Casablanca movie poster sells for world record £365,000

It is the only surviving example of an Italian issue advert for the movie.

Measuring 55.5 by 78.25 inches, the 1946 Casablanca Italian 4 Fogli poster beat the world record for the most valuable movie poster ever sold at public auction.

It sold for a record $478,000 at a public auction of vintage movie posters held by Heritage Auctions in Dallas, Texas. 

Grey Smith the auctioneer’s director of vintage posters, said: “The buyer has just set a world record and acquired what we in the poster collecting world would equate to a masterpiece.

“The stunning artistry put into this poster makes is stand head and shoulders above any paper produced for the film.”

Previous Italian posters for the film have sold for as much as £154,000 and US issues of the poster have fetched £145,000. 

Each of the previous record holders were sold by Heritage Auctions, the world’s largest auctioneer of vintage movie posters.

The poster is the first of its kind to surface in recent history. 

Featuring artwork by Luigi Martinati, the image of the cast of characters is considered the best of the film’s numerous advertisements, Smith said.

The auction on Saturday featured additional rare posters from the film with a half sheet poster auctioned for £50,000 and a post-war Spanish release poster selling for £27,000.