The hobby of collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever items

are of interest to the individual collector. The scope of collecting is unlimited: "If something e ists, somebody somewhere collects them."!citation needed" The most obvious way to categorise collections is by the type of ob#ects collected. $ost collections are of manufactured commercial items, but natural ob#ects such as birds% eggs, butterflies, rocks, and seashells can also be the sub#ect of a collection. &mong collections of manufactured items, the ob#ects may beantique, or simply collectible. &ntiques are collectible items at least '(( years old, while collectibles can be arbitrarily recent. )ollectors and dealers may use the word vintage to describe older collectibles. Items which were once everyday ob#ects but may now be collectible since almost all those once produced have been destroyed or discarded are called *phemera. +hilately, phillumeny, and deltiology ,collecting postage stamps, matchbo es and postcards- are forms of collecting which can be undertaken at minimal e pense. .ome collectors are generalists with very broad criteria for inclusion, while others focus on a subtopic within their area of interest. .ome collectors accumulate arbitrarily many ob#ects that meet the thematic and quality requirements of their collection, others / called completists / aim to acquire all items in a well0defined set that can in principle be completed, and others seek a limited number of items per category ,e.g. one representative item per year of manufacture or place of purchase-. The monetary value of ob#ects is important to some collectors but irrelevant to others. .ome collectors maintain ob#ects in pristine condition, while others use the items they collect, and still others collect items that once belonged to famous people. )ollecting is for some people a childhood hobby, but for others a lifelong pursuit or one that begins in adulthood. )ollectors who begin early in life often modify their aims when they get older. .ome novice collectors start purchasing items that appeal to them then slowly work at learning how to build a collection, while others prefer to develop some background in the field before starting to buy items. The emergence of the internet as a global forum for different collectors has resulted in many isolated enthusiasts finding each other.

.tamp album used for collecting stamps

"$usei 1ormiani 2istoria", the frontispiece from the Museum Wormianum depicting 3le 1orm%s cabinet of curiosities

Contents
!hide" o o o

' 2istory '.' 3n the Internet 4 5actors affecting collectability 4.' .econdary market 4.4 &ge of collected items 6 +sychological aspects 7 8otable collectors 9 .ee also : ;ibliography < =eferences > * ternal links

History[edit]
)ollecting is a practice with a very old cultural history. The *gyptian +tolemaic dynasty collected books from all over the known world at the ?ibrary of &le andria. The $edici family, in =enaissance 5lorence, made the first effort to collect art by private patronage, this way artists could be free for the first time from the money given by the )hurch and @ingsA this citizenship tradition continues today with the work of private art collectors. $any of the world%s popular museums/from the $etropolitan in 8ew Bork )ity to the Thyssen in $adrid or the 5ranz $ayer in $e ico )ity/have collections formed by the generous collectors that donated them to be seen by the general public. The collecting hobby is a modern descendant of the "cabinet of curiosities" which was common among scholars with the means and opportunities to acquire unusual items from the ':th century onwards. +lanned collecting of ephemeral publications goes back at least to Ceorge Thomason in the reign of )harles I and .amuel +epys in that of )harles II. )ollecting engravings and other prints by those whose means did not allow them to buy original works of art also goes back many centuries. The progress in '>th0century +aris of collecting both works of art and of curiosit, dimly echoed in the *nglish curios, and the origins in +aris, &msterdam and ?ondon of the modern art market have been increasingly well documented and studied since the mid0'Dth century. !'" The involvement of larger numbers of people in collecting activities comes with the prosperity and increased leisure for some in the later 'Dth century in industrial countries. That is when collecting such items as antique china, furniture and decorative items from oriental countries becomes established.

On the Internet[edit]
The Internet offers many resources to any collector: personal sites presenting one%s collection, online collectible catalogs, dealerEshops websites displaying their merchandise, Internet trading platforms, collector clubs, autograph club, collector forums and collector mailing lists.

Factors affecting collectability[edit]

Secondary market[edit]

2erbert @ullmann, picture sale catalogue by ;ernheim0Feune, +aris, $ay 'D'7.

The retail price of a collectible is valid only at the moment it was purchased. 3nce the collectible comes into the buyerGs possession, its value is linked to what is called the secondary market. There is no secondary market for an item unless someone is willing to buy it, and an ob#ect%s value is whatever the buyer is willing to pay for it. Hepending on various factors, individuals, auctioneers, and secondary retailers may sell a collectible for more, the same, or less than what they originally paid for it. These factors include, but are not limited to, condition, age, supply, and demand. & price guide is a resource such as a book or website that lists typical selling prices. The first price guide was the .tanley Cibbons catalogue issued in 8ovember '>:9. Items sold in limited editions may be limited by an announced quantity, or by a particular period of production for items that are not mass0produced, often one year. In either case, items may or may not be numbered.

Age of collected items[edit]

& collection of 8utcrackers

The term antique generally refers to items made over '(( years ago. In some fields, such as antique cars, the time frame is less stringent0/49 years or so being considered enough time to make a car a "classic" if not an antique. Traditionally in the area of furniture, the '>6(s was regarded as the limit forantique furniture. 2owever Iictorian, &rts and )rafts, and some types of 4(th century furniture can all be regarded as collectible. In general, then, items of significance, beauty, values or interest that are "too young" to be considered antiques, fall into the realm of collectibles. ;ut not all collectibles are limited editions, and many of them have been around for decades: for e ample, the popular turn0of0the0century posters, &rt Hecoand &rt 8ouveau items, )arnival and Hepression era glass, etc. In addition, there e ists the "contemporary collectibles" category, featuring items likeplates, figurines, bells, graphics, steins, and dolls. The 'D:(s through the early 'DD(s were ma#or years for the manufacturing of contemporary collectibles. 1hile some individuals purchased contemporary collectibles to en#oy and use, many purchased them as investments. .peculative secondary markets developed for many of these pieces. ;ecause so many people bought for investment purposes, duplicates are common. &nd although many collectibles were labeled as "limited editions," the actual number of items produced was very large. The result of this is that there is very little demand for many ,but not all- items produced during this time period, which means their secondary market values are often low.

Psychological aspects[edit]
+sychological factors can play a role in both the motivation for keeping a collection and the impact it has on the collector%s life. These factors can be positive or negative. The hobby of collecting often goes hand0in0hand with an interest in the ob#ects collected and what they represent, for e ample collecting postcards may reflect an interest in different places and cultures. 5or this reason, collecting can have educational benefits, and some collectors even become e perts in their field. )ollecting for most people is a choice, but for some it can be a compulsion, sharing characteristics with obsessive hoarding. 1hen collecting is passed between generations, it might sometimes be that children have inherited symptoms of obsessive0compulsive disorder. )ollecting can sometimes reflect a

fear of scarcity, or of discarding something then later regretting it. )ertain patterns of collection are common among people who have lived through poverty or war.!citation needed" $aintaining a collection can be a rela ing activity that counteracts the stress of life, while providing a purposeful pursuit which prevents boredom. The hobby can lead to social connections between people with similar interests. 3n the other hand, collecting can also be a means of withdrawing from the world and avoiding human contact. It has been speculated that the widespread appeal of collecting is connected to the hunting and gathering that was once necessary for human survival. 5or some people, collecting things may be a symbolic way of asserting power over them.

Notable collectors[edit]

Forrest J Ackerman books and movie memorabilia James Allen antiques and photographs Raleigh DeGeer Amyx historical memorabilia Miss Frank E. Buttolph menus John Gardner oolidge Doc or!in Dart Barry "alper baseball memorabilia

Bella lara %andauer various, primarily ephemera Geddy %ee various collections &rincess %ida o$ 'hurn and 'axis ordelia Mendo(a "ar)ey ". *ininger meteorites "ans +achs posters "ans +loane natural history +am ,agsta$$ various collections

#ing George - stamps

Donald #au$man antique toys

See also[edit]

)ollectable ?ist of collectibles 2oarding

ibliography[edit]

;lom, +hilipp ,4((9- To Have and To Hold: an intimate History of collectors and collecting. I.;8 '09>9:<06<<06

)astruccio, *nrico ,4((>- "I )ollezionisti: usi, costumi, emozioni". )remona: +ersico *dizioni I.;8 >>0><4(<09D06 )haney, *dward, ed. ,4((6- The Evolution of English Collecting. 8ew 2aven: Bale Jniversity +ress .chulz, )harles $. ,'D>7- Charlie Brown's uper Boo! of Things to "o and Collect: #ased on the Charles M$ chul% characters . 8ew Bork: =andom 2ouse, 'D>7, paperback, I.;8 (06D70>6':90D, ,hardcover in library binding I.;8 (06D70D6':906.hamash, Fack, ,4('6- &eorge ''s (#session ) a *ing and His tamps

!eferences[edit]
'. "#mp #p$ )hronologically some essential works are ). ;lanc, +e trsor de la curiosit ,'>9<09>-, *. ;onnaffK, +es collectionneurs de l'ancienne ,rance ,'><6-, l. )oura#od, +a livre)-ournal de +a%are "uvau.,'><6-, ?. )lKment de =is, +es amateurs d'autrefois ,'><<-, &. $aze0.encier, +e livre des collectionneurs ,'>D6-, C. =eitlinger The Economics of Taste ,'D:'-, C. Clorieu %s monograph, / l'Enseigne de &ersaint ,4((4-.

%&ternal links[edit]

Fournal of the 2istory of )ollections )enter for the 2istory of )ollecting in &merica The &ssociation of )ultural *conomics "&mass &ppeal" *ssay by =ichard =ubin, &&=+ $agazine, $archE&pril 4((>.

)ategories: )ollecting $useum collections