Collections

I was just making my evening check on my eBay auctions, both bidding and selling, and I was thinking about the things we collect. As I've said in a previous post, one of the best things about eBay is that no matter what your particular passion is, somebody on eBay is bound to be selling at least one type of that thing.

What is it that our collections say about us? I'm sure a psychologist/psychiatrist could have a field day with this topic, but I really wonder. What does it say about me that I collect Fire King Restaurant Ware, PEZ, vintage scarves, maneki neko, vintage tablecloths, and old fashioned Santas? I have friends who collect GI Joe, porcelain clowns, NASCAR, teacups, ladybugs, lunchboxes, horse figurines, nutcrackers, and all kinds of other stuff. What is it about these objects that satisfies? Is it simply the thrill of acquisition?

I used to think that the collection bug was primarily an American thing, but I was disabused of that notion the first time I went to Costa Rica in college. My host mom there collected geese. Her whole house was filled with goose things. My Japanese friends collected everything from purses to porcelains to Hello Kitty. Everybody has something.

Do we do it just so our friends and family can give us gifts? I've often thought that everybody ought to be required to collect something just so people can find something for special occasions without having to go generic with a gift card. My best friend does the ladybug thing. I am always on the lookout for something interesting with ladybugs for her. It's almost as much fun for me to find something unusual for her as it is to find some new trinket for myself.

Do we define ourselves with these collectibles? I could probably do some amateur analysis on myself and say that I have a strong connection to vintage and kitsch based on my list of collectibles. I am not conscious of collecting these things for that reason. I don't think anybody I know is making a conscious statement about his or her life based on his or her collection. I guess somebody might collect something because it was expensive, to show that he or she can afford it. Maybe that's a conscious thing. I wonder if the people who collect for that reason get the same joy from their collections.

I can walk into my office, flip on the light, and my PEZ collection never fails to bring a smile to my face. I can remember finding or winning most of them. Going into Dollar Tree and seeing a new seasonal display of PEZ always quickens my pulse and rifling through the bins and coming up with a full set of the latest release always gives me a "PEZ rush." I guess as long as I can be made happy for about $4, I shouldn't question it.