Paperback vs. Linenback

Charlie

If I had the time and it was widely accepted for resale, I would paper back all vs line back.  But the posters would lose considerable value at auction simply because collectors don’t understand conservation vs presentation. In other words, collectors favor linenbacking. Dario May have a story about how he started with museum paper backing but nobody wanted it.

Bruce

The world's #1 collector, Richard Allen, had ALL his posters paperbacked, and they were done by true museum conservators. The main difference is that they simply replace missing area (or touch up surface paper loss, but otherwise leave the original poster as is, unless you can remove the defect (like a stain) chemically. NO painting over backgrounds or borders, etc.

They charged $300 to $500 at least for one-sheets, but the results were magnificent. The posters looked and felt like unbacked posters, and displayed wonderfully.

It is not just that collectors don't understand. It is also they don't want to pay the added cost.

And paperbacking by poster restorers can be quite nice, but it is not in the same league as paperbacking by true museum conservators. I paid over $1,000 to have the Frankenstein teaser one-sheet done, and it was worth every penny!

Eisenhower

Yeah-expense would be very costly. Curious to know which “museum conservators” he used. 

Who did you use to paperback yours @Bruce? 

Bruce

Eisenhower said:

Yeah-expense would be very costly. Curious to know which “museum conservators” he used. 

Who did you use to paperback yours @Bruce? 

He mostly used a place in San Francisco, and I mostly used a place in Chicago. I can't remember either name (it has been 20+ years since I used one).

I went in person once. They had the great giant box where you put your hands into holes that have gloves on them, so you never touch the item with your hands, and the outside atmosphere never reaches the poster!

Eisenhower

Very cool! Thanks for sharing. I’ve never paperbacked a OS or used Mulberry paper, but should try one soon to see the results.