Collecting Butterfly

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The most popular kind of insect collecting, is butterfly collecting. If you like butterflies but not too sure you want to go in depth into collecting, pinning and preserving it, it's advised that you start off taking pictures of butterflies And appreciate the beauty of these wonderful creatures.


If your interest in butterflies takes you a little further than just taking pictures of it, then collecting butterflies we go. Here are some tips:

1. Get a permit for collecting butterflies. It is illegal to collect in national parks without a permit. And please don't damage the flowers, shrubs, trees etc.

2. Have your butterfly collecting equipments ready such as nets, killing jars, plastic containers, notebooks and pen for data, spreading boards, pinning blocks, special pins (not the commons pins) number three is ideal, storage boxes like the glass covered wood boxes and chemicals like ethyl acetate, Lysol or chlorox to prevent mold.

3. Have a handy guide for different species of butterflies. Check out websites in how to properly pin, mount, preserve and display your butterfly collection. Ask help and guidance of the entomology department in a university nearest you.

4 .Butterflies eyes are capable of 180 degree vision, so wear brown or green not brightly coloured clothes and sneak up from behind when trying to catch it with the net.

5. Squeeze lightly the butterfly’s thorax for a few seconds before putting it in a killing jar. This process, stuns the butterfly so it won't keep flapping its wings once inside the jar to not cause damage to its wings.

Like any collectibles, condition of the butterfly is of utmost importance. Butterflies with broken antennae, legs or wings will not be highly graded. Several highly prized butterfly collections are sold in auctions or private dealers.

Most sought after collectible butterflies are the ones that make for fantastic displays mostly hybrids of particular species like the Heliconious or Euphaedra butterflies. Two or three different butterfly species interbreed in a blend zone (where two or more valleys meet). And they are pinned and displayed in a special way to show off their best parts like the underside etc.

Butterfly collections in museums are mostly hundred years old and look all the same for the uninitiated. That's why labeling of your prized catch is of paramount importance. Labels include accurate data of the order name of the insect, the time and place captured, plants on which they were found, name of the collector.

Plants and animal species once together in the same biological ecosystems are now probably endangered, altered or are already gone. That's why precise documentation of your butterfly collection is very important.

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Collecting Carnival Chalkware

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If your style is shabby and chic, then i bet you decorate your place with pieces of carnival chalkware.

These are figurines, wall plaques, statues, piggy banks etc. made of inexpensive plaster of paris. Carnival chalkware became popular during the 1920's to 1950's as carnival or state fair give away prizes.

This was replaced by stuffed animals beginning 1960's because it can be mass produced and not breakable.

Desirable and collectible carnival chalkware are made from Miller studios. Because carnival chalkware are breakable, only a few survive throughout the years in mint condition, mostly these figurines have chips and breaks. Some carnival chalkware were hand painted and some were airbrushed.

You can easily acquire these pieces at flea markets, garage sales or Ebay.

Decorating tip:

Have a theme or motif in every area in your house. Example: Farm theme for your kitchen, so you display different flowers, animals like pigs, roosters, cows, vegetables chalk figurines scattered around your kitchen.

Marina theme in your bathroom, so you gather mermaids, different fishes and shells chalkware in there.

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Collecting Teapot

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If a teapot is well made and produced in small quantity, that would make it rare. And consequently make it more in demand, therefore desirable and collectible.

Take for instance a teapot called Bunnygirl made by Foxfield, the production was instantly halted because Playboy claimed copyright, thus making it a rare piece indeed.

In the world of collectors, teapots are amongst the most favored. Teapot connotes aristocracy ( back in the 17th century tea drinking was indulge only by the upper class society).

Just making the teapots is challenging enough for the potter.

The technical difficulty of making the spout, body, lid , handle in perfect proportion while at the same time making it artfully pleasing to the eye presents complex feat for the maker. Teapots is where art meets craftmanship.

There are many areas in which to start collecting teapots:

1. Collect to a theme that’s the second cardinal rule of collecting. Think porcelain, glass, ceramic, bone china, Brown Betty, silver, Tetsubin and Yixing..

2. You may want to collect antique, folk art, commercially produced teapots.

3. Collect teapots from a certain artists e.g. Clarice Cliff, Suzie Copper etc.

4. Teapots in whimsical designs or shapes like pineapples, houses, dragons, birds, cars, airplanes etc.

5. Collect different sizes of teapots. Like "teapot for one", a teapot that can brew enough tea for only one individual.

"The thrill is in the hunt" so many collectors say. You would find that as you engage in your hobby of collecting teapots, you may come across a teapot which surprises, fascinates and which you didn't know existed. The ultimate teapot may be sought but never found. Leslie Ferrin said that.

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Collecting Music box

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Imagine the music box right in the middle of the living room in everyone's home. Yes sir, the music box was the home entertainment center of the 18th century.

Music boxes played the popular songs of the time, songs from the opera and church hymns.

Skilled artisans in Europe first made the music boxes and because of their intricate craftsmanship music boxes are great collectibles then and now.

When it comes to collecting music boxes, there are several types of music boxes in which to consider buying;

1. In laid music boxes.

2. Musical jewelry boxes.

3 Ballerina music boxes.

4. Musical snuff boxes.

5. Carousel music boxes.

6. Music boxes made of wood, gold, silver, brass, horn, tortoiseshell.

7. Music boxes of different sizes miniature, handheld, tabletop or even larger.

8. Music boxes with varied movement and notes like 28 to144 note music boxes as opposed to only 12 to 18 note music box.

Conservation is much more important than restoration when it comes to music box. Pay attention to first signs of rust, high or low humidity, light, insects like moth and beetles.

Music boxes are not to be stored in small confined spaces. It will create heat therefore will cause damage to the music boxes. Wood may be faded, and impacts varnish and polish if exposed directly to natural or even artificial light.

So there you have it. Set a budget and take into account your unique taste in collecting music boxes. Educate yourself about the hobby by research and hobnobbing with likeminded people.

Connect with restorers who will do the maintenance of your music box collection.

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Collecting Frisbee

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Frisbee is the only toy that was tossed off The Great Wall of China from outer space.

Today, frisbee discs are sold more than basketballs, baseballs and footballs combined. Over 300 million frisbee discs manufactured by one hundred companies have been produced since 1948.

There are many different kinds of frisbee to buy if you want to start a collection. Frisbees that are signed by famous personalities (presidential candidates or famous Hollywood stars), with advertisement of food and beverages, themeparks, with logos of sports teams, to promote concerts( frisbee with a decorated tongue at a Rolling Stones concert) or frisbee that was use to commemorate an historical event .

You can buy frisbees from other countries like Japan, Russia etc. Frisbees with light emitting diodes, that whistle, glow in the dark, inflate, with articulated tails, come with parachutes, that is launch from a catapult, gas propelled or frisbees that are folded up to pocket size.

You can store your collection by putting them in zip lock plastic bags individually. Not stack up against or on top of each other. You may want to avoid scuffmarks or buckling the sides on your prized collection.

As your collection grows, you may want to list everything from manufacturer, weigh to the nearest gram, model number, description and link the information list on a computer database.

There has been many offshoot sports that evolved from the simply tossing of Frisbie Baking Company tin pie pans by Ivy League students from the early days. Sports like ultimate frisbee, disc golf, disc dog and ultimate pick up. Various frisbee tournaments have been organized throughout United States and all over the world.

But the question remains… who threw the first flying discs the ancient Greeks or the Yale University students?

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Collecting Beatles Memorabilia

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Picture yourself in a boat on a river, with tangerine trees and marmalade skies.
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly the girl with kaleidoscope eyes.

I bet you catch yourself singing that magical lyrics of the Beatles. Specifically, the Lennon-McCartney songwriting tandem is just pure genius.

In 1964 The Beatles simultaneously had the number 1, 2 ,3, 4 and 6 hit songs in the Top 100 list. It's just amazing phenomenon isn't it? No band in the U.K. or anywhere else in the world had done that.

Today, and in fact, even after the group disbanded and stopped touring, The Beatles sold over one billion units both solo records and albums. The widespread acceptance and popularity of their music is just astounding. Their musical influence extended into the social and cultural revolutions. The Beatles expressed the zeitgeist of the sixties.

You may want to start collecting their records 45s or albums, picture sleeves, autographs, toys and whole other Beatles memorabilia. One 45 record of the very same song may have different labels such as Decca, Swan, Vj, Tollie, Capitol, RCA, Parlophone etc. There was such a huge demand at that time they had to release records very fast and in large quantities, and they did it by producing in different record companies.

Interesting items that avid Beatles collectors wish would be up for auction:

1. The 78 record of the songs That'll be the day/ Inspite of all the danger, written by Paul and George in 1958 by The Quarrymen. Now valued at $170,000 +.

2. John Lennon's Rickenbacker.

3. Sgt. Pepper suits.

These items belong and still own by The Beatles respective families.

Beatles collectors are not much driven solely for investment, because obviously the prices of these pieces can be very volatile. High priced one week, and down on the floor the next.

What drives these collectors are the passion and thrill of ownership because a very ordinary thing can turn into something magical just by the powerfully strong association with The Beatles.

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Collecting Animation Cels

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Animation cels, short for cellulose acetate or cellulose nitrate. It's a clear plastic sheet that original drawings were made.

Collecting animation cels started when the full length animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs became so popular. Disney studio at the time began to recognize the value of the animators' works.

Today animation art is prized by collectors. Especially with the advent of computer generated graphics cels are no longer used for animation. That's why they are rare and collectible. Little Mermaid in 1989 was the last movie, that cels were used.

Hardcore collectors only collect what they call production art, original animation cels that were used in a movie or a popular series. For animation cels collectors, their collections reminded them of a fantastic moment in films or evoke particular memories from their childhood. Their passion runs deep, they must own a piece of a memorable movie.

The areas in animation cels collecting are varied.

1. Collecting animation cels from one single studio. e.g. Disney, Hanna-Barbera etc.

2. The characters pose whether they using the phone, standing up etc.

3. If the animation cels come with the original background or with matching sketch.

4. If you are only interested in collecting production art( original cels), reproduction art, limited editions or sericels.

Extremely rare and sought after animation cels like the top quality Earle background for Sleeping Beauty would fetch five figure top dollar.

I loved my daily afternoon cartoons when i was a kid....Moby Dick, Mightor, Road Runner, Wacky Races.

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Collecting Playing Cards

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Aside from being used as a gaming device in parlor games, playing cards were also use as a practical platform for representing life's rudimentary facts, a memory aid, teaching and research tool for condensing knowledge.

Playing cards can served as records of social history, depicting how political figures, cultural touchstones and historical events were regarded in their time. As in the admiring caricatures of the Kennedy clan in the Kennedy Kards distributed in 1963.

Playing cards also served as advertising for a particular product or services, fortunetelling tool, erotica and souvenirs. Lately it has been used by prison inmates in the hopes of getting tips to solve cold case crimes.

Many countries and cultures around the world have a major or minor hand in the evolution of the playing cards today:

1. As early as 10th century in China a domino like paper form emerged

2. Italians handpainted playing cards with utmost details and superb artistic skills.

3. Germans learned how to engraved the cards for mass production and reduction of the costs.

4. The French incorporated the Queen in the previously all male court cards. Also they changed the suits from coins ,cups, staves and swords to red color diamonds and hearts and black spades and clubs. Obviously the French suit system is what we use today globally.

5. The Americans incorporated the Joker originally called The Best Bower in 1870.


These are some of the themes or areas you might be interested in collecting playing cards.


1. Collect from one single manufacturer of playing cards e.g. Bee, Bicycle etc.

2. Advertising decks especially if the business it advertised was off the market a long time ago.

3. Magician cards, these are specially designed cards to help the performer stage an optical illusion.

4. Playing cards that are cross-collectibles e.g Disney, Coca Cola, Star wars, American-Indian Memorabilia as in a deck called " Indians of the Southwest" sold at auction for $500.

5. Playing Cards of different sizes and shapes.

6. Playing cards with artistically and intricately designed backs.

7. Transformation decks, which have suit symbols in elaborate designs, like concealing a heart in a face or club in the shape of a bonnet.

8. Collecting only Jokers from varieties of decks.

Collect what pleases you. That's the cardinal rule of collecting.

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