Jump to content

Pros And Cons Of Framing Marble Art


tankgrrl29

Recommended Posts

for those who collect vintage magazines with marble artwork on the covers, do you ever frame them?

if so, do you take the cover off the magazine? or frame the entire thing together?

i have a few magazines i'd like to display...what are your thoughts or experiences?

thanks!

~chris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chris--

I am a picture framer. I have some vintage magazines, plus have framed many for others, and yes, keep them whole and don't remove the cover. You can do what is called a block up of the magazine, by surrounding it with a thickness of acid free foamboard, backing it with acid free matboard, and then matting it up in an acid free mat. Did you notice I'm into acid free?? lol Also, I'm a big fan of conservation glass, which has a UV coating on it to block out harmful UV light.

Best,

Lisa V

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love cutting up old magazines and removing plates from old books. I am not reselling and it is much easier to frame individual pics. Heck, It is way too hard to frame a cigar box also. A few pics of my destruction and restruction(LOL) Peace,Galen

post-87-1162263812_thumb.jpg

post-87-1162263822_thumb.jpg

post-87-1162263840_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love cutting up old magazines and removing plates from old books. I am not reselling and it is much easier to frame individual pics. Heck, It is way too hard to frame a cigar box also. A few pics of my destruction and restruction(LOL) Peace,Galen

LOL Galen...I have actually framed a cigar box. It took a pretty deep frame!!

Lisa

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is a little hard cutting up the 200+ year old ones but I can't see the plates when they are still in the books. Peace,Galen

Yes, I've framed books, open to a certain page, and it is a pain in the neck trying to mount them in a way that would be considered "conservation" mounting. Truthfully, I'm always secretly happy when people have torn the pages out of the book ahead of time, so that I don't have to give them the lecture about leaving the book intact to retain it's value. Of course, also...it's not always the case that a book is extremely valuable either. I'm not a conservation Nazi, and understand that folks frame things for a lot of reasons, but the most important issue usually isn't value, but that the individual really likes the item that they want to frame.

those are some nice samples you showed in the photos...especially the etching.

LisaV

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I was dealing in antiques I could find books with apprx 6+ metal engravings usually in the 20 dollar range. Each one matted and framed would go for over 40. Easy math. I do like the engravings and there are dozen around the house. Here is a wild one. neat for over 120 years old. I do not get much of a chance to show off my art but the Victorian is a pencil done by yours truely. Peace,Galen

post-87-1162304439_thumb.jpg

post-87-1162304461_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

thanks for all the input!

1. what's a riker mount?

2. galen, i LOVE the Greek Mother

3. hi lisa! i totally get what you're describing about the foam-board

4. galen, you've been holding out on us - nice work!

5. lisa, what's the value lecture? i think that was my real question - how do i decide if the magazine is valuable enough to compensate for the extra hassle of leaving it attached?

thanks!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

thanks for all the input!

1. what's a riker mount?

2. galen, i LOVE the Greek Mother

3. hi lisa! i totally get what you're describing about the foam-board

4. galen, you've been holding out on us - nice work!

5. lisa, what's the value lecture? i think that was my real question - how do i decide if the magazine is valuable enough to compensate for the extra hassle of leaving it attached?

thanks!!!

Chris--

The lecture involves simply this: telling customers that in most cases, I don't have any way of knowing if their magazine will appreciate in value over time, so I suggest keeping it whole, not glueing it down permanently, and using all conservation materials. Unless it's something really obviously valuable, I back off at this point and let the customer decide...as many don't want the additional expense of doing conservation framing. And most are not concerned about value, but want it look nice at a decent price.

I'm guessing the magazines that you have would be considered "collectible". The way to decide is to ask yourself if you ever might decide to resell them. I'm guessing the answer is yes (you never know, given the state of social security...lol), in which case, you should keep them whole.

Galen...very nice pic of the Victorian house!

Lisa

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree totally with Lisa.... I don't wanna get into the old "polishing marbles" fray again. But, it's kinda the same idea, for me....

If a magazine or book is in really good condition, it may be wise to keep it intact... If it's already got a lot of damage, there's no point to trying to conserve what's left... Take what's good, cut the losses and make it beautiful again.... (Nice work, Galen)

I found one of those plastic / lucite box type frames that almost perfectly fit the Saturday Evening Post magazine.... It wasn't the most professional looking thing on my wall, but it got it up there!! LOL

(Hmmmmm, here's a Riker Mount )

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...