They say that everyone has a collector inside them - also a gardener, a musician, and an artist. Possibly a cook or star hockey goalie. It all seems a little crowded...
For those of us in the photographic sphere, we are often beset by offers of things that are " collector's items ". I'm writing about being customers, retailers, and wholesalers here, but the collection mania goes right back to the factories. Any number of manufacturers produce lines of goods that go far beyond mere utility and the needs of the consumer - they make " collections ". And in some cases collect a fair bit of money by triggering our inner hoarder.
I, of course am blameless in this, My 200+ scale model airplanes and room-sized model airfield are purely practical things - no more frivolous than a frying pan or egg spatula.
In the photo world, collecting goes beyond retail sale to art dealing, ephemera, secondhand goods, and all forms of printed matter. People have been inundated with advertising material for decades - some of it very well produced - and if it never struck gold from their pocket when the cameras and lenses were being made, it can at least bring forth silver when it is exchanged from one collector to another.
Has it real value? Has it relevance? Well, ask yourself if a catalogue of tripods and attachments from the 1990's would serve your needs now - given that the goods have been missing from the shelves for 30 years? Probably no, but possibly yes, because the remnants of the line may still be in use somewhere or be hawked at a flea market. If you possess a flea and the operating instructions for it, you have a viable insect. All you need is an ear into which it may be inserted...
The moral of this is not to never throw anything away - that approach to collecting just fills up rooms, garages, warehouse shelves, shipping containers, and the rest of your life. It is to select what might be got as a
complete collection, collate it, and preserve it only as long as it gives joy or attracts a buyer. You cannot
exactly predict what others might pop open their wallets for, but you can make a shrewd guess. Do that, do not be distracted, and set your collection out on the right table at the right time.
Or be prepared to set it out on the verge for the next council collection...
