Collection
When I visited the Open air museum in Arnhem last week they had a small exhibition about what people collect. And that small exhibition showed one thing: people collect the strangest things. Anything from salt and pepper shakers to Wedgewood, from moneyboxes to bicycles, from religious relics (photo bottom) to matchboxes, from cat statues to silver spoons, from farming tools to Pinocchio, from autographs to air sickness bags (photo top).
You wonder about why people collect. Is it something to do with our 'welfare' states? Just because we can or has it something to do with when we were children? Some people have to move house in order to show everything. Others use only a few rooms in the house, giving over the rest to the collection.
I used to collect bottlecaps. I had thousands of them. No really special ones, just loads and loads of the same. A cousin collected paper bags and (according to my mum) toiletpaper. I've since stopped collecting bottlecaps. It took a big bin to clear it all away. I've never started another collection. If you don't count books that is...
What do you collect and why?
For more C-words, please check out ABC Wednesday and join in the fun!
PS: little update after reading the second comment: I actually collect Christmas films, I've got over seventy so far...
Cool "C"! I collect Oscar Mayer weiner whistles!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see this place! This is a great shot and matches your url color scheme too! I collect Santa Clauses I guess because Christmas is my favorite holiday.
ReplyDeleteAs a child I had a coin collection. Now, like you, I mostly collect books. Great C!
ReplyDeleteI never thought of this! I love this C, and I love to hear what people collect. I collect pitchers, I like the way they look...with one hand on the hip...
ReplyDeleteI collect too many things which results in a lot of clutter! I still have bottle caps. Wine corks. Pens.
ReplyDeleteHandmade papers. Art supplies!
What a fabulous exhibit!
This is a fascinating topic. I was collecting teddy bears for a while, but when they wouldn't all fit into an overseas trunk, I thought I should stop. Now it's only a very special one that gets purchased. And I've given a lot away to the Salvation Army for children. Why do we do it? Heaven only knows...unless it's just because we like a certain something.
ReplyDeleteMy mom used to collect bells. It was great; I would travel, I'd find her a bell. Now she's "decluttering", the bells went and buying her presents is so difficult because she "doesn't need anything".
ReplyDeleteI collect collections ;-)
ReplyDeletePS "Tranen" means the bird "The crane" - and to think that the Dutch were ones the world's leading seafaring nation... ;-)
Cool!
ReplyDeleteAh, collections .. I am a terrible collector, but seldom acquire more than a handful of things of any one type, so my collection is mostly of random old things. LOL!
ReplyDeleteTwo things I do collect though, in large quantities (and display most of them too) are pressed glass jugs, which hold a curious fascination for me, and Johnny Depp memorabilia. I have hundreds of magazines in drawers though, because it's very hard to display those. Some are worth quite a lot to a collector though!
I loved this post - it is curious what people like to collect. I'm a bit like Jay and only have a handful of any one thing so not really a collection. I did collect crystal ornaments for a while and I have been keeping picture postcards, sent by friends and family, for a number of years now. I keep them in a photo album and will not throw any away. I suppose that is my collection.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your visit to my blog and your kind comment. A
In my youth I collected stamps for a while and then match books. I still have the stamp collection. I'm not sure why, but at least it's compact as it never grew very large.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy your blog. I collect sheep (not real ones), old, primitive style sheep.
ReplyDeleteSunny :)
I think the world is divided into people who collect and people who throw out.
ReplyDeleteMy book obsession is probably enough to be going on with. I used to collect stamps and then later beer mats as a teenager so with the wisdom, LOL, of age I have tried to avoid anything else, not always sucessfully.
Guess you also find that other people's collections/obsessions are always interesting.
Excellent C!
ReplyDeleteI have many collections...I once was an antique dealer....
Now I am collecting photographs of birds and bugs!
Happy ABC Wednesday.
Sherry
The only collector at home is my younger son, there's even some of his old toys he still kept. even thought he's already 20 years old!
ReplyDeleteI'm actually afraid to even think about what I collect - Apparently I throw away anything I need and save the rest. Books. Yes. I've been searching for two days for a small paperback book that I last read about 3 years ago - can't find it - do you know where it is? :)
ReplyDelete