A Hobby That Requires Balance

DO YOU sometimes find yourself accumulating items that you say one day just might be useful? Well, if that day fails to materialize, in time you will likely discard things that serve no practical purpose. Interestingly, though, many take delight in collecting things that may never be useful in a practical way. These are individuals who have made a hobby of collecting.
Some hobbyists work along traditional lines, collecting such items as rocks, stamps, or old coins. Others have a passion for collecting dolls, stuffed animals, spoons, medals, postcards, antiques, music recordings, or vacation memorabilia. The possibilities are endless! One U.S. attorney, for example, has a collection of some 200,000 railroad nails! He is one of hundreds of hobbyists who scour the countryside looking for old railroad nails that have a date stamped on the head.
It is amazing the things people collect—teeth and toupees, skulls and cookie jars, trolley-car tickets, hair and fans and kites and forceps, dogs and coins, canes, canaries and shoes, . . . buttons and bones, hatpins and forged signatures and first editions and gas masks.
Then there are collectors who have a taste for the bizarre. Take the case of a Russian countess who collected bedpans that had belonged to the rich and famous. A Japanese regent had a collection of 5,000 dogs—housing them in lavishly appointed kennels. According to Harper’s Magazine, one wealthy collector gathered thousands of fleas preserved in spirits in individual vials, marked with the place of origin and with the name of the host, animal or human, on which the flea had been found.
Extreme cases notwithstanding, the idea of collecting things is hardly peculiar to modern times. Amassing large collections of books and manuscripts, for example, is a very ancient pursuit. The book Light From the Ancient Past tells of how Assyrian King Ashurbanipal (seventh century B.C.E.) sent his scribes far and wide to collect copies of early records and documents for his royal library at Nineveh. Ashurbanipal’s palace containing this amazing library was unearthed in 1853.
The Greek and Roman aristocracy were likewise well-known for collecting art. The book Collecting—An Unruly Passion states: At the time of Cicero and Caesar, Rome epitomized victorious extravagance and conspicuous consumption. . . . Art dealers occupied entire city blocks. Some of the richest citizens even had their own private museums.
What Is the Fascination of Collecting?
Why do people today make a hobby of collecting things? The Encyclopedia Americana says: People pursue hobbies for many reasons but mainly for fun. Hobbies are relaxing and offer a change from daily routines. Yes, many simply find that spending time perusing their collection of cherished items is enjoyable.