Why Do You Collect?

[stephen_w.]

I know many Leica owners that collect gear (on topic), but including the

previous post, people collect many different objects. What drives this? For

example, I bought, out of the newspaper a BP M4 for $700, now being sold on eBay

for $3000+. I had no idea of the "value", either did the seller, so it was a

fair trade. Unfortunately, was stolen from my storage unit.

 

I'm not a psychologist, but what drives one to collect material objects? For

investment and/or profit?

[jake_tauber]

I collect photographs for love of the genre not for profit. Although many of my purchases have become more valuable. A nice side benefit. Mostly mid to late 20th century. Frank, Evans, Friedlander, Weegee...plus contemporary folks such as Jeff Brouws, Sandy Skogland, Shelby Lee Adams, Kahn and Selesnick who are really interesting, Shimon Attie and more...stuff that evokes a viceral response.

 

I like work that is not decorative...things that challenge the viewer and offer layers of meaning. Why exactly do I do this when I could go to a museum (my wife's point of view), I can't answer. Perhaps my shrink has some insight on this.

[jeff_s]

<p>I collect early Macintosh computers; I got my start when I'd encounter stacks of the things sitting besides dumpsters, free for the taking. I always thought the best of them (and their 1-bit aesthetic) were things of beauty in their own right.</p>

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<img src="http://csd.net/~4season/camera.gif">

</p>

[gus_gus1]

Years ago I collected silver dollars. I assure you, it was not for profit or investment. I did it for FUN. It was fun collecting a part of American history. It was fun searching for the rare coin. It was fun going to the auctions. It was fun hoping I would find a really rare coin, which I did once. After years of collecting I sold my collection. I did make a profit. But profit or not, I really enjoyed my collecting years. Gus.

[rj]

I used to have a roomate that called me a "collector" because I had a ton of stuff, mostly camera and darkroom equipment but also a bunch of fishing equipment (I love to fish). He was wrong though. What I really liked to do is buy stuff. Ebay was a very good friend. Over time I got over it and now only buy stuff I am going to use and have a real need for. I have sold most of what I don't use. I have a new philosophy on material good ownership. If I haven't used it in two years, it goes to somebody who will. I am no longer a "collector" of things.

[erik_l.]

For the love of wine. I cannot think of any other things that one might collect for the specific purpose of eventual consumption.

[al_kaplan1]

If you collect for profit then you're investing. If you collect things you enjoy having, using or looking at ten the profit becomes secondary. I tend to accumulate things because sometimes it's too much hassle to sell them. I make sure that my son is aware that the day will come when he'll need to research the contents of all those boxes of Leica lens caps and other assorted trivia. It just might finance his daughter's college tuition...LOL

[stephen_w.]

Ever heard of donation? Seriously, my earthly possessions fit, with ample space, in a 5X10 foot storage unit. I have been a road warrior since 1990, and currently rent furniture. I always laugh at the art collectors like Steve Wynn, especially when he puts his elbow through a Picasso. Why collect anything? It just makes one worry.

[raymond_tai]

Stephen, So you prefer to eschew anything that ties you down. Being on the road with

everything you own in your napsack like Quai Chang Cain. It is every man's fantasy to get

away from it all and you are living it. Good for you. I prefer to collect gold plate Mercedes.

[DB_Gallery]

I have 8 cameras and over 20 lenses. Only one is a collectable:

 

A brand new chrome FM3A with matching 45 2.8.

 

All the rest is for pro use, including an M6, 50 lux apsheric and 28 cron aspheric.

 

Life's too short to collect everything, to me anyway.

[mark_amos]

Stephen, the question stimulates me to make a differentiation between collecting and accumulating. I don't think I can make this distinction clearly except to say that accumulating implies that you acquire things with a particular specific USEFUL interest in the thing that may pass even though you keep the objects even after the interest wanes.Consistent with that definition, I have many books, but they are not really a collection as much as just an accumulation of texts I've studied and kept. I see my cameras this way because I've used almost all of them and acquired them with that in mind.

 

Collecting is different because it can be motivated by a desire to acquire things for their apparent value or significance that is less related to their intrinsic purpose. Collectors are typically more enamored with an idea of function than real functionality. I have a lot of many things, but the only things I "collect" are cards: playing cards generally. I enjoy playing card games of many types, but I don't buy every deck of cards I come across. I buy only those that are intreaguing to me for some reason, and these are usually not expensive; they are just unusual. I normally do not open them by breaking their plastic wrappers or other factory seals. I don't need to because I don't buy them to play with them. Sometimes, I buy two decks: one to play around with and one to save unopened. I don't know that the unopened ones will ever really be worth any real money, but preserving them is kind of a mission unto itself that I enjoy. This is an easy habbit to indulge because cards are cheap and my whole collection occupies about 1 cubit foot.

 

Accumulations are a record of one's needs and history of learning. Collections are a record of one's obsessions and fascinations with specific aspects of culture. When a person truly enjoys their work or ardently applies themselves to a hobby, admittedly, a group of objects can become both of these.

[harvey_trautenberg1]

Easy one: Its not OCD if you call it hobby.

[Karim Ghantous]

Good question. I'll let Osho answer that one:

 

http://video.google.com.au/videoplay?docid=-2344499013260641680

 

To sum it all up and to stick to your question (the why, not the what), the joy is in the finding and it simply makes me happy.

 

A further note: I don't collect things that cost too much for obvious reasons. Cheap things can make me as happy as costly things. Two examples: old photos, Apple promotional material.

[tom_levidiotis]

Walt Whitman called it "the mania of owning things," and I think was one of the things he thought animals did not share. I don't know what it is but I am surely afflicted with it. I greatly admire Stephen's ability to keep all he owns in a storage locker. As a young man I boasted that I was able to carry all I owned at one time. No longer, sad (or perhaps not so) to say.

[travis1]

I collect negatives.

[Troll]

I don't collect, I just accumulate.

[vinay_patel]

Collecting goes back to the beginning of humanity, includes every nationality and ethnic group, crosses every age group and social strata, and encompasses every object from the worthless to the priceless. There are no doubt tons of learned opinions out there on the subject. Perhaps there are even some studies on what motivates people to belittle collecting :-)

[h._p.]

"I collect early Macintosh computers; "

 

Good idea, Jeff. I'm in the process of extending our network, so that the SE-30 we rescued from a university can be a terminal into our G5s. I know it's daft but who said life always had to be serious?

 

:-)))

[Allen Herbert]

I collect,Willy, my own photos. Sometimes i acquire shiny cams for the right price....this is due to the left part of my brain, which is part magpie, which likes shiny glittering objects.

 

Sometimes, Willy, i get so excited with a new shiny cam, i cannot sleep with the excitement of it all. Jeez, Willy, i can spend all night thrashing about in my bed with my new cam.

 

Sort of scary, don't you think.<div></div>

[icuneko]

I collect dust at home and boredom at work.

[dave_powell2]

Because I can't give away.