Spies (UFA, 1928). Very Fine- on Linen. German Three Sheet (38" X 84") Max Fleiss Artwork.. ...

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Spies (UFA, 1928). Very Fine- on Linen. German Three Sheet (38" X 84") Max Fleiss Artwork.
Certainly a coveted collectable like few others, Heritage is thrilled to make our first presentation of the only known original release, country of origin German three sheet from Fritz Lang's Spies. Though the director would later refer to it as "a small film with a lot of action," Spies laid the groundwork for several tropes that later films would draw from, such as James Bond's mastermind villains and Hitchcock's famous "MacGuffins." Lang was a master of the German Neo-Expressionism, an aesthetic that clearly transfers over to several poster designs for the director's films, including this bold piece of typographical artwork by Max Fleiss. However, there is a specific reason for this. Once a poster designer himself, it is said that Lang held more control over his movies' ad campaigns than most other UFA directors, going so far as to tear up any illustrations that offended his artistic vision. Originally printed in three panels, the stone litho German three sheet presented here has aged far better than most other posters from its time. It has only had professional touchup to the folds, a few minor chips, small tears at the edges and folds, and a couple of tears into the interior in the lower left background, which have been very well aligned. Some of these issues may still be somewhat visible, and the linen has been trimmed close to the borders and up to the edges in a few places. However, this does not appear to have intruded into the paper. Posters don't get any rarer than this, and silent cinema collectors would be remiss to let this chance pass them by! Note, it has been brought to Heritage's attention that there is at least one more similar poster in the collection of the Austrian National Library, reproduced full-page in the seminal exhibition catalogue "Das Ufa-Plakat" (1998), p. 77.


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