Storing/displaying cabinets, Old Judge's etc.

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Posted By: Adam J. Baxter

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to get some thoughts from the more experienced members of the forum about storing/displaying cabinets,cdv's, etc..

First off, what is the best way to store cabinets, cdv's and tintypes in order to ensure maximum preservation?

Second, should cabinets, etc. be displayed in a frame or other setup reguarly or can the exposure to normal everyday indoor lighting be harmful,(cause fading, etc.)?

Third, What is the best way to safely store raw m iddle to lower grade Old Judge's/N172's, in binder pages or toploaders/screwdowns? As they tend to be more expensive on average per card then other tobacco issues and since they can fade, I figure that toploaders/screwdowns may be a better bet. I don't have a whole lot of N172's, but as I acquire more collector grade singles, I was contmplating transferring them from screwdowns to binder pages.

I generally put my cabinets in large top-loaders and I put my collector grade T212 and n28 sets that I'm building in binders. Any other individual pre-war cards I usually put in screwdowns.

I'm sure that everybody has their own preferred method and I just thought that a post like this may answer a few questions for new collectors. Any thoughts would be most helpful, thanks all!

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Posted By: Hankron

The biggest concern is excess light. For preservation, the ultimate is to never expose them to light. However, if you really want to display them and are careful, you can. Never display them so that they get direct sunlight or are in an overly lit room (ala sunporch). Too much direct artificial light isn't good either. I have some 19th century photographs framed and hung from walls, and they are in hallways that have no windows and get minimal light except when someone turns on the light to go through the hallway. If you have a windowless den or office and, when your gone, it's black inside, you should not have problem. So, as long as you are aware that the less light the better and take the neccesary precations, you can display them. Also, you might wish to matt and frame them with UV repellant glass.

Aesthetics-wise, I think framing and matting them is the most attractive presentation (my opinion only), but I have also displayed some in metal plate stands.

Other than the sunlight issue, the photo types you mentioned are physically strong and can take a bit of abuse.

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Posted By: julie

But I hope you're not sick of me talking about the DARK. Invest in some nice stuff to hang on your wall, like a po0ster or a painting )or a woodblock print!)--but keep your cards in an album. You can always bring them out for friends. I dunno. We have lots of nice photos and paintings...the more you expose your old cards to light, the quicker they're going to fade (even if David says it's O.K.!) That goes for old photos, too-which is all Old Judges are--very old photos, mounted.

I'ver heard that screw-downs are hard on the natural bow of Old judges--but since all of mine are in Vario Stockpages, in Mylar, in an album, I've never had occasion to find out.

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Posted By: John(z28jd)

I store all of my Old Judges in toploaders,inside a metal box in a safe,not exactly the best way to display them,but they get no sunlight and theyre a pain in the butt to get to

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Posted By: warshawlaw

which have an especially bad wavelength for photos and newspaper. A colleague of mine had a Ruth-Gehrig dual signed NY Times page displayed in his office and it was severely damaged by the fluorescent light.

All light is bad for paper products because it accelerates the acid reaction in the paper. Bright, direct light is the worst. Leave a newspaper one day in the sun and it "ages" several shady years worth. Art paper is generally made acid-free or buffered, which is why serigraphs, prints, etc., can be displayed year after year in indirect lighting and remain vibrant. Since cards are not made with buffered or neutral paper, they should be kept in a dark, dry storage at all times except when being looked at. Inside a safe deposit box in an atmoshpere controlled vault is ideal (kinda sucks for casual viewing, though).

The best way to display rare and valuable cards is to have top-quality color laser copies or laser prints from scans made of them and display the copies. Properly matted and framed, they look great and you can put them wherever you want with absolutely no fears of damage. You can also blow up stuff to suit your fancy--if you want a foot-tall OJ on the wall, run a big copy or print.

If you are going to mat and frame a card, don't forget to have it conservation framed. Mat and frame materials must be chemically neutral or they will damage your items. Also, don't trust casual framing that comes with a purchased item. I have opened a number of "professionally" framed items won at auction (primarily autographed items displayed with various photos) and have found routine use of "no-no" materials in these items. Even a short exposure to tape adhesives, for example, can permanently scar an item.

One technique I have used successfully to keep nice items framed without spending an arm and a leg is to put the item into a protective sheet before framing and then frame it inside the sheet. I have done this with signed letters and the like, and they display well and don't have any direct contact with the framing materials. I've undone items after several years and found them to be undamaged using this technique.

Overall, though, I highly recommend displaying only copies of items. With the quality of the copies you can get today, virtually no one will know the difference.

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Posted By: runscott

I store mine in whatever size top-loader is appropriate, except for the ones that are over 12" x 14". I keep the 12" x 14" ones stacked in individual plastic bags. I keep them all in dark places, except for the ones on display.

For hanging on walls, or sitting in stands, many fit perfectly into standard size black metal frames, with no extra matting and look great. But they look even better if you can find really old frames, or "retro" frames. Check the following for examples of how to display vintage photos: http://www.homestead.com/runscott/OntheWall.html