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Collecting An Unruly Passion * Psychological Perspectives
From rare books, valuable sculpture and paintings, the relics of saints, and porcelain and other precious items, through stamps, textiles, military ribbons, and shells, to baseball cards, teddy bears, and mugs, an amazing variety of objects have engaged and even obsessed collectors through the ages. With this captivating book the psychoanalyst Werner Muensterberger provides the first extensive psychological examination of the emotional sources of the never-ending longing for yet another collectible. Muensterberger's roster of driven acquisition-hunters includes the dedicated, the serious, and the infatuated, whose chronic restlessness can be curbed--and then merely temporarily--only by purchasing, discovering, receiving, or even stealing a new "find." In an easy, conversational style, the author discusses the eccentricities of heads of state, literary figures, artists, and psychoanalytic patients, all possessed by a need for magic relief from despair and helplessness--and for the self-healing implied in the phrase "I can't live without it!" The sketches here are diverse Walter Benjamin, Mario Praz, Catherine the Great, Poggio Bracciolini, Brunelleschi, and Jean de Berry, among others.
The central part of the work explores in detail the personal circumstances and life history of three a contemporary collector, Martin G; the celebrated British book and manuscript collector Sir Thomas Phillipps, who wanted one copy of every book in the world; and the great French novelist Honoré de Balzac, a compulsive collector of bric-a-brac who expressed his empathy for the acquisitive passions of his collector protagonist in Cousin Pons . In addition, Muensterberger takes the reader on a charming tour of collecting in the Renaissance and looks at collecting during the Golden Age of Holland, in the seventeenth century. Throughout, we enjoy the author's elegant variations on a complicated theme, stated, much too simply, by John "I guess the truth is that I simply like junk."
Originally published in 1993.
The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
The central part of the work explores in detail the personal circumstances and life history of three a contemporary collector, Martin G; the celebrated British book and manuscript collector Sir Thomas Phillipps, who wanted one copy of every book in the world; and the great French novelist Honoré de Balzac, a compulsive collector of bric-a-brac who expressed his empathy for the acquisitive passions of his collector protagonist in Cousin Pons . In addition, Muensterberger takes the reader on a charming tour of collecting in the Renaissance and looks at collecting during the Golden Age of Holland, in the seventeenth century. Throughout, we enjoy the author's elegant variations on a complicated theme, stated, much too simply, by John "I guess the truth is that I simply like junk."
Originally published in 1993.
The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
324 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 8, 2021
Another out of control "collector"....
https://www.npr.org/2021/12/07/106211...
=========
The book did not have as much about small time collectors as I expected. I was anticipating more on the psychology of these folks.
When I was in middle school, my younger brother and I were ruthless collectors of baseball cards. (If I had any foresight, I would have kept my Marvel and DC comics instead). Inevitably, those cards ended up in the attic, and when I moved a few years ago, I donated them to a hobby shop.
My late mother-in-law collected faux antiques, a taste she passed on to her youngest daughter. (It was only after the daughter’s daughter got engaged, and her fiancée pronounced it a bunch of junk, that the youngest daughter's eyes were opened. Failure to sell most of it at garage sales reinforced this assessment)
My mother collected faux African art (the kind tourists might buy at the Nairobi airport) and, later, Hummel figures. And let's not forget Spanish Lladró porcelain figurines, and stuff from the Franklin Mint, that others might display and treasure.
But as the bio of the author linked below indicates, he moved in elite circles and he tends to focus on high-end collections by the likes of the Rockefeller family, Getty, and historical figures such as Balzac, as well as the notorious Sir Thomas Phillips, who wanted to own a copy of every book in the world.
https://www.artnews.com/art-in-americ...
========
From "Swann's Way" by Proust....
“If you were determined to assign Swann a social coefficient that was his alone, among the other sons of stockbrokers in a position equal to that of his parents, this coefficient would have been a little lower for him because, very simple in his manner and with a long standing craze for “antiques” and painting, he now lived and amassed his collections in an old town house which my grandmother dreamed of visiting, but which was situated on the quai d’Orleans, a part of town where my great-aunt felt it was ignominious to live.
“But are you a connoisseur? I ask you for your own ask, because you’re likely to let the dealers unload some awful daubs on you,” my great-aunt would say to him; in fact she did not assume that he had any competence and even from an intellectual point of view had no great opinion of a man who in conversation avoided serious subjects and showed a most prosaic preciseness only when he gave us cooking recipes, entering into the smallest details.”
And even Swann's lover, Odette, filled her house with gauche Chinese knick-knacks and other faux "Asian art."
============
Another example....
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
=============
Books are not exempt. From The Baffler...
....the fetishization of the book as an object. This kind of book-fervor is a few years old now, but as the recent backlash to Marie Kondo’s dry suggestion that most people only need thirty books indicates, it’s far from gone. Books now exist as book-objects; they are written by writers, loved by “book lovers,” made into lists, declared important. As objects they can be staged, as purveyors of relatability they can be used. But there’s a pervasive sense that they aren’t really meant to be read, critically evaluated, hated, or loved. Opinions are formed about them in advance; “the conversation” around them progresses in expected lines.
==
An ultimate collecting story......fascinating.
https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2021...
https://www.npr.org/2021/12/07/106211...
=========
The book did not have as much about small time collectors as I expected. I was anticipating more on the psychology of these folks.
When I was in middle school, my younger brother and I were ruthless collectors of baseball cards. (If I had any foresight, I would have kept my Marvel and DC comics instead). Inevitably, those cards ended up in the attic, and when I moved a few years ago, I donated them to a hobby shop.
My late mother-in-law collected faux antiques, a taste she passed on to her youngest daughter. (It was only after the daughter’s daughter got engaged, and her fiancée pronounced it a bunch of junk, that the youngest daughter's eyes were opened. Failure to sell most of it at garage sales reinforced this assessment)
My mother collected faux African art (the kind tourists might buy at the Nairobi airport) and, later, Hummel figures. And let's not forget Spanish Lladró porcelain figurines, and stuff from the Franklin Mint, that others might display and treasure.
But as the bio of the author linked below indicates, he moved in elite circles and he tends to focus on high-end collections by the likes of the Rockefeller family, Getty, and historical figures such as Balzac, as well as the notorious Sir Thomas Phillips, who wanted to own a copy of every book in the world.
https://www.artnews.com/art-in-americ...
========
From "Swann's Way" by Proust....
“If you were determined to assign Swann a social coefficient that was his alone, among the other sons of stockbrokers in a position equal to that of his parents, this coefficient would have been a little lower for him because, very simple in his manner and with a long standing craze for “antiques” and painting, he now lived and amassed his collections in an old town house which my grandmother dreamed of visiting, but which was situated on the quai d’Orleans, a part of town where my great-aunt felt it was ignominious to live.
“But are you a connoisseur? I ask you for your own ask, because you’re likely to let the dealers unload some awful daubs on you,” my great-aunt would say to him; in fact she did not assume that he had any competence and even from an intellectual point of view had no great opinion of a man who in conversation avoided serious subjects and showed a most prosaic preciseness only when he gave us cooking recipes, entering into the smallest details.”
And even Swann's lover, Odette, filled her house with gauche Chinese knick-knacks and other faux "Asian art."
============
Another example....
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
=============
Books are not exempt. From The Baffler...
....the fetishization of the book as an object. This kind of book-fervor is a few years old now, but as the recent backlash to Marie Kondo’s dry suggestion that most people only need thirty books indicates, it’s far from gone. Books now exist as book-objects; they are written by writers, loved by “book lovers,” made into lists, declared important. As objects they can be staged, as purveyors of relatability they can be used. But there’s a pervasive sense that they aren’t really meant to be read, critically evaluated, hated, or loved. Opinions are formed about them in advance; “the conversation” around them progresses in expected lines.
==
An ultimate collecting story......fascinating.
https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2021...
April 30, 2010
The fact that I don't run up against more books that are so explicitly entrenched in a singular disciplinary stance/attitude is probably more a reflection of the type of work I do than the actual lack of such books (even in the academic market). That said, it is always a little astounding to read something that, point blank, suggests it is interested in pursuing a narrative/topic in order to identify THE CAUSAL factor in its existence. This was such a book. Muensterberger (sounds like a cheese, right?) sets out to explore collection (of all types of objects) as the direct result of psychoanalytic factors. Specifically, he identifies an early childhood loss of an important object or human relationship that relates in the subject's unhealthy attitude toward material objects. The objects are compensations. That's it. And Muensterberger is very thorough in his application of this analysis. He charts the history of collecting across cultures and times, and notes that while collectible objects might shift according to tastes and places, the singular driving force (compensation for lack) is consistent throughout. Obviously, this makes for a rather reductionist argument, but it's one that is occasionally enviable to this cultural relativist. If only I could believe in a singular cause (to basically anything in life), things would at least seem simpler.
January 26, 2023
This book is very interesting, at some points it becomes fascinating, as when it describes the collecting mania of Thomas Phillips and Honoré de Balzac. It could be better conceptually, but it is still considered one of the best of its kind. Being a passionate collector of books, pictures, coins, stamps, etc. myself, it is very challenging to see what the pseudo-scientists of psychoanalysis think lies behind this "pathos" (passion). Very useful work, read both for fun and for scholarly reasons.
February 5, 2017
Very interesting examination of why people collect, but oddly enough I felt there was something missing - something that would make me (as a bibliophile and collector) think, "Aha! That's why I do it." But that lightbulb never went off. It may be a deeper dig is called for.
February 1, 2021
I don't remember how it got onto my reading list. I thought this would be interesting, but I was wrong. It was to much like a textbook and I found myself scanning much more than I was reading. There were some interesting parts but few and far between. I did not get through the entire book.
July 19, 2023
To me, this book read like a PhD project and lacked the arresting factor that keeps one coming back. I struggled in my commitment to finish it, which may say more about me than the author. If you read the last paragraph, you will get the entire message the rest of the book gives evidence for.
January 5, 2019
Stiff and wordy, overly researched, just like a textbook.
I wish I could just CTRL+F a book to find "hoarders."
I wish I could just CTRL+F a book to find "hoarders."
Want to read
March 19, 2009Let's see Fiesta and other Homer Laughlin dinnerware, flatware, linen calendars, floaty pens, Christmas tree pins, flamingos, penguins, trolls, Nancy Drew books, bookmarks, table linens, purses, The Archies jelly jar glasses, glass coffee servers, Obama memorablia, ugly Santa Claus dolls, Little Golden Book Christmas books, paint by numbers paintings of dogs, etc., etc., etc......I think I NEED to read this book! I could have been a case study!
March 19, 2009
Some fascinating case studies despite the (generally) facile psychoanalytic explication.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews