"Unrestored" raw Heritage win turns out to be restored

[tb]

A friend of mine won a Mickey Mouse Magazine V1#1 at $3,737 (lot 4397 in last weeks auction). Here is the description:

 

"Mickey Mouse Magazine #1 with Mailing Envelope (Hal Horne Incorporated, 1935) Condition: FN-. The first issue of Mickey Mouse Magazine, produced in the summer of 1935, was a special project of Kay Kamen's that he felt would promote all things Mickey -- especially Mickey Mouse movies and Mickey-themed merchandise. Containing puzzles, games, stories, and comics of Disney characters, this was in reality a promotional magazine for Disney cartoon movies and paraphernalia. This book was sent by mail to P.T. Buckley in Jackson, Mississippi back in 1935, and we've got the only known example of the original mailer to prove it! The mailer is complete, but brittle with many creases. The magazine's cover is in Excellent condition, with only a modest amount of wear along the spine. With its gorgeous glowing color, and only minimal aging apparent on the interior, we defy you to try to find a more beautiful copy of this book! Issues of this magazine are extremely rare collectibles, and this first issue in particular is highly prized. Also, this book is signed by editor Hal Horne on the first page. Truly, a bit of Disney history -- own it today! Overstreet 2005 FN 6.0 value = $3,750 (and that's without the mailer!). From the Larry Jacobs Collection."

 

While discussing the purchase, it occurred to us that this same book was offered by Mark Wilson (PGCMint) on eBay a couple of years ago. MWs listing noted “professionally cleaned and deacidified” + “minor repairs performed to increase structural integrity”. The book sold on 11 February 2003 at $1,625.

 

It is particularly easy to tell that this is the same book since the original envelope has the same address and the book is signed by Hal Horne. If any doubt remains, Mark Wilson can attest that he owned (and presumably restored) the book.

 

Since the Heritage listing failed to disclose the restoration, my friend feels that they have misrepresented the book (I agree). I am completely confident that this is an honest mistake that Heritage will correct promptly. As soon as they do, I will post a follow-up so everyone can see what a great and honest company they are.

[tth2]

Good luck to your friend. I'm sure Heritage will provide a full refund for the book. It's just a shame he has to go through the hassle.

[Harvey Dude]

That is actually disconcerting since I thought Heritage would practice due diligence on an unslabbed high dollar book. I thought they had experts to check for restoration. “Minor repairs performed to increase structural integrity” should have been readily apparent

 

I am sure they will make good now that the restoration was brought to their attention.

[esquirecomics]

I have little doubt Heritage will make good on this. I suggest your friend contact either Lon Allen or Jim Halperin.

 

However, I echo the concern as to why Heritage did not catch the restoration assuming this is true (not doubting, just being a good lawyer!). Do they not have someone on staff checking for restoration?

[FFB]

I have little doubt Heritage will make good on this. I suggest your friend contact either Lon Allen or Jim Halperin.

 

However, I echo the concern as to why Heritage did not catch the restoration assuming this is true (not doubting, just being a good lawyer!). Do they not have someone on staff checking for restoration?

 

I think that's what Matt Nelson does for them, isn't it? Checks the raw books for resto?

 

As for the missed resto, I have heard from more than one of the top pros in the industry that it is quite possible to disassemble many GA books, give them a solvent cleaning, and reassemble them without anyone being able to tell. It is not a sure thing every time, but I've been told that it is easier than some would lead you to think.

 

Of course, it's also possible that the "professional cleaning" refers to dry cleaning (erasure).

 

I wish we knew more about what "minor repairs" were done to "increase structural integrity." If support were added at the staples, that should be visible but my understanding is that if the support added is really minor and well hidden, it can get missed from time to time.

[Arty]

Looks like entire interior spine is reinforced with a long strip of japan paper? (Not interior cover but pages)

 

Pic of the interior

[FFB]

Looks like entire interior spine is reinforced with a long strip of japan paper? (Not interior cover but pages)

 

Pic of the interior

 

Wow, that kind of tells the whole story there, doesn't it? I don't see how anyone could have missed that.

[tb]

Thanks once again, Arty, neither of us had seen that.

 

The spine is particularly significant in this case since MMM #1 is close

to never found with an intact spine. I have never seen a spine that would

grade above FN for this issue. Most copies grade around VG because of this.

The difference between a VG and true, unrestored FN copy would be roughly

$3,000.

[Mushroom]

Its' a key book.

It has the only known mailer.

It has a sales trail.

 

Sounds to me like they knew all about this book..............

[Harvey Dude]

Looks like entire interior spine is reinforced with a long strip of japan paper? (Not interior cover but pages)

 

I am a tad blind and I can discern the resto. All I can add is

[esquirecomics]

I think that's what Matt Nelson does for them, isn't it? Checks the raw books for resto?

 

Someone should check with Nelson or Heritage to inquire about this. It would be helpful to know who does handle Heritage's restoration checks to ensure it is a professional with experience so problems such as this are minimized, if not eliminated.

[Shield]

Looks like entire interior spine is reinforced with a long strip of japan paper? (Not interior cover but pages)

 

Pic of the interior

 

That just looks like ordinary thin archival tape - I've "saved" a few beauties that way (obviously I would NEVER sell them without disclosing it!).

 

I bought a Top-Notch #9 back in 2002 from Heritage, with only minor restoration mentioned in the ad. The entire spine was brittle, and had been re-assembled with archival tape. Individual pages were loose and had archival tape on them as well, along with a large strip of AT going down the interior cover.

 

I was unhappy that this wasn't disclosed. I called Heritage; they took the book back with no hassle and refunded 100% of my money. It was a $350 book though, not a $3000 book.

 

 

 

Footnote to the story - they relisted the book, and disclosed the extent of the restoration.

 

Original auction description:

 

"Top-Notch Comics #9 (MLJ, 1940) Apparent VG 4.0. Origin and first appearance of the Black Hood. Restoration includes tear seals and spine reinforcement. Overstreet 2002 GD 2.0 value = $523; FN 6.0 value = $1,569."

 

Original sale - Now listed as "unsold"

 

After the return, the resold book with description:

 

Top-Notch Comics #9 (MLJ, 1940) Condition = Apparent GD+. Origin and first appearance of the Black Hood. Also features The Wizard with Roy The Super Boy. Restoration includes tear seals to cover and extensive spine reinforcement and repair throughout book. Edge chipping on some interior pages. This scarce MLJ key is tough to find in any grade. Overstreet 2002 GD 2.0 value = $523; FN 6.0 value = $1,569.

 

Link to the revised full-disclosure book:

 

Again, they took care of the problem without any hassle. You should be ok; don't worry!

 

Shawn

[Aces]

Looks like entire interior spine is reinforced with a long strip of japan paper? (Not interior cover but pages)

 

Pic of the interior

 

Wow, that kind of tells the whole story there, doesn't it? I don't see how anyone could have missed that.

 

They didn't check the insides on their books very well this month.

I have to return two Tales to Astonish books for missing pages or pages with large peices torn off.

[OldGuy]

Looks like entire interior spine is reinforced with a long strip of japan paper? (Not interior cover but pages)

 

Pic of the interior

 

Wow, that kind of tells the whole story there, doesn't it? I don't see how anyone could have missed that.

 

They didn't check the insides on their books very well this month.

I have to return two Tales to Astonish books for missing pages or pages with large peices torn off.

 

Put it in a CGC slab an then the pages won't matter. Buy the cover, not the entire book!

[swhuck]

I just thought you'd be interested in knowing that the winning bidder e-mailed us directly, we've reviewed the piece, and we agreed with his assessment that it was the same piece previously auctioned in 2003 on e-Bay and described as restored.

 

We have apologized to the winning bidder, have pulled the item, and will return it to the consignor. We simply missed the restoration at the time of cataloging.

[tb]

Thank you very much for addressing this so quickly. I've always

thought highly of Heritage and had no doubt that you would do the

right thing.

[esquirecomics]

I just thought you'd be interested in knowing that the winning bidder e-mailed us directly, we've reviewed the piece, and we agreed with his assessment that it was the same piece previously auctioned in 2003 on e-Bay and described as restored.

 

We have apologized to the winning bidder, have pulled the item, and will return it to the consignor. We simply missed the restoration at the time of cataloging.

 

Stewart -

 

As I said above, I had little doubt that Heritage would promptly and fairly resolve this matter. Of course, how Heritage would react was never in serious question.

 

However, we would appreciate clarification regarding the extent to which non-CGC books are checked for restoration. In this case, fortunately, it was obvious that restoration was present and the existence of the prior e-bay item confirmed it for sure. Next time the winner may not be so lucky or diligent in their examination.

 

One would have thought that Heritage's expert - presuming there is one - would have caught this. Certainly mistakes do occur and no one would fault the existence of some degree of human error. Still, given the state of this book and the experience of whomever your expert is (Matt Nelson?), it leads us wondering what happened and what steps will Heritage take to minimize the chances that it will happen again.

[tth2]

Looks like entire interior spine is reinforced with a long strip of japan paper? (Not interior cover but pages)

 

Pic of the interior

 

Wow, that kind of tells the whole story there, doesn't it? I don't see how anyone could have missed that.

No one else has mentioned this, so I'll give kudos to Heritage for showing this kind of picture of the book. Not many other auction houses/dealers would provide this much info on an item in an auction listing.

[Mushroom]

Some of you guys are truly hilarious...could you get your faces wedged up their arse any further. If this was a dealer on ebay you would be all over them like a rash. Let's face it....Heritage is no angel and if I was "pressed" on this issue I would in my own personal opinion take a view that disclosure of all relevant facts is not necessarily one of their strong suits (this is purely a subjective comment that has no grounding in fact....this is for all the legal types).

 

Reacting after the event does not identify or solve the root cause..............

[tth2]

Some of you guys are truly hilarious...could you get your faces wedged up their arse any further.

No, it's called giving credit when credit is due, a little positive reinforcement when deserved, as opposed to speaking only to whine about something negative. I thought it was pretty cool that Heritage showed non-standard pictures of the book that had the effect of allowing people to see the defect. The standard pictures shown by most auction houses and dealers would never have shown this. So I pointed out that Heritage had gone beyond the norm. If this makes me a brown-noser, then whatever.