To restore or not to restore a high-value golden-age comic?

[Doohickamabob]

To the original poster: can you post a scan of the book? That will make it easier to give you good advice.

 

Okay, first -- everybody be nice! Second -- here is the picture you requested. It's not a scan but hopefully it will help.

 

The tear is difficult to see, so I added a 2nd image and drew a line where the tear is located.

 

 

Thank you in advance for your advice. Based on the discussion so far, I am inclined to have it CGC graded without restoring it.

[143ksk]

 

Thank you in advance for your advice. Based on the discussion so far, I am inclined to have it CGC graded without restoring it.

 

That would be my choice as well (thumbs u

[PovertyRow]

That is a very pretty book and certainly of some value. Tough decision. On a purely financial ("value") basis, I have to wonder about the cost of restoring it and then getting a PLOD vs submitting as is for a GLOD, or requesting it just be graded in a Universal Blue with the hit for the tear subtracted from the Universal grade.

 

As far as just having it restored so you can read and enjoy it safely, that also makes sense. Ultimately it depends on what you really want to do with the book and how you feel about having the tear sealed.

 

Looks like a possible "put the book in the mylar and feel your stomach wrench and your heart break" kind of tear.

 

[BrianR]

It's a beatiful book. Personally without regard to the value of the book I would go for conservation of the book if you want to leave raw. Get the tear sealed without color touch or anything else being done to it. In the future if you decide you want the conservation undone; you can, without any ill effects to the book.

[Doohickamabob]

Thanks again for your comments. The book has a great feel to it, like it came off the newsstand. I really dig it and want to read it... The splash pages are phenomenal. (Maybe I'll just pick up a reprint....)

 

If I do have the tear sealed, I'd be interested in hearing recommendations for how best to do it. I would consider sending it to a professional as long as the cost weren't too prohibitive. Right now I am inclined to simply leave it in the mylar and take my time making any decision. I'm pretty new to this stuff and haven't yet had anything CGC graded either.

 

[Hero Restoration]

 

Thank you in advance for your advice. Based on the discussion so far, I am inclined to have it CGC graded without restoring it.

 

That would be my choice as well (thumbs u

 

+1 (thumbs u

[FFB]

 

Thank you in advance for your advice. Based on the discussion so far, I am inclined to have it CGC graded without restoring it.

 

Sweet book. To be honest with you, this is as much of a fence-sitter as I've ever seen in terms of the "to restore or not" factor.

 

On the one hand - the book will probably get a high enough unrestored (5.5/6.0-ish) or qualified (9.0-ish) grade to be worth slightly more now unrestored than it would be with the tear seal. From a present value perspective, you're better off not restoring it.

 

On the other hand - from a conservation perspective, that tear is going to get worse over time if it isn't sealed. The paper will expand and contract gently as the humidity of the surrounding environment varies across the seasons, but instead of expanding and contracting as one solid piece of paper, the fibers at the edges of the tear will start to fray. As this happens, the ink along the tear will gradually flake outward from the point of the tear, making the tear more visible at arm's length. The fibers at the joining point of the tear will gradually fray as well, making the tear longer. Obviously this worsening will take years to occur significantly unless the book is kept in an environment with constantly varying levels of humidity. But it will happen eventually in virtually any environment.

 

Sealing the tear properly would arrest it where it is. You'd be reforming the folio and sealing the edges of the inks before they can flake further than they already have, with only minimal work done to the book. Limiting the restoration work to sealing the tear plus a dry clean and press (neither of the latter two of which would show up on the label even if it got a PLOD) would probably result in App. 9.2/9.4-ish. While perhaps not worth as much today as an unrestored 5.5/6.0, it would only be worth a shade less. And unlike the unrestored/unsealed 5.5/6.0, you won't have to worry that the grade would eventually not match what the label says.

 

If it were my book and part of my long-term keeper collection, I'd probably get the tear sealed now, even if the book were to take a small hit in present value. But I'd have to think seriously about it first.

[FFB]

Thanks again for your comments. The book has a great feel to it, like it came off the newsstand. I really dig it and want to read it... The splash pages are phenomenal. (Maybe I'll just pick up a reprint....)

 

If I do have the tear sealed, I'd be interested in hearing recommendations for how best to do it. I would consider sending it to a professional as long as the cost weren't too prohibitive. Right now I am inclined to simply leave it in the mylar and take my time making any decision. I'm pretty new to this stuff and haven't yet had anything CGC graded either.

 

You should talk to Matt Nelson and Kenny Sanderson from Classics, Inc. They specialize in work like this - i.e., high end comic conservation. Kenny posts in this form all the time under the name Zeman. He can probably give you a quick estimate on how long it would take and the approximate cost. He is very much conservation-minded, too, in terms of not overworking every book just to try to get that extra 0.2 out of the final apparent grade.

[FFB]

That is a very pretty book and certainly of some value. Tough decision. On a purely financial ("value") basis, I have to wonder about the cost of restoring it and then getting a PLOD vs submitting as is for a GLOD, or requesting it just be graded in a Universal Blue with the hit for the tear subtracted from the Universal grade.

 

As far as just having it restored so you can read and enjoy it safely, that also makes sense. Ultimately it depends on what you really want to do with the book and how you feel about having the tear sealed.

 

Looks like a possible "put the book in the mylar and feel your stomach wrench and your heart break" kind of tear.

 

 

Ditto on all counts, including your guess as to how the tear got there. I'm betting with the prior owner who caused the tear, it went down a little something like this:

 

Guy is having a dinner party, goes to get the book and shows it off to his comic buddy:

 

He pulls the book out of the Mylar and gently displays the pristine interior page quality:

 

He takes the book back from his friend and returns it to the Mylar:

 

He catches the bottom edge of the book on the top edge of the mylar. This happens because instead of watching what he's doing with the book, he's grinning at his buddy who is busy telling him how sweet the book is. Another contributing factor is that he had one too many beers with dinner:

 

Realization starts to set in:

 

Then it REALLY sets in: :censored:

 

Not that that ever happened to any of us before or anything.

[KryptoSpidey]

To the original poster: can you post a scan of the book? That will make it easier to give you good advice.

 

Okay, first -- everybody be nice! Second -- here is the picture you requested. It's not a scan but hopefully it will help.

 

The tear is difficult to see, so I added a 2nd image and drew a line where the tear is located.

 

 

Thank you in advance for your advice. Based on the discussion so far, I am inclined to have it CGC graded without restoring it.

.. leave the book as is.

get it slabbed and possibly request the blue label over the "QUALIFIED" on the invoice...thats a tough decission. high grade "q" books still demand high dollar,i think i would prefer the "blue" tho...

the book will be safe from any other damage,it will garner the highest value,and be easily marketable as the nicest presenting book of grade "unrestored".. my

[divad]

Awesome book. (thumbs u

[Allen James]

One of my favorite covers (I think I say that all the time) but it really is. I wouldn't touch it if I was you. Leave it in the mylar or get it graded by someone to protect the tear, but I wouldn't have it sealed, regardless of what grade comes back

[Ze-man]

Right now I am inclined to simply leave it in the mylar and take my time making any decision. I'm pretty new to this stuff and haven't yet had anything CGC graded either.

 

I think this says it all.

 

You(or the new owner if you decide to sell it) can always decide to have it sealed later, but for now I would enjoy it as it is. And if you do handle it, use kid gloves.

 

That said it's a shame when entertaining the idea of sealing a major tear such as this involves weighing apparent grade vs value vs what's best for the book.

 

It is a great book, with a huge tear that can never be undone. So sealing that tear to prevent further damage should not devalue the book, but it does.

 

Depending on your personal preference and goals there really is no wrong answer. Leaving it alone, or sealing it both have merit.

 

 

 

 

I believe I was of no help whatsoever!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Hero Restoration]

Right now I am inclined to simply leave it in the mylar and take my time making any decision. I'm pretty new to this stuff and haven't yet had anything CGC graded either.

 

I think this says it all.

 

You(or the new owner if you decide to sell it) can always decide to have it sealed later, but for now I would enjoy it as it is. And if you do handle it, use kid gloves.

 

That said it's a shame when entertaining the idea of sealing a major tear such as this involves weighing apparent grade vs value vs what's best for the book.

 

It is a great book, with a huge tear that can never be undone. So sealing that tear to prevent further damage should not devalue the book, but it does.

 

Depending on your personal preference and goals there really is no wrong answer. Leaving it alone, or sealing it both have merit.

 

 

 

 

I believe I was of no help whatsoever!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

+1

[Silver Surfer]

To the original poster: can you post a scan of the book? That will make it easier to give you good advice.

 

Okay, first -- everybody be nice! Second -- here is the picture you requested. It's not a scan but hopefully it will help.

 

The tear is difficult to see, so I added a 2nd image and drew a line where the tear is located.

 

 

Thank you in advance for your advice. Based on the discussion so far, I am inclined to have it CGC graded without restoring it.

 

Whatever you do just don't put tape on the cover.

[Doohickamabob]

Sweet book. To be honest with you, this is as much of a fence-sitter as I've ever seen in terms of the "to restore or not" factor.

 

Yeah, me too... I am really "torn" (groan-inducing pun intended) on this one.

 

On the one hand - the book will probably get a high enough unrestored (5.5/6.0-ish) or qualified (9.0-ish) grade to be worth slightly more now unrestored than it would be with the tear seal. From a present value perspective, you're better off not restoring it.

 

I'm glad you think it would grade in the 9.0 range. I don't know how the tear got there, but considering the high quality of the comic, the tear seems like a recent and no doubt very upsetting mistake.

 

On the other hand - from a conservation perspective, that tear is going to get worse over time if it isn't sealed. The paper will expand and contract gently as the humidity of the surrounding environment varies across the seasons, but instead of expanding and contracting as one solid piece of paper, the fibers at the edges of the tear will start to fray. As this happens, the ink along the tear will gradually flake outward from the point of the tear, making the tear more visible at arm's length. The fibers at the joining point of the tear will gradually fray as well, making the tear longer. Obviously this worsening will take years to occur significantly unless the book is kept in an environment with constantly varying levels of humidity. But it will happen eventually in virtually any environment.

 

These are some really interesting points and they bolster the argument for restoration.

 

Sealing the tear properly would arrest it where it is. You'd be reforming the folio and sealing the edges of the inks before they can flake further than they already have, with only minimal work done to the book. Limiting the restoration work to sealing the tear plus a dry clean and press (neither of the latter two of which would show up on the label even if it got a PLOD) would probably result in App. 9.2/9.4-ish. While perhaps not worth as much today as an unrestored 5.5/6.0, it would only be worth a shade less. And unlike the unrestored/unsealed 5.5/6.0, the grade would eventually not match the label.

 

Do you know of somebody or a service that does the above reliably and for a reasonable price?

 

My feeling with the CGC purple labels is that they are less attractive than blue labels (just on color alone), but the desirability of the comic is more a factor of the details of the restoration. I am more apt to forgive a restored comic that only says "tear seal to cover" versus one that says, "tear seals, staples reinforced by tape, color touch, paper replaced, cover shellacked and laminated, staples replaced with high-tinsel steel..."

 

If it were my book and part of my long-term keeper collection, I'd probably get the tear sealed now, even if the book were to take a small hit in present value. But I'd have to think seriously about it first.

 

Yeah, well I appreciate everybody's comments in this thread -- even if some of them are just reinforcing my indecision. Guess I'll sit tight until I have more information. Right now it's a toss-up between sending it to CGC for a blue label or sending it to a professional restorer and then sending it to CGC. I'll track down a reprint to read it.

 

[Doohickamabob]

You should talk to Matt Nelson and Kenny Sanderson from Classics, Inc. They specialize in work like this - i.e., high end comic conservation. Kenny posts in this form all the time under the name Zeman. He can probably give you a quick estimate on how long it would take and the approximate cost. He is very much conservation-minded, too, in terms of not overworking every book just to try to get that extra 0.2 out of the final apparent grade.

 

Thanks, I will send a message to the Zeman.

 

I like what you said about him being conservation-minded. I don't want to overwork the book, just do the right thing for its long-term value/condition.

 

[Ze-man]

 

 

 

I guess I would ask who here thinks doing this type of repair to a book should make the book less valuable, or even less desireable compared to slapping on a piece of adhesive tape because it would get a different color label.

[BrianR]

Great job!!! Nice to see the owner decided to conserve the book.

[Hero Restoration]

Great job!!! Nice to see the owner decided to conserve the book.

+1 (thumbs u