This fall, the Plains Art Museum will be presenting Trash Or Treasure, a series of events for those who collect, buy, sell and/or enjoy collectibles. Derek and I will be attending (and reporting on) the events because we qualify as those who collect, buy, sell and enjoy collectibles. However, one thing has thrown me for a loop…

Part of this event is a Road Show-esque event where you can bring in your items and receive verbal evaluations by experts — and I have no idea what to bring.

See, I don’t collect for fair market values. (I don’t even typically buy to sell at such values. I just stumble into stuff I like and figure I’ll help find it a new home where it will be appreciated — sort of like adopting a pet.)

This means that, on one hand, nearly everything I own could or should be brought in as it ‘needs’ a value put on it. On the other hand, I’m not sure what one item is worthy of such attentions — or at least won’t embarrass me with the appraisers!

This situation got me thinking — thinking in that sort of rambling way I am already want to do — about my collections. Again.

Since this article , I’ve thought lots about what my collections mean to me. It’s quite clear that most of what I buy is a part of something larger — and it’s that intrinsic collective value which appeals to me and keeps me obsessively looking for more pieces to add to it. So, if one adds up the value of each book in my collection, well, the total may seem grand — at least until you break that down per book.

While it’s true that a limited budget prevents me from going after the large price tag items, but my budget doesn’t dictate my collection either. I truly hunt based on what fits in the bigger picture.

The bottom line: Most of my collecting is about the collection itself, the value of the group, the sum of it’s parts rather than the value of the individual pieces.

But this sort of collecting is not what Trash or Treasure is about, at least not for the appraising event. Certainly no one appraiser is going to appreciate being tied up with my 500 books for the entire night. (And I can’t imaging the Plains Art Museum wants to truck all those books in either!)

So what do I bring along?

I’ve looked at my walls, buckling bookshelves, assorted oddities and wondered, “Who should I bring?”

Should I bring in Big Toe Joe? Oh, I’d love to see the appraiser’s face as he or she struggled not to laugh and referred to my delightful new friend as “Folk Art”… Double irony points if they deemed my $1 find worth 99 cents.

But would that make my eyeless poodle curler keeper jealous? Or what of my mod holiday caroler?

When confronted with the possibly of looking like I have a favorite, I tried to be more pragmatic about it: Pick something I want to know more about.

Education on the item or category is really important to me. I have the stories on how I got all this stuff, but I’m always fascinated to learn more about the history of the items. So what do I want to know more about?

I’d love to know if the vintage ceramic figurines with rabbit fur applique have a ‘real name.’ But again, we’re back to which one do I select to bring along?

Then again, this is about money — should I pick something I feel has a hefty price tag?

But what if I’m wrong and I look like an idiot?

I’ve got nearly two months to figure this out… Maybe by then I’ll have some idea.

Then again, that’s two more months to accumulate more junk to choose from. Will any of it be good enough to take along?

This is beginning to feel a lot like prom…

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This entry was posted on Sunday, August 19th, 2007 at 1:25 am and is filed under collecting fyi, events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.