Greetings, COLLECTORS!  At last! We have a guide to help with your collection and purchase of a Movie Pressbook. 

This is a 1967 Original Pressbook Sample: "CAMELOT" with Richard Harris & Vanessa Redgrave. (Cover of Pressbook).

Pictured here is a classic example of several pages of a Pressbook that was published and provided to the Theater manager -- PRIOR TO 1980's -- so that he/she could market the sale of the Film in the Local theater.

 Inside pages depicting illustrative photographs and storyline details.

 Additional inside pages that have more photos of the stars on set and off and stories about their portrayals and about some of their personal life were used by the Theater Owner to take to the local newspaper to run as "public interest" articles.  Again to promote the sale of the movie. 

 (more inside pages)

WHAT IS A PRESSBOOK???

Before about 1980 most of the selling of a movie was done by a local theatre manager. After about 1980 the selling began to be done by 'nation wide-mass market T.V. advertising' that you see selling todays movies.  In order to sell the film locally the theatre manager usually needed some help in the way of promotions and ideas.

After about 1980 pressbooks no longer were made, but BEFORE that time they were a necessity and they came in all sizes.

 (An Affair to Remember, 1953 Original Pressbook)

PRESSBOOKS were "promotional manuals" that were sent to the theatres BY THE FILM COMPANIES for the purpose of promoting the movie in the theatre where it was playing.

PRESSBOOKS usually contained stories about the movie, how it was made, stories about the stars of the movie and pictures of the stars...all so that the theatre manager could take them to the local newpaper who would then usually run some of them as 'public interest' articles.

 

(Cinderella 1950, Disney/RKO- Inside pages with Sample Exploitation Tips)

The pressbooks would usually have things that the theatre could order to promote the movie...such as imprinted balloons, coloring contest sheets, handbills, records for the music from the movie, the book that was being published and so on. The pressbooks would often show a picture of most of the posters that were available for the theatre to order to place in and around his theatre for advertising.

(Dirty Mary Crazy Larry 1974, 20th Century Fox; cover and inside page)

In order to place an ad for the movie, the manager had to cut the picture of the 'ad' out of the pressbook and take it to the newpaper to be printed; therefore it is very unusual to find a pressbook uncut..  In fact most pressbooks were cut and used and then thrown away, so pressbooks are very very scarce today and are TERIFFIC COLLECTORS ITEMS...especially in UNCUT condition.

What's it worth?

The Movie Pressbook Value can be based on several factors. 

The age of the book.  This can pretty much tell you what 'condition' you might expect with anticipated years of 'handling'.

Older Pressbooks, ones prior to 70's tend to have more pages and more photos and stories and more promotional contests and ideas.  Many of the older pressbooks have more original artwork of the stars.

Has it been cut?  and How much? Uncut is certainly valued at the highest rate.  But keep in mind that a Theater Manager might have had 3 or 4 pressbooks and only cut one word from one pressbook, which means that the book is CUT, but perhaps just a 3/4" cut that is non-obtrusive to any of the artwork or other attributes of the Pressbook.

A 1953 pressbook with a small cut that is in Excellent condition otherwise, not frayed at the edges, torn from the spine or marked is a great value -- even with the small cut!!!

Is it an Original? or for the Re-make?  Just as in Movie poster pricing, original vs. re-make makes all the difference in value / pricing.

Advertising Supplements or, Promo Inserts Included?  From time to time a movie production company would send the Theater Owner updates to the movie.  If a movie won Oscars, or was even nominated -- special inserts were mailed out so the Theater Owner could update his advertising.  Are these included in your package?  They can add value to the original pressbook.  Sometimes a movie could have up to 4 extra Supplements.

 

. . .and just how much should you pay?

AS such, there is no RATING or Grading system for purchasing a MOVIE PRESSBOOK, such as in purchasing Original movie posters.  But, a seller knows the condition of the book and should certainly describe it honestly.

Cut?  Folded? Frayed?  Stained? Marked?  How many Pages?  Any Photos of the stars?  Articles about the stars?  Is it for the original movie?   Are there additional Promotional Inserts?  How old is it? 

A great base value is to look at the price of an original movie poster.  A Pressbook should run less in price equivilent to it's condition.  i.e.,

Poster = $19.75 MINT CONDITION

Pressbook = $12 plus

How much you pay can also certainly be influenced by your affinity for the movie - or even the actors or characters -- or simply because you collect puzzles which may be a feature of the pressbook!

Buy and Enjoy and Collect!  They are a great way to enjoy your favorite movie or star.