There's a Difference Between Collecting and Accumulating

Over the last five years, I’ve been involved in more than 20 book projects, harvesting information for reference guides on dozens of antique and collectible topics. In the course of my travels, I’ve had the opportunity to visit with hundreds of people who collect everything from art glass to swizzle sticks, and the most important thing I’ve discovered is that a collection takes on a life of its own. It requires care, attention to detail, and most of all, regular updating.

When the treasure hunt for any given object is based on scholarship – being able to tell the great examples from the ordinary – a collection is born. If the hunt results in more quantity than quality, it’s just an accumulation of stuff that requires dusting.

Collecting is also about surrounding ourselves with things that make us feel good, which give us a sense of place or time or style. Given the endless choices for antiques and collectibles, it’s a learning process that sometimes begins without our even knowing it.

Reyne Haines of Cincinnati is an expert on 20th-century decorative arts and a regular on Antiques Road Show. At the age of 19, she moved to New York with the hopes of working for a big brokerage, but found she could keep busy with modeling, something she’d done back home in Houston.

“I lived in Queens, and all I had was clothes and some pots and pans; I didn’t want to bring my Texas life with me, other than my blue eyes, blonde hair and accent. I wanted a new life in a new area, and I wanted my new surroundings to reflect that.

“As I got to know the city, running around meeting with people and going on job interviews, I would stop in antique stores, buying things to decorate my apartment. I didn’t really think much about what I was buying – I just wanted a real ‘New York look.’

“It didn’t take long before I had an a place full of stuff, to the point where I had to put things away to make room for new things I brought home. When you’re 19 and have a 500-square-foot apartment, it fills up fast.

“I found I was attracted to iridescent glass, whether it was carnival glass, or Tiffany or Loetz, I didn’t really know what it was, I thought it was pretty and so I bought it if I could afford it.

“A friend’s mother came over to the apartment, and she said, ‘I didn’t know you were a collector of art glass,’ and I said, ‘What do you mean?’ and she said, ‘The pretty vases,’ and I said, ‘What do you mean?’

“She gave me this crazy look, which at the time I didn’t understand, but looking back it makes perfect sense. I still didn’t consider myself a collector. This was just about decorating, and having ‘New York’ things. I didn’t even know that some of them weren’t made in this country. I just wanted the style of what I thought a New York apartment should look like.”

He friend’s mother came back two weeks later and dropped off The Collector's Encyclopedia of American Art Glass by John A. Shuman III. As she began paging through the book, Haines started seeing for the first time the scope and variety of art glass. She began to understand the need to learn about upgrading a collection, the need to focus on quality.

Web sites, magazines and price guides are all excellent resources for helping to chart your treasure hunt, but remember: Nothing can take the place of good old-fashioned legwork. A price guide may get you into the ballpark, but it can’t teach you how to play the game. That’s the difference between collecting and accumulating.

The prices in any given book or Web site have been established with the help of seasoned collectors and dealers. These values reflect not only current collector trends, but also the wider economy. The adage that “an antique is worth what someone will pay for it” holds true for every collecting niche. Whether in print or online, a price guide measures value, but it also captures a moment in time, and sometimes that moment can pass very quickly.

Beginners should follow the same advice that all seasoned collectors have learned: Make mistakes and learn from them; talk with other collectors and dealers; find reputable resources, and learn to invest wisely, buying the best examples you can afford. — Mark F. Moran