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Contents
Introduction
Lots of people collect lots of things: salt and pepper shakers, plates, corks, bottle caps, bottles, T-shirts, 1st edition books, ceramic animals, art. Anything is collectible. If an item exists and is transportable, it is collected by someone, somewhere. You name it, someone collects it. What is collected often depends on how much money is involved. Things are collected because they are pretty, useful, valuable, reminiscent of a place once visited, or something remembered. Some collections are quite extensive; displayed on walls or on tables. My dad has a stamp collection but it disappears easily into a cabinet.
Why does the hobby of collecting seem so pervasive? Who knows. I'll bet everyone knows someone who collects something even if you yourself don't. Maybe it's the thrill of the hunt, perhaps this newly discovered thing, so like yet unlike the original thing feeds something in the brain. It demands to be obtained, so it is. Whatever the reason, a "Collector" is born.
Now there is nothing wrong with you if you collect things, as long as it doesn't interfere with your welfare, the welfare of those around you, or the GNP. After all, other people make a living by selling these collectibles.
However, I do wish to make one thing clear. Even though I have a small hoard of pelican objet d'art, I do not collect pelicans.
I acquire them.
My Pelicans are not Souvenirs
I've been acquiring pelicans for years. I believe, though I can't be absolutely sure, my pelican collection started between the springs of 1987 and 1989 with a pelican-shaped candle that I saw, liked, thought was too frivolous, but was talked into buying by my sister-in-law. (She collects thimbles). I believe the tactic she used was "don't be sensible, have fun!." At the time I do not remember buying it with the intention of starting any kind of collection. But I think this sister-in-law took notes. She has since has been instrumental in my continued acquisition efforts. Several pelicans have come from her side of the family. And, of course, once my side of the family found out, things sort of escalated.
I believe my second purchase was a ceramic tile hot plate that I found while on our 5th anniversary weekend getaway to Monterey, CA back in 1991. I don't think I bought it because a pelican was on it, though I can't remember. It was pretty, and it was useful and I liked it.
Many people (dare we call them "vacationers"?) will pick up the odd (sometimes very odd) item at places they visit; often these are spoons or mugs, etc. bearing the name of the vacation spot, the majority actually manufactured in a foreign country. These are not collections but "mementos" aka souvenirs6 .
Neither the hotplate nor the candle qualify as real "souvenirs". Looking at them there is no clue as to where I got them. You can't rely on the "made in.." label on the underside, either. Neither are they in the shape (i.e. an Eiffel Tower or Empire State Building statuette) of their origin. Unless I tell you where I bought it, you just can't tell from whence it came. Only one of my pelicans actually qualifies as a bonified souvenir. When I bought it, the salesperson wrote "Catalina '93" across its base in indelible magic marker immortalizing my trip to Catalina Island in California. (This was the "free personalization" they advertised.) It's actually a Christmas ornament.
How Big is My Collection?
Not very, and there is a reason for this.
As of this writing I have about 24 pelicans the latest being a housewarming gift from a different sister-in-law. (I have 6 s-i-ls at last count). But if you count the photo of the nebula at the top of this page, thoughtfully provided to me by my knic-knac, clutter despising husband, I have 25. Occasionally, a year will go by when I don't get any pelicans. I have sometimes (okay, seven times) acquired a particularly nice or unusual one for myself. But I do not have one in every room, (yes the bathroom counts as a room no matter what realtors think). Neither are they plastered on dish towels or T-shirts3 or even salt shakers, though I suspect somewhere those items exist, perhaps Florida? My husband is therefore, not driven nuts by pelicans popping out of the woodwork or his underwear drawer. Neither are pelicans considered "cute" by the general populace so there is little chance the store buyer will make them widely available at their local department or discount store. So, I do not run the risk of them becoming a decorative theme, with little blue bows around their necks, to become passe once everyone in this country seems to have one.
Certainly some of
you may remember these. 
If you'd
like a dissertation on them, click the image.
The Difference between the Average Collector, and Me
Collections, be they salt and pepper shakers, quilts, memorabilia, stamps, plates, shells, etc., can take up a lot of space, collect dust, even run some people's lives. Avid collectors have a tendency to want to know what you collect; that is if you can get them off the subject of their own collection. And a lot of people collect things. I've got relatives and a few friends who collect things. Chances are you know someone who collects.
Some collections just happen, often to people who had no intention whatsoever of collecting anything. Often, it is not their fault. While many people decide for themselves what to collect, (whether based on monetary value or some other equally valid reason) many others are not so fortunate. These are the people, (and I was once one of them), who claim they do NOT collect anything and do not want to collect anything. If you happen to have collectors in your family, this is not a good thing to claim for they may decide that you simply must collect something and decide what to collect for you. Letting that happen can be dangerous.
They seem to have a deep need in assisting you into the world of collecting. Perhaps they wish you would collect something simply because it makes it easier for them to buy your birthday present. Or perhaps it's some deep-seated need to bring you down to their cluttered level. It begins when you start receiving impromptu gifts; perhaps varriations of an item these familial collectors have seen in your home, or something you mentioned in passing while out shopping together. For whatever reason, one day you may wake up and find yourself to be a "collector" with a dubious "collection" even though you never purchased any of the items yourself nor intend to in the future. Not to worry, they will do it for you, it's a law of nature.
There are only a few sure fire ways to get out of this potential trap:
become a monk in an order that allows no worldy possessions
declare yourself a minimalist and make it impossible for anyone to give you anything since you have no coffee table on which to put it
or become a non-collector like me, choosing what to collect to keep others who would collect who knows what for you, under control.
Since most people are not monks, nor minimalists, you will undoubtedly have a few horizontal surfaces in your home, simply begging to be covered by something besides a lamp. Beware.
So how do you become a non-collector?
Collect a hard to find thing and announce it to the world, or at the very least your immediate family.
Do not choose an impossible to
find thing (like albatrosses if you live in the US, they
aren't native here so I guarantee you will get something
else like one of these .
Also, do not pick something too expensive to buy like gold coins, or again, a collection of their choice may be substituted. Give them a challenge and they will enjoy themselves and you may even enjoy their efforts.
This is why (I tell myself) I collect pelicans. I live in Michigan (and before that Virginia), not a lot of pelicans out there for people to buy for me.
I like pelicans. I also like puffins and penguins. I like sea birds in general. They're so different than the birds in my backyard. They also bring back fond memories of trips taken to the seashore many years ago when I was younger, much shorter and collected sea shells without knowing I was engaged in a national pastime.
Seagulls are harder for me to appreciate, since I so often saw them at dumps while on the way to those seashores. They were indelibly etched onto my mind as garbage feeders. They will, undoubtedly, forever remind me of dumps. I find terns and sandpipers much more pleasant and much more fun to watch.
Of Puffins and Penguins
It is easier to find puffin paraphernalia than pelican (at least in the coastal northeast), probably because of their colorful, clownish appearance. Penguins are also considerably cuter without needing to be "prettied up". In fact although there are no native penguins in the United States they can be found in many incarnations all over. In cities with zoos and aquariums they invariably appear in the attached gift stores, especially around Christmas time. (Of course, Christmas penguins are often wearing wreaths or little red hats sporting white pom poms.) Both species also have had dozens of documentaries made about them for television. They have appeared in cartoons. Pelicans have had fewer documentaries that I know of; they are simply not as popular and thus do not bring in the ratings (though why this kept PBS from drowning us in them anyway, I'll never know).
Consequently, pelicans are perceived to be rather dull and so fewer replicas are to be found.
This is what makes them the ideal, challenging, collectible.
Unless you live in Florida, or other pelican-frequented places.
Location, Location, Location
As I mentioned before, for the collector of all things pelican, unless you (or a friend) live on the west coast1 or Florida, or some other similar place frequented by the live bird, pelicans are hard to come by. Pelicans do not hang out in New England for example, so you will not find many pelican replicas for sale. Up there it's puffin mania, especially in Maine.
As an example I recently visited Myrtle Beach, S.C. Flocks of pelicans flew up and down the beach. Therefore it was not surprising to notice a few pelicans in the first store I entered. They were on coffee mugs, beach towels, etc. I don't NEED any more coffee mugs2, so I didn't buy any, with or without pelicans. I did not feel the need to buy something just because it had a pelican or because it said Myrtle Beach (though I did buy a baseball hat). I also suspected that I would probably see more in other stores if I changed my mind and wanted to buy one.
Pelican City
A bit farther south I discovered Pawley's Island and a little store called Pelicans and Pineapples. Needless to say I sauntered in. There were pelicans everywhere, none of which I had. There were welcome mats, coasters, statues, wall hangings, key chains. They came in brass, resin, pewter, wood, plastic, stone, more than I could possibly ever want. (There were also pineapples but I don't collect those). Some pelicans looked like pelicans, others looked more like ducks with overbites. After much deliberation I purchased a small wood pelican sitting on a post. Why did I pick this one? Because it's the only pelican I have without feet, it's sitting on them. All my others are standing. It was also nice to look at, and it was inexpensive. Lastly, it was at least made in a country in which pelicans reside. Most refreshing.
I have a few puffins and penguins received as gifts before I officially began collecting pelicans. These puffins and penguins were mainly gifts from my half of the family which resides in New England. I did not officially collect anything in those days but probably expressed and interest in the cuteness of the birds. Consequently, I have been the recipient of a few puffins since my family used to vacation in Maine. Occasionally I still receive a puffin or two, but not enough to cause panic, although on thinking it over, a collection of all three; pelicans, puffins, and penguins could be rather amusing.
As mentioned above I have one hotplate, picturing a brown pelican perched atop a post. I've also got pewter pelicans, porcelain ones, resin, carved wood, a set of coasters, one in concrete (a garden ornament), a metal box in the shape of and painted like a pelican, a tie tack, and one candle. Did I neglect to mention the beanie babies®?? All are fairly decent representations of pelicans. Although a couple of the pewter ones are made to look cute, at least they aren't wearing any bowties.
I am pretty sure the candle was my first pelican. At some point in my past someone out there decided I wasn't having enough fun and attempted to jump start my skimpy collecting abilities and got me another, then another.
In this photo the two purchased at Pawley's Island are missing, as are the coasters and the Christmas ornament. I myself bought the candle, a beanie, the hot plate and the tall ironwood at top center. One could say that I bought the chunky grey one on the right also, having found it at a bird-feeding store, but since my husband offered to buy it for me, technically, it still qualifies as a gift. It and the really big one on the left were given me by my husband, the others from female relatives on both sides of the family.
One of the Pawley's Island pelicans is a wind chime and was acquired in a Christmas store. I prefer to hang it where it will chime rather than put it on my tree4 for a mere two weeks. This is actually our fifth wind chime, though I do not collect them, and is the only pelican. I am not on the lookout for wind chimes, nor have I told anyone I am looking for them. These really do just "happen", except for this one, they all have been gifts. One other useful pelican I nearly forgot about is the mouse pad. Indeed, even your computer can be pelicanized. The reason I forgot about it was I haven't used a desk top in years. And laptops don't tend to use mice. However, it has retaken its place as a true member of my collection right next to my husband's new desk top pc.
For Christmas of 1998 I received two more pelicans, one a bookmark and one a refrigerator magnet. To see some of these newer ones as well as closeups of a few of these pelicans and puffins that I remembered to photograph click below. Alas my one stuffed penguin and the penguin mug have not yet been snapped, and my snowglobe is a sad, fuzzy looking photo indeed.
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Last modified on 28 October 2001.
