Choosing The Right Containers For Valuable Vintage Posters

If you own any potentially valuable poster, you may want to sell it or store it for safe keeping until you decide to frame it for display. Here are two important guidelines to follow when choosing a container to protect your valued posters.

Protect Your Valuable Poster

Antique posters can be extremely valuable. Vintage sports posters and movie advertisements generate a lot of interest on the collectibles market. Some of the most famous movie posters have sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars, including one designed for the 1927 science fiction thriller "Metropolis," bringing close to $1,000,000.

You're going to want the highest quality container to store or ship any vintage poster. If a valuable poster is crushed or damaged even slightly, it will develop a crease in the material that drastically reduces the value. To maintain their highest value, they must be considered in mint condition. This is why you need to select a sturdy container made of the right material.

Sturdiness

Avoid storing or shipping valuable posters in cheaper tubs with thin walls. You should be able to lay the tube flat on the floor and apply all your weight to the tube without it collapsing. You should get tubes that strong, especially if you are shipping the collectible poster.

If you can only find tubes that are made with thinner walls, there is an immediate solution if you must get the poster shipped immediately. Purchase two sizes, one smaller than the other.

Make sure one is the correct size to fit your neatly rolled poster inside, and then make the other one just big enough to go over the smaller tube. This will give you enough protection that you should not have to worry about your valuable poster getting crushed.

Material

There are very sturdy cardboard containers available that will hold up to your weight, as explained previously. But, cardboard is not the best material for long-term storage of valuable posters. Cardboard can draw dampness, even if the ends are well sealed.

The material that cardboard is made of also can affect the longevity of paper products stored inside. There can be a chemical reaction between the cardboard and the poster material that causes it to gradually become brittle. While you can ship posters in solid cardboard containers, if there is any chance they will need to be stored for any length of time, consider using a tube made from PVC.

There are plastic poster containers specially designed for vintage collectibles. The thickness will make them strong enough that your valuable piece will not be damaged. If you have a poster that is worth a great deal of money, you can also step up to a metal container similar to the cases available for expensive fishing rods.

If you own a valuable poster, you're going to want to protect it. Make sure the container you choose is sturdy enough that it will not crush and the material will not compromise the integrity of your vintage collectible. You'll be able to keep your vintage poster in pristine condition until you're ready to frame it. Plus, if you ever decide to sell it to another collector, you'll have a way to safely ship it to its new owner.

For more information, contact local professionals like Chicago Mailing Tube Co.