On Collecting

On Collecting examines the practice of collecting through essays, interviews, and visual documentation, addressing motivations for collecting, the organization and display of collections, and what accumulating objects reveals about desire, memory, and meaning-making. The book ranges across art, design, vernacular objects, and ephemera, featuring diverse collecting practices alongside images of collections.

Written by Glenn Adamson, a curator and design historian known for his work on craft and material culture, the book brings scholarly rigor to a subject that sits at the intersection of psychology, aesthetics, and social behavior. Published by ACC Art Books. For readers interested in collecting, material culture, or the human relationship with objects.