marvelmaniac

Edge wear with what appears to be a tiny piece missing and/or color breaks on the top edge, blunted corners w/color break, minor to moderate spine stress w/color break, minor staple tears, slightly discolored staples, what appears to be a color breaking crease on "The Gladiators" right boot, minor stain by the top edge, slightly fanned pages, minor creasing on the rear cover. IMO... 6.0 FINE (FN): Back to Top An above-average copy that shows minor wear but is still relatively flat and clean with no significant creasing or other serious defects. Some accumulation of minor bindery/printing defects is allowed. Minor cover wear apparent, with minor to moderate creases. Inks show a significant reduction in reflectivity. Blunted corners are more common, as is minor staining, soiling, discoloration, and/or foxing. Stamped or inked arrival dates may be present. A minor spine roll is allowed. There can also be a 1/4" spine split or severe color break. Staples may show minor discoloration. Minor staple tears and a few slight stress lines may be present, as well as minor rust migration. Paper is tan to brown and fairly supple with no signs of brittleness. Minor interior tears at the margin may be present. Centerfold may be loose. 5.5 FINE- (FN-): Back to Top Fits the criteria for Fine but with an additional defect or small accumulation of defects that detracts from the book's appearance by a perceptible amount.

My old eyes are not working well on this one, it's the purplish color on the front cover, all I see is what appears to be a crease by the spine between the staples, it appears to break color by some of the pics.

No Pictures, use the attachment at the bottom of the page to post pics.

Edge wear w/chipping/small tears on top edge, slight creasing/wrinkles on lower edge, minor to moderate spine stress w/color breaks, discolored staples, moderate staining/foxing on rear cover, slight tears on top edge of rear cover. The book does not show any "major" defects so IMO it is better than a VG/FN 5.0, but is it a FN 6.0? FN- 5.5 to FN 6.0 6.0 FINE (FN): Back to Top An above-average copy that shows minor wear but is still relatively flat and clean with no significant creasing or other serious defects. Some accumulation of minor bindery/printing defects is allowed. Minor cover wear apparent, with minor to moderate creases. Inks show a significant reduction in reflectivity. Blunted corners are more common, as is minor staining, soiling, discoloration, and/or foxing. Stamped or inked arrival dates may be present. A minor spine roll is allowed. There can also be a 1/4" spine split or severe color break. Staples may show minor discoloration. Minor staple tears and a few slight stress lines may be present, as well as minor rust migration. Paper is tan to brown and fairly supple with no signs of brittleness. Minor interior tears at the margin may be present. Centerfold may be loose. 5.5 FINE- (FN-): Back to Top Fits the criteria for Fine but with an additional defect or small accumulation of defects that detracts from the book's appearance by a perceptible amount. 5.0 VERY GOOD/FINE (VG/FN): Back to Top An above-average but well used comic book. An accumulation of bindery/printing defects is allowed. Minor to moderate cover wear apparent, with minor to moderate creases and/or dimples. Inks have moderate to low reflectivity. Blunted corners are increasingly common, as is minor to moderate staining, discoloration, and/or foxing. Stamped or inked arrival dates may be present. A minor to moderate spine roll is allowed. A spine split of up to 1/2" may be present. Staples may show minor discoloration. Minor staple tears and minor stress lines may also be present, as well as minor rust migration. Paper is tan to brown with no signs of brittleness. Centerfold may be loose. Minor interior tears may also be present.

You are absolutely correct.

Trimming would be a Restorative process to give the book straight edges, yes technically the pieces that are trimmed are now missing, however, when the grading standards refer to "pieces missing" they are referring to actual pieces that have torn away from the cover(s) or interior pages due to mishandling or age, depending on the severity of the missing piece(s) added to the overall condition of the book determines the grade, a trimmed book or a book with missing pieces makes no difference on a PR 0.5, the book has other defects besides those that make the book a PR 0.5. If you read the grading standards they actually specify how big a missing piece may be for each grade, just remember, grading is not a black and white endeavor, there are a lot of grey areas since you could have an other wise higher grade book with a small defect only allowed in a lower grade book, depending on the severity you have to determine how much of a hit the higher grade book with the minor/major lower grade defect, grading is subjective, show the book to three different people and you may get three different answers, CGC is no different. Pages Trimmed - The top, bottom and right-hand edge of the comic (or possibly interior pages) have been trimmed with a paper cutter, hand blade, or pneumatic cutter to hide edge defects. https://www.comicbookdaily.com/collecting-community/detecting-restoration/trimming/#:~:text=If every other copy of,book has probably been trimmed. https://comics.ha.com/tutorial/comics-grading.s?show=comicdefinitions These are examples of "pieces missing".

Slightly blunted corners, slight edge wear with some color rub, a few spine ticks that break color (are seen more clearly on the back cover). IMO... 9.0 VERY FINE/NEAR MINT (VF/NM): Back to TopNearly perfect with outstanding eye appeal. A limited number of bindery/printing defects are allowed. Cover is almost flat with almost imperceptible wear. Inks are bright with slightly diminished reflectivity. An 1/8" bend is allowed if color is not broken. Corners are cut square and sharp with ever-so-slight blunting permitted but no creases. Several lightly penciled, stamped or inked arrival dates are acceptable. Very minor foxing. Spine is tight and flat. Staples may show some discoloration. Only the slightest staple tears are allowed. A very minor accumulation of stress lines may be present if they are nearly imperceptible. Paper is off-white to cream and supple. Very minor interior tears may be present.

Blunted corners with color breaks, edge wear with some color breaking creasing, diagonal color breaking crease at lower right corner, moderate spine stress w/color breaks, rear cover creasing at lower left, slight staining on rear cover. IMO... 5.0 VERY GOOD/FINE (VG/FN): Back to Top An above-average but well used comic book. An accumulation of bindery/printing defects is allowed. Minor to moderate cover wear apparent, with minor to moderate creases and/or dimples. Inks have moderate to low reflectivity. Blunted corners are increasingly common, as is minor to moderate staining, discoloration, and/or foxing. Stamped or inked arrival dates may be present. A minor to moderate spine roll is allowed. A spine split of up to 1/2" may be present. Staples may show minor discoloration. Minor staple tears and minor stress lines may also be present, as well as minor rust migration. Paper is tan to brown with no signs of brittleness. Centerfold may be loose. Minor interior tears may also be present. 4.5 VERY GOOD+ (VG): Back to Top Fits the criteria for Very Good but with an additional virtue or small accumulation of virtues that improves the book's appearance by a perceptible amount.

A very nice copy. What I see in your pics is "wrinkling" at the lower spine area below the staple, this wrinkling also extends to the rear cover, the lower staple is also discolored which tells me the wrinkling was cause by water damage. Without being able to see the inside of the front and rear cover and pages or to actually have the book in front of me I would assign a grade of... 9.0 VERY FINE/NEAR MINT (VF/NM): Back to TopNearly perfect with outstanding eye appeal. A limited number of bindery/printing defects are allowed. Cover is almost flat with almost imperceptible wear. Inks are bright with slightly diminished reflectivity. An 1/8" bend is allowed if color is not broken. Corners are cut square and sharp with ever-so-slight blunting permitted but no creases. Several lightly penciled, stamped or inked arrival dates are acceptable. Very minor foxing. Spine is tight and flat. Staples may show some discoloration. Only the slightest staple tears are allowed. A very minor accumulation of stress lines may be present if they are nearly imperceptible. Paper is off-white to cream and supple. Very minor interior tears may be present.

What he said. ^^^^^ Just so you are aware, that is a copy of X-Men #1C from 1991, 1 of 5 different X-Men 1 covers used. This book actually set a sales record (which was/is in the Guinness Book of World Records), this book (all 5 variants combined) sold 8,186,500 copies in 1991 and the book is valued at less than $10.00 unless the book is a NM/MT 9.8 (which yours is not, sorry) which is valued at approx. $70.00, a NM+ 9.6 is valued at less than 1/2 the value of a 9.8. IMO, place it in a Mylite with an Acid Free Board and enjoy it as is or if you are looking to display the book buy a UV protected frame from BCW like this... https://www.bcwsupplies.com/

Lower left corner blunted w/color break, spine stress/wear at lower left corner, 1-2 spine ticks w/color break, slightly discolored staples. IMO... VF+ 8.5 9.0 VERY FINE/NEAR MINT (VF/NM): Back to Top Nearly perfect with outstanding eye appeal. A limited number of bindery/printing defects are allowed. Cover is almost flat with almost imperceptible wear. Inks are bright with slightly diminished reflectivity. An 1/8" bend is allowed if color is not broken. Corners are cut square and sharp with ever-so-slight blunting permitted but no creases. Several lightly penciled, stamped or inked arrival dates are acceptable. Very minor foxing. Spine is tight and flat. Staples may show some discoloration. Only the slightest staple tears are allowed. A very minor accumulation of stress lines may be present if they are nearly imperceptible. Paper is off-white to cream and supple. Very minor interior tears may be present. 8.5 VERY FINE+ (VF+): Back to Top Fits the criteria for Very Fine but with an additional virtue or small accumulation of virtues that improves the book's appearance by a perceptible amount. 8.0 VERY FINE (VF): Back to Top An excellent copy with outstanding eye appeal. A limited accumulation of minor bindery/printing defects is allowed. Cover is relatively flat with minimal surface wear beginning to show, possibly including some minute wear at corners. Inks are generally bright with moderate to high reflectivity. An unnoticeable 1/4" crease is acceptable if color is not broken. Stamped or inked arrival dates may be present. Minor foxing. Spine is almost completely flat with a possible minor color break. Staples may show some discoloration. Very slight staple tears and a few almost insignificant stress lines may be present. Paper is cream to tan and supple. Centerfold is mostly secure. Minor interior tears at the margin may be present.

Moderate color rub on front cover, slight spine stress/ticks, slightly discolored staples, date stamp (?) written in the "T", moderate foxing at the top of rear cover. It is hard to see cover reflectivity while in the case, being generous because it is a Golden Age book, IMO... 9.0 VERY FINE/NEAR MINT (VF/NM): Back to Top Nearly perfect with outstanding eye appeal. A limited number of bindery/printing defects are allowed. Cover is almost flat with almost imperceptible wear. Inks are bright with slightly diminished reflectivity. An 1/8" bend is allowed if color is not broken. Corners are cut square and sharp with ever-so-slight blunting permitted but no creases. Several lightly penciled, stamped or inked arrival dates are acceptable. Very minor foxing. Spine is tight and flat. Staples may show some discoloration. Only the slightest staple tears are allowed. A very minor accumulation of stress lines may be present if they are nearly imperceptible. Paper is off-white to cream and supple. Very minor interior tears may be present. 8.5 VERY FINE+ (VF+): Back to Top Fits the criteria for Very Fine but with an additional virtue or small accumulation of virtues that improves the book's appearance by a perceptible amount.

I cannot answer your question on a press since I do not subscribe to this service. Slight edge wear, slight corner wear with blunted/creased upper corners, slight spine stress, rusted staples (as seen from the centerfold), slight foxing on rear cover. IMO... 7.5 VERY FINE- (VF-): Back to Top Fits the criteria for Very Fine but with an additional defect or small accumulation of defects that detracts from the book's appearance by a perceptible amount. 7.0 FINE/VERY FINE (FN/VF): Back to Top An above-average copy that shows minor wear but is still relatively flat and clean with outstanding eye appeal. A small accumulation of minor bindery/printing defects is allowed. Minor cover wear beginning to show, possibly including minor creases. Corners may be blunted. Inks are generally bright with a moderate reduction in reflectivity. Stamped or inked arrival dates may be present. Minor foxing. The slightest spine roll may be present, as well as a possible moderate color break. Staples may show some discoloration. Slight staple tears and a small accumulation of light stress lines may be present. Slight rust migration. Paper is cream to tan. Centerfold is mostly secure. Minor interior tears at the margin may be present.

Edge wear with color breaks and chipping on top edge, corner wear with color breaking creases, minor to moderate spine stress w/color breaks, some color rub on front cover, slight color breaking crease by the Thinkers head, slightly discolored staples, rear cover burn hole, tear at lower spine. IMO... 5.5 FINE- (FN-): Back to Top Fits the criteria for Fine but with an additional defect or small accumulation of defects that detracts from the book's appearance by a perceptible amount. 5.0 VERY GOOD/FINE (VG/FN): Back to Top An above-average but well used comic book. An accumulation of bindery/printing defects is allowed. Minor to moderate cover wear apparent, with minor to moderate creases and/or dimples. Inks have moderate to low reflectivity. Blunted corners are increasingly common, as is minor to moderate staining, discoloration, and/or foxing. Stamped or inked arrival dates may be present. A minor to moderate spine roll is allowed. A spine split of up to 1/2" may be present. Staples may show minor discoloration. Minor staple tears and minor stress lines may also be present, as well as minor rust migration. Paper is tan to brown with no signs of brittleness. Centerfold may be loose. Minor interior tears may also be present.

Edge wear w/moderate color breaking creases on outer edge, blunted corners with creasing that breaks color, name written at top of front cover, minor to moderate spine stress/tears, staining at the top right corner, rear cover shows slight staining/foxing and creasing. IMO, the name written on the cover prevents this book from being a VG/FN 5.0, I may be a bit conservative here... VG+ 4.5 5.0 VERY GOOD/FINE (VG/FN): Back to Top An above-average but well used comic book. An accumulation of bindery/printing defects is allowed. Minor to moderate cover wear apparent, with minor to moderate creases and/or dimples. Inks have moderate to low reflectivity. Blunted corners are increasingly common, as is minor to moderate staining, discoloration, and/or foxing. Stamped or inked arrival dates may be present. A minor to moderate spine roll is allowed. A spine split of up to 1/2" may be present. Staples may show minor discoloration. Minor staple tears and minor stress lines may also be present, as well as minor rust migration. Paper is tan to brown with no signs of brittleness. Centerfold may be loose. Minor interior tears may also be present. 4.5 VERY GOOD+ (VG): Back to Top Fits the criteria for Very Good but with an additional virtue or small accumulation of virtues that improves the book's appearance by a perceptible amount. 4.0 VERY GOOD (VG): Back to Top The average used comic book. Cover shows moderate to significant wear, and may be loose but not completely detached. Cover reflectivity is low. Can have moderate creases or dimples. Corners may be blunted. Store stamps, name stamps, arrival dates, initials, etc. have no effect on this grade. Some discoloration, fading, foxing, and even minor soiling is allowed. As much as a 1/4" triangle can be missing out of the corner or edge; a missing 1/8" square is also acceptable. Only minor unobtrusive tape and other amateur repair allowed on otherwise high grade copies. Moderate spine roll may be present and/or a 1" spine split. Staples may be discolored. Minor to moderate staple tears and stress lines may be present, as well as some rust migration. Paper is brown but not brittle. Minor to moderate interior tears may be present. Centerfold may be loose or detached at one staple.

Edge/corner wear w/slight creasing and color breaks, slight chipping on top edge, minor to moderate spine stress w/color breaks, discolored staples, color rub on front cover. IMO... 6.5 FINE+ (FN+): Back to Top Fits the criteria for Fine but with an additional virtue or small accumulation of virtues that improves the book's appearance by a perceptible amount. 6.0 FINE (FN): Back to Top An above-average copy that shows minor wear but is still relatively flat and clean with no significant creasing or other serious defects. Some accumulation of minor bindery/printing defects is allowed. Minor cover wear apparent, with minor to moderate creases. Inks show a significant reduction in reflectivity. Blunted corners are more common, as is minor staining, soiling, discoloration, and/or foxing. Stamped or inked arrival dates may be present. A minor spine roll is allowed. There can also be a 1/4" spine split or severe color break. Staples may show minor discoloration. Minor staple tears and a few slight stress lines may be present, as well as minor rust migration. Paper is tan to brown and fairly supple with no signs of brittleness. Minor interior tears at the margin may be present. Centerfold may be loose.

Edge/corner wear w/chipping, folded lower right corner, color breaks w/creasing on lower edge, moderate spine stress w/color breaks, color rub on front cover, slightly discolored lower staple (?), moderate foxing/staining on rear cover. IMO... 5.5 FINE- (FN-): Back to Top Fits the criteria for Fine but with an additional defect or small accumulation of defects that detracts from the book's appearance by a perceptible amount. 5.0 VERY GOOD/FINE (VG/FN): Back to Top An above-average but well used comic book. An accumulation of bindery/printing defects is allowed. Minor to moderate cover wear apparent, with minor to moderate creases and/or dimples. Inks have moderate to low reflectivity. Blunted corners are increasingly common, as is minor to moderate staining, discoloration, and/or foxing. Stamped or inked arrival dates may be present. A minor to moderate spine roll is allowed. A spine split of up to 1/2" may be present. Staples may show minor discoloration. Minor staple tears and minor stress lines may also be present, as well as minor rust migration. Paper is tan to brown with no signs of brittleness. Centerfold may be loose. Minor interior tears may also be present.

Corner/edge wear with waviness/chipping on the top edge, minor to moderate spine stress w/color break, staple tears, color rub on the front cover, spine roll w/slightly fanned pages, moderate foxing/staining on the rear cover. I would have liked to see the inside front/rear cover and centerfold to see if any are loose or detached and the centerfold staples to check for discoloration/rust/rust migration, etc, however, judging by what I can see... 6.0 FINE (FN): Back to Top An above-average copy that shows minor wear but is still relatively flat and clean with no significant creasing or other serious defects. Some accumulation of minor bindery/printing defects is allowed. Minor cover wear apparent, with minor to moderate creases. Inks show a significant reduction in reflectivity. Blunted corners are more common, as is minor staining, soiling, discoloration, and/or foxing. Stamped or inked arrival dates may be present. A minor spine roll is allowed. There can also be a 1/4" spine split or severe color break. Staples may show minor discoloration. Minor staple tears and a few slight stress lines may be present, as well as minor rust migration. Paper is tan to brown and fairly supple with no signs of brittleness. Minor interior tears at the margin may be present. Centerfold may be loose. 5.5 FINE- (FN-): Back to Top Fits the criteria for Fine but with an additional defect or small accumulation of defects that detracts from the book's appearance by a perceptible amount.

Overall the book appears to be very nice, all I see is some spine stress w/color breaks, slight color rub in the black areas and this... I would need to see the inside of the front cover before assigning a grade.

Hard to see through the case, however, I do see a couple/few spine ticks w/color break, it is the color breaks that create the problem. Technically, you are not allowed a color break on the spine on any book graded higher than VF 8.0, since grading encompasses the overall condition of the book, a high grade copy (NM 9.4 or higher) with no visible defects other than a color breaking spine tick would not drop that far, in this instance, not being able to see the book outside of the case, IMO... 9.0 VERY FINE/NEAR MINT (VF/NM): Back to Top Nearly perfect with outstanding eye appeal. A limited number of bindery/printing defects are allowed. Cover is almost flat with almost imperceptible wear. Inks are bright with slightly diminished reflectivity. An 1/8" bend is allowed if color is not broken. Corners are cut square and sharp with ever-so-slight blunting permitted but no creases. Several lightly penciled, stamped or inked arrival dates are acceptable. Very minor foxing. Spine is tight and flat. Staples may show some discoloration. Only the slightest staple tears are allowed. A very minor accumulation of stress lines may be present if they are nearly imperceptible. Paper is off-white to cream and supple. Very minor interior tears may be present. 8.5 VERY FINE+ (VF+): Back to Top Fits the criteria for Very Fine but with an additional virtue or small accumulation of virtues that improves the book's appearance by a perceptible amount.

There is not going to be a black and white answer to this, there are too many variables to consider and of course the higher the overall grade the more of a hit the book will take. I do not have my books pressed, however, from what I have read, spine roll/stacking curl is easily corrected with a press on newer books, older books due to the quality of paper used (newsprint) may not fair as well. I do not know CGC's stance on this, however, for me, a Slight stacking curl could be present on a NM- 9.2 taking all other defects (or lack of defects) into consideration. 1)What is the overall grade of the book? 2)How severe is the spine roll/stacking curl, is it a slight roll, do the front and rear covers still align properly, are there any fanned pages, has it become an actual crease, did color break anywhere along the spine roll/stacking curl? From the grading standards, and as you can see, a lot is up to individual perception. ("Is Flat", "Almost Flat", "Relatively Flat") NM- 9.2 - Gem MT 10.0 - Cover is flat with no surface wear. VF/NM 9.0 - . Cover is almost flat with almost imperceptible wear. VF 8.0 - Cover is relatively flat with minimal surface wear beginning to show FN/VF 7.0 - An above-average copy that shows minor wear but is still relatively flat and clean with outstanding eye appeal. FN 6.0 - An above-average copy that shows minor wear but is still relatively flat and clean with no significant creasing or other serious defects.

Blunted/Rounded corners w/color breaking creases, edge wear w/color breaking creases on the lower edge, minor spine stress w/color breaking spine ticks, slightly fanned pages, slightly discolored staples, foxing/staining on rear cover. IMO... 5.0 VERY GOOD/FINE (VG/FN): Back to TopAn above-average but well used comic book. An accumulation of bindery/printing defects is allowed. Minor to moderate cover wear apparent, with minor to moderate creases and/or dimples. Inks have moderate to low reflectivity. Blunted corners are increasingly common, as is minor to moderate staining, discoloration, and/or foxing. Stamped or inked arrival dates may be present. A minor to moderate spine roll is allowed. A spine split of up to 1/2" may be present. Staples may show minor discoloration. Minor staple tears and minor stress lines may also be present, as well as minor rust migration. Paper is tan to brown with no signs of brittleness. Centerfold may be loose. Minor interior tears may also be present.

Blunted corners, slight edge wear, color breaking crease at lower left corner, slight spine stress w/color break, small ding on outer edge by the "R" in "Surfer", slight foxing/staining as seen in the price box. I would like to see pics of the square bound spine from the side, inside front cover/splash page and rear cover. Assigning a grade with only seeing the from cover and the defects listed above, IMO... 7.5 VERY FINE- (VF-): Back to Top Fits the criteria for Very Fine but with an additional defect or small accumulation of defects that detracts from the book's appearance by a perceptible amount. 7.0 FINE/VERY FINE (FN/VF): Back to Top An above-average copy that shows minor wear but is still relatively flat and clean with outstanding eye appeal. A small accumulation of minor bindery/printing defects is allowed. Minor cover wear beginning to show, possibly including minor creases. Corners may be blunted. Inks are generally bright with a moderate reduction in reflectivity. Stamped or inked arrival dates may be present. Minor foxing. The slightest spine roll may be present, as well as a possible moderate color break. Staples may show some discoloration. Slight staple tears and a small accumulation of light stress lines may be present. Slight rust migration. Paper is cream to tan. Centerfold is mostly secure. Minor interior tears at the margin may be present.

The whiteness you see on the spine is due to the cover stock used, it happens during the printing/bindery process when the book is folded, it is normal for these type of books and from what I understand CGC does not deduct for that. The only issues I see with the book are corner dings on the lower corners and some very slight edge wear which could also be normal for the cover stock used. All three of these grades state the same thing as far as the corners are concerned, the book is better than a VF/NM 9.0, is it a NM 9.4? "Corners are cut square and sharp with ever-so-slight blunting permitted" Curious to see what others with more modern age book experience with hard cover stock have to say. 9.4 NEAR MINT (NM): Back to Top Nearly perfect with only minor imperfections that keep it from the next higher grade. Subtle bindery/printing defects are allowed. Bindery tears must be less than 1/16" on Silver Age and later books, although on Golden Age books bindery tears of up to 1/4" have been noted. Cover is flat with no surface wear. Inks are bright with high reflectivity and a minimum of fading. Corners are cut square and sharp with ever-so-slight blunting permitted. A 1/16" bend is permitted with no color break. Small, inconspicuous, lightly penciled, stamped or inked arrival dates are acceptable as long as they are in an unobtrusive location. Slight foxing. Spine is tight and flat. Staples are generally centered; may have slight discoloration. Almost no stress lines. Paper is off-white to cream, supple and fresh. Slight interior tears are allowed. 9.2 NEAR MINT- (NM-): Back to Top Nearly perfect with only a minor additional defect or defects that keep it from Near Mint. A limited number of minor bindery/printing defects are allowed. Cover is flat with no surface wear. Inks are bright with only the slightest dimming of reflectivity. Corners are cut square and sharp with ever-so-slight blunting permitted. A 1/16-1/8" bend is permitted with no color break. Small, inconspicuous, lightly penciled, stamped or inked arrival dates are acceptable as long as they are in an unobtrusive location. Slight foxing. Spine is tight and flat. Staples may show some discoloration. Almost no stress lines. Paper is off-white to cream, supple and fresh. Slight interior tears are allowed. 9.0 VERY FINE/NEAR MINT (VF/NM): Back to Top Nearly perfect with outstanding eye appeal. A limited number of bindery/printing defects are allowed. Cover is almost flat with almost imperceptible wear. Inks are bright with slightly diminished reflectivity. An 1/8" bend is allowed if color is not broken. Corners are cut square and sharp with ever-so-slight blunting permitted but no creases. Several lightly penciled, stamped or inked arrival dates are acceptable. Very minor foxing. Spine is tight and flat. Staples may show some discoloration. Only the slightest staple tears are allowed. A very minor accumulation of stress lines may be present if they are nearly imperceptible. Paper is off-white to cream and supple. Very minor interior tears may be present.