Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-10-06

The singing teacup that lost its song
through some obscure change in the
flaw within the inner glaze was only
an interesting variation of an always
charming hobby, the collection OF china,
glass, pottery.
Nor is this hobby a feminine one.
Just as the great potters, from Josiah
Wedgwood down, have been men. so
collectors of these items number many
men among their numbers.
A collector of anything collects not
only for rarities, but for numbers
that is, he realizes the utility of an
article along with such difference as
it may possess.
This, of course, applies to such ar
ticles as old bottles, jugs glasses, vases,
cups and so on. The utility of postage
stamps, or match box tops, is difficult
to discover. When one collects such
things he does it for the pure sake of
collection.
Thus collectors may be divided into
pure collectors and-no, not impure
ones-those who collect both for utility
and rarity, of whatever degree.
He would be a connoisseur indeed,
who would not cherish desire to drink
cup of tea or coffee from some rare
cup which he had managed to pick up
somewhere.
Then we must distinguish between
ordinary collectors and the rarest To
the former belong most of us, at some
time or other. We make no claim to
be true collectors, but pick up good
piece every now and then, as suits us.
The real collectors are those who
write the books ABOUT their hobbies,
write them because they know enough
about their subject to write about it
with authority. A home-owner inter-
ested in antiques may collect as many
pieces of Colonial furniture as he can
without once considering himself as a
true collector. Yet to himself he I'M
doubleday is one.
The most wholesome state of mind
an amateur collector may assume is
that of simple interest in his hobby
and a lack of pretension. His little
collection Is small, indeed, in COM
parison with the number of pieces in a
museum. He must realize his own
place, in the scheme of collectors, and
not imagine that his collection is
either complete, exhaustive or even au-
thentic
After all, the collecting is the fun, and
collecting Is fun, as every boy knows who
has stamp album, or a box full Of birds
nests, or a pocketful of match box tops
The boy with 200 different tops may feel
quite proud of himself, but as a mat
ter of fact, there are more than 900
different ones put out by the great
Swedish Match Company
We are indebted to the magazine
Fortune for that fact. We instance it
because we believe it shows as we'll as
any other comparison the futility of
taking collecting too seriously, espe-
cially the will-o'-the-w isp of attempting
to get a complete" collection of any
thing.
1t cannot be done.
The JOY of amateur collection comes
in the collecting, in the sheer going
along ones way; picking up, every now
and then, good item, interesting, COL
orful, pleasing to the one who collects.
In the matter of odd pieces of china,
and so on, one may have a very nice
home collection, although it might
bring a slight smile of derision to the
man who goes into it for the sake of
business.
Well, let him smile. Our half dozen
Venetian red glasses please us. The
singing cup. which made hignspitched
hum, or whistle, when 1t was filled with
a hot liquid, preferably coffee, We would
not have traded for the finest piece Of
French china.
If the above reminds any reader of