VIRTUAL COLLECTING

BY

Terry MacLennan

Although I didn’t invent the words “virtual” and “collecting”, I may be one of the first to use the term for what we are going to discuss in this article. The definitions of the term according to the dictionary are in part:

virtual

1. Existing or resulting in essence or effect though not in actual fact, form, or name.

collect. 1. To bring together in a group or mass; gather.2. To accumulate as a hobby or for study.

Online virtual museums showcase many of their artifacts by photographing them and placing into an exhibit for a specific purpose. The premise of this article is to eliminate the actual possession of an article but instead to gather digital photographs and other materials and organize them as you desire to create a virtual collection. Please note the word organize as it is the crucial difference in my definition of virtual collecting rather than simply gathering a bunch of material and tossing it randomly into a file on your computer.

All we need to start virtual collecting is a decent computer (preferably a laptop) and internet access either at home or in a public hot-spot.

Now the first question that might come to mind is why anyone would collect this way rather than by physically and traditionally collecting the actual items. This is actually the heart of virtual collecting and there are a number of excellent reasons for choosing this method.

First and possibly foremost is that as we get older, we tend to downsize and perhaps move into smaller living quarters putting space at a premium. Let’s say you owned a collection of kerosene lanterns but due to downsizing, you need to sell them as they just won’t fit in your new home except for perhaps one or two of your most cherished ones. Prior to selling your collection that took you perhaps years to amass, take good quality digital photographs of the ones that are to be sold as these will become the heart of your new virtual collection.

Another primary reason for virtual collecting is to reduce costs. Perhaps you just love kerosene lanterns but the initial cost of purchasing them may be quite high. Insufficient discretionary money to spend such as when young and perhaps working a low-paying job, middle-aged and out of work or in a lower paying job due to corporate downsizing or retired and living on a fixed income, make virtual collecting a good option, Virtual collecting allows you to continue collecting or perhaps even start collecting those things

that you enjoy. Working on your virtual collection is a good way to escape some of the realities that might surround you and give you some much needed relaxation,

Going along with the financial aspect of traditional collecting is that there is a minimum of physical maintenance and maintenance expenses, no chance of breakage or loss to an original item and no insurance is needed for a virtual collection.

Another excellent advantage of virtual collecting is portability, if you have a laptop. It is easy to take your entire collection with you wherever you go and if away from home or on vacation perhaps, you can still enjoy looking at, showing it to others or just work on your collection while gone.

Now let’s talk more about how to create your collection and add to it. The most obvious problem is how we are going to gather item photos for our virtual collection. One especially good source is eBay as nearly everything collectible is sooner or later up for sale on that auction site and usually with good photographs and perhaps even some history for good measure. You might have to wait quite awhile until one particular item you desire comes up for sale but patience can bring a great reward in a successful find. Perhaps not as close to actually acquiring the actual item but hopefully a close second..

Other places to look might be on web sites that are devoted to your particular collection subject or on virtual museum or library sites. Perhaps friends or acquaintances have items of your collecting interest and will allow you to digitally photograph them for inclusion in your virtual collection.

Don’t forget to look at other items related to your subject. Postage stamps are a wealth of subject materials with just about anything imaginable being featured at one time or another. Remember that just like real collecting, you are really never done collecting either of the item or information about an item. There is always more to find and acquire as you probably do not wish your collection to be stable with no changes but rather want it to be dynamic or constantly changing to meet your individual desires.

Now we come to what might actually be the hardest part of virtual collecting and that’s organization. Since our virtual collection consists primarily of photos and information, I have found that using a slide show presentation like Microsoft Powerpoint or Open Office Presentation may work best.

It is easy to place a photo on a slide in whatever size you wish and with as little or as much descriptive information as you want. Slides can easily be moved about and new ones added wherever you wish. With a little practice using one of these programs, you can quickly become proficient in the basics and soon be organizing your collection in the way that YOU wish to view it. Basic knowledge of the program you choose to use is all that is necessary as the fancy bells and whistles available within the program are usually not needed.

Perhaps you don’t have a collecting interest at present so here are just a few that might work for you or at least get you to thinking of a possible collecting subject.

Coin collection of perhaps one of each coin the US (or wherever) has ever issued. This is called a Type Set.

Stamps of a country or perhaps a single topic such as trains on stamps. Don’t forget our lantern collection as I know you can find stamps with lanterns on them.

Old toys from perhaps your own childhood.

Baseball cards as for example cards of all the Hall of Famers.

Signed famous individuals’ photographs or simply autographs.

Glassware from a particular company or pattern.

Specific items such as our friend the kerosene lantern or lamp.

Dolls through the ages or specific ones (Barbie maybe?).

Photographs of a specific subject or interest such as old buildings, landmarks, historic events, automobiles, etc.

One cautionary note before we close is DO NOT attempt to sell your virtual collection as it is one thing to collect pictures for your personal use but selling potentially copyrighted material could land you into deep you-know-what.

Happy collecting