Image

Text

The Image-text collection is an integral part of the film archive, which has various types, including text documents (synopsis, screenplays, scripts, leaflets, special issues, newspaper clippings, etc.), stills and posters. They are the important proofs of the life course for a film to be produced, advertised and published, as well as precious historical materials to record and represent the history of film. The Image-text collection also values aesthetically, for instance, posters and leaflets show the design and styles of film promotional elements in different times.

The CFA preserves more than 100,000 volumes of image-text documents of Chinese and foreign feature films, theatrical films, art films, science films and documentary films from various periods. Among them, there are about 30,000 volumes of textual documents of Chinese and foreign film literature archives, 10,000 Chinese and Foreign film stills, 26,000 Chinese and Foreign film posters, 30,000 Chinese and Foreign film books and 14,000 issues of periodicals.

Textual Archive

30,000 volumes

Script, studio documents, production records, film articles, etc.

Still

10,000 volumes

Poster

30,000 volumes

Book and periodical

30,000 volumes

14,000 volumes

Film Poster Restoration

The China Film Archive boasts a collection of 7000 volumes of posters since the 1930s. Many suffer from varying degrees of wear and tear due to acidification, embrittlement, improper handling and the previously used roll storage method. Some of the common damages are being torn and missing areas, horizontal and vertical fold lines, nail holes etc. The damages often extend from the margins of a poster to the center.

In 2016 we opted for flat storage. After two years of sorting by the Multimedia Department, 1000 damaged posters have been put into separate storage. Currently these posters are being carefully restored at the National Library of China.

Poster restoration needs to be carried out with safe and effective techniques and materials that enjoy similar physical and chemical properties to the original ones. We must endeavor to avoid any further damage during the restoration and give posters durable protection. With minimal intervention, we aim to bring the posters back to their former glory while not over-restoring them. Restoration can improve the overall appearance of a poster, making it flatter, easier to display and more valuable. Poster restoration includes the following steps: general inspection, damage analysis, low temperature treatment, gluing, removal of the fold lines, color restoration, flattening and trimming among others.