Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-10-12


and other Hobbies.
at is commonly supposed, said deal
er in curiosities, "that people collect
things because they take fancy to them
l haven't found this to be generally the
case. Even where the objects collected
are really beautiful, the ordinary collector
only values them in proportion to their
importance as part of his collection.
II noticed print collector at sale
some three years ago examining a rough
looking little etching by Berghem: i
am going 900 on that, said he. l show
that sum, he could get n very beautiful
impression of Raphael's Fornarina, which
knew he did not have. 1t was really
one of the finest of the old plates. Yes
said the collector, 'but have other Raph-
aels. The reason l want the Berghem
is that it fills gap When this man be-
came reduced in circumstances last win
ter, and had to sell most of his collection,
he retained but five prints, not one of
which was beautiful, but all were rare.
"But there are collectors of different
sort-men with fantastic and sometimes
morbid tastes-of whom comparatively
little is known. Their peculiar hobby
generally starts up III some accidental way
and grows into so strong Il habit as to be-
come passion, CT even n mild form of
mania. They are much more interesting
people than the ordinary men with hob
bias.
81 have met some very queer collectors.
One old fellow used to call on me regular
ly once n month to see if l had added any
further varieties of knives to my stock.
He was originally attracted to my store
by a curious little wooden-handled knife
in my window, which purported to have
been made out of n tenpenny nail by an
African boy. 1t seems that a missionary
had discovered the little chap pounding
the nail into shape with Il stone, and the
good man told n nice story about it as be-
ing remarkable instance of the power
of civilization. l was grieyed to learn
that he had sold several of these articles
to other dealers, and had helped their
sale in one instance by telling how the
boy had half killed an Ethiopian chief
with the article. l fear the estimable mis-
sionary manufactured the things in his
back yard, for the handles looked remark.
ably like split clothes pins. This collec-
tor did not generally examine too closely
into such little discrepancies, however,
and he certainly had five or six hundred
of the most curious looking tools evel
saw, A most horrible instrument, fol
which he had n great affection, consisted
of long, thick, finely pointed blade
followed out so as to contain two othel
blades worked with springs. 1t was Sc
arranged that when a man was stabbed
with the knife the interior blades woult
fly outward, and the assassin, by pulling
on the handles, would thus be able to Gu
his enemy terribly.
"He showed me an innocent-lookinl
umbrella, from the end of which a shor
barbed blade would fly out and becom
inserted in mans clothing. The objeo
was not to kill an enemy, but to embal
rass his movements by opening the um
brella wide after inserting the barb. TIL
device was said to have saved the life of
celebrated Quaker coffee merchant
long dirk knife of Belgian make was n
ranged with sort of bellows in its haI
die for the purpose Of throwing pepp'
into the eyes of the victim before stril
ing him. He showed me also curiou
Spanish dirk, which had n half rounde
blade, and looked like sort of goul
with very sharp sides and fine poin
The idea was to turn it in wound Al
take out, as the proprietor remarked wi
grim smile, pieces as big as Bologl
sausage at every clip In spite of Il
fondness for deadly weapons this cole
tor was very mild hammered man. !
had knives of peace as well as of war, al
said his hobby started with n set of We
old Italian carving tools which had be
given to him by dying model max
whom he had assisted.
"By the way, he had n weapon which
believe to be unique it dates from
thirteenth century. 1t consists of a rori
shield of hammered iron about cighte
inches in diameter, containing a W
powerful brass spring, which the Owl
winds up before marching out to m
his antagonist. His aim is to rush
close quarters, and, as soon ns the shi
touches his opponent, to let the spri
go. Upon doing this four curved kniv
like broad sickles, fly out and reyo
with great force and rapidty. This
the machine for which the collector |
the greatest affection he used to keel
by his bedside to disembowel burgl
with. But as he used to say, they wo
never drop in Did you ever hear c
devils hat :? Well, lie had one of tn,
and visitor of his nearly lost his ears
putting it on one night while waiting
him. 1t was common looking stiff bt
er hat externally, but after You had
well settled on your head razors and &
liar implements projected inward Fl
the sides, and you couldn't get it off W
out enormous sacrifices. This last biz
curdler was constructed by o Russian