By JANET MONDLAK
BRANDON—Americans love to collect. We love collections. We love collectibles. And I love to talk to my customers about their collections – it is always fascinating to hear the stories. The how or why people started their collections or, in some cases, their obsessions. Sometimes they are things passed down through the generations. Other times, it started with one item that caught someone’s eye and that’s all it took. The majority of collectors are into fairly easy-to-find items such as glass, pocket watches, pottery, cameras, tools, jewelry, knives, stamps, or coins just to name a few. And then there are very specific, very unusual collections. So, if you are thinking of starting a new collection, here are some ideas.
I’ll start with uranium glass because I happen to find it very cool myself. Uranium glass is glass that was actually made with, you guessed it, uranium. It dates back to a German chemist fooling around in the 1780s. Some pieces were made with traces of uranium and some 20th-century pieces were made with up to 25% of the stuff. What’s cool about it? It glows! If you happen to see a fluorescent green piece of glass, and you happen to have a Geiger counter or ultraviolet light hanging around, you can test it.
Many consumer products such as glass stemware, food serving pieces, juicers, and jewelry were made with uranium. Some people confuse uranium glass with other yellow or greenish glasses more commonly referred to as green Depression glass, custard glass, or Vaseline glass. I love it when customers come in with their own black lights to test any green glass they see! But no worries if you don’t carry your own. We have one at our shop, Across the Street in downtown Brandon. Sorry, but we don’t have a Geiger counter.
While dolls are a common collectible, the depth and breadth of the category make it quite intriguing. Doll collectors are very particular in what they are looking for. Dolls can range in size from miniatures to quite large, and they can go back in time to hundreds of years ago. They can be made of fabric, bisque, plastic, wax, wood, or even stuffed with sawdust. They can have hair, glass eyes, movable parts, crier mechanisms tucked into their bellies, or made to look just like a real person. When we meet doll collectors, they know exactly what they are looking for. You want one dressed or naked? Beautiful or creepy? Old or new? Are they marked? One-of-a-kind, handmade, or mass-produced? There are so many variations. The one thing I can tell you, the dolls missing some hair plugs or with an abscessed eye socket are usually the ones that bring the most money. Go figure. Creepy doll lovers unite.
Are you a pickle person? Pickle forks are quite the collectible. They come in gold finish, sterling silver or silverplate, wood, or stainless steel. Handles can be long or short; they could be made of bone or covered in enamel. Every flatware pattern has a pickle fork with a unique shape or floral design. And don’t forget monogrammed! So, if you are a pickle lover and haven’t got your own unique pickle fork, what are you waiting for?
If you are looking to get into a new collection, you can find items that relate to a special place that you love. Maybe a wonderful vacation spot, or the city where you met your significant other. How about your alma mater or the place where you grew up? What can you find that creates a memory? Souvenir china was a very popular collectible at the turn of the 20th century. In most towns and cities, famous landmark buildings would have commissioned ceramic and porcelain pieces, mostly made in Germany or Austria, with a rendering of the place. In Brandon, the most popular souvenir china pieces were made with images of the Brandon Inn, the Civil War Monument, and the Stephen A. Douglas Birthplace. Sometimes sterling-silver spoons would be made with the design of a landmark etched in the bowl or decorating the handle. Or you could search for industrial or utilitarian pieces that were made in your special town. In Brandon, that could mean scales made by the Howe Company (1860s, before the company moved to Rutland) or embossed medicinal bottles from Brandon hometown pharmacies. Postcards were produced in just about every city, town, and hamlet.
I love to see young people interested in older things and in creating collections of their own. Think about starting a project with a young‘un. It doesn’t even have to cost you anything. You can collect a certain leaf or flower. Learn how to dry them, press them, and then display or use them in something like a craft project or give as a special gift. Use your imagination and start looking.
There is no collection that is too weird or crazy. I have read about collections as far-fetched, and frankly, disgusting, as barf bags, fingernail clippings, and fossilized feces. ‘Nuff said.
