George Musgrave Collection, Eastbourne

http://www.musgravemuseum.co.uk/

“There is no doubt a psychological reason why we become collectors. In actual fact everybody becomes a collector. Every kitchen begins with one item. When the opportunity arises we extend our collection with items associated with it. We discover that a neighbour has the latest fashion in something we are interested in. We want it too. Sometimes, just to be different, we add something to our collection. A glass cabinet that first housed a wedding resent or a school trophy becomes filled with curios from numerous excursions. Everyone becomes a collector from the toy cupboard of infancy to nostalgic memorabilia of old age. The photographs and picture postcards from the passing years are a collection. We like to show people what we have collected.

Some of us, as the years go by, are reluctant to part with items that have special significance for us. We develop an ambition to collect a set or widen our ownership of related objects. Some go to prison for doing so illegally! Some do not let others examine their collection because theirs is an insatiable desire to collect money – call it thrift. Investors are collectors.

Some of us gain status because we like to show others what we have collected and believe it is beneficial to the viewers. Others consider us hoarders.
I believe I became a collector because of the poverty of my childhood when one did not dispose of anything so long as it had a possible use.” (Musgrave ND:3)