In the days of the flourishing "handle-bar" mustache, these cups were used by gentlemen to keep their mustaches out of their coffee.

It is in just this way that many collections start. Traveling about, one often sees things of interest that might be used to start a collection. Children like to gather postcards, for example, showing the places they have visited or would like to visit. Some adults have made extensive collections of this kind.

One man became interested in pictorial maps of the various cities he visited. From this simple beginning there grew a very valuable collection of beautiful picture maps of cities all over the world. Some of them were old maps with historical interest.

We have all heard the expression "dirt cheap." Obviously, dirt is cheap because there is so much of it, but just the same, collecting dirt is a hobby which some people enjoy. Think of the possibility, for example, of collecting different-colored dirt or sand. Here is a field that many have explored. The red clay of New Jersey, the white sand of the seashore, the many colors of the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone Park, Bryce's Canyon, or Zion National Park are all possibilities. The collector will find that almost all colors of the rainbow can be found. The sands are often arranged in layers in small jars. Sometimes each specimen of sand is placed in a separate small container.

One man has made an unusual variation in dirt collecting. He calls it "terracartography." As he goes from one state to another, or from one country to another this man collects samples of dirt. When he gets home he mounts this dirt on a map so that he has the actual soil from each one of the places he has visited in the proper place on the map.

Another idea similar to this is to collect water from the various places of interest you visit. This water can be sealed in small bottles, labeled, and placed on display. If you visit the Golden Gate in California, then a sample from this beautiful gateway to the Pacific will start your collection. Water from the Jordan River in Palestine, the Shannon in Ireland, the Rhine in Germany, the way to your shelf. Here again you can seek the help of your friends who travel and ask them to bring you samples of the Great Salt Lake or water from the highest mountain they climb.

Collectors have found many other things to remind them of places they have visited. Some people collect souvenir spoons. They buy them, of course, for a real collector will not be so cheap as to collect items at the expense of someone else. Others find that collecting different kinds of soap from various cities is interesting. Still others enjoy visiting local cemeteries and collecting odd inscriptions on the tombstones. By keeping copies of the inscriptions, notes on the location of the and from Niagara Falls might find cemeteries and the dates of the stones, it is interesting to record the oldest you can find and observe how the older inscriptions differ from the newer.

Pitchers - all sizes and shapes.

Sometimes one will discover most unusual collections made by his own friends. One girl, for example, found that her aunt had a very extensive collection of sea shells from all parts of the world. Big ones, little ones, beautiful ones, and plain ones had been gathered and classified in a most interesting fashion.

Those who travel to other countries have a wonderful chance to gather interesting collections. Dolls in native costumes from foreign countries make a fascinating collection. Then there are such things as labels, wrapped sugar, and menus of various kinds. Speaking of menus, some of the collections of historical menus are now worth a great deal of money. These old lists of food are most interesting to study. They tell a great deal about what people ate in former days. This topic leads us into a great group of collections that might be called historical in nature.