VOCATION, AVOCATION, VACATION
By Kelly Warnken
Delivered to the Chicago Literary Club
February 15, 2001
THE DARK SIDE
We all do it. Well, perhaps not all of us. But at least 80% of the Americans do it for
more than 7 hours per week. Members of both sexes do it. Though usually not in mixed
company. Children are encouraged to do it with other children as well as with
adults.
Noted psychiatrist William Menninger said that those who do it may feel intense
pleasure dampened by guilt and shame. Menninger did it for years yet defended his own
participation as harmless. George V of England shared Menninger's vice and his subjects
thought less of him for it.
What is it?
I am, of course, talking about the pursuit of a hobby.
Dr. William Menninger, an avid stamp collector, theorized that the amount of time and
energy involved in pursuing a hobby can in no way, be justified by a rational adult thereby
compelling the hobbyist to:
"Exhibit an unusual modesty or reticence in referring to it and (he or she) may even
present an apologetic or shameful attitude when questioned about it."
Psychiatrist Werner Muensterberger compares hobbyists to opium addicts who seek to
dull psychological pain that cannot be otherwise relieved.
Menninger traces the source of shame to problems with early toilet training and
parental suppression of infantile sexual pleasures.
That is what he said about other people and their hobbies. Regarding his own
hobby he said that he derived satisfaction from imposing systematic order upon unsorted
stamps.
Some people, not Dr. Menninger, acknowledge their addict referring to a
hobby as an affliction, disease or "it is" as in "Rock Hound-itis" or "Beanie Baby-it is".
Barton Currie, a self-described "bibliomaniac" wrote in the mid-20th century that book
collecting is a disease "beyond the reach of medicine, surgery, or even
metaphysics"
But are hobbyists truly ill? Was Linda Knox, a wealthy Chicago widow who
married her gardener and amassed 8 houses of collectibles a bit mad? Perhaps. But perhaps
she merely had the financial means to purchase additional storage space. Space I
covet.
While no one enters into a hobby with the goal of bankrupting the family's
fortunes, hobbyists by nature often nudge their portfolios off a cliff. Who hasn't spent an
exorbitant sum at auction? Or far too much time and money creating a
handicraft?
WHO CAN WE BLAME?
We live in an age when "it's not my fault" could be our national motto. So if
it's not our fault whose fault is it?
I have names and I will use them.
We can cite as the earliest culprit in American history a Presbyterian minister,
Reverend William Buell Sprague. Dubbed "America's first collector" by Steven M. Gelber,
an authority on the origins of hobbies in the US.
Reverend Sprague began to infect American society in the early part of the
19th century setting up a structure we follow today. Reverend Sprague was the first
collector of autographs having made a deal with George Washington's nephew to take
possession of more than 1,500 letters belonging to Uncle George. For this treasure trove of
American history Reverend Sprague paid nothing. His fellow Americans did not recognize
autographs as commodities.
Reverend Sprague conceived the idea of collecting in sets. His own collection grew to
over 100,000 autographs from which he pulled together sets of signatures of all the signers
of the Declaration of Independence, generals of the American Revolution and other
combinations of his invention.
Within 15 years of meeting the Washington nephew Americans developed collecting
fever and a sizeable market developed. Sprague, however, could not bear to part with his
collection and sold only two autographs in his lifetime. Curiously, Reverend Sprague
managed
to unload his collection of 100,000 religious pamphlets, which he cheerfully donated to
libraries in New England.
It has recently been revealed that beloved author Louisa May Alcott may have
been addicted to opium and morphine prescribed by her doctor to relieve pain. And that she
wrote scandalous short stories under a pen name.
May I bring you even worse news about Louisa May Alcott? She is, in part,
responsible for the spread of handicrafts. Having escaped the dreary life of supporting her
family as a seamstress she elevated sewing as a selfless hobby. Remember dear Beth March
making mittens, dolls and slippers as gifts for her neighbors one of whom gave her a
piano
in exchange for her efforts!
More than 175,000 copies of Little Women were sold during the author's lifetime and
millions more since then. Think about it. How many slipshod gifts is she responsible
for?
In the recently concluded 20th century two names stand out. Martha Stewart, the
ubiquitous maven and Ty Warner, the local boy who made good with the invention of
Beanie Babies.
But three lesser known names can be held accountable as well. First, Dan Robbins, an
illustrator of coloring books for the Palmer Paint Company in Detroit. His painting of fruit
entitled "Abstract No.1" launched the paint-by-numbers craze resulting in sales of 12 million
kits of clowns, barns, religious figures and pets. Paint-by-numbers kits have resurfaced as
much sought after collectibles and an exhibit of "artwork" is planned at the Smithsonian. I
am not kidding.
Lewis Glaser takes blame for creation of a 300 million dollar industry. That was in the
mid-1900's when 300 million dollars was worth something. Having suffered a financial
setback in the sale of scale model plastic automobiles he came upon the idea of selling the
unassembled parts as kits that could be glued together in less than an hour. Following the
principles of Reverend Sprague Glaser marketed his kits in series.
There is enough blame to go splash on the rest of society for American society created
the conditions necessary to pursue hobbies. And we are not alone. According to a recent
Gallup survey, developing nations such as India are catching up to us thanks to a
burgeoning computer industry.
Conditions ripened in the United States in the late 1800's and continue to provide
fertile ground today. These are: leisure time, financial capital and societal
approval.
As the country moved from agriculture to industry leisure time developed as an
unwanted by-product. No longer did mean, women and children work in fields from sunrise
to sunset. Women and girls were free to sew, knit, crochet and quilt mediocre crafts as
charitable donations. Boys were encouraged to learn woodworking skills though few father
knew how to use hand tools. And men. Well, men did nothing constructive with their leisure
time. It was not until after World War II that men embraced hobbies.
Disposable income (what a wonderful concept) allowed Americans to purchase raw
materials for crafts or to purchase collectibles.
Approval of hobbies in America is closely related to capitalism and the Protestant
work ethic. Capitalists approve of hobbies as they contribute to the growth of the economy.
Organized religion approves of hobbies as a cure for idleness so long as time spent is
structured. For example, a person who drinks nightly is a drunk. But a person who drinks
nightly, meticulously records his impressions and dutifully presents his findings publicly has
a hobby.
BENEFITS
What are the benefits of hobbies? To the person? For the benefit of
mankind?
The phrase "for fun and profit" affixed itself to hobbies something during the 1950's.
No longer were hobbyists required to lose money poured into hobbies. Profitable Hobbies
Magazine encouraged the commercial aspects.
Profit is supposed to be made by the hobbyist from the sale of handicrafts but it seems
that the only people making money from handicrafts are suppliers of materials or tools,
publishers of how-to books and magazines, and crafty teachers. (Pun intended.)
Hobbyists' contribution to the American economy is significant. Woodworkers spend
more than 800 million dollars annually for materials. The paid subscribership of Wood
Magazine is 600,000. You do the math.
Collectibles can be profitable provided there is a large enough market interested in
mundane items for a period of time long enough for the items to appreciate in value. Of
course, the collector must be willing to part with his collectibles to realize a profit.
Remember Reverend Sprague sold just two autographs from his collection of more than
100,000.
Individuals can profit in non-monetary ways. Better health being one. Crafts are
including ceramics, weaving, etc. are employed as mental and physical therapy. Setting
goals, achieving them and basking in the glow of accomplishment formed the basis of
military and civilian rehabilitation programs in World War II.
Finding relief from work in time spent on a hobby refreshes the worker sufficiently to
return to work the next day. Henry Ford observed that "men who spent their weekends
working constructively returned [to the assembly line] refreshed not dissipated".
Paradoxically
hobbies often replicate work but they do so with meaningful differences. Hobbies are chosen
freely and conducted at a pace and schedule set by the participant. Decisions made along
the way are made by hobbyists and results measured by empathetic, like-minded individuals.
While the solitary nature of hobbies would seem to preclude any social
benefits sociologist Stanley R. Parker claims that constructive leisure teaches individuals
their roles in society, helps society achieve collective goals and maintains group solidarity.
Children are encouraged to pursue hobbies as a prerequisite of adulthood. In
1891 child psychologist G. Stanley Hall identified a period of childhood between the ages of
9 and 12 when children go through a collecting phase. Samuel, Mather, son of Cotton
Mather, began a collection of printers' logos that he cut from books and pasted in an album.
Unfortunately, without permission, he used his father's library as a source of logos. The
library was willed to Samuel upon Cotton Mather's death.
G. Stanley Hall's observations hold true today although his theory that girls
don't collect was disproved in 1900 by Caroline F. Burk who pinpointed the females
collecting phase as occurring at the age of 10.
Observation of a girl's collecting phase was marked in my own family in the
late 1960's when my sister Colleen collected rocks from a gravel road leading to the
family's summer cottage in Wisconsin. She not only collected rocks from the road and
classified them according to a taxonomy of her invention; she set up shop on the roadway
and sold them to passersby. (She is now a vice-president of The Northern Trust).
VACATION
I had hoped to speak about the relationship between hobbies and vacations for
hobbyists don't take a vacation from their hobbies; they take their hobbies on vacation. It is
not for lack of time you've given me tonight but for lack of time in my private
life.
You see, I'm busy planning my vacation to Papua New Guinea and Australia where I
will spend most of February searching shops in Brisbane for egg cups to add to my
collection of over 100 soft-boiled egg holders, bargaining at markets in PNG for good prices
on walking sticks to add to my collection of sticks I purchased in China, Sweden, Memphis,
Alaska, Hawaii, etc. and bird watching in rainforests.
Yes, I have hobbies. And I am not ashamed to admit that I am a hobbyist.
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