November 17, 1997
meet Donn ...he collects bags big collections of little buildings Meatloaf's spoons and more! souvenir-surfing from dirt to taxis: what our readers collect
Web posted at: 2:07 p.m. EST (1907 GMT)(CNN) -- Humans have brought home mementos of their journeys since the beginning of time. No doubt it was pretty dull stuff in the beginning -- a rock, a branch, an animal bone. But history marches on, and with time came cars, planes, carry-on bags with wheels, and, perhaps most pivotally, plastic. Hence, the golden age of souvenirs.
Whether you call it progress or not, there's no denying the snow globe effect. And why should we? Souvenirs appeal to our primal urges to wander, gather, and keep. They are trophies of our journeys. And they are touchstones for our memories.
"The little tea towel, the ashtray ... at the time you buy them, it's just like, 'These objects are cute,'" says Cathy Cook, editor of "Collectibles: Flea Market Finds" magazine. "But in the end, these are powerful psychological objects. ... These silly things recapture the moments of freedom when you were away from it all."
Souvenirs needn't be fancy, and in most cases they're not. All it takes is the eye of the beholder -- and the pockets, too -- to make cherished mementos of hotel soaps, matchbooks and the like.
Hot souvenirs
Cook says some of the hottest souvenirs today are campy and familiar classics.
"Things that are big as collectibles right now are snow domes and floaty pens. Almost any big city or minor tourist attraction has a floaty pen or a snow dome," she says. "There are floaty pens now of O.J. Simpson's house."
So are those trinkets from your 5th grade field trips worth anything? "Snow domes can get up there, the rarer ones," says Cook. "Maybe $20 or $25."
Okay, so you can't retire on it, but at least the memories are valuable. And you never know what will come of that little keepsake.
Yes, camp is good, but sometimes a nice bottle of wine is better. Which of the following is the worst souvenir to receive as a gift?
Tokens and consequences
Massive collections -- even careers -- can arise from the most humble of souvenirs.
Take Tom Jiamachello, a French teacher in Vermont, whose mother collected toothpick holders:
"The reason that my mother started ... was that her mother went to Kansas to visit her sister in 1918. She wanted something to remember her trip by, so in a local five-and-dime, there was a souvenir custard glass (that she bought) ... and my mother started collecting these things and got me into it," he explains.
The collection mushroomed. Eventually, Jiamachello became president of The National Toothpick Holder Collectors Society , and started a popular Website called "CollectorOnline" that lists more than 500 clubs and has an extensive cyber-mall.
Think about your progeny, next time you buy a refrigerator magnet or View-Master key chain -- you never know where it could lead.
Related sites:
CollectorOnline
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