Cinema Retro subscriber Tom Pennock shares with us a rarity
from his 007 movie poster collection.
Like the American 24 sheet billboard size poster, this
great 1965 French 63" x 94" two panel features the classic artwork by
Robert McGinnis and Frank McCarthy that depicts the underwater battle in Thunderball.
When I purchased this poster it was in two 47" x 63" one panel
sections. It was machine folded in 1965 in France at the printers. The printer
was Saint Martin. As with many older foreign
posters, it was very acidic. The most important movie posters in my collection
have been preserved by the late Igor Edelman. He actually invented the process
of linenbacking and deacidifiying posters to preserve them. The paper was very
brittle and there was a slight bit of aging to the paper. The foreign paper was
really never intended to last longer than a normal film engagement. Thus,
posters printed on this paper stock generally should be linenbacked to insure
future stability and to guard against erosion. This process involves using all
"acid free" materials. Mr. Edelman also did a superb job of lining up
the two 47" x 63" one panel sections to form a 63" x 94"
two panel. This poster was also framed archivially as well, using an acid free
mat and buffered acid free foamcore backing. It took me six years to find
someone who could properly frame it. Now the Thunderball French poster
is preserved for the future and with the deacidification, linenbacking and
archival framing. A
nice tribute to my favorite James Bond film of all time- and the crown jewel of
my 007 collection.-Tom Pennock
Cinema Retro responds: Thanks for sharing, Tom. We
have to say we admire your choice of fine art and we're kinda jealous. The
"jewels" of our collection are the old dogs playing poker print and a
velvet Elvis we got at a flea market in Bayonne,
New Jersey! For the uninitiated,
Tom raises a good point. If you have any valuable movie posters, you should
invest in getting them linen-backed. The process preserves the poster and
greatly enhances their value. A great resource site is www.learnaboutmovieposters.com