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I once met a man who only collected photographs that included the photographer's shadow. I've also met collectors that limited themselves to complete albums, and strangest of all, a woman who would only own 100 vintage postcards at one time. If she found something she had to have, and it was number 101, something had to go from the collection to stay at that magic number. While I'll collect just about any type of photographic image or any subject matter, I'm always looking for context. Can I relate it to some period of history, or are there enough images, grouped together, that I can imagine some sort of story, even if I know that my suppositions are very likely wrong. Too, and this is the sickness, I'm the sort of collector who worries that if I don't preserve some odd insignificant image, no one else will, and it will be lost forever.
I like to make fun of categories. Find a photo that clearly is one of a kind and decide that yup, it' a category. I have one of a man standing on the edge of a step, fully dressed, but deciding to put swim trunks on over his slacks. A moment that could go either way; stay upright or fall down the steps. It's now a "category" with it doubtful there will ever be others. Sometimes the best thing about some of these photos are the absurdity of the moment. Actually they're rather hard to find.
ReplyDeleteAnd what category to you put these in?
>>...strangest of all, a woman who would only own 100 vintage postcards at one time....<<
ReplyDeleteI think it was Samuel Pepys who did the same with his library, primarily because of space limitations. I don't recall the number, but everytime he bought a new book, something old had to go.