For this blog post our very own Gary Philip spills the beans about investing in movie posters…..

I bought my first movie poster eight years ago. It was a UK quad of Teen Wolf. Why that one? Simply because I couldn’t find a poster of Back to the Future, so Teen Wolf was the next best thing. 007 is my idol and really what I craved was a James Bond movie poster, but they were out of my budget, so I started with Teen Wolf and that was the beginning of my collection.

I continued buying other posters of the movies I grew up with, mostly from the 80s. There are plenty on offer for around £150 each, which is pretty affordable and so a good place to start.

Now, eight years on, I’ve bought around 2,000 posters and sold around 1,200, either to private buyers or at auction. My strategy has changed since that first purchase. At the start my choices were based on affordability. Now I buy in posters which will increase in value so I know I can make money on them. In other words, they are an investment. James Bond, Star Wars, 1950s sci-fi, classic films – those are just some of the genres that are good to invest in.

For anyone looking for tips on how to invest in movie posters I would tell them to buy a poster of a film that they love. A film that means something to them. That’s a great place to start a collection. And then look for posters from their favourite genre (sci-fi, horror, spy thrillers…), or perhaps featuring their favourite actor or director. Having said that, sometimes I love a movie but hate the poster, or vice versa!

Some like to collect posters by artists they admire.  Robert McGinnis is a great example. His name may not ring a bell but his work certainly will. Breakfast at Tiffanys; The Man with the Golden Gun, and Barbarella are some great examples of his work. Very collectable! There is a synergy between movie posters and art. I discovered collecting movie posters through my collection of fine art and also autographs.

So which poster would I most like to own? From Russia with Love UK Quad – my favourite Bond art work. Let me know if you find one!