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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 adept 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.
23 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.
I think this is a normal process. I got rid of so much but have so much more. The attitude I take is that I like sharing things on my three blogs, hoping the Internet will still be around for a while and that I do not want my kids and wife have to sort through all this stuff, so it's up to me to do something about it. I wish that others felt some of my loves/obsessions were worthwhile and would take them on, but to be honest, it's too much to ask, especially as there are physical objects, stores of electronic files and then the e-notes I've kept on my research topics.
When I retired I kept so much of my ideas files from work thinking "I might use these" but after 7 years I'm about to hit the delete key on that folder!
Anyway thanks for all your shares on here. Some are crap but a lot of what you share is interesting and makes me think. Happy New Year!
Crap? (Had a few sherries today, haven't you?) Oh, you wound me to the core, NB - except that I already know some are crap so can't really dispute it (dash it). As far as files go, they don't really take up any physical space so why not just hang on to them for now? And Happy New Year to you too.
Actually my son bought me a tawny port which was delicious! Yep, I agree regarding the files. That's what I've replaced the physical comics with and they are so much easier to browse too. Be assured that many of your blog posts are thought-provoking mate!
Thing is, NB, I'd prefer to have the actual books and comics as opposed to digital files of them, though the latter are certainly space-savers. Glad you find some merit in many of my posts, makes it all worthwhile.
Having been retired since 2018, I find I can no longer afford , except on rare occasions, the original comics I love, mainly pre 1975. Plus, you get to the point that : Am I buying this only to put it on a shelf and never look at it again? My plans for my collection? Have my wife sell, or give to our local animal shelter shop. My original art sell, or donate to a University Art Gallery. That said, I DO plan on buying some hardcover collections of things I used to own but discarded for some reason. I had hoped my grandson would be interested, but he has other pursuits. My one comic collecting friend has around 125 long boxes of comics, I doubt he could absorb my stuff. My plan currently is to start rereading my 15,000 comics. And I occasionally sell on ebay, some of my collection at a loss, just because I want collectors to get a deal. When I went off to college in 1975, I sold almost all my old comics at cover price, just to give them a good home. (so most sold for 25 cents!). The only toys I will still buy will be the odd model kit, some Gerry Anderson things, and some tin robot replicas. I've a few thousand books and things I hope to deal and get rid of this year, as my basement is a mess. I guess you could call it a collector's cave or will be when I clear a walking path through it!
I'm currently fortunate enough to be able to buy just about any collectable toy or comic that takes my fancy, LM, but I no longer really have the space to store them. And, like you say, is storing them all I can do with them, rather than regularly look through and enjoy them? Sure there's a certain thrill that comes simply from ownership, but they deserve better than that. It was seeing what's happening to Joe's stuff that's made me conscious of my own situation, and though I'll keep as much as I can from him, I know I'm going to have to be ruthless with a whole load of stuff that used to be his, as well as some stuff that used to be mine before passing it on to him.
Sorry to break the note of melancholy creeping into the responses, but the actuaries are saying that we should prepare to live to 93, so I may end up enjoying being surrounded by my stuff for a good few years yet. I took early retirement five years, and suddenly having more time to browse ebay certainly accelerated my acquisition of stuff that I don't need, but definitely enjoy. Still, I recognise that I need to get out of acquisition mode and slim down my comic collection to just those issues which either hold nostalgia value, or more recent stuff that has really compelling stories and artwork. Step #1 was to get it all listed in a spreadsheet, so I could see what i've got and determine what to get rid of. Step #2 will be to sell what I don't want piecemeal on ebay. I'll probably need to live until 93 to shift it all!
Like other commenters, I have a huge collection of blu-rays and books, but I'm happy for my wife and sons to decide what to do with them. If I can slim down my comic collection to a reasonable size, I'll add a codicil to my will with directions to how to get the comics and artwork auctioned off.
93 is a mere kick in the pants away, B, which will pass in no time at all so I take little consolation in that number. I want to live to at least 193. I'll have to start thinking about thinning down my collection pretty soon, but I've made a start. I DIDN'T buy a few items from eBay recently that I'd been considering getting. Pat on the head for me, eh?
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