"I love Classic Polish Film Posters: database, info, images"

2022-05-16 06:59:13

Classic POLISH FILM POSTERS. Database, informationabout & images of Polish film posters This site covers the work of 426 known designers of 7163 film posters with 4229 uploaded images (so far). It contains a database of Polish film posters and a number of browsable sections, as shown on the navigation bar above and as described below.As much as I'd like to (eventually) provideall available information on all Polish film posters everprinted and every artist who ever designed one, my emphasis is on the best period of the mid 50s to early 70s. Polish film posters practically ceasedto exist at the end of the 80s, having been replaced by standard issue foreign ads. All these are absent from the database. The site is about posters rather than films, so my primary concern is to provide the most completeinformation available on each individual poster : its designer,date, existing versions and variations, circulation, rarity andvalue. I also tried to identify original films and find basic info for each title.The most valuable information comes from theposter itself. While there are some variations in actors' ordirector's names spelling - especially in the earlier works -the artist's signature, date and circulation numbers are indisputable.If there are no such markings (or a poster to read it from),a variety of sources often made identification possible.First in importance are "Roczniki filmowe" ('Film Annuals'): an erstwhile monthly Polish trade publication that dealtwith all films entering distribution. Apart from actors' photos and reviews of upcoming premieres, it often also showed (or atleast named the designers of) posters for them. The only unreliableaspect was the sometimes-inflated, intended poster circulation,usually greatly reduced in actual printing.Posters could also be dated by censorcodes - a series of numbers printed at the (usually) bottom edge - very reliable method if applied to the Nowogrodzka 64-A (Warsaw) printing house output, but useless with others (Lublin, Gdansk, Kielce). Then there are various albums and show fliers, official artist biographies, etc. etc.Still, authors of 168 posters remain unidentified (listed in database as "Unk"(-nown), and 45 others (pre-war) as "Anonymous". Some more are missing such basic data as the country of film production (7), year(2) and original film title. Another 23 are dated by approximation. Get the Flash Player to see this gallery. Site map :- database: search fields are : artist's name, poster (=Polish film) title, original film title & country, poster date (usually same as Polish film release date) , original film release date, director, cast, poster size and type of print, circulation, price, producers and additional remarks. - artists : start with the full list of all 424 names showing the artist'screative period and a number of film posters designed. Thereare lists for a particular decade ("50s", "60s", etc.) and "available images". I have also included highly subjective "classic" and "undervalued" categories. Since the work of many poster designers spanned several decades, you'll find some names repeated. Each name is linked to a corresponding individual poster pages page containing a brief CV and a table of all authored posters, grouped by the year of the poster's design (not the movie release date) & Polish title (with original film title if a well-known classic). The third column lists size, signature info (if any) and the country where the film was produced / film's original language. Titles in bold type are available forsale / trade.From there, further links lead to biographical page containing a brief CV and a table of all authored posters with pictures and additional information (exact size, circulation, value of poster + original film title,producer, director, actors and the year of original film release).If more than two images by a particular artistare available, the "bio" page has a link to an individual "gallery" of all available images of posters designed by that artist, all linked back to their separate pages.- gallery: pages are divided by years, decades(with groups of posters by different artists from a given period),as well as "classic" and "undervalued" categories.The yearly section ("1956", "1963", etc.)could be a good place to see the trends for a particular time.The decade sections ("50s", "60s", etc.)are more of a 'best of' presentation. The "classic"is the 'best of the best' and "undervalued" is a self-explanatory,albeit highly subjective category.- country: for films from a particular country, or - in case of coproductions(especially of frequent French / Italian) - the film's originallanguage- theme section might appear a bit whimsical with subsections like'fear' , 'love' and 'dream' but it also has 'erotica'..- genre: drama, comedy, animated, adventure, western, costume, sci-fi,action, thriller, horror, documentary and war.- the other browsable sections : directors, titles(Polish and original)& cast are limitedin scope to the most famous names / titles; for a complete searchby these and other criteria (producer, release date, poster date,etc.), please use the database.- glossary: for abbreviations and a sample table please look up this page.- site search: by keywords.- what's new: updates, new photos, events, etc.- links: list of galleries, databases, collections and other sites dealingwith Polish posters.- forsale / trade : the most current list; in general, any of thetitles in bold print from artists' pages are negotiable.Polish poster design overview :A lot of patronizing drivel had been writtenabout the 'Polish School' of poster design being a 'product'of a 'resistance to Communism' or some such (and by extension,of an overwhelming desire to breathe free under learned guidance of a Drumpfster and First Ladyboy Melanie, Leaders of the Free World). That view, espoused by Westernwriters who don't know any better, and Polish ones (who shouldknow better) has been more or less omnipresent. No matter that theidea of art as an expression of political circumstance is parexcellence a classic communist one.In fact, quite the opposite seemed to happen: free from commercial stranglehold, these artists produced brilliantworks over an extended period of time. A lot of talented peoplefound themselves in the right place at the right time. Like anyartistic movement (or 'school'), it had its own dynamics, peaksand valleys. Indeed, some of the most accomplished works werepolitical (pro-socialist). And now the fact that Polish filmposter is dead (and had been so since shortly after 1989 when "freedom dawned", and more to the point, film distribution was privatized) is further evidence of that. The censorship debate seems irrelevant; aside from some agitprop films, it's hard to argue that the men with scissors had much to concern themselves with. One exception was the 1948 to 1954-55 period, when actual presentation mattered and "modernistic" style was frowned upon; even then however "social-realist" images were few and far between.The results this hands-off policy produced were often brilliant, sometimes dreary and self-indulgent, often mediocre, but seldom boring and - as a rule - deeply personal. The uniqueness of Polish film posters (and to a lesser degree, theatrical ones) lied in the fact that for 3 decades the artists controlled the content and form of an ad. It allowed unprecedented freedom of expression, created new sensibilities and divorced the medium from immediate and often depressing concerns of their Western counterparts : who gets the top billing, what font is approved and which side of Johnnie the Star's face is better than the other. It might have well been the longest period in modern commercial art history that the keepers gave away the key (albeit in a limited and marginal market), with consequences even now. The essence of Polish poster school was a desire to create a graphical synthetic view of an idea expressed by the advertised event. Waldemar Swierzy summed it up so : "Here's how I understand the idea of ​​the poster: ... the theatrical poster has to be a synthesis of two hours, because it can not be told as in the theater, where we have the two hours sitting in comfort in the warmth. The poster is looked at in the passing, in the rain, in winter at the bus stop, in the crowd, so it must be only a signal, suggestive character for the passer-by to register.." The golden decade of Polish film posters,from approximately the mid 50s to the mid 60s was preceded bythe pioneering work of a trio of artists in the 1940s. Henryk Tomaszewski, Tadeusz Trepkowskiand Eryk Lipinski were the original graphic designers commissioned in 1946 by Film Polski (a State film distribution monopoly) to design film posters. Their work soon revolutionized this particular form of advertising. Rather than use the stereotypical images of movie stars and exclamation points, they employed a whole new arsenal of graphic interpretation to convey a shorthand essence of the film. Two terrific early (1948) examples are : Tomaszewski' Citizen Kane and Ostatni etap by Trepkowski.In 1948 the political climate changed, Social Realism was introduced and other styles were severely restricted.Few works from the 1949-1953period retained the high standards established earlier. In the meantime though, more designers were drawn to the field : Wojciech Fangor, Waldemar Swierzy, Jan Lenica,Jerzy Treutler, Roman Cieslewicz, Wiktor Gorka, Jan Mlodozeniec,Julian Palka, Franciszek Starowieyski, Jozef Mroszczak, WojciechZamecznik - to mention the absolutely essential names. By 1955the Stalinist policies were history and - with the restrictions gone - the field exploded with brilliant, classic works.The golden period extended until 1965, more or less. Designs from the late 60s, while by no means regressingto the corporate hack of Hollywood, generally lack the freshnessand boldness of the earlier pieces. At the same time, the varietyof styles widened. Many new designers brought with them theirown vision, spanning the spectrum from the lyrical impressionisticstyle of Maria Ihnatowicz, to the pop designs of Andrzej Krajewski;from the cyberpunk montages of Ryszard Kiwerski and Maciej Raducki,to minimalistic expressions of Bronislaw Zelek and MieczyslawWasilewski.In the mid-70s to mid-80s, the "PolishSchool" of poster design was suffering from atrophy of freshideas. Apart from the works of few artists who basically continuedthe previous trends, most posters from that period seem uninspired.In the 80s, the designs became politicized, with hardly any newdesigners entering the field. Some interesting trends emerged,signified by some works of Stasys Eidrigevicius and Wieslaw Walkuski,but overall quality of designs went rapidly downhill.Then came 1990 and the State monopoly ended.Suddenly the distribution of movies in Poland was taken overby Warner, Paramount, etc., and the Polish poster as we knewit ceased to exist. Nowadays, most films are released with thesame sort of ad display as in the US - essentially a photo montageof stars with approved typeface. Very few designers try to continuetheir work, rarely issuing a very limited series of posters (300to 500). These are never displayed on the streets but are soldin galleries.the way it worked Money not usually being their main consideration*, the artists strove to show off and the pool of talent was large enough to assure artistic quality. Of the 7000 + Polish film posters, at least a quarter could be described as very good, "awesome", 'cool' or whatever the vernacular of the times. Indeed the overall standard (despite some duds from the 70s and 80s) was consistently high. * the economy of the field in socialist Poland is a subject for another article. It will not be too gross a simplification to say that poster artists, while well paid, could not hope to get rich by producing more, since commissions were divided more or less equally. Posters provided recognition leading to other work, making quantity less important. The established designers who had the first pick of titles were constantly nipped at knees by young upstarts who delighted in the opportunity for their work to be showcased in public places all over the country. The seniors were accomplished enough to command artistic respect though. The process was self-policing and here's how Zuzanna Lipinska - daughter of Eryk, one of the Founding Fathers of the movement - described it : "I worked as poster designer in Poland in the early seventies, mainly designing film and theatre posters. To become a film poster designer as a young art graduate, you had to become a member of the Artist Union, to start with. Then get your name on the list of potential designers and attend the screenings of the films, before they were released. After each screening, you put your name down on the list of people who saw the film, and then Mister Rog, who was responsible for giving commissions, would choose the designer." "The designer would be given a set of films stills. Obviously American, French and Italian films were more popular and the screenings were crowded. If the film was very well known, the commission was given to a well known designer, even without him having to attend the screening. We, young unknown artists, were left with Bulgarian, Romanian and similar films, but every opportunity to design a film poster was thrilling." "We had 2 weeks to do it. Posters were produced in 1:1 scale. In most cases the lettering was done by hand." "So once the poster was done, it was presented in front of the panel of 4-6 well known poster designers and they would either accept it or reject it. Sometimes they would give a "distinction" if the poster was very good - which meant an additional 50% on your fee. A fee for poster design was just below a monthly average salary in Poland, so it was quite good." "Sometimes they would ask for some corrections and changes. Sometimes they would reject it all together. All this was necessary to assure a high level of the design. If it was totally rejected, a new project was presented in a week." "In case of Polish films, the directors often would choose a designer themselves to do the poster, and they had the final word." "Posters were mounted or done directly on a stiff background, so they could be displayed in front of the judging panel. Each designer was given 10 copies of the printed poster. I am talking here about late 60s - early 70s - afterwards things were different." Despite the plurality of styles the posters shared a common characteristic : rather than ads they were a variation on a theme, an interpretation, a commentary. As an ironic reaction of sorts to so many 'arty' designs, there was even a short-lived, tongue-in-cheek trend with posters deliberately stylized to resemble Hollywood playbills. It is hard to speculate whether this form of advertisement was more effective than the garden-variety kind. For one, no pressure existed for the exclusive State distributor to push one film over another. The system worked by word of mouth and the typical blockbusters (Westerns and swashbuckling capers in the 60s, big war movies of the 70s, action thrillers of the 80s) would find their clientele no matter what the poster looked like. Many posters for the likes of "Guns of Navarone" were quite pedestrian; or ironic, as befitting a serious artist in need of a challenge presented by more sophisticated films or, perversely, by unwatchable ones. In fact, the best posters were often for very obscure titles. Of course, "2001", "The Birds", the whole Westerns collection, could suggest otherwise, but in the end it wouldn't matter. Selling or not, it was not the main concern. It is arguable whether "The Cabaret" would have a bigger audience if it was advertised with Lisa's 2 legs instead of four, or if the fact that the film was a huge hit had anything to do with any promotion or lack thereof. There was one exception though : the horrors. While pretty tame by today's "Centipede" standards, they were a novelty then and the posters reflect the fascination. Some designs for the genre by Krajewski, Kiwerski, Zelek and Karczewska would fit on the streets of then-New York as well as Warsaw. .. nowadays.. For a medium increasingly divorced from street presence, Polish posters enjoy an unexpected following lately and are being rediscovered in strange ways. On this (rather serious) site, there are more hits from art blogs than from anywhere else. One such net article: "50 incredible film posters from Poland" might have done more to popularize the subject than any show in MOMA. Then there's a blog which lets you design your own Polish movie poster, with the added benefit of hilarious machine translation. Another challenges the viewer to "match the Polish poster with the film" and comes complete with priceless comment section. As long as the kids are having fun with them, they live.. The imagesI included first are of (subjectively) the best posters, evenif by more obscure artists. The 50s through the early 70s figuremost prominently here. Worth seeing are works by many lesser-knownartists, who nevertheless deserve much better recognition. Checkout the undervalued link in "gallery" for some wonderful surprises.Which leads me to ..Prices :Price / value info (at individual posterpages) has been compiled from many commercial galleries &auction results for each individual title. Some posters (especiallyindicated in bold print) are available forsale / exchange by individual enquiry."Recent price" : most current offeringby any gallery or recorded auction price"Value" : subjective evaluationbased on collector value (artwork, rarity, particular interest,prevailing prices of similar works by the same artist, film status,etc.)"+" indicates rising valuePolish posters didn't fare too well in theWest. Due to lack of commercial interest in the early period,these works were virtually unknown outside of Poland. Most werereleased in small, 3000 to 12000 first runs (4200 - 8000 average),with only a few ever seeing additional printings. The great majoritywere used for actual advertising and very few found their wayto private collections. There was no way of buying these worksanyway; they had to be obtained from a friendly theater manager(or a guy who'd put them up on public billboards).As a result, most are extremely hard to find.I personally know of no more than 40 large private collectionsworldwide, mainly in the US, Poland, Japan, UK, The Netherlands,Germany, Switzerland and France. Paradoxically, the rarity makesthem wonderful collectibles : cheap because not well-known, yetwith prices nowhere to go but up. There is no surplus of theseclassical works in Poland or anywhere else in the World.Prices vary from $100 - 250 (inexpensive,mostly 70s and 80s posters), to $250-500 (moderate, 60s and some50s works of the better-known designers), $500-1000 (expensive,well-known pieces of very well-known designers), $1000-7500+(the best-known, rare individual titles). In each category thereis enormous growth potential. Most Polish film posters remainon the cutting edge of poster design even now, and are not justnostalgia pieces.The best works should reach the $10 K rangewithin a decade, and an average price may easily quadruple. Rightnow, they are still a bargain : at a 4-8-98 Sotheby's auction,a Swierzy "Midnight Cowboy" poster sold for $690, wellbelow its replacement value of $1800-2200. A Fall 1999 Christie'sLondon auction brought £450 ($900 ) for Anczykowski's "Kanal"poster, listed at $2000 by a New York commercial gallery in 2003.These works are in the "expensive" category. A galleryin England lists Zelek's "Ptaki" ('The Birds")1963 poster at £1500 ($2900+), and in NY it could be hadfor $ 3500. Ditto Janiszewski's "Moulin Rouge" 1955poster ($4500), and Swierzy' "Sunset Boulevard" ($7500+).These are exceptions. The bulk of Polishfilm posters are sold by commercial galleries in the $150 - 350range. Check out links fora list of some such establishments. Most of these vendors arenot well versed in the subject. On the many dealers' Internetsites spelling mistakes are the rule, posters are misdated andpresented "all over the place", without any chronological,thematic or logical order. Many (especially US) collectors seektheir favourite movies and/or stars, which explains sometimeswildly diverse prices. As an example, a wonderful 1958 A1 sizereissue of 1948 "Ostatni etap" Trepkowski poster listsanywhere from $800 to $2600, depending on the knowledge (or lackthereof) of the gallery appraiser. It should be worth at least$4000 within several years.Collecting tips / things to avoid :1. Stick to the golden age (mid 50s to late60s / early 70s) and pick a favourite designer(s) or a theme.Some artists continued their best efforts well into the 70s andbeyond, but generally : late 60s seem tired, 70s - flat and uninspired,80s - repetitive and boring and the 90s nailed the coffin shut.Anything pre 1955 will be worth having, if only for serious trades.2. Almost all collectible pieces are in theA1 format. Some of the 40s original well-known B1-size classicshave been reprinted in A1 in the 50s, and these second runs areactually more valuable. The format switch occurred again at theend of the 70s, and - almost without exception - all the 80sand 90s posters are B1. It'll be years before the (very) fewof these will gain real value - now they are just wallpaper.3. In the 80s, the matte paper on which mostearlier posters have been printed was substituted with cheapglossy stock reminiscent of the Western "movie posters".Also, there was a logo switch, from the earlier "CWF"to "Poltel". Stay away !4. In addition to the above no-no's, a presenceof English, French or German titles (sometimes coupled with theabsence of Polish ones) is an indication that the poster wasintended as a promo for foreign release, usually in the 80s,always in the B1 format. These posters are generally much lessvaluable than the Polish originals.A sample list of the most sought- after, classic Polishfilm posters :ANCZYKOWSKI : Kanal 1957,BACZEWSKA : Il Cappotto 1957,Elena et leshommes 1958,Porte des Lilas 1958,BODNAR : Marianne de ma jeunesse 1958,Sleeping Beauty 1962, Old Yeller 1961, BOROWY : NarzeczonaDzigita 1955, Siamo donne 1957, BUTENKO Trenotti d'amore 1964, Pleinsoleil 1969; CHERKA Faibles femmes 1961; CIESLEWICZBroken Arrow 1957, Adorablescréatures 1958, TheFallen Idol 1958, Ludzie iwilki 1959, Krzyzacy 1960, Mieszkanie nr 8 1961, Taxi for Tobruk 1963; CZERNIAWSKI3 Days of Condor 1978; DABROWSKI Sonsand Lovers 1963, Cléo de 5à 7 1964, The Hill 1966,Cul-de-Sac 1967; EROLStar Wars 1980; FANGORAu-dela des grilles 1952,Maclovia 1955, MyTeenage Daughter 1958, CarmenJones 1959, Love in the Afternoon1959, Niewinni czarodzieje1960; FLISAK RomanHoliday 1959, All in a Night'sWork 1963, The Firemen's Ball1968, Cable Hogue 1972, Day for Night 1974; FREUDENREICH AmericaAmerica.. 1965; FRYSZTAKLipstick 1961, AKind of Loving 1963; GORKALa Bigorne 1958, Tamango1959, Ludzie i bestie 1963,Kwaidan 1966, SweetCharity 1970, 2001 : A Space Oddisey1973, The Cabaret 1973; HEIDRICH Spellbound1960; HIBNER TheMill on the Po 1957, LesAmants de Vérone 1958, TheIdiot 1959, Rocco 1962, TwoWay Stretch 1963; HILSCHERL'Affaire Maurizius 1957,Torrente Indiano 1957; HOLDANOWICZ The Running Man1966; HUSKOWSKA IlLetto 1957, Muerte de un ciclista1957, L'Idiot 1958, MariaCandelaria 1959, Black Orpheus1960; IHNATOWICZ Hud1965, Night of the Iguana 1967,The Night of the Seagull 1972,Le Temps de mourir 1972,The Last Picture Show 1974,Don't Look Back 1977; JAGODZINSKIMoulin Rouge 1957; JANISZEWSKI Archimede1960, Champion 1961, DrunkenAngel 1961, Jewdokia 1962;JANOWSKI Ivan'sChildhood 1962, The Mountain1962; JAWOROWSKI AnInspector Calls 1956, The Misfits1962, The Rebel 1962;; KIWERSKI Lordof the Flies 1969, Rebel Withouta Cause 1970; KLIMOWSKITaxi Driver 1976, TheOmen 1977; KRAJEWSKIOn the Beach 1967, ATrap for Cinderella 1967, Sanjuro1968, Woman x 7 1968, LaCurée 1969, The PinkPanther 1969, Max et les ferrailleurs1972; LENICA RioEscondido 1954, The Wages ofFear 1954, Maxim 1956, LaStrada 1956, Il Bidone1957, Kanal 1957, Ascenseurpour l'échafaud 1958, LaGrande illusion 1960, Le Million1960, Knife in the Water 1962;LIPINSKI Ulicagraniczna 1948, Background 1958,Le Notti di Cabiria 1958, The Paradine Case 1959, All About Eve 1960, Meand the Colonel 1961, Yojimbo1962, Le Bonheur 1966, Cleopatra1968, Planet of the Apes 1969;MLODOZENIEC LeFruit défendu 1959, L'Imprevisto1962, Pot-Bouille 1962,Barbarella 1970, Dodes'kaDen 1971, Klute 1973, TheConformist 1974; MROSZCZAKAmici per la pelle 1958,The Moor of Venice 1961; NEUGEBAUER LetsMake Love 1965, My Geisha 1965,Harper 1970; OPALKALe Bossu 1961, Serengeti1963; PAGOWSKI Platoon1988; PALKA LesEnfants du paradis 1954, Romeoand Juliet 1961, Comicos 1965;PROCKA TheGetaway 1965, The Sting 1965;RADUCKI LaVerite 1962; RAPNICKILe Mepris 1966, BusStop 1967, Rodan 1967; SROKOWSKI TheGhost Goes West 1954, HuckleberryFinn 1962, Son of Flubber1964; STACHURSKI SittingPretty 1958, High Noon1959, The Horse's Mouth 1959,The Snows of Kilimanjaro1959, 7 Samurai 1960, TheWhite Sheik 1960, The Sheepman1965, The Time Machine 1965,A Patch of Blue 1968; STAROWIEYSKIDas Feuerzug 1960, Jeude massacre 1968, OperazioneSan Gennaro 1968, Les Creatures1969, Un Bellissimo novembre1970; STRYJECKI Drogana Zachod 1961, The BadSleep Well 1963, Viridiana1963, The Small World ofSammy Lee 1964; SWIERZY08-15 1957, SunsetBv 1957, 400 Blows 1960, Matka Joanna od Aniolow 1961,Adam's Rib 1962, The AfricanQueen 1962, Billy Liar 1964,Midnight Cowboy 1973; SYSKA QueenChristina 1964, Monkey Business1965, Zorba the Greek 1966; SZAYBO TheDiary of Anne Frank 1961, TheMistress 1965; TOMASZEWSKIBlack Narcissus 1948, Citizen Kane 1948, Bellissima1951, Ditta 1952, Hellzapoppin'1959; TREPKOWSKI Ostatnietap 1948; TREUTLER Stagecoach 1961, AChild is Waiting 1965, TheVikings 1966, Los Golfos1970, Five Easy Pieces 1974;WASILEWSKI ThreeWomen 1978; WENZEL ThatHamilton Woman 1957, Marty 1957,Donnez-moi ma chance 1958,Rebecca 1959, Shane1959, The Bachelor Party 1960;ZAGORSKI Hiroshimamon amour 1959, Yesterday'sEnemy 1962; St. ZAMECZNIKCzlowiek na torze 1957, Il Grido 1960, Coneof Silence 1961, One-EyedJacks 1963, Whatever Happenedto Baby Jane 1965, The BattleshipPotiomkin 1967, 100 Rifles1970; W. ZAMECZNIK Lotna1958, Sommaren med Monika1958, Pociag 1959, ANight to Remember 1961, Mondocane 1964; ZBIKOWSKIYoyo 1966, CloselyWatched Trains 1967, Red River1967, Deadline USA 1970, Tristana1971, The Graduate 1973; ZELEK The Birds1965, To Kill a Mockingbird1965, Hunger 1967...... and bargains :Almost anything by the following artistsis very likely to be a bargain : Baranowska,Bochen, Bodnar,Butenko, Cherka,Dabrowski, M.Heidrich, Janczewska, Janiszewski,Jaworowski, Karczewska,Kiwerski, Koscielniak,Krajewski, Mann,Niklewska, Srokowski,Stryjecki, Syska,Szaybo, Wasilewski,Zagorski and Zbikowski.Even the works of such well-known names asBaczewska, Flisak,Gorka, Hibner,Hilscher, Huskowska,Ihnatowicz, Lipinski,Mlodozeniec, Opalka,Stachurski, Swierzy,Treutler, Wenzel,St. Zamecznik, W.Zamecznik and Zelek tend tobe very undervalued (apart from a few individual pieces).About the only posters realizing their fullvalue now are the posters of Cieslewicz,Fangor, Gronowski,Lenica, J.Mroszczak, Palka, Starowieyski,Tomaszewski and Trepkowski.Sizes :Many posters, especially before 1954 andafter 1980 were issued in the B1 (26.4" x 38.4" = 67x 97.5 cm) format, as opposed to the standard A1 (23" x33" = 58.5 x 84 cm) size. As the latter is easier to manageand most of the best works were issued in A1 anyhow ( even somereissues of the original B1 posters, such as "Citizen Kane"or "Ostatni etap"), they usually command higher prices.During the "Golden Age" of 1955-1965 , virtually allposters were released in the A1 format, with occasional A2 (16"x 23" = 40.5 x 58.5 cm) and B2 (19.2" x 26.4"= 48.8 x 67 cm) versions.There were also some oddball sizes, suchas narrow vertical (rarely : horizontal) strife : half of A1(11" x 33" = 28 x 84 cm) or 1/2 of B1 (13.4" x38.6" = 34 x 98 cm); B2 square (about 20.5" = 52 cm+ variations thereof); and A-0 (double A1 = 117 x 84 cm) consistingof 2 standard size (usually vertical) parts, that - combined- form a horizontal banner-like poster (such as Lenica's "Krzyzacy"or Zamecznik's "Lotna" and "Pociag"). Theseare very rare and highly collectible.Polish posters sizes( scale 1:20 ) :. A1 vertical A1 horizontal 2 x A1 vert.= A0 horiz. 2 x A1 horiz. A2 vertical A2 horizontal B2 vertical various square formats B1 vertical B1 horizontal 1/2 B1 horiz. 1/2 A1 vert. 1/2 B1 vert. 1/2 A0 vert. Circulation :Most posters were issued in small quantities.Some (especially in the early and mid 50s) had larger intendedcirculation (12000 to 22000), usually greatly reduced at printingtime. Standard runs were : 4200 - 6000 - 8000 - 11500, with mostin the 4200 - 8000 range. Now, often just a few copies survive.These posters were never intended (or available) for sale, beingused all over the country in 1200+ theaters, and stuck on billboards,street fences and advertising kiosks. To obtain a film postersomeone involved in their distribution had to help.Collections :As a result, large holdings (1000+ titles)are surprisingly few in Poland (+-10 private, another 10 institutional).In the US, I am aware of about 15, even less in the UK, France,The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Japan, though thereare a number of small (200-400 titles) collections. Most commercialgalleries have at least a few Polish posters for sale, usuallythe less desirable 70s to 90s pieces in the $150-300 range. Onlya few deal in the truly classic - check linksfor dealers, galleries, etc.This is an ongoing project. Please emailany questions, comments, corrections, suggestions, requests tobuy/ sell/ trade, etc.© TomKuznar 1998-2021Last updated : 15. II 2021enter : high school diploma from home Best Custom Writing