There’s no “right” way to begin a pop memorabilia collection. Collecting is a personal journey, nuanced and unique to every individual. The world of pop memorabilia is so saturated, so seemingly endless, one could spend their life turning over every rock in the world in search of hidden gems. It’s this hunt that really excites collectors. It’s an innate desire to gather the artifacts of a story that is near and dear to their individual hearts. It’s passion!
The simplest way to start… is to start!
Ok, let’s say you’re a Beatles fan (like us). You start off listening to their music in the back of your parents’ car on the way to school, then get older and add them to your Spotify playlist, and now you know the lyrics to every single song. Next, you’re gifted a hand-me-down record player and are excited to discover your uncle has an old box of 45s stashed in his basement, filled with Beatles jukebox favorites. You put them on your bookshelf, choosing one to place on the record platter, and then lay on your stomach, knees bent so your feet are dancing above your back, eyes closed, chin rested in your hands, as the crackling record sings “Hey Jude” to you.
Before you know it, you’ve scoured every record shop in town and have every Beatles record, including different pressings with hidden tracks and unique artwork. Your Beatles fandom moves onto old posters, shirts, books, stickers… any piece of pop memorabilia you can find that will sate your appetite for all-things Beatles; anything that will bring you closer to that magical era in music history.
Before you know it…
Guess what… you’re a collector of pop memorabilia! The itch has clearly struck you. It’s become about the hunt, the adventure of exploring all aspects of the Beatles world. But now that you’ve started… where do you end?
That’s a question for another article (one I won’t be writing!). The reality is, once you start collecting pop memorabilia, it never really ceases. There’s always something you haven’t seen, some song demo you haven’t heard… it’s about how far your collecting appetite takes you, how far down the rabbit hole you’re willing to go.
Happy collecting!
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