Printed Originals presents · tonight only
Bob Peak Colour in motion · original film and fair posters, 1964–1979
Peak painted light on the move: bands of colour, figures half made of brushwork, a whole film in one frame. United Artists hired him for West Side Story in 1961. More than 100 film posters followed.
Tonight’s programme
6.00 pm · Dusk · Flushing Meadows, 1964
The fair, from dusk to dark.
The 1964–65 New York World’s Fair ran for two seasons. Its emblem was the Unisphere, a steel globe built by United States Steel. Peak painted it twice for the fair: once in a rose-red evening, once at night. Scroll from one to the other and the room changes with them.
Early evening · the pink Unisphere
- Sky
- Rose and red, with balloons and a low yellow sun
- Crowd
- A family up close, one of them filming the globe
- Signature
- “B.Peak” printed in white, lower left
- Foot line
- “Unisphere presented by United States Steel”
Night · the blue Unisphere
- Sky
- Violet night, fireworks breaking over the globe
- Crowd
- A dark crowd on green lawn, lights on the water
- Signature
- “B.Peak” printed in dark violet, lower left
- Foot line
- The same United States Steel credit
7.30 pm · Curtain up · Warner Bros., 1964
A musical, dressed in pink.
Peak came to film from advertising and magazines. Three years after West Side Story he painted My Fair Lady for Warner Bros. We hold two European posters from its 1964 release, printed while he worked.
- Rose wash
- Ink line
- Bare paper
Look 1 · Belgium
Credits in French and Dutch, 54 x 36 cm. Printed at lower left: “d’après B.Peak”. D’après means “after”: the Belgian printer credits Peak’s design, set to its own size. This copy was printed for the 1964 release.
Available · from £260.00 · View this poster →
Look 2 · Spain
A landscape format, 39.7 x 29.2 cm. The painting sits on its own pink panel; the title runs beside it in pink on white, with “Mi bella dama” below. “BPeak” is printed at the foot of the art.
Sold · Printed Originals Archive · View the record →
9.00 pm · Reel change · 1973–1979
One film, two countries. Change the reel.
In the 1970s Peak packed several scenes of a film into one poster. Abroad, distributors set his painting in their own language and size. Choose a reel: the US poster and the French poster come up side by side, with what changed.
Enter the Dragon · 1973
The Spy Who Loved Me · 1977
Star Trek: The Motion Picture · 1979
10.30 pm · Close-up · The Spy Who Loved Me, US, 1977
The Spy, frame by frame.
11.15 pm · Signatures
A scrawl in the corner.
Peak signed his paintings with a fast scrawl, “BPeak” or “B.Peak”, so his name is printed into the poster. 7 of ours carry it. 3 show no signature: unsigned originals, printed for the first release. 1 more, Progressland, is unsigned and its attribution is unconfirmed. We have found no hand-signed Peak poster.
Plate-signed
Peak signed the painting, so his signature is part of the printed design and every copy carries it. Normal for his posters; it does not mean hand-signed.
On this poster: “B.Peak” in white script, printed at lower left of the pink Unisphere. Available · from £560.00 · View this poster →
Show all 7 in the archive ↓
Unsigned original
Printed for the original release in Peak’s lifetime, with no signature of his. Still an original: made with the artist, not after.
On this poster: the lower right margin of Enter the Dragon: NSS 73/268, and no signature anywhere on the poster. Sold · Printed Originals Archive · View the record →
Show all 3 in the archive ↓Hand-signed
Signed by Peak in pen on that copy. We have not found one, and none of our listings claims one.
After Peak
Printed after his death in 1992, or a later reproduction. Every poster we hold was printed between 1964 and 1979, in his lifetime.
11.45 pm · The Printed Originals Peak archive
Every Peak poster we have held.
8 available now · 3 sold. All printed in Peak’s lifetime, for the first release or the fair. Sold posters show no price.
Midnight · Collecting
Before the lights come up.
- Size a US one-sheet is about 27 x 41 in (68.5 x 104 cm)
- Number an NSS number in the margin, such as 77/42
- Line a studio copyright line with the year
- Folds ours were folded as issued; ask us about each one
How do I tell an original Peak film poster from a reproduction?
Check the size, the margins and the paper. A US one-sheet of the 1970s is about 27 x 41 in. Ours carry a National Screen Service number in the margin (73/268 on Enter the Dragon, 77/42 on The Spy Who Loved Me) and a studio copyright line with the year. Set those details against a known original release. Ask us for close photographs of any margin.
Did Peak sign his posters?
He signed the painting, so his scrawled “BPeak” is printed into most of his posters. That is a plate signature, and every copy has it. Some foreign printings re-set the art and lose it. We have not found a poster he signed by hand.
What is an advance poster?
A poster issued before a film opens, often with a teaser line instead of full credits. Our Star Trek: The Motion Picture is the US advance, with the line “There is no comparison.”
Why do the French posters look different?
Distributors abroad set the painting in their own language, size and layout. Enter the Dragon became Opération Dragon on a 160 cm grande. The painting is Peak’s; the type and the crop are the distributor’s.
Was it printed in Peak’s lifetime?
Yes, every poster here. Peak died in 1992. Ours were printed between 1964 and 1979, for the fair or the first release of each film.
Condition and framing
We grade condition in six steps and describe every mark (condition grading). Framing is optional, and all our framing is conservation framing (framing original posters).