Thanks Bruce! What fascinating stories.
It must have been heartbreaking for Frank to sell his posters on account of his health! Just another reason for "Universal" health care! OK, OK, let's not go down that path! I wonder if we would have ever seen a Caligari poster in person if it hadn't been for that astute theater owner! Glenn On Mon, Apr 13, 2020 at 7:27 PM Bruce Hershenson <[email protected]> wrote: > Glenn, > > To get back to your original question, certainly a leading candidate would > be the man who consigned the wonderful collection of serial one-sheets I > auctioned in my Auction in 2001 which was contained in my book, To Be > Continued (see all the images online at > http://www.emovieposter.com/agallery/publication/To%2520Be%2520Continued.../archive.html > ). > > The owner, Frank, who was still alive, had bought the one-sheets himself > (starting as a teenager) between 1932 and 1952. He got them from the San > Francisco poster exchanges. The people there were not supposed to sell them > to non-theater people, but he got to know them, and they did the kid a > favor, and over the years he because a regular! > > He kept them in incredible condition, and he is one of the only long time > collectors who resisted the temptation to sell any of them as the prices > rose. When he contacted me at the end of 2000, he said he was having health > issues, and that otherwise he would never sell. > > He said one thing that stuck with me. When I told him the kind of money he > would likely get (which was surpassed when the posters auctioned) he was > amazed. He said there had been one "old guy" at the exchanges who kept > telling him that he was "throwing away his money" buying the posters, and > that he should do ANYTHING else with it. He said he wished that old guy > could see how much money they were worth in 2000 (but of course that guy > was surely long gone). > > So not only did Frank start in 1932, surely making him one of the earliest > collectors ever, but he also solely bought as a collector, and did not get > a huge chunk to start out with, as so many collectors do. And he held onto > them for 68 years (for the oldest ones) so he surely qualifies as one of > the longest term collectors too. > > And of course there was also Charles Dyas, who started his collecting in > 1921 (with his TWO Cabinet of Caligari one-sheets), but he was a theater > owner, and he saved ones from movies he showed, so i don't know if he > counts. But he DID also keep all his posters until the late 1980s, when he > passed away, so he was another super long time collector. > > And there was the other theater owner who bought a trunk filled with 1930s > posters in 1946, including The Invisible Man and Dracula, and he held those > until he consigned them to me in 1998, yet another really long time > collector. > > And there were others, but those are for another time! > > Bruce > > On Mon, Apr 13, 2020 at 7:00 PM Glenn Taranto <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> Hello All - >> >> OK, Admittedly too much time on my hands... >> >> Have any of you ever wondered (or know) who is considered the earliest >> know poster collector? Forry Ackerman, perhaps? >> >> I can just imagine some kid standing in front of a Paramount theatre and >> staring at a Metropolis one sheet wishing they could own it. >> >> GT >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> To unsubscribe from the MoPo-L list, click the following link: >> https://listserv.american.edu/scripts/wa-american.exe?SUBED1=MoPo-L&A=1 >> > > > > > <http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail> > Virus-free. > www.avg.com > <http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail> > <#m_-1949630328613488896_DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2> > 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.
