There are many people who collect books of various kinds. A man in New York City has spent years gathering old dime novels. He has thousands of them now and intends to turn them over to the Library of Congress some day. Other people like to gather old Bibles; still others are interested in first editions of books. Another interesting kind of book collecting is assembling rare or beautiful bindings. Associated with bindings are bookplates. These are small pieces of paper pasted in the front of the book to show to what library or person the book belongs. They always contain the name of the owner or of the library. An amusing picture or scroll is very often engraved upon the bookplate. These items are, of course, bought or traded by the collector.

There is romance in pictures, especially old pictures. In the early days of the camera, taking a picture was a serious business, as you will see if you examine some of the old family portraits. It was against the rules to smile, and the idea was to sit as stiff and straight as possible.

Stereoscopic pictures are another type of old photographs. They are peculiar because, when they are viewed with especially prepared glasses, they show all objects in three dimensions. For example, people in such photographs look like little statues. Several generations ago these entertaining pictures were very popular. Many a "front parlor" had a collection. In the early days, photographers were busy gathering all the subjects they could find for use in the parlor stereoscopes. Thousands of pictures were made, many of them most interesting from a historical standpoint. Others were funny because of the clothing, the mustaches, odd haircuts, and the like on the people pictured.

Some collectors look for pictures of ships; others are anxious to find railroad pictures of locomotives or stations. Still others find pictures of historical spots most interesting. If you know where there is a supply of these old pictures, you may have a nest egg for a real collection.

Collecting Ship Models

Collecting ship models is a hobby followed by young and old. Sometimes it is necessary to make your own models.

Many famous people detest autograph hunters - and well they should, because there are very few autograph collectors in the real sense of the word. Too many of them are hunters who go about just annoying people. The art of collecting old letters and signatures is a very fascinating one. It attracts many people. There is a historical value in it, too, that few other hobbies can match. A skillful collector of signatures will take great care not to offend the person whose signature he is seeking. Famous people do not like to sign plain blank sheets of paper. By sad experience they have learned that there are some people who will use this signature in trying to collect money. For this reason it is well to select something appropriate for the occasion when seeking an autograph. Babe Ruth will sign a baseball more readily than a piece of paper. An author will usually sign a copy of his book, story, or poem. A menu from a hotel, a program of a play, or some similar sheet is appropriate for you to proffer for a signature if the signer has been present. If you decide to collect autographs, be skillful about it and you will be much more successful.