History of Cuban Baseball Book and Paper conservation question

[Jason19th]

I just picked up the book listed below. Its a history of cuban Baseball published in Cuba in 1949. The most interesting thing is that the majortiy of the photes are photes of cuban baseball cards- which is the only way that I will ever own these cards. The scan below shows what is clearly a group of 23-24 Nacionals including Jose Mendez. Many other Negro Leaguers are included.

While I am in part just showing a neat new item I picked up I also would like the boards thoughts on a conservation question. The book is made of paper that is very much like newspaper and therefore very brittle. Every time I leaf through I will have a bunch of edges flake off. I was actually thinking about trying to reenforce with tape. Any other thoughts woould be greatly appreciated.

[bcbgcbrcb]

I guess it depends on your purpose for the book, if your main interest is enjoying it, the reenforcement is probably a good idea. If you picked it up as a potential investment, even well down the road after you enjoy it yourself, you should leave it as is and try to minimize its use.

[barrysloate]

The first thing I would do is have a conservator deacidify the paper. The acids are part of the reason it is brittle. The pages will then be more supple and you will be able to read it. He can also determine if other work is needed, but it can be expensive. I know that book well and it was poorly made. The climate and humidity in Cuba hasn't helped it either. That's the kind of book I would only buy in higher grades, because even with conservation your copy may continue to deteriorate.

[baseballart]

Given the poor quality of paper in this book, I'm not sure that conservation would be a financially viable option-- it would be very expensive, even if it could be done. The book is relatively common, but hard to find in nice condition.

I have thought about buying a lower grade copy for scanning and producing a copy that people can actually read. I have a nice high grade condition copy, but even with that copy, I have great hesitation in opening it and reading it, as it will invariably lead to some deterioration. It's a shame, as I would like to get more information from the book.


Barry, am I mistaken, or was there a 1920s original edition for this book?


Max

[scgaynor]

When that book first started showing up in the late 1990's, it was a $400-600 book even in bad condition. The first one that showed up on the market was in a Christies auction and sold for a huge price. I have not had one in years, but the cost of professional conservation would most likely greatly exceed what they sell for today.

Scott

[Jason19th]

Max

There was a 1907 and 1908 edition of the book- the 1949 is a stated 3rd edition- I would be shocked if any of the earlier editions were still around

A scanning question for you- do you use a regular flat bed scanner or do you have some sort of hand held device that you can run over the pages or have you just gotten really good at using a digital camera?

[baseballart]

Jason

I use a flatbed scanner for the book covers and dust jackets. I haven't gotten any good at using an SLR with a macro to photograph interior pages. There may be hand held scanners that do a pretty good job on books that don't open completely, but I haven't checked that out

Thanks for the point on the earlier editions.

Max

[scgaynor]

I have seen one of the earlier editions, but only one if I remember correctly, although another must exist someplace.

Scott

[barrysloate]

Max- Jason answered your question about the 1907 edition. For some reason I feel I've seen one of them, but I may be imagining it.

Scott made a good point about all Cuban memorabilia. Ten years ago when Cuban cards and publications first began circulating in the hobby they were very rare and exciting. But in the ensuing years, as entry into Cuba became easier, all this material was bought cheaply and resold in America at high prices. Now much of it is more readily available. There are also many more collectors so the market has held up reasonably well.