I have a vintage Roger Maris Baseball Game with the original box, the game is in great shape but the box is torn at the corners, I was wondering what the general consensus was on this should I let it stay the way it is or should I tape the box?

Romeo,
I don't think it really matters either way. It's more of a personal choice. If you are displaying it and the ripped corners show, then I would get some archival tape and tape it on the inside.

Matt

Thank you Matt I just needed someone eles opinion before i messed it up.

never do something that can't relatively easily be reversed. It's sorta the true conservator's mantra. Temper that with the degree to which you are impacted by somethings appearance. The only other thing is my belief that when something is DEGRADING in some manner - it's important to remedy by the most prudent means possible asap.......

Holy cow, Romeo, STOP! NEVER use tape on a game box. There are infinitely better (if slightly more painstaking) ways to repair common corner splits. Game collectors hate tape. It's downright ugly for starters, and extremely difficult to remove without incurring paper loss.

Baseball Games
http://baseballgames.dreamhosters.com/

Since I was the only one that said I would tape it.... If you taped it on the inside of the lid, the tape would not be seen and it would not affect the graphics. I don't think it would be that big of a deal and that it would only inrease the display value. What other ways are there to repair corner rips? If anyone knows other ways to repair rips, please let me know.
Thanks
Matt

Tape is still a hard-to-remove addition no matter where it is on a box or how little seen when on display. As a rule (we suppose there may be exceptions, but none we know), game collectors despise tape.

The only thing holding together the corners of most conventional cardboard game box lids is the actual paper adhering to the box. A trace amount of Elmer's Glue sparingly applied inside those corners will usually be enough to reattach the corners, and it dries almost invisibly. There's an excellent walk-through on game box repair on-line at, if memory serves, the AGPC website.

Baseball Games
http://baseballgames.dreamhosters.com/

That's good to know. I would have just used tape if I had a ripped box.
Thanks
Matt

thank you everyone for there help on this, and thank you for the link it was very helpful, you guys rock

This is not to suggest that you should use tape, however, there are strong, archival, and removable tapes available. The kind that I use when I want a strong hold that is reversible is called hinging tape. It's made from white paper and has a gummed back that you moisten to stick. Nice thing about it that you can cut it to size and bend it to fit into corners cleanly. Removal requires nothing more than moistening the back side and letting it fall off. Any left over residue can be wiped off with a damp cloth. You could easily fix the corners of your game from the inside and it would be a clean and completely reversible fix.

Like stamp hinges, no? If it's strong enough to hold the corners of the box lid securely and if it's indeed completely removable, then it's a thoroughly valid alternative -- and thanks, William, for the suggestion!

We were mainly concerned about the application of clear adhesive tape, masking tape, brown-paper packaging tape, or any other clumsy and horrible stuff that we far too often encounter adhering to vintage boardgame boxes.

Baseball Games
http://baseballgames.dreamhosters.com/

Yes, similar to stamp hinges but a slightly heavier paper stock. The tape I am referring to is readily available in framing or art stores. Chances are if they sell mat board and matting supplies the store will also carry this tape. It's intended use is for hinging artwork behind the bevel cut mat.