Collecting

(Did you mean a fanzine named Collector from Howard DeVore or Vern Bennett?)

Collecting is a deep instinct, particularly strong in fankind. A collector, someone who has been bitten by the Kolektinbug, develops an obsessive-compulsive disorder that that drives him or her to accumulate large amounts of sf books, fanzines, prozines, sf artwork, mathoms, tchotchkes, bibelots and/or other materials related to science fiction and fandom. Collectors are not necessarily fans, but fans are highly prone to the disease.

Some collectors, especially completists, collect according to a plan — all the issues of a particular magazine, for example, or all the first editions by their favorite author — but others just hoard accumulate more and more of their obsessional objects until they have no room to move around in their houses.

Those stricken, of course, say they are practitioners of the highest and noblest form of fanac, especially when associated with compiling and publishing a detailed index or bibliography. Such collectors are trufen, and almost by definition, mensches. "I might need that someday...."

Forry Ackerman was fandom’s most famous collector.

Also see: Kolektinbug, Completist, Sam Moskowitz Archive Award, Fannish Splendor, Fannish Ailments.

From Fancyclopedia 2, ca. 1959

A deep instinct of man, particularly strong in fankind. A typical old-time stf fan began by excerpting and binding the particular stories he liked best in Amazing and Weird; then, either because excerpting was too much trouble, or because he saw the desirability of having all the stories on file, began to save all the prozines without tearing them up; when fanzines came along, he saved them too as a matter of course; and eke Buck Rogers 2429 AD. The real trouble begins when you become a completist. Storage space eventually becomes a problem. Fans' filing methods vary, but they really do need to have their collections where they can be easily referred to. Scrapbooks are a common supplement to magazine collections. Part of any fan visit is inspection of the visitee's collection.

From Fancyclopedia 1, ca. 1944

A deep instinct of man, particularly strong in fankind. A typical old-time stfan began by excerpting and binding the particular stories he liked best in Amazing and Weird; then, either because he saw the desirability of having all the stories on file, began to save all the prozines without tearing them up; when fanzines came along, he saved them too as a matter of course; and eke Buck Rogers 2429 AD. The real trouble begins when you become a completist. Storage space eventually becomes a problem. Fans' filing methods vary, but they do really need to have their collections where they can be easily referred to. Scrapbooks are a common supplement to magazine collections. Part of any fan visit is inspection of the visitee's collection.

---

Fanspeak

This is a fanspeak page. Please extend it by adding information about when and by whom it was coined, whether it’s still in use, etc.