FAQ

Do you ship internationally?

As of 2021 we no longer ship outside the United States.  This decision was due to persistent difficulties in foreign shipments due to lost and unacceptably slow transport, and increased delays due to customs and VAT processing.


Who and what is Charles Edwin Puckett?

Charles is a real, living, breathing person, currently conducting business under his name (along with his wife Teresa)!

Charles and Teresa Puckett are dealers with many years of experience buying and selling Medieval and Renaissance illuminated manuscripts and 16th through 19th century maps and prints. Their interest in illuminated manuscripts and antique maps began in college and grew significantly with extended travel to Europe, Turkey and Asia throughout the 1960’s. Charles opened the first shop while completing an MBA at Wharton Graduate School, University of Pennsylvania in 1971, and the company maintained an open gallery through the 1970’s. Pucketts have been private dealers since 1980, available by advance appointment, and participating in shows and charity events across the country each year.

Charles and Teresa have presented numerous lectures at book and antique shows, and on TV - most recently providing some of the manuscripts for use by the FOX Network's "Birth of Jesus", and appearing on HGTV's Collectible Treasures.

The Pucketts and staff continue to exhibit at quality Antique Shows and Charity Events throughout the country. The schedule is posted on this web site, and you may contact us  for additional details. Travel permitting, we are also available in Akron by appointment.

We, at Charles Edwin Puckett, take great pride in offering for sale the finest medieval and renaissance illuminated manuscripts, and antique maps and prints. All these items are genuine and original  - not reproductions. We maintain a large quantity of individual illuminated manuscript leaves available for sale.


How should Illuminated Manuscripts be framed?

Anything which touches the manuscript should be acid free. We use a double mat*, which is completely archival and acid free. It is 100% cotton, and also chemically buffered to retard the acids in the atmosphere. The leaf is attached using archival materials as well. We use Filmoplast P - a material that is acid free and reversible (it can be removed).

Light is an enemy of antique prints and original art. We recommend using UV filtering glass or UV Plexiglas when framing. We typically use Tru-Vue "Conservation Clear" Glass. UV filtering materials, such as Tru-Vue glass, retard 97% of the UV rays which are the agents that cause fading. We still recommend that the item not be placed in direct sunlight or high intensity fluorescent/incandescent light, even with the UV filter.

If you wish to show both sides of the manuscript leaf, simply select a molding for the frame that is deep enough to accommodate TWO pieces of glass (one in front and one in back of the mat) plus a retaining strip. It is NOT recommended that it be framed between glass without the use of a mat - the leaf should not touch the glass.

Any quality framer in your area should be able to accomplish this without much trouble. Members of PPFA (Picture Framers Association of America), particularly those who are Certified Picture Framers (CPF) usually state their credential in their ads, and may be depended upon.

The final enemy is moisture. Under normal ambient air-conditioned surroundings, this is not a particular problem, but  works of art on vellum or paper should never be hung near a source of high moisture, such as a shower.

Beyond that the vellum/paper and pigments are remarkably stable. They have, after all, survived for hundreds of years.

*We use Crescent 4-ply Rag Mat # 2259 (Antique White) for all our matting, thus anything we have matted for you is archival.

 


Stay tuned...

MORE FAQs will be COMING SOON!


In the meantime...

Please contact us with any questions that you may have regarding our inventory: