You'll soon be able to bid on the first film poster ever made

There’s something inherently magical about film posters. After the sensation of Coke-stained carpets underfoot, and the nostril-nuzzling scent of hot buttered popcorn propelling itself deep into the very centre of your brain, the sight of a lobby full of posters for the latest Ant and Dec future-flop, or a sequel to The Emoji Movie, is one the best things about the cinema-going experience.

Icons of possibility, they alert us to alternate galaxies we can visit on a dismal Tuesday night for just £12.99 a pop. And so that’s why news of the latest auction at Sotheby’s has seen us ringing our bank manager and pleading for a seriously hefty increase on our overdraft.

The grand auctioneers will be selling off a 164-poster strong collection of vintage film memorabilia in an online sale taking place on the 28 August. Alongside items like a trio of stunning posters for Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, and this oddly incredible little number produced to celebrate the release of 1978’s Revenge of the Pink Panther there is something incredibly special up for grabs: a 1895 poster designed by Henri Brispot to advertise the world’s first public film screening.

Produced to get bums on seats for the 8 December 1895 screening of a selection of short films by cinematic pioneers the Lumière brothers, this snapshot of late-century Parisian life will start bidding at between £40,000 to £60,000. Now you can see why that overdraft might come in handy.