collecting
madness Fourteen
people who collect unusual items reveal their secret lusts
lusts that can never be satisfied!
Winnie Bauman Angels
of the World Q: Which is your favorite? A: A stained glass angel made by a friend. Q: Any tales to tell? A: We have a large angel cookie from Germany on our dining
room wall. Q: Where do you find angels? A: I like to find angels that represent the area, such as
a stained glass angel outlined in copper from Utah. Q: Do you collect anything else? A: My major interest is angels. Q: What do people say? A: How do you clean them? Q: What have angels taught you? A: That most of the people who collect angels are angelic.
Belva Green Antique
Comb Collectors Club 90 S. Highland, No. 1204, Tarpon Springs, FL 34689 [contact is now Theresa Bagasra] Q: How did you begin? A: I received my first one in 1947, then I found a pretty
comb in 1951 in a $3 junk box. Q: What's your favorite comb? A: I prize the hair ornament that belonged to my mother. Q: What happens when you die? A: Who would want it? I'd like to donate it to a museum in
my village in Michigan. Q: How are the combs stored? A: They're displayed on glass shelves. Everything is cataloged,
sketched, photocopied, photographed and numbered. Q: Any good stories? A: I visited a comb museum in France once. Q: Anything else? A: I've learned about ancient world history from researching
headdresses and have compiled a book, "The Comb Collectors
Companion." Q: What are you looking for? A: An ivory fancy comb! Q: What would you collect if you were starting over? A: Something smaller, indestructible, less expensive and
easier to care for. Maybe buttons?
Dwight Young National
Avon Collectors P.O. Box 7006;
Kansas City, MO 64134 [contact is now Connie Clark] 14,000 items Q: How did you get started? A: My wife Vera bought the Avon Gold Cadillac aftershave
decanter for me in 1969. Q: What happens when you die? A: Our four children will take the collection. Q: How are the items stored? A: They're displayed in lighted show cases. Q: What was your best find? A: A California Perfume Company bottle (the original Avon
name) at a flea market in Maine. Q: Do you collect anything else? A: Teddy bears, coins, bricks, barbed wire, miniature
booze bottles and car banks. Q: What do your friends say? A: Most think it is a total waste of time and money. Q: What has Avon taught you? A: My dearest friends have been found through Avon collecting. Q: Anything someone could give you that would make them
a friend for life? A: I do not establish friends from gifts.
Barb Brownlee
International Brick
Collectors 3265 Hood Ct., Wichita, KS 67204 [contact is now Jim Graves] 4000 bricks
Q: How did you begin? A: My husband Bill and I began collecting bricks in 1980.
We were in Lawrence, Kansas, and found a brick in his father's
garden. Q: What's your favorite brick? A: One that says "Don't Spit on the Sidewalk." Q: What happens when you die? A: It's a heavy hobby. When we moved, it cost more to
move the bricks than our furniture. We plan to put them into
our patio. Q: What keeps you going? A: We love to tell stories about liberating bricks. When
hunting bricks you are usually in a rundown area of a city and
strange people are wondering what you are up to. Q: Any life lessons learned from bricks? A: If you think you are the only one collecting a certain
thing, there is always someone else out there thinking the same
thing.
Merelaine
Haskett
International
Frog Collectors Club P.O. Box 201413, Bloomington, MN 55420 [contact is now Linda Maher] 1500 items Q: How did you begin? A: I wrote a college research paper on frogs in 1961 and
a friend gave me a frog that attached to a car's brake lights
(the eyes lit up). My friends began calling me Froggy. Q: How are the frogs stored? A: I have them perched in bookcases and window sills and
hanging from doorway frames in my living room, hall and kitchen. Q: What will happen to your frogs when you die? A: My brothers and nephews and niece may have it as part
of their inheritance. Q: Boast a little... A: The Frog Fantasies Frog Museum and Gift Shop in Eureka
Springs, Arkansas, has a pond named after me. Q: What do people say? A: Why frogs? Q: What else would you collect? A: Maybe teapots.
Chris Cutlass JeRue Redline
Hot Wheels P.O. Box 14099, Santa Rosa, CA 95402 75 vehicles
Q: When did you get
started with Hot Wheels? A: 1968. That was the first Christmas they were released.
I had a Blue Silhouette, but my mom threw it out. Q: Which is your favorite? A: Purple '32 Ford Vicky. Q: How are they stored? A: In a carpeted drawer in a closet of drawers. They're displayed
by color as they best complement each other. Q: Any good anecdotes? A: I do not share those thoughts. Q: Learn any life lessons from Hot Wheels? A: I am reminded that people are more valuable than material
objects as I witness others being hurt and causing pain.
Jo Ann Todd American Collectors
of Infant Feeders 215 Crepe Myrtle
Ct., Greenville, SC 29607 [contact is now Teresa Davis] 7000 licenses Q: What exactly do
you collect? A: Infant nursers, old infant food jars and tins, drugstore
display cases, and items with baby bottles on them: postcards,
advertising, figurines, wallpaper. Q: How did you begin? A: I started in 1973 when I asked at an antique shop to
see an old clear glass turtle nurser from around 1890. Q: What's your favorite item? A: A Faultless Nipple Jar is the most expensive item.
It held nipples for sale on the druggist's counter. Q: What happens when you die? A: A member of our group left instructions that her collection
be sold as a whole. Her family wasn't able to do it. Q: Does your groups have a newsletter? A: It's called Keeping Abreast. Q: How is your collection stored? A: I have display cases in five rooms. Q: Can you tell me a story? A: The first artificial infant feeder was probably a cow's
horn. A hole was made and a rag, chamois or sponge was tied on
for the baby to suck on. Calves' teats also were used. This was
1000 to 2000 B.C. Q: Do you collect anything else? A: Early on it was dolls, then cats, then stamps, coins,
owls, rocks. I'm a born gatherer. Q: What do people say? A: People are amazed because they have no idea of our
history of infant feeding. Q: What are you still looking for? A: A clear glass turtle bottle with Mother's Darling I.D.CO
(Indianapolis Drug Co).
Henry Keyes International
Society of Animal License Collectors 928 SR 2206, Clinton, KY 42031 [contact is now William
J. Bone] 7000 licenses
Q: How did you get started? A: We began in 1981 while looking for a collectible for
my son. Then a friend gave me an older dog tag for Christmas. Q: How are your tags stored? A: They're kept in loose leaf binders in coin pockets. Q: What do people say? A: I used to get strange looks. Dog tags are more established
now. Q: What have dog tags taught you? A: Collecting satisfies some itch, but it certainly isn't
greed. No one will get rich collecting dog tags. Q: What tags are you looking for? A: Old metal tags, especially before 1900, and old dog
collars, especially with fancy brass locks, clasps and studs. Q: What else would you collect? A: Nothing. I am well pleased.
Joyce Spontak Associated Collectors
of Planters Peanut Memorabilia 32 E. Diaz Ave., Nesquehoning, PA 18240 [contac is now Tony Scola] 2000 items
Q: How did you begin? A: My grandmother sent away for a plastic Mr. Peanut bank
for each grandchild in 1957. Thirty years later, I found my second
Mr. Peanut item and began searching. Q: What's your favorite Planters item? A: The bank. I also love my papier-resin Mr. Peanut Roaster
Rider from a long-closed Atlantic City peanut store. It's worth
$2000. Q: How it your collection stored? A: Everything is located in the Peanut Museum Room. It is
cataloged on computer and videotape. Q: What do people say? A: Everyone thinks I'm nutty, but then, everyone loves a
nut. Q: What has Mr. Peanut taught you? A: Mr. Peanut is always there, giving us a sense of pride. Q: What item could someone give you to make them your
friend for life? A: An electric Mr. Peanut who taps his cane on the window.
William Diefenbach International
Sand Collectors P.O. Box 117, North Haven, CT 06473 450 vials of sand Q: Does your group have
a newsletter? A: It's called The Sand Paper. Q: Is 450 vials a lot? A: It's nothing compared to one Dutch collector who has
more than 4000. But mine all mean something to me. Q: How did you get started? A: I brought back sand from the Caribbean. Q: How much is sand worth? A: The sample that cost the most to get is from the Pacific
Depths, 17,000 feet down, brought up by the Glomar Explorer,
the CIA cover-up ship. One of my favorites is sand from the Green
River Valley in Nepal. It's purple and on the trail to Mount
Everest. Q: How is your sand stored? A: Six large custom-built spice racks, and shoe boxes
with 25-cent coin containers. Q: Any good stories? A: I drove a friend an hour out of Bombay just to get
some sand. When we arrived, my friend jumped out, scooped up
a film container full, and found himself staring into the barrel
of a guard's rifle. Our driver quickly translated and the guard
smiled and with a wave of his hand let the sample be taken! Q: What would complete your collection? A: Moon sand.
Suzanne Lipschitz Smurf Collectors
Club 24 Cabot Road W., Massapequa, NY 11758
Q: How many members
does your group have? A: About 1000. Ninety percent are adults. Q: How did you hook up with Smurfs? A: I started collecting for my five-year-old son in 1979
as a reward for doing well in school. Q: What happens when you die? A: My grandson will get them, if he shows interest. If
not, my best Smurfy friend. Q: Any good stories? A: I appeared on News 12 as the Smurf Lady. Q: What have Smurfs taught you? A: As my son said during the TV taping: "It keeps
her out of trouble." Q: What are you still looking for? A: A paint variation I don't have! Q: Would you do anything differently? A: I would have set aside more room.
Bill
Bond Spark Plug
Collectors of America P.O. Box 2229, Ann Arbor, MI 48106 2000 plugs
Q: How did you get started? A: My interest in 1972 in antique hit & miss engines
led to need for right plugs. Q: Any favorite plug? A: W.B. Handee Quick Detachable, worth about $500. Q: How do people react? A: Tell everyone you collect spark plugs, and they look
at you like you have 13 ounces to the pound, until you tell them
about the 4000 brands and types. Q: What have spark plugs taught you? A: That man is a natural pack rat.
Warren
Harris Thermometer
Collectors Club 6130 Rampart Dr., Carmichael, CA 95608 500 thermometers
Q: Which is your favorite? A: I have five exquisite, intricately carved ivory English
thermometers. Q: Who gets the thermometers when you die? A: After I'm pushing daisies, I doubt my sons will be
fighting over the spoils. Q: How are they stored? A: I keep them locked in file drawers. I don't want some
drug-crazed burglar to trash them. Q: Tell us a good story. A: A public relations firm asked me for a portrait of
Gabriel Fahrenheit (1636-1736). I couldn't find even so much
as a tracing. So I cut out a portrait from an old book, framed
it, labeled it, and sent it to the company. They couldn't thank
me enough. Q: Where do you find thermometers? A: Many are from England or France. Few made it over the
Rockies at the turn of the century. Q: Do you collect anything else? A: My wife won't let me. Q: What do people say? A: My friends think I have a collection of rectal thermometers.
But they're assholes anyway (ha!). Q: What are always looking for? A: Any old thermometer with mercury in it. Link:
History of Thermometry
The Rev.
John M. Coffee American
Vecturist Association P.O. Box 1204, Boston, MA 02104 20,000 metal and plastic fare tokens Q: How did you get started? A: I collected coins and was a trolley fan when I lived
in Washington, D.C., in 1943. Q: What's your most prized token? A: An 1861 horsecar token of the Chestnut & Walnut
Passenger Railway in Philadelphia. It's worth $4000. Only three
are known to exist. Q: Any good stories? A: A woman wrote me from Weatherford, Texas. Her father
had run a horse-drawn line from 1879 to 1923. Two years later
I visited Weatherford. Turned out she was the most prominent
resident of the town (age 90 then). I was met by newspaper reporters,
cameras, the state representative, the mayor, and whisked to
her house for a banquet. Q: Any tokens you'd love to find? A: I'm looking for the Gibbs U.S. Mail Stage Token of
New York City. It was issued about 1838 and is worth about $15,000.
It's made of brass, 23mm in diameter, inscribed Good for One
Ride/To the Bearer. These
interviews first appeared in my fanzine, Chip's Closet Cleaner,
Issue 10.See
also:
(1) Why We Collect; (2) Why
Collecting Sucks; (3) Stuff I've CollectedLinks: Collecting: An Unruly
Passion (book);
Collector Clubs (site)Copyright
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