8mm Forum: Defacing Original Boxes

This is topic Defacing Original Boxes in forum 8mm Forum at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on March 08, 2008, 03:04 AM:

It's always good to see OB on a dealer's listing. An original box always seems to indicate that a former owner looked after his film and kept it away from spooling up and throwing away the box.

I prize some boxes almost as much as the flm! Take the Walton Tom & Jerry's for instance, always great design and a colouful image from the film.

It's therefore very annoying when a package pops through the letterbox from a dealer who advertsied an OB only to find that a lot of the artwork has now been obscured by a large sticky label announcing the dealer's name, the film's condition and its price.

These labels are almost impossible to remove successfully, particularly from a cardboard box.

So. Come on you sellers, keep the boxes pristine.

Maurice

Posted by Joe Caruso (Member # 11) on March 08, 2008, 07:21 AM:

You're right on the box situation, maurice, if anyone is a stickler on this area, It's yours truly. I can't tell you how many times I've seen a potential auction, examing the box at which I'm usually aghast at the condition; tears, rips, split areas, discoloration and the such, and to beat it all, the seller advertises these as NM or better. How they arrive at these decisions, who knows. More times than not I've been successful at removing odd tape or stickers without defacing the box design. Its a slow and patient process, and one can do wonders with a safety pin and the blunt edge of a pair of sissors. That and restoring some color (matched swatches) to the cardboard. Of course, emphrema collectors might frown on that as it removes market value. Well, this diatribe has to stop right now, but keep up on the box parade

Posted by Mike Peckham (Member # 16) on March 08, 2008, 12:23 PM:

Maurice

I'm right with you, the boxes are important to me too and one dealer in particular has large stickers that he puts on everything and they wont come off!

Dealers take note... [Wink]

Mike

Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on March 08, 2008, 01:12 PM:

Guys, I've been rubbing shoulders with antique dealers for a long time and I've learnt a few tricks.
Removing sticky labels without damaging the box needs patience... and a hairdryer. If you blow some hot air at a reasonnable distance, the glue will slowly melt, then you'll be able to remove the sticker slowly but surely. I've saved boardgame boxes from the 50's and 60's with that method.

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on March 08, 2008, 01:43 PM:

A dealers sticker on a box will reduce the Peckham Scale value of that box by 2-3 points. [Big Grin]

Posted by Joe Caruso (Member # 11) on March 09, 2008, 11:18 AM:

As I've said, patience is the ticket. My use of safety pins, scissors and, in some cases, elmer's glue lightly applied with a cuetip to solidify split or near-split corner dings, well that works with me. I also use a black sharpie to highlight those color areas giving them a bit more vibrancy. Assorted color markers help (careful not to hinder), the overall gloss (sometimes restorable), and I wrote a similar article in Osborne's REEL-IMAGE about the actual stages of restoration. One can't always find NM-M or 'sealed' items as I've been fortunate in, so we do the best we can

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