When I got my first museum job, my boss took me out to lunch and asked if I was a collector.
I nodded, looked her in the eye, and said, “I collect nailpolish.” I don’t think she’d ever heard that one before.
I can’t walk by a cosmetics display without looking for new colors to buy.
I don’t have many right now and I’m not at a place financially to justify collecting things for the sake of having them; but if I did it would be antique or unusual bookmarks.
I had about a dozen or so that were stolen or ‘lost’ just over five years ago. I only have one that is antique now, a cameo. I have another that looks old, but is probably a reproduction, also a cameo. I have two that are current but have sentimental value because they are from my son and commemorate some milestones in his life.
I actually have dozens and dozens now that I think of it, I tend to use ticket stubs from memorable events, and I get lots of homemade ones from church and family. Fewer than five I would consider part of a ‘collection’, although five isn’t much.
How I started was that I had a couple of friends as well as my mom that really enjoyed going antiquing. I don’t really care much for shopping, but went along because they enjoyed it. I’m a reader and one day noticed some bookmarks in an antique and costume jewelery display. I was taken with the idea and bought one. Bookmarks have the added appeal of not being as expensive as furniture, jewelery, or lamps.
peep peep?
sorry
My sister went through a major cow phase. It was kinda ruined just like LifeOnWry’s turtles. But I collect coins. Some are nice, some are just piles of wheat backs. Occasionally I’ll look at them and just see the money that I spent on this money and sigh deeply. But then other times I’ll still feel that pleasure holding something old or rare in my hands. Right now I’d rather have that cash back.
SF books and magazines. I’m not sure how many I have: I had about 4200 twelve years ago the last time I was caught up. I’m entering them into a database now, and am up to 1650 only through the single author paperbacks and just the beginning of the anthologies. I’ve got an entire set of Galaxies, all F&SFs except vol 1, no. 1, some nice Unknowns, and way too many Perry Rhodans and Doc Savages. I don’t collect Star Trek or Star Wars novels, but do have all of the Blish adaptations.
I also have way too many jigsaw puzzles. I keep map puzzles, puzzles of New York, and old Springboks before Hallmark bought them, but that is not nearly as extensive or as well indexed as my books.
Do CD’s count because I have alot of CD’s. Simpsons toys and comics is my most recent and smallest collection but before that it was Hot Wheels cars, I had cars that were older than I was but I gave that up after my Step-Dad’s kids opened them all and played with them :smack: .
Now it’s all about the Simpsons.
I collect photographs of lost gloves.
I started collecting them when I noticed how common they were; most common is the red rubber builder’s glove, flattened in the street like roadkill, but it is also quite common to see brightly-coloured mittens perched on fences and walls near schools.
They hold a particular appeal to me because they seem such forlorn objects, like severed hands. More so than any other garment, they retain the shape of their wearer when removed.
I’m thinking about setting up a website to display them - If anyone wants to send me genuine photographs of gloves they happen to find abandoned, I’ll be more than happy to receive them by email to: themangetout (at) yahoo (dot) com - please give details of when and where you found them.
The only thing I collect is dust. Maybe I should move from this chair from time to time.
NASCAR diecast.
Skunks.
5/16" Crayola crayons.
Wife collect mice and frogs. It has become a bit out of hand though. I will never be able to display all the diecast, I could fill my house and then some. And most of the skunks and mice were packed up a few years ago when I remodeled the rec room, they are still put away.
Use the chamber pot as a decorative effect as a planter or something. I wanted to use my bedpan on the front door to stuff flowers in it. Only our door is fiberglass and that would be, apparently, bad. ( I thought it was a twofold sense of genius to do this: one cause its funny and two it would keep the Jehovah’s Away.)
Oh, like LifeonWry’s turtle collection, I collected Teapots. Not the standard issue ones at any Hallmark store that are purely cutesy. But either real ones from days gone by or purely hideous souvenier ones that I’ve come across.
Then everyone started buying teapots and I h aven’t added to the collection since 1997 ( when I scored a vintage teapot from germany from my husbands recently dead grandmothers china cupboard. It’s ok, it was a fully sanctioned score.
I also have a microscopically small collection of Death Books. Childrens books that cover this subject. ( Mountains of Tibet & The Next Place, for those that are interested. I am always open to new books in this catagory.)
And most of Brambley Hedge series by Jill Barklem. Scored these usual $10 a peice books at a resale shop for $4 total. YAY me.
You know, this is pure genius. I shall start carrying my digital with me so as to take pictures of lost gloves. I bet you could turn it into a coffee table book. ( the follow up book could be Lost Shoe. Then, Lost Hats. We are talking GoldMine here!)
I collect souvenir pencil sharpeners. It all started with the first one I bought, many many years ago. It was a little gold-colored Christ of the Ozarks. Now I have hundreds of pencil sharpeners, and I’m a member of Puntgaaf, the international club for collectors of pencil shapeners.
However, I think that my true longing is to collect souvenir buildings – but I’m too old to start a new collection of expensive things.
I’m in the process of collecting postcards from all 50 states that show a mosquito and say “State Bird of <state>”. I don’t have many of these and would appreciate any help.
Cast CDS of Andrew Lloyd Webber shows. I have about 200 in a bunch of languages.
Legion of Super-Heroes comic books. I started 42 years ago at age 8, and simply never stopped. I figure if I ever need money, I can sell them and keep the above CDS.
I collect Monopoly stuff.
Believe it or not there is a ton of non game merchandise out there. I just ordered a spiffy set of Monopoly pajamas from Target yesterday. If you click the Monopoly link in my sig you can see just how far my obsession has gone. I updated the list a few weeks ago but not the photos yet.
I used to collect playing cards but my collection got trashed when I still lived at home. I hope to start again when it is time to hit the flea markets this spring.
Spode’s blue-and-white dinner plates. About once a year they re-issue six of their historic designs, in this format. I have 38 of them, currently. I just adore them–it’s like having my own little museum, on the walls of the eating area. “Look! Here’s a drawing of Rome in 1815!” I have Dutch heritage, so I have a soft spot for blue-and-white ceramics in general.
After Christmas this year, I suddenly began buying toys for myself. A dollhouse dining set in the Chippendale style, with iddy-biddy blue and white china to set it; a larger-scale toy tea set; a Steiff-style teddy bear (not Steiff, but looks like it–the most intelligent and sympathetic teddy I’ve ever had); and things for my 18" doll that I hardly ever played with. The Brambly Hedge books are a great idea, incidentally. My parents bought a set of four for me in England–the four seasons. Autumn was in French, though (boo.)
If I had more money and space, I would collect toy tea sets, blue Jasperware boxes, and silver repousse boxes.
I also think your collection is a pretty neat idea Mangetout
You should set up a website to display them or go with Shirleys coffee table book idea.
Cards. Playing cards. I have probably 15 decks in my room at home, plus a couple extra for actually playing with.
It started when I was younger, I was at my uncle’s house and we had a game of cribbage. I won, and as a prize (I was quite young at the time) he gave me a deck of cards. The next couple times I saw him, he gave me decks as well. It quickly stopped, but I started buying decks myself–the last deck he gave me was one the casino here (here being where I live now and near where he lives, but far from where I grew up) and I decided to start collecting them. I don’t buy decks very often, but I have a couple collectors tins, tourist souvenirs, and even a deck for some game I have no idea how to play, which my Swiss uncle gave me.
I also have collections of Magic: The Gathering, Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh cards, though that last one I’ll probably start selling off soon.
Postcards. Preferably sent to me from someone who was there. I have mostly Europe and many US cities, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, and the like. I would like more foreign ones though, specifically Africa and the Pacific Rim (and I’ve been wanting Amsterdam for some time). I’ve created a poster out of my favorites using a cloud-patterned posterboard and picture triangles. It’s kind of stupid. I thought eventually I would have several of them organized into themes. I think I’ll just stick them all in a scrapbook instead so I can see the pithy comments penned by some of the wittier travelers. Though I don’t even remember who half of these people are. Whenever anyone I know goes out of town, I humbly ask for a postcard to add to my collection.
Boxes. Wood, glass, paper, metal, grass, cloth, ceramic boxes. Square, round, oval, pyramidal, rectangular, triangular boxes. Old, new, antique, kitsch, origami, new-agey boxes. I like boxes. They hold stuff or just sit there and look pretty. When something special happens that I want to remember, I put a memento of the occasion in a box with a note describing the significance. And then I forget about it. When it’s found – like a handful of shells my daughter picked up on a Florida beach the first time she saw the ocean – it reminds me of good times past.
The postcard collection began because I kept buying postcards that I never sent whenever I went somewhere and getting postcards of places I’d probably never see. I travel vicariously through others.
The box collection began with a box that my high school sweetheart made for me in woodshop. It’s plain, but he was quite proud of himself. I still have it and its held many interesting things over the years. My prize is a wood box completely clad in metal (brass, I think) with ornate etchings and some sort of arabic lettering (no idea what it says or anything else about the box), given to me by my FIL, an antique dealer. He gets me some pretty neat boxes. Probably not all that valuable, but priceless to me. Everytime I see some neat box, I just drool.
Wait! I HAVE Amsterdam (it’s currently one of my favorites). I don’t know why I wrote that. I meant Tibet. I wish I had a postcard from Tibet (I don’t even know if there are any) and, as for places of interest, I’d like to get one of the Taj Mahal.
Well, with this answer, and the ‘dust’ joke, me posting to this thread would be redundant.
You have more comics than me! :mad:
Oh, well. I’ll catch up sooner or later… 