Numismatic Dilemna - Please Help!

Coinosaurus

I recently purchased this old coinage plate (from a French encyclopedia) out of a Stack's sale. Provenance is the Stack family, and it even has the sticker of a nearby frame-it store on 57th Street where it was put together many years ago.

Problem is, to get a really good image of this (it is double matted with a cloudy plastic plate in front) I have to take it all apart, which will destroy all the history on the back of the assembled piece.

I am leaning towards taking it apart and rematting it, and leaving the auction ticket just behind the mat for some future researcher to find.

I already have a good imge of this plate in B&W, but this one is colorized and I would prefer to use it instead.

RTS

Nice frame.

ctf_error_coins

Nice print. A really nice piece of "Art"

Get rid of the plastic. Shoot it, then frame it with glass.

Leave all info on the back or "In" the framing.

SilverEagles92

Why do you need a "really good image"?
Don't destroy it.

mike92694

stupid question, which really isn't clear.

do you have the coinage plate, or the drawing of the coinage plate?

ctf_error_coins

<< <i>Why do you need a "really good image"?
Don't destroy it. >>



The "Art" is the valuable part not the documentation which can be kept.

Plastic sucks big time for art, trust me, I know.

Coinosaurus

<< <i>Why do you need a "really good image"? >>



It's for a book. I'm thinking a high-res color scan would look pretty good.

Coinosaurus

<< <i>stupid question, which really isn't clear.

do you have the coinage plate, or the drawing of the coinage plate? >>



Just the drawing, which itself is referred to as a "plate" when talking about old books. As I recall, the Diderot Encyclopedia (multi-volume) had a few dedicated plate volumes. These were broken up over time and the plates distribuited piecemeal. I've never seen an intact volume of Diderot plates, it would probably be quite valuable.

messydesk

Take it to a competent framing shop and ask them how they'd handle this. I don't see a good reason to leave it behind cloudy (and dirty) plastic. Have it reglazed with as much of the original backing as possible, and the original frame and matte (which I hope is archival) with UV glass.

MidLifeCrisis

<< <i>Take it to a competent framing shop and ask them how they'd handle this. I don't see a good reason to leave it behind cloudy (and dirty) plastic. Have it reglazed with as much of the original backing as possible, and the original frame and matte (which I hope is archival) with UV glass. >>


I think John's answer is the best choice.

telephoto1

<< <i>Take it to a competent framing shop and ask them how they'd handle this. I don't see a good reason to leave it behind cloudy (and dirty) plastic. Have it reglazed with as much of the original backing as possible, and the original frame and matte (which I hope is archival) with UV glass. >>




John nailed the right answer to this. Any high end professional framer can save/conserve the backing and make it look virtually as though it were never removed. Definitely use archival quality material and UV glass as suggested. Funny that the Stack family would use funky plastic though...

keepdachange

<< <i>stupid question, which really isn't clear.

do you have the coinage plate, or the drawing of the coinage plate? >>



I thought the same thing

yellowkid

Is it a Diderot ? It is nice but I didn't think they were worth that much for all the hoopla. Take it to a shop and tell them to save the back if you want to keep it it together, almost any half assed framer is going to use archival quality materials, I wouldn't bother with special glass.

yellowkid

I was trying to add a PS, I think it was framed in the 1950's.