Finders Keepers: The Heart of Collecting

Rather than a sweepingly general, white-lab-coat view of collecting mania and what fires it, filmmaker Patrick Rosenkranz (himself an authority and archivist of alt-underground comix) profiles several different hobbyists and their peculiar treasures. For generations, the family of Canada's Donald Walton have maintained a collection focused on the history of telephones, which would eventually form the basis for a book on the history of communications. Ed Welter, determined to collect something mostly overlooked, built a private mini-museum of crayons. Chuck Palmer accumulated prison gear and corrections artifacts (a genuine electric chair still eludes him). Diane Cazalet's confectionery molds are not only rare but also rugged and functional (and still used in her kitchen). Some viewers may be reminded of HBO's Hoarders by artist Denis Wheary, a curator of T-shirts, toy cars, hyper-sexualized superheroines, 1960s poster art, ski/surf memorabilia, and apparently anything else he can't bear to discard (Wheary achieves a breakthrough when he finally posts a nonessential item for sale on eBay). Likely to appeal to fans of Antiques Roadshow, this is recommended. Aud: P. (C. Cassady)