Understanding Poster Signatures

Buying an original poster can be a confusing task. Galleries are infamously known for throwing around confusing and complicated terms to make you believe that they are in possession of divine knowledge beyond your comprehension. Knowing the signature-terms can help you avoid common pitfalls and save you a terrible amount of money. To buy even more posters, naturally.

Signed by hand (the big one)

A poster is hand signed when the artist himself/herself put a pen to the paper and signed it with their name. Hand signed posters are rather rare, and the prices non them is set accordingly. Often the artists included a date with their name and sometimes they included a unique dedication ("to Jim"). If the dedication is historically meaningful ("to my friend Michael Jackson") the price goes up, if not it could take some time finding the right Jim.

Signed in the plate (the little one)

Posters are plate signed when the artists signature is printed onto the poster. If a poster is signed 'in the plate' or 'in the print', it means that the artist included a signature when creating the original image. This signature was then transferred to the printing-plate and printed onto paper many times. As the poster is technically signed, it tends to demand a somewhat increased price.

Not signed (the none)

Poster with no signature at all are the most common. These are often called unsigned or not categorized by signature at all. Unsigned posters does not demand a discount, but are valuated depending on scarcity and condition alone.

We sincerely hope this article was able to answer one of your most frequently asked questions. If you have a questions regarding one of our posters or about posters in general, feel free to write us, and we will try answering it as best we can.