Michael,
I pretty much agree. I will only linenback a poster if it
has become so fragile that it is real danger of falling apart if not
stabilized. If it has defects that can be corrected by a talented restoration
artist without backing, I might have some of that done if what's
required is not too extensive. But tears and missing pieces of paper tend
to be minimized when you put a poster in a frame with a white backing anyway.
If there's really a huge amount of missing paper, so much that it really
doesn't display well without paper-replacement, then I would tend to pass on
buying the poster in the first place (unless it was totally rare and
I just *had* to have it. Not many posters fall into that category for
me).
Realistically, the reason most dealers push linenbacking
(and restoration, whether fully-disclosed or not) as being an enhancement is
simple: Profits. If you're a dealer and can buy a highly desirable title
in pretty bad shape for super-cheap and then pay a high-end professional
backers and restorers a good chunk of money to restore it to "like mint" for
you, you can then sell it for a premium and make some very nice profits. This
is considered a perfectly moral, ethically-sound and acceptable way of doing
business in the world of most collectibles. I don't agree, but that's the way
of the world.
So don't expect to see dealers claiming linenbacking is
anything less than the greatest thing since the stone litho, because it ain't
gonna happen.
It's up to each individual collector to educate
themselves on stuff like this and make their own value judgments as to what
works for them. Hey, at least in poster-collecting you can see if something
has been backed (and maybe some of the restoration work). For some
collectibles, like toys and furniture, a really good restorer can fix
something up and even a professional appraiser would likely not be able
to tell it has been restored.
-- JR
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, August 26, 2005
7:25
Subject: Re: [MOPO] linen
buckling
the old linen debate.
i have always preferred unbacked. but, when you want something
rare....you buy what comes along.
so what's wrong with seeing the defects. i just framed an
excellent condition 1935 unbacked one sheet. it had 2/3 clean tears in
the border, i didn't even tape them.
some sellers and dealers seem to think that linen is an
enhancement. no!!!!!!!!!!
big sloppy rips and missing pieces are not cured with
linen. linen merely camouflages.
and, if i do buy linen pieces, i prefer posters that have NOT been
restored. why buy a painting? these are posters.
flaws add character. why would anyone except a 50 year old one
sheet to be mint?
...................and yes, a few of my expensive, linen posters are
wavy!!!
michael
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