By Lee Bernstein

Throughout history, collecting has played an important part in society. Some psychiatrists (for example, Freud) have said the need to collect is inborn. Yet, while the desire to collect may be strong in everyone, it wasn't until the Industrial Revolution that the general public could collect with the passion of the upper class.

The elite had always enjoyed having collections, but others didn't have the means or opportunity until mass production. As soon as mass-produced objects became available, acquiring them fueled a collecting passion among the middle class. The more the public bought, the more manufacturers responded, and merchandising helped fire the collecting fever we know today.

"Collectibles" as a buzzword didn't become popular until the second half of the 20th century. Until then, people thought more in terms of "having a collection" or "making an acquisition" than "owning a collectible." Today however, collectibles are more than an expression; collectibles are a widespread pastime that's growing in popularity by the minute.

Most people collect something, whether they realize it or not. Perhaps it's a shoebox filled with old love notes, a stack of favorite books or CDs, or a scrapbook laden with recipes. People who keep photo albums or have their children's' drawings tucked away for safe keeping may not think of themselves as having a collection, but they do. Many, however, have a passion for "collectibles" that extends far beyond making a stack or filling a drawer. Lovers of collectibles accumulate their possessions intentionally, and they collect just about anything. (See Why People Collect and What is a Collectible.)

The 20th Century was a perfect training ground for collectors, particularly during the 1930's when the collecting craze hit hard. Victims of the Depression longed for escape through acquisition, but most people couldn't afford the luxury of frivolous shopping. As such, low-priced merchandise or premiums became the way to collect. For example, items such as the dinnerware offered by dime stores and movie houses were seen as being more than economical place settings. In the eyes of collectors, "Depression glass" was an escape as well as an inducement to collect, all of which came laced in cloudless crystal or rainbow colors to help chase away the blues.

Kids accumulated too. Advertising gimmicks, bubble gum baseball cards, and radio show premiums made the Depression tolerable -- even fun, at times. Of course, adults and children didn't see the latest gravy boat or secret decoder ring as being a "collectible," but they did see it as something to covet and collect, if only for the time being.

The Depression also led to a mid-20th century need for comfort through possession. People took great joy in overstocking their cabinets and refrigerators simply because the scarcity of the Depression created a need to own more than enough to get by.

In the '50s and '60s, old wasn't cool. Modern was everything. If it doesn't work, no problem. Throw it away and buy the latest model.

Something greater was happening, however. Baby boomers were riding on their grandparents' compulsion to start anew as well as their parents need to possess the latest, greatest thing. A lot of middle class kids didn't just own toys; they owned a collection of toys. It wasn't enough to have one or two Roy Rogers or Mickey Mouse Club items. The more, the better. The psychology of gotta-have-it was in full swing. Like the advertising premium fans of earlier times, consumers didn't always see what they bought as being collectible, especially since the items were modern and meant for use ... but accumulate they did.

By late mid-century, shoppers began to compare modern mass-produced items to the mass-produced items of the past. More and more, the cliché of the day became "They just don't make it like they used to." Of course, kids were too busy having fun to worry about such things, but they heard those words and absorbed them for future reference.

As time went on, people felt a longing for remembrances of simpler times, and they began to miss items previously discarded – toys, Grandma’s cookie jar, a first car, tools built-to-last, etc. Intrigued by nostalgia as well as practicality, these folks began to seek out examples for purchase. Other people felt haunted by the past yet they longed for tokens of it -- war memorabilia, discarded items from the depression, the old country, and such. These sentimental longings gave birth to the first true vintage "collectibles" --secondary market trades or purchases representative of late 19th and 20th century culture, history, and/or mass production.

Manufacturers took advantage of the situation and began manufacturing contemporary collectibles. Limited edition plates are a good example. Some manufacturer-manipulated collectibles kept their value, some did not, but consumers started paying attention to collecting 20th century "stuff" while their feelings of nostalgia heightened.

This yearning wove itself around the public's heart as well as hope. Elders -- particularly those who had survived hard times -- longed for their descendants to enjoy more comfortable and prosperous lives. This gave rise to a generation of parents who kept accumulating while trying to keep up with the Jones's, not to mention trying to keep up with the Jones’s baby! It became common for baby-boomer children to have large contemporary toy collections – everything from marbles to Barbies to Matchbox cars. Their parents collected too, with decorative items and memorabilia becoming particularly popular.

Few people can store so much for long. As time passed, people by the millions threw away the contents of bedrooms, attics, basements, and garages overflowing with "stuff." Yet the need to collect remained. People who felt pangs of nostalgia began to acquire what others discarded. Parents who collected through their children went on to collect for themselves while their children (the middle age adults of today) shared a love of possession with the next generation, and so it goes.

Today's collector enjoys both the vintage as well as the modern. As we acquire the new, we cherish the old... and search for all the stuff we wish we'd saved as kids! Now, at the end of this millennium, "collectibles" is a common term, with the need to collect reflecting our elders' desires as well as our own.

Collectibles have come of age, and with the age comes a reflection of ourselves as a society as well as individuals. Whether it's the past or the present... whether it's through our parents, ourselves, or our children: we wait, we watch, we remember... and we collect.

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The preceding material was written by Lee Bernstein. These are the opinions of the author, not the opinions of eBay, and therefore eBay does not validate the accuracy of or endorse these opinions.