Handling of Pedigrees

[ft88]

If you have ever bought a large collection (valuable or not) especially from an original owner. One of the biggest problems is the initial transfer of the books and getting them in a position where they will be protected. Its also where there is a conflict between historical preservation and compensation to the first discoverer.

 

Take the Mile High Pedigree. The story goes that he took all the books and piled them into his van and drove them home. No backing boards and plastic bags, and probably as many comics loose as there were in boxes, if there were boxes at all.

 

So books that sat pristinely for 40+ years are now jostled around to no end transfering from basement to car back to the buyers house. From room to room, box to box. Category by category. Maybe into bags but not for a while.

 

Its a nice difficult problem to have and one that archeologists have as well. With the discovery, to treat the items properly, weeks and months must be spent to get items out of the ground. But the longer it goes the more risk there is of looters just grabbing the stuff.

 

So grandma has 800 Timely's and you discover har and them. If they are bought for a song the buyer wants to get them out of her hands as quickly as possible and if a few books get damaged, hey, who cares. As long as nobody gets to grandma and tells her what they are worth....

 

Or, full disclosure to grandma and you promise to bring bags and boards and boxes to fully protect this historical find and maximize "value". Of course the good semaritan who does this risks looters (since grandma calls two more antique dealers who have less scrupples) or risks getting no benefit.

 

Grandma, "Thank you for bringing the supplies sonny, my grandson decided he wanted to keep them and he's coming over this afternoon." Great. Thanks.

 

So, to go back to buying a huge lot, even for a fair value like 50% guide. Transferring them is tough work and damage happens so easily. If its a 1000 book collection of 70s and 80s X-men that's one thing. But say its the next Lost Valley pedigree. How do you treat each book as carefully as they deserve? I know I treat my 3 or 4 grails with a certain amount of reverence but when there are 1000 potential grails, its tough to do.

 

A nice problem to have but something I was thinking about for such an important piece of the GA hobby.

[DKB]

You mean...you don't have 10000 bags and boards and a few dozen boxes in the back of your car at all times should this sort of thing happen to you? Jeez.

[Timulty]

Well, when I buy books preboarded and bagged, I replace the bags and boards. I keep those bags and boards for extra packing when I sell. You could use old boards and bags for this purpose. Though Magazing Bags would work well with a couple of boards. This would stiffen them during transport and help preserve them until sale.

[nearmint]

It would be interesting to hear Chuck's thoughts on this, and whether this was something on his mind when he was emptying the basement of the Church house. I remember reading that the family was anxious for him to get the stuff out, but I can't help thinking that he must have been wishing that he could bag/board and properly pack the books.

 

If I found a collection like that, I know that my wish would be to go in there with 22,000 mylars and take a week properly getting the books ready for transport.

[ronm3-migration]

It would be interesting to hear Chuck's thoughts on this, and whether this was something on his mind when he was emptying the basement of the Church house. I remember reading that the family was anxious for him to get the stuff out, but I can't help thinking that he must have been wishing that he could bag/board and properly pack the books.

 

If I found a collection like that, I know that my wish would be to go in there with 22,000 mylars and take a week properly getting the books ready for transport.

 

I would want to get the hell out of there as soon as I could. You would know exactly where I was because there would be a long line of cars honking behind because I would be driving 5 MPH with an itch to do 80.

[dgillock]

Keep to bags and boards in the car... Exit stage left as quickly as possible... As soon as you are out of visual range, pull over and start bagging.

[Moondog]

This is much ado about nothing. Though I understand the thought process behind this thread, the reality is that I've never purchased a collection that was not stored in boxes of some kind. The fact that the Mile High collection was loose in a cedar closet, doesn't mean that they're all (or even some) like that.

 

And if you're basically careful in lugging the boxes into your car and not stacking them in ways that would damage the comics inside, nothing ill-fated will happen.

 

And I've purchased well over 300 large collections in the past 30+ years...

[ft88]

For the average VG/F 1960's Marvel collection I'd agree. But not for a pedigree type collection, if the books are GA, VF to NM type books. Generally speaking these aren't bagged and boarded. I'm curious that if there is another White Mountain type collection out there, that if those comics are trasited in a box and unbagged/boarded. The minimal but significant damage to the books in transit would be heartbreaking.

 

Put another way. Break out all of Adamstranges pre hero marvels (mostly WM copies). Put them in a stack and take them from one house to another without first bagging and boarding them. I'd shudder to think what would happen, or even worse, what could happen to them on the way. I'm picturing a box spilling from the bottom onto the sidewalk.

[adamstrange]

For the average VG/F 1960's Marvel collection I'd agree. But not for a pedigree type collection, if the books are GA, VF to NM type books. Generally speaking these aren't bagged and boarded. I'm curious that if there is another White Mountain type collection out there, that if those comics are trasited in a box and unbagged/boarded. The minimal but significant damage to the books in transit would be heartbreaking.

 

Put another way. Break out all of Adamstranges pre hero marvels (mostly WM copies). Put them in a stack and take them from one house to another without first bagging and boarding them. I'd shudder to think what would happen, or even worse, what could happen to them on the way. I'm picturing a box spilling from the bottom onto the sidewalk.

 

Adamstrange just had a heart attack.

[tth2]

It would be interesting to hear Chuck's thoughts on this, and whether this was something on his mind when he was emptying the basement of the Church house. I remember reading that the family was anxious for him to get the stuff out, but I can't help thinking that he must have been wishing that he could bag/board and properly pack the books.

 

If I found a collection like that, I know that my wish would be to go in there with 22,000 mylars and take a week properly getting the books ready for transport.

 

I would want to get the hell out of there as soon as I could. You would know exactly where I was because there would be a long line of cars honking behind because I would be driving 5 MPH with an itch to do 80.

[lou_fine]

Take the Mile High Pedigree. The story goes that he took all the books and piled them into his van and drove them home. No backing boards and plastic bags, and probably as many comics loose as there were in boxes, if there were boxes at all.

 

I thought I read somwwhere in one of Chuck's articles that he took the books out in apple boxes. Didn't he also say that he had to pay some horrendous amount like $2.00 per box of books.

 

Poor Chuckie, the nerve of the Church family to take advantage of Chuck and make him pay for all that back breaking work as he hauled away the family's "trash".

[14 of spades]

i understand the "spirit" of your thread.

 

obviously - if one was faced with a large Lost-Valley-like VF-NM OO GA collection, you'd want to treat each and every comic with the TLC that you'd otherwise give any SINGLE Lost-Valley-like VF-NM OO GA COMIC.

 

don't really know if there's a suitable answer to your question. you likely wouldn't have the time required to move the comics as carefully as u would ideally want to. i guess it comes down to, do your best with the resources you have.

 

but i agree. after having great books sitting there, undisturbed for 40 years - it seems a shame that they should suddenly be taken out of their "sleep" and jostled around just because ownership has changed.

 

i think this sense of "shame" applies to MANY HG comics, GA, SA, or otherwise. with the advent of CGC, all those great 40+ year old comics sitting in 9.8 slabs are now being mailed around the world, when they were probably tucked away safely and untouched for most of their lives (e.g. the Curators...).

[Red Hook]

For the average VG/F 1960's Marvel collection I'd agree. But not for a pedigree type collection, if the books are GA, VF to NM type books. Generally speaking these aren't bagged and boarded. I'm curious that if there is another White Mountain type collection out there, that if those comics are trasited in a box and unbagged/boarded. The minimal but significant damage to the books in transit would be heartbreaking.

 

Put another way. Break out all of Adamstranges pre hero marvels (mostly WM copies). Put them in a stack and take them from one house to another without first bagging and boarding them. I'd shudder to think what would happen, or even worse, what could happen to them on the way. I'm picturing a box spilling from the bottom onto the sidewalk.

 

Adamstrange just had a heart attack.

 

Nurse, can you please make sure this thing is plugged in!!?? Patient isn't responding!!!!