Lost Inside the Collector's Cabinet

I missed the Frederic Marès Museum when I was in Barcelona but I'll be certain to check it out next time I'm there. The museum preserves the collections assembled by its founder, Catalan sculptor Frederic Marès (1893-1991).

The Collector's Cabinet is the home to a display of tens of thousands of objects that make up a vast collection of collections that documents past lifestyles and customs, mainly from the 19th century. There you can find amusing, unique items like fans, pipes, clocks, jewellery, photographs, toys, keys, pharmacy bottles and reliquaries, all presented in an intimate atmosphere evoking Marès private universe.

This section encompasses 17 rooms and contains more than 50,000 objects!


Read more of Rick Poynor's article at Design Observer

Vicious Vintage Campaign Buttons

I'm not a Liberal but I was disgusted by the nasty Harper attack ads on Michael Ignatieff during the recent federal election here in Canada. This collection of vintage campaign buttons shows that such attacks have a long history in the US.

See more buttons at Collectors Weekly

Found on Cheryl's Facebook page.

Plotting a World Record, One Marker at a Time

This what I call niche collecting!

Artist and graphic designer Allister Lee works out of his Studio B.I.B. in Toronto, where he makes commercial art for shoe and clothing companies like Nike, Stussy, Miskha, and Adidas. Because he only uses black markers in his art and advertising graphics (B.I.B. means “Black Is Beautiful”), he also happens to be amassing the world’s largest collection of black markers. While he has a small number of colored markers—including some of those fruit-scented Sanford Mr. Sketch markers—Lee does not collect them. He started with less than a dozen markers back in 2002, and now has close to 600. When he gets to 1,000, he plans to call “The Guinness Book of World Records.”

Collectors Weekly

Thanks Bruce!

Zoomorphic Collection - Taxidermic Antiquities

Animal objects that were made for human use.

Lifted from Cool Hunting

Laura Tarrish's Collection of Miniature Chairs

Click here for slideshow 

I bought my first small chair in 1986, just after my initial East coast portfolio review as an illustrator. (Although I’m certain he won’t remember, it was an appointment with Alex Isleyat the then-newly-launched SPY Magazine). I was gearing myself up for the next appointment, when I spotted a little green metal chair in the window of an antiques store.
More here

Antique Typewriters

The standard big, black machines that you might be familiar with such as the Underwoods and Remingtons from the 1930s and 40s are the result of many years of mechanical evolution. It is to this wonderful age of invention and modification, that I and other collectors are so attracted. The diversity of design and the evolution of the machine provides a rich world for us to explore.

The Martin Howard Collection
Via

Vietnam War Era Ephemera Collection

This database contains leaflets and newspapers that were distributed on the University of Washington campus during the decades of the 1960s and 1970s. They reflect the social environment and political activities of the youth movement in Seattle during that period.

Via

So this is why Baby Nag collects Pez dispensers!

Baby Nag has a great collection of Pez dispensers. I always thought it was such a sweet little hobby but apparently it has a seamy underbelly!

This is one of three or four known ads from PEZ that featured a nude photograph. It is unknown how many nude ads were created by PEZ. T

The ad says "You'll enjoy the new play idea of PEZ". This ad was created to call attention to the new dispenser costumes that were being packaged in with the dispensers and candy.o t

he new dispenser costumetoThe Sexy Side of PEZ! Via Ectoplasmosisu'll s that were being packaged in with the dispenserscandy.

Floaty Pens

I found this fabulous collection of floaty pens at The Daily Jive. I remember having less elaborate ones when I was a kid. These ones from Rome are cool but there are lots more.