UV effects on vintage baseball bats ?
 

Posted By: <b>E, Daniel</b><p>I've just bought my second vintage bat, a 20's era store model Ruth bat, and am planning to put in a display cabinet. Some models tout UV protection as part of the glass or acrylic display and it has me wondering..? <br />I know the effects of UV on paper and the need to reduce as much as possible exposure to light - however, I'm not really sure of how a bat reacts to similar UV rays.<br />Will the general tone of the bat fade? Or the lettering lighten?<br />Are there display cabinets you recommend highly?<br /><br />Thanks to any who can set me straight.<br /><br /><br />Daniel

UV effects on vintage baseball bats ?
 

Posted By: <b>Dan Bretta</b><p>I have just started to worry about light fading my items...I never worried about equipment though and now that you say that I'm wondering about that too. I have a decal bat on the way and now I'm getting a little paranoid here. <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14> Actually I've always avoided any kind of fluorescent lighting as I've seen what it does to cards in my local card shop that have sat in lighted cabinets for a long time.<br /><br />I recently started making reproductions of my Nebraska Indians cabinets and postcards because I like to display my stuff and I like my cabinet lit up.<br /><br />Every postcard and cabinet photo in this cabinet is a reproduction except for the large cabinet photo..I am working on trying to get good repros of the two books and the large photo. <br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b331/nudan92/Nebraska%20Indians%20Baseball%20Team/nebindis.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

UV effects on vintage baseball bats ?
 

Posted By: <b>davidcycleback</b><p>UV light can lighten wood, cloth and paper, but it's not as a big an issue with a bat. Even if sun lightened a bat 10 percent that may not alter the financial value. To check the effects, just look at wood items around the house, like furniture or wall panels.<br /><br />Regular window glass blocks about half of UV light. Glass that is UVA and UVB protectent should prevent most.

UV effects on vintage baseball bats ?
 

Posted By: <b>E, Daniel</b><p>I couldn't have asked for two better guys to jump in! And I'm glad I've got you thinking about that awesome Wagner Decal bat Dan <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14>, as well as your other wonderful pieces.<br />Noting how you mention reproducing your pieces for display so that you can maintain the best possible integrity of the originals, it has me thinking.....<br />Not only do people collect for differing reasons (which we've painstakingly gone over before on the card forum) but added to that, once the pieces get to us - I think we assume vastly different ownership duties.<br />Some, like card owners such as Frank W. and others who like all their cards nude - are regular handlers of their items and don't worry greatly about adding too much wear through their period of ownership. And others, I won't speak for you Dan - but will for myself, see ourselves as merely passing custodians lucky enough to enjoy the items for a relatively short time before they invevitably pass on to other hands. And in that time, we try to cause as little harm as possible to these scarce artifacts.<br /><br />Having said that, part of my joy is definitely knowing that the item I have on the wall is an original, has substantial value, is desired by others, but that i am the lucky sod to be within arms length of it. I'm not real sure if I'd enjoy having the pieces knowing they were repros..?<br /><br /><br />Daniel

UV effects on vintage baseball bats ?
 

Posted By: <b>Dan Bretta</b><p>I have all the original items, but they are either in the safe deposit box or stashed away from light. If I ever want to get out the originals I can...you should see my safe deposit box records....nobody that works at my bank has to ask for an ID from me...and they walk directly to my box. <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14><br /><br />It wasn't until Rob (RamRam) made note of my cabinet photos in one of my posts where he told me to get them out of the light that I really started thinking. The repros are not going to fool an expert or even someone with passing knowledge, but at arms length you can't really tell and I never have to worry about opening the shades or turning on the cabinet light....or even the little neighbor kids that my kid invites over nearly every day.<br /><br />Oh, and all items are marked repro on the back...not only so a newbie won't get taken in the future, but so my wife knows what's real and what's not when I kick.