The angst of finishing a collection and realising it's done

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Years ago, having been bought the 1982 edition, I began collecting the World of Professional Golf annuals. Golf's version of Wisden, or Rothmans', for those who know what I'm on about. Thing was, while adding to 1982 was easy enough, the collection dated back to 1966 and they were all out of print. But, second hand bookshop scouring and abebooks.com later, I did it. I now have 53 of the buggers.

I have also been "collecting" EU countries. I went to Sofia last week, which means I now have visited 27 of them. In three weeks I go to Cluj in Romania, which will complete that set.

This now begins to trouble me. I have nothing left to collect. Or should I say no incomplete collections. Does anyone understand what the hell I'm on about?

[Wouter D]

Make a list of people on this planet, and vow to insult them all in alphabetical order. I'll leave it up to you whether you sort them by given name, family name, or first name (considering the various naming customs in the Western and Eastern societies), and how to handle transcription issues.

I think that this collection is challenging enough to last you a lifetime.

[Amor de Cosmos]

It really depends on how you define yourself as a collector. A stamp collector I knew was what I'd describe as a basic completist. He didn't specialise, but want an example of every stamp issued by every issuing entity that had ever existed. I knew him late in his life, he'd been collecting since he was a kid, and had an entire room in his apartment shelved with his albums. One day I saw him at an auction and he said "Well, I've finished!" He hadn't of course, but there'd always be some stamps beyond his reach financially. "So" I said, "What will you do now?" "Start again," he replied. So that's one option. Or you could look for better quality versions of what you have, and/or look for copies with misprints/errors. Or you could move on to other golfing memorabilia, programmes, score cards, etc. I know it's a very popular collecting area. Believe me you won't have any trouble if that's what turns your crank.

[Third rate Leszno]

This now begins to trouble me. I have nothing left to collect. Or should I say no incomplete collections. Does anyone understand what the hell I'm on about?

Fuck’s sake Rogin, once you embrace your spectrum traits and enter the collecty world, there is literally no end to this stuff.

Football grounds. Do the 91 (fuck Franchise). Then do the Conference, Conf N/S and start working your way down the leagues. Or just start with the West Lancs if you don’t fancy the travel. Or tick off golf courses. Or Good Beer guide pubs. Or Wetherspoons. Tick off capital cities. Stamp collecting. Bus spotting. Have a McShit in every Maccy’s in the UK if you want, the point is that there are no rules, but this stuff is absolutely endless and can be whatever you want it to be, subject only to money and the ridicule of friends and family.

[Benjm]

Collecting with a fixed end in mind sounds like a dream compared to endlessly buying random shit like a low end Victorian acquisitor.

[Amor de Cosmos]

Collecting with a fixed end in mind sounds like a dream compared to endlessly buying random shit like a low end Victorian acquisitor.

Yeah that's the romantic rather than the scientific approach. They really are quite different worlds.

[tee rex]

Is this the vasectomy thread?

[Amor de Cosmos]

Could be... could be...

[Nefertiti2]

This is sometimes known as Hemulen Syndrome after the character the Hemulen created by the great Finnish writer Tove Janson in Finn Family Moomintroll.

The Hemulen was a stamp collector who eventually had every stamp in the world. He realised he'd ceased to be a collector and had become an owner instead - which was not nearly so much fun. His solution was to take up botany.

[Satchmo Distel]

Fuck’s sake Rogin, once you embrace your spectrum traits and enter the collecty world, there is literally no end to this stuff.

Football grounds. Do the 91 (fuck Franchise). Then do the Conference, Conf N/S and start working your way down the leagues. Or just start with the West Lancs if you don’t fancy the travel. Or tick off golf courses. Or Good Beer guide pubs. Or Wetherspoons. Tick off capital cities. Stamp collecting. Bus spotting. Have a McShit in every Maccy’s in the UK if you want, the point is that there are no rules, but this stuff is absolutely endless and can be whatever you want it to be, subject only to money and the ridicule of friends and family.

I was going to suggest a wank in every...but anyway, as you were.

[hobbes]

As I've probably mentioned before (because I've been here for like, 18 years) I don't have the collecting gene.
Sure I've bought loads of CDs and DVDs in my time, but not out of a sense of collecting, just in a "that'll be useful to have around" sort of a way.
And with electronic copies I was happy for them to go.
Don't really get the compulsion, to be honest.