Fake Japanese James Bond posters

ppw3o6rppw3o6r Great BritainPosts: 2,280MI6 Agent
I touched on this subject previously when I discovered Japanese B2 or single panel James Bond posters had been copied but in the last couple of days I came across this "honest" listing on eBay where it is now clear that the much rarer STB or two panel posters are being copied, in this case a 1972 reissue for Dr.No. The original STB 1960's posters like the US door panels were printed in very small quantities and can command serious prices, in some cases thousands of Dollars on the collector's circuit so I guess the time had to come when these would be forged:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/James-Bond-007-Japanese-Dr-No-Reproduction-copy-movie-poster-Japan/333111555179?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D56924%26meid%3D12e6890ece7942f98d103feef5a281aa%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D264235816851%26itm%3D333111555179&_trksid=p2481888.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3Aace3d687-459f-11e9-89db-74dbd180372f%7Cparentrq%3A778aaf471690acc76a4a78e6ffe9b887%7Ciid%3A1

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Like the British quads, there are ways to tell if a poster is original or not and this is how. First off providing the poster has not been backed turn it over with the art work facing down. Because of the type of paper stock which was available in the 1960's you should see bleed through of the printed image on the other side. Modern copies are printed on a stock which allows no bleed through. Remember posters were originally pasted to advertising panels both here and in Japan so the paper needed to be thin and light enough to allow this to happen. Japanese STB posters were sent out to movie theatres tri-folded horizontally not rolled where British quads were sent out to cinemas machine folded. Old paper smells like old paper. Hard to fake that.

I had a recent conversation with a well known West End poster dealer regarding in particular the large amount of British quad posters which have surfaced for You Only Live Twice. These posters always appear to be on a thicker, glossier paper stock and are sometimes rolled. They sell for big big Bucks! What I told him was a revelation to him and it is this. As I've already mentioned here British quad posters were sent out by National Screen Services machine folded however in 1989 National Screen Services did not print the UK posters for License To Kill. They were printed by The Vintage Magazine Company in Soho, London. Part of the deal they had with the distributors was they would be permitted to reprint some but not all of the back catalogue of UK Bond quads. They retailed at the time for around £7.50 each. I know this because I purchased two of them instead of buying an original quad for £30 from the newly opened Forbidden Planet in St Giles Circus. It is these posters which are frequently turning up on a leading US poster auction site & yes I have told them all this but I honestly think they do not believe me stating "other established poster collectors have told them UK quads were printed on different grades of paper stocks!" ...No they were not!

Please take this as Gospel. I have been collecting Bond posters for over 40 years and I've learnt a thing or two in that time.

Donk -{

Comments

  • danjaq_0ffdanjaq_0ff The SwampsPosts: 7,283MI6 Agent
    Good info as always Donk :x
  • Sir MilesSir Miles The Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,924Chief of Staff
    Excellent details - thanks -{
    YNWA 97
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