Belknap Cinema Posters Collection

The collection contains cinema posters and lobby cards. The majority of the posters are for individual films, with a small portion of the collection devoted to film festivals. The posters span the history of the film industry, from a newspaper insert for the 1916 D.W. Griffith silent epic "Intolerance," to a mini-poster for the 2017 blockbuster hit "Wonder Woman." Many of the major studios and production companies are represented: the posters advertise productions from 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers, Universal Studios, and Paramount Pictures, among others. The majority of the films are American productions, although there are a small number of posters advertising European films as well. All genres are covered, from action and science fiction to drama and romantic comedy.

Each individual poster has a description. The description generally includes the title of the film, the measurements of the poster, the year the film was produced, the production company, and the lead actors, screenwriter(s), and director(s) who worked on the film. Where possible, specific terminology for film posters based on size is utilized. For example, "one sheet" is a common industry term for posters measuring around 27 x 41 inches. The collection includes one sheets, mini-posters, newspaper inserts, and more uncommon sizes such as the half sheet. When evident on the poster, a tagline for the movie has also been included in the description.

The posters have been arranged alphabetically by title, and placed in folders. There is a separate folder for the film festival posters and other posters that do not necessarily advertise an individual production; there is also a separate folder of signed posters. These signed posters are part of a Joseph and Amy Federman gift-in-kind donation (2016), in memory of their son, Alex, who collected the posters (see aquisition information for more details).