Well no, Ade, you're right, "envy" that's couched in that way is NOT a good thing, particularly if it induces major clinical depression. I'm think I'm talking about envy based on the relatable feeling that with limited funds, one is limited in the ability to acquire material treasures, however impossible they are to carry to one's grave - and - however irrelevant they become to a person who's dead.
Maybe "envy" isn't the right word. Put it this way, I'd rather be rich and miserable than poor and miserable. I'm neither - but I'm still happy enough without the aid of major hallucinogenics or wine and spirits. As those of us with occasional health problems know, regardless of the material riches we have, e.g., I think of Steve Jobs a lot in this context - we can't buy our health. Without it, material things are objects of desire that will never be as eternal as a "soul," presuming we have one, or even if we don't, then the mere "presence" or "feeling" of those who've passed are still around in some way, e.g., the phenomenon of the living still vividly remembering the voices, expressions and other tics of loved ones since departed - confirms some kind of continued existence, ethereal and wispy though not physical, even if for just a nano-second of thought. Geez, trying but failing not to get too damn heavy nor so self-consciously philosophical about this, but there it is; a pretentious expression of my thoughts about envy and mortality and their relationship to material things. Sorry. -d. Date: Fri, 27 Dec 2013 04:03:02 -0500 From: [email protected] Subject: Re: Italian Apartment and much more.... To: [email protected] Envy is not a good thing ...turn it around and say to yourself "One day I'll have a poster like that...or this." This Never Happened to the Other Fella.... Adrian Cowdry [email protected] -----Original Message----- From: David Kusumoto <[email protected]> To: MoPo-L <[email protected]> Sent: Fri, 27 Dec 2013 5:10 Subject: Re: [MOPO] Italian Apartment and much more.... I agree with you, Adrian, completely! There was a time when I was even more snobby and close-minded than some people already regard me - a time when I only stared at country-of-origin posters - which was in line with my tendency to chase only "first issue of publication or first printings of anything like true first edition books." My "metamorphosis," so to speak - came gradually - first it was my frustration with bootleg Star Wars posters in the 1990s and I swore off of them completely, everything from one-sheets to inserts, leaving only the half-sheet, three-sheet and six-sheets unscathed. So I moved toward Australian daybills because the art was sometimes equal if not better than country-of-origin issues, particularly titles 30-40 years old. I loved their portability did a complete "180" on them regardless of country-of-origin status - and I bought several from dealers like John Reid. Then the Italians creeped into my mind, I'm thinking particularly the Hepburn and Hayworth posters like "Sabrina" and "Affair from Trinidad" and "Lady from Shanghai." Now of course these titles would be sought after anyway, given their Hepburn and Hayworth pedigrees, but the art from these "foreign" posters looked awesome in person. Recently, Bruce H. had a Swedish Citizen Kane for sale. I'm sure most of you saw it - and I felt that this was arguably the best art for this title issued in the 1940s. Not country-of-origin but still handsome paper. The only "slight" downside for me with Italian and French posters is the fact they're on the "bigger" side - which limits their display in large quantities; at one time before our wildfires forced me to liquidate about 95% of my collection, I had nearly 150 posters on DISPLAY (I rarely STORED anything except for the hundreds of lobby and window cards I used to own) - and I know that if I had a few Italians or French grandés hanging on my walls, I would have wanted more of them but wouldn't have had the space to display them. I've got vaulted ceilings in my home, but I don't live in a mansion by any means. As it stood, my collection at its peak just had one three-sheet on display on a 22-foot-high wall - it was from "The Quiet Man" and our glorious Sue Heim framed it for me. Since there are no boxes to ship a 7-foot-high framed poster, my wife and I borrowed a van and drove up to the L.A. area to visit with Sue and then hauled it down to San Diego. Let me tell you, hanging that monster on a huge wall while on a ladder was a miracle by itself. Anyway, back to the Italians; if I had to do it all over again, I'd chase the Italian "Affair from Trinidad" and would have likely adopted the "less is more" approach to collecting for display. Still, I have no regrets because although I didn't have a Ralph DeLuca-type collection, I did have a good mix of popular mainstream vintage titles. I envy guys like DeLuca all the time. -d. Date: Thu, 26 Dec 2013 06:47:49 -0500 From: [email protected] Subject: Italian Apartment and much more.... To: [email protected] It is extremely interesting reading the comments and thread on the Italian Apartment poster that Kirby has. In Morrie Everett's last auction there were a good handful of Italian posters that were glossed over and went unsold. In my opinion the Italian movie posters are amongst some of the best art work for the respective films. Italian movie poster artists are the equivalent of the romantic artists of the 18th and 19th century. Often the American and brit artists for these movie posters are quite forthright with just an image of the principal actors and actresses...the Italian artists put a lot more "art" into the posters and yet because the language is not English these posters get over looked - A poster I brokered last year was for Fighter Squadron - it was beautiful - it went to a movie poster collector yet it would have been fantastic in the Smithsonian in the back ground of a P47 Thunderbolt. The art was superb. Now I know historically the Italian's liked to sell a film and many Sean Connery films had 007 like images on films that were made prior to Dr. No when these films had their re releases. It was often the artist that created the image that sold the film. I am very pleased that the US dealers are taking notice of Italian movie posters there are some wonderful pieces of art that are far more attractive than compared to the US or Brit paper. This Never Happened to the Other Fella.... Adrian Cowdry [email protected] Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
