I received a PM from Tracey Heft today.....

[thehumantorch]

I'm sure there's probably a reason that he has only posted twice.....Not meant in a bad way, by no means...just some people might prefer to remain anonymous and just read what is happening within the community he has chosen to work in..

 

Or maybe this is the reason:

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=4&Number=393639&Searchpage=6&Main=22110&Words=sborock&topic=0&Search=true#Post393639

 

Wow, that is quite a thread.

[fantastic_four]

Or maybe this is the reason:

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=4&Number=393639&Searchpage=6&Main=22110&Words=sborock&topic=0&Search=true#Post393639

 

Yea, that'd do it.

[fantastic_four]

Well I read the link. I am going to reserve judgment for now. If he knows as much about resto as is being touted I would be interested in learning whatever he wants to tell us. Just my

 

He does know a lot about resto, and has much to contribute. I tried to get him to post here for the same reason you are, and in the past he's said he's extremely interested in sharing information about restoration detection with the hobby as a whole. He said he's held seminars about it at cons, and that he would like detection to not be a closely-held trade secret to a few people, but rather a widely-held skill that all collectors have equal access to.

 

I've been out of collecting for a few years...did Overstreet ever release a third edition of his Grading Guide? I suggested to Tracey that he write more about restoration detection there, and I vaguely recall he was considering it. I wonder if he ever did it.

[thehumantorch]

Tracey has been involved in the hobby for 25 or 30 years and I've never heard a bad thing about him. When I got back into collecting after that typical 'girl' stage I opened a comic file at a LCS in Edmonton that I think he owned. Reading through the link above it appears to me that any bad blood is due to a misunderstanding and Hammers usual machinations. I'm not a Heft shill, frankly I'm not even sure if the store I opened my file at was his and I can't recall if I ever met him, but I recall that he is a long time comic expert with profesional credentials.

[360degrees]

What scared me the most about the thread was when he said they found CGC books that weren't Restored but marked as so to be safe? I hope that's not the case.... and spotting restoration should be an open trade secret if certain individuals are abusing collectors that can't spot it.

[Ze-man]

Well I read the link. I am going to reserve judgment for now. If he knows as much about resto as is being touted I would be interested in learning whatever he wants to tell us. Just my

 

He does know a lot about resto, and has much to contribute. I tried to get him to post here for the same reason you are, and in the past he's said he's extremely interested in sharing information about restoration detection with the hobby as a whole. He said he's held seminars about it at cons, and that he would like detection to not be a closely-held trade secret to a few people, but rather a widely-held skill that all collectors have equal access to.

 

I've been out of collecting for a few years...did Overstreet ever release a third edition of his Grading Guide? I suggested to Tracey that he write more about restoration detection there, and I vaguely recall he was considering it. I wonder if he ever did it.

 

It is late and I guess I am tired, but I am confused by what you mentioned about resto detection being a closely held trade secret. Simply by buying a few restored comics you can learn for for yourself how to detect almost any form of restoration. Obviously there is more to it then that, but basic detecting skills are only as good as how much time and effort one puts into learning about it.

 

Matt ,Richie and Susan have all held seminars recently about detecting resto that were open to the public. Was Tracey talking about detecting unkown forms of resto that all but a few are privy to? Or the process themselves not being known to a wider audience?

 

 

Regardless of previous issues here it's obvious he knows more then most about all things paper. After reading many of his published papers I walked away with the understanding that the science behind the art is as important as what results are achieved when restoring a comic book.

[greggy]

[Ze-man]

What scared me the most about the thread was when he said they found CGC books that weren't Restored but marked as so to be safe? I hope that's not the case.... and spotting restoration should be an open trade secret if certain individuals are abusing collectors that can't spot it.

 

I don't doubt there are books that CGC mislabled, it is bound to happen. Detecting what was meant to decieve is not a foolproof science, but on a whole I would think CGC is as good as anyone at detecting, and labeling restoration.

 

Same goes with a myriad of unkown factors that might lead one to believe a book had a restoration process done to it where none was done. I would like to know what Tracey said was mislabled,(what treatment) and on how many books. I admit I have not read that thread in years so if it is mentioned I will go read it myself tomorrow.

 

 

[gaz973]

Ladies and Gentlemen, lets end this consversation quickly...your comics are pressed and heated to almost 200 F when the are printed brand new before they are put on the newstands.

 

As an aside, I have talked to Trace about restoring one of my GA books and he is a very knowledgeable person. From what I understand he is Museum trained in the conservation of paper.

 

It's be nice if he chimes in but if he doesn't I'd totally understand why.

 

R.

 

 

It's known that comics are best preserved by being stored in cool conditions so surely it follows that that the application of heat and moisture to a book in the pressing process could potentially have a long term detrimental effect. I'm just curious to hear the opinion of a paper expert on it, as pressing has become too "political" to trust for an unbiased view on the bards.

[chromium]

I've been thinking about buying Tracey's e-book about resto detecting he offers on his site.

 

And maybe the reason why Tracey doesn't post that much is this, which he wrote in the Summer of 2006

 

"I am under strict house rules not to post too often on the boards, but when I think I can add something of value to a discussion, I usually do."

 

 

Link

[Flaming_Telepath]

Ladies and Gentlemen, lets end this consversation quickly...your comics are pressed and heated to almost 200 F when the are printed brand new before they are put on the newstands.

 

Which is irrelevant...but thanks for the info. (thumbs u

[gaz973]

Ladies and Gentlemen, lets end this consversation quickly...your comics are pressed and heated to almost 200 F when the are printed brand new before they are put on the newstands.

 

Which is irrelevant...but thanks for the info. (thumbs u

 

Exactly, if the heat used in the printing process was the "be all and end all" of the situation, then it wouldn't matter what temperature comics were stored at.

[Forbush-Man]

Ladies and Gentlemen, lets end this consversation quickly...your comics are pressed and heated to almost 200 F when the are printed brand new before they are put on the newstands.

 

Which is irrelevant...but thanks for the info. (thumbs u

 

 

[Jeffro.]

I'm confused as to the nature of this thread.

 

Don't you have an eggo to let go of?

[VintageComics]

Ladies and Gentlemen, lets end this consversation quickly...your comics are pressed and heated to almost 200 F when the are printed brand new before they are put on the newstands.

 

Which is irrelevant...but thanks for the info. (thumbs u

 

 

 

I was waiting for FT to come out of the woodwork. That was funny!

 

 

I just meant in regards to the effect on the paper life, that's all. Carry on and let's not get sidetracked. There are plenty of other threads for that.

 

[Davenport]

 

It's known that comics are best preserved by being stored in cool conditions so surely it follows that that the application of heat and moisture to a book in the pressing process could potentially have a long term detrimental effect. I'm just curious to hear the opinion of a paper expert on it, as pressing has become too "political" to trust for an unbiased view on the bards.

Ditto.

It would be interesting to hear if a flash of heat/humidity is harmless, as opposed to heat/humidity used in multi-day "artifical aging" of paper.

Does a controlled momentary h/h flash + proper storage = continued normal aging? Or is there an impact, however slight?

[VintageComics]

I did speak to Trace about long term storage and he did say that constant temperature and humidty change (back and forth) where the worst things. From what I gathered storing books in one type of environment (either warm or humid) was likely not as bad as alternating between two extremes of hot and cold or dry and humid. It's the constant alternating between the two that was not good for the paper.

 

 

[Flaming_Telepath]

I did speak to Trace about long term storage and he did say that constant temperature and humidty change (back and forth) where the worst things. From what I gathered storing books in one type of environment (either warm or humid) was likely not as bad as alternating between two extremes of hot and cold or dry and humid. It's the constant alternating between the two that was not good for the paper.

 

 

So, keeping it in a nice, cool, dark room for 25 years...and then suddenly burning it almost to a crisp whilst pounding the living sh!te out of it would not be the best thing to do?

 

[showcase4]

I did speak to Trace about long term storage and he did say that constant temperature and humidty change (back and forth) where the worst things. From what I gathered storing books in one type of environment (either warm or humid) was likely not as bad as alternating between two extremes of hot and cold or dry and humid. It's the constant alternating between the two that was not good for the paper.

 

 

So, keeping it in a nice, cool, dark room for 25 years...and then suddenly burning it almost to a crisp whilst pounding the living sh!te out of it would not be the best thing to do?

 

 

[VintageComics]

I did speak to Trace about long term storage and he did say that constant temperature and humidty change (back and forth) where the worst things. From what I gathered storing books in one type of environment (either warm or humid) was likely not as bad as alternating between two extremes of hot and cold or dry and humid. It's the constant alternating between the two that was not good for the paper.

 

 

So, keeping it in a nice, cool, dark room for 25 years...and then suddenly burning it almost to a crisp whilst pounding the living sh!te out of it would not be the best thing to do?

 

 

Depends. If you're getting a little sum'tin, sum'tin from the GF while this is going on then it probably wouldn't bother you so much.