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Spotting a trimmed book (Comic Book Forums)

  • Spotting a trimmed book

Author Discussion
  • Posted: December 2, 2017 12:58:54 pm
  • Hiya all,

    I have my copy of House of Secrets #92 up on eBay at the moment and I had a message from a guy who thought it was trimmed at the top as the logo is very close to the edge. I must admit that caught my eye when I purchased it myself. I don't want to mislead anyone but I can't find a definitive dimension to check it by.

    The book measure 258m high and I though that was fine as most of the runs of HOS that I have after #92 are all the same size. Offering the book up to a lot of my Bronze Age DC stuff shows an exact match. I did measure quite a few however and I did find variations from 256mm to 260mm. I did have the book cleaned by a leading UK expert and did ask at the time and his opinion was that it was fine.

    Is there a definitive answer?

    I can't edit my listing (stupid eBay), but have added another photo that I have annotated with the size and showing it compared to my HOS #93. Is this honest enough to carry on with the auction? I have not listed it at any grade.

    Many thanks,

    Nige.



    Last edited December 2, 2017 12:59:31 pm
  • Posted: December 2, 2017 1:55:00 pm
  • Remember quality of printing did allow for misprints and offset prints , and still does. Your potential customer should be asking about centering , like sports cards are graded, not accusing of restoration.
  • Posted: December 2, 2017 2:29:57 pm
  • Is it a sharp clean cut across the top or does the cover extend ever so slightly past the interior pages? A very crisp & sharp cut with the cover being exactly even with the interiors could indicate that it was trimmed. Normally, the cover cut and the interiors are mismatched slightly. Is it shorter than other comics from that time period? Poor alignment and centering has very little to do with whether it was trimmed.

    My first impression is that the book is not trimmed. I'd have to see the edge more clearly to have an actual opinion.

    Last edited December 2, 2017 2:32:51 pm
  • Posted: December 2, 2017 2:55:13 pm
  • Hi,

    The edge is quite flat, it's hard to say as there is a very slight amount of movement and you can manipulate the cover to improve the alignment. Here is a closer pic

    http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2en3nll&s=9#.WiMTVLSMg18

    Thanks

    Nige.



    Last edited December 2, 2017 2:56:12 pm
  • Posted: December 2, 2017 4:53:30 pm
  • In addition to the other comments, you can sometimes spot a trimmed cover by the color of the pages. Trimmed pages are usually a little brighter in color to a non trimmed side.

    You should also disclose that the cover was cleaned in your ebay description. If graded, the cleaning could count as restored depending on how it was cleaned. That will make a major difference in the price.
    Image

    Image
  • Posted: December 2, 2017 6:23:42 pm
  • It's a misalignment. DC books from the 70's were like that; especially the 100 pagers.

    Unlike Marvel books from the 60's where the cover actually is higher than the pages inside and quite a few were trimmed.
  • Posted: December 3, 2017 12:27:56 am
  • The brown I'm seeing leads me to again say... untrimmed. A better view would be angled towards the end of the book.
  • Posted: December 3, 2017 6:53:12 am
  • Hi,

    Thanks for all the comments. One final shot of the edge - not a great one:

    http://tinypic.com/r/161n8gg/9

    As for the cleaning comment, It was a small pencil mark removal. No colour touch are any addition to the book.

    Thanks all.

    Nige.
  • Posted: December 3, 2017 5:18:21 pm
  • Image

    This is what a normal untrimmed comic would look like.
    A trimmed comic would have a clean, crisp, and even cut.

    Last edited December 3, 2017 5:19:32 pm
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