His points today have made me stop and wonder.
In this age when things are much easier to come by, even for a price, is being a Sherlockian collector as fun as it once was?
I remember one trip when I went to Maine, for a non-Sherlockian reason, if I would pass a barn or old building selling used books I would pull in an search for authors that I really liked. Sometimes coming away with nothing, sometimes adding to my collection.
Many times I was surprised and came away with several Doyle books I had not come across before.
But it was fun looking in these out of the way places and meeting the proprietors.
I use to drive into small towns, when on trips, looking for used book shops, where now I look for mirco-breweries.
(Well, maybe that's a good thing.)
Now we can just search on-line for things we don't have. I must admit, I have done it. EBAY and other places make it so easy. Almost like a virtual hunt.
But what about that hunt? Was the hunt part of the pleasure we got from our collections?
Now it's not the hunter that gets the prize, but the one with the fastest speed-dial or biggest check book, the most time to search the web.
There have always been 'collectables' that have been out of reach for the working class, and there always will be. But we had our small victories when we would climb up into the hay loft of an old barn and come across a Morley we did not have.
I also find myself buying far less pastiches than before because they are to available. I guess that is probably a good thing also.
Oh, well. I guess I better go check my EBAY bids.
In a few years, this generation will be waxing nostalgic for what we have now. And I guess that is the way it should be.
In the 'Good Olde Days', not all was good. There were items that you would never come across - that are now easily found. Remember those lists you would get in the mail? If it came from the coast (east or west) the best items would be sold by the time you received your mailing list. I do not collect a fraction of what I did in the past - partly because the hunt was more fun but, also, I am just running out of room!
ReplyDeleteIn the 'Good Olde Days', not all was good. There were items that you would never come across - that are now easily found. Remember those lists you would get in the mail? If it came from the coast (east or west) the best items would be sold by the time you received your mailing list. I do not collect a fraction of what I did in the past - partly because the hunt was more fun but, also, I am just running out of room!
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