Collection Policy

Poster House actively collects posters that 1) are historically or aesthetically important in the field, 2) support future museum programming, and 3) can be part of the Poster House Living Archive.

The Poster House Living Archive is a collection of contemporary posters from around the world. We are grateful to the original collectors in the 1880s who followed wheatpasters at night through the streets of Paris, built relationships with artists, and supported dealers in the new field of poster collecting. We continue that tradition by reaching out to designers, advertising agencies, and companies to grow a Living Archive of exceptional contributions to the poster medium being made now.

If you are interested in donating to Poster House, please consider the following:

• We do not accept unsolicited donations, so please do not send us posters without speaking with our Collections Department. Unsolicited donations will be disposed of and cannot be returned.
• Poster House defines a poster as a public-facing, printed notice meant to persuade, entertain, or influence. The artwork must be originally conceived for that poster and not derive from a decorative print, painting, or other art form. We do not collect art posters, limited-edition prints, museum exhibition posters, posters created for open calls or competitions, or other images which were not originally created as posters.
• We reserve the right to dispose of any donated posters that jeopardize the safety of our collection. This includes posters infected by mold, posters printed with hazardous inks, and posters printed on vinyl stickers.
• Posters mounted to board will not be accepted, and can only be returned at the sender’s cost within seven (7) days of receipt.
• Poster House encourages you to claim a tax deduction for your donation to the fullest extent allowed by law. If your donation exceeds $5,000 in value, you should seek outside appraisal prior to donation. While we cannot appraise your collection, we can recommend appraisers who can.
• Our Acquisitions Committee meets quarterly to discuss potential donations. Please be prepared to share with us photos of your potential donation as well as information regarding its provenance, condition, and location.

If you’re unsure if what you have qualifies or if you have any questions about our donation policy, please reach out to collections@posterhouse.org.

If you’d like to submit your posters to the Acquisitions Committee for consideration, please use this form. You can submit up to 10 images (if you have a larger collection please share 10 of the most representative posters).

The Poster House Online Collection

Explore the fascinating history of posters as symbols of technological and aesthetic advancement. Poster House’s permanent collection currently includes over 10,000 posters dating from the late 1800s to the present day, and is constantly expanding. Digitally cataloging each item takes time and is always a work in progress. You may come across records with very little information, factual errors, or harmful language. We appreciate your help in addressing these concerns and invite your feedback.

Poster House Online Collection is coming soon.

Rene Wanner Research Library

In 2018, the family of Rene Wanner, a prolific Swiss poster collector and historian, donated his incredible 3,000 volume library on posters and related subjects to Poster House. The Rene Wanner Research Library and Poster House’s own collection is available for reference use by appointment.