Pricing
Every piece of memorabilia presents a unique combination of age, fabric, inks and dyes, trims and embellishments, construction, soil, staining and odor, insect damage, creasing or other fabric distortion, improper storage conditions, etc.
As such, we need to examine each piece in order to provide an estimated cleaning and/or restoration cost.
Please bear in mind that the cleaning and/or restoration of a memorabilia piece is relatively expensive.
Examples
To give you a sense of costs, consider these examples:
Sports uniforms — boxing robe
We cleaned and restored a boxing robe, signed by Muhammad Ali, to as close to original as possible while simultaneously protecting the signature from further fading.
The robe arrived with a certificate from Field of Dreams guaranteeing the authenticity of the signature.
The robe had yellowed in numerous places, the black satin trim had faded/changed color in numerous places and the fabric coating on the reverse side of the black satin had discolored the white fabric and thread in numerous places. The robe was covered in numerous places with double-sided, Scotch tape and adhesive residue from that tape (in those places where the Scotch tape had already been removed). And the fabric was sharply creased in numerous places.
We restored the robe to near original condition at a cost of $300.
To view this slide show on a full screen, hit the X button with the arrow tips.
Sports uniforms — MLB jackets
We cleaned and restored three 25+ year old baseball jackets (Yankees, Dodgers and Giants) belonging to a former Major League Baseball pitcher whose career spanned the years 1978 to 1988.
The jackets had been stored in two duffle bags. Unfortunately, rats had burrowed into those duffle bags, and, as a result, the jackets became stained with rat urine and feces.
We restored those jackets to near original condition at a cost of $150 each.
To view this slide show on a full screen, hit the X button with the arrow tips.
Military uniforms — World War II (Navy)
We cleaned and restored a white summer uniform belonging to Admiral Chester W. Nimitz – the same uniform he wore on the U.S.S. Missouri when he accepted the surrender of the Japanese in 1945.
Because of the historical significance of this uniform and because the uniform was in a public collection, we did not charge for our services.
Had this uniform been sent to us by a private collector, we probably would have charged $300 to $400 for our services.
To view this slide show on a full screen, hit the X button with the arrow tips.
Theatrical costumes
We cleaned, restored and preserved two costumes (with provenance) sent in by a collector of Phantom Of The Opera memorabilia. Both dresses had been stored in a California warehouse for over a decade and were in relatively poor condition (tears and heavy soiling).
We charged $500 for the “Think of Me” dress worn by Emmy Rossum (the first Broadway run) and $500 for Carlotta’s “Il Muto” dress worn by Minnie Driver (the 2004 movie).
