Railroad wall calenders

I have several vintage railroad wall calenders. Some are in perfect condition and a couple have imperfections. I have had them rolled up in a sealed tube but i would like to display them. My concern is if they are of value, do i need to frame them in a way that will prevent deterioration? I have googled and i get values from 20.00 up to 800.00 but i dont think that these values are reliable.

 

Im sure railroad collectors would love these!

 

You can sell those all day. How much they go for depends on who's looking and whose wife is out of the room.

 

My dad retired from Illinois central so railroading is a part of the family. I am in the process of making a model railroad room and want to display these but if theybarw valuable collectables, then i want to display them with the correct process.

 

Fortunately i found them in the basement of a house that i was renovating

 

My dad was a rail nut to end all rail nuts, so I know the railroad room well. Dad had a railroad basement!

 

Ooooh....you got my attention now. I am surprised that there isnt a forum for various memorabilia. Is there just not much of a market anymore?

 

Not much. Mom sold off most of my dad's stuff after he died, and it didn't sell for much. Some old live steam stuff still sells, but the models are pretty well dead. The collectors are all old guys who are dying off and selling up.

 

The graphics are awesome!

I see you put these in "Art" (which they totally deserve) but many paper items or likewise "fleeting" things also go in Ephemera when they don't have "art" qualities. Postcards, matches, napkins, menus, etc.

 

Yeah...i flipped a coin and debated back and forth and i figured thst i had a 50-50 chance of getting it right. But i decided that with some of the scenes depicting things in railroading thst hadn't even happened yet, they almost were predicting the future in railroading. It was a hard one to decide bit i will be mindful in the future.

 

Oh and may i ask sheepishly...what is an ephemera???

 

Something that's here one minute and gone the next.

Something that wasn't meant to last, often gets used up or thrown away.

That's what our Ephemera and Photographs Forum deals with.

 

Ahhh...so my paychecks are an ephemera...lol thank you. I have learned a ton of stuff today. You folks are great

 

You got it, Joe!

 

The biggest problem in framing these is their currently rolled state. They need to be flattened. There is a lot of information on how to flatten paper on the internet. However, if the paper is brittle, it may crack or break. If you find it too fragile to flatten yourself, it may need to be professionally done. The cost of which probably would exceed the value of your calendars.

 

Since these have metal loops/hangers, I might just hang them all on a nail and let gravity take its course.

 

They really aren't brittle at all and Yes, i hate that they are kept in the tube but that was the safest way that i knew to protect them. I have heard of all kinds of ways to protect old paper but i am not sure which is best. Any suggestions on a reasonable way to keep them from becoming victims to fading, smoke, uv, grubby fingers touching.? Or would i be okay to just make a simple 1" shadow box with uv glass?

 

Most good frame shops (not chains like Michaels) have a trained archivist on the staff. I'd call around and ask for advice.

 

Good idea...i will check. Thanks