Collectors

Barry Wolk · Post by **Barry Wolk** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 12:38 am

We all collect something. I'm curious to see what you collect. I've started this post on other sites and I am fascinated by what drives people to focus on a "thing" to collect.

I grew up in an art collector's home. When I got my own place my walls were bare. I stretched "mod" bed sheets over wood frames and called it art. I needed something on my walls.

Some people collect books or stamps or coins. Other than cars, what do you collect?

I collect, among many other things, wood carvings that are impossibly delicate and unusual.

And things that are not delicate.

912uk · Post by **912uk** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 8:00 am

I collect far too much so the wife says..

I have a rather expensive car show room brouchre collection dating back to the 50's to the late 90's it extends to a rather eye bulging several thousand!!! brochures I keep meaning to put some on ebay to thin things down.
Collected from sales stands as a kid, who wouldn't let a 8 year old with their dad buying a new car NOT raid the stand.. me and dad had this down to a fine art

to buying at auction and buying other peoples collections..

One of best was as a kid, Bentley.. I just wrote to them I said look I am a collector and a kid I will be keeping these for years and not going to wreck them

They sent me loads of stuff and some BOOKS!!!! I still have them to this day..

Could do with a Bentley top up wounder who could help me there

now when I look back I can almost remember which ones I picked my self and ones I collected/bought.

Sorry to say I even have Austin Allegro ones

well my Dad used to buys these alot as he got a 30 or 40% works discount so we had a new car every year that was an Alegro. While my mate round the corner they got a 924 and a 944 for his Dad every 2 years... who was the cool Dad certainly NOT mine..

other than that I collect loads of other stuff old fashioned toys only a few with their boxes other wise I don't want them, records, few hundred or so I have a few gold disks to boot. Hard to put a value on gold disk I wrote to a fan club and said I have these gold disk I have them on my wallI don;'t want to sell them but what am I looking at.. I got a reply saying very nice IF you have them but I doubt it

I was abit shocked at that..so still have no idea what the value is..

Reason I got so many records is I lived in Birmingham and was forever bunking off to buy records round the bullring and all the record lables dumped their stuff on the markets plus as a kid I started to know all the right people. Prob worth some money now.. I have a load of NOT FOR RESALE ones.. DJ's got free and again dumped on the markets for a few quid!!

any one know about records?

Helen · Post by **Helen** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 10:31 am

think my Porsche obsession is pretty well documanted.

heres just a small selection of my mug collection

then theres 1:18 models which are taking over my house. heres just a small selection of them

key rings, here showing just a few of many

and i won't even bother talking about the flags,brouchers,handbooks,badges,

912uk · Post by **912uk** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 10:59 am

I have seen the car collection in the hall yep she's propper Porsche nuts is our Helen

so Much to Dust!!!

Barry Wolk · Post by **Barry Wolk** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 3:24 pm

912uk wrote:I collect far too much so the wife says..

I have a rather expensive car show room brouchre collection dating back to the 50's to the late 90's it extends to a rather eye bulging several thousand!!! brochures I keep meaning to put some on ebay to thin things down.
Collected from sales stands as a kid, who wouldn't let a 8 year old with their dad buying a new car NOT raid the stand.. me and dad had this down to a fine art to buying at auction and buying other peoples collections..

One of best was as a kid, Bentley.. I just wrote to them I said look I am a collector and a kid I will be keeping these for years and not going to wreck them

They sent me loads of stuff and some BOOKS!!!! I still have them to this day..

Could do with a Bentley top up wounder who could help me there

now when I look back I can almost remember which ones I picked my self and ones I collected/bought.

Sorry to say I even have Austin Allegro ones well my Dad used to buys these alot as he got a 30 or 40% works discount so we had a new car every year that was an Alegro. While my mate round the corner they got a 924 and a 944 for his Dad every 2 years... who was the cool Dad certainly NOT mine..

other than that I collect loads of other stuff old fashioned toys only a few with their boxes other wise I don't want them, records, few hundred or so I have a few gold disks to boot. Hard to put a value on gold disk I wrote to a fan club and said I have these gold disk I have them on my wallI don;'t want to sell them but what am I looking at.. I got a reply saying very nice IF you have them but I doubt it I was abit shocked at that..so still have no idea what the value is..

Reason I got so many records is I lived in Birmingham and was forever bunking off to buy records round the bullring and all the record lables dumped their stuff on the markets plus as a kid I started to know all the right people. Prob worth some money now.. I have a load of NOT FOR RESALE ones.. DJ's got free and again dumped on the markets for a few quid!!

any one know about records?

elkelk · Post by **elkelk** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 4:26 pm

I've got a bit of a thing about Porsche 956/62's after seeing them race at Le Mans as a kid...

IanMcLeod · Post by **IanMcLeod** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 4:39 pm

I collect Automata made by this chap http://www.cabaret.co.uk/artists/paul-spooner/ No idea why but have been for about 20 years.

Also Swatch Skin watches plus paintings

Ian.

Barry Wolk · Post by **Barry Wolk** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 4:42 pm

Those are amazing mechanical devices.

Pictures! Please!

Helen · Post by **Helen** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 4:44 pm

IanMcLeod wrote:I collect Automata made by this chap http://www.cabaret.co.uk/artists/paul-spooner/ No idea why but have been for about 20 years.

Also Swatch Skin watches plus paintings

Ian.

Ian have you been to the Ferrier craft shops at Stanton Harold. theres a guy there who does just this sort of thing.

IanMcLeod · Post by **IanMcLeod** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 5:14 pm

Barry Wolk wrote:Those are amazing mechanical devices.

Pictures! Please!

A good place to look at the ones he has designed over the years is here http://www.fourteenballstoy.co.uk/index.htm

The absolute favourite I own is the Last Dodo here http://www.fourteenballstoy.co.uk/dodo.htm and another favourite I have is the Honeymoon Bed here http://www.fourteenballstoy.co.uk/honeymoonbed.htm

Helen wrote:Ian have you been to the Ferrier craft shops at Stanton Harold. theres a guy there who does just this sort of thing.

No I haven't Helen so thanks for that.

jamie · Post by **jamie** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 6:05 pm

IanMcLeod wrote:I collect Automata made by this chap http://www.cabaret.co.uk/artists/paul-spooner/ No idea why but have been for about 20 years.

Ahhh! I've love these.

My favourite builder is Tim Hunkin. One summer a few years back I ended-up with an empty Friday and a leftover press car with a full tank of diesel, so I went for a drive to nowhere-in-particular and ended-up at Southwold pier. I had no idea that it was full of Hunkin's automata and I was there for hours.

One of my Design Technology A-Level projects was a five-foot high box with the top half of a human-sized gorilla inside it. The head was a latex mask, and I attached the ends of some bike brake cables to the inside, and the other ends to some cams in the bottom of the box so the face would move when the cams were spun.

When you put 20p in the coin slot, it would blare Cypress Hill and 'sing', with horrendous, contorted features, for 15 seconds or so. The force of the cams and the spinning of the motor would meanwhile shake the box quite violently. It was too realistic to be nice, and used to terrify the shite out of people.

I got an A, and a scholarship, but I never went into engineering because China pretty much destroyed the UK singing gorilla industry.

Barry Wolk · Post by **Barry Wolk** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 6:09 pm

What do you think of this? Anywhere you stand the reflection lines up with the lettering behind.

912uk · Post by **912uk** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 6:14 pm

Oh my god some one wants to see a picture of An Austin Alegro, Barry you must be American

here is the best of British in 1978 ish +

these x 6

and then we went up in the world and had one of these

now you can see why I didn't post any pictures and why I am so twisted and want to collect as many Porsches as possible, it's my torchured childhood sat in the back of a brown Alegro with my brown coards!!

jamie · Post by **jamie** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 6:16 pm

It bothers me when people moan about the collapse of the British car industry.

Barry Wolk · Post by **Barry Wolk** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 6:16 pm

912uk wrote:Barry you must be American

Was it obvious, or did you notice the funny spelling?