Rinker on Collectibles

RINKER ON COLLECTIBLES — Column #1774

What Happened to All the Collectors' Clubs?

When editing and writing general antiques and collectibles general price guides in the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s, I made a point to include information about collectors’ clubs when one existed in the category introductions. The reason was simple. I wanted to encourage collectors to establish contact with one another. Nothing increases the passion of collecting more than sharing knowledge and objects with others of similar persuasion.

The 1980s and the 1990s were the golden age of collectors’ clubs. Although an exaggeration, it seemed there was a collectors’ club for almost every collecting category. For the past three years, I have been writing category introductions for WorthPoint.com. In doing so, I was struck by how often I included a note that (name of collectors’ club) is now defunct. I am thrilled when I find a collectors’ club that has survived and always include a link to its website in the “Further Reading” section of the category introduction.

In addition to encouraging members and others to collect a specific category of objects, collectors’ clubs played a critical role in promoting collecting as a concept. The enthusiasm and passion of collectors’ club members created an upbeat atmosphere throughout the antiques and collectibles trade. Collectors’ club researchers discovered and shared information about manufacturers and objects that otherwise would have been lost.

Most collectors’ clubs held an annual two- or three-day convention. The clubs took over a section of a large hotel. Members arrived a day or two early, setting up sale venues in their room. A bourse (show) was a regular feature, often open the first day to attendees and then to the general public. The atmosphere was electric as dealers and collector-dealers offered many scarce and hard-to-find objects.

Conventions often included an auction that was open to attendees. The auction featured donated pieces sold to raise funds for the club and/or pieces sold on commission with the commission going into the club treasury. Often ultimate units (masterpieces) and upper echelon pieces in the collecting category changed hands at these auctions rather than via the traditional auction channels. I always considered a convention auction list with prices realized a treasure. The true value of any object is its field sell through price, albeit even these prices must be interpreted.

The convention also included lectures, seminars, and other educational activities. The annual banquet was a convention highlight. In the course of my career, I had the privilege of presenting many lectures and seminars as well as being the featured speaker at annual banquets. Each is a fond memory.

Almost every collectors’ club published a newsletter or journal either quarterly or semi-annually. These newsletters featured articles offering original research done by collectors’ club members. In many cases, this information appeared only in these newsletters. Today, much of this information is lost because there is no institution or library dedicated to preserving this form of antiques and collectibles literature and research. Art museum libraries preserve material related to the fine and decorative arts but have no interest in the literature focusing on “lesser” collecting categories such as Frog collectibles or Geisha Girl china.

Collectors’ club newsletters also included classified advertisements. Members (there was no distinction made between collectors, collector-dealers, and dealers) used these advertisements to sell collections and individual pieces.

What caused the demise of the majority of the collectors’ clubs in the early 2000s? They simply ran out of gas. Although difficult to accept, most antiques and collectibles collecting categories, crazes, and institutions have a limited life. Collectors’ clubs were and are no exception.

The lifetime of most can be plotted on a simple bell curve. The bell curve normally covers a period of less than 25 years. Some lasted for a shorter time. A few have made it past 50 years, but these survivors are a shadow of what they were at their peak.

During the course of their lifetime, some collectors’ clubs enjoy a brief revival, thanks to a new, enthusiastic core of collectors who assume leadership roles. The renaissance is welcome but never permanent. Time is the enemy.

The reasons for the decline of collectors’ clubs are numerous. The “graying” of members is at the top of the list. The generation that founded the collectors’ club ages. All too often, they refuse to relinquish power to the next generations. A “same old, same old” sense lingers.

Declining generational interest is a factor. New generations of collectors no longer have any interest in the objects identified with the collector’s club. The objects are labeled “old fashioned.” Worse yet, they do not complement modern decorating trends. Finally, they are not functional and have no place in a time when china cabinets and wall shelves are no longer prominent decorating features.

Unit cost often is an unrecognized factor. Collectors’ clubs are fun when the unit cost is modest, under $50.00 (better yet, under $25.00) per unit. This creates an “open” membership for all collectors. When the high-end unit cost exceeds $1,000.00 (even $500.00 is a stopper), the category is no longer affordable to the average collector.

Every collectors’ club achieved a peak membership level. Once reached, efforts to increase it failed as did efforts to sustain it. A collectors’ club was fortunate when it achieved a membership level that held steady for a decade or more.

The reasons for the demise of collectors’ club list is longer; but, it makes no sense to keep exploring them. Two events not on the list are the 2008-2009 Great Recession and COVID-19. They occurred after most of the clubs folded.

The primary reason for focusing on the demise of collectors’ clubs is the loss of collector contact that collectors’ clubs did so much to foster. The antiques and collectibles trade is strongest when collectors interact with one another. Collecting in isolation works for some collectors but not the vast majority. Human contact whether it be collector to collector or seller to buyer is critical to the long-term preservation of the antiques and collectibles trade.

I make extensive use of digital technology and am convinced it has created an enhanced sense of isolation rather than a greater sense of intimacy. There is something preferential about the sound of the human voice as opposed to the impersonality of email. Email does not allow the reader to hear inflections, a key to understanding, in the writer’s voice.

Several collectors’ clubs have moved to Facebook and other internet resources in an effort to respond to the digital preferences of younger generations. I joined several in order to observe their impact. My general conclusion is that most have failed miserably. Posts are disjointed and dominated by a select few. Time again is the enemy. I do not have the time to check these sites once a day, let alone once a week.

On the positive side, some collectors’ clubs have used digital technology to advantage. I am a member of the Transfer Collectors Club (TCC). Twice a month, the club sponsors, co-sponsors, or shares another collectors’ club educational Zoom lecture. The one-hour lectures attract anywhere from 150 to 300 viewers from around the world. I always am willing to pay a fair price (membership) for the ability to learn. The difficulty for the TCC is that not all of the individuals watching the lectures are members. Once the link to the lecture is published, there is no way to prevent members from sharing it with friends.

Dianne Zweig’s I Antique Online (iantiqueonline.ning.com), an attempt to create a social media antiques and collectibles website, continues to plod along. Although it has a registered “free” membership of over 25,000, few actually participate. Dianne has not been successful in finding a way to monetarize the site. I applaud her personal commitment to keep it functioning.

The wide range of individual diverse interests, a hallmark of the antiques and collectibles industry, has challenged every website, periodical, publisher, or group that has attempted to serve the antiques and collectibles trade as a group. It is a conundrum with no satisfactory answer.

As for those remaining collectors’ clubs, my fondest wish is that they survive the COVID-19 crisis, experience a partial return to normalcy in 2021, and a full resumption of their activities in 2022.

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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