There has been some discussion about the quality of images shown in major auctions. One thing that I find interesting is that most of the major auctions houses rarely, if ever, show "before" and "after" images for linen backed or restored posters despite the fact that they actually had the posters backed.
I am talking about high end items here. If you spend, say, $5000.00 plus on a linen backed poster, surely you would want to know exactly what state it was in prior to backing. Well, I don't know of any major auction house who can supply before and after images. The image shown for linen backed posters often does not show any flaws at all or give any clue as to what was done in terms of restoration. There are a number of restorers who can work miracles with damaged fragments of a poster. They can make a poster look perfect despite the fact that it might have had major paper loss and damage prior to backing or restoration. The written description is often fairly non specific and does not give a real indication of the state of the poster prior to backing. Some might say that you can determine the amount of restoration by holding the poster up against a backlight. This is not necessarily true, particularly in the case of posters that have had major restoration and airbrushing, etc etc. There are obviously some instances where the auction house has been consigned a poster that has been backed years ago. In that case they can only use their best guess as to the amount of restoration that was done. However there are many other instances where individuals consign a poster to an auction house and it then gets linen backed for their auction. In those cases, I would think that it might be reasonable to show "before" and "after" images. I would be interested to hear whether you think major auction houses should show "before" and "after" images of linen backed posters and restored lobby cards. Also, if "before" and "after" images cannot be supplied how would that affect the value? Regards John JOHN REID VINTAGE MOVIE MEMORABILIA Website: www.moviemem.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/moviemem PO Box 92 Elanora Qld 4221 Australia Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
