From the Collection of Professor John E. Hawkinson, a local art teacher, this is one of three lots in our current November, 2018 auction featuring professionally mounted, linen-backed movie posters. Hawkinson was well-known on the collectible memorabilia show circuit as a specialist in restoration and linen-mounting of posters. These conservation backed pieces of cinema ephemera are more than just movie posters, they are historic cinematic treasures in a format convenient for dressing up your home theater, den, office locale or wherever you should choose to place them. An accepted preservation process, linen-backing is appreciated by advanced collectors in the know. During this process, the posters are mounted to linen, which can be reversed if desired, then cleaned and de-acidified, serving to preserve the colors of the poster and creating a vibrant piece of movie art that is suitable for long term display. While this professional process results in captivating display, it does not eliminate the original compacting folds that were created at time of issue, though these fold lines are fairly unobtrusive to display. To view the other two lots of this type, please see our Americana: Movies & TV category.
Yahoo! Film fans make a big roundup of these original Western and Thriller movie posters. Offered are (8) professionally mounted linen-backed posters from the 1940s-1960s. Two of the most popular and enduring film genres, Westerns and Thrillers are true Hollywood staples, assuring continued demand for these vintage promoters. Blessed with thrilling images of the “Wild West”, the exotic Jungle, the fast-paced world of horse racing and a plain old fashioned murder, this collection forms an instant gallery for the vintage film buff, with:
1950 “Belle of Old Mexico” 41x81 three-sheet with full-on “Belle” Estelita Rodriguez livening up the scene
1952 “Marshall of Cedar Creek” 41x81 three-sheet with star Allen “Rocky” Lane
1952 “The Toughest Man in Arizona” 27x41 three-sheet poster from a film that is as tough as its title with popular “Oater” Vaughn Monroe billed as “The Idol of Millions”
1954 “Ghost Riders of the West” 41x81 three-sheet poster from a film originally released in 1946 as “Passage Rider” starring Monte Hale and Thundercloud; this captivating poster gains great attention for its fantastic Native American image
1955 “Fighting Chance” 41x81 three-sheet with great artwork from a film about a thoroughbred race horse with Rod Cameron and Julie London
1955 “Jaguar” 27x41 one-sheet, another captivating piece that sees often typecast Indian actor Sabu return to the jungle for some thrilling action
1957 “The Last Stagecoach West” 27x41 one-sheet from a film that is exactly what the title suggests, a thrill ride on a stagecoach through territory fraught with perils; oh, if only John Wayne was here
1960 “Portrait in Black” 41x81 three-sheet from a big-time thriller with a formidable A-list cast led by Lana Turner, Anthony Quinn and Sandra Dee, this gripping tale of murder with a surprise twist was the last film for notable Chinese-American actress Anna May Wong