Authenticity is Everything
Question Re: Linda McCartney book - to cut or not to cut?
Hello, all! Since I greatly value the opinions of those in this forum, I was curious about everyone's opinion on this.
I just bought a signed Linda McCartney signed cookbook. I am sending along a picture of the signed book page here. I have a binder of pages with a collection of Beatles-related autographs and my first instinct is to cut this page out of the book to add to my binder. It could cut nicely to just about 8 x 10 size, which would include all the text on this page. The dustcover of the book is also not in mint condition.
My questions is, what do folks prefer in a case like this? Keeping the book in tact? Or cutting the autograph out to put in with the rest of a collection of photos and printed materials?
Thanks for your opinions!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin
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And it's Linda, not Paul, and personalized. I don't think Thomas will kick himself later for removing the page now.
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Permalink Reply by Jason H
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I like this way of thinking.
One thing to think about though. after getting comfortable with the process, habits become riskier for future items which could lead to regrets. Also, I've learned that posting ideas like this in public forums can lead to people destroying their prizes possessions behind the scenes without anyone knowing.
Anyone doing this should take the time to research every aspect. It personally took me 2 years of off and on research (months between at times to let it soak in and contemplate) to feel comfortable enough knowing the exact process using acid free and archival materials after the fact to avoid further destruction unknowingly in the future. Basically the final product you want after making the cut. I'm a perfectionists and I need to explore every angle before ever making set decisions. Even then, I still make certain bonehead decisions every once in a while. I also realize that even after years, with proficiency in Photoshop from many years of being a wedding photographer/videographer team with my wife and also graphic designing, I'm still learning. I'm betting most people will mat this in a basic rectangular opening with matboard and a photo and call it a day. This is perfectly ok if the signature and space allows to do so, but I feel would be unattractive if anything other than a clean signature is shown.
Thomas Green, if you go this route, I suggest placing a page or 2 of cardstock (depending on cardstock thickness) behind the page you want to cut, tight against the spine or glue. Figure out the farthest straight line the page can be cut cleanly. Use a Metal ruler and a sharp exacto and cut with enough force to cut through the page and slightly into the cardstock. This will avoid damage to any other pages. Maybe there is a safer way with a harder backing, but this is the process I use and never had a problem. Use slight force but not excessive
Thought I'd add this info for you and anyone reading and thinking about doing similar behind the scenes. Never do anything in haste. Hope I provided enough info to show this may not be something amatures should attempt. Don't ever cut your items without a thorough plan in place all the way to your finished product. Practice with copies of the original if you have to. There are a lot of people on here who will be against this. Most will find it interesting. Like me, not everyone cares about the monetary value of things. I have cut into books worth up to $300 or higher on the secondary market (Thom York). I've also saved autographs that would be deemed garbage items to many.
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Good advice! Perhaps take a sharp, large photo and print it on matte paper to place with the others. Either crop to the autograph, including the inscription, or place the full page.
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Permalink Reply by Thomas Green
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Thank you both! I knew I would get some great thoughts and insight on here. I very much appreciate this community! For now, I am going to leave the book uncut, but I have all of this info to help me if I change my mind!
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Permalink Reply by slappy 8955
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Probably the wrong spot for this thread. No biggie.
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It's not the best location but it's a helpful discussion for this forum.
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I knew that this forum would have a lot of folks who would have thoughts on the topic. I can guarantee I wouldn't have gotten nearly as many great thoughts or suggestions at any other location
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So you purposely posted it here because you knew it would get more eyes on it?
Smh.
I guess if that's the way this is supposed to work, I'll post any unrelated questions here.
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Don't. Just because you don't agree with where it's posted, it doesn't mean you should take things out on members by posting things here you know don't fit.
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It's a community of collectors who collect autographs of musicians. It's also a community that enjoys discussing and sharing aspects of their collections. I thought this was pertinent to this group, and possibly helpful to others considering the same type of scenario with an item in their collection. Plus I don't think there is a "how should I display my autographs?" forum on here to post it instead.
I choose to simply appreciate fellow collectors offering to be helpful to each other. I am sure you have posted something at some point that was helpful to me and to others, so I will also choose to be thankful that you are part of this community.
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