1959 Italian Movie Poster Map of the East Indies and Philippines: Battle of the Pacific

This monumental and rare movie poster and map of East Asia and the Pacific was issued by Vecchioni and Guadango to promote the 1959 Italian release of the post World War II (WW2) 1958 Japanese film Battaglia del Pacifico. The poster takes the form of an enormous map centered on the Philippines, but covering the East Asian theater of war from Hokkaido to Java and from Cambodia to Guam. Brown arrows and flags illustrate the Japanese battle plan.

Produced by the Shin Toho Company and directed by Toshio Shimura, Battaglia del Pacifico was originally titled Admiral Yamamoto and the Allied Fleets. The Japanese perspective film focuses on the early days of the war when Japanese forces moved quickly and aggressively to dominate the western Pacific. The hero is Admiral Yamamoto.

This poster / map was issued by Vecchioni and Guadango, an Italian move poster printing house, using a halftone process. It consists of two sheets, currently separate, but capable of being joined, as in the image above, at the buyer's request. This poster is extremely rare with no other surviving examples known.