Poster Restoration
 

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.

one would hopefully go
 

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...........

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!!

great peice mr.leon

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.

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.

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.

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/

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.

Not an old piece, but I bought a Taxi Driver original full sheet movie poster which was linen backed. Again, it seems to have enhanced the value after I looked into it

There is another thing to consider regarding poster restoration: if the paper is brittle, and likely to crack and chip, it would serve you well to have at least some work done, such as deacidification. The conservator can spray it with a solution that will make the paper more supple and less likely to deteriorate. Yes, we are only temporary keepers of these antiquities, but if you want them to last for others to enjoy, then it is important to stop their natural disintegration. If you think the piece has serious problems, it doesn't hurt to have an expert look at it. But as has been mentioned, it can be pretty expensive. In the end you have to make a judgment call.

I recently used a guy named Dario C from vancouver canada to put together a Louisville slugger poster of 12 players from around 1940.The Poster had been cut into 12 pices so was going to need alot of work. I looked into guys that did Movie poster restoration and he was near the top of list, I liked his work that he posted on his site. And his hourly rate was half what is competitors were. I was scared because as I researched I read some real horror stories of shoddy work or folks keeping valuable posters after work was done. But Dario had a great reputation and was cool to work with and in the end did a great job on the poster. He quoted me $400 for eight hours work and I know he put in close to 13 when all was done and he did not ask for any more Money he was just happy to do a great job!!! Not sure of the posters value but I love it. I only have a digital camera no scanner or I would post a picture.

Pictures can easily be posted from digital cameras. They usually have to be resized a little bit downward. I can post them for you if you ever want too.....Sounds like the guy that did your work did a bang up job.