Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-03-19
A COSTLY MANIA.
The Most Curious Specimen OF the
Idiosyncrasics of Character.

luIOSN slS "
There are few among the idioSyn-
crasics OF character more curious lhan
| the passion for making collections OF
things esteemed singular or valuable.
| Some mel gather together museums of
the most absurd and incon@ruons char
actcr, in which ~cast-otf clothing. am
cicnt furniture. old coins. dcfunct utrn-
sis and forgotten fashions are mingled
confuscdlv with valuable or %valueless
books, manuscripts and autographs.
One person has an incredible mania for
every conceivable kind of buttons. and
heaps up IN enormous collection OF all
sorts. shapes. sizes and materials. An
others special weakness is postage
| stamps. and all the civilized govern
mcnts of the globe are ransacked to
make his collections of stamps perfect.
A third dotes upon street ballads, and
gathers thousands of doggcrcl rhymes
together. to be scattered to the -four
winds. probably. by their next posses
Sol. Still another is addicted TO old
coins. and will show You his assortment
of rusty coppers and begrimed silver
pieces with a fatherly pride, while he
tells no end of stories Of the very rare
| cent of such a year, and of the almost
unknown %half-dollar of such another.
| We know n man, not wholly devoid
| of sense. who has made a collection of
andirons. or those old-fashioncd sup
portcrs of tirc-wood which used to Or
nament the wide, open tirc-places OF
''auld lang sync." We verify believe
that he would travel fifty miles tc
secure a new and unique pattern Of that
| once familiar household utensil.
From the world-famous MI. Toodles
Of the comedy. who would buy all the
useless trumpcry at auctions, including
collins. because it was $50 handy to
have 'em in the house, to the pas
enthusiast of fine pictures, there is q
wide interval. Yet there is something
of the singular and Of the unreasonable
common to both. Does not every book
collector, unless he is a man of single
aim rs well rs infleNible purpose. buy
multitudcs of books which he does not
want and never reads: If this is not
at n attested by the self-conscious-
ness of the reader. it will be fully borne
out by the ~wcll-known and notorious
experience of multitudes. We have
the testimony of experts to prove that.
of all the private libraries collected
with such cost and pains by the multi
tudcs Of men OF taste and fortune,
about nine-tenths come to the hammer
in the lifetime of the collectors. OF the
remaining tenth the greater portion
are scattered. upon their decease. by
the same memorable agency. How
seldom is the taste for books inheritcd'
He heapeth up riches and knowcth
not who shall gather thcm,' is even
truer of rich Libraries than of pccuniary
wealth. Cicero's only son was q
%blockhcad. and the children of DAME!
Webster did not inherit their fathers
genius. The five libraries on special
subjects, which the dcvotces of angling,
chess. horsemanship, anccdotiana,
chemistry. magic. etc. have sedulouslv
assembled. are nearly always dispersed,
and that which it cost from Il quarter
to half Il century to gather is scattered
irremcdiably in a few hours.
The casualties which occur to scat
ter collections of books in the lifetime
OF their owners are numerous and pO-
tential. With some the means give
out long before the taste is gratiiicd or
the desire for collecting satisfied. With
others want of room to store a grow
ing collection operates us rcmorsclessly
as want of means to others. Good house
wives are proverbially Jealous Of many
books. doubtless for Il double reason,
and there are few. indeed, who will
suffer the encroachmcnts of an over
flowing library upon their favoritc sit
ting-room OF parlor. OF any space sed-
uouslv devoted to show or use. SO the
poor book collector. dcspairing Of get
ting Don in his present domicilc. and
unable. perhaps. to pull down his house
and build bigger, abandons the pursuit,
and sells out" in self-dcfence. With
many others the passion for collecting
proves transitory, and disappears as
suddenly and mystcriously us it arrived.
Boston and New York are always full
of private libraries, sent to auction or
to private sale. by amateurs with whom
the mania for book collecting is an en-
haustcd sensation. The books are
eagerly seized upon by fresh book-hunt.
ers, and solemnly shelvcd in private
%launts i'll all parts of the country, to
be used, enjoyed. abused or neglected.
in turn, until the time arrives for then.
to take up their inevitable round.
Boston Budgct.