Is Face-Jobbing Still an Issue? 0

[jimbo_7071]

I noticed that this book was upgraded from 8.0 to 9.0. (The book is easily identifiable by the writing above the "E" in WONDER.) The grade bump with a pressing isn't what concerns me—I've gotten used to that—what does is the fact that the spine appears to have been moved slightly. The 8.0 image shows quite a bit of spine stress around the lower staple, and some of that spine stress may have been shifted to the back of the book. To me it looks like there is quite a bit more white showing along the spine in the old 8.0 image than in the new 9.0 image. What do others think?

https://www.comiclink.com/auctions/item.asp?id=1693117

https://comics.ha.com/itm/golden-age-1938-1955-/superhero/wonder-comics-12-better-publications-1947-cgc-vf-80-white-pages/a/7266-97269.s?ic4=GalleryView-ShortDescription-071515#

[jimbo_7071]

Lo and behold, the same book is a "sale pending" item on the Worldwide site!

[Professor K]

Pretty sure it has shifted. Can that be done with pressing or would the staples or staple need to be removed? 

[jimbo_7071]

On 5/29/2023 at 3:57 PM, Professor K said:

Pretty sure it has shifted. Can that be done with pressing or would the staples or staple need to be removed? 

That's a good question, but I don't know the answer.

[Professor K]

Well if the staple or staples were removed and moved to adjust the wrap I would think two new staple holes would have to be created or would be created. In the case of the 9.0 there because it's comiclink we can't see the back of the book. Worldwide has no back cover scan either.

[jimbo_7071]

On 5/29/2023 at 7:17 PM, Professor K said:

Well if the staple or staples were removed and moved to adjust the wrap I would think two new staple holes would have to be created or would be created. In the case of the 9.0 there because it's comiclink we can't see the back of the book. Worldwide has no back cover scan either.

I think that you could move the spine slightly without creating new staple holes. Most staples aren't perfectly aligned on the spine as it is.

[MrBedrock]

I am sure you both will get to the bottom of this. Thanks you for your service!

[Professor K]

On 5/30/2023 at 3:07 AM, MrBedrock said:

I am sure you both will get to the bottom of this. Thanks you for your service!

Hopefully someone out there knows something. 

 

 

Edited May 30, 2023 by Professor K

[Phill the Governor]

Without seeing the back cover this seems like an incredibly common (slight) press to get the spine back to it's original orientation. An advanced technique, usually done without removal & re-insertion of staples.

Only catch would be if this was a reverse spine roll, that was intentionally done to move defects from the original orientation of the spine to the back cover. If that's the case, it's CGC's fault for over-grading the book the second time around.

[Yorick]

Looks like the background White and then Black cause some viewing "distortion".  Wrap position doesn't generally downgrade a book unless it's a roll.  In both pictures it looks as if the staples are on the spine.  Maybe something else was done to pump it up a grade?

[jimbo_7071]

On 6/2/2023 at 4:40 PM, Yorick said:

Looks like the background White and then Black cause some viewing "distortion".  Wrap position doesn't generally downgrade a book unless it's a roll.  In both pictures it looks as if the staples are on the spine.  Maybe something else was done to pump it up a grade?

I assume it was pressed, but it looks to me like there's about twice as much of the white "mis-wrap" strip showing in the original image. 

[Sqeggs]

On 5/29/2023 at 2:11 PM, jimbo_7071 said:

I noticed that this book was upgraded from 8.0 to 9.0. (The book is easily identifiable by the writing above the "E" in WONDER.) The grade bump with a pressing isn't what concerns me—I've gotten used to that—what does is the fact that the spine appears to have been moved slightly. The 8.0 image shows quite a bit of spine stress around the lower staple, and some of that spine stress may have been shifted to the back of the book. To me it looks like there is quite a bit more white showing along the spine in the old 8.0 image than in the new 9.0 image. What do others think?

https://www.comiclink.com/auctions/item.asp?id=1693117

https://comics.ha.com/itm/golden-age-1938-1955-/superhero/wonder-comics-12-better-publications-1947-cgc-vf-80-white-pages/a/7266-97269.s?ic4=GalleryView-ShortDescription-071515#

Really tough to say whether it might not just be the result of a normal press. Doesn't seem nearly as obvious as some of the spine shifting antics people identified a few years ago. 

[jimbo_7071]

On 6/4/2023 at 10:07 PM, Sqeggs said:

Really tough to say whether it might not just be the result of a normal press. Doesn't seem nearly as obvious as some of the spine shifting antics people identified a few years ago. 

A couple of people have said that a normal press can move the spine. I could not see any spine roll in the original 8.0 picture, but who knows for sure. One of these days I'm going to force myself to have some very-low-dollar-value books pressed just so I can see some books in hand before and after a press.

I agree that the difference is slight, but even slight movement of the spine has the potential to make the front cover look better, which could make a difference in the grade. I think that CGC would catch the kind of egregious shifting that was seen on some books, but I'm not sure that they'd catch a very slight shifting even if it was deliberate.