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Synopsis
The acquisition of objects is close to the heart of what it is to be human. In the world of the collector this acquisition is divorced from utility, becoming its own, endlessly varied justification. Philipp Blom examines the various causes and forms of the collecting impulse, from the joy of identifying and satisfying a need to possess, to the creation of comforting taxonomies.
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Reviews
Taking as its inspiration Walter Benjamin's dictum that a collector's passion borders on "the chaos of memory," this curiously moving history argues that collecting is driven by the desire to control that chaos. Blom traces the development of collections since the Renaissance through lively portraits of famous collectors, like the Englishman Sir Thomas Phillips, who believed that he was meant to own one copy of every book in the world; the Austrian Franz Joseph Gall, who lined his walls with row upon row of skulls; and the American Alex Shear, who has amassed more than a hundred thousand relics of nineteen-fifties America. Blom shows that there is no limit to what can be collected, or to the intensity of the pursuit. Ultimately, he suggests, "the shadow looming over every cabinet" is a kind of willful, if unacknowledged, futility. To collect is to freeze the world in its tracks and hold it still. But if this succeeded what would be left to collect?
Copyright © 2005 The New Yorker
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To Have and to Hold : An Intimate History of Collectors and Collecting
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To Have and to Hold: An Intimate History of Collectors and Collecting
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To Have and to Hold: An Intimate History of Collectors and Collecting
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Condition: Good. This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside.This book has soft covers. In good all round condition. Please note the Image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item,350grams, ISBN:9780140294804. Seller Inventory # 5755507
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To Have and to Hold : An Intimate History of Collectors and Collecting
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Softcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. Wraps are tidy with little edge rub. Binding is secure. Creases on the top right corner of the pages. No inscriptions or annotations. JHK. Our orders are shipped using tracked courier delivery services. Seller Inventory # c36ct
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To Have and to Hold: An Intimate History of Collectors and Collecting
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Condition: Good. This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside.This book has soft covers. In good all round condition. Please note the Image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item,350grams, ISBN:9780140294804. Seller Inventory # 9955840
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To Have and to Hold: An Intimate History of Collectors and Collecting
Seller: Anybook.com, Lincoln, United Kingdom
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Condition: Good. This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside.This book has soft covers. In good all round condition. Please note the Image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item,350grams, ISBN:9780140294804. Seller Inventory # 9955839
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