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Trim Job?

Started by sterlingcomics,

30 posts in this topic

drbanner

drbanner

Posted
Posted

There are a couple general things to look for:

 

- overflash at the top edge, particularly on silver age marvels...here's a scan of a book I received TODAY that is trimmed and will be going back. The front and back covers and interior pages are all straight and flush = no overflash = trimmed.

 

trim.jpg

 

- on the right edge, the pages should stick out more at the top than at the bottom, and the centerfold should stick out the most, with the pages forming a "V" if you look down at them from the top.

 

I thought there was a thread I started a while back on "Detecting Trimming?" but I can't seem to find it. confused-smiley-013.gif

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dgillock

dgillock

Posted
Posted

I've seen stranger wraps on DC's of the period, but that book makes me a little hinky... Nothing against the seller, but it just looks odd.

 

If I was a high grade collector (which I'm not) I would be very hesitant to pay a premium for any book I didn't feel absolutely sure about. In these cases, you're not paying for the book itself- as most books of this period are pretty easy to acquire if you're not picky on grade- you're paying for a really nice copy. In this case, if it's not trimmed, it's a premium copy and $47 is probably reasonable. If it is trimmed then it's worth a couple of dollars tops.

 

Too much risk... Error on the side of caution IMO. I'd hold on to my money for a book you can inspect in person and feel totally comfortable with before you buy.

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Mr. Zipper

Mr. Zipper

Posted
Posted
There are a couple general things to look for:

 

- overflash at the top edge, particularly on silver age marvels...here's a scan of a book I received TODAY that is trimmed and will be going back. The front and back covers and interior pages are all straight and flush = no overflash = trimmed.

 

trim.jpg

 

 

Yup. It's not even straight. I presume the slight waver comes from the angle of the blade changing slightly as the wrist moves the blade.

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Mr. Zipper

Mr. Zipper

Posted
Posted
This could also be taken as an indicator that the book has not been trimmed...besides...if you look at the bottom staple...it does not look like it had been removed... If the book had indeed been trimmed I would think the staple would have been reinserted and flattened...whereas the bottom staple looks rounded with no sign of manual bending... JMO....

 

I don't know about that. I think it would be very easy to trim the right edge (or left edge of the back) without removing the cover. If the overhang was enough, I think you could even do the top or bottom edge without removing the cover.

 

Regarding the "V" shape the pages should have...

 

This is true, but again, if just the cover was trimmed, the book will still retain the V shape because the interior pages remain the same. The only type of trim that the V shape may betray is the type of trim where the entire book is put into a cutter and chop cut. Frankly, this is a pretty primitive trimming method, and I don't think any pro-resto jobs are going to be revealed by this detection method.

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drbanner

drbanner

Posted
Posted

Yeah, I would imagine the majority of trim jobs focus on trimming a tiny slice off the top and right edges without removing the cover. I believe there was an article in an old OS (or some such associated publication) that detailed how to look at the pages for evidence of trimming, but I'm sure the master trimmer only trims the cover, not the pages.

 

On Silver Age Marvels, his typical victims, this can make a big difference in grade due to the typical wear along the overflash, and if done ever-so slightly, may not be detectable.

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sterlingcomics

sterlingcomics

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Hi All,

 

I received a message from Steve aka comgeek tonight indicating that he was rather upset by claiming his books were trimmed.

 

All I have to say is....huh? confused.gif

 

To summarize, I saw a couple of nice books posted from investmentcollectibles2 and apparently I didn't read clearly enough to see that it was a satellite seller for him. Because you can never be too cautious on eBay, I confirmed that with an e-mail to him later in the week.

 

With regards to the book and this thread, does anyone seem to think I was accusing the seller of hacking books? This thread was initiated only so I can learn and get opinions from others in regards to how the book looked.

 

Steve clarified that the books were from an original owner collection, and that all books were free of restoration in an e-mail I posed to him about the same time I posted the thread.

 

So, in closing, I want to apologize to Steve if he thought I was attacking him or his reputation, but I don't think I'm doing something wrong here in soliciting knowlege and opinions. That IS what a forum is for, no?

 

Isn't this hobby supposed to be fun?

Sigh...

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