The Art and History Of
Film Noir Posters

A wide variety of classic film noir posters are available to buy online. The colorful, dynamic artwork is reminiscent of the covers of pulp detective and crime novels of the 20's and 30's, from which many of the film noir stories were born.

Though the movies were black and white, the posters were rich with color. An exception was "Kiss of Death", which had an all black and white poster.

The distinctive artwork characteristic of these posters was paint based, rather than photography based, as movie ads are today. The results are colorful, striking and captivating.

These posters were usually made by a creative team, where one person created the concept, the next person did the drawings, and still another person did the wording.

Perhaps ten thousand or so posters were printed out at the time of the film's release, and then they would make the theater rounds, increasing their wear and tear.

If you want to decorate your home or office with one of these beauties, AllPosters.com has a wide variety of classic noir posters for sale at great prices. These are reproductions, which is why you can get them so cheap. Reproductions look as good as the real thing, but aren't collector's items, so are not as valuable as the originals.

Click here to view our Film Posters Store.

You can get the prints framed and/or mounted or neither. You can also view your choice online with various mats and/or frames before you decide.

One of these would make the perfect gift for a fellow noir fan.

For the serious collector who will pay more for an original vintage film noir poster, there are some other places you can look. (see list below). Many of these are restored pieces.

It is only in the past 10-15 years that movie posters have become a highly desired commodity amongst collectors, shooting the prices right up into the thousands. Various collectors have their own desired specialties, focusing on a specific actress, or type of tag line.

For originals, the price can vary widely, based on the condition, how rare it is, and demand. These points are even more important than the quality of the image in determining price.

Places To Find Original Movie Posters For Collectors

The Motion Picture Arts Gallery
New Jersey
www.mpagallery.com

Reelposter Gallery
London
www.reel-posters.com

The Hollywood Poster Exchange
Los Angeles
www.hollywoodposterexhange.com

Jerry Ohlinger's Movie Material Store
New York
www.moviematerials.com

Other possible sources include Christie's of Los Angeles and Sotheby's of New York.

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