Why do we collect?

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Posted By: John S

My office mate, who has no interest in collecting anything, asked me this question yesterday. I know this topic has been discussed a number of times in a multiple threads. Beyond the superficial answers (love of baseball/history etc., money for some) are deeper explanations. Throughout my life I have found myself collecting just about anything. Feathers when I was very young, rocks, coins, stamps, biological specimens (I have a permit!), and of course cards. The list goes on and on.

I have actually done reading in some psychology and animal behavior texts regarding collecting. Some neurotic individuals with collecting compulsions (my wife sometimes questions if I should be placed in this category) have been found with dust-bunny, fingernail, tacks and other items that most sane individuals would not dream of collecting.

Primal explanations for collecting include success as hunter/gatherer and the need to categorize and organize as a way of making sense of one's environment.

My office mate presents another question. Why do some individuals have no interest in collecting at all? Maybe I am thinking a bit to deeply this morning, but I am interested in responses from fellow collectors.

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Posted By: Matt

I've often wondered those same question's... Seems strange to me when people say they don't collect anything! Life would be pretty dull for me without my collection's-

Matthew

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Posted By: Michelle Wise

I collect because I love the game of baseball, especially the history of it. I think that the sport has come a long way from its humble beginnings- but I prefer those beginnings, back when it was a much purer sport.
I also see prewar cards as little works of art. I can sit there and look at pictures of cards such as N162 Kelly or an E95 Plank, just as I would any painting.
Now, with both of my sons collecting cards as well- its become more of a family thing. We all have something to talk about, and we've actually grown alot closer because of cards.

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Posted By: T206Collector

...I doubt you're going to get many responses to "why don't people collect anything" on a Board which caters to only the most serious collectors of vintage baseball cards. There are a number of reasons people collect cards; the flip side is that there are a number of reasons why people don't collect cards. At the end of the day, those who collect enjoy collecting, while those who don't collect... well, don't enjoy collecting. Whatever makes you tick just isn't in some people.

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Posted By: joe brennan

I collect because I like something and it is an addiction. I have an extremely high addictive personality. If I like something, I go obsessive with it. This is not a good trait in a human being as it can lead to some very harmful habits. But, it also can be very expensive and that's not always a good thing. Funny part of this addiction is when the thrill stops, so does does the addiction. Roseville Pottery was my first addictive collection. 63 pieces. Fine art works 14 pieces. Maxfield Parrish vintage prints. 41 pieces. no more room on the walls of my house for art and no more room on shelves for pottery. T206 baseball cards 112 in 10 months. "Hi, My name is Joe and I'm an addict."

A scared man can't gamble and a jealous man can't work.

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Posted By: HandsAtNeck

For me it is things. I have a need to inventory organize and increase my accumulation of stuff. I have an extensive assembly of hardware, electrical, pluming, and chemical equipment and comparitively small accumulations of coins and cards. But my assembly of reference material on the above subjects is quite cumbersome.

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Posted By: Chris

What's wrong with collecting fingernails???

Seriously though, 1) it's my love of baseball, and 2) I just enjoy having "stuff". Plus the feeling of completing a task is always good. It's a good feeling to set a goal of finishing a set or compiling a specific collection and actually accomplishing that goal.

Now only if someone would pay me to collect cards I could really live the dream.

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Posted By: Steve M.

I have an A type personality

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Posted By: Tom Boblitt

I often wondered that too. My wife collects nothing and my first wife didn't collect anything. Would it be safe to say more men than women collect (hunter/gatherer theory)? Or is it just that we're on a men-dominated board (sorry Julie and now Michelle and any other lurkers).

I collect stubs from any flights I have flown.......I have about 500-600. The little 2x3 pieces of the boarding tickets that they used to give back to you. For some reason, I started it years ago when I was travelling a lot. Unfortunately, a lot of the airlines don't give them to you anymore.....I don't feel that their value has gone up significantly over the years though........

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Posted By: jay behrens

If you use the hunter/gatherer theory, then there should be more female collectors than male. The men generally were the hunters while the women were the gatherers.

I liken myself to a magpie, if it's shiney or purty I pick it up and keep it. I've gotten better at focusing my collecting. Garage and estate sales are bad news for me because there are always so many neat things I want to take home with me. I guess being poor helps you focus more.

Jay

I like to sit outside, drink beer and yell at people. If I did this at home, I would be arrested. So, I go to baseball games and fit right in.

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Posted By: jorge

i started as a kid collecting for the love of the game and to have my favorite players cards and trading to get some of my favorite players too. but as i got older i realized that i find it relaxes me it gives me a chance to escape into my own little world, its my time to do something for myself. I also like the feeling of waiting for something to come in the mail and then the whole process of opening packs too and wondering what will come out of the packs. and yes addiction comes into play aswell.

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Posted By: Daniel Bretta

I grew up in a family of collectors. My father was a stamp collector and my mother a doll collector. I went to a lot of auctions and garage sales as a child and I don't think there's ever been a time when I didn't collect something. I got hooked on sports and nonsports (Star Wars, et cetera) cards when I was very young and the card bug stayed with me....I got very attached to baseball and then I concentrated only on that....part of my "Obsession" is to organize and categorize which gives me a sense of order in my life. I think some of it is mental because I move furniture a lot, and I can't stand a messy house, everything has to have order. I can go in my baseball room and just relax.



http://s22.photobucket.com/albums/b331/nudan92/Vintage%20Baseball%20Memorabilia/

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Posted By: Bill Stone

Growing up in the early 50s in California every summer we would travel by car to visit grandparents in Kentucky --I started collecting travel decals on these trips --the older I got the more I enjoyed the more risque ( by 1954 standards!) group of Miss America pin up decals --over the years I acquired every state except CT, Delaware , Mississippi,Rhode Island and New Hampshire --I still don't know if they made them but after 50 years I am still looking --and each time I search I am reminded of those wonderful days growing up. Baseball cards and travel decals seem to evoke more memories for me than coins and stamps but I love collecting !

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Posted By: barry arnold

As a young fellow (little league,pony league), I loved
collecting cards because most of the players were heroes.
I only remember one card that I constantly wanted rid of---
Clay Dalrymple---partly because I had so many. Individual
packs would often contain 2 of him,it seemed.
As a dinosaur, I continue to love baseball and love history and aesthetics as well. For me that means T-206's. Just
last night after getting back 18 cards from SGC, my wife
got out our magnifying glasses and noted the quality of the
edges and corners much like I did years ago analyzing the folds of cloth on archaic greek statuary. Then my wife and I would compare the color tones on the cards, marvelling at the depth of the pastels on Pfeister--not unlike the days long ago when I was awestruck by the artistry visible on Minoan Crete frescoes.
baseball,history,aesthetics---need i say more.

barry

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Posted By: Bob

I love history, I love THE game and it's fun and profitable besides.

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Posted By: HandsAtNeck

If I didn't collect, someone else would haveta, and they are already too busy; or they would collect too.

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Posted By: E, Daniel

My wife, like many others on this board doesn't collect, and neither does my mum. And in talking to them about collecting, the tidbits they throw out are:

No great NEED to own things, though they always seem happy to have things given to them that are meaningful or please them.

And with an almost embarrassed shrug, they have both commented on their lack of knowledge about any one collectable, and a sincere disinterest in gaining that knowledge. Its almost as if it is too great an investment of time, and without any great feeling that the time would be worth it, that the hobby would be interesting enough.
For this reason too, they both are extremely hesitant to buy anything considered a collectable or vintage, because of the fear of getting ripped off and made to look silly.
All in all, it has tended to mean very few presents over the years that I really wanted or would have chosen for myself. Good thing I'm not shy about buying them on my ownsome!

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Posted By: jerry

When I was a kid in the 50's and 60's I collected baseball cards because Little league baseball was my life and the stars of the day were my Idols. I collect Vintage cards today because being born 50 yrs to late I never saw Alex, Matty or The Train Pitch. I never saw Cobb & Wagner Hit and run the bases, or Earl Moore make a Boner. But I can hold and look at their cards and imagine what it was like to be there and thats as close as I can get to these legends of the game.
After That being said, another reason is just plain and simple, I LIKE OLD STUFF
Happy collecting
jerry

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Posted By: andy becker

alot of what's been said already is very true for me too.

i love THE game, as bob said....though i really love BOTH games (football too).

and i really feel that the cards we collect are more than cards, they ARE works of art.

i would so much rather have a t-3 or national chicle, than an "real" piece of art.....i leave that stuff to my wife.

i enjoy "real" art, but i love cards....always have and probably always will.

and barry, you crack me up.....was Clay Dalrymple a quardrouple print or what??? i had a huge stack of him when i was a kid....couldn't trade him....couldn't even give him away. 1969 topps....too funny.

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Posted By: Joann

I look at card collecting much like kite flying. It's something that I can do, every day or not, hours on end or maybe only an hour or so, whatever, and not think about anything else. Whether reading this board, flipping through REA catalog, or trying to pop a fade out of an axel or pancake (kite tricks ), that is the only thing I think about.

This is what I tell people about kites, and it applies as well to baseball card collecting: It's hard enough, or requires enough attention, that I can't mentally drift off into the problems of the day - it takes just enough focus to distract me. On the other hand, it's not so difficult that it becomes the next problem of the day. I don't want my relaxation to be as taxing as work and school.

I like collecting because it is kind of a come and go thing. You can do it for awhile, but if you get busy (like start law school), you can stop and not really lose anything. I also like finding something that fits just the right slot in the collection. In gathering (hee) Detroit player cards, it was kind of cool to get past the T206, T205, E92, etc (although I still look for other cards in those sets) and run across the E97 or N28.

And I like collecting vintage baseball cards because they are gorgeous and they hit an emotional spot for baseball, and historical baseball in particular.

Finals week. Back to studying. Just had to take 2 minutes out for this one though!

Joann

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Posted By: Brad Freeman

I have really enjoyed reading these responses. One of the main reasons is that they are well articulated and thoughtful. In today's world it is unusual to have such a high percentage of thoughts that are so well expressed.

As for myself---I really love the history of sports, in general, and baseball the most. It was what I grew up with in the 50's and 60's. All of my friends and brothers lived and breathed baseball as soon as it was warm enought to play in our midwestern home in Wisconsin.

The Braves were the new heroes of the day, and boy, did they do a job! 1957 World Champs and 1958 National League Champs. All good stuff.

I was lucky. I got to see the Braves and the Yankees in both years in the Series. I still have the game programs that I scored and the family's ticket stubs. Dear to my heart.

I also love to find things that are both unusual and meaningful to the game. I try to collect things that are somewhat unique. Kind of the opposite of what is being produced these days.

Anyway--thanks for reading this (with great patience) and most of all: Thanks for sharing all of your insights and advice! All of you are terrific!

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Posted By: Zach Rice

Jerry, that's because Earl Moore never did make any errors or mistakes

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Posted By: barry arnold

Andy,

you helped me realize another reason i collect 206's.
there are no dalrymples.
i've never felt like i wanted to get rid of any of the 206's
i have; in fact, they are really hard to let go of, even if
once in a blue moon i get a dup.

baseball,history,aesthetics,and no 'dalrymples'


barry

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Posted By: Brett

Basically what Bob said. I love history, and i love baseball. I remember when Ken Burns "History of Baseball" was on TV, my dad taped all of them, and i really enjoyed watching them. That, and having a few books on baseball really got me more interested into the history of baseball. A book on baseball cards introduced me to t206's when i was around 9 or 10. I was really into T206's, untill i learned about Caramels. They are my favourite of all the pre war cards.

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Posted By: Lee Behrens

I love the Game.

I love the History.

Collecting gives me some of that History.

It's Profitable, beats the hell out of my 401K.

Gives me something to do that is Constructive and makes me feel good.

Hangs on the Walls nicely (like Dan's Room).

I have a Problem.

Lee

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Posted By: JudgeDred2(Fred)

My therapist said I must collect or I'll become a mass murderer of some sort. Something about occupying time before the end of the world. Or was that the end of my life... or was that the end of the therapist's life. In any case I collect because I don't want to be a mass murderer... and I like OJs... and other 19th century issues...