“History is not about the facts. It is about the context and who is telling the story.” —Prof. Milton Fine.
"Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past." –– George Orwell in his novel "1984."
This severely damaged poster was won by us at auction in the USA against fierce bidding, despite the very poor condition. Poster collectors recognised a true classic Emil Jannings film, based on the famous von Kleist novel. We purchased this poster because it was unlikely that we would find another. It has not, as is obvious, been restored. However, we have had it mounted on linen, which allowed all the small pieces and fragments to be pieced back together as well as could be expected under the circumstances. The overall appearance of this poster highlights the wear and tear and deterioration of lithographic posters through poor storage conditions, war, aging, yellowing, and drying out of the poster paper until it flakes off and disintegrates, unless rescued in time.