The difference between the designation 'reinforced', 'piece added' & 'leaf casted' ? 0

[Mr bla bla]

The all imply paper added.

But whats the difference between spine reinforced and a spine rebuild with rice paper?

Is reinforced not as bad as pieces added?

[Mr bla bla]

Does a reinforced spine or edge fall under piece fill ?

[The Lions Den]

I would say that spine reinforcement would be directed solely at the spine area, while pieces added would likely be anywhere else on the cover, even if the same material (such as rice paper) was used for all the different areas. And my guess is the restoration experts at CGC and CCS probably use the term "spine reinforced" as a general way to describe a spine that has been rebuilt using rice paper or any other professional reinforcement product---it's just an easier way to phrase it. Keep in mind there's only so much room on the CGC label...

And if you haven't already, I would also urge you to examine the CGC/CCS expanded restoration criteria---it's very helpful to understand how they determine the different levels of restoration.

I hope this answers your questions! 

Edited October 16, 2018 by The Lions Den

[Tony S]

Reinforced is using rice paper or similar to strengthen the book. It's most commonly done along the spine or centerfold but I have seen entire covers that were reinforced. 

Piece(s) added is just what it sounds like. A comic has missing piece(s) which are replaced with other pieces of paper. Professionals use similar paper (often from another vintage comic book) cut it to fit and glue it in. 

Leaf casting is done by creating a slurry of similar paper to what is being leaf cast. Then the page/cover with missing pieces is put into said slurry and the new paper adheres to the old. After removal and drying the missing pieces are filled in. 

When pieces are replaced  / leafcasted there almost always color touch up or art recreation done. 

There is no inherent "good or bad" as far as each process. All are restoration. What matters is if the restoration is professional or amateur. A professional can replace pieces or leaf cast and both will look great when done. A professional reinforcing a page or spine will use archival materials and final result will be difficult (but not impossible) to see. Amateur restoration often looks worse than nothing done. I've seen pieces replaced with ruled notebook paper and elmer's glue. 

Edited October 17, 2018 by Tony S

[Mr bla bla]

Thanks for the answers!

however I am still unsure as to whether a reinforced area of a cover will count as a form of piece fill? When reinforcement is used as support of existing material is it then technically a piece fill?

If yes, then a reinforced spine will it then mean Frankenbook?

each resto tier (slight, mod, ext) allows for certain amounts of piece fill. Will a reinforced cover (spine, edges) automatically push the book into Franken extensive territory?

if reinforced areas of a cover are considered piece fill, then the answer must be yes imo.

[Mr bla bla]

The above was a rather clumsy formulation. 

What I tried to get at, was whether support of existing paper (reinforcement) is considered same level of resto-intervention as replacing absent paper with external paper ( piece fill). 

I suspect yes ...

[Ze-man]

On 10/17/2018 at 7:29 AM, Mr bla bla said:

Thanks for the answers!

however I am still unsure as to whether a reinforced area of a cover will count as a form of piece fill? When reinforcement is used as support of existing material is it then technically a piece fill?

If yes, then a reinforced spine will it then mean Frankenbook?

each resto tier (slight, mod, ext) allows for certain amounts of piece fill. Will a reinforced cover (spine, edges) automatically push the book into Franken extensive territory?

if reinforced areas of a cover are considered piece fill, then the answer must be yes imo.

In regards to reinforced.  This is typically always referring to a form of thin japan mending "tissue" applied with wheat paste to seal spine splits..or reinforcing weak areas.  Because this mending tissue is typically so thin it isn't considered "piecefill" because its applied more like a tape.   As opposed to actually filling in missing original material with thicker donor papers in an effort to make the cover whole again, be it gaps in spine, missing corners, top/bottom spine areas.etc..etc

That said, since leaf casting can achieve what both reinforced mending tissue, and piece fill do at the same time.  Only a small amount of casting is considered conservation, rather then restoration.  I personally think if you leaf cast a brittle interior, filling in missing material along the way, it's still conso.  But I believe I am still in the minority on that.

Edited October 21, 2018 by Ze-man

[Mr bla bla]

18 hours ago, Ze-man said:

In regards to reinforced.  This is typically always referring to a form of thin japan mending "tissue" applied with wheat paste to seal spine splits..or reinforcing weak areas.  Because this mending tissue is typically so thin it isn't considered "piecefill" because its applied more like a tape.   As opposed to actually filling in missing original material with thicker donor papers in an effort to make the cover whole again, be it gaps in spine, missing corners, top/bottom spine areas.etc..etc

That said, since leaf casting can achieve what both reinforced mending tissue, and piece fill do at the same time.  Only a small amount of casting is considered conservation, rather then restoration.  I personally think if you leaf cast a brittle interior, filling in missing material along the way, it's still conso.  But I believe I am still in the minority on that.

Thanks Ze-man !