Rob & Judi Anderson- Anderson's Restorations

The collecting of paper items covers such a wide area; only ones interests limit it. A few of the categories that come to mind are; Paper Money, Stocks Certificates, Auto Ads, Maps, Magazines and many others. Some have there own price guides. Listings on e-bay and are known to most collectors. These would be Sheet Music, Post Cards, Magazines, Baseball Cards and more.

Some of the areas of collecting we may not think about are Paper Dolls, Maps, Disney, Dime Novels and Labels. People collect paper items in more categories then we can think about. Collections can be of a general nature such as Civil War , Cards or Magazine Ads. One can narrow the category to NC Civil War items, Valentine Cards or Automobile Magazine Ads. You could narrow it even more by collecting only Auto Ads of cars no longer made or only Chevrolets!

The cost of paper items also varies widely. Some autographs can go for hundreds or thousands on dollars or a box of old magazines for a few dollars. Then you have to decide if you collect the magazines or cut out the ads! One nice thing ab6ut a paper collection is that it doesn't take a lot of room to store most of it and a lot of it can be framed and displayed around the home.

While on the subject of display, lets touch on proper storage. If the collection is just a hobby and not much is being invested, then a few photo albums or cardboard boxes will be fine. However if you decide to get into an area where you are starting to spend money to add to the collection, then special acid free storage is needed. There are chemicals in your inexpensive photo albums plastic sheets that will speed up the yellowing and help to "break down" the paper more rapidly. There are special storage sleeves for magazines, sheet music, comic books along with acid free cardboard "backer boards" to help strengthen them so they can be stored standing upright in-- yup-acid free storage boxes. {You guessed that didn't you}.

When looking for paper items at Fleas or yard sales, if it's worn, tom, ripped, written on, cover loose, pages tom out, back broken, smelly, moldy or brittle, it may not be the jewel you think it is. Tape on items to a collector is a no-no. Writing on the cover or inside, same thing. Don't think we're saying not to add to your collection, just be aware of the guidelines in whatever area you may choose and if you're only looking for a few old ads to frame for the kitchen, then go for it.

Our feelings are that a collection of anything should be fun to look for, interesting to research and learn about and try not to get to serious so it isn't fun anymore. Go ahead,

Call your mom and ask her what she did with your old baseball cards, comic books, paper dolls or those issues of Teen Beat with the Beatles on the cover!

Till Next Time.

C2002-2006 Rob & Judi Anderson/Anderson's Restorations may not be reprinted without written permission.