Why do you collect what you collect?

[Ria]

@Max Yeah I know, jumping in at the deep end with both feet first is what I do 

You should have used a proper smiley like this   then it would have been more obvious..!

[Max]

You've both mistaken the nature of my first comment... cue the " ;)" at the end of the sentence. Of course it is an interesting topic to discuss, otherwise I wouldn't have taken the time to write the whole post, which is a full reply to OP's question lol

[Ria]

The Tilley lampses are wonderful to look at, but they're a right pain (and scary  ) to light until you get the hang of it

[Sammi]

@AgentHalogen_87 , yes you are the one that got me into the Chalwyn Lampses, and don't forget I've got one of the road lanterns that you can have.
Recently I've been tempted into getting some of the Tilley lampses, and we're collecting one on our way home from our trip.! 

[Ria]

An interesting one this and thanks to @AgentHalogen_87 for bringing it up. 

@Max - I don't think it's a case of having to justify anything, it's just curiosity. Why do some people like lamps and others are more into the fixtures..? It's an interesting topic of conversation to me.

Personally, I am more interested in the actual lamps themselves, because I am interested in how they function. How and why does a SOX lamp produce monochromatic light..? Why does an incandescent lamp have the colour temperature that it does..? That sort of thing.

A fixture to me is merely somewhere to put a lamp so it can be of practical use, like street lighting or lighting a supermarket or whatever. As I don't have the requirement to do anything like that, and I am more interested in the technical aspects of how lamps work, fixtures are of secondary importance to me.That's not to belittle anyone who is interested in fixtures, it's just not what lighting collection is to me. Apart from anything else, we don't have the storage space for what we have, if we started on fixtures, we'd be out in the street with nowhere to sleep

We do have a few fixtures that we like, though. Gemma, our LPS Gamma 6, and Gary her HPS brother, also Johnny our Beta 5 are important parts of our collection.

Anyway, looking forward to hearing what everyone else thinks. Sammi and I are on a road trip at the moment so may not reply immediately.

Ria & Sammi 

[AgentHalogen_87]

Cobrahead - That's great to hear, I look forward to seeing them! I do wonder why the Americas didn't take a fancy to low pressure sodium except in the dark sky and turtle safe areas. But I believe you guys did hang on to mercury vapour for a long time though with a range of different wattages

Max - oh you don't have to justify anything, especially if you don't entirely know the answer!  I merely thought it would be an interesting conversation topic. Interesting to hear it was the looks of the lamps that got you interested in the technology behind them, and that baby photo sounds funny  It's great that you are able to preserve these important pieces of lighting history for us all to enjoy here on this wonderful site!

[Max]

Do we really need to justify why we collect what we collect? ;) Personally, I don't even know how it all started. I was told that I've been fascinated with lights and lamps even before I spoke my first words - there's even a picture of me as a baby holding a lamp lol. I got serious about it around the age of seven or eight when I started collecting lamps. At first my interest for lamps was purely an aesthetic one, i.e., they looks intriguing and emit interesting light colors, and then I really got into the science and technology of it to the point that I ended up working in lamp R&D.

Now, my professional activities are elsewhere due to the phase out of conventional lighting (still working in science and engineering, wrapping up a PhD in plasma physics at the moment), and I have reached my objectives for the lamp collection. So, I started a long distillation process to keep the most valuable lamps from a historical, technological and, of course, sentimental point of view. An important aspect of it all is to share the fascinating knowledge gained all these years collecting and working on lamps, and that's why I'm here. Of course, in this process I focus on quality over quantity, this subject matter deserves that and this is necessary in order not to fall into the mediocrity trap that some (if not most) online communities have succumbed to. So, I'm happy to be here and I really hope our kind and dedicated hosts (Ria and Sammi) will keep maintaining the high standards that make this site/community so nice to contribute to!

[Cobrahead]

Actually, I have quite a few luminaires...I just need to post some more... 
I also collect all types of HID, and unlike you don't really collect SOX, that's not because I don't like it, but because its uncommon here in North America.
I do have two SOX18 wallpacks along with lamps, but that's about it.

[AgentHalogen_87]

I have realised that I am (I think) the only one on here that seriously collects lanterns / light fixtures. I've seen Cobrahead has a couple, and others have one as a novelty if you will or to aid in running lamps; but nobody else seriously collects lanterns like me. [Don't panic, I'm happy to be here!]
But it has made me wonder: what do you collect, what's your reasoning behind collecting it, And is there any particular reason why you haven't branched out into collecting other items?

I'll go first with a proposed format:

I collect:
Old street lanterns | Traffic signals | Bulkhead lights | Fluorescent Battens | Paraffin lamps | Rotating beacons

Why I collect old street lanterns:
It started out that I was just interested in the SOX lamp. The magical colour changing light bulb that almost all street lights were around me growing up was fascinating to me. But I gradually began to appreciate the different designs of each SOX lantern. That then expanded to understanding the designs of lanterns for running other lamps. My first lantern was a Philips FGS224 36W PL-L lantern. It was bought for me by my dad as a novelty. It wasn't SOX, but I didn't care, it was a street light. My first SOX lantern came about a year later from ebay. Having a SOX lamp and lantern right next to me for the first time fully secured my passion for both. I firmly caught the lighting bug and things went mad from there! I chanced upon contractors a couple of times, and they let me save lanterns; some more came from ebay; and then I got an apprenticeship working on street lights, repairing and replacing. And the rest is history as they say!
but why do I actually like old lanterns? To be honest, I've not pinned it down 100% why! But It is almost certainly because I like the look of bulky, heavy duty, quality built light fittings. I can sum it up in two sentences: "built to work, built to last. No showing off, just showing up, and getting the job done". That sentiment rings true for almost everything I collect. I think things are cool because they're not! while street lanterns have their own unique aesthetics, they really have two purposes: hold the lamp securely, and put the light where it's needed. But they all are built in a way modern lantern's aren't. User serviceable; easy to maintain; durable; dependable; simple; good enough! That's why I like them, and that's why I collect them.

Why I collect traffic signals:
It was a traffic signal that got me interested in lighting in the first place! Turning out of the old cinema, we would come to a junction with a traffic light that had a 'spotty green arrow'. That arrow is responsible for me becoming interested in lighting as a whole! Again, like with street lanterns, my dad bought me a traffic signal as a novelty; about 10 years before the street lighting interest fully took hold. Traffic lights have always been novelty items for me, but I have enough of them to consider them a collection. This includes a signal with a 'spotty green' fibre optic arrow; not the exact signal that inspired me years ago, but still one with the arrow that did! But like the street lanterns, that phrase I said rings true here as well. They just work. And I like them for that.

Why I collect bulkhead lights:
Again, I think things are cool because they're not! Bulkhead lights are simple, heavy duty, strong, reliable and durable light fixtures. They just keep on going no matter what. That phrase of mine is coming up again! Bulkheads are not my main interest, so my collection of them is small. But I still appreciate their quality, and so I want some in my possession.  It was also a bulkhead light I carried out my first ever lamp change on. I was about 3 years old, my dad picked me up so I could reach the light on the side of the garage. And 18 years later, the 60W lamp I put in there is still working! Even though the light has been removed from the garage and placed into my collection. It will always have a place in my heart!

Why I collect fluorescent battens:
Here comes the phrase again! Batten lights are the most simplistic discharge lamp fittings you can get. Just a stick with a cap on each end to hold a different stick that glows! But Battens on preheat gear are what I really like. Seeing the tube(s) blink to life with some noise from the ballast; it feels like it's alive, and I love that sound! And a room full of preheat battens; or a corridor with a line of them down the middle; and watching them all uniquely blink on with much pinging and humming is truly a wonderful scene. So I have a few batten lights in my collection for that reason.

Why I collect paraffin lamps:
This is a fairly recent development. I only became interested in them in the last couple of years or so. I'd seen images of 'hurricane' lanterns in peoples collection, and in films etc., but not put much thought into them. But then a say a youtube video about them and 'why do hurricane lanterns look like that'. That video about how and why they work that got me really interested in them. They are yet another thing that just work. They have a distinct but subdued charm. No longer are they the windproof wonder that changed outdoor nightlife the world over. But they have matured into iconic antiques, that may just outlast us all. It's a light source that forgot to become obsolete! About a week after watching that video I had my first hurricane paraffin lamp. It was a modern built one from Amazon. A novelty. Not long after I got a vintage military issue Chalwyn Tropic from 1952. Better build quality, heavier duty, and clearly able to last a long time. Like the street lanterns, it became clear that I liked them and wanted to collect them, so I did! My first Chalwyn lantern has made me a fan of their company, so that's the brand I go with when getting lanterns, but I know other good companies made high quality lanterns as well. And here I must take credit (or blame!) for getting a certain Sammi interested in these things as well!

Why I collect rotating beacons:
It's again another older design that just works. just rotate a mirror around a light bulb and it will look like it's flashing. But I like the simple rhythmic flash they put out, I find it somewhat soothing but still attention grabbing. Plus you can hear them working. No circuit board needed; just a motor and connecting gears! Again more of a novelty for me, but still numerous enough to be called a collection. They are really nice, simple things.

Why don't I collect other things?
Well right now, those are the things that interest me, and I'm fortunate to have the space available to collect them. If something else comes up that I become interested in enough to want to collect it, then I do have the room to do that. But for right now, this is what I'm interested in.
But this is not all that I have collected in the past. I used to collect fire alarms. Another thing that nobody gives much thought into, they just work, but are all different in their own ways. But unfortunately with my autism progressing, my hearing became more and more sensitive. I need now need ear defenders if someone is shouting, let alone a fire alarm going off! So I have unfortunately had to give up that hobby. I still find fire alarms interesting, but I choose not to sound them anymore. 

I will also add that I do collect lamps, but mainly they are to run in the lanterns / fixtures I have, not because the lamp itself is something special. With the exception of SOX lamps. I have SOX lamps both for the purpose of using in lanterns, and because they're SOX lamps!

So there we are. My reasons for collecting what I do. Feel free to add your comments and your reasoning behind your collected collections!