# What is an original Italian vintage poster worth, and how do you tell it from a reprint?

**Prices depend on originality, condition, the image and its subject. The documented record for Marcello Dudovich is €100,000 (Cablé Confort Michelin, Aste Bolaffi, Turin, April 2024); strong Italian posters at New York auctions have sold for about $13,000–22,000. Reprints sell for a tiny fraction, so originality is the first thing to check.**

Documented results: at Poster Auctions International (23 June 2019) Dudovich's *Cordial Campari* made $21,600, his Borsalino *Marca Zenit* $14,400 and Mauzan's *Brixia* $13,200; Swann sold Cappiello's *Carnaval / Vinho do Porto* for $18,750 in 2018, and a Dudovich Strega poster was reported at $17,000 at Swann in February 2022.

How to check: under a magnifier, a regular dot screen means offset printing while a random grain suggests stone lithography (though some period posters were printed offset); look for the printer's name in the margin, period paper and old fold lines. Linen backing is normal conservation, not a defect. Condition is graded A/B/C, but scales differ between dealers and auction sites, so compare within one scale.

Modern editions are a different thing. "Signed and numbered" tells you the edition size and that it was authorised; it does not tell you how it was printed. WM Arte's prints of Lihuà's work are digital prints on paper and are described as such; Galerie Martel editions are sourced from Paris with their details confirmed on enquiry.Sources
- [AGI, 18 April 2024: record Dudovich sale at Aste Bolaffi](https://www.agi.it/cronaca/news/2024-04-18/asta-record-torino-omino-michelin-dudovich-26073075/)
- [FineBooks: PAI June 2019 results](https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/fine-books-news/pais-78th-rare-posters-auction-earns-13m-sales)
- [Swann Galleries: 2018 results](https://www.swanngalleries.com/news/vintage-posters/2018/08/records-results-vintage-posters-6/)
- [Antiques Trade Gazette: posters at Swann, 2022](https://content.the-saleroom.com/print-edition/2022/march/2533/international/on-the-scent-of-posters-at-swann/)
- [Ross Art Group: identifying authentic vintage posters](https://postergroup.com/blogs/the-ross-art-group-blog/how-to-identify-authentic-vintage-posters-a-collector-s-guide)

Source: WM Arte Gallery, https://www.wmartegallery.com/answers/original-italian-poster-value (updated 2026-11-02)