Collecting, in one form or another, is so ubiquitous, so much a part
of humanity's experience, that it has aroused endless speculation
regarding its origins, its motives, its essential nature. There are
debates about whether it is instinctive or acquired, about whether it is
a rational activity or a mental disease ("mania" being one of the terms
often applied to it, sometimes with affection, sometimes not). Most
such discussions illuminate some aspect of the subject, but even in
their totality they do not encompass all the causes and all the results
of collecting. Like every human behavior, collecting is complex enough
that there is always something more to be said about it. The attempt to
understand collecting not only adds to our knowledge of human nature but
also enhances the experience of collecting itself. For whether one
collects Renaissance paintings or cigar boxes, Greek antiquities or
coffee mugs, rare books or advertising brochures, one's sense of
self-awareness is increased by being able to place one's own endeavors
in a framework that comprehends the full panoply of related
pursuits.
