Restoration and Conservation of Old baseball items.

[gonefishin]

I'm going to check them out. I don't know if they restore newspapers. I have a 1936 Sporting News that belonged to Bob Feller (it came from his estate), and it needs a little love. Any thoughts if this is doable?

[Lucas00]

Originally Posted by gonefishin

I'm going to check them out. I don't know if they restore newspapers. I have a 1936 Sporting News that belonged to Bob Feller (it came from his estate), and it needs a little love. Any thoughts if this is doable?

Yes, they do newspapers!

[1880nonsports]

I had some work done by them over 25(!) years ago. I actually think Lifson or Mastro suggested I use them. The initial cost quote was quite high (3 different items) but after some negotiations I had them do the work in the summer (less busy) and they were to be worked on by a tandem of intern and master. I still have one of the pieces on my wall. They did a GREAT job BUT to repeat - they are NOT cheap. An item like that Just So piece was worthy and masterfully executed. More pedestrian pieces I might consider a less expensive conservator. I also used someone recommended here a few years back. It was NOT a good experience so be wary and ask questions. Also look into conservation/restoration as they are different approaches. In general I look only at conservation with regard to what I buy. If it needs to be restored I've found that the costs often exceed the benefit to the aesthetics thereby outpacing the items worth.

[steve B]

I think it's fine, as long as it's disclosed sometime later when it sells.

Some of those items are ones I wouldn't restore, but the Cleveland poster probably wouldn't last if it wasn't worked on.

It may be scanner settings, but it's a bit concerning that the Wagner photo seems to have lost some contrast.

The boxes make me wonder if they were just rebuilt, or if they were also deacidified and conserved at the same time. Without that, the work done will eventually fail.

Most good conservators aren't cheap, just the right materials are costly.