Maybe this is quibbling too much with the WSJ article that has already been thoroughly dunked 'pon, but I don't really see how you can regard these as "collectors" at all. I think Walter Benjamin gets it right: "The most deeply hidden motive of the person who collects can be described this way: he takes up the struggle against dispersion." If so, then to acquire books with the explicit aim or sending them on their way is a betrayal of the collector's *struggle against dispersion*. "The Collector ... brings together what belongs together" (Arcades Project, 211). I don't think there's anything wrong with them (misguided though they are), but it feels important to me to maintain a distinction between "collecting" versus the activities of "dealing," "speculating," "stashing".
Someone more clever than me commented that "Collecting rare books is an investment in your quality of life, your enjoyment." Which I quite like.
I am reluctant to say that anyone who thins, upgrades, or periodically disperses collections isn't really a collector. We should not be required to keep all the things that seemed fascinating when we were young nor should be be obligated or expected to continuously curate our mistakes. And requiring collecting to be a one-way trip in certainly imposes real hardships on those without much space.
My main issue with collecting as an investment is that I've seen a number of people over the years suffer the consequences of putting to many eggs in their Benjamin-ic baskets and not have it go well. Then collecting becomes a regret rather than an investment in quality of life.
Maybe this is quibbling too much with the WSJ article that has already been thoroughly dunked 'pon, but I don't really see how you can regard these as "collectors" at all. I think Walter Benjamin gets it right: "The most deeply hidden motive of the person who collects can be described this way: he takes up the struggle against dispersion." If so, then to acquire books with the explicit aim or sending them on their way is a betrayal of the collector's *struggle against dispersion*. "The Collector ... brings together what belongs together" (Arcades Project, 211). I don't think there's anything wrong with them (misguided though they are), but it feels important to me to maintain a distinction between "collecting" versus the activities of "dealing," "speculating," "stashing".
Always good to hear the Arches viewpoint!
Someone more clever than me commented that "Collecting rare books is an investment in your quality of life, your enjoyment." Which I quite like.
I am reluctant to say that anyone who thins, upgrades, or periodically disperses collections isn't really a collector. We should not be required to keep all the things that seemed fascinating when we were young nor should be be obligated or expected to continuously curate our mistakes. And requiring collecting to be a one-way trip in certainly imposes real hardships on those without much space.
My main issue with collecting as an investment is that I've seen a number of people over the years suffer the consequences of putting to many eggs in their Benjamin-ic baskets and not have it go well. Then collecting becomes a regret rather than an investment in quality of life.
I’m going to sound seriously crazy... but I totally enjoyed reading your article. Thank you
Hopefully that's not too crazy of a response.... :)