by Bruce Whitehill
There are various ways to show off your collection and still keep your games safe from damage. You need to be careful about light, temperature, and humidity, and the methods you use to secure a game in a display. Similarly, games must be stored properly to keep them from deteriorating.
The effects of sunlight, temperature and humidity
Games are either cardboard wrapped in color lithographed paper, or lithographed metal or wood. Keep them out of direct sunlight and away from spotlights and other bright light, or the colors will fade. If you are selling games at an outdoor market, in just one day of bright sunlight your games can lose color.
Keep games away from areas of extreme heat or cold, and away from areas with great temperature fluctuations. If the lithographed paper on the box or board expands or contracts at a different rate from the uncoated cardboard, the game will warp. Temperature changes might also cause games to become more brittle.
The most important rule to follow is to keep games out of damp areas or they will get mildewed. If your games are displayed in a basement that might tend to become humid during the summer months, use a dehumidifier and check the games regularly, inside and out. Games should also be kept out of very dry areas or they may become brittle.
Using rubber bands
If you must use rubber bands to keep boxes closed, make sure the rubber bands are flexible and not too tight. If they stay on too long, are in direct sunlight, or are in a room that gets too hot, they may disintegrate and fuse to the box cover. If you use rubber bands, replace them regularly. Avoid buying the small packs of inexpensive rubber bands; instead look in an office supply store for rubber bands packed loose by size in large boxes. Buy the largest thin size available, and made certain it has a good stretch to it. One suggested choice is Plymouth rubber bands, size 33. The huge, brick red rubber bands can be used for most larger games.
Very often the edges on a game box are worn because rubber bands have been removed and replaced carelessly. This book may be the first to explain how to put rubber bands on a box. First, on a flat surface such as a table top, place the game so that one end is protruding beyond the edge of the table. Stretch out the rubber band to its fullest, then slide it over the end of the box. Slide your hands up so that you release the bottom of the rubber band first, letting it grab the bottom of the box, then gently let the rubber band touch the sides of the box and let go. There is no need to place a rubber band in the center of a box; use two rubber bands, placing them right near the edge on opposite ends of the box. Do not slide the rubber band along the box edge; if you need to move the rubber band, lift it up.
Naturally, to remove a rubber band, reverse the procedure: lift the rubber band from the middle, slide both hands under the rubber band and to the opposite sides, and stretch and lift the rubber band so it is no longer touching the box top or aprons. If you have to slide a tight rubber band off a box, make sure the rubber band is sliding along the edge of the box bottom only. (If you are considering buying a rubber band-bound game in a shop or at a show, ask the dealer if you may take the rubber band off rather than letting him or her do it.)
An alternative way to secure a box with a rubber band is to use a very large rubber band, hook it over the top of one of the box corners, run it diagonally under the box, then pull it over the opposite corner.
Some collectors, rather than use rubber bands, prefer to use a large, soft yarn tied around a game to keep the box from opening.
How to display games
Most collectors have more items then they have room for. To properly exhibit a game inside and out takes a lot of open shelf space, so most collections are relegated to a display of the game box only. How to display a collection is as individual a choice as what games you like to buy.
Many collectors use wall displays with narrow shelves. Boxes are set up vertically, sitting on one apron, either leaning against or flush with the wall. Either the bottom of the box has to be far enough away from the wall to keep the game from tipping forward, or the game must be secured near the top. One of the best ways to do this is with clear fishing line; it is not necessary to secure each game separately, merely to run the line along the entire length of the shelf (provided the shelf is not too long).
Also, you can tie clear fishing line around each of your games, then hang each game on a hook attached to the wall.
At least one collector uses a gridwork of connecting frames on his wall, with the left side of the frame from one game acting also as the right side of the frame for part of another game. Each opening is measured to fit a particular game, so removing one from the display means replacing it with another of equal size. Though none of the aprons are visible this way, the wall of framed games is impressive.
Since you don’t want to shine spotlights on your games, the best lighting consists of spotlights, floor lamps, or track lights along a wall, with all the bulbs directed at the ceiling, all the light on the games being reflected light.
Glass cases or any set up with glass shelves make effective displays, especially as you can set out some of the implements next to the box. Games with bottom-box ads should definitely sit on glass. Mirrors can also be employed with good effect. The key word here is “experimentation.”
Displays are as varied as the imagination. One collector has games sitting in hollowed out stumps and covered with glass, making an interesting table. Another collector has an “apron” display–100 thin games with illustrated or patterned aprons are slid into a turn-of-the-century sheet music cabinet so that only the aprons are visible. (It may not show off the best of the games, but it keeps them safe and secure and within easy reach.)
How to handle and store games
As with much of the information in this chapter, some of the suggestions here will seem obvious. However, it is surprising how many obvious “rules” are broken, and, though no one “infraction” will destroy a game, continuous abuses will certainly cause unnecessary wear or even damage.
Criminals wear gloves to keep from leaving fingerprints–clean hands are not enough. Fingerprints come from the oil in the body, and excessive handing will leave games soiled. Always lift any game larger than about seven inches square with two hands, not one. Using two hands you can balance a game easily by holding it from the bottom only without having to secure it by pressing your thumbs on the box cover.
Games should be stored vertically, with a sheet of acid free paper or cardboard between each game. As discussed above, they should be stored away from areas of extreme temperatures, temperature fluctuations, and, especially, moisture. When storing games for long periods, it is safest not to use any rubber bands, since they may decay and adhere to the box.
Try not to stack games; the weight of the games might crush the ones on the bottom. If you have to place games one on top of the other, cross-stack them (that is, alternate vertical and horizontal placement) or place each game on top of a slightly smaller game; this way, each game is being supported by the edges of the game below, and nothing is pressing directly on the cover litho. 
Also, when games are stacked with the smallest on top and are carried or moved, they can slide around more easily, allowing the bottom of one game to scrape across the litho cover of the game below.
SOME ADVICE ON STORING NEWER GAMES FOR LONG PERIODS:
1. Store all games in an area that is not subject to wide temperature fluctuations or excessive heat. Keep the games out of direct sunlight (the box colors will fade).
2. Cut the shrink wrap along two sides. Otherwise, it may shrink further, crushing the box.
3. Open the game box and remove any rubber bands from around cards and stacks of money. This will prevent the rubber band from adhering to the paper if the rubber melts.
