Is It Possible to remove Writing From a Cover Without Damaging a Book? 2 2

[Happy Noodle Boy]

I'm one of those people who hates writing on the covers of books. Date stamps I can maybe deal with if they're unobtrusive, but when people doodle on covers it's an automatic pass for me. Case in point: a grail of mine, Mary Marvel #8. I love Christmas covers and I love Mary Marvel and this is perfect--except for the big dumb letter K on the cover. (Someone filled out a coupon on the back too.) Maybe this is some newsstand or distributor mark but I just don't want a book with this kind of mark in my collection. Is there any way to safely remove this? Are there any people out there offering that kind of  service? 

By the way if anyone has a copy they want to sell, in fine or better, I'm definitely interested.

 

 

[amatta]

@joeypost can remove some of this stuff safely and not have it considered as restoration. I had a Batman #121 with a grease pencil number on it that he removed without a trace. It was as part of having the book pressed.

there are other folks who can do restoration - but that will severely impact the value of the book (Joey might do that as well - you'd have to ask him)

if the writing has bled through the paper, you would need to get restoration which might not be worth it

[pemart1966]

I'm a bit confused.  You don't want it in your collection yet you bought it anyway?  

You could sell it and upgrade to a better copy.

Personally, I'd just leave it as is.  The filled out coupon is kind of cool as it ties an actual owner (probably the original purchaser) to the book.

As for the "K" - it doesn't/wouldn't bother me in the least.

[Happy Noodle Boy]

On 12/10/2021 at 12:25 PM, pemart1966 said:

I'm a bit confused.  You don't want it in your collection yet you bought it anyway?  

You could sell it and upgrade to a better copy.

Personally, I'd just leave it as is.  The filled out coupon is kind of cool as it ties an actual owner (probably the original purchaser) to the book.

As for the "K" - it doesn't/wouldn't bother me in the least.

No, I haven't bought it. It's a book for sale on DaleRoberts.com and I would love to have it if it didn't have the writing on the cover.

[Artboy99]

On 12/10/2021 at 10:27 AM, Mark Warren said:

No, I haven't bought it. It's a book for sale on DaleRoberts.com and I would love to have it if it didn't have the writing on the cover.

just look for a different copy.

[pemart1966]

On 12/10/2021 at 12:27 PM, Mark Warren said:

No, I haven't bought it. It's a book for sale on DaleRoberts.com and I would love to have it if it didn't have the writing on the cover.

Ah...in that case, walk away from it and look for a better copy.  An easy solution...

[revat]

On 12/10/2021 at 10:46 AM, Artboy99 said:

On 12/10/2021 at 9:27 AM, Mark Warren said:

No, I haven't bought it. It's a book for sale on DaleRoberts.com and I would love to have it if it didn't have the writing on the cover.

just look for a different copy.

at that grade, the writing isn't causing a huge drop in the grade (maybe a half grade at most?), so the price isn't affected too much by the writing.  So even if you COULD get the writing removed professionally, the cost and risk would likely be too much and not really improve the grade enough to justify buying it, unless you could get the writing removed for free.  

[Happy Noodle Boy]

On 12/10/2021 at 7:56 PM, revat said:

at that grade, the writing isn't causing a huge drop in the grade (maybe a half grade at most?), so the price isn't affected too much by the writing.  So even if you COULD get the writing removed professionally, the cost and risk would likely be too much and not really improve the grade enough to justify buying it, unless you could get the writing removed for free.  

This would be for my personal collection so the price wouldn't really be a factor. I just really want a nice copy of this book, and also I see so many golden age books I'm interested in with writing on the covers that I've just been wondering if there is a way to remove it without damage. I've been passing on lots of great golden age books because of writing on the covers (that, and miswraps, which I keep trying to get myself to accept as somehow representing golden age charm but just can't bring myself to do it.)

[Grottu]

The pencil mark could most likely be removed with dry methods (white eraser and Absorene), but as for the ink — not so much. Ink removal would get you into restoration territory. I agree with @pemart1966 that the filled-in coupon adds some character to it.

[Dr. Love]

In all these years the only copy sold on HA was the Crippen raw 14 years ago.  I think it would be foolish to pass on Dale's, at the very least a placeholder for less than $300 is a good deal.

[Randall Dowling]

On 12/10/2021 at 7:58 PM, Mark Warren said:

This would be for my personal collection so the price wouldn't really be a factor. I just really want a nice copy of this book, and also I see so many golden age books I'm interested in with writing on the covers that I've just been wondering if there is a way to remove it without damage. I've been passing on lots of great golden age books because of writing on the covers (that, and miswraps, which I keep trying to get myself to accept as somehow representing golden age charm but just can't bring myself to do it.)

I would adjust your expectations and desires for golden age books.  Here are my thoughts (for what their worth, apologies in advance for the long post):

• Page quality, writing on cover, tanning, condition- all of these things and more require flexibility when buying books that are over 70 years old and printed before most people ever imagined collecting comics.  Having chased various GA books over the last 30 years, I can tell you that there are some books you're lucky to find a mid-grade copy of.  If you wait, hoping for nicer book, you may never own one.  Either that or open your wallet wide and be prepared to offer large amounts of money for books you're looking for.
• While there are times when I believe working on books makes sense, this is far from one of them, IMO.  As others have said, the marks that you're referring to are part of the journey that book took to get here after nearly 80 years.  Nothing is magical, everything has a trade off.  Dry cleaning may take care of this but it may also have some unintended consequences .  I don't see the value in shaking the dice.  If you like the book (GA in particular), buy it, enjoy it for what it is, not what you want it to be.  You can alway buy this copy and then search for an upgrade as you go.  
• Many markings on books are actually identifiers from various collections.  When I was younger, I absolutely despised writing on covers, date stamps, anything that wasn't there when the book was printed.  Then I discovered the books from Edgar Church's collection.  The coding on those books is part of what makes them both identifiable and special.  This is true not only for that pedigree but also for many other collections, both formally identified and not. The markings are unique identifiers that make this book what it is (there's nothing sadder than finding a Larson copy where someone tried to erase his name thinking it would be better without).  So now, I see writing on GA books a bit differently.  YMMV.
• Consider that the writing on this book actually makes it better.  Tells a story that you wouldn't get otherwise.  Chuck Mars obviously dreamed of being a big strong man.  So much that he filled out the order form on the back of the book.  Thankfully for us, he didn't cut it out and send it in so you have his address as well in Cleveland.  You can look it up and see where Chuck lived and grew up.  Have some fun and see if you can find any vintage photos of the area.  Maybe you find a picture of a newsstand or a drug store that was nearby in the 1940s (you'd be amazed how many postcards were made back then).  The internet gives us awesome powers we never had before to search these things.  And you get a great story about this book and the kid that loved it enough to save it in such nice shape.

• Last, but not least, I don't know why anyone would want Mary Marvel covers... 

[Happy Noodle Boy]

On 12/11/2021 at 12:15 PM, Randall Dowling said:

I would adjust your expectations and desires for golden age books.  Here are my thoughts (for what their worth, apologies in advance for the long post):

• Page quality, writing on cover, tanning, condition- all of these things and more require flexibility when buying books that are over 70 years old and printed before most people ever imagined collecting comics.  Having chased various GA books over the last 30 years, I can tell you that there are some books you're lucky to find a mid-grade copy of.  If you wait, hoping for nicer book, you may never own one.  Either that or open your wallet wide and be prepared to offer large amounts of money for books you're looking for.
• While there are times when I believe working on books makes sense, this is far from one of them, IMO.  As others have said, the marks that you're referring to are part of the journey that book took to get here after nearly 80 years.  Nothing is magical, everything has a trade off.  Dry cleaning may take care of this but it may also have some unintended consequences .  I don't see the value in shaking the dice.  If you like the book (GA in particular), buy it, enjoy it for what it is, not what you want it to be.  You can alway buy this copy and then search for an upgrade as you go.  
• Many markings on books are actually identifiers from various collections.  When I was younger, I absolutely despised writing on covers, date stamps, anything that wasn't there when the book was printed.  Then I discovered the books from Edgar Church's collection.  The coding on those books is part of what makes them both identifiable and special.  This is true not only for that pedigree but also for many other collections, both formally identified and not. The markings are unique identifiers that make this book what it is (there's nothing sadder than finding a Larson copy where someone tried to erase his name thinking it would be better without).  So now, I see writing on GA books a bit differently.  YMMV.
• Consider that the writing on this book actually makes it better.  Tells a story that you wouldn't get otherwise.  Chuck Mars obviously dreamed of being a big strong man.  So much that he filled out the order form on the back of the book.  Thankfully for us, he didn't cut it out and send it in so you have his address as well in Cleveland.  You can look it up and see where Chuck lived and grew up.  Have some fun and see if you can find any vintage photos of the area.  Maybe you find a picture of a newsstand or a drug store that was nearby in the 1940s (you'd be amazed how many postcards were made back then).  The internet gives us awesome powers we never had before to search these things.  And you get a great story about this book and the kid that loved it enough to save it in such nice shape.

• Last, but not least, I don't know why anyone would want Mary Marvel covers... 

Thanks for the thoughtful points. I don't know if I'm ever going to be able to get past writing on covers, but I think I'm making some progress with miswraps! In the golden age especially miswraps are just the way a lot of comics looked and the kids didn't care, so why should I?  

The letter "K" on the cover is something I've seen on other books. I'm wondering, if instead of a doodle it's something some newsstand owner wrote on the books?

 I have a lot of "grail" books from the golden age to go after and limited funds, so placeholders aren't something I can really afford. I'm just slowly targeting the best copies I can afford of the books I want that meet my aesthetic standards. Fine or better, presents well, no writing. I'm trying to relax a bit about date stamps though!

I would actually like to make a counter-argument to your point about writing on covers adding to the book's history. Of course you're not wrong about that at all, but it's just interesting to me what some people can tolerate and some people can't stand. For example: restoration. I'm new to posting here (lurked for a couple of years though) but I can definitely see that restoration is anathema to just about everyone on these boards. I don't like color touch and I avoid those books, even when it's hardly visible to the eye, because to me that's the same thing as writing on the covers. It's like graffiti in a way. But I don't mind slight trimming anywhere near as much as most others on this board. I would take a Mary Marvel #8 with a 1/8 inch trim on the top and/or right covers before I would go for the copy I posted in this thread. I know, pieces are being removed from the book. But it wouldn't affect the artwork whatsoever; it's really just a philosophical point, i.e., the book isn't completely intact.  And I don't sell my books, so for me it's not an economic factor at all. As much as you would say that I should appreciate writing as part of a book's history, and I just can't do it, I would say (slight) trimming isn't a  big deal because it doesn't really take away from the artwork at all, and (I assume) you just can't do it. We all have our aesthetic blinders.

Edited December 11, 2021 by Mark Warren

[Dr. Love]

On 12/11/2021 at 11:59 AM, Mark Warren said:

The letter "K" on the cover is something I've seen on other books. I'm wondering, if instead of a doodle it's something some newsstand owner wrote on the books?

I hear you on personal writing and doodling.  Deal breaker for me too.  But that's not what this is, imho.  Distribution marks are a whole different thing, perfectly acceptable to many of us (and CGC).  And that coupon is cool, it's like a mini me ped.

Also, I'm not a big fan of placeholders in general, one could spend a lot of time effort and money playing that game.  However, in this case, where you're so hot to trot for this book, enough to make a WTB post, absolute grail and all that - again, you know my recommendation.  I'm almost tempted to buy it from Dale and hold on to it for the modest flip because, based on how this book never comes to market (only two graded books ever on GPA minus the Promise which I assume was way beyond you price wise) you'll surely be wanting it some years down the road!  

Edited December 11, 2021 by Dr. Love

[PovertyRow]

Ordinarily I'm not a fan of random writing on a cover. I DO love date stamps, however. But there was one book I actually bought BECAUSE of the writing. It was a low grade GA book (disremember the title - this is going back about 30 years) that obviously was owned/read by more than one child in the family. Amongst the random words, doodles etc was one that really stood out:

"Hide the book! Ma's coming!!"

Now I have to ask, how could one resist that?

[Happy Noodle Boy]

On 12/11/2021 at 7:05 PM, PovertyRow said:

Ordinarily I'm not a fan of random writing on a cover. I DO love date stamps, however. But there was one book I actually bought BECAUSE of the writing. It was a low grade GA book (disremember the title - this is going back about 30 years) that obviously was owned/read by more than one child in the family. Amongst the random words, doodles etc was one that really stood out:

"Hide the book! Ma's coming!!"

Now I have to ask, how could one resist that?

I would definitely make an exception for that book.

Edited December 12, 2021 by Mark Warren

[LowGradeBronze]

On 12/12/2021 at 12:15 AM, Mark Warren said:

I would definitely make an exception for that book.

Heh heh! See how you've been softened up by the wise words above? I used to hate 'impure' items in a collection too but now I'm all old and wrinkly, the more I learned about date stamps, distibutors dates in grease pencil etc the more they add to the book's history. Anything that ties it to a place and time. I hope you buy the book and learn to love that K. 

[theCapraAegagrus]

Simply to answer the question: Yes, it's possible.

[comicginger1789]

I generally also hate scribbling on books. The "K" I love and even the back, neatly filled in, is awesome history. Where is Chuck today? Alive? Passed? Why did he not send in the coupon? So many neat questions

 

Edited December 14, 2021 by comicginger1789

[Happy Noodle Boy]

On 12/14/2021 at 9:32 AM, comicginger1789 said:

I generally also hate scribbling on books. The "K" I love and even the back, neatly filled in, is awesome history. Where is Chuck today? Alive? Passed? Why did he not send in the coupon? So many neat questions

 

Just wondering--is there something cool about the K I'm not aware of? Like, have you seen that mark on other books? I've also seen it on a Captain Marvel Adventures holiday book I wanted--the K was unfortunately written right on Cap's cheek. If there's some secret cool thing about the K I could potentially pick the book up. I think it's probably a distributor's mark?