Who Collects Posters?

I've collected some over the years, including 25 Monaco posters. I gave up on those after 2000 when they started looking the same. I've also like Randy Owens works.

 

There's kind of a story behind all of them.The first one is Jean Alesi, and it's signed by him as well as Owens. The second is Prost and Mansell, but isn't signed by the drivers. Those are now hard to find, and when I bought it in 1990 I didn't want to spend the extra $100 for a signed version. The third is Schumacher and Irvine at Monaco, again signed by Owens but not the drivers. I have to mention the last one, which is Schumacher in the Benetton, because I bought it packaged with the Alesi. The two pieces are from '93, both signed by the driver. I bought them from a Speedgear auction, $500 for the pair. The Alesi is one of only 130 pieces (Randy Owens hand-screens limited runs of his works before making posters, which have little value.) and the Schumacher is an Artist's Proof, even rarer, and one of only 20! I met Randy Owens a few years ago in Montreal and mentioned the two pieces and his eyes lit up. The Alesi was on sale for around $800, and he said the Schumacher was impossible to find and that if I ever wanted to sell it, to call him. Pretty good appreciation. With the Monaco piece, it was for sale on eBay but at a ridiculously low price. I asked the seller for some pictures just to make sure it was an actual screening and not a poster print (you can buy those for about $30). It was real, one of 130 again, and I ended up buying it, framed and shipped, for around $100! He's got some interesting newer pieces that I might get. One that I like is of Andretti in the JPS Lotus, signed, commemorating the 25th anniversary of his Championship. There's another one of Jackie Stewart in the Tyrrell that is nice. I'm not normally someone who likes flashier things, but I like the way he uses color, and the pictures don't do them justice.

 

Two replies while I was typing! The Monaco posters are all original. My wife bought the three from 65-67 for me for Christmas a few years ago. Those are the only ones on display along with the '96, which is signed by Schumacher, Hakkinen, Villeneuve and Hill. A decade of Champions! I started buying the Monaco posters about 10 years ago when Speedgear carried them but before they started selling the re-pros. Next thing you know, I had a collection. I've kind of stopped because the newer ones are too generic, and the rest of the 70s are kind of cheesy-looking. A guy near me owns an upscale print and framing shop and he has four originals from the 1930's. They are mint and beautiful and friggin' expensive. I'm thinking of saving up for those.

 

Also, there's www.randyowensoriginals.com