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Sadly, I'm compelled to conclude that my buying days, especially of old toys and vintage comics, will soon have to come to an end for one very good reason. Namely, all of my friends who'd be interested in them are now dead, and there's not as much fun buying stuff when you can't share it with those who were around when you owned the originals as a child or teen. Besides, I've got replacements for the vast majority of items I recall owning when younger so I'm running out of things to buy anyway. To say nothing of running out of space to store things. If only I had a TARDIS - or a much bigger house.
I suppose there'll be a few exceptions I really must have when I see them, but I don't think there are too many - yet, to be honest, I don't know if that's a good or bad thing. That's because, on consideration, there's another reason that's just occurred to me. Recently, one of my childhood pals passed away, and as he was a hoarder, emptying out his flat (I only played a small role) continues to be a mammoth undertaking and most of his belongings will simply be binned, which is a great shame. He wasn't particularly good at keeping anything in good condition, but he wouldn't like to see anything jettisoned.
I'd hate for that to happen to any of my stuff, so it's about time to subdue my collecting instincts and perhaps even thin down my vast accumulation of stuff. Having said that, I recently purchased the above comic, even though I already have various reprints, but I've always loved the cover since I first saw it adorning Pow! #10, cover-dated 25th March 1967. Any Crivs out there relate to anything I've said? Comments welcome.
15 comments:
Having been retired for just over a year now has tended to bring thoughts of my own mortality closer to the front of my mind, like it or not, and with that thought I have been looking around my study at the results of 50+ years of collecting. Wondering what will happen to it when I am no longer around to enjoy it all has crossed my mind more than one or twice I have to say! Books, comics, magazines, CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays, models, figures and various collectables. This has been underlined with my father's passing earlier this year and myself and my brothers having to sort out his estate, his possessions amounting to a fraction of the accumulated items we have all amassed (collectors all three of us, though with different areas of focus).
Just lately I have begun to streamline what I have and facing the Herculean task of deciding what will stay and what will go. My main focus these days is music and movies, so the physical media containing those probably isn't going anywhere. Having just turned our son's old room into a dedicated home cinema has made the movies even more worth hanging on to (I watch s film a night – he moved out five years ago so I don't know why we didn't do this sooner). Nostalgia will keep many things in my possession but I'm surprised at how many I am now prepared to let go.
Maybe you could have a clause in your will donating to a toy or pop culture museum, or better yet turn your house into one.
The friend who died, died intestate, PC, but even had he left a will, his family would likely have started emptying his flat before his will was read, resulting in a lot of items being no longer around to be distributed to those they were intended for. That's what will likely happen to my goodies, will or no will, alas. I don't own my house, because my parents weren't interested in owning property, and if they had owned the house, It would've been sold for my brother to get his share once both parents died. I'll have to consider my options before very much longer, I suppose.
Kid - I'm having similar thoughts. I have a significant collection of movies and music and am looking to liquidate most of it. I'll keep those items most precious to me but will be selling the rest off, at a price that reflects their value.
I don't have kids, so I don't have anyone to bequeath the collection to. I'd much rather have the money for when I retire in a few years.
This isn't a problem for me because I got rid of everything unnecessary long ago. I remember having to clear out my parents' belongings and although I tried to find a good home for as many as possible it was sadly inevitable that most had to go to landfill. It's actually quite liberating when you own only the things you really need and hopefully when I finally depart this vale of tears my belongings will be given to charity and somebody else can find use for them.
Tried that already in my life when I was in my 20s, CJ, then realised just how much I missed them. That's why I 've spent the last 40-odd years or so buying replacements for things I used to have.
I'm already retired, PG, and have all the money I need. I'd just hate to see my collection thrown on the dump.
Kid, maybe talk to some charitable organisations, I'm sure they can advise on making a collectors bequest. I've no doubt you've got plenty of time remaining to sort this Kid...The problem won't be down to folks not wanting your collection, it will be getting the word out, that it's available. A difficult thing to do without an Executor or Administrator in place.
Last post was me, apologies!
Hopefully, I'll have it all worked out before I fall off the twig, AAW.
I don’t want to leave my old comics to my “other half” to dispose of (I’m not that bothered if she bins them as I won’t be here to worry) so I can relate to your dilemma Kid. I have been thinning out my collection of comics (I don’t really have any toys) over the last 5 years but since having had a recent health scare and with me retiring at the end of next month I have stepped up on this task by focusing on only keeping those comics I want to hold onto from my favourite period 1968 – 1977 ( plus the odd comic from after that time). By my reckoning this will cut my collection by more than half . The fact is I rarely see 90% of my comics as they are in the loft and packed away in boxes so by thinning the collection right down, I can get access to the ones I want to keep plus my loft is starting to look great as its not full of boxes. I still pick up the occasional comic as I enjoy a wee visit to the local comic shop when I’m in Glasgow, but if I’m not keen on keeping any title I put it straight into my local “charity box”.
As a first step, could you not just sell / give away your duplicate versions of the comics you have in various formats , I’m sure that would make some space.
'Not being here to worry' is no consolation to me, McS, as worrying about them now is the problem. If you were worried about your kids (if you had any), not being here to worry about them if you died is no solace, is it? I've now got nearly all the comics and books back that I gave a recently deceased pal as far back as 1977, some of which I'll be keeping, others I'll be giving to charity shops. I'll have to start thinking about giving them some of my own.
I've got a big Kamandi Omnibus you can have, along with collected editions of Mister Miracle and Kirby's Challengers of the Unknown, but only if you'll keep them 'forever', not punt them on eBay. Interested?
For free, I mean.
For me my comics, LPs , books etc are just material goods and hold nice memories but nothing else. If you consider your collection in any way like your children then you should keep them, enjoy them and in the coming years try and find a way to pass your collection on after your gone. I'm sure that there must be a museum etc that would love at least some of them in the UK (:the Museum of Childhood in Edinburgh etc)..
Thank you for the kind book offer but I am genuinely cutting back on comic purchases.
But it isn't a comics purchase, McS - it's a comics gift. Thing about museums is that they put most of their donations into storage for years and they don't look after them properly.
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