Thinking About Collectors Again -- Collector Type Poll Results

New York City art professor Marilynn Gelfman Karp writes in her beautifully photographed coffee table book on collecting, In Flagrante Collecto, that “Collecting is not about what you collect as much as it is about who you are. Collections are about recollection. Collections exclude the world and are symbolic of it. Writing about why one collects what one collects is a bit like self-psychoanalysis; it’s hard to be objective” (11).

Last November, I described a type of collector that I call "the Aggregator", a completist collector whose goal is to collect every possible item related to their collection subject. I realize now that I didn't put forth a definition of "collector". One definition that I find particularly useful:

"We define a collector as a person who is motivated to accumulate a series of similar objects where the instrumental function of the objects is of secondary (or no) concern and the person does not plan to immediately dispose of the objects. Thus a person who accumulates a variety of toasters but does not use them to make toast is a collector of toasters. A person who buys and sells old books but never sets aside any of them for a personal collection is not a collector. Collectors of both fine art and bottle caps fit our definition, and we suggest that while the resources at the disposal of those who collect these two classes of objects differs greatly, the social-psychological motivations underlying their behavior do not" (McIntosh and Schmeichel 86).

You are a collector if you accumulate related items, do not plan to use the items, and do not plan to dispose of the items. That's a pretty basic definition of collecting.

Other types of collectors are identified by different sources:

1. Passionate collectors, who are obsessive and emotional. They will pay any price for the right item (see also Belk, 1991, on irrational aspects of collecting behavior).
2. Acquisitive collectors, who see collecting as an investment.
3. The hobbyist, who collects purely for enjoyment.
4. Expressive collectors, who collect as a statement of who they are. These types suggest some overt motivations for collecting: profit, the emotional thrill of acquisition (intense but short-lived positive affect), pleasure (mild but consistent positive affect), and self expression or aggrandizement (Saari 1997).

Xena collectors who voted that they consider their collection to be an extension of their personal expression would agree with Dr. Karp’s statement above that the collection is more about “who you are”. Among Xena collectors I've seen examples of all five types (the four listed above and including the aggregator). Here are the poll results to the question What kind of Xena collector are you?

Passionate (I'm Obsessed) 16
Hobbyist (It's enjoyable) 19
Acquisitive/Investment 1
Expressive (This is ME!) 8
Aggregator (I want it all!) 4

Totals 48 votes/36 voters

I allowed voters to choose more than one category for themselves and the majority of voters described themselves as both Passionate and Hobbyist (which is how I describe myself). Passionate collectors are very connected emotionally to the objects already in their collection as well as to objects desired to add to the collection. Hobbyist collectors, by definition, are not trying to make any income from their collection: it’s an enjoyment, a past time, and a nexus for information gathering and research.

Interestingly, only "It's an investment" only got 1 vote. That's in line with conversations I've had with other collectors. Plus, I don't know if you've been keeping track, but the market for Xena and Hercules items is not as hot as it was in 2000-2001, when the two shows were ending and the original disbursement occurred.

Most of us love to share our collections with other collectors with the same interests; after all, like-minded collectors will understand your collection instantly – there are a lot of great Xena collection websites listed in the Xena Prophouse Newsletter each month – check them out (see link at right).

And while not reflected as a potential answer in the poll, all Xena collectors of costumes and props are passionate about the television show and still enjoy it (we might not be obsessively watching it any longer, but the fondness remains). I would go so far as to say we still love Xena: Warrior Princess, and we have the displays in our homes to express it visually.

Works Cited and Additional Reading

Belk, R. W. “The ineluctable mysteries of possessions”. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 6:17-55, 1991.
Blom, Philipp. To Have and To Hold: An Intimate History of Collectors and Collecting. Woodstock and New York: The Overlook Press, 2004.
Karp, Marilynn Gelfman. In Flagrante Collecto: Caught in the Act of Collecting. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2006.
McIntosh, William D. and Brandon Schmeichel. “Collectors and Collecting: A Social Psychological Perspective”. Leisure Sciences, 26:85-97, 2004.
Muensterberger, Werner. Collecting: An Unruly Passion – Psychological Perspectives. Harcourt Brace & Company: San Diego, 1994.
Saari, L. “Those crazy collectors”. The Orange County Register. April 15, 1997.

Note: parts of this post have appeared earlier in this blog. A longer version of this post will appear in the May 2008 issue of the Xena Prop House Newsletter.