While promotional movie material is dominated by posters, throughout film history pressbooks have provided a meaty portion of the marketing equation. Also called showman’s manuals, merchandising manuals, advertising manuals, and campaign books, pressbooks are distributed as part of press kits for film releases. Before the 1980s film studios did most of their own marketing, so pressbooks were given to exhibitors and theaters as an advertising aid.

Movie studios provide logistical details and general information about the film, the cast, and crew in pressbooks. They include release dates, synopses of the movies, biographies of the cast and crew, interviews with the actors, prewritten reviews and articles, and illustrated movie posters. Most provide background and behind-the-scenes exclusives, as well as history of the movie and some include articles about the actors’ lives outside of the movies. The breadth of information varied from movie to movie and the pressbooks ranged in quantity from a one-page flyer, 2-page folded piece, pamphlet, booklet all the way up to 50-page bound book.

Pressbooks date back to the 1910s, well before movies received the type of media attention they do today. Since theater owners and film exhibitors don’t have advertising backgrounds, studios issued the pressbooks to promote the films through the theaters and local media. They presented a breakdown of advertising material, merchandising and collectibles, even items available at the theaters such as souvenir giveaways. Some contained promotional suggestions for advertising on TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines.

Since they provide background details on the movies, they have become highly desirable collectibles. They are not expensive, and many can be purchased for around $10, making them accessible to collectors at every level.

Learn more about pressbooks by ordering a copy of The Overstreet Guide to Collecting Movie Posters from gemstonepub.com.