Collecting Alice and other pointless things

A rare edition of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, given to the real Alice, has sold for $115,000 at an auction. I can understand people wanting to hold a little part of history in their hands but isn't $115,000 a bit excessive?

The book was sold by American football star and book collector Pat McInally who said: "I think it is the most important children's book ever written... so finding a book given to Alice by Lewis Carroll was really exciting." I haven't actually read the book, only watched the Disney film and the 1999 TV film so I don't really see how it is the most important children's book ever written. Please, someone, enlighten me.

Mr McInally was selling the books to raise money to buy Winnie the Pooh books at another auction coming up. Again, I haven't read the books and only watched the Disney film but I can understand someone's love of Pooh. On the other hand, doesn't the fact that he is selling off one lot to buy another show that he isn't particularly concerned with the books themselves and it is more an obsession with collection? I know how easy it is to become obsessed with collecting things. It's never happened to me personally but my little brother Michael has spent God knows how much money on collecting Match Attack cards and now the season is over, the cards are worthless and he threw them all away. Then the new season started and he started collecting again. The waste of money drives me MAD!

To read more about this story go to:

0 comments: