Magnificent Obsessions [Paperback]

Mitch Tuchman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1994

Everybody accumulates things, but the 20 collectors whose achievements are showcased in Magnificent Obsessions have amassed extraordinary arrays of objects ranging from the whimsical to the conceptual, the classic to the capricious. Rich color photographs reveal the sprawling scope and fascinating detail of each magnificent collection.

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

Meet Norma Hazelton, connoisseur and collector of swizzle sticks. If you're not impressed by a plastic Jackie Gleason long since separated from its maraschino cherry, take a look at Robert Cade, inventor of Gatorade and a collector of Studebakers (re the carmaker's Dictator line of the 1930s, he says: ``Dictator was a good name until Hitler and Mussolini and Stalin. They dropped the Dictator line in 1937 because of them''). Among the 20 collections that Tuchman and photographer Brenner cast their eyes on are caches of Civil War memorabilia (a banjo, a musket, a toothbrush); aquarium furniture (a lot of mermaids); and representations of the Last Supper (a clock, a saltshaker, a funeral-home fan). Tuchman's text, mostly a pastiche of comments from the collectors themselves, is informative--and just glib enough to keep the whole book from feeling like a spooky visit to your mad Aunt Mabel's attic. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (August 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811803600
• ISBN-13: 978-0811803601
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 9.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,611,862 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worthwhile passions, December 30, 2001

By 

Robin Benson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Magnificent Obsessions (Paperback)

A glorious celebration of twenty collectors and their passions. Peter Brenner's excellent color photos capture them with their lifes work. My favorite is Dorothy Twining Globus who collects (as she says) 'Everything'.

The Cade brothers go for anything Studebaker and that includes over thirty real cars. Kit Hinrichs loves the Stars and Stripes, his collection can be seen in the sumptuous book 'Long May She Wave'.

Author Tuchman's fascinating text details how each one pursued their dreams, I can identify with a lot of this because some years ago I managed to collect 450 radio station t-shirts (still got 'em too, email me with offers).

This book is very similar to Ellen Land-Webber's out-of-print photo essay 'The Passionate Collector'. If you really have the collecting bug check out 'The Collecting Book' by Ellen and Lewis Liman, 800 photos of collections and lots of practical information.

I wonder if anyone collects books about colectors? Hmmm...this could be the start of my new collection!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Makes you feel like you're not so wierd..., April 25, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Magnificent Obsessions: Twenty Remarkable Collectors in Pursuit of Their Dreams (Paperback)

If you can stand waiting a while to get this book, it's definitely worth the wait! The collections featured are all similar in that they are exhaustive in scope, and many of them are extremely intriguing due to their subject matter. The only drawback to this book is that it's too short! It wets the appetite for the unusual and eccentric, but doesn't come close to satisfying you once you've started reading.

3.0 out of 5 stars Not enough photos of the cover collection., August 23, 2007

By 

D. Taylor "lover of the arts" (Grand Junction CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Magnificent Obsessions: Twenty Remarkable Collectors in Pursuit of Their Dreams (Paperback)

It is always interesting to see what others are collecting. I would have liked to see more of the aquarium furniture that was shown on the front cover. I was more interested in seeing the collections than reading so much text.