Small Cracker Jack find - my first

[Michael B]

Originally Posted by trdcrdkid

I've soaked many, many cards over the past 25 years using tap water and have never had a problem. But I'm sure it can't hurt to use distilled water.

Long before I moved to Virginia the water in D.C. had enough chlorine in it that you could taste it. It may not be found in drinking water these days, but you cannot be sure what is added. Some people may also use well water which can have minerals which may affect the cards. Glad to see that you have had no problems, but from an archival point of view distilled is always better than tap water.

[JollyRoger]

I'd imagine a good soaking would loosen the glue and they would detach easily from the scrapbook pages. I'd leave them the way they are if they were mine though. Great find!

[brianp-beme]

If it were just a random pickup of some scrapbook sheets, I would have no issue with soaking them. But if they were owned by a family member, I would want to keep them as is, and perhaps frame them as mentioned by others.

Brian

[mullinsm]

Thanks to everyone for the responses and advice! I really appreciate it. I am leaning towards leaving them as is, for now at least. Fortunately, I'm not in any hurry. If I do decide to liberate them, I'll post my results here. If I frame them, I'll share that as well.

One thing I want to investigate is the names penciled in on the borders. Initially I thought they might be the players' first names, but that's not the case. Most of what's written is full names I don't recognize: Chester Larsen, Frank W., etc. My guess is that the owner wrote his friends' names on the cards, but given how few people lived (and still live) out that direction, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out. If I find out more I'll share it here.

[pokerplyr80]

Congrats on the find.

It's interesting to note that on the same board members are talking about cards that have been presumably soaked, cleaned up, and bumped a couple of grades being the biggest scandal in our hobby's history. And in this threads others are giving advice on how to do it.

[tschock]

Originally Posted by pokerplyr80

Congrats on the find.

It's interesting to note that on the same board members are talking about cards that have been presumably soaked, cleaned up, and bumped a couple of grades being the biggest scandal in our hobby's history. And in this threads others are giving advice on how to do it.

Almost as 'interesting' to note how you conveniently leave out trimmed and recolored when setting up strawmen.

[pokerplyr80]

Originally Posted by tschock

Almost as 'interesting' to note how you conveniently leave out trimmed and recolored when setting up strawmen.

I agree, those are the issues we should be concerned with. But this board can't even agree on if soaking is acceptable. I don't have a strong opinion on way or the other. But many of the cards guys are worked about have simply been cleaned up a little. Much as these would have to be if removed from their present location.

Is soaking ok for scrap book removal, but not stain removal? Where do we draw the line? Will PWCC's conservation definition become the industry standard? Will PSA update the definition of altered? Lots of interesting unanswered questions right now.

[Yastrzemski Sports]

Originally Posted by pokerplyr80

Congrats on the find.

It's interesting to note that on the same board members are talking about cards that have been presumably soaked, cleaned up, and bumped a couple of grades being the biggest scandal in our hobby's history. And in this threads others are giving advice on how to do it.

It depends on whether they consider it restoration or conservation.

[brianp-beme]

A decent percent of vintage cards would still be in scrapbooks without someone soaking them out at some point. A very common practice in play for decades in the hobby that, in the vast majority of the cases, was not meant to deceive...how else are you going to see the back side?

A card was more likely to keep its fresh new look if it was stored in a scrapbook compared to other storage options. I imagine a large chunk of the legitimate top condition vintage cards had a good soak to separate them from scrapbook paper...and I see nothing wrong with it.

Brian