Poster Girl

You've just moved to a bigger pad - huzzah! But you're now surrounded by empty walls - boo!

Do you (a) proceed with haste to Habitat's 'hello, I've go no imagination' art section, (b) go gallery-tastic in search of exclusive works which quite frankly you'd have to sell your body to afford, or (c) invest in original vintage posters which scream 'fabulous, stylish, meeee!'.

Mmmm, decisions, decisions.

Between you and us, we'd be heading for vintage poster heaven. So here's a few of our favourite hot spots....

55 MAX

Londoners should check out 55 Max's slick new showroom for vintage film, theatre and music posters. All are original vintage prints (no reprints or reproductions) with most being linen-backed - which is preferable for preserving and framing. They'll even try and track down rare posters for you too!
Contact: Gallery @ 6 Lonsdale Road, Queen's Park, London NW6. Tel: 020 7625 3774. Concessions in Selfridges, London & Birmingham. www.55max.com

PARIS POSTERS

Loads of super-cool originals on this extensive Ilinois-based site! Choose from vintage fashion, chic gallery show posters, French travel and beyond
Our Faves:
Image 1: Victor Brauner poster (artist: Brauner Victor) 1960s, price $320. Image 2: Musee Galliera poster (artist: Minaux) 1972, price $250. Image 3: Roland Petit Ballet poster (artist: Niki de Saint Phalle) 1966, price $380
Contact: Lynn Rosenfeld on 312 324 0068 www.parisposters.com

AT THE MOVIES

A Brit website that will satisfy any film boffin! How about a cool Japanese poster of iconic '60s film Blow Up? Or perhaps a more high-brow 1940s film poster marking the beginning of Italian Neorealism?
Contact: www.atthemovies.co.uk

POSTER GROUP

A vast online gallery of vintage advertising posters most of which originate from Europe.
Our Faves:
Image 4: Cachou Lajaunie poster (artist: Cappiello) price $3600
Image 5: Cadum poster - price $3200 by artist: Villa
Contact: www.postergroup.com

BLANKA

Edgy little site offering a handful of original film and music posters
Contact: www.blanka.co.uk

VINTAGE POSTER WORKS

Original vintage and antique posters spanning 1870-1960s, covering travel, American advertising and entertainment.
Our Faves:
Image 6: Claudio Villa record poster (artists: Loris De Rosa) 1949, price $550
Image 7: Excursions en Normandie poster (artist: Alo) 1920s, price $750
Contact: www.vintageposterworks.com

INTERNATIONAL POSTER GALLERY

US-based gallery selling well preserved original ad posters. Also for sale online.
Contact: 205 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116 www.internationalposter.com

Good for you as well-preserved original vintage posters have an excellent investment potential. The past 10 years has seen them increasingly recognised as significant artworks in their own right, with prices skyrocketing for rare posters. 55Max use the example of a Goldfinger British Quad poster costing £8 not so long ago, and now they estimate it selling for £3,000!

Good for the environment as it's arty farty recycling!