Best way to preserve GA and maybe even older SA books? 1 1

[xvipah]

If this has been asked/discussed before, my apologies, I didn't find it anywhere with a quick search.

My question is, with GA books, will there eventually be no option but to slab them if we want them to persist? I like Mylar's with full/half backs and such as much as the next guy. But as these books approach/pass 100 years old, won't conservation of them almost require something like a slab? I have plenty of GA books that I don't have slabbed now but I'm relatively young. At some point I feel like I will have to send them to CGC or one of the companies out there if I want to keep them for any length of time. Isn't that really the only way to guarantee almost zero humidity and air contact to weather the pages? Or, have there been enough studies done on page/paper conservation to make a definitive answer of "Mylars with acid free backers are as good as slabs for conservation" ?

[KCOComics]

Yes - Mylars with Acid Free backers are sufficient for preservation.  

The environment is critical. Dark places, temperature controlled, not to dry, not to humid. 

 

 

[comicginger1789]

People seem to think that once a comic hits "x" years old, it will disintigrate! Yes the paper used is fragile but generally on a lot of GA books it is thicker and as long as semi-decent storing conditions (more important than what they are in) are met, these books can last a very long time. Slabbing them may help reduce the chances of handling wear or damage in that regard but in no way is that a guarantee to prolong their life from natural degradation. 

[xvipah]

I mean, I get what you're saying. But when x=100 you are starting to talk about significant age for wood pulp.   Still, I'm happy to not slab if it's not necessary, just wanted to be sure what my plan might be going forward.

1 minute ago, comicginger1789 said:

People seem to think that once a comic hits "x" years old, it will disintigrate! Yes the paper used is fragile but generally on a lot of GA books it is thicker and as long as semi-decent storing conditions (more important than what they are in) are met, these books can last a very long time. Slabbing them may help reduce the chances of handling wear or damage in that regard but in no way is that a guarantee to prolong their life from natural degradation. 

 

[KCOComics]

48 minutes ago, comicginger1789 said:

People seem to think that once a comic hits "x" years old, it will disintigrate! Yes the paper used is fragile but generally on a lot of GA books it is thicker and as long as semi-decent storing conditions (more important than what they are in) are met, these books can last a very long time. Slabbing them may help reduce the chances of handling wear or damage in that regard but in no way is that a guarantee to prolong their life from natural degradation. 

This is true! GA books were built better than SA books. It's really all about storing conditions. 

If there are still comics from the 40s sitting in basements, garages and attics, they are gonna have a tough time. But most of those books have been discovered and collectors generally store comics at least decently. 

I've got pulp magazines from the 20s that will be 100 years old very soon (one already is). I still read them from time to time. I have no concerns about handling or flipping through them. They were in nice shape when I got them and I store them well and treat them carefully. 

[comicginger1789]

2 minutes ago, KCOComics said:

This is true! GA books were built better than SA books. It's really all about storing conditions. 

If there are still comics from the 40s sitting in basements, garages and attics, they are gonna have a tough time. But most of those books have been discovered and collectors generally store comics at least decently. 

I've got pulp magazines from the 20s that will be 100 years old very soon (one already is). I still read them from time to time. I have no concerns about handling or flipping through them. They were in nice shape when I got them and I store them well and treat them carefully. 

Yeah I feel like a lot of "younger fellas" think books 50-100 years old need white gloves and to be stored behind glass. I mean, you cant toss it around like a People magazine but you can read and handle with clean, bare hands and be fine. 

Oh and how dare you crush the dreams I have that somewhere, there is a pile of comics from the 40s sitting in a perfectly temperature controlled basement waiting for me to find them 

[shadroch]

13 hours ago, xvipah said:

 Or, have there been enough studies done on page/paper conservation to make a definitive answer of "Mylars with acid free backers are as good as slabs for conservation" ?

Strike that. Reverse it. 

Has there been any studies done to show that slabs are as good as mylar for conservation?

[KCOComics]

2 hours ago, comicginger1789 said:

 

Oh and how dare you crush the dreams I have that somewhere, there is a pile of comics from the 40s sitting in a perfectly temperature controlled basement waiting for me to find them 

My great Aunt is 95, born in 1926. She would have been 12 when Action Comics 1 came out. 

Her basement is like walking through galleries of our family history. Tucked away between old furniture are boxes of old newspapers and magazines, with ancient bills and land deeds from a 100 years prior. 

Now, she was a first generation Italian immigrant who grew up on a farm, so I doubt she had a lot of time for funny books, but there are others like her. Who inherited boxes of "junk" from their parents and kept their kids magazines and comic books as they grew older. 

I imagine all of the AC1s haven't been discovered, but there probably aren't a ton out there. Just keep digging through old boxes I guess! 

I imagine there is still allot of undiscovered SA out there. 

Edited April 30, 2021 by KCOComics

[comicginger1789]

3 minutes ago, KCOComics said:

 

I imagine all of the AC1s haven't been discovered, but there probably aren't a ton out there. Just keep digging through old boxes I guess! 

I imagine there is still allot of undiscovered SA out there. 

This...this right here...is what keeps me hunting around my area. On the surface, no comics. We dont even have a shop where I live but I KNOW back in the day there were 2-3 stores and every kid in town went to them. I've talked to people who said "Oh yeah, I remember ASM 129s marked down for 10 cents...and other older stuff even cheaper." That "stuff" is somewhere....and I will find it!

[Jeffro.]

22 hours ago, xvipah said:

I mean, I get what you're saying. But when x=100 you are starting to talk about significant age for wood pulp.   Still, I'm happy to not slab if it's not necessary, just wanted to be sure what my plan might be going forward.

There are newspapers from the 1800s that are still fresh and supple. Proper storage conditions for paper is what's needed. A "slab" is not. 

Edited May 1, 2021 by Jeffro.

[PovertyRow]

On 4/29/2021 at 7:34 PM, xvipah said:

Isn't that really the only way to guarantee almost zero humidity and air contact to weather the pages? Or, have there been enough studies done on page/paper conservation to make a definitive answer of "Mylars with acid free backers are as good as slabs for conservation" ?

The problem is you are basing your question on the above, which is false to begin with. Slabs do breathe and are subject to the environmental conditions you mentioned. The purpose behind slabbing a comic is:

1) Restoration check. CGC was introduced when more undisclosed and shoddy restoration was starting to appear.

2) Consistent/accurate grading. Since the grading criteria could vary among dealers, a consistent grading service gave collectors more peace of mind, especially for those higher end books. 

 3) Ability to identify 2nd, third printings and reprints as well as and fake books (quite rare aside from a few B&W examples).

Keeping the book in the slab was an aid to selling for these reasons.In my opinion a Mylite 2 with a fullback (microchamber paper optional) is at least equal to if not better than a slab for longevity. The calcium carbonate buffer that permeates a halfback or fullback neutralizes acids (the calcium carbonate is alkaline) and helps maintain a safer environment for the book. The main thing the slab offers is a more rigid case than a mylar, but that in itself can cause problems like Shaken Comic Syndrome (SCS) where corners, edges etc can get blunted a torn form an improperly seated book or during rough handling (usually in transit.)

The key to proper paper storage, be it a slab or a mylar/board is consistency in moderate temperature and humidity and avoiding sun/bright light. 

Edited May 5, 2021 by PovertyRow

[William-James88]

On 4/29/2021 at 10:34 PM, xvipah said:

At some point I feel like I will have to send them to CGC or one of the companies out there if I want to keep them for any length of time. Isn't that really the only way to guarantee almost zero humidity and air contact to weather the pages? 

It's not a guarantee. Books in slabs have been regraded after a decade and the page colour worsened. So whether you have slabs or just store your comics in mylars and fullbacks, what's most important is the environment. Look at the promise collection, you have golden age books in 9.8 that werent in slabs for all these years. Slabs don,t really have anything to do with comics preservations, it's just to assign a grade and ensure that the grade doesn't change too much when switching hands.