mike devon

The conservators are the ones with the real knowledge. Someone comics related said to me 'comics and water don't mix' - well in fact hydration is used all the time by conservators on paper works. For 'gluing' they use starches that can be removed with water. To me a highly desirable book with a pro internal fix is a very minor thing. Even married pages - if its done right you'd never be able to tell. Covers yeah I understand people being ultra fussy. What was Trace's verdict on the sticker - I expect it would have been a few hours work to remove it @ about £60 per hour..? I saw someone on here say that hydrogen peroxide is used for lightening pages - well no it isn't any more. At least its not the first choice as there are less invasive things available.

Hmm but Green is more 'pure' than Purple..? Its very individualistic and subjective. If I see 2 copies of the same book both £500 and one is a mangled Blue and one is a tidy Purple or Green I'd definitely consider the latter - it would depend on the book. I'd buy a Purple ASM50 if all it had was one or 2 tiny colour touches. In some ways comics collectors are fussier than pro conservators - I find this a bit odd as comics interiors are a very low grade item in the first place. If you mend a tear in an original letter written by Lord Nelson why not an ASM 50..?

Yeah - tampered staples, non-matching whiteness, trimmed edges, damage to the pages on re-insertion of staples - can't think of anything else but I'm sure there is other stuff. If done well though would be pretty much impossible to detect - the tolerances the books were made under just aren't high enough. I've seen mangled staples that are obviously from the factory.

Heh - to repeat though I wanted people's opinion of the general wear of the book aside from the missing page. I didn't want to distract and get into a debate about marrying etc on this thread. It hasn't been a waste of time at all as I got a good idea of the general opinion of the cover esp + the overall condition. I now know its prob about a 5 so I can decide whether its worth trying a marry. So its been really helpful to me.

Sure. What I'm trying to do is get people's opinions on here really. Like PLODs ('death') - people on here seem to hate them but they do sell for quite high prices. That's why I'm asking a lot of questions or suggesting things. I've got the full CGC grading guide and for me I've found that broadly people on here seem to be a bit more strict on grades than the guide. I guess its good to be cautious when grading.

Hi yeah. It was on Ebay for a large sum and I had a chat with the guy and got 30% off. I got it for the same amount as some of the 1.0 FAIR ones that look as though they've been through a shredder. I know a lot of folk wouldn't have touched it but for a complete one in similar condition it would be like $1500-$1700. Amazingly the really rough 1.0s do sell - I bet a lot do so pages can be nicked out of them.

You mean the tread offering to press any tatty single wraps - for fun really. Pressing paper by hydrating is a conservators technique. I think 'gluing' parts back using proper techniques is unacceptable to some but not others..?

No - I wanted to see what people's opinion was of the general condition without muddying the water. There are very differing opinions about missing pieces.

They aren't my pics Harry I just bought it. They are the sellers pics. This in fact has a page missing. Its an ad page - that's why I was asking about it. I have to decide how to deal with it. As the staples are both still on the other half of the wrap I might see about marrying the page - it would have to be glued on using conservator techniques.

Reverse. I think the book's a 4.5 now maybe 5.0. I think 4.0 is too low.

Spine. Wear but not horrific I don't think..?

Its definitely lens distortion - on this one the spine looks curved.

Already bough it

OK so that would mean gluing it on. Glue the single page (half wrap) onto the other side of the wrap which is still there and on at both staples.

I think that curve is just the way its lying + camera distortion.

That's interesting - I'd expected most people to say just leave it. So - if marrying would you attach the new page to the other side which is still there on both staples - or replace the whole wrap..?

Yeah but I find it a bit perplexing that what is really conservation work will get lumped into the same bracket as a book thats got tape all over it + marker 'retouching'. PLOD but completely different ethos\effect.

OK so you've bought a nice mega key that has the last page missing. Assume its been cut out so the other side of the wrap - the opening splash - is still on the staples. Do you: 1 - leave it and just ogle the book as is 2 - get a banger and insert the page loose inside the book 3 - get a banger and marry the whole wrap properly I'm assuming the PQ and size would match up. I'm sure there's no consensus on this. I'm also wondering what this will do to grade/resale. I've seen everything from 0.5 maximum grade and commensurate value on a married book to near guide depending on what the book is.

Cheers folks. And really would it hurt it if I do a little tidy on the spine with conservators glue..? I think there might be a couple of places where there are little breaks that are sticking up that could be pushed back down..?

Cheers LD. I'm iffy about slabbing - I've seen what I think are big variations on grades. Some really smart looking books getting 5.0s etc. If I sell I'd offer returns if not happy but then you yourself are exposed to unscrupulous people - they could deliberately damage your book then return it. Buyer always win on Ebay.

Cheers. Well its ebay so if it has been retouched back it goes - or else a hefty part refund. Yeah its definitely better than a 4.0. This is a good example of a mid grade that I think will look quite smart when pressed. Most of the wear is pretty hidden on the spine.

Hi - it looks like 2 little scratches on the front cover but I've seen exactly the same marks on at least 20 copies of the same book.

Cheers - 4.0 VG - seems a little bit hard..?

ASM 6 has 2 little colour breaks by the Lizard's lower hand. I've seen exactly the same issue on loads of them.

On a silver age major key what about a non story page missing..? Not the whole wrap just one side of it..? Qualified..?