Older book graded by CBCS as "Exceptional White" pages - thoughts on restoration and regrading? 2 2

[Morganstein Joshua]

I'm looking at a 60 yo book that is higher grade by CBCS which has "exceptional white" on the case for the pages. The seller indicated they have no knowledge of any restoration but I'm not clear if CBCS would definitely notes this as CGC appears to do, at least nowadays.

I'm thinking of having it regraded by CGC because prices generally seem higher for comparable books, but concerned it might have been restored in some way and then I get a purple label from CGC which, of course, nullifies (or worse) any potential benefit of having CGC grading.

Don't want to start any conflict or discussion over CGC vs CBCS, but just wondering how folks might approach given the info above...

Would you be concerned about restoration given exceptional white pages?

Does idea of regrading by CGC seem too risky?

Thanks in advance.

[DougC]

On 3/5/2024 at 8:02 AM, Morganstein Joshua said:

Words..

It doesn't have anything to do with restoration it is just a separate designation. When they started this five years ago here is what was originally stated on the forums:

Quote

The thought behind it is simple. The "White" page designation has a spread. There are occasions when you get a book in with pages that are so white they almost glow. Since we opened CBCS, we've always thought it was a shame that books with these blinding white pages get the same "White" designation as books with less brilliant pages, but still absolutely fit into the "White" category. We wanted a way to identify these extreme examples of snow white pages.

Liken it to the old days of grading. The grading scale was Good, Fine, and Mint. Since then it has become more detailed. Right now, White has a window of acceptance. We're just adding an additional grade designation for page color. It's only going to be used for books older than 1975, for now.

 

-Steve Ricketts

It isn't a bad idea and once encapsulated you will never actually see the pages but I doubt it adds value as it didn't really catch on with the aftermarket collectors.

[Morganstein Joshua]

DougC, thanks for the feedback and that very helpful information about the "exceptional white" context. Very reassuring.

Any thoughts on the idea of regrading with CGC? The idea of losing the "exceptional white" designation from CBCS is not appealing, but if it's not something people really care much about or ever caught on then perhaps not such an issue...?

[Paul Kosnik]

On 3/5/2024 at 8:02 AM, Morganstein Joshua said:

I'm looking at a 60 yo book that is higher grade by CBCS which has "exceptional white" on the case for the pages. The seller indicated they have no knowledge of any restoration but I'm not clear if CBCS would definitely notes this as CGC appears to do, at least nowadays.

I'm thinking of having it regraded by CGC because prices generally seem higher for comparable books, but concerned it might have been restored in some way and then I get a purple label from CGC which, of course, nullifies (or worse) any potential benefit of having CGC grading.

Don't want to start any conflict or discussion over CGC vs CBCS, but just wondering how folks might approach given the info above...

Would you be concerned about restoration given exceptional white pages?

Does idea of regrading by CGC seem too risky?

Thanks in advance.

Josh a word of caution--with the popularity of Blue LED photobleaching and H2O2 bleaching in recent years, CGC is working overtime in an attempt to make sure comic books are appropriately labeled so prospective buyers can reasonably expect that any work done to a book is disclosed to them prior to any purchase.  The problem is that there are not definitive non-destructive tests for detecting either of these methods.  So CGC uses a number of clues to infer if one of these procedures has been used and then grades the comic accordingly, which can include Universal, Conserved, and Restored labels.  This leaves room for interpretation which of course is subjective and sometimes incorrect.  They are doing an admirable job sorting out many books that have been bleached, but it's possible that comics with exceptionally white pages would be flagged for possible restoration.  

If you do decide to send it for cross-grading, good luck and please share the restyle with us!

[Mr. Zipper]

On 4/11/2024 at 7:25 AM, Paul Kosnik said:

Josh a word of caution--with the popularity of Blue LED photobleaching and H2O2 bleaching in recent years, CGC is working overtime in an attempt to make sure comic books are appropriately labeled so prospective buyers can reasonably expect that any work done to a book is disclosed to them prior to any purchase.  The problem is that there are not definitive non-destructive tests for detecting either of these methods.  So CGC uses a number of clues to infer if one of these procedures has been used and then grades the comic accordingly, which can include Universal, Conserved, and Restored labels.  This leaves room for interpretation which of course is subjective and sometimes incorrect.  They are doing an admirable job sorting out many books that have been bleached, but it's possible that comics with exceptionally white pages would be flagged for possible restoration.  

If you do decide to send it for cross-grading, good luck and please share the restyle with us!

This is all true, and an unsettling trend. However, I believe most of these peroxo-bleachers are doing the cover, not the internal pages. In fact, that is one of the ways CGC is flagging it... an unnaturally white cover paired with internal pages that are toned.

[joeypost]

On 3/5/2024 at 12:33 PM, Morganstein Joshua said:

DougC, thanks for the feedback and that very helpful information about the "exceptional white" context. Very reassuring.

Any thoughts on the idea of regrading with CGC? The idea of losing the "exceptional white" designation from CBCS is not appealing, but if it's not something people really care much about or ever caught on then perhaps not such an issue...?

I purchase books from Canada on a regular basis. I know none of them have been treated and the “whiteness” of the interior stands out in stark contrast compared to “white” pages from the southern states. The whites are blinding and that has everything to do with temperature and ambient humidity.