It is difficult to know where to start--or stop--with this "magnificent obsession" book on collecting. Do you begin at the end, where
New York Times journalist Elaine Louie (
Living with Textiles, 2001) gives snapshots of six different collecting ideas, such as glass or toys? Does it make more sense to leaf through the exquisite color photographs, noting different arrangements and objets d'art? Or is it most practical to begin at page one and read carefully onward, absorbing the author's good advice about using walls, shelves, cabinets, mantels, and tabletops? Any approach will suffice. Information is packed in every sidebar (itemized collectible glass and pottery, for instance); under every caption; within minichapters (as in a showcase of shoe designer's Christian Louboutin's herbariums); and around every story. Louie finds and shares poetry in both the ordinary and extraordinary. Who else could say, for example, that the mantel is the bottom part of a picture frame?
Barbara JacobsCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Reader Reviews
I loved the African mask wall display on pages 12/13. The book includes ideas for tabletop, wall, and mantel displays as well as integrating a collection thoughout a whole room. Drawbacks include some repetition of subjects in photos, some photos too close up to see the overall effect of the display and other photos too cluttered by too wide a shot where the room's furnishings distract from the displayed collection. Despite those criticisms, it's worth a look for anyone who collects.
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