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Key Book Still vs Lobby Still - A Matter of Observable Quality.

Hi All,

Here is an original Key Book photograph and "regular" movie still. Key Book stills are for reference and developed perfectly with a wide range of rich and varied gray, dark darks and white highlights. This one is also uncropped compared to the movie still.

Key Book still for reference:

Movie still for theatrical promotion:

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Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on November 15, 2022 at 4:43am

I knew that Key Book photographs were high quality, but this shows the difference with regular promotional material. Both are getting harder to find. I have a Henry Hull signed contract somewhere.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on November 15, 2022 at 4:55am

Hi Scott,

Yes,it really shows here. The Key Books are my favorite. And yes, both as originals are getting very hard to find. This seller is tops - many good things from there.

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Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on November 15, 2022 at 5:47am

Eric, do you know how many key books per individual movie were usually made? I assume the studio kept one and perhaps the director etc?

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on November 15, 2022 at 6:11am

I would think several books - some for use or reference, some for those you mentioned, but not a lot.

From About Movie Collectibles

"The safest bet is to purchase Keybook photos, but they are the rarest of the bunch and often carry a heavy premium in price.

Key Book Photo

These stills were used as the studio’s masters, and are found with holes punched at the top of vertical poses or the left side of horizontal poses where they were inserted into the book. They often have an A.A.C. (Advertising Advisory Council) stamp on reverse along with descriptive text in type printed directly onto the reverse of the photo.

You will sometimes see photos without any keybook holes but with an A.A.C. stamp—this is a smart buy as well, these photos are originals. These photos are also often double-weight photos (referring to the heavier stock on which they are printed).

Other very desirable and authentically vintage photos include: Photos with photographer stamps; studio stamps; news agency stamps on reverse (often even including the exact date of production or use by the press); or Press tags, which were often paper attachments glued either directly onto the reverse side of the photo or glued at the bottom of the edge on reverse and being folded over the top of the photo surface. Sometimes descriptive text in typeface was imprinted directly onto the back of the photo as well."

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on November 15, 2022 at 8:16am

This whole site linked, and David Cycleback's site, are invaluable! I've downloaded all the latest information there - all really. I had some saved from the past but all has been updated.

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Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on November 15, 2022 at 3:11pm

Thank you that is a great site very interesting. I am sure I have some photographs with the pasted blurb on the back. Cannot recall right now what stars, but am sure I have them.