The collection contains nearly 1000 posters advertising films, cinemas and theatres from the late 19th Century onwards.
Posters are the most obvious way in which films are advertised. This collection includes publicity for variety theatres in the 1890s, when films formed a small part of a much larger programme, through to the blockbusters of the 1990s. There are also a number of posters advertising magic lantern entertainments, panoramas and dioramas.