Souvenirs?

We wandered through a local Pioneer Days celebration this past Memorial Day Weekend. The town was actually called Walnut Grove, and had General Store, ongoing "bank robbery," Apothecary, Black Smith Shop, etc. There was an ice cream parlor, and lots of handmade crafts, candies, and soaps. Many people were selling jewelry and souvenirs relevant to the time period or to the Old West. Not many folks were buying. [Of course, I did. this, though, is now besides the point!].I noticed this non-buying attitude before; recently, I chalked it up to the economy. Sometimes, I thought maybe the places were just too expensive. The old fifty cent souvenir stands of my youth are long gone, and the souvenirs themselves are now expensive collectors items.

But, when I think on it, no matter where I go, fewer and fewer people are holding shopping bags emblazoned with the name of a tourist attraction or destination point. Lots of people take photos with digital cameras, but even my friends who frequent Europe regularly come back with hundreds of shots for their digital albums and frames, most temporary to be replaced by the next batch. Few even buy or send postcards. Hardly anyone keeps a handful of foreign money or stamps, either for collectors in the family or for themselves. These last items were hot show and tell topics when I was in school. Even a lowly centavo was a treasured find, and often the beginning of a life-long passion for numismatics.

Even in expensive venues like Disney Land, I saw people with Mouse ears,fancy hats, Disney shopping bags, trinkets, lots of stuffed animals, and T-Shirt collections were famous when I was an undergraduate. My mom had a great collecton of decals from National Parks and other attactions dating from the fifties. These, along with her classic postcards, are immortalized in family albums and files. William Randolph Hearst got started with postcards of fine art, and postcards are still sold everwhere in great number. Why is no one buying them?

Then, there are the foreign dolls and tourist dolls. I love them, and they with my antiques are the focus of the museum collection. Yet, little girls don't have these travel dolls anymore as part of their childhood. There are no more storybook dolls, of any kind. Those who collect for investment are not fond of travel or tourist dolls at all. I sometimes have a field day at Goodwill or The Salvation Army. So, what is the problem?

Travelers have brought home souveniers as mementos and trophies of their travels for centuries, if not milennia. They are part of the reason world trade was born. My parents and grandparents had fantastic collections of souvenirs, and snapshots for that matter, from all over the globe. Have we become so cybertechnic, so obsessed with "simplifying" and outing hoarders that we've lost interest in everthing else?

I honestly don't know, and would invite comments and opinions from all sides!

Have a great day. Here are some favorite links of mine relating to this topic, to dolls, and to collecting:

The Shelter for Misfit Dolls. http://littledeadgirl0.tripod.com/creepydolls/index.html


American Junk
http://www.carterjunk.com/


Yokohama Doll Museum
http://www.welcome.city.yokohama.jp/eng/doll/