ABSTRACT
Oneend to collections is to incorporate them into something more widely understood and approved. In this example we find that what might otherwise have remained a forgotten accumulati on has been incorporated into the decor of the wider environment. Although the owner says rather cryptically that he would never sell his collection of badges, 'as there would be no point', as decor of his restaurant they are c1early beneficial. In this sense, recognisable as a financial asset, in terms of attracting business, the collection could be easily codified in 'estate agentspeak' as 'a feature'. Pearce has importantly noted that incorporation has historically been a trait in collecting by middle-c1ass women (Pearce, 1993), whilst Gelber has noted the origins of philately in feinale collectors, who used pos tage stamps to decorate trinket boxes (Gelber, 1991). In contemporary terms, Damian Hirst and others have 'themed' their exc1usive establishments, as corporate breweries have 'themed' pubs, by introducing quasicollections and objects suggestive of specific time, place or ambience. Today, ready-made collections for interior design can be bought at any auction, and even collected for you by specialists who know where to look. It raises no more eyebrows than the buying ofVictorian house bricks and lavatory seats from salvage and reclamation yards, or adding fake distress effects to piaster wal1s to add 'character' to a house. In an era seemingly besotted with retro images, troublesome or unwanted collections can often find hornes as design or aesthetic decor. Used in this way, collections variously absorb the ordinariness of, or disperse wider appeal to their new environments, but are diluted in their standalone impact.
