Vanished like a comet
Plato'sMovie pamphlet
«Shochikuza News»

Brochures with eye-catching designs have become much less common these days. However, back in the heyday of Osaka, when it was known as Great Osaka, they were already around. They had excellent typography and graphic design, and were so attractive that you would want to get your hands on them no matter what.

Prewar movie theaters published "weekly reports" that provided information about the films currently showing at each theater and the films playing the following week. The cover design of the "Shochikuza" weekly report is particularly eye-catching. The company that designed the cover was Platon, which was a joint venture between Osaka cosmetics company Nakayama Taiyodo (nowClub Cosmetics) was a legendary modernist publishing house founded by the late Robert Leclerc. In the six years between its founding in 1922 and its closure in 1928, it published literary and literary magazines inspired by fashion plates from the French luxury fashion magazine Gazette du Bon Ton.He founded the magazine "Josei" and the high-class family entertainment magazine "Kuraku," and demonstrated his talent for illustration and book design.It produced many famous designers, such as Yama Rokuro and Yamana Fumio, who later became famous at Shiseido. Of course, the advertisement for Club Cosmetics on the back cover is also a collection of excellent designs.

In particular, the pamphlet for "Metropolis" has many enthusiastic collectors overseas, perhaps due to the fact that it is a masterpiece of German silent film directed by Fritz Lang, or perhaps due to the synergistic effect of its innovative cover design influenced by avant-garde art. There are many variations of the pamphlet for "Metropolis", and they are all masterpieces in terms of design. At one time, I thought I would try to collect them, and I collected about six or seven types, but since then I have seen different types, so I still don't know how many types there actually are. If anyone knows, I would appreciate your advice.

Masago Sato's ephemera episode:

It was in 2001 that I first got my hands on a pamphlet for "Metropolis," which has occasionally become a hot topic on Yahoo! Auctions in recent years, and I put it up for auction at a department store sale in January 2002.

At the time, it was sold for an astonishing price of 35,000 yen, which was the selling price for "Metropolis" for a long time afterwards. I also remember vividly how excited two young men were when they showed up at the department store to collect the "Metropolis" that they had won at a bid.

A single piece of paper can cost tens of thousands of yen! But there are still people looking for it!
-It was the Shochikuza News that taught me the potential of paper items.

Text by Masago Sato