This week's entry is a continuation of our comments regarding restoration (specifically bobbing heads) of sports memorabilia. The following comment was sent to us from Frank Parrella- an avid Yankees fan and a collector(and a good friend) of vintage bobbing head dolls. I'll try to answer some of his concerns- but let us know your fellings too.

Frank writes: I enjoy reading the information you provide in the BLOG Link of your website. It has provided some very interesting insights for those collectors of figural memorabilia. The historical aspect of these pieces is extremely fascinating. I say that because I majored in history while attending college and I may be somewhat biased in my assessment. I was particularly pleased with your brief piece on "restoration and repair of bobbing head dolls" prior to the main subject of your February 13, 2007 BLOG. You made your point very succinctly while suggesting that professionally restored items could certainly enhance the aesthetic value of one's collection. Over the past few years you and I have had several discussions about restored dolls and basically we agree in principle with the concept. Of course, the ideal situation for any of us hobbyists would be to acquire near-mint to mint examples of the particular dolls that we are interested in adding to our collections. When this is not possible due to either doll availability or the transaction being cost prohibitive, a professionally restored or repaired example is an acceptable alternative. My personal philosophy regarding dolls simply stated is that a professionally repaired doll is preferable to me rather than one that exhibits minor distress (hairline cracks, flea bites, small chips, decal imperfections, etc.). I do not want to look at a doll on display in my collection and see that it exhibits signs of distress.

This brings me to the following questions. How do you find a restored doll that is acceptable in both condition and price? How are prices determined for restored dolls inasmuch as they are not considered equal in value to dolls in fine original condition? Should properly restored dolls be valued the same as "original" dolls or some higher percentage of the original near-mint to mint value to reflect their "like new" condition? For example, a restored 1957 Corvette would certainly sell for a stately sum if the restoration were of the highest quality. The vehicle would also be very desirable because the true collector would want the vintage car because of its great condition. Maybe this same logic should apply to properly restored dolls. Does the hobby police itself sufficiently to insure that the snake oil salesmen are kept in their place? The railroad train collectors' hobby has an organization of credible dealers from which collectors may purchase hobby memorabilia and be assured of quality and authenticity. Membership in this organization is similar to the good seal of approval. I have been collecting bobbing heads since 2001 and vintage since 2003. I try to search the net everyday to see what is available. Over the past year and a half I have noticed more and more repaired dolls available. This makes sense because collections of fine dolls do not come along everyday. With the scarcity of dolls that are 40+ years old, accurately described repaired dolls are certainly an acceptable alternative. In many cases while these dolls have had some repair to critical areas of distress, other areas of distress on the same doll have not been addressed. I cannot understand why anyone would purchase a doll that had been "half fixed". Examples of some doll descriptions seen on EBAY and various auction sites are "the best you will ever see", "some smoothing", "light restoration", "professionally restored", "light touchups but you can't see them with the naked eye",  "light cleaning", and "inspection of the doll with either a black light or a flashlight has revealed no touch-ups or the following minor distress".  A personal favorite of one of our hobby friends and avid collector is the description that states "I am not a expert on these dolls so I cannot tell if someone has touched it! No returns allowed so ask your question before the auction ends."

In your piece on restoration and repair you indicated that you would provide tips on detecting restorations in the future. I believe this would be very useful to the hobbyists. When you do provide these tips I would like you to discuss the use of black light inspections. I realize that this is not the only technique used to detect distress and repair. However, frequent references made to it on some auction sites make it sound like the key ingredient to detection. One has to be careful not to interpret black light inspection by a seller as a guarantee or COA of the originality of the doll. I personally have tried using a black light and have not been very successful. But I am a novice in the hobby. I used it to view a known restored area of a doll and could not find the restoration because of the clear finish that had been applied over the restoration. The use of clear finishing techniques may very well disguise areas of repair. This is OK if the repair was performed correctly and the paint matches. From past conversations with a respected restorer of these dolls that had a 15-year history of repair success, the phrases "touch up" or "the blending of an area on a doll" are not acceptable practices in expert doll restoration. As I indicated above I was unsuccessful in my use of a black light to detect a restoration and now that I reflect on what I attempted to do I have come to the conclusion that I might have been more successful by just performing the inspection in natural sunlight.

Unless the collector is a true purist, the alternative of purchasing finely repaired or restored dolls is acceptable. This may very well be the direction the hobby will take in the future. If this is the case then collectors should be armed with any insights or tips you can provide that will assist them in making good decisions regarding the purchase of bobbing head dolls for their collections.

Response: First, I would like to thank Frank for addressing this issue and voicing his concerns. I have always felt that the restoration of bobbing heads (or any piece of memorabilia) is a personal preference. I would rather have a piece look good rather than be all original in bad condition. Of course, As Frank points out, in a perfect world we would like have all our pieces be totally mint and all original. In the case of fragile pieces such as the bobbing heads, it is unlikely that we can do this 100% of the time. For rarer dolls, it may be that collectors will have to settle for lesser condition in order to obtain them. There are some dolls where there is literally only a handful of known examples. In that case, isn't it better to get the piece even if it has condition problems? The obvious alternative to not having the doll, is to get the off-condition doll and get it restored. As we've said in the past- it is an accepted practice in almost every other hobby.

How can you best detect restoration? There is no real scientific answer to this question. My best advice is to first use your own senses.

Touch- sometimes you can feel where a doll has been repaired. Run your finger along the doll, if the surface goes from smooth to rough, there is a good chance that there has been work done to it.

Sight- look inside the head and around the rim. Many times a crack will be covered up on the outside, but the inside will show hints of the crack line. There should be no "build-up" on the rim- it should be an even groove all the way around. Sometimes the restorer will leave a "ramp-like" build-up from the rim to the head. Also, any extra composition on the inside of the head is a "red flag".

Smell- that's right, sometimes you can smell the newness, especially if it has been re-glossed.

The point is, your best sense is to use your own common sense and don't over analyze these dolls. As Frank points out, many so called experts use black-lite detection. I have to tell you, this is a very tricky and difficult method to use. Novice users of a black-lite will swear that every doll they own has been touched-up. With different original paint lots and layers of paint, things show up under black-lite that will confuse any first-time user. We only take out the black-lite to confirm what our senses suspect. It is not a fool proof method.

Lastly, buy from dealers who you have found honest and have a liberal return policy. As we have tried to convey to collectors all along, don't buy any memorabilia for investment purposes, buy them because you like them. If in time, they increase in value, that is a bonus to your collection. Your real investment is in the joy that these pieces bring you.

Let's hear what you have to say about this topic.

Next week's topic: Kail Banks & Statues