The Acaeum Dungeons & Dragons
Collecting Forums

Monstrous Compendium Storage
Post new topic Reply to topic Page 1 of 1
Author


Active Collector

Posts: 10
Joined: Feb 09, 2024
Last Visit: Jul 29, 2026

Post Posted: Sat Jun 15, 2024 12:07 pm 
 

Hi everyone

I recently purchased a volume 1 and 2 set in a binder. Almost all pages are in great condition, but the first two pages have tears around the binder holes. I am going to repair these with clear reinforcement labels. I am worried that the other pages might get torn in the future, so I was wondering whether to put protective labels on all the pages. However, do you think that would radically affect the value?

I looked into getting individual sleeves, but in Uk, most are A4 and the pages cannot be sleeved and put back in the original binder. Anyone got any ideas how best to protect the pages from further damage?

Thanks, Ian

  

User avatar

Verbose Collector
Acaeum Donor
Valuation Board

Posts: 1238
Joined: Nov 26, 2002
Last Visit: Jul 20, 2026

Post Posted: Sat Jun 15, 2024 2:52 pm 
 

Hi Ian, welcome to the boards!  Did you purchase them for gaming or for collecting?  If they are going to see frequent use then I would be proactive and protect the holes.  If they are going to sit like a trophy on a bookshelf, I wouldn’t touch them.  Collectors in general frown upon any manipulation of an item, even if it were to ‘protect the integrity’ of said item.  I find the monstrous manuals easier to work with and are way more durable.  TSR did right with those and built them like tanks.  

-SKA

  


Prolific Collector
Acaeum Donor

Posts: 928
Joined: Sep 11, 2017
Last Visit: Aug 03, 2026

Post Posted: Sat Jun 15, 2024 5:28 pm 
 

Sir Kill Alot wrote in Monstrous Compendium Storage:Hi Ian, welcome to the boards!  Did you purchase them for gaming or for collecting?  If they are going to see frequent use then I would be proactive and protect the holes.  If they are going to sit like a trophy on a bookshelf, I wouldn’t touch them.  Collectors in general frown upon any manipulation of an item, even if it were to ‘protect the integrity’ of said item.  I find the monstrous manuals easier to work with and are way more durable.  TSR did right with those and built them like tanks.  

-SKA


Upvote

In time, you may also find a "perfect" solution. Curation practices evolve over time.

  

User avatar

Verbose Collector
Acaeum Donor
Valuation Board

Posts: 1238
Joined: Nov 26, 2002
Last Visit: Jul 20, 2026

Post Posted: Sat Jun 15, 2024 8:54 pm 
 

A really long time ago I grabbed a PDF, which I believe, has every 2E monster in it.  It indexes all the monsters from each setting and it is really well done.  I can't imagine how long it took for the creators to put it all together.  It was called Monstrous Collection 2.1 and  weighs in at 3,145 pages with a disk footprint of 618MB.  Talk about a big boy... I am sure it is still out there but might be called something else by now.. Anyways, just some food for thought...

-SKA

  


Active Collector

Posts: 10
Joined: Feb 09, 2024
Last Visit: Jul 29, 2026

Post Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2024 3:35 am 
 

Thanks everyone. I will store it flat and leave all undamaged pages untouched. The couple of pages where the holes are torn, I have put rings around the holes, so that the tears don’t get any worse.

  
Post new topic Reply to topic Page 1 of 1