Rusted Staples on a Book

[stagedoorjohnny]

I'm just curious if anyone can lend some insight as to what are the long term effects of rusted staples on a book? Do they just continue to deteriorate and eventually affect the overall integrity of the book and somehow spread to the paper? Or is it more of a what you see now is what you get, but it won't get worse if stored properly? Is it more an issue of aesthetics and eye appeal rather than the actual structure of the book? There's a book or two I'm looking at that do have some rusty staples on them and I just don't want to be walking into a ticking time bomb. Please keep in mind we're talking about rusted staples on books that are already 60+ years old. Thanks in advance for all opinions.

[Mr. Zipper]

As long as the storage conditions are good, staple rust should suspend or slow down to a point where change is unnoticable.

 

They critical factor is if the rust stain has transferred to the paper. A dot of rust or corrosion on a staple I can live with (for a GA book)... if it has spread to the paper I avoid like the plague.

 

My rule of thumb is -- if a book is tough to find -- I will grab a copy that has a small amount of rust if it hasn't transferred to the paper. I will hold it until an upgrade becomes available. If it's a tough book, you'll always be able to get rid of your undercopy.

[nearmint]

I've owned his book for about 13 years. In the seven years before I had it slabbed, I could not detect any further deterioration from the day I bought it...

 

 

[iggy]

Nice book there, rust or no! I didn't know Kubert's art went that far back!

[Point Five]

Nice book there, rust or no! I didn't know Kubert's art went that far back!

 

Forgive the but Kubert's first printed artwork was even a bit earlier!...in Catman Comics, circa early 1942. Kubert must have been a teenager at the time! I have a few of those early Catmans, and his artwork there is SO bizarre that you would literally never know it was him...all the people are really grotesque caricatures, and the linework/brushwork doesn't even look remotely like his later/classic art. I'd be curious myself what his work in that Action looks like.

[whomerjay]

Any opinions on having rusted staples cleaned and thus rendering the book "restored"? IMO this may very well be the intelligent and responsible thing to do if in fact the staple rust will begin damaging the rest of the book. Of all the forms of resto, this to me seems the least offensive, and I don't see why this should have at most a very small impact on the FMV of the book. I've only seen a few PLODS that note "staples cleaned" and I always wondered how that effects the ultimate sales price.