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Examples of Work, Before and
After
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Detective #28 is a scarce book
and a great candidate because of its value and
demand. This copy needed a lot of help; a huge
graft to the corner was necessary, and removed
tape had taken color with it across the middle.
The back cover was married, and yet the book had
a great feel to it when it was restored. DC
Golden Age take very well to restoration. Cost:
$1500. Turn time: 5 months. |
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Above is a copy of Daredevil
#3. The book was originally a 9.2, but upon
close inspection during proscreen, it was
revealed that the visible defects keeping the
book from achieving a 9.4 could be corrected
with conservation. The Daredevil was
removed from the holder, work was performed, and
the book was shipped to CGC for regrading. It
received a 9.4, doubling it's value from $750 to
$1,500 for a cost of $60 plus grading fees. |
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A typical job that shows how a
piece of art can "pop" after our clean and press service is
used. Notice the whiter margins and removal of light
dirt and stains. Cost of cleaning: $50. Turn
time: 1 month. |
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Batman #3 before and after restoration.
Despite the severe damage to the spine and
the long horizontal tear, the high value and black
cover make this a good restoration candidate. Cost to
restore: $900. Time to restore: 4 months. |
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This copy of Buck Rogers was
nearly complete, but the cover was detached, and
suffered from multiple creases and tears. After
a basic cleaning, rice paper support and tear
seals, the book is now in very collectible
shape, and can be handled safely. Cost: $250.
Turn time: 2 months. |
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This particular piece of art
barely survived the ravages of Hurricane Katrina last year.
After sitting underwater for a period of time, heavy amounts
of dirt and grime had settled onto the page. While
the cleaning process was more intricate than the usual
jobs we do, the result speaks for itself. Cost:
$150. Turn time: 2 months. |
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Amazing Fantasy #15 before and after restoration.
This was a 'return' copy
which had its masthead torn off and returned for credit when
it did not sell on the newsstand. Because the book
was otherwise VF, restoration cost was not extreme,
and the end result was a very high apparent grade. Cost
of restoration: $650. Turn time: 3 months. |
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Before and after
restoration removal. This book involved the removal
of a very minor amount of acrylic
color touch on part of the spine. Because
of the professional nature of the
touch-up, Removal was a safe choice. Cost: $75. Turn time:
2 weeks. |
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Captain America #1 before and
after restoration. This copy needed a lot of
TLC, so the restoration cost was substantially
higher. But given the high value of Cap #1, even an
extreme job like this was worth it. Cost of restoration:
$1500. Turn time: 4 months. |
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This Batman #1 had a store stamp
glued to the front
cover, but was otherwise a nice mid-grade
copy.
For $120, the sticker was removed and the
appearance of the book dramatically improved.
Turn time: 6 weeks. |
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A great example of an excellent
removal candidate; the color touch removal was so
minor that the grade was barely affected.
Cost: $35. Turn time: 2 weeks. |
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Above is a copy of All-Star
#6. At first, the book was graded CGC 8.0 (left
scan). It exhibited numerous defects, such as
dents, bends and spine stresses, that were able
to be corrected using conservation. After the
work was completed, the All-Star was
resubmitted to CGC, and received a 9.0 (right
scan), two points higher, and a $1,000 increase
in Overstreet value. Cost of work was $75. Turn
time: 4 weeks. |
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Another Katrina Hurricane
special. In addition to the requisite dirt and
warping, this piece had a cardboard prop glued
to it. Even though some damage was incurred to
the right side of the piece (which would be
restored afterwards), the results are stunning.
Cost: $150. Turn time: 2 months. |
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Another good example of very
minor color touch removal. Black parts of the cover are the
most commonly touched areas on restored books. This
one was acrylic. Cost of removal: $50. Turn
time: 2 weeks. |
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Suspense #3 before and after restoration.
The cover exhibited only a moderate
amount of damage to the edges, and yet this book
is the perfect restoration candidate; because of its
extremely high demand, there is little price resistance for
restored copies. Cost of restoration: $750. Turn
time: 3 months. |
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In this case a few stress lines
were color touched in the box, as well as
the purple banner below it. The removal
resulted in more noticeable defects,
thus lowering
the grade. Cost of removal:
$50. Turn time: 3 weeks. |
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Above is a copy of Spider-man
#130. This book was part of a collection of
bronze age Marvels, many of which appeared to be
very well preserved. As is the case with most
books, they suffered from the slightest handling
wear, such as finger dents and slight bends to
the edges. With these tiny defects, the books
would grade out at 9.2 - 9.4 on average. The
entire collection was proscreened by Classics
Incorporated for 9.6 or better, yielding approx.
100 books that were candidates for conservation
and grading. After the work was performed and
the books were graded by CGC, the results were
ten 9.2's, twenty-three 9.4's, sixty-one 9.6's,
and six 9.8's. The average cost per book,
including purchase, conservation work, and CGC
grading, was $62. This Spidey #130 in 9.8 is alone
worth $650. The pressings took six weeks to
complete. |
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