The joys of collecting

I know there are some who merely hoard things but they are few and far between. Most owners of CDs will glance fondly at a particular cover even if the disc is never played. The memory of the sounds, an affinity with the artiste(s), a delight in the artwork or a memory triggered by the item will all conspire to ensure its continuing presence as a gatherer of dust.

Almost anything can form a collection and a glance at the e-Bay collectables (U.S.A. collectibles) category shows HUNDREDS of possibilities even before you hit ‘Show all Collectables categories’. I say almost because there must be limits. I once knew a schoolboy who ‘collected’, mmmmm -- No, I've been advised not to say. Not nice.

But to happier things. In 1904 the New York Times published an article entitled ‘How the Collecting Bug Affects Its Victims’. I’d like to show it but it’s copyright, despite its age. Suffice to say that collecting is not a new phenomenon and I am minded to muse on the countless good and bad collections which have started, lived and died since that article was written.
As for me, I had (still have) a childhood stamp collection but I think the sheer vastness of the subject put me off. One glance at Stanley Gibbons’ Catalogue was enough to show me that even a focused subject or stamp group would leave me potentially unfulfilled.

My teens brought an interest in pre-decimal penny coins (yes, I am that old) as promulgated by my friend Elwyn. You see, some were rarer than others and were reputed to be of greater value so the collecting was not of increasingly beautiful specimens but of the 1912 penny with an ‘H’ next to the date which identified where it was minted or a 1918 KF or even rarer, the lovely 1926. Even in the sixties, Victorian pennies still circulated and I was always pleased to come across a 'Honolulu' penny. Remember them? Not much of a collection, not very display worthy but they are still in a tin in the attic.

Next came beermats. A school trip to the continent opened my eyes to this lovely subject as every eaterie or watering-hole could sell alcohol and mats were everywhere. LOTS came home. These were soon joined by many British items as Anthony Hughes and I took courage and entered pubs specifically to request a mat or two. We were sometimes given whole packs of mats, probably obsolete and we discovered an early Frisbee by dipping surplus mats in puddles to give them the weight to fly. Unfortunately, all of my mats were displayed on the plasterboard walls of my bedroom so that although they still exist, each has a drawing pin hole through the middle. Pity.

So these formative years spawned the bug. Press on dear reader.

February 2008, Jake the Squirrel.