Pioneer Communications published an article in our June 2009 antiques and collectibles magazine Collectors News http://www.collectors-news.com that speaks to the topic of collecting. I'd like to share it with our forum. I think you'll enjoy Dianne's light-hearted commentary. — Linda
Collectors on The Big Screen
By C. Dianne Zweig
Oy vey — tell me honestly that when you watched Pixar’s newest computer-animated film, Wall-E, you didn’t secretly wish that you could comb through some of those junk piles hunting for treasures of your own. Wall-E, the main character, is a charming trash compactor with human characteristics who saves everything he finds after the earth is destroyed by generations of neglect and materialism. Despite the movie’s gloomy, apocalyptic theme, Wall-E is a lovable hoarder to whom many of us who are passionate collectors can easily relate.
I must confess, I wasn’t too alarmed after seeing all those stockpiles of rubbish, because I’m used to climbing through my own mounds of odds and ends. As a bona fide collector and dealer of kitchen kitsch, I, too, have quite a stash of stuff. In fact, Pixar could have shut their computer off and saved a ton of money shooting many of their junk scenes right in my garage.
At this very moment, I have a pile of old wooden boxes purchased last week at a tag sale that is almost as tall as the Eiffel Tower. In fact, I almost had to cut a hole in my garage roof to accommodate these fabulous, dirty, vintage boxes. The musty smell in that garage was overwhelming, until I was able to spare some time to give these dusty fellas a good, soapy bath.
Now, I have a pile of clean boxes that still smell awful. But, I’m hoping the crisp breeze coming through the back door of the garage will help air them out.
Believe it or not, Wall-E and I have a lot in common. Wall-E is “OCD,” just like me. He has everything organized in cubbies and old tins; game parts, wheels, vintage postcards, broken jewelry pieces, orphaned lid covers, bent flatware, etc. are all stored away in individual compartments. And just like Wall-E, I, too, have 75 screwdrivers and dozens of tape measures.
I kid you not, one Saturday night (when most sane couples are out to the movies or dinner), my husband and I spent a romantic evening merging his tool workbench with my art supplies. At first, he was in shock to learn that I had taken over yet another one of his sacred spaces. But when the dust settled, I convinced him that there was no need for two distinct areas in the basement for his building tools and my art tools.
So, we made a date and disappeared into the basement, where we spent hours sorting through 30 years of hardware as well as decades of useless junk. We now have plastic stacking drawers that hold such essential items as rusted outlet covers, parts from my daughter’s baby crib (she turns 30 this year and the crib is long gone), and other household “necessities.” I mean, every home should have 14 screwdrivers and 11 hammers.
I guess in my husband’s mind, he is keeping so many hammers and screwdrivers as backup inventory. (Like a hammer or screwdriver ever breaks?) And, the biggest laugh is that he is not the handyman type, so that I can’t tell you the last time he even held a hammer in his hands.
Screwdrivers are another matter. He actually keeps a second supply of screwdrivers in his desk on the main level of our house. Although I have never seen him use the screwdriver for “real jobs,” I have seen him grab a screwdriver to pull apart ice cubes. He takes great pride in his tool collection. We also own an assortment of steel vices that are so heavy, they have never been moved from the spot his father left them in.
His dad, almost 90 years old, has an enormous collection of tools and hardware that would make any collector envious. But the question is…could you find these gems? I am not exaggerating when I tell you that his dad’s basement is filled with every tin coffee can he ever opened, as well as every premium given away since WWII ended.
I have already let my mother-in-law know that it is not the tools I want when they summon the “kids” to clean out the basement, but the collection of board games she has that I would love to have first dibs on.
Well, let me get back to that Saturday night I was telling you about, when my husband and I spent an intimate evening sorting out nails, tacks, and fasteners. By the wee hours of the morning, we had whipped that workbench into a model workspace. My husband even found his handmade lanyard (which held his swimming pool whistle), a cherished item from his sleep-a-way camp days. And I found my pig dissection kit from high school biology. I have no idea why I am still saving it. The thought of where those implements have been is still grossing me out.
I still remember as clear as if it was yesterday, asking my friend Neal to keep my fetal pig in his mother’s refrigerator. I told Neal I was “kosher” and couldn’t have a pig in my house. But now, the truth is out — I couldn’t stomach the thought of having a pig in the same kitchen where my Twinkies® were hidden.
I’m not big on aliens, “exotic” animals, dead animals, creatures, etc. so it was really unusual for me to agree to see the movie Wall-E. But, Wall-E will remind you of E.T. This cute little robot Wall-E buzzes around, accompanied by a loyal cockroach, the only vestige of life left on planet earth. I adored Wall-E and never knew his sidekick was a roach — I thought he was a cricket. How could you not fall in love with a trash compactor and cockroach who own a Rubik’s Cube™? These animated stars warmed my heart. We collectors have to stick together.
C. Dianne Zweig (http://www.cdiannezweig.com) is the author of the recently released book Hot Cottage Collectibles for Vintage Style Homes and also Hot Kitchen and Home Collectibles of the ‘30s, ‘40s, & ‘50s. Zweig’s retro and cottage collections can be found at her shop, Kitsch-n-Stuff, at The Collinsville Antiques Company of New Harford Conn., a 22,000 square-foot antique emporium.
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