When I was walking around a small local car boot sale at 9am on a Saturday morning an original 1948 London Olympics poster was not something I ever thought I might find. Usually by that time all the dealers and dedicated collectors have been through every box, and the items remaining are things that neither wanted, but for some reason everyone had passed over the box of old newspapers and letters sitting on the end of a car trailer.
I can't remember exactly when I picked the poster up but it was probably 10 years ago now and at that time I was more interested in old CDs and toys than ephemera, but I assume I wasn't finding much so decided to have a look in the box. I had a quick look and saw a few old religious posters mixed in with the newspapers and other bits and pieces and wasn't particularly interested until the stall holder said I could have the whole box for around £10 (I think). As I hadn't bought much else I decided to buy the box so I would have something to look through when I got home. I put the box in my car without giving it much thought, but I did find out from the previous owner that the items had belonged to her uncle or great uncle who had worked for a printers years ago, and she told me there were probably some interesting items in the box because he was a bit of a collector himself.
I'm not sure if I even went through the box the same day or if it sat there for a few days, but when I did eventually have a look I found the Olympics poster folded in an old envelope. I think must of assumed it was a modern reproduction and spent more time looking at the old religious posters and other items, as promised by the seller there were some interesting items, but when I did finally get around to doing some research, I found that 100,000 of the Walter Herz (Heros Publicity Studios Ltd) designed posters had been printed in 3 sizes, double crown 20 by 30in. (50,000), crown 15 by 20in. (25,000) and double royal 25 by 40in. (25,000).
The one I had found was double crown size measuring 15 by 20in and had all of the correct information printed at the bottom of the poster. I still wasn't sure if it was an original poster or a very good modern reproduction, but over the years I have spoken with people who know far more than me about these things and I now know that it is an original and compared to the others I have seen is in very good condition for age.
As it took me so long to confirm if the poster was genuine I got used to have it around and although not a collector of Olympics memorabilia, I have kept it and it is largely responsible for my new found interest in ephemera which has led to me spending much of my time going through boxes of old paperwork seeing what other gems I can find.