Collecting tips: a series
From Christine Bell: My personal mantra has been, since 1969, five of anything make a collection. I got this from an important American collector famous for her Chinese snuff bottles, and for her collection of Japanese woodblock prints. Her advice to collectors was NOT to leave anything to museums, but in the end her own collections went to the De Young Museum (San Francisco).
Questions to be answered before a new collector starts his/her search.
- Can you spend money on the areas you are interested in?
- How much time, if you are working, can you spend looking for material?
- How much storage space do you have?
- Are you prepared to spend money on archival storage?
- If you get bored with your collection(s), how will you dispose of them? (A skip is not an acceptable answer.)
This was originally published in the Ephemera Newsletter & What’s On #13 September 2021.
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Annette says
Very pertinent comments about collecting.
A long covid lockdown at home surrounded by various collections (more than 5 items …) has brought much enjoyment but also increasing thought about the
long term responsibilities enmeshed in these personal passion projects.
Darian zam says
I think collectors should also make provision for their databases and archives. Why would you like them preserved, for who would they be useful and what is a suitable institution? I arranged mine to go to a University library/collection that I have a good relationship with, are enthusiastic about ephemera and actively building a good collection that I felt needed support. I was lucky in that I had 2 significant institutions interested and both put their hand up. It took around 18 months to draw up an outline of what I had, organise it, and sign the paperwork. It doesn’t mean hand it over straight away but in the future such as, if you pass away.