THE MIDNIGHT RIDE OF PAUL REVERE; OR, THE SPIRIT OF '76 (1912) Stone Litho 1-Sht

Description

Vintage original 27 x 40 in. US one-sheet poster
from the teens Revolutionary War-themed silent film historical drama,
THE MIDNIGHT RIDE OF PAUL REVERE; OR, THE SPIRIT OF '76
, released in 1912 and
produced by the Atlas Film Manufacturing Company
. There is almost no information about this film to be found on the Internet, but judging by the bottom caption of the bottom scene ("Betty proves a traitor"), a portion of the story deals with an American woman who turns traitor and provides information to the British soldiers about the activities of the American forces during the Revolutionary War. The top scene notes "Putnam exhorts the Minute Men," which is a reference to Israel Putnam, popularly known as "Old Put," who was an American army general officer who fought with distinction at the Battle of Bunker Hill. The film was produced by the Atlas Film Manufacturing Company of St. Louis, Missouri, as indicated by the dual logos beneath the film's title on either side, and the poster was printed by the National Printing & Engraving Company (also of St. Louis, MO).
This rare pre-1915 US one-sheet poster is a stone lithograph, which produced very rich colors with fine detail. It was backed on linen a very long time ago without any restoration. At some point the balance of the right border and the entire bottom border were trimmed, as the poster most likely measured approximately 28 x 41 in. or even 28 x 42 in. (there have been variances to the standard 27 x 41 in. size during this early period). It is unrestored in good- condition only and the areas where the three horizontal foldlines are have a crease to them. There are random signs of wear in the borders and in a few other areas within the image that are mostly unobtrusive. There are light signs of random creasing in the two top and two bottom panels which appear to be the linen having lightly separated from the poster. This pre-1915 one-sheet can easily be re-backed and the two missing borders areas replaced.
This is an historic pre-1915 US silent film one-sheet poster from one of the many obscure production companies active during this early formative period which also features a very collectible Revolutionary War theme.