Hall’s collection now includes the U.S. poster for The Long, Long Trailer in three different sizes, as well as posters for the movie from England, France, Italy, Belgium, Finland, Australia, Sweden and Argentina. “Because Lucy was popular worldwide, the movie was also a hit in all the foreign markets, and most of those created their own poster designs,” says Hall. “People flip when they see the posters, and they’re fascinated by how the foreign posters differ from the American originals.”
Souvenir programs, still photos, on-set candids, magazine articles, advertising, and a script from The Long, Long Trailer are other highlights of Hall’s collection. He estimates that 95 percent of his collection has been purchased through eBay. “I discovered eBay in 1998, and I have been on the site almost every day since,” says Hall. “A collection like mine would have been almost impossible to build without eBay, because most of my foreign posters have come from foreign sellers. It’s hard to imagine how I could ever have contacted these people otherwise.”
One of Hall’s most prized collectible is a set design sketch for The Long, Long Trailer from the MGM art department. In the summer of 1953, an army unit took a tour of the MGM soundstage where the film was being shot. The sketch had been discarded, and a soldier picked it up as a souvenir. He kept it for 51 years, then his wife listed it on eBay, and Hall won the auction.
