While some purists resist any attempt at altering a poster from its present state, we are of the opinion that anything that can be done to enhance the beauty or condition of a poster in ragged condition should be done. If it's good enough for those pieces, it's certainly good enough for a vintage poster. We are big believers that any extensive restoration should be clearly spelled out to another collector who may want to purchase a restored piece. Some restorers have gotten so good that their work is almost impossible to detect except for the most sophisticated poster aficionados. While a poster with extensive restoration certainly shouldn't be valued the same as one that isn't, the fact of the matter is that some very rare posters wouldn't exist were it not for the artistic abilities of the restoration experts.
Some collectors are quite happy with backing and nothing else.
Once the poster is backed the next decision is whether to have cosmetic retouching done. This may be necessary to give the appearance of a more even marriage of the sections, to conceal small holes or tears along the folds, or to restore large holes that caused part of the image to disappear. To fill these holes, some restorers make patches from scraps of paper taken from worthless posters of the same vintage. The patch is cut to fill the missing piece, attached to the poster and lightly sanded so that there will be no difference in the elevation of the patch from the original poster. If the poster is rare and valuable and the damage is extensive, the restorer may research a press book or other known specimens and recreate entire portions, following the patching method described above.