HELL'S HOLE ☆ GREATEST PRE-CODE ROARING 20s & JAZZ AGE MOVIE POSTER ☆ BAR NONE!!

Description

* * * * *
THE
SINGLE GREATEST
AMERICAN POSTER OF ALL TIME!
THE
SINGLE
RAREST
TOO
-
IT'S THE ONLY KNOWN ORIGINAL
!
HELL'S HOLE 1924 3-SHEET
Well, here it is! It's your best and worst nightmare, all wrapped up into one great big stone litho package of 1924 original movie poster glory! This is the single greatest American poster [
of any kind
] known to exist worldwide. How do I know this? Simple. I'm alive and have eyes. In fact, as a youth, I experienced that dreaded "nightmare" I'd referenced earlier in regards to not being able to get this poster. Yes, I have to admit, it's true - I literally had nightmares about a poster, this actual poster! Come to think of it, this Hell's Hole 3-sheet is the only vintage poster I'd ever had any kind of an actual dream about. You're probably thinking, "so what," or "big deal," but it is a big deal, as I'm the foremost expert on film posters living within the United States today. I've dedicated nearly my entire life to the study of posters. For decades now, I've been recognized as one of the founding pioneers of the "hobby," or poster collecting "avocation," as we know it today. I've spent over forty
consecutive
years pursuing the greatest lithographs ever produced, and, knowledge regarding their existence. This has been a full-time affair for me, meaning - NO OTHER JOB! Subsequently, I succeeded in obtaining the undisputed best original posters known to exist, including the 1931 Teaser B Frankenstein 1-sheet, the 1927 German Metropolis 3-sheet, both style 1925 US Phantom of the Opera 6-sheets, and, the best original posters on King Kong, Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Dracula, Wizard of Oz, etc., etc., etc., and, on and on and on... Keep in mind, I possessed these originals all at the same time, and so I not only can talk the talk, I've walked the walk. Can you say that? If so, then this poster is probably speaking out to you right now, because it's the best
-
BAR NONE!
If you don't agree, please navigate away from this page and forever hold your peace.
* * * * * * * This poster is not for everyone - It's for people who only want the best!* * * * * * * *
I first encountered this poster thru a photograph sent to me in the early 1980s, when I was just a teenager. A "collector" in Pennsylvania acquired this three-sheet along with some two hundred and twenty odd other original stone-lithographs from the same mid 1920s time period. It was a staggering find, filled with a plethora of classic one-sheets from some of the biggest names of the silent era. There were only a couple of three-sheets in the collection, this one being by far the best. Originally, the fellow sent me a stack of 3x5 Fotomat glossies jammed into a white envelope, which I promised to send back. I poured over the stack for days, as this was the first time I'd ever seen so many rare vintage poster images all at once. Back in the early '80s, there were only two movie poster books available in the United States [
The Movie Poster Book
, and,
50 Years of Movie Posters
], and so almost all of the images he sent were virgin to me. I was in poster heaven. When it came time to send him back the photos, I couldn't bring myself to include the snapshot of this Hell's Hole three-sheet. It was a good 15 years before easy Internet technology or fast digital copying, and so snapshots of rarities were even considered "collectible." Nevertheless, I told him I was determined to work something out and that I needed to retain the picture for inspiration. Boy, was that an understatement!
Over the next several years, I tried and tried and tried, but failed and failed and failed to get anything original from this guy, despite the fact that he'd "claimed" the posters were available. It was very frustrating, as I was never able to pass go on a deal or even put a chink in the armor of the strong hands that were holding this collection. In other words, the guy was a real prick, dangling these posters in front of me in an effort to elicit extensive conversations. I think he was a lonely person. A lot of "collectors" were lonely folk back in the pre-auction days of this hobby. Regardless, it didn't detour me from my pursuit, as this poster was calling on me to acquire it. I'd never had such a reaction to a piece of art or an image before. I had to have this lithograph, as it represented all the things I'd dreamed about as a youth, mainly, living in the Roaring Twenties!
My love affair with the 1920s started as a result of exposure to the classic Hollywood films. It was Public Enemy, Cagney, Bogart, speakeasies, City Lights, gangsters, pretty girls and prostitutes, not to mention, the Jazz Age, fornication and FUN that drew my attention. All that good "bad" stuff that dreams are made of is what my head was filled with. It's what this poster is filled with too. I didn't "have to have" this three-sheet because it represented a particular film favorite of mine. In fact, I'm pretty sure this film doesn't even exist anymore. I had to have it because it represented an entire era that I loved. It still does, better than any single piece of art on the planet! It's a perfect visualization of what we all romanticize about when we think of the Roaring Twenties. However, this is not a "fantasy piece" or a rendering in retrospective. This is the REAL DEAL - a real life artifact from when all that legendary stuff was actually happening - 1924! It even has that date proudly posted at the top of the lithograph, which is a most unusual detail for a poster advertising a movie. It's clear this poster was made to represent the "modern" era in which it was released. In fact, this "modern" extravaganza of an image is exactly the kind of Hollywood imagery that sparked outcries from the Bible Belt and concerned citizens across the nation in the early 1920s. The table-dancing girl - with her leg excitedly kicking through the hole - is more than suggestive, especially, when you couple it with the fact that the whole image area of this poster is designed entirely within a more than overtly phallic black outlined shape! This, again, is a most unusual detail for an advertising poster representing a US film.
PRE-CODE PROMINENCE
In the early 1920s, growing outrage and headline grabbing scandals coming out of Tinseltown sparked a movement to regulate its increasingly risqué motion picture products. In 1922, William H. Hays, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, was brought into the film industry to help the studios "self regulate" a moral code of decency. At great expense, Hays was hired on as the president of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America in an effort to alleviate the public's concerns and to avert the pending legislation to regulate the industry. During nearly all of the first decade of Hays' tenure, the motion picture industry rampantly ignored his advice and suggestions, forcing an official Production Code to be implemented in 1930. Regardless of the official status of the code, the film industry in Hollywood still ignored his attempts to reign them in, as witnessed by the nudity and violence seen in the 1933 release of King Kong. In 1934, Hays clamped down, making noncompliance economically unsound for the studios, and so, as they say - "the rest is history."
This amazing 1924 three-sheet stands today as the undisputed greatest pre-code poster example to have survived from that interesting and most important period of the motion picture industry!
FINAL AQUISITION
I continued to pursue acquisition of this poster for years beyond the initial brick wall I kept banging my head into, collectively enduring many months worth of exhausting calls and repeated nightmares. It became ridiculous and tiresome, and so I decided to give this guy a taste of his own medicine, consciously implementing a plan to extract the poster by wearing out the owner with a killing dose of kindness. This guy wasn't going to be lonely anymore! I called and called and called and called and called and called. And then I called some more. That was my new plan - to exhaust the poster out of him. It worked. I finally was able to guilt him into trading me one poster. I even got the pick of the litter, but only one pick, and so needless to say, I picked the BEST - This Hell's Hole three-sheet.
FINAL DISPOSITION
It's been said "you can't take it with you." It turns out that's not true. You can. Because of my maturing age, and, the awakening reality that I've long since crossed the great dividing line of having lived longer than I'm going to live, I consulted my attorney on the legality of having this poster (and other key items in my possession) cremated with me. Much to my surprise, it's perfectly legal to do so. We drew up the Will and all the legal papers last month, and so the ashes of this poster - along with my charred remains - are going to be sprinkled at the base of the Hollywood sign shortly after my demise. That is, unless someone pays a minimally appropriate price for this poster
now
. After great internal deliberation, I've decided that I'd rather know that this poster is going to remain within my spiritual orbit and control over wondering if some vulturous or bargain hunting collector will dubiously try to steal it from the people handling my estate. I've seen that happen a lot with other advanced collectors who have passed, and so I've recently decided to take binding action to prevent my long-time coveted stuff from falling into a similar fate. To be perfectly honest, that's why I've decided to make this available for purchase now. I've hidden this poster for decades, and now I want the poster world to see it before it disappears, as to create a benchmark for excellence.
I'm certain this piece will spark that "special" feeling inside of another collector. Probably someone (akin to my youthful self) who wants to assemble the greatest poster collection of all time! Perhaps it'll be a person who can justly afford the bargain price that I've put on it. Certainly, in recent years, there've been a number of posters to fetch a much higher dollar amount than I'm asking for this more than remarkable piece. None of those posters have artwork and meaning as hot and profound as this one. That's a fact. I'm not going to argue about it or negotiate the price. The reality is, if this three-sheet fails to find an appropriate home thru this listing, I'll be raising the price in every subsequent post - so don't bother asking if I'll lower it. I won't. You can bank on that. If you've read this far, and, if you're looking to put together the greatest collection of movie posters in the world, and, if you can afford it - THIS POSTER IS FOR YOU! If not, it's happily staying with me forever. If you want this item and can afford it but can't bring yourself to buy it because you're put off by the notion of enriching my life with an abundance of funds, you're just admitting to yourself that I'm bigger than this poster, and so I thank you for that thought!
FORESHADOWING OF BUCK JONES' DEATH!
Remarkably, this poster eerily foreshadows its stars' untimely death at the legendary Cocoanut Grove fire in 1942. Nearly 500 souls perished in that unruly blaze. Buck Jones was reported to have originally escaped from the fiery deathtrap, but in real hero's fashion ran back inside to selflessly rescue others. He died two days later, as the medical team could not save him from his injuries. The true to life ending of the screen idol, and, its connection to the imagery as presented on this lithograph, is a real capper on top of the already more than stellar conversation piece presented by this artwork.
☆
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* * * * * * * This poster is not for everyone - It's for people who only want the best!* * * * * * * *