Welcome to the
Bristol Linen Backing Service.
Proudly backing and restoring posters in the West Country.
High Quality Linen Backing by a small family firm in central Bristol. Est 1970.
All work done "In House". No VAT.
Original Vintage Movie Posters are very collectable mementos, and wonderfully evocative of the classic movies and film stars of not so long ago.
Particularly so because of their major role in publicising the movie when it was actually being shown in cinemas.
The brilliant creativity of the graphic artists who designed them with such flair is rarely matched in this digital age.
But unfortunately most were issued folded up, to be tucked into an envelope to accompany the reels of film on their way from cinema to cinema.
And as the film stock gradually deteriorated from the repeated showings, so too the accompanying posters would begin to show signs of wear and tear by the time the movie got to the end of its run, in a humble provincial cinema, such as my local “flea pit” The Scala, in Bristol.
Consequently, the thin acidic paper often ended up somewhat torn at the edges and giving way at the folds, so that however carefully the collector opens it up and puts it away again, it's just a matter of time before it begins to seriously fall apart. The often tried "Sellotape solution", carefully taping the back of all the failing folds and tears, was a disaster, as after a few years the adhesive started to penetrate through the thin paper, discolouring to a very ugly yellow brown stain.
In later years, posters were issued and circulated rolled up, which avoided the criss-cross grid of folds, but could easily give rise to tears when unrolled without great care.
Particularly so because of their major role in publicising the movie when it was actually being shown in cinemas.
The brilliant creativity of the graphic artists who designed them with such flair is rarely matched in this digital age.
But unfortunately most were issued folded up, to be tucked into an envelope to accompany the reels of film on their way from cinema to cinema.
And as the film stock gradually deteriorated from the repeated showings, so too the accompanying posters would begin to show signs of wear and tear by the time the movie got to the end of its run, in a humble provincial cinema, such as my local “flea pit” The Scala, in Bristol.
Consequently, the thin acidic paper often ended up somewhat torn at the edges and giving way at the folds, so that however carefully the collector opens it up and puts it away again, it's just a matter of time before it begins to seriously fall apart. The often tried "Sellotape solution", carefully taping the back of all the failing folds and tears, was a disaster, as after a few years the adhesive started to penetrate through the thin paper, discolouring to a very ugly yellow brown stain.
In later years, posters were issued and circulated rolled up, which avoided the criss-cross grid of folds, but could easily give rise to tears when unrolled without great care.
Linen backing to the rescue!
Fortunately the process of linen backing can provide a very effective solution to these problems. First it strengthens thin and flimsy paper so much that even Josey Wales would have a problem trying to tear up his own "Wanted" poster.
It also greatly reduces the general unevenness caused by the raised fold lines, giving a much flatter surface. This is particularly desirable when a poster is to be framed, as crumpled and folded doesn't look so good when smartly framed and glazed.
Framers certainly prefer linen backed posters, as they are much easier and safer to handle. And it's only when backed and flattened that retouching to the worn fold lines can be done properly. See the Clint Eastwood example above.
After linen backing posters can be kept flat or rolled up and stored safely in tubes of an adequate diameter. Unrolling is really easy, safe and quick.
We have linen-backed a rare Star Wars poster for a client who takes it all over the world to Star Wars conventions and is able to safely unroll, display and roll it back up endlessly.