[wonkaticket]

These types of items there are really 3 types of work that collectors are ok with and is almost always disclosed and isn't hidden or glossed over. In fact in many cases its a badge of pride and they are happy to tell you of the the below.

Preservation & Stabilization: This includes perhaps stopping tears from tearing more, adding acid free backings to bring stability to the item, minor cleaning of foxing and such. All of this increases value in my mind because very little has been done short of saving it for future generations of collectors and the item is as close to original as the day it left the factory.

Minor Restoration: This includes the above steps, but may also include minor in painting of damaged sections, repairs of more major tears, adding minor amounts of material to missing sections or even recreating minor sections of missing graphics. This would increase the value of a damaged item. However if there are other better condition examples within the market place this would never sell for as much as the other examples.

Major Restoration & Recreations: This is where huge portions of an item have been fixed up, where massive amounts of damage has been replaced with newer laser printed/modern lithograph sections have been grafted into the original. These items can be a great value and unless it’s the only example known should always sell for a fraction of the above two.

That’s my take….and all of this is par for the course in these early printed lithographs nothing that any auction house wouldn’t be aware of and something that every collector would want to know.

Cheers,

John