Collectables

An arctophilist collects teddy bears, a deltiologist collects postcards, a numismatist collects coins, a vecturist collects subway tokens and a clock collector is a horologist.

I guess I am just a very ordinary collector – nothing fancy. Over the years I have collected anything that took my fancy .

Early memories of my childhood and I vividly remember a ‘cabinet of curiosities’ in our home. Probably that  seed germinated in my infant brain and I began collecting as well.

The first thing I collected was ‘holy pictures’.  I was around 10 years old when   pictures of saints and the like took my fancy and I had a small tin sweet box with my prized possessions.  I had about one hundred and fifty ‘Holy pictures’ and I even exchanged the same with friends when I had duplicates. I often approached priests, nuns and religious brothers who willingly added to my collection. Although money was not plentiful by any means, I managed to purchase a few special holy pictures from a religious bookstall in the city. No clue where that collection went.

Playing marbles then became a craze in middle school and I had hundreds of them in a large glass jar. I often counted them and even washed them on weekends. Spreading them out on my bed gave me immense pleasure.  (I do not see anyone playing marbles now). It was a great hobby because playing allowed for individual or group participation. The varied types, styles, sizes, and colors of the marbles lent a unique look to my collection. Taking them to school in my pocket was fun as well.  What was not very funny was when they fell out of my  pocket during class time and were confiscated by the teachers who I was sure took them home for their kids to play with .

More often than not, as I was not a very good player, I would return home despondent having lost most or all the marbles I had taken to school in the morning.

 

I must have been around 14 when my grandfather presented me with a stamp album and a few boxes of old stamps.  They lay in the house for a few years and I never even looked at them.

Then one day I came across them in an old tin trunk & I eagerly began sorting them out and placing them in the album. Along with stamps I began collecting ‘First day covers’ as well. Someone had mentioned that stamps could make me a rich man and I guess that spurred me on.

Whenever I read about the release of a new stamp, I would rush to the post office, line up with hundreds of other philatelists and purchase a few stamps and a first day cover or two. We then had to line up again and get the covers  stamped! My collection grew to a point and then I guess other things took my fancy and the stamp collection died a natural death and I forgot about becoming rich!

 I must add that I was later presented with thousands of very old stamps by an uncle – they  are still in my possession and  I am told , could fetch a fortune  . Therefore, I do still have a chance!

It was then key chains – a few hundred of them took up place in a cupboard draw. For a year or so, I would change my key chain daily!

A few other collections may surprise you, make you cringe  or even smile.

Butterflies – Butterflies are beautiful to look at, and I enjoyed preserving multiple species to admire their wing patterns. I would find dead butterflies in the garden   or capture one that I wanted to save. I would then put it in a bottle and seal it up for a few hours (sounds so cruel now). I would then put it between the pages of a thick dictionary and that was how I collected them!  I knew that there were more professional way of displaying them but I guess the way I did it was enough for me.

I had a similar collection of leaves.  I would get hold of a good leaf, wash and dry it and then just put it between the pages of a thick book. Soon all that would be left would be the skeleton of the leaf and it looked pretty and artistic! I had quite a few leaves in various books.

After I began working, I once went for a garage sale & bought a pair of peg tables in the shape of elephants from a very well-known astrologer in India. Yes, you probably guessed it right – that started an elephant collection, which has grown. We now have around 80 small elephants from various parts of the world.

I then shifted to the UAE & had the opportunity and means to travel a little more - bells took our fancy and so it was bells from all over.

Once on a visit to Germany I fell in love with a very beautiful beer mug that I spotted in a sae on the banks of the Rhine – that bred a small collection of beautiful mugs that now fill a showcase in our home.

My present collection of cuff links and watches are small but they are my prized possessions now.

Relatives and friends have added to the various collections over the years   and at times it is the topic of family jokes as well but who cares.

I have stopped adding collectables now and am planning to declutter but have not made a serious effort to do so.

Marie Kondo inspired me but one needs time to declutter!!

It will happen someday but till then let me enjoy these simple pleasures.