"The What Cheer House catered to men only, permitted no liquor on the premises, and housed San Francisco's first free library and first museum." Opened in 1852 by Robert B. Woodward it became immensely popular. "[S]ailors enjoyed staying there... [he] was such a well-liked man that they would often bring him trinkets from around the world when they’d come to town. For Woodward, these gifts were the beginning of what would become a life-long obsession with collecting." He moved the collection and opened Woodward's Gardens in 1866 between Mission and Valencia at 13th-15th streets. Called the Central Park of the West, it was San Francisco's most famous public resort. [more inside]
posted by jessamyn on Oct 4, 2009 - 23 comments

Desperate Man Blues Edward Gillen's documentary about Joe Bussard, renowned collector of 25,000+ blues, folk and gospel 78rpm records from the 20s and 30s. It's about the hunt and the hunter, as much as what he found. One week only on Pitchfork TV [more inside]
posted by msalt on Jan 31, 2009 - 15 comments

The Art of Sharpening the Pencil (You've GOT to check out the bizarre pencil sharpener at the bottom of the page. "You'll poke your eye out!"). [more inside]
posted by spock on Oct 23, 2007 - 33 comments

Apparently Gus & Pam enjoy the Star Wars films.
posted by jonson on Feb 6, 2006 - 109 comments

Tips from the Blue Devils - Dunking the ball is a flashy move. In some instances, it can be the wrong move. Pot and cocaine are wrong moves. They mess up your thinking and can kill you instantly.
posted by sdrawkcab on Jan 25, 2006 - 41 comments

My Armoury - A resource for historic arms & armour collectors (Unfortunately, mostly replicas)
posted by growabrain on Feb 12, 2005 - 8 comments

I had today off so I decided to take pictures of my Pikachu Obsession...
posted by kirkaracha on Jan 6, 2005 - 59 comments

Every Song Ever Recorded His goal: to own a digital copy of every song ever made. His reason: to preserve them through the upcoming apocalyptic jihad. Just don't ask him to share. (via Macsurfer)
posted by joaquim on Nov 11, 2004 - 39 comments

Mars Attacks!
"In 1962, Topps released the bubble-gum cards known as "Mars Attacks". They were the creation of Len Brown and Woody Gelman. They were painted by the famous pulp-comic artist, Norm Saunders. Presented here, for the first time on the Web, are scanned reproductions of their genius..."
posted by quonsar on Dec 11, 2003 - 23 comments

Thrift store record collectors' treasure trove. I know that we talked about the supposed worst record album covers of all time here, but some of these were too priceless not to share, and some have MP3s of the actual recordings to boot!!!

Here's just a small taste of what to expect:

"...There's no photos or credits anywhere on this album. Just the sickly drawing on the cover and a list of song titles. I bought it for 50 cents on a hunch after noticing the title: "Diary of an Unborn Child". As far as bizarre Christian LPs, I gotta say, this is this most extreme thing I've ever heard. It's some full grown man with a munchkin voice, singing terrifying songs about drug use, abortion and being a fat kid and each fill me with a profound sense of dread, horror, and disgust."
posted by psmealey on Nov 26, 2003 - 20 comments

Spasmodica There have been some unusual homemade characters popping up, but I thought the names and descriptions for these were unusually clever. For example: Chestaire, who "secretly wishes he had more hair (on his head)." Or Jacques Heepoe ("the 's' is silent") the hippo who is "an avid tonette player".

Hey, Kelly Osborne owns one. And if you're out of work like me, the creator is open to swaps. Sweet.
posted by sparky on Sep 19, 2003 - 9 comments

Chinese-art.com is a web-based portal site designed to provide.. [more]
posted by hama7 on Mar 16, 2003 - 4 comments

If You Were Rich Would You Collect Modern First Editions? Well, it's difficult to browse Christie's upcoming auction of 20th century books and manuscripts; the stock of a well-known bookseller such as Ken Lopez or even go "bargain-hunting" at Amazon without understanding their appeal... [More inside.]
posted by MiguelCardoso on Nov 25, 2002 - 21 comments

Hong Kong Debt Collection Gets Ugly. "Collectors have been known to throw snakes, or a swarm of grasshoppers into an apartment to hasten debt repayment, or to hang the carcasses of dogs and cats outside." I think I'd prefer being declined for credit, wouldn't you?
posted by Miss Beth on Sep 10, 2002 - 3 comments

A 63-year old Norwegian bus company owner has amassed one of the worlds largest collections of ancient manuscripts valued at over 110 million dollars. His story, how the collection is used and his plans for the sale proceeds are all first-class and an inspiration to private collectors of antiquities.
posted by stbalbach on Aug 25, 2002 - 15 comments

Pez! Forget politics, today's about gorging on candy. And what other candy is so obsessed over as Pez? (Google search results of "pez") I'm surprised no Pez sites were mentioned in the Magnificent Obsession discussion earlier this month, such as Pez Central. There's even a Dark Side of Pez site. For adults who didn't get good candy for Halloween when they were young, there's the Prozac Pez dispenser collection (be sure to play the Prozac Pez Game, it's like a shooting gallery).
posted by msacheson on Oct 31, 2001 - 10 comments

One of my favorite things about surfing the web is stumbling upon someone's magnificent obsession. In order to qualify as a Magnificent Obsession (M.E.) -- at least according to my definition -- the hobby must strike me as slightly-to-extremely insane while, at the same time, fill me with admiration for the hobbyist's discipline. Some M.E.s are about collecting totally useless data (like the main link above), or like this research into EXIT Sign Coloration; or strange items, like Wal-Mart receipts or air-sickness bags. But my favorite M.E.s are the ones that lead to huge expense and huge amounts of time spent building or fixing wonderful, useless objects -- like planetarium projectors or Lost in Space robots, which "can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $35,000 and vary in detail depending on the abilities and resources made available to the builder. A project like this can take months if not years to complete." Know any other good M.E. links?
posted by grumblebee on Oct 4, 2001 - 80 comments

"Many individuals have asked me in past months, Why moist towelette collecting? Why not stamp collecting, or numismatics? To be different, perhaps? Well, I must admit that at first that was part of the appeal, but I have since become aware of the strong movement of Moist Towelette enthusiasts, and accepted that I am not alone in my fascination / hobby."
posted by machaus on Jun 25, 2001 - 12 comments