James Steward: A Poster and ist story. MR. HOBBS Takes A Vacation
Hi everyone,
this is the Polish poster for the comedy
Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962)
Polish poster (approx. 58 x 84 cm), Fine+
I won it on February 8, 2026 for under $100.
Polish movie posters — and more broadly, posters from the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War — are special. The illustrators often worked without extensive photo or film material as reference. Frequently, they received nothing more than a synopsis, sometimes very brief.
So they turned necessity into virtue and gave their own interpretation plenty of room.
That is exactly what makes them so compelling. For many Western films, there are graphically independent, sometimes radically reduced or even surreal reinterpretations. The so-called “Polish School of Posters” is legendary for a reason.
This particular example was designed in 1963 — one year after the U.S. premiere — by the well-known Polish poster artist Jerzy Flisak.
What truly makes it special: there is a paste-over visible in the top line. In the original printed version, the name of the lead actor, James Stewart, was apparently set as “Steward” — spelled phonetically, as one might have heard it.
Instead of reprinting the entire run, they apparently chose to correct the mistake with a paper paste-over. In a planned economy with limited resources, that was economically far more sensible than commissioning a new print run.
Strictly speaking, this is therefore not a classic “misprint,” but rather a production correction via paste-over. But those are exactly the kinds of details I love. They tell you something about the production conditions, about pragmatism — and about the era in which this poster was created.
I like stories like this. They are what make collecting truly interesting to me.
I should watch the film again ...
Get In Touch
Comments
Love me a good Polish poster, such great and unique takes on the film
Great film too, definately worth a rewatch