Collecting Books . . . and other stuff

We talked, a few days ago, about books and whether they mean more to us if they're inscribed and/or signed.

It was a good discussion, and the answers varied greatly.

And it got me thinking about how we collect "stuff."  Is it in our genes?  Are we either a collector, or not a collector.  If we start out collecting one thing, does it lead endlessly to more collecting? ? ?

Donald and I are collectors.  Actually, I should clarify that.  We used to be BIG collectors.  Always on the hunt.  The hunt was a big part of the fun of it.  Finding that elusive "thing," was exciting, but I think the hunt was more exciting because regardless of how pleased we were with our find, we were always back to the hunt quick-snap.  We're not doing quite as much hunting as we once were.  We've become small to teeny to itty bitty collectors.  For a couple of reasons.  One, as we've gotten older we've realized we might have enough "stuff," so what we do add to our collection needs to really speak to us.  Secondly, since we've moved to a much smaller house, those items have to not just speak to us, but speak very loudly.  (I much prefer the word "collector" to "hoarder," don't you?  I do NOT want those people who claim to help others get rid of their "stuff" to show up at our house to help us.  For real.)

Anyhooooo - - -

You know by now that I collect books.  I do give a lot of them away, but there are many I'll never part with.

And they're everywhere.

All over the house in every room except the bathrooms.

Donald is very tolerant of all this, seeing as how he's a bit of a collector himself - which is a bit of an understatement. 



Donald is a locksmith.

He's always been one who likes to take stuff apart and put it back together.  His folks tell me this has been going on since he was a little boy.  If I remember correctly, it started with a toaster.

Now, if you've looked inside an old padlock you'll see that all those little moving parts inside are teeny.  He loves this!  Loves finding a new one to take apart and then make a key for it that will move all those teeny little parts around.  Lordy, I hope he doesn't read this.  Since I don't understand the workings of the inside of a lock, there's no way I could describe it properly, and he would feel as though I have not learned my lessons well.   One of his very favorite things is to repair the locks on antique furniture and make a key so the lock will be functional again.  Not a lot of locksmiths enjoy doing this kind of work.  Truth be told, there aren't a whole lot who can do it, and even less who will do it for fear of damaging the lock or the piece of furniture.   Donald, on the other hand,  loves the challenge of it and is quite good at it.  All this has led to an extensive collection of antique locks and keys.

 

This, of course, is a teeny small sampling.  All you collectors out there understand, I'm sure, that not all of your collection is always able to be displayed, right?  Sort of like museums that have to keep a larger part of their collections hidden away in storage. 

So, while Donald is perusing the antique malls, burrowing around looking for locks and keys, I'm wandering about looking for books.

There's always room for another book or two.

Hmmmmm.  That's what I used to think.  And that's what's gotten me into this trouble.

Because there really isn't room for any more books.  And that's why they're now taking over.  And why we're now talking about what we're going to do about it.

But.

That's a problem for another day.

One of the things Donald and I both enjoy hunting for is a "Barley Jar."

You've seen them.

You know the canister sets you see in the antique stores?  The sets of 4 or 6 or 8 or even 12, or more. There's always a canister for flour, and for sugar, and sometimes one rice, and ocassionally, for barley.  Since Barley is our last name, it's a fun thing to hunt for.  Sometimes the antique dealers will gladly break up a set and sell just the Barley jar.  Sometimes though, they won't and they won't budge.

The first Barley jar was one Donald's mother gave him while we were dating.  His parents continued their hunt until all the Barleys had at least one.  We continued the hunt for awhile, but haven't found one that has spoken to us in quite a while.

And I was always looking for white pitchers.  Preferably ironstone.  My mom gave me my first one years and years ago, then out of no where, the whole world started getting interested in white ironstone pitchers and they became difficult to find.  And expensive.  Thankfully, I had all I wanted and needed by then.  Besides.  I could always buy another book . . .

So, tell me.

Are you a collector?

Of one thing or many?