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Kansas Collectors - Introduction

Sock monkeyEveryone Needs a Hobby

Collecting is a human pursuit. The oldest collection may be an 80,000 year old collection of pebbles found in a French cave.

Today it is believed that one in three people collects something.

Collecting is a common behavior, but is practiced by individuals for different reasons. While most collectors relish the thrill of the hunt, some may enjoy the physical sensation of handling objects. Others collect things that remind them of their childhoods.

Everyone Needs a Hobby: Kansas Collectors and Collecting is an on-line exhibit inviting you to learn what drives collectors. It was developed by the Kansas Museum of History.

This on-line tour is divided into seven sections.
Click on the first link below to embark on your tour, or visit them in any order.

Ed Fouts sitting on top of his string collection, 1947. Photo courtesy of Columbus Museum, Columbus, Kansas.

  1. The Museum: The House of Muses
  2. The Drive to Collect
  3. Bringing People Together
  4. Living With a Collection
  5. Collecting as Play
  6. Collection as Investment
  7. Working Together: Collectors & Museums
 
"No man is really happy without a hobby."
-- Sir William Osler

 

Contact us at kshs.kansasmuseum@ks.gov.