Poster Restoration - A Primer

When is it a good idea to have a poster restored?

By Jon R. Warren

Jon Warren is author of Warren's Movie Poster Price Guide and other books for collectors. He can be reached at jon@iguide.net.

What is linen-backing? How much does it costs? Where can I get it done? How can I get my poster repaired? These are some of the most common questions collectors ask. I'll attempt in this article to give you a quick rundown of what poster restoration is and provide you with a couple of names of restorers that I have dealt with and trust. If you read this and know of other poster restorers who are trustworthy and have good turnaround times please email me at jon@iguide.net.

Restoration is the process of repairing, cleaning, and mounting on archival material. Most collectibles have experts who provide this service and specialize in a particular category. In movie posters, we have experts who specialize in all sorts of processes and poster types. The most common service is linenbacking, where your poster is mounted on a sheet of archival material for the purpose of flattening out the folds and making it easier to display. The preferred material for mounting posters is linen, although you'll frequently see Japanese Rice Paper used also. Whatever the material used, make sure it is museum quality. And make sure the mounting process is reversible. This means asking that a water soluble glue or paste be used rather than a permanent adhesive.

Professional restoration experts are rarely self taught. Most have learned the processes in college, where courses on museum-quality preservation of rare documents is taught. Be wary of self taught restorers unless you have seen their work and are impressed by it.

Restorers can work miracles. I have seen "before and after" examples that make you realize no matter how poor the condition, a poster can be saved.

The cost of restoration varies from expert to expert, and depends on the work needed. If all that is needed is simply to mount the poster on linen, the cost can be quite affordable, ranging from $30 to $100 for a normal one sheet. Of course, larger posters cost more, but smaller posters don't necessarily cost less to mount, because of set-up costs.

To replace missing pieces, or repaint damaged colors, expect to pay an hourly rate of from $50 to $100 per hour. Ask your poster restorer for an estimate before giving your approval to do the job.

Another question to ask is how fast will the work be done. Horror stories of waiting a year or more for the return of a poster are common. If the restorer is booked up, he should be honest and tell you so.

I'm frequently asked to recommend a restorer. I have no financial interest in any of the people I mention here. I can state that I have never heard horror stories about any of the companies mentioned below. Still, don't take my word as gospel, always ask the questions and get estimates regardless of who you are dealing with.

Recommended Restorers:

Ted Eiseman owns Funny Face Productions. Funny Face specializes in archival mounting and restoration or rare movie posters, as well as other rare paper items including rare maps. They have worked their miracles on many of my posters and I've always been satisfied with both the quality and the turnaround time. They charge $50 to mount a one sheet on linen without any additional work. For repair or color touch up, the charge is $45 per hour. Their turnaround time is about three weeks. Funny Face is in the Boston area. Their phone number is 1-413-268-9215, the email address is artandfilm@cs.com. Visit their website at www.funnyfaceproductions.com. Their mailing address is: TED EISEMAN
FUNNY FACE PRODUCTIONS
147 MAIN ST
HAYDENVILLE, MA 01039-9704
Be sure to tell them that Jon Warren sent you.




J. Fields Studio is another reliable restoration house. They are located in New York City. I've used them as well and have always been satisfied. They charge $43 for a standard one sheet linenbacking job, and $44/hour for repair and artwork. Their turnaround is also around three to four weeks. Their phone number is 1-212-989-4520 and their email address is filmpost@tiac.net.

I hope this article answers some of your questions regarding poster restoration.

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