Revenge of the Jedi Poster landed in my lap.

I just acquired a "Revenge of the Jedi" framed poster. I'm wondering how I can determine if it’s real or not. To fill in some background, a friend of mine has had this around for 11 years now. He recently attempted to sell it through local Craigslist but didn't get many bites. He asked me if I wanted it in passing some time ago, but he was interested in selling it. He originally bought it off eBay in 2003 for $600 and then had it framed. And now it’s ended up in my hands. He offered to part with it if I had any PC equipment laying around (I do IT for a living, so I'm always happy to clean out the closet) Lol. I have no reasons to believe its fake, nor do I have reasons to care of its real other than curiosity. I doubt I would sell if it is real. He's just a co-worker of 6 years of mine, if it's fake, I see no reason why he would lie to just give it to me this way. So if it is, he was the one out $600 in the end. I just get a cleaner looking closet and a cool poster dude!

Through some googling, I was able to determine this site;http://www.movepostercollectors.com/MPC_Authentication_Revenge_of_the_Jedi.html

There are some major points detailed there that I will elaborate on my inspection.

1. This is not machine folded as detailed on that website, there are what appears to be some minor blemishes or marks of some kind on its surface (most in the black areas). There is a short vertical 4in ripple that is flattened out. But no folded lines. *although rare, not impossible per site info

2. I'm not able to determine size as it is already framed, I would have to break the "seal" to check size I imagine, is there anything I could check here? When you measure, is it from inner edge or outer edge? *undetermined result

3. I do not have a "cloudy" corner in the lower right. And if it counts the 20th Fox logo has a blue tint to it. *checks out

4. As stated above, I have what appears to be a "dated version with tagline". *this line doesn't directly relate to this edition

5. (Second fourth hah) there are zero faint "copied" fold lines which would indicate a replicated copy of a folded original.*checks out


It would be fun to know if it was real. I'm located in the Tampa Bay area, so if anyone had any tips to get it locally identified that would be great as well.

 

I've got one of the original SW (ANH) posters. In my case I know it's real as one of the projectionists at the theater showing the film was a friend of my then-partner and I got it when the film stopped showing there. I'll have a look in my collecting books later to see if they have anything. (Can't now as I have to go out shortly).

 

Thanks, any help is appreciated. Feel like I need to Live in Las Vegas and drive to Pawn Stars shop. Lmao

 

Well, my books were pretty useless but Googling around got me a couple of other write-ups, one from TFN.

TFN

Original Vintage Movie Posters.

If you are near a major city, you could try Googling to see if there are any places that authenticate collectibles there. Alternatively, a collectors' fair might have something set up.

 

Yeah everything looks legit, just can't do the size with it framed. Tho one of those links showed the size without border, so I might be able to check that with some effectiveness. Assuming that the black border is in line with the edge of the frame. I'll have to see if there's anything local somehow.

Edit: Funny enough, there's http://www.collectiblesgroup.com/about-us/ site located right here in Sarasota, FL. But they don't deal with movie posters, just comics, currency, etc.

 

More info from calling around, apparently a person by the name of Bruce for emovieposter.com was recommended to me by a Local Collectible shop in Tampa FL. Bruce said I could ship him the poster and he would verify its authenticity at no cost other than shipping. I spoke with my friend a little more in detail, I was mistaken about the framing timeframe. Its been framed since 1986 per eBay auction info, my friend never framed it. The frame itself has a tag on the back of it that says CA as the state of framing, not at home now to check the company. Bruce as I spoke on the phone said that if I can find out who the original eBay seller was that he'd know if its one of 3 that are known for fakes. So there's that.

And the story continues!

 

Color me crazy, but I don't see a way to edit after a certain point. Anywho, came back from lunch. My friend bought the already framed poster from a guy in CA circa 2003 off ebay(hes still looking for the actual printed info), who he claimed to have framed it back in 1986. On the back of the frame/poster, there is a tag for "Amsterdam Art" in Berkeley, CA with address and phonenumber etc, however... The business closed down (my research says prior to 2005 through online reviews). The business however operated for 25years, which checks out with the "framing" timeframe.

Back in 2002, the company was possibly going to file for bankruptcy; http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Amsterdam-Art-faces-possible-bankruptcy-2830827.php Looks like the company had multiple stores.

So there's that.

 

Yeah, you can edit posts but it's only for a certain length of time if you're a regular user. I think the default is 30 minutes, which is probably what it is here.

 

Took the time tonight to measure what I could (without removing from the frame). The overall size does seem to match the real posters and the poster does have its white border underneath the frame. Given the placement of the visible edge behind the frame, the proportions wouldn't work out if it was smaller (like the fakes) than 41"x 26 7/8" with how its presented.

The frame parts are by a company called Nielsen, and at the time of framing the frame brackets were at least Patent Pending Lol.

 

Well, although not authenticated, I just found the original owner. The entire back story here and original ebay seller, in no way do I see this to be fake. Everything short of the paper weight has been checked.

Unreal, how this has ended up in my hands :-D

 

I have a pair of the posters plus a boot leg. I got one of them back in 1982 when the Star Wars fan club briefly had them. I got another in the late 90s for $300.