Poster House is home to over 15,000 posters dating from the late 1800s to the present day, representing nearly 100 countries. Our collection is constantly expanding.
Because of its size, the Poster House Permanent Collection is partially stored at the museum as well as at a secure off-site facility.
The Poster House archive is not accessible to the general public. Due to spatial limitations and staff availability, we are currently unable to accommodate researchers. That said, Poster House does host archive tours with our curatorial and collections department a few times a year. Please check our Events page to see if one is coming soon.
Poster House is a museum, not a gallery—none of the posters in our collection are for sale. However, we have many items, including postcards, magnets, and small prints, that feature images from our collection in the Shop.
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).
High-resolution digital images are available by request for a small fee at collections@posterhouse.org. Please note that Poster House typically does not hold copyright on any of these images, and the user is responsible for researching and determining the risk around such issues.
Please credit all images as Image courtesy of Poster House/Poster House Permanent Collection.
Due to the small size of our staff, we do not offer internships, fellowships, or volunteer opportunities.
While our curatorial and collections staff may be able to answer some questions on specific posters or on general poster history, we are unable to conduct research beyond what is available on our website.
Poster House staff cannot assist with appraising or authenticating posters from private collections. We recommend that you contact a poster professional (typically, a member of the IVPDA).
Poster House does not appraise, authenticate, or advise on restoration.
Poster House plans exhibitions five to seven years in advance, and it is the curator’s responsibility to locate external loans and purchases. We are happy to inform a curator of a given poster that fits the parameters of their show; however, by the time it is announced on our website, a show’s checklist is already finalized.