8mm Forum: Unusual Find

This is topic Unusual Find in forum General Yak at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on August 22, 2017, 03:11 PM:

From my home town newspaper in Wales:

Scores of large format movie posters – dating back to 1939 and discovered underneath the carpets of a house are to be auctioned next month.

Some of the posters are giant 10-foot high bill-board-sized formats – designed to be pasted up in separate sections to form a composite image.
The prints – all originals – feature some of the biggest names of the era including director Alfred Hitchcock, Laurence Olivier, Henry Fonda and John Wayne.
Although – or, perhaps, because – they had been used as carpet underlay, they had been, (more by accident than design) preserved in perfect condition.
The discovery of the posters was originally made in 1985 – when the home of an un-named former cinema executive was undergoing building work and the then 45-year-year-old carpets were being taken up. The collection has been kept a secret ever since – that is until now.
One of the posters promotes Alfred Hitchcock’s second Hollywood feature “Foreign Correspondent” in 1940 – and Stagecoach – the 1939 film in which John Wayne made his name.
Other titles include the 1937 production “Fire Over England” starring Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh.
The auctioneer’s are auctioning the collection in 70 separate lots in September but the collection is so rare no one has been able to come up with an estimate of what they’re worth.

Posted by Burton Sundquist (Member # 5813) on August 23, 2017, 12:18 AM:

Thanks for sharing the article Paul, I hadn't heard. It Will be interesting to see some of these Gems when they go up for auction, as I am sure the media will be covering the story.

Posted by Dave Groves (Member # 4685) on August 23, 2017, 03:52 AM:

Hadn't seen this reported anywhere. Just hope my carpets last 45 years!!!

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on August 23, 2017, 09:55 AM:

My first reaction as well Dave. Obviously, those carpets were never even shampoo'd in 45 years! But what an incredible find for someone. They could be sitting on a gold mine.

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