Although I am leaving the contact info up for the Northwest Craft Alliance, I am going to post some info about the selling and buying of movie posters for collectors movie posters for collectors. This is one area which I am very excited about.
Both my grandparents were avid fans of the movies, having worked in the industry on the production end (my grandfather) and graphic design (grandmother(during the 1930’s 1nd 1940’s. They had access to the original movie posters and other movie memorabilia of the very exciting time in Hollywood. After their deaths, my elderly parents asked if I would help with going through all their boxes of original lobby cards, authentic movie posters, original movie photos and film stills, and even some standees and theater displays. I couldn’t get over the treasure trove of movie memorabilia stuff they had collected. Some of their memorabilia was in really good condition, but some needed some restoring.
Seeing all those memorable movies stars: Barbara Stanwyck, Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, Cary Grant, Clark Gable, Susan Heyward, Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Swanson, Ingrid Bergman, John Wayne, Laurel and Hardy, Katherine Hepburn, Lauren Bacall, Judy Garland, and the list goes on was exciting. Many of them were MGM stars which dominated the industry. There were also some amzing strong willed directors Like Frank Capra, Alfred Hitchcock and Howard Hawks who were able to achieve their artistic visoions by battking the studios with their highly regimented filming making. I have always liked to watch the classic movies from that era. Some of my favorites are Casablanca, Arsenic and Old Lace, Key Largo, The Postman Always Rings Twice etc. There were so many great films being made in this time period. Let’s face it, I was hooked on all things movie memorabilia.
There were way too many items for me to keep. I donated some of the movie memorabilia to the Hollywood Museum which has floors and floors of the stuff. In fact they have more than 10,000 authentic showbiz treasures, props and costumes from Silent Movies, the Talkies, Hollywood’s Golden Era, Film Noir, Feature Films, and much much more. The 1930’s and 1940’s are part of Hollywood’s Golden Age so some of my grandparent’s more obscure things were appreciated. Nevertheless, even after framing a number of the spectacular movie posters, neither my parents nor I wanted to catalogue and display all my grandparents’ movie memorabilia. So I finally offered to find someone who could make an accurate art appraisal on the entire movie collection. There was no way I was going to try to sell the stuff online or through an auction place. I wanted a a passionate collector who is a recognized authority on classic movie and music concert posters. I was fortunate that a friend introduced me to such a collector, Ralph Deluca, who it turned out not only was able to give an appraisal, but also handled all aspects of the poster restoration and conservation of the vintage movie memorabilia. He also purchased a number of items and put me in touch with other collectors. So thanks Grampa and Grannie. I hope you would have approved.
Now: the contact info for the:
Northwest Craft Alliance
7777 62nd Ave NE, Suite 103
Seattle 98115
206-525-5926 – phone and fax
Email: [email protected]