This is a fascinating and multi-sided issue. Clearly I am a Johnny-Come-Lately to the discussion as I am sure the issue of restoration has been discussed many times before. It does seem, though, that the hobby often conflates restoration with alteration; which are entirely separate concepts in my mind. Alteration, I think we would all agree, violates the principle of collecting what are essentially valuable historic artifacts. In any field, intentionally altering an artifact to improve its value is a violation of trust.
But restoration is commonplace in art, historic preservation, etc. Would you go to the National Archives and want to see the original Declaration of Independence in its decayed state with 200+ years or dust on it? Or would you want to see it restored and preserved to ensure it lasts for 200 years more? Some element of restoration is involved in preserving historic artifacts...treating and protecting the materials to guarantee they last. I would imagine most of us would be fine with the dust and grime being cleaned off a painting or other historic artifact prior to display. In fact, a restored Renoir properly cleaned and preserved would likely command a premium over one found in a dank basement and allowed to decay via normal manner.
So why then would cleaning a historic baseball card be considered a violation of the hobby or an act decreasing the value of the card? We want these cards to last hundreds of years more (or at least our lifetimes) so preserving them and doing what is necessary to keep them clean ought to be, at a minimum, acceptable practice. Slabbing may be enough for some. But if a very valuable and rare item can be cleaned and preserved to prevent further deterioration of the ink or cardboard, it should be done. At least, I imagine, this is one argument that could be made.
At a minimum, I think collectors should distinguish between altering and restoring. Restoring makes total sense to me if done properly. In fact, I don't even necessarily think it always needs to be disclosed other than to say the card has been professionally preserved. It should be a good thing.
|