Damaged Annuals

[paw broon]

Very occasionally I stumble on a GG Swan album stuffed into a box, usually under a table, but, almost regardless of the state of the spine or it's general tattiness, as long as all the pages are there, I will buy it - and if it's a second hand store or junk shop, I will haggle if I think I can get away with it. They are relatively rare and so redolent of my pre-teen years that they are almost must buys. With more recent annuals, Hotspur etc., I'm only interested in the superhero or action strips and decidedly not interested in football, war, or what passes for humour in some of them. So, the book has to be cheap, but if it is and even if it's in poor nick, as long as that type of strip is intact, I will buy it.
I recently acquired a few Miller hardback, western, reprint albums and it's not the spine that's the problem, more the fact that the pages come lose if you do anything more than very gently open them. I'm looking right now at a Rocky Lane Annual and the spine is all there, albeit with the help of a bit of magic tape, but the interior pages are almost falling out. The glue has dried out an all the annuals and there is very little to be done to improve the condition.

[starscape]

I've never had a big problem with books that have faults. Yes, I want a good price on them but it's no big deal if they've been enjoyed thoroughly in the past. Let's face it, most UK annuals aren't that much of an investment. I like to read and collect. If I can do that with one I've not got, why not?