Wifeperson and I were accused last night of living in a junkyard that would make Fred Sanford proud. Our problem, if you call it that, is we like to collect things. We like to visit antique shops, we are avid garage salers, and one collection I have, travel to collectible and antique toy shows.
My personal collections include over 2400 NASCAR diescast and other racing collectibles, everything from a real tire off a Winston cup car to the many 1/64 blister pack cars. I also have a couple hundred skunks, a Crayola crayon collection that includes at least one of every color crayon (standard 5/16 size only) made since 1949 and my most recent obsession, old toys from the 50’s and 60’s.
The wife was collecting mice before I met her and now has about 500 of them. She recently gave out bathroom a make over and went with a frog motif. Needless to say, it hasn’t take long for the frogs to spill over into other parts of the abode. Being as she won’t read this, I can say that she collects clothes. Besides using about 3/4 of the closet in the master bedroom, she uses a spare bedroom for a closet too and it is quite full.
Anyone else out there have a collection you would like to share?
I collect old glass milk bottles. I like the little half-pint cream bottles the best. I have about 50 of them. I have about a dozen quart bottles, and about eight miscellaneous little bottles.
I don’t just buy them indiscriminately, though; I’m rather picky about how they look, and I prefer certain characteristics in my bottles. I like the ones that have “pyros”, or printed words or pictures on them, rather than plain bottles.
I guess you could say I collect books, too. I have lots and lots of books stashed all around. I like to own books I really enjoyed, so I’ve spent a small fortune on the printed word.
I’m not into lots of knick-knacky crap all over the house, though. I prefer simplicity.
I collect Barbie Dolls primarly, but also almost anything else, lunch boxes, buttons, and anything else that catches my intrest. I’m pretty sure my husband just collects trash.
This’ll sound stupid, but I just love getting those tourist-trap penny stamps. I don’t know what they’re called, but you put two quarters and a penny in the slot, crank the handle, and it crushes your penny and puts a stamped picture on it relating to whatever sight you’re at. I can’t resist 'em.
When I was a kid through my mid-teens, I collected Breyer model horses. I had over 200 at my peak period, then sold sections of the collection off each summer to pay for college books, etc. My parents still laugh at themselves–they always used to roll their eyes whenever I’d add to the collection, and just pat me on the head when I’d explain how much they would be worth in a few years. Then I made about $4,000 spread out over 4 years while I sold them! Turned out I was right, after all.
I kept about 30 of my favorites from that collection, and now sort of collect the Stablemates (they’re the smallest models, about 2 1/2 inches long and 1 1/2 inches high–verses the 12" x 10" models I had growing up). I buy one every time I go to Santa Anita and add it to the display case I have. (The others are boxed up).
I also collect(ed) the Hagen-Renaker Siamese Cats. As I now have all the current productions, I’m not actively buying more–although enough have broken tails and chipped ears that I should. (HRs are the little ceramic figurines–typically attached to a square piece of cardstock–you see sold in places like Hallmark.)
I’m not sure if this counts as collecting, but I’d like to have quite a few historical photos of racehorses (including, of course, Ruffian. I just bought one yesterday of Kona Gold, but I had to! He’s owned by friends of mine and we’ve watched him race countless times, been in the winner’s circle with him, etc.
I try to keep my collecting ways in check, however–I can’t stand clutter, but this tendency gets in the way!
I used to hate wearing ties, but an editor told me early on in my career that to be professional, newspapermen should (read “must” in his newsroom) wear them. To make others suffer while I was suffering with wearing the tie, I bought a really ugly one. Friends started giving me unique or ugly ties as part of the joke and now (when almost no newspaperman would be caught dead in a tie) my collection numbers around 500.
I have hand-painted ties by noted artists. I have a leather tie that was given to me by tanner. I have a macrame tie made up entirely (pun get it?) of knots. I have risque ties and just strange combinations of colors. I have two ties (antiques) that are so valuable that I have lock them up.
I even get approached periodically to lecture about neckties, their styles, their significance (like women’s hemlines, their lengths have been argued to reflect the economy), history, (it is believed the necktie actually began because of Croat soldiers wearing them in Paris and Parisian women thinking they looked spiffy).
I feel like something of a fool. This all started because I didn’t even like the stupid things.
Oh, I forgot–I also have my accidental collections. These are the items I get as a teacher as freebies from various book clubs, teacher organizations, etc–as well as gifts from students.
To qualify for this involuntary collection, I must have received 5 of each (just to give you an idea of just how many of these I get). Every year, I get at least two:
Key chains
Coffee mugs
Tote bags
Little glass roses, filled with bath oils
Pencils (I have dozens of them! With all variety of random things printed on them…)
Little cheapy 99 cent store figurines. They are beyond hideous, but I always gush for the kids, “Oh, it’s so beautiful! Look, the little ballerina is holding a real silk flower…”
Most of these things end up at the yearly garage sale.
[ul]
[li]Cats (about a dozen or so stuffed cats, one real one :D)[/li][li]Dragons (a half dozen stuffed, one pewter, one multi-colored candle)[/li][li]Wolves (one Christmas tree ornament, one blanket, numerous photos/postcards)[/li][li]Books[/li][/ul]
I keep stuff I find, usually old stuff that is buried in the dirt around the yard. Found some ‘medicine bottles’ a buffalo nickel, a 1915 newspaper(wrapped around a pipe in the crawlspace) a St Theresa religious medal and silver spoon when rehabbing an old house. I kept a cheap ceramic bunny that the kids unearthed at our latest house. Its all in old cabinet with other chintzy treasures from decades gone by.
Then the hubby collects modern furniture and motorcycles.
Oh and vintage books too, won’t spend more than 5 bucks/book though.
On every vacation, I try to pick up a small cat figurine. I know - ICK. But most of them are not too cutesy. My favorites are a small silver cat I got at the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, a bronze-ish one I got at a shop outside Warwick Castle in England, and one I got at the shop in the Musee d’Orsay in Paris. I’m not always successful, though. In Prague, no cat was to be found that I liked, but I got a wonderful Moser Crystal dog. They actually had a porcupine as well, but this was pre-SDMB - my sister actually bought the porcupine, though.
I used to buy magnets on all of my vacations (and elsewhere), and friends and family would often bring me one from their trips, so my fridge is covered with them, but I stopped buying them a number of years ago.
I have a small collection, around 100 pieces, of small pre-columbian western Mexico artifacts. A few pieces of pottery, 3 sellos (clay stamps) some malacates (ceramic spindle whorls) and a lot of small figurines. Some are estimated to be around 1200 years old and others are from a later era, 1200-1400 a.d…
We found a lot after torrential summer rains eroded a stream bank on the family farm. None are museum quality but they are still very interesting.
Turned out I was right, after all.