Grail Acquired

[jimm94]

Sometimes things happen when you least expect them to. I had always thought it would be a long time before I owned this book, but the comic gods bestowed great fortune upon me this afternoon at the Golden State Comic-Con in Oakland, CA. Beat, complete, and unrestored, the interior is nice and tight with very respectable page quality...

 

[supapimp]

[arexcrooke]

Comgrats Jimm!

[tilleycs]

Congratulations! I hope to own one of those one day.

[Larryw7]

Congratulations!

[Aces]

Congrats!

[divad]

Veni, Vidi, Vici

 

 

[divad]

9.6 Q

 

"tape residue on cover"

 

[Silver Surfer]

Nice pickup Jim, you should look into getting it restored.

[burntboy]

now that's gotta be exciting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

glad you could find a copy.......................

[jimm94]

Nice pickup Jim, you should look into getting it restored.

 

Thanks, Surfer and everyone!

 

I agree that it is a prime restoration candidate. That is one of the reasons besides the price and "eye appeal" (I'm using the term loosely in this context) that I thought it would be foolish to pass up. The missing piece from the upper right hand corner would be relatively easy for a restoration artist to replace.

 

I have already recreated that piece using a scan and my inkjet printer for display purposes only. I cut it into a square piece that slips right behind the front cover. It aligns with the cover quite nicely when in the mylar, and is fairly convincing from arms' length. I plan to experiment with a few different cover scans and color toning in Photoshop so I can perfect it even further. I'd also prefer to print a recreation on acid free paper, per FFB's recommendations when we examined it yesterday.

 

That said, I'm still undecided about what I'm going to do with the book in terms of having it restored, leaving it au natural, slabbing, etc... It's also not the copy I plan to own for the rest of my life.

 

It would almost certainly grade at 1.0 if I sent it to CGC as is. It's far too nice to get a .5, but I think I'd have to catch CGC on a pretty "good day" for a 1.5. For now, I'll just continue to enjoy it in its' current state.

[tth2]

For now, I'll just continue to enjoy it in its' current state.

Nice pick up, Jim! I agree, you should just leave it in its current state. Why restore it? It doesn't appear to be in danger of decomposing, it's just a bit ragged out. Better to marvel (pun intended) at a book that was clearly loved and well read over the years.

[uclapeterg]

I would worry about the spine - it looks like it's going to detach from the rest of the book at any minute.

[jimm94]

There's a spine, it's just in the form of small, non-consecutively attached chunks.

 

Tim is correct though - The book is structurally sound enough to be read and flipped through, albeit very carefully. And as I mentioned before, the interior is as tight as can be.

 

I have it in a Mylites2 w/ Fullback inside a Super Golden Age Mylar Archive w/ another Fullback, so it's in no danger of decomposition unless it were handled carelessly.

[tth2]

I have it in a Mylites2 w/ Fullback inside a Super Golden Age Mylar Archive w/ another Fullback, so it's in no danger of decomposition unless it were handled carelessly.

In my opinion, people should put books just in a mylite (or mylar if you're going for uber-protection), without a backboard inside the mylite/mylar, and then put the mylited/mylared book with a backboard on the outside into another mylar. That way the comic doesn't touch anything besides the mylite/mylar.

[FFB]

I have it in a Mylites2 w/ Fullback inside a Super Golden Age Mylar Archive w/ another Fullback, so it's in no danger of decomposition unless it were handled carelessly.

In my opinion, people should put books just in a mylite (or mylar if you're going for uber-protection), without a backboard inside the mylite/mylar, and then put the mylited/mylared book with a backboard on the outside into another mylar. That way the comic doesn't touch anything besides the mylite/mylar.

 

The problem with that is that you won't have an alkaline reserve within the mylar enclosure. The Library of Congress specifically recommends inclusion of an alkaline reserve when storing high-lignin-content newsprint and other acidic media within a mylar enclosure. The alkaline buffered Full Back gives you that protection and it won't hurt the book to touch it -- it actually helps the book by absorbing and neutralizing the acid within the enclosure.

[tth2]

I have it in a Mylites2 w/ Fullback inside a Super Golden Age Mylar Archive w/ another Fullback, so it's in no danger of decomposition unless it were handled carelessly.

In my opinion, people should put books just in a mylite (or mylar if you're going for uber-protection), without a backboard inside the mylite/mylar, and then put the mylited/mylared book with a backboard on the outside into another mylar. That way the comic doesn't touch anything besides the mylite/mylar.

 

The problem with that is that you won't have an alkaline reserve within the mylar enclosure. The Library of Congress specifically recommends inclusion of an alkaline reserve when storing high-lignin-content newsprint and other acidic media within a mylar enclosure. The alkaline buffered Full Back gives you that protection and it won't hurt the book to touch it -- it actually helps the book by absorbing and neutralizing the acid within the enclosure.

Do you believe everything the government tells you?

[FFB]

I have it in a Mylites2 w/ Fullback inside a Super Golden Age Mylar Archive w/ another Fullback, so it's in no danger of decomposition unless it were handled carelessly.

In my opinion, people should put books just in a mylite (or mylar if you're going for uber-protection), without a backboard inside the mylite/mylar, and then put the mylited/mylared book with a backboard on the outside into another mylar. That way the comic doesn't touch anything besides the mylite/mylar.

 

The problem with that is that you won't have an alkaline reserve within the mylar enclosure. The Library of Congress specifically recommends inclusion of an alkaline reserve when storing high-lignin-content newsprint and other acidic media within a mylar enclosure. The alkaline buffered Full Back gives you that protection and it won't hurt the book to touch it -- it actually helps the book by absorbing and neutralizing the acid within the enclosure.

Do you believe everything the government tells you?

[tth2]

The problem with that is that you won't have an alkaline reserve within the mylar enclosure. The Library of Congress specifically recommends inclusion of an alkaline reserve when storing high-lignin-content newsprint and other acidic media within a mylar enclosure. The alkaline buffered Full Back gives you that protection and it won't hurt the book to touch it -- it actually helps the book by absorbing and neutralizing the acid within the enclosure.

Do you believe everything the government tells you?

Aw, I was looking forward to a long and heated debate about preservation. I miss Belligerent Scott.

[FFB]

The problem with that is that you won't have an alkaline reserve within the mylar enclosure. The Library of Congress specifically recommends inclusion of an alkaline reserve when storing high-lignin-content newsprint and other acidic media within a mylar enclosure. The alkaline buffered Full Back gives you that protection and it won't hurt the book to touch it -- it actually helps the book by absorbing and neutralizing the acid within the enclosure.

Do you believe everything the government tells you?

Aw, I was looking forward to a long and heated debate about preservation. I miss Belligerent Scott.

 

you.