Hi Dave et al.
Back in the early 70s, I uncovered a stash of lobby cards under a row
of seats in an abandoned theater dating from the 20s through 1936.
In the research I did at the time I uncovered the following information
on the creation of Lobby Displays (Lobby Cards, Half Sheets and
Inserts), which was in use from the 20s through the 60s:
The process used to create the key image (lettering and graphics) is
called photogelatin or heliotype. A metal plate is covered with
photosensitized gelatin that was exposed to light through a
photographic negative. The gelatin hardened in varying degrees
according to the light received. When examined through a magnifying
glass, one sees random clusters of silver halide crystals, rather than
the repetitive pattern of Ben Day dots in photolithography. It is the
photogelatin process - and also the great care which went into the
building up the image by the artists - that yield such extraordinary
detail and depth to the lobby Displays from the 20s through the early
50s.
In looking through my Lobby Cards I note the following.
EYES OF THE FOREST (Fox 1923) with Tom Mix. Sepiatone. No colors
added.
HARD BOILED (Fox 1926) w/Tom Mix. Key plates in B&W, hand colored.
With the set of eight cards before me, I see the color is unevenly
applied in places and wanders outside the lines, as in the coloring of
glass slides.
Also in this time period, a process called Pochoir (French for stencil)
was in use. This involved carefully cut stencils through which the
colors were added. This eliminated the problem of the artists having
to keep within the lines.
ARIZONA WILDCAT (Fox 1928) w/Tom Mix. Key plate in B&W. Color is
added by lithography, as the sky exhibits the Den Day dot pattern when
examined under a glass.
As an aside, Ben Day was the brother of Clarence Day, who wrote LIFE
WITH FATHER.
CHARMING SINNERS (Paramount 1929) w/Ruth Chatterton, William Powell.
Key plate: B&W. Vibrant, incredible color, evenly printed within the
lines. Some areas are pure color, others exhibit Ben Day dots.
The cards were all printed on one sheet, then cut into the set of 8.
A good resource for the different printing processes for movie posters
is THE MOVIE POSTER BOOK, by Steve Schapiro and David Chierichetti (E.
P. Dutton, NY, 1979.)
Mike
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