The Psychology of Collecting
The Psychology of Collecting
By Mark B. McKinley (OH)
Everybody is a Collector Everybody collects something! Whether it be photographs of a person‟s vacation, ticket stubs from ballgames, souvenirs of trips, pictures of one‟s children, athletes‟ trophies, kids report cards, and those who collect “junk” (pack-rats) and dispose of it in garage sales. The Evolution of Collecting On the more formal side of “collecting,” it does seem that growing up as “kids,” we all collected something we made into a hobby. It could have begun with baseball cards, marbles, or stamps. Then it moved on: to antique books, Longaberger baskets, state quarters, or Atmos clocks. For others it was collecting the really unusual that worked best for them. People actually collect: bad poetry, barbed wire, knock-knock jokes, wax paper liners out of cereal boxes, swizzle sticks, string, mouse pads, phone books, type fonts, clothing of famous people, or Mersenne primes (prime numbers). Indeed, some collectors even collect collecting guides! And, speaking of the unusual, what about the names for the people who collect things? An archtophilist collects teddy bears, a deltiologist collects postcards, a numismatist collects coins, a vecturist collects subway tokens, and a clock collector is a horologist. Horologists are Special A note on being a horologist, it‟s tough. Compared with the collectibles noted prior, collecting clocks requires that consideration be given not to just what is seen, but what is also on the inside, the mechanical stuff, and whether or not it “works!” As a case in point, the Hiller Talking Clock (circa 1911), to work needs a celluloid tape. Of the known Hiller clocks only one has the accompanying tape. Indeed, even the two Hillers in the NAWCC Museum, nor the two Hillers in the authors collection, “run.” The author, who collects talking clocks, not only deals with the passive display of time, but the clock has to literally “tell” (talk) the time, and in many instances, the
By Mark B. McKinley (OH)
Everybody is a Collector Everybody collects something! Whether it be photographs of a person‟s vacation, ticket stubs from ballgames, souvenirs of trips, pictures of one‟s children, athletes‟ trophies, kids report cards, and those who collect “junk” (pack-rats) and dispose of it in garage sales. The Evolution of Collecting On the more formal side of “collecting,” it does seem that growing up as “kids,” we all collected something we made into a hobby. It could have begun with baseball cards, marbles, or stamps. Then it moved on: to antique books, Longaberger baskets, state quarters, or Atmos clocks. For others it was collecting the really unusual that worked best for them. People actually collect: bad poetry, barbed wire, knock-knock jokes, wax paper liners out of cereal boxes, swizzle sticks, string, mouse pads, phone books, type fonts, clothing of famous people, or Mersenne primes (prime numbers). Indeed, some collectors even collect collecting guides! And, speaking of the unusual, what about the names for the people who collect things? An archtophilist collects teddy bears, a deltiologist collects postcards, a numismatist collects coins, a vecturist collects subway tokens, and a clock collector is a horologist. Horologists are Special A note on being a horologist, it‟s tough. Compared with the collectibles noted prior, collecting clocks requires that consideration be given not to just what is seen, but what is also on the inside, the mechanical stuff, and whether or not it “works!” As a case in point, the Hiller Talking Clock (circa 1911), to work needs a celluloid tape. Of the known Hiller clocks only one has the accompanying tape. Indeed, even the two Hillers in the NAWCC Museum, nor the two Hillers in the authors collection, “run.” The author, who collects talking clocks, not only deals with the passive display of time, but the clock has to literally “tell” (talk) the time, and in many instances, the
References: 1. Jeanne Wolf, “Country Living,” iVillage, (2005) from (http://antiques.about.com/gi/dynamic August 10 (March 2, 2006). 2. Kathryn Kozak, (November 2005) from http://librariesandmuseums.blogspot.com/2005/11/are-you- curious-to-find-out-morepart.html (March 17, 2006) 3. Jeffery Kluger, “Who Should Own the Bones?” Time, March 13, 2006, from http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,1169901,00.html (April 4, 2006) 4. Kyrios, M., Frost R.O. Steketee G., “Cognitions in Compulsive Buying and Acquisition,” (Kluwer Academic Publishers, April 2004), 28: 241-258. 5. Hawk, Jason, “Dr. Phil Confronts…,” Amherst New Times, Wednesday, February 8, 2006. 6. Hawk, Jason, “Dr. Phil Confronts…,” Amherst New Times, Wednesday, February 15, 2006. Acknowledgements The author wishes to thank Lorain County Community College and specifically Dr. James Toman for his wordsmithing skills and editorial insights. Also, a “thanks” to Susan Blair for an enhancement of “Spell Check,” and as a case study. About the Author Mark B. McKinley is a professor of psychology at Lorain County Community College in Elyria, Ohio, where he has taught a number of psychology courses for the past 40 years. Dr. McKinley, for the past 15 years has been involved with both the study of the psychology of time (perception) and as a timepiece collector (over 800 talking clocks). They range from the "primitive" Hiller, through radio-controlled atomic talking clocks He had an article published in the June 2004 issue of the NAWCC Bulletin, which has become the impetus for a book on Talking Clocks entitled: TIC, TOCK TALK: The Collected History and Significance of Talking Clocks. McKinley has established the International Society of Talking Clock Collectors (ISTCC). A small part of the ISTCC collection is located at: http://www.talkingclocks.net