So, you've just scored a great old framed print on ebay. You await its arrival with it's photo images in mind. And when it shows up you thank your lucky stars for delivery without the cover glass broken into sharp shards perfectly suited to cut and scrape the old, fragile paper. Then you see it in person, and while the shock of seeing it "in the flesh" can be disappointing (or not) you are still not quite satisfied because often it is filthy from years of accumulated cooking smoke, fireplace smoke or just plain old dust. Perhaps you have heard that the print is worth more left alone with only a cursory cleaning of the exposed glass. While some collectors do believe leaving the piece alone is preferable to cleaning it, I am not one of them. I agree with them that sometimes when the piece has an intact dust cover on the back, perhaps with a framer's sticker or a stamped title or number, or even a personal dedication for a birthday or christmas present from long ago, and it is excellent overall condition I believe it should be left alone. But, on the other hand, I prefer to display my collection without the cloudy glass and without the foxing spots that show up on the inside of the glass after so many years. These are only my opinions and I respect anyone who wants to preserve our past as an art display, even if the piece does look a bit dirty.

What to do with it if you do want to clean it up? You can take it to a professional framer, but they probably haven't had much experience with old paper or framing methods, and they may pass on the project because they know that one small flick of the finger might create a tear in the fragile paper, and there is no replacement available. Or, you can clean it up yourself and save the money. It is easy to do the job and it is very satisfying work. I like this sort of work so much that I actually buy these old framed prints to make them more presentable for their next owner, and often I don't make a penny doing it. Sometimes I make a nice profit by merely cleaning an inexpensive old art piece that I buy on ebay and then sell on ebay.

When your print arrives you should unpack it gently in case the glass has broken. Discern its orientation and place its face down to complete the unwrapping. If the glass is broken the shards can fall away from the paper. If all is well finish unwrapping, and then inspect the piece. Look for various flaws that you missed in the photos or weren't mentioned in the description. Remember that these old prints usually have some sort of problem, if only that it was printed on wood pulp based paper that has tanned over time, which is entirely appropriate and does not reduce the value of the print at all. Of course other flaws such as staining (usually from moisture), fading, foxing (mold generated light brown spots on the paper), tears, holes, or waviness reduce the value of the print. But, rarity usually trumps damage unless the damage is severe. Look for problems that may further damage the print when you take the piece apart, such as loose frame corners (and it falls apart in your fingers), or nails that hold it in the frame wearing more edge bites in the paper as you move it around.

After inspection lay the frame face down and unwind the hanging wire on one side and lay aside (leaving the eyelets unless you will be working on the frame, then unscrew them). Then remove the usual nails on the backside (sometimes diamond points, which seem to have been introduced to framing in the early 1930's). I remove these nails by using needle nose pliers and a small hard mallet. Holding the pliers as if you are about to stab a hole in the paper grip the nail carefully, making sure that the tip is not going to touch the paper that is below the cardboard backer, and then sharply tap the side of the pliers with the mallet. The nail should pop out quite easily. Sometimes they rust in place and are more difficult; just tap a little harder. Sometimes they break off; no problem. Just focus on not hitting the print itself with the tip of the pliers.

Next, remove the backer, the print and the glass together by popping it up and out of the frame with your fingers, hands wrapped around the sides of the frame; swirl the three pieces together slightly so that the glass rests on the frame oriented about 45 degrees from the frame. Carefully lift the backer cardboard to see if the print is loose or mounted. Sometimes there are more than one piece of backer; sometimes there are even other prints behind the one you bought. One time I bought a nice Maxfield Parrish print (a medium Twilight) and behind it lay one of my favorite Parrish images in pristine condition (The Glen). I wish that would happen more often than next to never. Next, remove the print carefully. Usually this is when edge tears happen because the paper is naturally fragile because of its age. So, be extra gentle with the paper. Actually, the thicker papers tear easier than the thinner papers. Lay aside the print on a clean surface.

Cleaning the glass is the next task. I use a standard quality glass cleaner without ammonia. Spraying a bit of cleaner on the inside side of the glass and holding the glass pane with paper towels use a single edged razor blade to scrape the whole surface, especially the edges. Remove any bumps (unless they are a part of the old, poured glass) because they are residues from microbial activity. Wipe clean with the paper towels being careful to not touch the glass directly with your fingers (which leaves oily fingerprints). Turn the glass over to the outside side of the glass, which is usually the dirtiest side, especially around the edges. Repeat your cleaning and wiping. Hold the glass up to the light and turn it obliquely to spot any areas that need extra work. It is important to spend a small amount of extra time to get the glass absolutely clean because the art piece is likely to spend the next seventy-five years in the state you leave it. Replace the glass in the frame holding it with paper towels. Maintain the same orientation and facing it was when you first removed it because the glass has actually distorted over the years (since it is a slow moving liquid) and you may as well reassemble the piece like it was when you received it (given that it has never been apart before; if obviously dismantled before just put it back together the best way you choose). Using a clean whisk brush (I use a draftsman's brush) remove any dust or old dust cover paper bits from the glass and the front and back of the print that have a way of floating around and have an annoying way of showing up in view under the glass after the piece is reassembled. Then replace the backer with its original orientation. Next, putting the original nails back into their original holes put one nail on each side. Then turn the piece over and look closely for any bits of dust that you should brush away. That way you only have to remove a few nails to brush it off again. Check again and if you are satisfied replace the remainder of the nails in the original holes. You may need to put in a few new ones because the frames have often lost a few of them. Try to use the same size nails, but don't worry too much about this (framers from long ago often used different, though similar, sized nails on one piece). Reattach the hanging wire and you are done.

Topics I will discuss in the future are: Frame restoring and touch-up; using acid-free backers or not; installing dust covers; and, packing framed prints for shipment.

Please know that these methods are only mine and I'm sure there are better ones out there. Please tell me your's. Thanks for looking! Jim