Poster Auction Sales Spark Hope

Nov. 11, 2008  With the current financial crisis still looming large in the minds of buyers, many auction houses have come to consider themselves lucky if 25-35% of their lots are sold. This was not the case this past Sunday at Poster Auctions International, Inc., where the sale, comprised of over 500 lots of rare, vintage posters, reached a remarkable 44%, for a total of $1,300,000. While not the record-breaking totals of the last two auctions held at Poster Auctions International, this solid result proves that even in troubled times “the people’s art” is a strong investment. That said, this auction of over 500 lots of rare vintage posters was still far from ordinary. Of particular interest were two larger-than-life-sized posters featuring the boxers Jack Johnson and Jim Jeffries. Estimated at a modest $1500-$2000, the pair attracted the largest number of bidders, reaching an unforeseen total of $10,925. Also sparking a enthusiastic response from the public was Alphonse Mucha’s rarely-seen poster for Heidsieck Chmpagne, selling for an impressive $63,250. The same price was met by A.M. Cassandre’s poster for Miniwatt/Philips Radio, far exceeding the predicted estimate. Another surprise emerged from the Books and Periodicals section of the auction, where a complete set of Les Maitres de l’Affiche sold for $43,700.  What do all of these results mean, you may ask? Jack Rennert, founder and president of Poster Auctions International, I believe sums it up best: “Global markets may lack confidence in asset values, but poster collectors are fully confident in the value of their posters.”