What Drives Us to Collect?

The psychology of collecting is both fascinating and enlightening. What we collect can often provide others with meaningful insight into our personality and our life experiences. For many, the term “collecting” tends to conjure up ideas of acquiring things of value to be sold at a later date. For the collector, however, it’s rarely ever about the money. In fact, most of the value derived from a collection is almost always emotional.

Collecting frequently has its source in childhood. Children of my generation usually collected stamps, coins, marbles, maybe even yo-yos or the odd comic book or three. I had a preference for stamps, due largely to a fascination with printed design but probably also the result of growing up in the country. Minimal exposure to television and associated advertising undoubtedly influenced my collecting behaviour. A “city” friend of mine, on the contrary, collected Star Wars cards and figurines. Collectible items can differ vastly in value and form and fads will continue to come and go over generations, however, one constant remains - the connection between childhood hobbies and adult collecting. I now collect printed books and my friend collects model trains and associated figurines.

Have you ever considered whether you are a collector? Many of us are and we don’t even realise it. Indeed, most experts agree that two of a similar themed item constitutes a pair; three is considered to be a collection. It’s a simple definition, though, and what it fails to acknowledge is that there must be a genuine interest in the object collected and what it actually represents. Without this, we would all be considered collectors of socks, cutlery, pegs and pens. In fact, “need” has very little to do with what we collect; it’s desire that sparks the collecting bug.

There are many different types of collectors. There are those who buy, sell and trade their items; an investor of sorts who has very little emotional attachment to his or her collection. There are those who inherit a collection from a friend or relative and those who simply enjoy the “thrill of the hunt”, where the journey to the market or second-hand shop is, in itself, enough to satisfy the desire. More often than not, though, the joy for this type of collector is also in “getting a bargain”. There are those who prefer to acquire just a few of the finest pieces, where condition is paramount; those who consider themselves preservationists, where meaning is derived from “saving” an object and caring for it properly for as long as possible; and finally, those who can only be described as obsessive or “maximalist” collectors.

For most people collecting is a choice. For the obsessive collector, there’s often a fine line between collecting and hoarding, the latter tending to be not only compulsive but also reflective of a fear of scarcity. For most people, maintaining a collection is enjoyable, even relaxing; for the maximalist, it can lead to severe social problems, including complete withdrawal from all human contact. For these people, a collection begun, never actually ends.

For the majority of collectors, however, acquiring treasured objects is a positive experience and one which can provide life-long enjoyment. It provides us with valuable, transferable skills such as searching, acquiring, organising, cataloguing, displaying, storing, maintaining and even selling precious items. It often brings people with similar interests together; it expands our knowledge and capacity for learning; it can reduce stress and encourage relaxation and, for many who collect items of age, it satisfies a wistful affection for items from a period in the past.

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What Drives Us to Collect?

Cabinet 9