Monday, March 28, 2011

A perspective

Collect? Or accumulate?

One man's trash is another's treasure, as the old saying goes.

Another thing I collect is rosaries. I have probably ten or twelve of them. Just as with the pens I have, there is no real theme other than "ones I like." That theme is good enough for me. If that tags me with the "accumulator" label, so be it.

I once had occasion to meet a man who had collected rather nice examples of all of the 1920s Waterman ripple "color nib" pens, one of each ring color. Once I'd gotten over the idea of the cost involved in such a collection, I wondered at the concept. So, one collects them simply for the privilege of saying one has a full set? The owner of these pens told me he actually didn't care for some of them, finding the nibs not to his liking, so he didn't use them. That seems a shame to me.

This also reminds me of some of the "limited edition" pens that I see for sale, years after their initial release - new in box, never inked.

We have a family term for these. Beanie Babies.

People can certainly do as they wish - but my focus is always going to be on pens I enjoy and will use, regardless of their age, manufacturer, or even condition. I won't buy an expensive, unused collector's pen because I would want to use it, and that doesn't seem fair to those that would value it as a collector's item in its unused state.

To me, the pens are tools to enjoy and use for expressing myself. Not decorations to be put on a shelf to admire, or in a safe so I can say I own them.

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