** Hey all -- thank goodness the weekend's here. After things got heated the
other day -- I just shut MoPo out for a couple of days so I could get some work
done. I've just scanned some of the MoPo postings since my last.
** The good thing about the "Mark Lawd testimony" -- which reads very credibly
to me, by the way -- is that he says he owns both 27 x 41 and 26 3/4 x 40 1/2
versions -- and says both, in his view, are original. To preserve his
investment, however, he says a premium, should be placed on his 27 x 41, given
its rarity and the presence of Spielberg's signature. What he writes makes
more sense than the idea of multiple printings.
** Moreover, when "Mark Lawd" writes that both versions are, in his view,
original -- this doesn't conflict with what I've seen/handled since Comic-Con
1982 -- and it doesn't conflict with what Sue Heim -- who works directly with
Hollywood -- stated, e.g., that every bike poster she's framed, including that
which came from Spielberg's offices on the Universal Studios lot -- has been 26
3/4 x 40 1/2. And then we have Lieberman's statement that while he too, has
never handled or seen a 27 x 41, he was consigned a 26 3/4 x 40 1/2 by a woman
who worked at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM).
** As an ex-news guy, I still have great discomfort with people demanding
anonymity when resolving controversial issues; I don't care where "Mark Lawd"
lives -- but any person reading, for example, a news article about this, would
see a big hole in the story -- if they're never told more about WHO he is. I'm
guessing by the way he spells his words, he lives somewhere in the U.K. If I
worked for a newspaper, my editor would demand I inspect his treasure and take
a photo, while keeping his other personal info under wraps. But I am very
familiar with Spielberg's signature scrawl -- and in something like this --
iron-clad provenance means everything -- INCLUDING the person to whom Spielberg
originally dedicated this poster, deceased's first name and last, his
affiliation, etc. This is the way I go about documenting the autographs I buy
and sometimes sell. Amid a sea of forgeries, it's critical.
** As far as the back-and-forth on MoPo: What I like about this forum, is that
once in a great while -- someone does come forward and things DO shake out
after the heated exchanges. My position today is while most of our top dealers
-- including E.T. nuts like myself -- have astoundingly, never seen a 27 x 41
since 1982 -- I will concede for now they do exist, however scant in number;
and are considered original like the 26 3/4 x 40 1/2s. I'm sure the 27x41
issue will be etched in stone when more than just 2-3 people simply "say, yes
they do exist" -- and images are posted accordingly. "Mark Lawd's" information
is important and feels, in my view, 99 7/8ths complete. It reads logically.
If dealers are concerned about how they would "market" what they have -- they
have the names of people who have sourced their posters to Spielberg's offices,
to ILM and to Comic-Con. This has nothing to do with my ego, Lieberman's,
Bob's or anyone else's -- it's all about, as Phil wonderfully put it earlier
this week -- gathering the best information collectively as a group to sort
things out -- so we can all SHARE it.
-kuz w/the news in san diego.
-----Original Message-----
Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2008 12:40:38 +1100From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: E.T. BIKE POSTER -
WORTH READINGTo: [email protected]
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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