



The spot check: Before you buy, you need to check the game carefully. Sellers are either too busy to try to clean a game box or too afraid they will wind up removing some of the paper or color along with the dirt. One of the best bargains you can find at a flea market is a dirty game-that is to say, one that is soiled. Before You Buy-What Can and Cannot be Cleaned Here are some things game collectors can do for their early games, and what the game player might consider to keep a collection in the best shape. Most collectors are interested in doing their own cleaning and minor repair work, and using materials easily at hand.
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Also, there, if you’re looking to repair your own games, you can pick up special materials, including acid-free glue and backing paper, along with some advice on how to use them. Your best bet is to look online or ask in an art supply store. If you have a valuable, old and fragile game, such as a paper gameboard from the mid to late 1800s or a cloth or hand-colored board from even earlier, you should consider the professional help of a paper restorer or archivist if you are looking to clean, repair, or frame it. Those days may be long gone, but the players and collectors of today also need to find ways to protect and repair any games they hope to keep. Before household tape was readily available, games were repaired with “button” thread or embroidery thread, or even material like old fishing line. Scores of games have been found prior to the 1870s, and even approaching the 20 th century, where part of the box has been stitched together with thread or yarn, attesting to their esteemed value and the care bestowed upon them. It is astonishing how many games have survived for centuries. When you think about it, it is amazing that games played over and over again and designed to last for years are, most often, fabricated from paper-paper, cardboard, and card-stock, light enough and thin enough to be subject to bending, cracking, tearing, and, over time, the onslaughts of such things as insects and mildew.
