Dry Brittle Pages 0

[G.J.]

So my landlord found a stack of comics in an attic someone forgot and since I had some I was selling asked if I'd look up approximate values and look them over see if they are even sellable. Well several are worth a good little amount but the pages are dry and very brittle. I've heard they can be restored. I've seen books that had pages like that in the Beidhearn bible collection, they almost burned up and some were saved and restored and looked fantastic. Anyone know how or where to get the instructions? I'm pretty savy if I have the stuff. I hate to let these just go to waste to because of the ones they are. I'm so tired of trying to find out online. Guess looking it up I'm not savy enough huh. Anyones assistance would be appreciated.  Thanks in advance.

[Philflound]

A book is only brittle if the pages literally continue to crumble the more you handle them. There are comics that will have say one corner of every page flake 1/4" and that is it. The rest of the book is solid. Those books are not brittle once you get past the part that will come off. There are some ads in the Overstreet guide for restoration, so you may want to check there.

[G.J.]

When I say brittle I meant brittle. No joking. You have to be delicate to handle the pages or edges will crackle n off n in fingers. They've had probably 20 years or more of going from heat to cold in and attic before someone happened upon them. I just need to know are how to restore the pliability to them and I know it can be done and I'll do it myself I'm positive I can.

[Bomber-Bob]

10 hours ago, G.J. said:

When I say brittle I meant brittle. No joking. You have to be delicate to handle the pages or edges will crackle n off n in fingers. They've had probably 20 years or more of going from heat to cold in and attic before someone happened upon them. I just need to know are how to restore the pliability to them and I know it can be done and I'll do it myself I'm positive I can.

I don't think anyone here is going to give you an answer on this. First off, restoration, even for conservation reasons, is generally frowned upon by comic collectors and will greatly decrease the value. All restored books are expected to be disclosed as such when selling. Restoration should be done by a trained professional, not a DIY with advice from Home Depot. 

[Foley]

On 4/24/2018 at 8:45 AM, G.J. said:

So my landlord found a stack of comics in an attic someone forgot and since I had some I was selling asked if I'd look up approximate values and look them over see if they are even sellable. Well several are worth a good little amount but the pages are dry and very brittle. I've heard they can be restored. I've seen books that had pages like that in the Beidhearn bible collection, they almost burned up and some were saved and restored and looked fantastic. Anyone know how or where to get the instructions? I'm pretty savy if I have the stuff. I hate to let these just go to waste to because of the ones they are. I'm so tired of trying to find out online. Guess looking it up I'm not savy enough huh. Anyones assistance would be appreciated.  Thanks in advance.

All you need to do is gently massage the pages with KY Jelly and the suppleness will return. Make sure it's the original though, and the jelly, not the liquid stuff.

[Get Marwood & I]

4 minutes ago, Foley said:

All you need to do is gently massage the pages with KY Jelly and the suppleness will return. Make sure it's the original though, and the jelly, not the liquid stuff.

I agree, G.J. should use K.Y. 

[Get Marwood & I]

3 minutes ago, Get Marwood & I said:

I agree, G.J. should use K.Y. 

It'll all be O.K. if G.J. applies K.Y. 

[Yorick]

Sell them as-is and disclose the page quality to potential purchasers.

[James J Johnson]

2 hours ago, Yorick said:

Sell them as-is and disclose the page quality to potential purchasers.

+1  Number one answer and the most logical solution. Edges crumbling away is one thing, but they can be brittle enough that just opening them is enough to split and crumble the cover and pages at the spine.  Books that far along to becoming brittle to this extent have been mostly attic stored. Partial basement storage (prior to moving them into an attic) tends to hydrate the pages, enough moisture retained at the molecular level that even moving them into a hot, dry attic will prevent or forestall it becoming brittle.  Great care should be exercised in moving them into golden age or magazine sized bags with matching board, so no further undue stress is caused by putting them in a tighter fitting comic bag.

[James J Johnson]

29 minutes ago, WereWaiting said:

If you can figure out how to "un"brittle the pages you can make a lot of money in the comics hobby. Nobody has figured it out yet.

And of note, the "old-time" pioneer restoration/encapsulation practitioners in this hobby, like E Gerber used to restore brittle pages to a supple and whiter feel. It took lots of time, and was very costly, even by today's dollar standards. It was a procedure usually reserved for the heavyweight key issues of the day, Marvel 1, Action 1, Superman 1, etc. due to the time/cost relative to the value of the book. I don't know much about the actual process. Just that it was costly and the finished product, when reviewed much later on, has more of an artificial look than what the talented restoration professionals strive for in their finished products today.

[G.J.]

8 hours ago, Foley said:

All you need to do is gently massage the pages with KY Jelly and the suppleness will return. Make sure it's the original though, and the jelly, not the liquid stuff.

Thank you very much. I mainly don't want them to be lost to time and forbid to be open for fear for flaking away. We loose to much of history of all kinds, not just a comic book, now as it is. You are all a blessing. Thank you. 

[James J Johnson]

1 hour ago, G.J. said:

Thank you very much. I mainly don't want them to be lost to time and forbid to be open for fear for flaking away. We loose to much of history of all kinds, not just a comic book, now as it is. You are all a blessing. Thank you. 

Please tell me that you didn't take that advice seriously.

[Foley]

2 hours ago, James J Johnson said:

3 hours ago, G.J. said:

Thank you very much. I mainly don't want them to be lost to time and forbid to be open for fear for flaking away. We loose to much of history of all kinds, not just a comic book, now as it is. You are all a blessing. Thank you. 

Please tell me that you didn't take that advice seriously.

Yeah, please don't actually rub K.Y. Jelly on your landlord's comic books.

I like to joke, but not at the expense of comics, and also don't advocate wasting lube. Someone might need it.

I thought the advise was ridiculous enough to not be taken at face value. 

[James J Johnson]

2 hours ago, Foley said:

I thought the advise was ridiculous enough to not be taken at face value. 

I've seen far too many instances of unfettered stupidity to share your faith in the logical thinking of our fellow men. And you can quote me on that!

[JollyComics]

14 hours ago, Foley said:

Yeah, please don't actually rub K.Y. Jelly on your landlord's comic books.

I like to joke, but not at the expense of comics, and also don't advocate wasting lube. Someone might need it.

I thought the advise was ridiculous enough to not be taken at face value. 

Sometimes, your jokes can be cruel.  Just be careful what you said.  He/she may be ignorant at this point -- very apparent stupidity -- I am sorry that I had to say that (my reaction was.... at his first post ever). All you do is to correct him/her not offending him/her too much.

[Foley]

7 hours ago, JollyComics said:

Sometimes, your jokes can be cruel.  Just be careful what you said.  He/she may be ignorant at this point -- very apparent stupidity -- I am sorry that I had to say that (my reaction was.... at his first post ever). All you do is to correct him/her not offending him/her too much.

Point taken my friend, and I shall be mindful of this in the future. Tread more carefully with the newcomers, I will.

[JollyComics]

6 hours ago, Foley said:

Point taken my friend, and I shall be mindful of this in the future. Tread more carefully with the newcomers, I will.

Yeah, he may feel unsafe here and may never come back. Unless, he may be brave enough to take the offensives.  I remembered I was offended few times at the beginning but I realized they just joked around - they STILL DO! (Me too )

[joeypost]

The joke may be on us. 

[divad]

8 hours ago, Foley said:

16 hours ago, JollyComics said:

Sometimes, your jokes can be cruel.  Just be careful what you said.  He/she may be ignorant at this point -- very apparent stupidity -- I am sorry that I had to say that (my reaction was.... at his first post ever). All you do is to correct him/her not offending him/her too much.

Point taken my friend, and I shall be mindful of this in the future. Tread more carefully with the newcomers, I will.

Indeed . . . like I always do.

[divad]

On 4/24/2018 at 12:45 AM, G.J. said:

So my landlord found a stack of comics in an attic someone forgot and since I had some I was selling asked if I'd look up approximate values and look them over see if they are even sellable. Well several are worth a good little amount but the pages are dry and very brittle. I've heard they can be restored. I've seen books that had pages like that in the Beidhearn bible collection, they almost burned up and some were saved and restored and looked fantastic. Anyone know how or where to get the instructions? I'm pretty savy if I have the stuff. I hate to let these just go to waste to because of the ones they are. I'm so tired of trying to find out online. Guess looking it up I'm not savy enough huh. Anyones assistance would be appreciated.  Thanks in advance.

Any intelligent guess as to what book this is?