|
Mainly to broaden the range of the discussion here, and also to embarrass myself I guess, I'm going to divulge my weird hobby here. At age twelve I started collecting gas (petrol) station road maps, and I never actually stopped-- though things really slowed down to a crawl after free maps stopped being available at US gasoline stations.
I did buy some of mine, though. The oldest is from 1923, Esso I think. With that or one similar, the paper is absolutely white and unworn and seemingly unaged, as if it had been printed yesterday. I think it was shielded from air until I got it. It's aged much more in the time I've had it probably than in all those decades it sat waiting for me to come along.
My favorites are from obscure gas stations, or with impressive covers, though my favorites aren't what others would choose. Once I got a computer, I found I wasn't absolutely alone in this hobby, but every other collector is obsessed with cars and everything automotive. I'm not. I'm big on geography and maps and logoes, and graphic design, but the more artistic kind, not the more commercial kind. I actually researched map and logo designers recently and came across a figure or two who were famous in their day. One was on Time magazine, and had several great quotes on art and society which are now on my message board.
I counted all my maps in 1982, and they came out to exactly 2500, I think, strangely enough. Though I have a general interest in maps, the collection is only oil company maps. There's something about the signs that's compelling to me. Maybe I'll manage to explain that to people (and myself) someday....
-------------------------
-------------------------
"You're better than normal! You're ABnormal!"-- Fry to Leela, who's self-conscious about her single eye, Futurama
|