Collecting

When I was a little boy, just after  WWII, we had no toys, no room to
play inside. All day long we were outside and we had to create our own
toys. An old bike wheel which we used to run with a stick, or carved
stick as swords etc. Everything we found outside was useful. A rusty
bend nail, which we had to straiten, any peace of timber, an empty veggie
tin and on and on. We learned to COLLECT !

May be this experience made me a collector for all my life. And all my life
I have problems to through anything away. It might be useful sometimes.

And here we are to explain Collecting. Its a practice with a very old
cultural history. The collecting hobby is a modern descendant of the
„cabinet of curiosities“.

„Musei Wormiani Historia“, frontispiece from the Museum Wormianum
depicting Ole Worm’s cabinet of curiosities. Scandalon.

In the 15th and 16th centuries scholars and collectors assembled natural
specimens (like flowers, animals, rocks and shells) and hand-made objects
in chests, rooms, or even buildings known as „cabinets of curiosities.“
The specimens displayed were often collected during exploring expeditions
and trading voyages.

Ferrante Imperato (1550-1625) Dell ‚historia naturale‘.
Naples, C. Vitale, 1599. Double plate copper engraving. Carleton.

Of course, humans collected since human beings are existing, but we want to
span the bow from „Collecting“ to „Hobby“.
The hobby of collecting often goes hand in hand with an interest in the
objects collected and what they represent. For example collecting stamps may
reflect an interest in different countries and cultures. For this reason,
collecting can have educational benefits, and some collectors even become
experts in their field.

Display Cabinet with shell and mineral decoration, c.1620-30, Augsburg Germany. Carleton.

The role of fun, happiness, motivation and proudness to own a collection can
be a very important psychological factor. When I was younger, I remember a good
neighbor of mine.
His Hobby was to grow a fine rose garden. He tried to collect
as many varieties he could get hand on. Every free minute he spent in his garden.
Always he was talking about his retirement and the wonderful time coming up when
he can spend full days with his passion. About a year before retirement he had a
very heavy accident and lost both hands. Very sad ! But much more sad was, that
he had no motivation anymore to love his collection of roses and saw no chance to
work in his garden. A very healthy man – he died two years later.

I told you this story, because it shows how hobbies and collecting can have an
impact on our life. From 100% positive to 100% negative. Let us stay on the
positive side of our hobbies and collections.

A private museum of collections in Uruguay.

One more term I should explain.The term „antique“. Generally it refers to items
made over 100 years ago. In some fields, such as antique cars, the time frame is
less. An antique car can be already 50 years old and 25 years for a vintage one.
In general, then, items of significance, beauty, values or interest that are
„too young“ to be considered antiques, fall into the category of collectibles.

Just go to the right under categories and click on „Collecting“.