Rinker on Collectibles

RINKER ON COLLECTIBLES — Column #1758

Fading Icons

I am addicted to the Funnies, especially as a first-thing-in-the-morning read. A day without the Funnies is a day lost. Besides bringing a smile to my face and allowing me to become an affiliated member of more than a dozen comic families, I often find that a panel stimulates me to think about what is happening in the antiques and collectibles field. When I do, I print out the panel and put it into my “Rinker on Collectibles” file, a pot in which column ideas germinate and stew until ready for use.

The August 24, 2018, “Baldo” strip by writer Hector Canti and artist Carlos Castellanos is a case in point. In the first panel, Sergio “Papi” Bermudez, a widower, exclaims to Tia Carmen, a great aunt to Papi’s two children Baldo and Gracie: “Tia Carmen! Look What I Found! Old VHS Tapes.” In the second panel, he removes a VHS tape from a box and says” I Remember This Movie.” Looking at the VHS tape in the third panel “Papi,” with an inquisitive look on his face, comments: “Memories Are Funny.” In the fourth panel, “Papi” is carrying his newly rediscovered box of VHS tapes and is walking away from Tia Carmen. He remarks: “They Make You Nostalgic for Things You Never Really Liked.”

I made a “Fading Icons” notation on the top of the photocopy of the strip. I could have easily marked “Importance of Memory.” The antiques and collectibles trade frequently uses icon and iconic as a means of identify objects. I have long questioned the ease with which these words are bandied about by pundits whether they be publicists, sellers, writers or simply individuals seeking a place in the spotlight.

Dictionary.com defines an icon as “a person or thing that is revered or idolized.” Merriam-Webster offers “an object of uncritical devotion.” Neither definition offers any explanation of how an object becomes iconic or how long it must remain in the public’s attention to be considered relevant to future generations.

[Author’s Aside #1: Merriam Webster offers another definition: “a graphic symbol on a computer design screen that represents an app, an object (such as a file), or a function (such as the command to save.” This definition does not appear in the 1979 Second College Edition of William Collins’ “Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language” which has been my definition and spelling check source for the last four decades. Old habits die hard. Where would individuals be today if they did not double check things using the internet? Do not answer this – it is a rhetorical question.]

A copy of an article that appeared in the September 17, 2018 edition of “The Grand Rapids Free Press” focused on Volkswagen’s decision to end production of the Beetle. John Wolonowicz, an independent auto analyst and industry historian, noted that “nostalgia for the ‘60s is waning with the generation….Most baby boomers are getting older and need something easy to get in and out of.” I marked “Fading Icons – Beetle, Sears, and VHS” on the top of the article.

[Author’s Aside #2: For Mr. Wolonowicz’s enlightenment, I find it necessary to pause to inform him that in August 2019, my wife Linda and I purchased a 2013 VW convertible, drove it to Florida, and permanently housed it there as our “Florida” car. Neither of us has any trouble getting in and out of it. I am 79. Linda has forbidden me to reveal her age.]

For the past several months, I have been writing introductions for collecting categories for manufacturers of phonographs, radios, and televisions and other electronic devices and trends such as Betamax, laser discs, tape recorders, and VHS for WorthPoint.com. The more introductions I wrote, the more I realized how short a time many technologies associated with these devices lasted. The cylinder phonograph, produced commercially in the late 1880s, was obsolete by 1915. The early 78 rpm record phonograph craze that begin around 1916 was over by the mid-1920s. Although dedicated collectors still preserve these machines and their history, the truth is the general public has little knowledge nor cares about them. Phonographs, radios, and televisions that were considered iconic or icons at the time are largely forgotten. Examples featuring classic period design are the exception. Again, these are appreciated only by collectors and museums and not the general public.

Several critical questions arise when considering the icon or iconic as applied to antiques and collectibles. First, what designates an object as an icon? My assumption always has been that an icon is an object that has enjoyed the admiration of multiple generations. In more simple terms, the icon has stood the test of time. The icon’s appeal has no time limits. The Mona Lisa, Michelangelo’s David, and Rome’s Coliseum are examples. These are cultural icons.

Does a cultural icon definition preclude the possibility that functional and decorative items from a shorter time period can achieve icon status? The answer is maybe. Yet, icon and iconic are used in the antiques and collectibles trade to describe a host of objects from a variety of time designations – decade, era, and more. Mark Rich’s “100 Greatest Baby Boomer Toys,” published by Krause Publications in 2000, features “iconic toys” from the 1950s into the 1970s.

Rich took a “best of the best” approach, an interesting way to think about what makes something an icon or iconic. An icon is the best of the best. It cannot be otherwise.

I have reached the conclusion that the definition of icon and iconic is generational. Each generation identifies a different group of objects as iconic and/or icons. Memory is a key factor. There is an “idea object(s),” obtained or unobtained, that individuals remember. The object represents an epitome memory. If a generation agrees on the identification of that object, then it achieves momentary icon status. When the next generation reaches adulthood, the icon aspect of the object from the previous generation fades away.

An internet search for “antiques and collectibles icons” revealed two types of lists: (1) iconic objects worth collecting and (2) antiques worth a lot of money. The first group consisted of general collecting not specific object categories. There are no icon or iconic collecting categories. The suggestion that monetary value determines what is and is not an icon or iconic is a falsehood. There is no guarantee that long-term object value is accumulative. The 2008-2009 Great Recession and the COVID-19 crisis proved that the value of objects more easily declines rather than increases.

Second, who designates an object as an icon? With a few exceptions, most individuals who proclaim something to be an icon or iconic do so to either enhance the object’s sale potential or demonstrate their “expertise” to an unsuspecting and unquestioning audience. It is amazing how few individuals question the individual’s qualifications to make such claims.

Claiming an object to be an icon or iconic does not make it true. The correct response to a claim that something is an icon or iconic is the question: “prove it to me beyond the shadow of a doubt.”

Third, what is the average life of an icon? As pointed out earlier, icon and iconic are generationally determined. Cultural, national, and social preferences play a part in any definition. I am loath to suggest that the definition of what is or is not an icon or iconic is personal rather consensus driven. I prefer the definition be consensual. In today’s ethnic, environmental, health, political, religious, and social climate where there is little consensus about anything, I wonder if I may be out of touch with reality.

Fourth, are icon and iconic like rare, overused and meaningless terms the antiques and collectibles trade should discard? The answer is yes. I prefer scarce over rare. In a mass-production world, the surviving quantity of any object almost always exceeds its secondary market demand.

Rather than icon or iconic, I suggest “representative of (followed by a time period or era).” Rock’em’ Sock’em Robots, often represented as an iconic Baby Boomer toy or a 1960s icon toy, is “representative” of a desirable Baby Boomer toy or “representative of a popular 1960s toy. Either phase has long-term usability.

Does this make sense to you? Share your opinions with me via email at harrylrinker@aol.com.

Harry L. Rinker welcomes questions from readers about collectibles, those mass-produced items from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Selected letters will be answered in this column. Harry cannot provide personal answers. Photos and other material submitted cannot be returned. Send your questions to: Rinker on Collectibles, 5955 Mill Point Court SE, Kentwood, MI 49512. You also can e-mail your questions to harrylrinker@aol.com. Only e-mails containing a full name and mailing address will be considered.

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