MUMBAI: A Chicago real estate developer has gifted more than 1,000 original movie posters from the golden era of Hollywood to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The posters document the studio era of "B" movie filmmaking in the first half of the 20th century and include a variety of genres like westerns, war films, musicals, biblical tales and films regarding social problems.

"The 1,088 posters were donated to the Academy by Dwight Cleveland, a Chicago real estate developer, who continues to collect even today," said the Academy in a statement.

"B-movies tap into the public consciousness and provide rich fodder for better understanding the times," observed Academy Library Director Linda Mehr while Anne Coco, the Herrick‘s graphic arts librarian called it as a "dream" gift.

"Not only was it very well organized, but the posters also were in excellent shape. Our staff is fairly certain he was a librarian in another lifetime," she said.

It may be noted that Cleveland began collecting posters in 1977 while still in high school after being inspired seeing film posters in an art teacher‘s classroom. "I really think that film posters are one of the very few truly indigenous art forms of our country. By making these gifts, I hope to excite an appreciation for the works themselves among members of the general public and also set a good example for other collectors," he observed.