Fletch
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 8,865
- Location
- Iowa - The Land That Stuff Forgot
The danger of the collector-researcher mentality (and there is one...I know from experience ) is that you lose sight of trends in a given era and begin to see it as just a collection of raw data. In an effort to be as faithful and accurate as possible, you often feel you should keep your impressions to yourself. In an effort not to get bored silly with your subspecialty, you tend to focus on anomalies.
This eventually causes you to present your findings as an undifferentiated data dump ("You can find just anything, from uncuffed to 8 inches. Also depends on[list of 22 other features, all clickable, starting with armholes]. Search the forum for more information.")
But there really were trends and typicals in each era, especially in an area as conservative by and large as men's clothing. If you intend for your info to be truly educational and not just for use by the already-educated, you need this kind of context.
It starts with asking the question, "What did I want to know most before I knew all this stuff?" Imagine the newbie's predicament. Unfortunately, this is where it ends with a lot of collector-types, because their collecting is all about them and the stuff. Nobody helped them, and they'll be damned if they're going to help anyone else.
This eventually causes you to present your findings as an undifferentiated data dump ("You can find just anything, from uncuffed to 8 inches. Also depends on[list of 22 other features, all clickable, starting with armholes]. Search the forum for more information.")
But there really were trends and typicals in each era, especially in an area as conservative by and large as men's clothing. If you intend for your info to be truly educational and not just for use by the already-educated, you need this kind of context.
It starts with asking the question, "What did I want to know most before I knew all this stuff?" Imagine the newbie's predicament. Unfortunately, this is where it ends with a lot of collector-types, because their collecting is all about them and the stuff. Nobody helped them, and they'll be damned if they're going to help anyone else.