Any collectors here?

[cnorman18]

I have several collections. Congress pattern pocketknives, and Carl Barks's (a Disney artist) comic books from the 50s and 60s. I also collect knob-topped walking sticks. I have a few firearms and medieval weapons, too, but I no longer collect them.

And books. Of course, books.

[nygreenguy]

Old biology books, especially old plant books.

[Cath B]

I've got a lot of old plant books too. And many others.

But my own collecting was insignificant compared with my husband's.

My house is a treasure trove of his fishing books, fishing rods and reels, salmon and trout flies (mostly tied by my husband), fossils .....

I also have a lot of old books and china hoarded by my own forebears over the past two hundred years.

I'm often overwhelmed by it all!

[LoneWolf]

Ahh, crap. This thread just reminded me of something. I don't collect anything anymore but when I was young I collected coins. I never got rid of that collection. But I just remembered it is one of the things I left in Libya. I could have at least grabbed some of my Liberty Head silver dollars. Oh well.

[dancer_rnb]

AIEEE! (I'm a coin collector as well)

I also collect fossils. I have a Bothriolepis, in addition to a number of trilobites and other fossils

[neilstone40]

Like Cath B's hubby, I have a collection of fishing gear although mine is almost accidental... Didn't really intend to start collecting it as such as pretty much all of it gets used at some point over the year. My wife though I only had about 3 rods and reels until I put up a rod rack and reel box in the attic. Needless to say my collection is a bit more than 3.

I also enjoy fly tying which also means that I've amassed a strange array of materials used in their production.

I've practiced a variety of martial arts since I was 6 years old and also taught for many years so have a fair collection of related equipment including weapons (not part of a collection as such but all used in practice). I have a sword which my first teacher brought back for me from Japan which is my pride and joy but remains locked away with all the other gear. Every year at the very least it's brought out cleaned, oiled and dusted, a few suburi done then back into the box. We don;t have space for me to regularly practice with it although where I live a few people still carry swords most Friday nights...

I love restoring things and over the past few years have restored an old seaman's chest which has been in my wife's family for many years (they all came from Plymouth originally and many were sailors). My mother in law decided to paint it in the 1970's then cover it with 'sticky back plastic in the 1980's. Took months to strip it back and restore it but was well worth it. I also restored an old wooden frame mirror from Skye which had also been attacked by my mad mother in law.

At the moment I'm restoring an old axe I was given when I was a kid. My Dad borrowed it from me about 20 or so years ago and lost it. I finally found it in the garage when visiting my Mum the other day and it was heavily rusted and the handle was filthy. Much sanding and grinding later it's looking healthier but lots much work to be done to get it back to it's best.

[espritch]

I collect fossils and shells. I've always been interested in them but rarely had the opportunity to actually go places where I could find them. Then I discovered Ebay.

Well, to make a long story short, I'm trying very hard to break myself of the habit.

[Prosthetic Head]

Like a few others here I collect ( collected ), fossil. Not many only about 10 or so, but I do have alot of various rocks and shells sitting some were... Most of them were given to me, or I found them on past vacations. My brother has a bottle collection, nothing huge maybe 40 or so. None of theese have been added to in years though. Oh, and cant forget the golf balls. I must have 5,000ish.

[Politesse]

I'm docenting for a museum exhibition on collectors and collections right now, from PEZ dispensers to stamps to condom tins. I don't really collect anything myself though, except knowledge.

[Cath B]

I don't really collect anything myself though, except knowledge.

That reminds me of a quote from one of my favourite novels, Behind the Scenes at the Museum (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Behind-Scenes-Museum-Kate-Atkinson/dp/0552996181/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302070940&sr=8-1) by Kate Atkinson.

Evocations by a WWI soldiers of a day spent swimming in a river described by his companion Albert as a "Grand Day" leads him to the realisation that "Albert collected grand days in the way that other people collected postcards".

[cnorman18]

Enh, don't remind me about lost collections and regrets. I once collected firearms, mostly .44 caliber handguns. I once had a Colt Single Action (the quintessential cowboy gun) in .44 Special, and a pair of 1860 Army cap-and-ball Colts - the best sidearm of the Civil War - and an 1893 Colt Bisley in .44-40. If you don't know what that is, never mind. Those were bad enough to have lost, but I had some lovely Smith & Wessons, too - .44 Magnum Model 29s, with barrels from 3 to 8 inches. Even a .45 Magnum Wildey, a very rare gun - and mine was the factory-engraved model. All lost; sold to pay the rent when hard times came, or unwisely traded for other guns -- or, in one case, a car. A 1968 Jaguar E-type, but that's another sad tale of regret. It ran right for about 2 weeks out of the 6 months I owned it - but it was still almost worth it. It was best-up and rusty, with right-hand drive - British car - but when you put your foot in it, she was still a lady. Came down with a cracked cylinder head, which would have cost more to repair than I gave for the car. Traded it even for a 1980 Triumph Spitfire, which I enjoyed for more than 10 years.
Ah, memories.
Of all the things I've lost, the one I regret most is - my innocence. Maybe that's what the Uncle Scrooge comics are about. I can read them and be 8 again.

[munnki]

I collect Soviet and Maoist era constructivist art. I can't tell you why... I'm certainly not a Stalinist or Maoist... I think I find it quite ironic and funny. I also spent some time trying to learn Russian (and am currently learning Chinese) and the phrases on them aided me with memory and reading. (They were often hilarious like 'Dear Leader Stalin leads on the ship of socialism from one glorious success to another' or 'Let's build more canteens to ensure the happy feeding of the workers'... and so forth...)

Such slogans are plastered all over my fridge and kitchen. Why the kitchen... you tell me!

[Cath B]

I'm impressed with your restoring ventures neilstone 40.

[neilstone40]

I'm impressed with your restoring ventures neilstone 40.

It's never something I really plan to do Cath, I just stumble across something then when it's condition starts to annoy me the sander comes out. then it becomes mildly obsessional...

The axe I'm repairing at the moment is really starting to annoy me though. I've cleaned off all the rust and it's looking much cleaner but when I started polishing it, I notice the head is quite pitted. I might need to put it to one side for a while until I figure out a good way to get rid of the pitting without having to buy new stuff. I'm temtpted to get the angle grinder out but just know that I'll end up making a mess of it.

I did discover that toothpaste is good for buffing and shining things though (not just teeth) when looking for advice on the internet.

[munnki]

Toothpaste is great for restoring old scratched CDs and DVDs... however, it will only make them good for a few reads afterwards... I use it to 'save' old data disks that are about to fail from overuse...

It's also great for cleaning runners...

What awesome stuff...

[Cath B]

I did discover that toothpaste is good for buffing and shining things though (not just teeth) when looking for advice on the internet.

I didn't know that.

Good tip.

[Barefoot Bree]

I have a collection of miniature vases - nothing over three inches, and most much less.

And I still have my tin of money from around the world - bits of stray cash either gotten as change in travels and kept out of the post-trip re-exchange for the purpose, or sometimes received from other people's donations. So it's mostly pre-Euro European cash, with some Mexican and Canadian, and a few donations from Japan in there. There may be others, but I haven't pulled them out and catalogued them in forever.

I used to have a fairly impressive collection of paperbacks, mostly sci-fi of various flavors. Well over 500 of them, iirc. The collection got slowly trimmed and slashed over the years until I only have a box or two left. That's the collection I regret losing the most. Not the whole thing, but some of those books I want back, dammit.

[munnki]

I suppose I collect books too... but I don't really count that as collecting... I read them but make a point of buying (if I can) everything I read.... my library now numbers about 3500 books... and given that I travel and work...has actually become a pain in the arse...but I can't be parted from them...

[Roo St. Gallus]

Ah...yes...bibliophilomania. I know that weakness.

I 'collect' hats. It's a small collection. I took some of my collection to work to use as decoration. I currently have about 35 hats on the wall above my workstation.

[Rie]

I collect bags... I have many collected over the years. Also shoes and all types and ages of telephones.

[Monad]

I collect ex lovers

[neilstone40]

I collect ex lovers

I take it you don't mean 'keeping them in the cellar' though...just thought it was worth clarifying:evil:

[Monad]

Well Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle is one of my favourite operas :)

[Oolon Colluphid]

My wife and I used to collect Netsuke, but anything decent went out of our price range -- or rather, our price range moved downward for such frivolities ;) -- once our daughter was born. Plus, ivory became a no-no, which meant the few dealers at local antiques fairs couldn't get hold of them so easily. We now only have one, but we love it to bits: a Gama-Sennin, standing on one leg, toad on his shoulder. It's late -- late 19th century -- so not worth heaps, but we personally think it's every bit as well carved as most of the museum ones we've seen.

My wife collects rings. A complete gemmological set, or so it seems... and now she's moved on to platinum. :( :rolleyes: ;)

And as I mention from time to time, I collect (fictional) ghost and supernatural horror stories. Current favourites are Robert Aickman, Ramsey Campbell and Terry Lamsley, and Rhys Hughes for lighter relief. There are now several long shelves groaning under Ash Tree and Tartarus Press hardbacks interspersed with Equation Chillers and Wordsworth Editions, and tatty paperbacks of rarities like Malden's Nine Ghosts and Munby's The Alabaster Hand.

[Cath B]

My father-in-law collected netsuke too.

I've acquired quite a lot of Victorian and Edwardian lace and drawn threadwork. And slightly later embroidery.

Most of it was made by members of my family.

[Roo St. Gallus]

My father-in-law collected netsuke too.

I've acquired quite a lot of Victorian and Edwardian lace and drawn threadwork. And slightly later embroidery.

Most of it was made by members of my family.

Bobbin lace makers? Have you bobbins and pillows, too? My wife tried out bobbin lace making before moving on to spinning.

[Rie]

Oh and I also collect plastic, stone or any form of turtles. I have a pink turtle on top of the TV which was actually meant to be a back scratcher.