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Die falsche… — Dryden sheet, 1914
A film about an impersonator, advertised by the same draughtsman who drew the original.
What
Ernst Deutsch-Dryden's 1914 poster for Die falsche Asta Nielsen, a picture built on the premise of a performer being impersonated. The sheet is held by the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz.
Why
By 1914 the leading player of German-language cinema was famous enough that her imitation could carry a feature on its own — and famous enough that the joke needed no explaining on a poster. The film is a measure of how fast screen celebrity had become a commodity with its own counterfeits.
Notice
Dryden had drawn the genuine article on at least three earlier sheets; here the same hand is deployed on the copy, which is the whole gag rendered in lithography.
“Fame reaching the stage where the forgery is worth advertising.”
Format
The full-resolution, color-managed file — restored honestly, yours to print and keep.
Sized to protect print quality — this scan supports sizes up to 18x24" cleanly.
Size
$29.00
Provenance
- Film
- Die falsche Asta Nielsen (1914)
- Country / studio
- Germany
- Designer
- Ernst Deutsch-Dryden
- Format
- One-sheet (27 × 41 in.)
- Poster published
- German lithographed film poster, 1914
- Source
- Wikimedia Commons
Rights: CLEAR. Public domain — U.S. 95-year rule (poster published 1930 or earlier). Gated by the poster’s own publication year, never the film’s. Cleared by registry on 2026-07-18. Star-portrait piece: sold as the artifact, the film named, the star incidental.
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The Double Bill
Two one-sheets, hung as a pair — a double feature for your wall, at a pairing price of $270.00 for the two. Build one from any two one-sheets in the gallery.
Pair it in the gallery →A house of the Provenance family