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Post by james on May 11, 2020 17:39:48 GMT -5
During this quarantine I have started getting more silver age comics to complete some of my series. So can anyone recommend gloves for handling my comics?
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The Captain
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Post by The Captain on May 11, 2020 17:52:27 GMT -5
During this quarantine I have started getting more silver age comics to complete some of my series. So can anyone recommend gloves for handling my comics? I wear powder-free nitrile medical-exam gloves to handle my Silver Age and high-grade/high-value comics. My sister gave me two boxes from her medical practice because her practice manager bought a variety that she and her partners did not like. |
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Post by foxley on May 11, 2020 18:07:58 GMT -5
Based on experiences working with old historical documents, the thin white cotton gloves you should be able to get in any pharmacist work fine. Anything that stops the oil from your fingers being transferred to the page is fine, but white cotton has the advantage of it being easy tell when the glove is getting dirty.
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Post by badwolf on May 11, 2020 19:24:42 GMT -5
I was annoyed recently while reading the Hellboy library edition hardcover as the first half of the book has black gutters and even touching the page edge left unsightly smudges. Wish I had worn gloves for that...
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Post by codystarbuck on May 11, 2020 20:57:58 GMT -5
Bah! What is the point of reading a comic if your hands aren't covered in sticky goo, melted chocolate and possible whipped cream? Bonus points for droplets of milk or Kool-Aid!
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on May 11, 2020 23:04:52 GMT -5
I've never even considered wearing gloves while reading until this very moment. If I'm handling lower grade books, does it matter? Not a rhetorical question.
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Post by Icctrombone on May 12, 2020 2:38:51 GMT -5
Bah! What is the point of reading a comic if your hands aren't covered in sticky goo, melted chocolate and possible whipped cream? Bonus points for droplets of milk or Kool-Aid! Every time I read the word “bah” I think of Dr. Doom. |
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2020 3:00:34 GMT -5
I've never even considered wearing gloves while reading until this very moment. If I'm handling lower grade books, does it matter? Not a rhetorical question.
It will only matter if you don't want to risk damaging them with your bare fingers.
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Post by foxley on May 12, 2020 3:16:52 GMT -5
I've never even considered wearing gloves while reading until this very moment. If I'm handling lower grade books, does it matter? Not a rhetorical question. Generally speaking, no. If handling higher grade golden and silver age books, it's worth considering. Unless condition isn't important to you. Most of my collection isn't old enough for me to bother most of the time, but I have worked with librarians and archivists so I am conscious of what the oils of the human skin can do to old paper. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on May 12, 2020 4:59:21 GMT -5
I've never even considered wearing gloves while reading until this very moment. If I'm handling lower grade books, does it matter? Not a rhetorical question. Generally speaking, no. If handling higher grade golden and silver age books, it's worth considering. Unless condition isn't important to you. Most of my collection isn't old enough for me to bother most of the time, but I have worked with librarians and archivists so I am conscious of what the oils of the human skin can do to old paper. My oldest books is Batman #8 (January 1942). It's in GD-. I've never thought twice about actually reading my key books because I buy them sturdy enough to read, but not high enough grade to worry about damaging them. So how much damage can my fingers do in these situations? |
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Post by foxley on May 12, 2020 5:43:43 GMT -5
Generally speaking, no. If handling higher grade golden and silver age books, it's worth considering. Unless condition isn't important to you. Most of my collection isn't old enough for me to bother most of the time, but I have worked with librarians and archivists so I am conscious of what the oils of the human skin can do to old paper. My oldest books is Batman #8 (January 1942). It's in GD-. I've never thought twice about actually reading my key books because I buy them sturdy enough to read, but not high enough grade to worry about damaging them. So how much damage can my fingers do in these situations? In the short term, not very much. If you have bought sturdy books for reading, and only read them occasionally, then you should be fine, so long as your hands are clean and dry. As a side note, one of the other reasons for wearing gloves when handling old books is because is pages are often brittle and thin and an errant fingernail can easily tear them.
Long term, constant fingering of pages can turn spots on the pages translucent. You often see this on the corners of the pages of old books where everybody grips the page in order to turn. Oil from your skin isn't a major hazard on its own, but it is one of the litany of things librarians and archivists have to be aware of. Temperature and humidity are the real killers. (I have friends who work of the National Library of Australia, which is where some of my info is coming from.)
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Post by Icctrombone on May 12, 2020 6:26:53 GMT -5
My oldest books is Batman #8 (January 1942). It's in GD-. I've never thought twice about actually reading my key books because I buy them sturdy enough to read, but not high enough grade to worry about damaging them. So how much damage can my fingers do in these situations? In the short term, not very much. If you have bought sturdy books for reading, and only read them occasionally, then you should be fine, so long as your hands are clean and dry. As a side note, one of the other reasons for wearing gloves when handling old books is because is pages are often brittle and thin and an errant fingernail can easily tear them.
Long term, constant fingering of pages can turn spots on the pages translucent. You often see this on the corners of the pages of old books where everybody grips the page in order to turn. Oil from your skin isn't a major hazard on its own, but it is one of the litany of things librarians and archivists have to be aware of. Temperature and humidity are the real killers. (I have friends who work of the National Library of Australia, which is where some of my info is coming from.)
You can't take these comics with you. I plan to have all my comics burned when I die. Preferably a funeral pyre.  |
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Post by brutalis on May 12, 2020 7:29:14 GMT -5
In the short term, not very much. If you have bought sturdy books for reading, and only read them occasionally, then you should be fine, so long as your hands are clean and dry. As a side note, one of the other reasons for wearing gloves when handling old books is because is pages are often brittle and thin and an errant fingernail can easily tear them.
Long term, constant fingering of pages can turn spots on the pages translucent. You often see this on the corners of the pages of old books where everybody grips the page in order to turn. Oil from your skin isn't a major hazard on its own, but it is one of the litany of things librarians and archivists have to be aware of. Temperature and humidity are the real killers. (I have friends who work of the National Library of Australia, which is where some of my info is coming from.)
You can't take these comics with you. I plan to have all my comics burned when I die. Preferably a funeral pyre. Yes you can take them with you! Imagine being buried with your comics (you and them in mylar bags) and one day tomb robbers open your grave for the treasure of the ages! All those Thor comics should be worth even more after your long gone. |
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Post by tarkintino on May 12, 2020 8:22:26 GMT -5
You can't take these comics with you. I plan to have all my comics burned when I die. Preferably a funeral pyre. Yes you can take them with you! Imagine being buried with your comics (you and them in mylar bags) and one day tomb robbers open your grave for the treasure of the ages! All those Thor comics should be worth even more after your long gone. Eww. The stench would be all over those books, even if they were sealed, I imagine. I was about to ask who would buy comics that smelled like death...then I remembered certain employees of The Golden Apple back in the 80s, and...  |
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Post by badwolf on May 12, 2020 9:24:29 GMT -5
Yes you can take them with you! Imagine being buried with your comics (you and them in mylar bags) and one day tomb robbers open your grave for the treasure of the ages! All those Thor comics should be worth even more after your long gone. Eww. The stench would be all over those books, even if they were sealed, I imagine. I was about to ask who would buy comics that smelled like death...then I remembered certain employees of The Golden Apple back in the 80s, and... Little baking soda, they'll be fine. |
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