Thank Mark Lawd, actually. He asked me to post it on his behalf and after
reading it, I thought it brought a common sensical approach to the subject.
Phil
----- Original Message -----
From: McDaniel Kirby
To: [email protected]
Sent: Saturday, November 08, 2008 12:55 AM
Subject: Re: [MOPO] E.T. BIKE POSTER - WORTH READING
Good post, Phil. Thank you for that.
So.... was all that backbiting necessary?
Kirby
On Nov 6, 2008, at 7:40 PM, Phil Edwards wrote:
Hi all - Mark Lawd has asked me to post this to MOPO.
I can take no responsiblity for its content, it's simply offered from
someone who
has supplied information/knowledge that might be useful in the discussions
on this poster.
Phil
*******
I am unable to post directly on MOPO currently but need to address some of
the matters raised on this thread.
I bought Bob B’s ET “bike” poster years ago but had to have it re-backed in
a more archival manner. Therefore the dimensions are likely to have been
distorted. That goes for any backed poster. I still have this poster – a typed
note originally attached to it says "This ET poster was specially created for
Steven Spielberg and we are proud to present this limited edition poster to the
children of our MCA/PAC members".
There are 27 x 41 “bike” posters. Dan R has one. I have one.
Dan bought his one around three years ago from an ebay seller with obvious
but unmentioned studio connections, who had an incredible number of authentic
rolled posters (usually found folded) in great condition from the late
1970’s/early 1980’s that she was selling individually. One of these was a
rolled/unbacked 27 x 41 “bike” poster with a dedication/signature (NOT by
Spielberg). I believe, but may be wrong, that this prompted Dan’s further and
thorough research on the matter. Months later, his findings went up on his
website and his view, which I share, was that there was a very limited first
original printing (27 x 41) – maybe around 100 posters - and a limited second
original printing (26 ¾ x 40 ½) – maybe around 1000 posters. I realised Bob’s
poster was a second printing – although I couldn’t rely on the dimensions being
accurate anymore my poster had the slight printing defect in the right hand
margin that Dan associated with this printing.
A few months later I saw a 27 x 41 “bike” poster with Spielberg’s
dedication/signature - "To George, Always Fly High with E.T., best Steven
Spielberg" on ebay. Of course, 99% of ebay signatures are fake but I had more
than a hunch that this would be a genuine signature on a first printing, given
the quality of the seller, Ken S and the circumstances in which he acquired it.
I won the auction - the rolled/unbacked poster was exactly as described and the
differences between this and Bob’s poster were obvious to see – the 27 x 41 has
very noticeably deeper, darker colours and a right margin without the printing
error.
In September 2008 Bruce H. was selling a 26 ¾ x 40 ½ “bike” poster and he
stated that “there are no 27 x 41 posters in existence”. He amended his
description, which he is always professional enough to do, when I presented him
with my knowledge on the poster although he erroneously added in his revised
description that his poster was from the first theatrical release – the poster
was of course never released in this way despite Christie’s continually
referring to it as having been “withdrawn” in their auctions. I recall checking
Dave L.’s site at the time to see how much he was selling these posters for and
encountered a similar statement to the effect the poster was not printed 27 x
41. A thread then started on this subject on Movie Poster Forum and I believe
Dave subsequently amended his website description as a direct result of that.
In conclusion, my personal view is that there was indeed a very low initial
print run of the 27 x 41 posters and that the majority of these were personally
signed by Spielberg and his close associates and selectively given to a very
privileged small circle of people. I imagine such a personalised gift would be
cherished by the recipients - that is why they are so rarely seen on the market
- my poster came from the deceased recipient’s estate. I believe the second
printing was authorised later for distribution amongst cast/crew and studio
employees – this is consistent with the note on Bob’s poster and someone’s
recollection that these were freely available for staff to take home from the
studio reception. Because of the iconic nature of this image and its importance
to Spielberg I believe a premium should be attached to a first printing over a
second printing although both should be considered original.
marklawd
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