Calendars Passing the Test of Time
Question: The start of a new year might be a good time to ask about the value of old calendars. I have quite a few, but some have their pages missing. As long as I have the cover sheets, won’t the covers preserve their value?--F.P.
Answer: Not necessarily. Dealer catalogues we’ve read generally agree that, with rare exceptions, missing monthly pages detract from value.
As an additional guideline for you, calendar collectors tend to acquire by subject rather than looking for calendars that have certain years as a common denominator. For example, turn-of-the-century advertising calendars, mostly giveaways, have become very popular.
New collectors should seek expert help if they suspect that a new-looking calendar was recently reproduced. Modern printing techniques can make purchasing decisions treacherous in this area.
Q: Is there a premium on beer cans that still contain the original brew? I have an extensive collection and I’d like to show it. If I empty the cans, is there a way to do it without damaging the can or marring the exhibit?--C.T.
A: Collectors say it actually doesn’t make a great deal of difference whether the can has the original stuff in it. But if you do decide to empty the can, there is a way not to do it.
Don’t open the collectible beer can from the top, as you would to drink the contents. Use a church key to make the opening on the bottom instead, so that the holes can’t be seen when your collection is displayed. Otherwise, say collectors, your collection won’t attract much attention, and its value will take a nose dive.
Most collectors, incidentally, do empty the cans, if for no other purpose than that they are obviously lighter to lug around.
Additionally, cans that are rusted or dented shouldn’t be shown unless they are extremely rare, for the same reason--your display will look more like a garbage dump than an exhibit.
That isn’t to say a garbage dump isn’t a source of collectible cans if you can stand the smell. There are plenty of stories about collectors finding rare beer cans with minor dents in such unlikely places, rather than at more conventional flea markets or swap meets.
Unlike with some other collectibles, it’s not taboo to touch up a rare beer can if you can match it to the original colors and design. To do this properly, however, you have to know how to work with enamel and metallic paint.
Mailbag
Poster aficionados interested in design from the early part of this century might want to visit a recently opened gallery, Turner Dailey, at 7220 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 931-1185.
In putting emphasis on posters as “an important component of design,” co-owner Steve Turner says he and his partner, Victoria Dailey, “are trying to show things that are not being shown in Los Angeles”--including a broad range of topics from travel to the Olympic Games to political causes and the avant-garde. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.