You're looking for a comic strip from between the wars or from the 1950s and 1960s in the best possible state of preservation. If you're a regular visitor to stock markets, specialist websites and auctions, you've finally stumbled across the holy grail! The binding is still solid, the corners almost prickly, and the covers in very satisfactory condition for their age... In short, the item has miraculously stood the test of time. Once acquired, the album joins your collection, among the other volumes carefully classified in your library. However, you may find that the book slips out of your hand and falls, or that the corners of the book accidentally hit while you're handling it. You don't go so far as to lose sleep over it all night, but it does worry you.

"Rare books are essential witnesses to history and culture, but their fragility makes them difficult to preserve. So says the blog on the Rare Protect website. The owners of Rare Protect know a thing or two about this: they themselves are passionate about Franco-Belgian comics and are collectors. Having seen many items come and go, both as buyers and sellers, they have seen just how difficult it is to preserve an album in good condition.

Based in Paris, not far from the Hôtel de Ville, the managers of this beile.fr subsidiary gave a great deal of thought to a way of protecting collectable comics. After several years of trials, they developed and had manufactured PVC sleeves that are both flexible and shock-resistant. The edges of these sleeves are rigid, ensuring a high level of protection. "ultimate protection for your rare items. These sleeves also provide a guaranteed 100 % barrier against UV rays: your albums will no longer suffer any damage from sunlight.

The Pockets come in a range of three different models, with sizes to suit different book formats:

-The "bronze" model (180 x 220 x 7 mm) is perfect for paperback comics, such as some early editions ofAsterix or Lucky Luke.

-The "silver" model (239 x 316 x 12 mm) is ideal for hardback albums, including Tintin, Blake and Mortimer, Asterix, Spirouto name but a few of the most famous series.

- Finally, the thicker "gold" model (239 x 316 x 22) will be ideal for prestigious black and white editions, in particular Hergé's albums from 1930 to 1942.

Rare Protect sleeves aren't just for Franco-Belgian comics fans. They will undoubtedly also be of interest to collectors of rare and old books of all kinds, and various institutions (museums, libraries, etc.).

Finally, the founders of Rare Protect offer other services, such as collection management (financial appraisal, meticulous inventory, etc.) and book restoration and preservation (cleaning, repair, consolidation, treatment).

For more information, visit rare-protect.com.