Houdini 1953 (60's re-release) Australian Daybill Poster

Description

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New Zealand's premier supplier of authentic film & movie posters from around the world.
We only sell genuine theatre used material from the 1940's to the present day and have over 12,000 sought after titles and designs yet to be listed. With in-depth knowledge gained from over 20 years of collecting, we can help you find the perfect piece so you can avoid having to navigate the minefield of reproductions and reprints that are flooding the market.
Although somewhat bland in appearance, material for this Tony Curtis hit is much sought after, particularly by fans of the subject himself, Harry Houdini or magic.
We are unable to find another example of this poster to date it from, however it is highly likely this is from a 60’s re-release of this 1953 movie, although we do not know for sure. As with most re-releases the publicity budgets were significantly less than that of the original releases, therefore the quality of the advertising material was greatly reduced and more often than not 'dual-tone' daybills such as these were printed. Having far less appealing artwork than the original releases these daybills were often discarded, therefore they are often hard to track down.
This poster was discovered in a recent collection purchase from the estate of a deceased collector, who through his hoarding manage to save many hard to find posters and lobby cards from being thrown out by local Wellington (NZ) theatres from the 1950's - 1980's (see image).
As you can see from the photograph, this daybill is in nice condition with the main points of note: the usual two fold lines, scattered creasing, edge dings, patchiness/splattering to the print which differs between each daybill due to their individual (and somewhat crude) printing and some foxing marks/dots to the lower left side. Please also see the image for some of the flaws and the grading guide below for more information.
GRADING GUIDE
When listing a poster we use the guide below to provide you with a fair assessment of the posters condition. Please bear in mind that this is genuine ?theatre used? advertising material and it will inevitably show some sign of use and its age.
MINT
:
To achieve this grade a poster would have to be totally flawless, no markings or creasing of any kind whatsoever (inclusive of oiling fingerprints on high gloss examples). It is highly unlikely you would find a poster that has truly achieved this grade.
NEAR MINT
:
A poster that is virtually unused. This is generally the highest grade that you will find film posters listed, this allows for minor edge dings and creasing to the surface.
FINE
:
A poster showing light wear. It will show signs of use, such as pin/staple holes to the corners, edge dings/creasing, surface creasing/marks and minor wear to the fold lines.
VERY GOOD
:
A poster that is well used but still very presentable. It may exhibit minor border staining, surface wear, discoloration, slight fold separation, small tears, increased level of fold wear compared to Fine and minor paper loss. For older posters, there may also be minor bleed-thru of the stamp or writing applied to the back of the poster.
GOOD
:
A poster that is heavily used, which can have significant tears, an excessive number of pin/staple holes, significant fold separation and tears, tape or tape marks to the front and repair tape to the rear. There may also be staining/soiling, discolouration or light fading.
FAIR - POOR
:
A poster with very significant use/damage, which would require extensive restoration to achieve a presentable appearance, or even a possible candidate for cannibalization to repair an identical poster of a higher grade.