Posted By:
Frank WakefieldYears ago I was buying an Old Judge card of JM Ward. The seller was an old, wise, well respected dealer. He had several Wards. One in great shape I could not afford. The other 2 were equally priced. One had slight wear to the edges and a really strong image, the other had really nice edges and corners, but a weaker image. I asked him which one he'd prefer if it was for his collection... he said it seemed to him that most collectors would go for the one with the nicer edges. He suggested I buy the one with the stronger image. All of these images will fade. The one with the stronger image will last longer. That is the one I now have.
I'd store that stuff so it is not exposed to light. Putting it behind UV glass or UV film, or both, is a start. Putting stuff in dark storage boxes is better.
There was a guy who sold a series of reprinted programs for the World Series, or most of them. I think his name was Opie, but I'm not sure... I have some somewhere. Anyway, what he did was archival, in a way. One day those old programs will deteriorate into dust. The reprints will last a hundred years longer. Toward that end, it would be really good if the Old Judge images could be stored digitally... those cards will be gone one day.