Tip of the Week: What to Call a Collector of Many Things

Take a Break Tuesday presents information for the inquisitive mind

Ever wonder what to call yourself or someone else who is a collector or enthusiast of one specific kind of object?

There is pretty well a long and hard to pronounce name for every kind of collector out there, some of these words (names) can also pertain to someone who not only collects but studies the specific object in great detail. I was curious about what to formally call a few of my favourite collectors…

A Philographist collects autographs – usually (or especially) those coming from famous people.

Helixophiles not only study but collect corkscrews. If I get a bigger house I may gather some corks and then try some D.I.Y projects with the collected corks such as these. Any excuse to open a bottle of wine and add a new do it yourself project under my belt is amazing.

A Virtuoso – is a collector of works of curios (unusual art objects such as bric-a-brac) or fine art . I just want to say the word because it rolls of the tongue VIR-TU-OSO.

I have known a few Pannapictagraphists in my lifetime this is a comic book collector.

You may know a Bibliophile or in everyday words a connoisseur of books.

My grandfather is a Numismatist he collected currency, including coins. Some numismatists also collect paper money, tokens and other correlated objects.

An Oologist is an expert in the realm of bird’s eggs or someone who collects them. If there was an oologist at my place they would be checking out the three new eggs my Gouldian Finch is laying on.

A Brolliologist may be found singing in the rain or holding one of their many umbrellas.

You could say I love collecting stuff but I would call myself a crazy generalist – a collector of random (different) stuff.