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Dear Ed and all,
To a certain degree that would be true, but remember posters
get that "wave" in them in the frame for several reasons, all of which
would apply to a linenbacked posters also. For instance, when the humidity
changes outside, posters swell up in the frame and can buckle a bit on their own
accord, or if the frame hasn't been overbuilt to accommodate some "breathing"
room, the side of the poster hits the inside wall of the frame and has nowhere
to go but to buckle in the middle. With a linenbacked poster, if it hasn't
been framed properly, it can sag in the frame and cause that rippling. Many
times it is just because people hung the frame with one nail instead of two
nails. Placing your hook or nails about 3" in from each side of the frame can
make a world of difference.
Linenbacking old vintage posters if very different than
linenbacking a newer current poster. Most newer current posters will never
realize the value that many of the older vintage posters will. Linenbacking is a
costly process and if you were just trying to keep the poster flat, then I'm all
for drymounting newer posters. It is much cheaper and, if done properly, is
reversible. As I said previously, linenbacking is just another "mounting"
process. It is just the acceptable form for collectable posters, but I know as a
conservation framer, that a poster drymounted on acid free board with acid free
waterbased glue will not dimish the paper integrity over time. To be honest, it
is exactly how the linenbackers "paperback" heavy stock items now. They glue the
poster to a piece of archival paper that is just under 1/8" thick.
I have customers that send me movie posters to "mount" before I frame
them. I charge $15 and I usually include touch up on fold lines. That same
poster paperbacked would cost about $150 and up with most of the linenbackers in
the country. We are using virtually the same materials. I just use a thicker
backing material for extra sturdiness. In fact, many of the linenbackers aren't
even using an archival product for the glue or paste. I use a product called
good glue that is acid free and water soluable, which means it is easily
reversible if and when that poster ever becomes valuable. I know this is not the
accepted way in the hobby, but I have debated this for years. It really is just
a matter of semantics. Linenbackers call it paperbacking and framers call it
"mounting". However, it does have to be archival materials. Either way,
the poster's life is the same. The fact is that paperbacking is cheaper
than linenbacking, the materials are cheaper to buy and paperbacking is an
easier mount. But most linenbackers charge the same whether you are linenbacking
or paperbacking. As always, you have to be comparing like materials. Last year,
right here on MoPo, I talked about linenbackers that still use 77 spray to mount
posters to the fabric. 77 spray is loaded with acid and very toxic and can
degrade paper over time. It also can't be reversed with water. A poster that has
been spray glued to fabric or a board has to be removed with acetone or bestine,
very detrimental to paper. So, remember not all linenbacking jobs are created
equal. Do you homework.
The bottom line for me is that I would never
advise anyone to linenback a rolled current movie poster. I think it is a waste
of money. We don't really know what the value of double sided versus
single sided posters will be in the future. We can speculate, but nothing is
impossible. For that reason, if the poster was in my own collection, I
wouldn't mount it to anything. Now, a folded current poster is another
story. A good linenbacker can pull the folds out of the poster and restore the
fold lines so that they are flush with the rest of the poster and almost
disappear. Sylvia at Precision Restoration, who I use, is one of the best
linenbacker/restorers I have ever used and I have used many of them. I have
never seen anyone better on restoring heavy stock items that Sylvia and many of
my customers right here on the MoPo group will attest to that. I have had
customers send me inserts or half sheets in pieces and when she is finished with
them you can't see a seam. That's amazing to me.
Part of being a poster collector
is acknowledging the imperfections. For me, that adds to the
authenticity of it's originality. I think we've gone a little linenbacking crazy
in our hobby. There are certain instances where linenbacking is necessary
and desirable but for many posters, what's wrong with just framing it as
is? Save the money to buy another poster for your collection!
Sue Heim
(800) 463-2994
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