The Things of Betty

Marnix was happy that Henrietta had a
television she could install in the small parlor
of her own. He did not know he would have to
cordon off a whole wall...

I was thinking about all the 'stuff'' in a Betty Neels book. The hand-crocheted pieces and second-hand clothes at a church bazaar, the antique diamond broaches in the shape of a lover's knot, an amber necklace, the Weesp china which the lady of the house doesn't trust even Jolly or Mrs. Jolly to wash...

I love it all. I have sort of a magpie soul and like to add bits and bobs to my nest. My favorite collectibles are Wade's Whimsies (tiny pocket figures of all sorts of things, animals and people and ships, etc.) and other wee things that I can pick up on my travels and not feel like I'm cluttering the house with.

Henrietta's Own Castle has one of my favorite scenes about one particular item (and lots more described as "trifles" which seems so poignant):

"Did you know that there's a cupboard in the dining-room of my little house, with silver in it and a necklace?"
"Yes, I knew."
"Well--it is a secret?..."
"...They're yours now, of course."
'But are they? Who gave them to Aunt Henrietta in the first place--and I want to kow why she lived in Gijzelmortel for so many years and why my parents always allowed me to believe that she was dead--did she do something awful?"
His voice sounded patient enough, although she didn't think he was. "My uncle gave them to her--no, my dear good girl, do not interrupt. He gave her the house too, to live in for the rest of her life and to leave to anyone she wished. You see, they loved each other; he met her when they were both quite young and was already married and not happily. They didn't have an affair in the usual sense of that word; it wasn't  until she was forty or so that he finally persuaded her to go and live near him...he desperately needed someone to love...he furnished the house for her and bought her trifles, and although they loved each other very deeply they were never more than friends..."

He gave her things to take the place of what he wanted to say. So many feelings.

The Intelligent Collector says that there are a variety of reasons people begin collecting some of which are:

Knowledge and learning

Relaxation and stress reduction

Personal pleasure (including appreciation of beauty, and pride of ownership)

Social interaction with fellow collectors and others (i.e. the sharing of pleasure and knowledge)

Competitive challenge

Recognition by fellow collectors and perhaps even non-collectors

Altruism (since many great collections are ultimately donated to museums and learning institutions)

The desire to control, possess and bring order to a small (or even a massive) part of the world

Nostalgia and/or a connection to history

Accumulation and diversification of wealth (which can ultimately provide a measure of security and freedom)

So, what do you like to collect? Do they have romantic meaning?