My 2 cents on collecting. I have a rather long comment because I have
been a collector
ever since I started a coin collection when I was 10. I now have a
large collection of
Japanese woodblock prints, original news photographs, original props and
costumes
from Star Trek and books and other ephemera related to the works of JRR
Tolkien. I
even maintain a website devoted to collecting, Tolkiencollector.com. I
have interacted
with numerous collectors and dealers through the years so I think I have
a unique
perspective as a semi-professional dealer and collector. First, there
actually is a difference
between a hoarder and a collector. Hoarders generally keep everything
in their lives of
any value because they want control over their domestic environment.
There are no more
hoarders who are collectors than there are collectors among the general
population. A
collector is usually motivated by desire to posses objects that
represent an emotional
connection between the object and the original experiences of the object
or associated
experiences. The dealers and auction houses refer to this as
"recognizable emotional value".
Objects are associated with positive experiences and the object are
desired. This is not
hoarding. However, collecting can become a psychological problem when
the collector
becomes obsessed with being a completist. This is a collector who wants
to have an example of
everything possible and becomes far too involved in obtaining them.
This kind of obsession is
still not hoarding. Obsession is indicated when people run out of money
during acquisition and
when collectors can't sell their items. Ebay has actually reduced
obsession by increasing
supply. If I can't buy something this month, I know that it will
eventually be available again on
Ebay. Great collections are built by buying and selling. If a
collector can't sell something, then
obsession is likely.
When it comes to gender, I have known many women collectors, and many
women who are obsessive about collecting. However, my best guess is
that the ratio of men to
women is about 60:40. There are many women collectors ( watch them at
the auction real life
shows) but many more men. The content of their collections are
different but there are many areas
that overlap. For example, probably the most well-known Tolkien
collectors are a husband/wife
team, Christina Scull and Wayne Hammond. They have a collection that is
amazing because
they started early. Christina Scull edits a very detailed newsletter on
Tolkien collecting and is
presumably as involved in collecting as her husband. The point is that
many collecting domains
are shared by men and women. In my experience, men usually have larger
collections than
women. I associate this with a general interest that men have in
objects and they also
collect manipulatable objects, such as cars, motorcycles, calculating
machines and cameras.
Women tend to collect fine china, glassware, jewelry and dolls. These
differences mirror the
gender differences in the population. That being said, there are still
a fair number of jewelry and
glass collectors who are men. Although many of the Star Trek collectors
are women, women tend
to collect costumes and men tend to collect props.
I have a theory that collectors are often interested in history. If
you think of the great collections
in museums, most take an historical perspective. Many collections
have an historical time frame
to them, especially coins and stamps. My collection of news
photographs clearly stems from an
interest in history.
Finally, the person who mentioned that he has 15 guitars and she has 50
pairs of shoes, neither
person is a collector. I have seven guitars but I don't collect them.
Anyone who seriously plays
guitar realizes that you need at least 5 to have a chance at mastering
the instrument. Women need
more shoes than men for the same reason that a guitar player needs more
than one guitar. There
is more fashion variability among women. Now, if she was collecting a
pair of shoes from
women leaders of the world, that would be a collection!
Here is a link to part of my Star Trek collection. I generally focused
on medical items. My key
item is the blue lab coat of Dr. Beverly Crusher. The History channel
did a documentary of the
Christie's Star Trek auction. It was so popular that I had to buy
tickets to the preview. While
waiting in line, a crew from one of the New York TV stations was
interviewing people as they waited.
They asked the person in front of me a question and he responded in
absolutely fluent Klingon.
If you want to see an an excellent show about two guys who are treasure
hunting for collectibles, check
out American Pickers at the History Channel.
http://www.tolkiencollector.com/startrek/startrekitems.htm
Here is the discussion forum on Star Trek collecting:
http://startrek.invisionzone.com/index.php
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