Magazine Condition grades are subjective and shade into each other – I go out of my way to be careful here. It is my hope that each and every customer will be very pleased with their purchase and will find the magazine to be nicer than they expected.
Most vintage magazine condition, by virtue of their age and the minimal handling involved in reaching that age, are no better than “Good” condition. It is practically impossible for a vintage magazine to achieve a rating of “Excellent” in my system. Many of those issues rated Fair or Poor are quite nice overall and received a lower rating due to a water marked margin or a missing ad. The heaviest sign of use (in any form) is almost always what dictates the grade of the magazine and I place a lot of weight on the condition of the cover. See general notes below about my magazine condition grades.
EXCELLENT (EXC) : Much like new. Almost no wear or signs of age.
VERY GOOD (VG) : A very nice copy. Very lightly used and clean. There may be faint to mild signs of use or age. A mild central crease of the cover is possible.
GOOD (G) : A nice copy. There are mild to moderate signs of use or age in this category. These issues are all intact and without serious damage. Many (most) of these early Life magazines have a central crease running down the cover because they must have been folded for mailing. They may have a small library stamp on the cover (this does not downgrade it from “GOOD” unless it is disfiguring in some way).
GOOD (Once Bound) : The same as described above for a GOOD copy, but these issues were once part of a hard bound volume. That means the spine is usually slightly rough from where it was glued to the binding, staples have been replaced by binding strings which may be visible, and the edges may have been slightly trimmed.
FAIR (F) : Usable, but with moderate damage (defined in item listing). Perfect for the person who wishes to read or own a vintage magazine, but doesn’t want to pay the high price of a pristine issue. These are either more visibly used or have some more notable damage (nothing gross). Issues with detached covers are graded “Fair” even if cover and all content is VG. Most water marks give the magazine a grade of “Fair” or “Poor” – a single drip mark may not. In general, water marks in the “Fair” category are confined to a blank margin. If you have interest in a single article, the cover, or whatever – I can tell you the condition of that page. Very frequently, these issues are much nicer than you might guess.
POOR (P) : Still usable, but with significant damage (defined in item listing). Many “poor” items are damaged only in one place (i.e. most pages are good). These issues are inexpensive and are always a good value for the right customer!
Notes for all magazines :
Many vintage magazines have a faint odor. Once I inspect and process each magazine, it is placed in a protective archival polypropylene bag and tightly stored with others in an enclosed space. Thus, even though Colorado air is crisp and dry and perfect for long term storage, your vintage magazine may arrive with a slight odor. This is easily eliminated by removing the magazine from the plastic bag, and spreading it open to air out for a couple days. I apologize that I do not have the space to conduct individual airings here. Note : if a magazine has a noticeable or offensive odor it does NOT make it into my stock in the first place.
I never tape my magazines, but sometimes receive collections with some tape in them. I grade these according to whether the tape noticeably affects the quality of the magazine.
In some cases, the edges of the centerspread have marks from a kind of clip that was used the hold the individual magazines in a binder. This does not damage the page in any other way, it would only have a sort-of-rusty outline from the clip, which was a fancy kind of paper clip. This would be of concern ONLY if you want to frame the center artwork. I generally mention in the listing if the magazine has these marks. This is entirely different from a “Once-bound” issue.
Which condition grade is good enough for framing?
In general, all EXC and VG issues have frameable covers, but it is possible that others have frameable covers as well. With these early Life magazines, “Frameable” can vary according to your own tastes in vintage paper. It is rare indeed that an issue will be absolutely pristine. Interior pages are more likely to be in good condition. Many (most) of the GOOD copies have a central crease running down the cover because they must have been folded for mailing. Very Good copies may have a faint crease. Please ask if you need more information about framing a certain copy.
Which magazine condition grade is good enough for a gift?
In general, all EXC, VG, and G issues are suitable for a gift. A few “Fair” issues may also be suitable in some circumstances. Ask if you need help making a decision.
Why are some magazine descriptions longer than others?
The 2Neat business grew over 25 years and the way I did descriptions varied over time. The length of the description in no way represents the value of the issue – all of the issues have many interesting features and other pieces. All of my descriptions represent a SAMPLE of the art, text, and advertisements in the issue, NOT the entire content. By the way, if you see these exact descriptions on another seller’s page, please tell me and please do not patronize that seller (who has been so unscrupulous as to steal all of this hard work and weeks of typing). My descriptions are unique and have been formally copyrighted with the U.S. Copyright Office.
Glossary of terms used in magazine condition definitions:
(if you need a definition that is not here, please ask)
Browned : Some paper darkens with age or because of contact with non-archival paper or material. This is not soil. This condition can also be called Tanning, Age toning, Browning or Darkening.
Bumped : Mild curving or bending seen at corners, edges and spine ends when bumped with use.
Canted : Page block has warped so spine is not square. Book is flat, but spine is not square.
Chipped : Small piece of paper missing, almost always along the edge of a cover.
Color chipped : Small bit of cover color missing (leaving white) – looks like a chip but the paper is still present.
Creased : Once folded or almost folded (bent) – now straightened but a crease line shows.
Curved : An arc found in a text block that has been stored crookedly.
Darkened : Some paper darkens with age or because of contact with non-archival paper or material. This is not soil.
For its age : When you see this, the age-related “sliding condition scale” applies. The affect of it mild.
Foxed : Speckling generally due to residual acid in the paper or ink. This is cosmetic, not structural. It is NOT soil.
Margin tear : A closed tear that affects only the blank margin. (If paper is missing, I say so!)
Rippled : Pages are not completely flat, having the waviness that comes from water damage and other sources.
Rough : Almost always refers to the paper over the spine, not the quality of the binding. The paper may have missing bits or short tears.
Rubbed : Literally rubbed with use and storage. Manifests as faint scratches or mild color loss.
Spine ends : The extreme upper and lower ends of the spine.
Sunned : Fading or darkening caused by exposure to sun or aging. Typically affects spine and edges.
Tanned : Some paper darkens with age or because of contact with non-archival paper or material. This is not soil. This condition can be called Age toning, Browning or Darkening.
Water marked : This is the tone-on-tone discoloration caused by dampness, frequently not very noticeable. Where it is in the blank margin, it does not affect the content of the magazine. Unless otherwise noted, the water markings I note are NOT associated with stuck pages or marked rippling.