Exclusive Images From The Hammer Vault Book
Hammer Studio's promotional art was often lurid, exciting, gorgeous and incredible. The new book The Hammer Vault collects an incredible variety of art, photos and memorabilia to illustrate the history of Britain's House of Horror. Here's the official description:
For both die-hard fans, and those just discovering Hammer’s rich cinematic legacy, this remarkable book provides an unmissable journey into the history of the company, as told through previously unseen treasures from the vault. Beginning with the company’s incorporation documents from 1934, moving through the many unforgettable horror classics which cemented their reputation and made worldwide stars of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, and coming right up to date with a behind the scenes look at 2010’s Let Me In and the 2011 release The Resident, The Hammer Vault presents original correspondence, lobby cards, script pages and scores of rare and previously unpublished photographs, alongside a commentary from Hammer archive consultant Marcus Hearn, and the people who made some of the company’s greatest films.
The book also contains pages from press books and publicity manuals, letters to and from some of the company’s stars, pages from managing director Michael Carreras and Peter Cushing’s scrapbooks, pre-production artwork, trade advertisements and production designs. It is both a compelling visual history of the legendary film production company, and the greatest scrapbook of Hammer collectables ever assembled!
There's a standard edition available (which I have, and which is great), but there's also a limited special edition jam packed with extra cool stuff:
A ticket for the première of The Curse of Frankenstein
A 4pp brochure, originally given to attendees at The Curse of Frankenstein's première
A 4pp brochure, originally given to attendees at the première of Dracula
A US lobby card for Quatermass 2 (under its American title, Enemy From Space)
A US lobby card for X the Unknown Hammer's 1971 Christmas card, featuring photos of (among others) Julie Ege and Ingrid Pitt
A British front of house still for Countess Dracula
A British front of house still for Twins of Evil
A promotional brochure for Stones of Evil, a horror film about the creation of Stonehenge which was never made
Peter Cushing's own costume design, painted by him in watercolours and with his own handwritten annotations, for his character in the unmade film The Savage Jackboot
These extra items, reproduced on heavy art paper stock or art cards, are all exclusive to the Limited edition, and do not feature as illustrations inside the book.
We're proud to present four images from the book, starting with the one at the top of this article.
1- This American window card was used to promote Yesterday's Enemy outside cinemas and featured a provocative endorsement from former war correspondent Bob Considine.
2- Tom Chantrell's pre-production painting for Countess Dracula.
3- An advertisement in the 16 May 1957 issue of Kinematograph proclaims a record breaking weekend for The Curse of Frankenstein.
4- Prior to release there was much debate at Hammer over the title Paranoiac. The British campaign book went to some lengths to define paranoia with the aid of illustrated examples.
The Hammer Vault © Marcus Hearn and Hammer Film Productions Limited as joint
owners 2011.
