rare French edition, which has been safely stored in a private collection for more than 20 years. Surprising is the result of the cult animation film 'Akira' (74 x 51 cm) by Katsuhiro Otomo, 1988, which, starting from a base estimate of 2,300 -3,400, fetched a price of €13,300.00. Vintage film posters, in particular those of the Italian Golden Age byAnselmo Ballester, Sandro Symeoni, Ercole Brini, Silvano Campeggi (Nano), Renato Casaro and, going further back in time, by Leopoldo Metlicovitz, still represent an indispensable reference for collectors and form a significant part of the history of 20th century Italian art. Despite this, with the exception of the Cinema Museum in Turin and a few other minor realities, Italia lacks a cultural venue capable of restoring full dignity to this art form and its interpreters.