This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
It wasn’t until Star Wars was released in 1977 that people began expressing interest in owning original movie posters. Posters were originally produced purely as advertising, so even the major studios rarely saved posters of their films.
Posters from the 1920s or earlier are almost nonexistent today because theater owners would send them along to the next theater. But the Los Angeles Public Library has wrangled a collection of vintage posters (dating as far back as 1913) for the public to see. We gathered some of our favorites that take us back to Hollywood's Golden Age, including 1916's Daphne and the Pirate or 1933's Murder in the Zoo.
