Psychologist Mark McKinley divides collectors into several camps: those that collect for pure enjoyment; those who collect for investment; those who collect to preserve the past, those who collect to expand their social circles; those who enjoy the quest (knowing that their collection will never be complete in their lifetime); those who collect for prestige or fame; those who are fulfilling a void in their self identity; and those who enjoy experimenting with arranging and re-arranging a microcosm of objects obtained from the larger world. For many collectors, it is a combination of several of these reasons.
Given their extremely large disposable incomes, celebrities get to indulge their “inner child” with some rather conventional and rather bizarre collectibles:
Nicolas Cage: comic books
George Clooney: motorcycles
Billy Crystal: sports memorabilia
Jamie Lee Curtis: vintage photographs
Johnny Depp: rare books, insects, art deco furniture
Leonardo DiCaprio: vintage toys
Kelsey Grammer: first edition books
Tom Hanks: manual typewriters
Jay-Z: watches
Janet Jackson: pig figurines
Michael Jackson: egyptian harps, Elephant Man artifacts
Elton John: antique art and photography
Angelina Jolie: antique knives and first edition books
Nicole Kidman: rare coins
Jay Leno: cars and motorcycles
Rush Limbaugh: rare coins and Disney memorabilia
Rosie O’Donnell: McDonald toys
Penny Marshall: rare coins
Demi Moore: dolls
Brad Pitt: metal art
Elvis Presley: police badges
Debbie Reynolds: movie memorabilia
Jerry Seinfeld: Superman memorabilia
Frank Sinatra: model trains
Britney Spears: antique dolls
Rod Stewart: model trains
Kiefer Sutherland: Gibson guitars
Quentin Tarantino: pop culture board games
Alan Thicke: hockey memorabilia
John Travolta: aviation memorabilia
Andrew Lloyd Webber: pre-Raphaelite paintings
Robin Williams: toy soldiers
Reese Witherspoon: antique linen
Neil Young: model trains
Read related post: Why Do People Collect Things?
Words for Collectors
Words for Collectors 2
For further reading: What Celebrities Collect by Michele Karl and Robin Leach, Pelican Publishing (2006)
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jclp.20790/abstract;jsessionid=3B51CEF2C9C8333566B8D7FB6998D748.d04t04.
toptenz.net/top-10-unusual-celebrity-collections.php
huffingtonpost.com/jerry-leichtling/robin-williams-the-secret_b_5676784.html
Time magazine, August 21, 2017 issue
universalcoin.com/articles/celebrity-collectors-and-their-private-collections.html
ranker.com/list/celebrities-with-weird-collections/celebrity-lists
lifestyle.com.au/diy/celebrity-collectors.aspx
Atkins Bookshelf 