Collecting is a curious activity. It evades any precise definition as to who does it, why, or of what a collection consists. Kings, presidents, and millionaires with vast fortunes collect. But so do children and magpies who have no money.
Some people are quite rational and organized about it; others, totally frantic. It is not necessary to human existence in the physical sense, but is so widespread that it must satisfy some part of the human psyche. Most people go about it in a quiet and friendly way; a few are ruthless, and fraud, theft and even murder have been committed in its name. Some fortunes have been made by it, but an equal number have been lost. One thing, however, is constant.
Very few people regret it.
Robert Cumming, On Collecting, 1984