How to frame a vintage poster
Jerry Polizzi · · Updated
A vintage poster is a piece of printed paper, often a hundred years old and often already linen-backed. The frame has one job: hold it flat, keep light and dirt off it, and come apart later without tearing the sheet.
Leave the margins
The blank paper and the printed line at the bottom are part of the sheet. That line is often how you identify the printer. Trim it off and you have a smaller poster and a harder attribution. If the sheet needs a support first, linen-mounting should be decided before the moulding.
Glazing
Ask for UV-filtering glazing. Posters fade, and ordinary picture glass stops very little of the ultraviolet that does it. Museum glass also cuts reflection, which matters on a large sheet in a bright room. Acrylic is the better sheet when the frame is big enough to be dangerous in glass. The differences are in glass, museum glass, and acrylic.
How the sheet is held
The poster should be hinged, or otherwise held, so it can be removed. Pressure-sensitive tape, spray adhesive, and dry-mount tissue are the usual ways a poster gets ruined in a frame. If the glass sits against the ink, condensation can stick the two together. A mat or a spacer keeps them apart.
The mat and the moulding
A mat, if you want one, should be cotton rag, not the brown board that comes in a ready-made frame. A film poster can take a simple black or stained wood frame. A stone lithograph or a gold-heavy Belle Époque sheet sometimes wants a deeper moulding, including gold leaf. Bring a photograph of the wall if you are deciding between them.
If you are not sure the poster has been mounted safely, bring it in before it is framed. The mounting and the frame should be chosen together.
These notes are the advice we give across the counter. They are not an appraisal and not a conservation report.
Questions
Can I use a store-bought frame for a vintage poster?
You can, and many of them put the glass against the ink and a cardboard mat against the paper. That is how a poster stains and fades. A custom frame is cut to the sheet and comes apart later.
Should a large poster be glazed with acrylic?
For a large sheet, acrylic is often the safer glazing, because glass that size is heavy. It should still filter ultraviolet light. Pastel and charcoal are a different case, because acrylic can hold a static charge.
Do I frame the poster before it is mounted?
If the sheet is folded, torn, or too weak to hang flat, mount it first. The frame should be chosen for the mounted sheet, not for the poster still in its folds.