Historical June 1998 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
Collections!
If there is one thing we all have in common, aside from thinking that we work too hard and get paid too little, its a collection.
There must be something in the human psyche or genes, going back to those cave days when man saved flints and woman saved pelts, that causes us to collect.
The STUFF may be displayed prominently on the living room wall, tucked securely in a chest under the bed, or piled haphazardly in the basement.
But no matter where, we all have a collection of something.
Now collecting is different from saving. Saving (something about which I’ve heard a great deal but with which I have little direct experience) is collecting with a purpose, namely to use it later. Whether it is saving money, saving coupons (which really is saving money, sort of), saving the rubber bands in which the mail is wrapped, saving magazines to be re-read at some leisurely time in the future, or, even, saving ketchup bottles in the basement, just in case the Great Depression descends upon us again, saving has a purpose.
We assume that what is saved will be even more worthwhile in the future; otherwise we’d consume it now.
On the other hand, collecting is saving for its own sake.
We collect things that we can’t use now, much less in the future. That’s what makes the collecting fun. Oh sure, some of you, those who are into hoarding crystal or minted memorabilia coins might actually think that your collecting is also saving.
In the future, you think, these coins depicting great moments in rock & roll or the development of the internal-combustion engine will be worth big bucks. And you just know that in 20 or 30 years, your Gone With The Wind figurines will be, uh, er, “priceless.” HA! Well, you’re probably right but “priceless” means that they’ll be less-price; they will yield practically nothing at the neighborhoodflea market! So you shouldn’t collect as an investment.
If you want a safe investment, buy a lottery ticket.
If you want to enjoy the hunt, looking and searching, go for a collection, pure and simple. What people collect is as varied as the people who collect.
From coffee cups to calendars, cars to cat-things, crayon paraphernalia to circuit-breakers, when it comes to collecting, everything is fair game.
A recent issue of WEEKEND CRAFT (don’t even ask how I came across it!) featured collections: antique eggbeaters, popsicle-stick art, McCoy pottery, coat hanger sculpture, Coca-Cola memorabilia, dolls, birdhouses, angels, teacups, sconces, wooden fishing lures, and hats.
I decided to do a little personal research and ask some of the folks I know what they collect.
I started, of course, with my first wife. “I’m too busy to collect anything,” she said, her voice echoing from deep in her shoe closet.
She who doesn’t collect was busy alphabetizing her shoes by their first names. Being a 90’s kind of guy, I threw out this question on the NET.
I asked my’ cyberbuddies what they collect, other than busy signals from America Off-Line, and the response was overwhelming. Jayne in NJ collects armadillos, not real ones but armadillo statues, jewelry, slippers, pins, books, and cards. Judy from West County collects rocks, crystals really. Mindy from MA says she collects dust-bunnies and unfinished books (I think I see a correlation here!). Carolyn from VA says she collects children, “two natural, two adopted, and one foster.” She continues, “Christmas dinner with the kids and significant others is a challenge. One is a vegetarian, another is a vegan, another doesn’t eat red meat, another eats no pork, another says onions make her break out.
Another only likes gourmet dishes and another checks everything for the expiration dates.” She didn’t say so but I’ll bet Carolyn also collects headaches at holiday times. John from the Central West End collects egg-cups. Ever the logical sort, he decided on this “because egg-cups are small, fairly cheap, and not all that common.” Craig from Lafayette Square points out that while her husband collects Christmas ornaments, “…he is referred to as ‘Mr. Christmas’ in some quarters,” she collects teapots and pig figurines. Ron from South St. Louis collects egg-beaters. “My favorite,” he says, “is a pink-handled one from the June Cleaver era.” Lois from MA collects books and sea detritus, stones and pieces of wood, shells and feathers.
She adds, “I also collect people, to some extent, I think.
I love knowing lots of people and just chatting with them, not to any end other than relishing the range of who we are.” Pat from South St. Louis collects “Precious Moment figurines.” She adds, “the reason I do is that my mother thinks I should and is always getting them for me.” As a kid, SkinkerDeBaliviere Carla collected paper napkins.
Now an adult, she collects plates.
A bit of reflection causes her to say, “I have never intentionally collected glassware but I do have four different sets of stemware…” Bill from South St. Louis collects canes, walking sticks, hats, and pens.
In discussing his pens, he says, “I really like the feel of a good fountain or quill pen in my hand.
While I use the computer for many things, I still love to write with a pen.
My favorite was owned by Mayor Cole of St. Louis.
It had a lovely and delicate ebony shank with a broad golden nib with a number and date.
I believe it dates back to 1821.
The stroke of the pen, which must be dipped in an inkwell, is extraordinary.
The line is willowy, lithe, and graceful, the mark distinctive.” Anne, from WI, collects brass candlesticks and majolica, “really skillful ceramics in the shapes of vegetables.” In addition, her mother and siblings also collect the candlesticks and majolica (whatever that is!). Leslie of Soulard collects 1904 Worlds’ Fair paraphernalia. Kathy, from MA, collects gargoyles. “But, she says, “I like only cute gargoyles or ones with character. Ugly or unhappy gargoyles have no interest to me.” And, of course, we can’t overlook our neighborhood’s Art whose can-opener collection has received widespread acclaim. Truly, the list of what we collect is endless.
There are as many collections as collectors. What do you collect?
If you’d like your collection featured in a future column, send me a note, either by returning this slip to 6106 Kingsbury, 63112 or through the NET at TRHoerr@AOL.com.
I could go on an on but I have to wind my hundreds of clocks, a lengthy task. Oh yeah, I have to be careful that I don’t knock over the cigarette lighters that are positioned in front of many of the clocks. And recently I’ve become interested in salt & pepper shakers that have an aeronautical or ship theme…
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, June 1998.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1998_06.pdf, printed page(s) 8, 7; PDF page(s) 8, 7.
