Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-10-24
The Hobbies Of Collectors

A clever art oonnoisseur in Paris was
IN the habit of ~frequenting the stnd;os
a Young and rs yet unknown to na;nt
ers, and of investing small sums In tho
.couisition of whatever pictures w
sketches he considered indicative of
promise, slowing them carefully awag
IN the chance OF the future celebrity ~
his future proteges. BY this means no
succeeded in amassing little by little -
quantity of specimens, many Of which
90 correct was his estimate of thnir
merits, proved ultimately of such val,a
that the ingenious Spectator not only
made his fortune, but also enjoyed for
the rest of his life the reputation Of a
liberal and enlightened patron of the
arts.
On the other hand-for there ara
two sides to every questionable bioo-
raphcr of Charles Keen expressly
warns his readers against the follv Of
book-coilecting, his argument that he
himself, on the sale of his library. had
realized barely half the mount 4 had
originally cost him. The statement
however, would rather tend that in his
selection of books the writer must either
have been singularly unfortunate or
have paid an eNorbitant price for them:
so disastrous a result being by no
means of common occurrence and
denoting a lamentable went of indo
ment on the part of the purchaser.
Some collectors have strange fancies,
as, for instance, the gentleman who
amused himself in his rambles through
the streets of London by purchasing a
single specimen of every article sold
by Inherent vendors for a pennv. In
the course of time, as I have been
told. he amassed an immense Quantity
OF miscellaneous %tritles, which turned
out to be q most profitable investment;
for, when eventually submitted to the
chances Of the auction room, they real
led at the very lowest computation
several hundred per cent. on the orig
inal outlay. Still more lucky was the
beleagured resident in Paris during the
siege and Commune, who utilized his
leisure hours and they were many
by gathering together everything in the
shape of political squib, placard and
c%arricature published from the first in
vestment of the city by the Germans to
its occupation by the Versailles army.
and slowing them carefully in hole and
corner until lie had an opportunity Of
transporting them safely across the
Channel to n of Il most frequented
salesrooms, where, after a keen COM
petition, they were disposed of for a
very considerable sum.
once knew an individual, whom l
can not accurately describe than
as a ''philanthropic'' collector. his sole
motive in laying out his money in
what Mr.. Wemmick calls .'portable
property being that of bencfitting his
fellow creatures by distributing his &C
QUESTIONS among them. Had he con-
fined his investments to objects of real
utility, nothing could have been more
praiseworthy. Unfortunately ne had a
mania for wholesale purchases, en-
bracing every variety of miscellaneous
articles, picked up at cheap sales, and
of no earthly value. financially or ar
tistic whatever. These he stored up IN
cupboards until a fitting opportunity
occurred of disseminating them as
birthday gifts or wedding presents, the
recipients of his largesse, chiefly his
lady relatives and connections, be-
ing not only expected to accept them
with becoming gratitude, but also to eN-
press their admiration of pinchbeck
lewelry or huge, flaring vases of imita-
ton of china that would have dis
graced the ~chimney-piece of lodging
house.-Lomlon Society.