Poster Restoration

[eastonfalcon19]

Has anybody ever had a poster or any type of paper restored. If so where did you go to get it done? and how much do places charge? Any information will greatly appreciated.

[1880nonsports]

to a paper conservator. Conservation as opposed to restoration allows that the item can be brought back to the state it was in before repairs were made. We are only temporary keepers of all this stuff - I prefer to leave things for the next guy in the same condition I got it in :-) Conservation IS expensive in general - depends how much "conservation" one wants done - the amount of damage and - how close to the item you want to stand without seeing that damage? I've had work done here in Florida and in the past by someone Bill Mastro recommended to me in the mid 1990's - Chicago Conservation Company. I negotiated a bit as I sent 3/4 pieces and was flexible as to a time frame and I think they did a superior job. I've only conserved/restored 5/6 items that would be either aesthetically unpleasing or degrade without intervention. The occasional minor bumps and tears are part of the items life - I don't want to look at something old that looks like it's new quite frankly so I leave much of what I buy the way it is. I'm no longer willing to buy sumptin dat doesn't display well and I would have trouble looking at unless it's REALLY rare - as the expense and the decisions about how far to go and the insurance and the shipping- well it gets a bit much. Whatever you do I think the most long term enjoyment is derived from any hobby by patience and forethought about ones actions whether it's the care, purchase, display or storage of these silly things we tend to fall in love with...........

[Leon]

What 1880snonsports said is all true. As opposed to cards, posters, photos and some other ephemera can actually have their value enhanced with conservation and/or restoration. I too am a minimalist in this area and try to keep my items as close to original as possible. I know the quite expensive Horner Composite photo I have has had conservation and a tiny, tiny bit of restoration work done to it. I am fine with it. I have the paper saying what was done and it was mostly cleaning and deacidifying the paper (I believe, it was done before I got it)... Here is the company that did it. They are good, many auction houses and collectors use them, but they aren't cheap...


http://graphicconservation.com/

Good luck!!

[rjackson44]

great peice mr.leon

[mcgwirecom]

I used this place for an old autographed photo.
http://www.ccaha.org/
Here are some pics, the first shows it during restoration and the second was after. The picture had no corners, missing layers and was torn in half when I bought it. But the signatures of the Four Horsemen were real. I paid about $900 to get it looking decent.

[eastonfalcon19]

Wow! They are some great looking pieces. Thank you guys for all of the helpful information. I will be posting a few pictures of the poster I want to get restored. It's a vintage advertisement for Atlantic oil, it promotes spring training and has a baseball player jumping in the air. It's a pretty cool piece.

[benjulmag]

Originally Posted by Leon

...As opposed to cards, posters, photos and some other ephemera can actually have their value enhanced with conservation and/or restoration...

For posters and lithographic prints in particular, it has been my experience that even extensive restoration (i.e., the recoloring of significant portions of the print, going well beyond the background) has served to significantly enhance the value of the piece. While I personally limit my acquisitions to pieces that require only minimal restoration (repairs of minor tears and minor recoloring limited to background only), it seems the market looks at it differently. If the end result of the restoration materially increases the item's aesthetic appearance, the increase in market value is significant. As has been noted, such restoration can be pricey (in the low 4 figures), but given the impact on value, it can be a financially prudent undertaking.

[tazdmb]

I have used these guys before to restore movie posters-they are truly top notch and offer a more-than reasonable price:

http://www.atstudioc.com/

[aquarius31]

Wow, those are great pieces! I agree with many of the comments here and I rarely purchase an item if I don't think it can be cleaned up a little bit to make it displayable.

The first item below cannot be restored (at least that's what I was told) so I recreated my own version and plan to eventually place both in a double side framed.

The second item benefited greatly from conservation and it was cleaned and deacidified. I had it done by a local conservator here in Atlanta. The edges are still tattered (doesn't show up in the second picture) but I was able to cover it up when I got it matted/framed.