A Fistful of Comparisons

Most regulars in the hobby know all too well about the "minty white" inserts and lobby cards that have polluted our hobby.  But did you know that the very first repro lobby set we have ever seen that was made to be sold to collectors as originals was made at least 20 years ago, and was a complete set for "A Fistful of Dollars"?  We remember when these sets turned up (supposedly from a "warehouse find"), and we and other major dealers were quick to notice that there were significant differences between these lobby cards and genuine 1967 lobby cards. 

We have seen many sets of these fake cards over the years, but recently we were consigned both an original and a repro of the exact same card, which gave us a rare opportunity to closely examine them side-by-side, and we present our findings here!  Note that, in an extremely humorous added twist, both cards originated from the Collector's Bookstore auction, and the original card has a note on the back which reads, "Len - this card is from our files. Original, Mark, return when you can." (see far below for our conclusions about what that means!).

Below we show various images which detail the differences between the original card and the reproduction card.  Something we cannot picture is the difference in the paper stock between the two cards. It is real clear that the reproduction card is on a clearly heavier weight of paper stock (not as heavy the paper stock used in 1930s lobby cards, but somewhere in-between that and the light weight paper used from the 1950s on), while the original is more like other cards of the time.

First, we provide small thumbnails of both the front and back of an original FISTFUL OF DOLLARS and a reproduction. Each of these four images links to a very large image which allows you to really see the details.
Note: We had to put a black box around the cards so you can easily distinguish the back of the "minty white" reproduction from the background of this webpage!  These repros really are minty white!

The following image shows the reproduction at left and the original at right, but I think anyone can tell which is original without being told simply by comparing the quality of the printing in the words "Technicolor" and "United Artists". It is also interesting to note that the bottom edge of the red background is not in the same location but is off by approximately 1 mm, and so is the copyright notice at the bottom (NOTE: this is not a mistake on our part; the artwork and the printing in the border art are lined up perfectly).

The following image shows the word "Copyright" in the lower left corner of each card. We noticed that on the repro, the notice is shifted left by a couple of millimeters. On the original, it is exactly flush with the left edge of the red border.  In addition, the image is centered on the card differently on the repro than it is on the original (the width of the left and right blank borders is significantly different when the two cards are compared, but both measure 14" wide).

There are many subtle differences in the NSS disclaimer in the lower right. We illustrate one of these in the "e" of "Licensed". In the original (shown at top), the "e" clearly has white space in the top of the letter. In the reproduction, the white space is almost completely gone and only barely discernible by magnifying the letter many times.
    In addition, I noticed that the original has a red line along the bottom edge and the repro a blue line.  Perhaps this is an inconsistency in the printing, or perhaps a further sign of the repro being made by a different process.

Finally, a very interesting note is taped to the back of the original card which reads, "Len - this card is from our files. Original, Mark, return when you can." It seems really interesting that the owner of Collector's Bookstore saw fit to not only write "original", but also to  emphasize it with two underlines, and why must it be returned "when you can"? And isn't the first name of the mysterious Professor Powers "Leonard"?  While only circumstantial conclusions can be drawn, it sure seems quite possible that this was one of the cards that was the source for the reproduction lobby set!