Collecting - Age of Collected Items

Age of Collected Items

Some novice collectors start purchasing items that appeal to them, and then slowly work at acquiring knowledge about how to build a collection. Others (more cautious or studious types) want to develop some background in the field before starting to buy items. The term antique generally refers to items made over 100 years ago. In some fields, such as antique cars, the time frame is less stringent-—25 years or so being considered enough time to make a car a "classic" if not an antique. Traditionally in the area of furniture, the 1830s was regarded as the limit for antique furniture. However Victorian, Arts and Crafts, and some types of 20th century furniture can all be regarded as collectible.

In general, then, items of significance, beauty, values or interest that are "too young" to be considered antiques, fall into the realm of collectibles. But not all collectibles are limited editions, and many of them have been around for decades: for example, the popular turn-of-the-century posters, Art Deco and Art Nouveau items, Carnival and Depression era glass, etc. In addition, there exists the "contemporary collectibles" category, featuring items like plates, figurines, bells, graphics, steins, and dolls.

Read more about this topic:  Collecting

Famous quotes containing the words age of, age, collected and/or items:

    Oh, never this whelming east wind swells
    But it seems like the sea’s return
    To the ancient lands where it left the shells
    Before the age of the fern....
    Robert Frost (1874–1963)

    You should not consider a man’s age but his acts.
    Sophocles (497–406/5 B.C.)

    The difference is wide that the sheets will not decide.
    English proverb, collected in John Ray, English Proverbs (1670)

    In the midst of this chopping sea of civilized life, such are the clouds and storms and quicksands and thousand-and-one items to be allowed for, that a man has to live, if he would not founder and go to the bottom and not make his port at all, by dead reckoning, and he must be a great calculator indeed who succeeds.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)