We handle, purchase and sell only original, authentic movie advertising material. This is our guarantee to you. If we even think a poster is a reproduction, re-strike or a bootleg, we won't sell it. Period. Not to you, not to anyone. It simply isn't worth the hassle. We hope to provide you with all the information you need to make an intelligent decision whether to purchase, or not, based upon the condition as accurately and clearly as we can. If you need further information or additional photos prior to making a decision to buy, just ask and we'll send you detailed photos or further descriptions. 

Screenland Moviepaper

Condition Grades

Mint - An unused poster, almost as pristine as when initially printed. Exceedingly difficult grade to achieve.

Near Mint - Unused or carefully used, but showing some minor signs of age or storage wear. The folds on the poster should be clean - that is standard and not considered a flaw for pre-1980's movie posters.

Very Fine - Movie poster shows minimal signs of wear and usage with no pin holes, fold damage or paper loss. The image area should be clean and bright, the paper supple, not brittle.

Fine - A poster in average used condition. Movie poster might show pinholes in the corners, edge wear, small tears on edges or image area and minor discoloration.

Very Good - Below average condition due to being heavily used, but with little paper loss. Paper may show slight stains, soiling and larger pinholes in corners and small holes in the image area proper. Movie poster may also have defects such as light ink markings, tape on the back of the paper and substantial border damage. A poster in this category may be a restoration candidate.

Good - A very heavily used, worn and brittle movie poster. Paper may be missing chunks of paper, show heavy dirt, water stains and/or significant discoloration.

Fair - Heavily used as above with tape on verso or on front of poster with a substantial number of holes in poster, especially in image area.

Poor - Poster may have substantial paper and ink loss. A poster that has been heavily water damaged, or has been heavily stained. A poster with foreign material in substantial amounts, such as paint or marker on front or back of the paper. A dry mounted movie poster or one that has been laminated would fall into this category.

General Information on Movie Posters

NSS Number. On U.S. posters, typically on the bottom right corner, you may see a number like this: 64/261. This number was issued by the National Screen Service, providers of theatre trailers and print ads, to identify the year of the film's release (in this instance, 1964) and the release number for that year. This is sometimes mistaken as a limited run number, so no, you do not have one of only 261 posters struck, but you do have a U.S. 1 sheet poster for the 1964 Beatles musical "A Hard Day's Night", NSS #64/261. From time to time studios such as Universal for example would bypass the National Screen Service and supply advertising material directly to theatrical exhibitors, so in such instances, these posters would not carry an NSS number. Further, U.S. posters with an "International" designation, designed for use in English speaking markets outside the United States usually did not have NSS numbers.

R followed by a Date Year. Again on U.S. posters, when a movie was re-released, the National Screen Service would generally provide an indication of that on posters by placing a capital 'R' before the NSS number - for example, R79/355. Usually a re-release poster is less desirable than the original release poster, though there are exceptions. Often, re-release posters would feature a totally different design with superior art work. The R on these numbers do not indicate that the poster is a reproduction.

Double Sided. With the advent of light box poster displays at theaters in the late 1980s, posters began being printed in reverse on the back of the paper so colors wouldn't appear washed out. Double sided posters are attractive to many collectors because they are more difficult to bootleg. Prior to the late 1980s posters were typically single sided and folded.

Folded/Rolled. Before the 1990s, movie posters were generally machine folded at the printing plant prior to delivery to theatres. They were shipped to cinemas folded and sometimes in the same metal cases that held the reels of the film print. Folded American 1 sheets usually had one vertical and three horizontal folds. Since the 1990s however, most posters are no longer folded and are now shipped to theaters rolled.

Conservation or Linen Backing. The process of reinforcing and stabilizing a poster by using acid free adhesives, rice paper and light cotton canvas as backing for the paper. A "linen backed" poster is one that has been professionally mounted on linen, a reversible archival process. A poster may be restored during this process though it is common to back the poster without touch up or restoration of any kind.

Restoration. The process of returning a movie poster to its original look by replacing missing paper and/or ink using conservation practices mentioned above. A badly damaged poster can be restored to it's original look, though depending on the damage, the process can be time consuming and expensive. A restoration of even poor paper done by an experienced poster restoration artist can deliver remarkable results. That said though, any movie posters we offer that have been restored, even if it involved only a slight touch up, will be mentioned in the description. A poster in Poor to Good condition does not suddenly become "Near Mint" simply because it has been restored or backed on linen. In such instances we would describe such movie paper as "Good condition restored on linen" and then detail the work that had been performed. Screenland Moviepaper does not perform restorations or provide linen backing services, though we highly recommend Jaime Mendez of Oceanside California for such work, and if you have material for linen backing, we can arrange the details and logistics for you, even if you didn't purchase the poster from us.

Movie Poster Sizes

U.S. Poster Sizes:

1 sheet - 27"X41"is the standard size poster used in U.S. theatres. Posters struck prior to the 1980's were usually factory folded. Since the 1990's standard U.S. 1 sheets are generally sized at 27"X40" and are usually rolled.

30 X 40 - 30"X40" with blank space on side borders, printed on heavy card stock and usually rolled. This format of poster was usually found at drive in theatres.

40 X 60 - 40"X60" generally printed on heavy card stock and usually rolled, not folded. This format of poster was usually found at drive in theatres.

3 sheet - 41"X81" and usually printed in two sections, which would be glued or taped together. From the 1970's on, 3 sheets were often printed in one piece. 

6 sheet - 81"X81" and generally printed in 3 or 4 sections. The sections would be glued together and displayed in theatre lobby or pasted onto a large wall outside the venue.

1/2 sheet - 22"X28" - Half sheet posters were usually printed onto card stock. Often the image on half sheets would differ from art on the corresponding 1 sheet for the same film. Often found factory folded prior to the 1980's but considered more desirable if rolled.

Insert - 14"X36" and on card stock. Like Half sheets, often factory folded prior to the 1980's but considered more desirable if rolled.

Window Card - 14"X22". Printed on cardboard or card stock. Window cards have 4 inches of blank space, usually at the top of the poster, to allow theatre owner to imprint play dates and show times. Window cards were designed to be used in grocery stores, barber shops and other local businesses to advertise attractions at the local cinema. A window card with the negative or blank space trimmed off is less valuable than an intact card.

Lobby Card - 11"X14" - Printed on light card stock, Lobby Cards were usually issued in sets of 8 cards. Often (but not always) the first card of the set would be a "Title Card" with art work similar to that found on the poster for the film along with 7 "Scene cards" consisting of stills of scenes from the film. If a set did not include a Title card it would simply consist of 8 Scene cards.

Subway - 59"X45" with a "horizontal" format used in urban mass transit systems. Sometimes referred to as a Two Sheet.

Door Panel - 20"X60". Door Panels usually were issued in sets of four or more and would consist of art or photos of the movie's stars in character.

Sizes, Other Countries

Italy:

Locandina - 13"X28". Italian movie poster, equivalent to American Insert poster. Often there is blank space at the top of the poster used for indicating show times.

2-Foglio (due) - 39"X55". Standard sized Italian movie poster.

4-Foglio (quattro) - 55"X78" and usually printed in two sections.

France:

Petite - 15.7"X23.6" - size may vary slightly from measurements I've indicated.

Affiche - 23.6"X31.5", sometimes referred to as "Affiche Moyenne" or Medium Poster.

Grande - 47"X63". Standard sized poster in France and issued in one piece.

Double Grande - 63"X94". This poster usually is found in a "horizontal" format issued in two pieces.

Japan:

B0 - 40"X58". Rare format sometimes referred to as a Two Sheet.

B1 - 29"X40".

B2 - 20"X29" Standard Japanese movie poster and the most popular sized poster found in Japan.

Belgium: 

Standard - Size may vary from 14"X 19" to 22". Layout can be horizontal or vertical. Pre-1945 size is usually 12"X17".

1 Sheet size - 24"X33". Before 1939 this format was commonly sized at 25"X34".

Large size - 33"X67". This format was used issued prior to World War II.

Germany:

A00 - 46"X65".

A0 - 33"X46".

A1 - 23"X33". This is the most common format for German struck movie posters.

Poland:

Polish posters vary in size and quality of paper used but are usually found in these sizes.

16"X22".

23"X33" - Standard size until about 1977. Similar to German A1 poster.

26"X39" - Standard size from about 1977 until the mid to late 1990's.

27"X40" - Current size of standard Polish movie poster.