2006 04 Collections

Collections

Why on earth would anyone want to hoard matchbook covers? My grandmother did for years, then I did for a time when she got tired of collecting them. Back in the days when it seemed as if everyone smoked, restaurants, auto shops, grocery stores and any other manner of enterprises would give away matchbooks with their name and phone number printed on the cover. While the intention was that you’d notice the name for thirty lights, my grandmother instead put them in a nice neat box and stored them in the closet. Perhaps it was due to the depression. You never knew when you’d need matches when money was short. She gave her collection to me when I was about thirteen. Not wanting to hide them, I rigged a string across my bedroom and hung them from one wall to the other wall. Then I started collecting them on my own so I strung another string and had two sets, ultimately also extending across the room. Finally I got tired of that room setup and I put them back in a box. Later, I realized that all those matches might constitute a fire hazard. So I spent an afternoon in the back yard lighting all the matches, one book at a time. But I also was careful to preserve the covers in the process. Finally, as I was about to go off to college, I thought, “What am I doing with all this stuff?” So I tossed the whole collection in the garbage.
Now time has passed and I wonder if those matchbooks from the 1940’s and 1950’s and 1960’s would have value. A current e-Bay search determined that on average, they’re running about $2.88 apiece. Estimating the length of my bedroom to be about twelve feet long times the two lengths times twelve inches per foot that equals two hundred eighty eight inches of matchbooks. The average width of each matchbook cover is about one and a half inches, so I had approximately 192 covers. At $2.88 each, that’s over $550 in value today. Of course the acquisition cost was zero. But to find out the true cost you would also have to factor storage costs and transportation costs for each move of the collection from residence to residence over the years. Thus it appears that money is not always the objective of starting a collection. A gift can be the impetus to begin acquisition of certain objects.
When I graduated from Cal, my mother and father presented me with a very special gift. As you may know, the mascot of the University of California, Berkeley is the “Golden Bear” and the school colors are blue and gold. Since I was active in the leadership of the California Rally Committee, I was an enthusiastic Bear follower and in fact it was that association which led me to meet my girlfriend who later became my fiancée, wife and mother of our children. So the special gift at graduation was a bear figurine which my mother’s father had gold plated and mounted on a blue stand. My grandparents gave that to my mother when she graduated from Cal. R and I decided that the blue and gold bear was to be the start of a collection of bear figurines which we have enjoyed for these thirty-five years. Whenever we would travel, we’d look for artistic bears of different and unusual materials and buy them for the collection.
We have traveled extensively, so each new country or region we try to find good locally produced examples of bear art. Materials in our collection include ivory (acquired when it was legal to purchase), gold, silver, pewter, onyx, leather, wood, ceramic, tiger eye, soapstone, mud, glass, fossilized walrus tusk, white jade, green jade and coal. We enjoy displaying them in a nice case which was purchased for the purpose of showing off the collection.
The range of collectibles can be described as endless. From agates found at the seashore to zebras for the very wealthy, ownership of a collection seems like human nature. Even though the following list is fairly long, I suspect that your favorite collection may not even be mentioned!

Bears, Matchbooks, Crystal, Silver, Violin bows, Fine china such as Delft, Spode or Hummel Figurines, Gnomes, Coffee mugs, Sculpture, Shaving supplies, Stamps, Coins, Books, Electric insulators, Pens, Watches, Footstools, Seashells, Insects, Slides, Photos, Movies, Music, Recordings, Abacus, Fountain pens, Fossils, Rocks and minerals, Computers, Furniture, Antiques, Paintings, Posters, Typewriters, Baseball cards, Sports trophies, Autographed baseballs, Weapons, War memorabilia, Native American lore, Political buttons, Historic letters, Quilts, Scrapbooks, Jewelry, Persian carpets, Generational hand-me-downs, Foo dogs, Teacups, Christmas plates, License plates, Hymnals, Silver spoons, Charm bracelets, Exotic fish, Children’s toys such as Legos, Teddy bears, Wooden blocks, Dolls, Historic newspapers, Magazines, Comic books, Cars, Violins, Roses, Lamp shades, Snakes, Old locks and keys, Cuckoo clocks, Grandfather clocks, Eight-track tapes, Early radios, Television cabinets, Hub caps, Beta videocassettes, Beer steins, Beer cans, Playing cards, Thimbles, Old kitchen utensils, Frisbees, Hand tools, Calendars, Skulls, Postcards, Meteorites, Lunch pails, Milk cans, Telephones, Jukeboxes, Stickers, Doorknobs, Orchids, Pinball machines, Cats, Decanters, Shot glasses, Coasters, Dog figurines, Roller skates, Tea cups, Advertising placards and signs, Musical instruments, Gargoyles, Mermaids, Icons, Pennants, Flags, Royal memorabilia, Easter Eggs, St Patrick’s Day Sayings, Refrigerator magnets, Neon lights, Erotica, Candle holders, Tapestries, Model Trains, Maps, Bicycles, T-Shirts, Samplers, Nutcrackers, Doilies, Flour sacks, Scales, Can openers, Ashtrays, Roulette Wheels, Dice, Poker chips, Button hooks, Combs, Brushes, Perfume bottles, Ceramic villages, Pin-up photos, Symphony programs, Greeting cards, Motorcycles, Pocket watches, Chess sets, Backgammon sets, Faberge, Jokes, Birds, Unique liquor bottles, Cat figurines, Owl figurines, Road signs, Automata, Beanie babies, Cookie tins, Sewing machines, Dirndls, Micro machines, Pedal cars, Poetry, Celebrity guitars, Celebrity photos, Autographed books, Antiquities, Cartoons, Shoes, Hats, Colored glass, Crystal, Juggling balls, Juggling pins, Old stock certificates, Model airplanes, Boats, Dogs, Transformer toys, Staplers, Radiator caps, Paper weights, Tobacco cans, Calendars, Jewelry boxes, Music Boxes, Ma Jong sets, Monopoly games, Paper fasteners, Wine bottle corks, Snow globes, Stage masks, Action figures, Metronomes, Hair brushes, Tack for horses, Boots, Amp meters, Oscilloscopes, Antennas, Cigar boxes, Wooden fruit crates, Steamer trunks, Suitcases, Brief cases, Liqueur cabinets, Roller blades, Bells, Lace, Macramé, Beads, Songs, Christmas ornaments, Dradles, Candle holders and Crèches. Whew!

For fun, add bad habits, good friends, trophy brides, dust and belly button lint to the list!

Why do people collect things? I interviewed several people who have collections to find out why they got started and why they may have continued with their fascination with certain items. The first reason is to perpetuate a gift. When someone gives you a gift that you like, you want to expand on the good feelings which emanate from having received that something. So you obtain another one for yourself. It then becomes a sort of immortality for the original gift.
Another reason to collect might be that someone gave you the gift of their time focused on a particular subject such as chess or model airplane building. To continue to spend time on that activity is honoring the giver in an extraordinary way. You are making the statement consciously or unconsciously that “I enjoyed the time he/she shared with me and I want to continue those good feelings.”
Collections can be created out of a greed motive. Such a collector thinks, “This object is so enticing that someone else will want it someday and make me rich”. Most people want to feel important. One way to demonstrate that sense of self-worth is to own items of value. A collection can be displayed with pride and talked about. It can extend the personality of the collector among peers or others.
Some people collect to fulfill our inherent human desire for knowledge. By collecting antiquities, we can better understand our history. How people did things in days gone by can be instructive in appreciating what we have today and how we got to this point in history. By understanding our past, we can at least attempt to understand our future.
One such historical event, the depression, had such an impact on a whole generation that it led to collecting. Hoarding objects which might become scarce caused some depression era people to have fear of needing something which would become unavailable. So they started collecting things which could either be used in their own lives or sold to create income to buy necessities. My parents told me stories of the rag men who would walk the streets, calling out “Rags, rags”. While it was not the most respected profession, it did help some to get by in hard times.
Yet another reason to collect is the desire to be accepted. Sometimes a fad will sweep a population leading to unreasonable desire to have what everyone else has. Examples of such fads are beanie babies, certain kinds of cell phones, electronic playback devices or hula hoops. If you didn’t own one of these items you were considered on the outside of the social structure. Such collectible tend to come and go in popularity. For a while they seem all the rage and then they slide into oblivion. I can remember a conversation with a friend when beanie babies were the rage. She said, “This is not a fad, Frank, this is—for real—a long time investment”. Some of the beanie babies were selling for hundreds of dollars. I suspect the cost to produce them was less than five dollars each.
Finally, collections can be the result of a psychological problem. Obsessive-compulsive disorder can lead to collecting the strangest of items. One acquaintance with this problem collects plastic grocery bags. In an effort to contain germs, everything is triple bagged, the bags are saved and stuffed into boxes filling an apartment.
Collections can be fun or they can be the root of serious problems. So I ask, “What do you collect and why?” Are you a psychopath, a fun-loving hoarder or something in between? Just remember that if you’re hooked on a collection, it may take you years to answer that question!

©Frank Bliss 2006 All rights reserved
April, 2006