Fantastic Four #49 Does it makes sense to have conservation done? 1 1

[O Doyle Rules]

I have a Fantastic Four CGC .5 that the spine of the cover is completely split & the cover is detached. I apologize for no photos, but I am not with the comic at the moment. I was told at a recent comic show that I should probably have conservation done to connect the cover and have it reattached to the comic. I was advised if the conservation is done by an expert who knows what they are doing that it can still get a blue universal label with the professional conservation noted on the label. Is this correct?

Here are the grader notes: 

detached cover
heavy cover tanning
heavy creasing to cover
heavy staining to cover
multiple chip out cover
split cover

My worthless opinion tells me that the best case scenario is the comic could possibly get up to a 2.0 even if this was done. All thoughts and comments are greatly appreciated. Thank you! 

[Funnybooks]

FF 49's grow on trees...i can't imagine there will be much demand for a conserved FF49 when lower grade copies are plentiful if your plan is to sell...Unless this is some childhood copy with sentimental value?. I would not conserve this copy and just get yourself  a 1.0-2.0 universal copy

[Sauce Dog]

As above, it's not rare so would be better to just sell and spring for another low grade universal. 

The only case that would make this a good conservation candidate is if the book overall looked like a high grade copy other than the split (so a very nice looking cover) and doing work on it would take it above a VG range. However based on those notes it sounds like a beater copy at best, so not worth the investment into conservation.

[Sauce Dog]

There is also one other alternative if you are planning on submitting it to CGC anyways but don't want to invest in money to conserve it for a possible higher grade...

...send the book to me and let me use it in my Conservation experiments. I would repair the entire cover split and detachment for free, and possibly improve the tanning/staining to the cover with a wash. I do freebies like this for other board members occasionally in order to get access to key books I can photograph for my growing conservation portfolio (specifically those graded after so people can see that my work is accepted by CGC), and this one sounds like something I can expertly do already.

Examples of casual stuff I've done for fun:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CfzNx3guCRy/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CZpkuN_uAuH/

and check out my CGC journal here that shows the entire process on one of my books

 

Edited October 24, 2022 by Sauce Dog

[zzutak]

On 10/18/2022 at 8:22 AM, O Doyle Rules said:

I was advised if the conservation is done by an expert who knows what they are doing that it can still get a blue universal label with the professional conservation noted on the label. Is this correct?

No, this is not correct.  A real shocker, eh?
Conserved books do not receive a Universal (Blue Label) Grade but a Conserved (Blue/Grey Label) Grade.   In addition, in order to qualify for a Conserved Grade, the restoration must be A-1 (Quality = Excellent, Quantity = Slight), and done with the intent of preserving the structural/chemical integrity of the book (rather than the aesthetics).  According to CGC:

[O Doyle Rules]

Sauce Dog is doing conservation work on my Fantastic Four #49. He will be providing updates to this thread. Here are the photos of it in the slab. 

 

[Sauce Dog]

I'm happy to have been entrusted with this book by @O Doyle Rules so I could have a nice key to work on and later showcase my work. The goals with this book are to take it higher than the 0.5 grade it was originally given (fairly easy to do simply by correcting the spin split), obtain a Conserved label, and most importantly improve the overall appearance for display. 

After cracking the book from the slab I got a good close look at the defects. The cover split was fairly straight forward, however the edges of the cover wrap had become slightly brittle over time since it was originally graded (at least I assume the was the case, otherwise CGC would have noted it) so care would have to be taken while handling (and some flaking off of pieces should be expected). There is some staining on the interior pages, but they will be left as-is since the book is already low grade and the time to do every leaf is outside the scope of this project (and doesn't make sense for the grade of this book)

The most visually striking defects however were the stains, which got their colour from the rusting found on the bottom staple that migrated with the water that hit the pages (and possibly from whatever other books it was stored with that also suffered from water/rust damage) - these stains were visible on either side of the wraps and were very pronounced.




The book however has seen considerable visual improvement from a natural bath. Rust cannot typically be removed using natural methods easily, so I was assuming that more of the discolouration would linger after a wash - so these results are most welcome. The paper quality is now more supple, though as I expected some smaller pieces that were barely holding on did float off during the wash (nothing that will impact the grade given the current condition).

I was very amused by the water of the bath, which turned dark urine yellow after only 10 seconds of immersion. It was hella gross/impressive and would require three changes of water to before I felt it fine to soak (during which I would see a flurry of black specs floating away from the pages - being smaller discoloured paper and rust particles - Like a small army of marching fleas)



That completes stage one of this process. I'll most likely have a chance to mend the split cover within the next few days.

Edited March 16, 2023 by Sauce Dog

[O Doyle Rules]

On 3/16/2023 at 9:37 AM, Sauce Dog said:

I'm happy to have been entrusted with this book by @O Doyle Rules so I could have a nice key to work on and later showcase my work.

And I am very well pleased throughout this process with Sauce Dog. I thought it would be cool for Forum members to see his step by step conservation work being completed along with the final result which will include the grade CGC comes back with. Stay tuned! 

Edited March 17, 2023 by O Doyle Rules