Texas Heritage, Winter 2006 Page: 24
31 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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co 8A quarterly publication of TSCA
By Charlie Blanton
I want to visit with you on the subject of
"Collecting as High Adventure." That's not an
original thought;, I stole the idea from the Jenkins
Garrett Foundation's publication, History as High
Adventure, 1969, which includes Walter P. Webb's
speech of the same name. This is a delightful collection
and printing of little known and available
Webb speeches and articles, by The Pemperton
Press. I recommend it to you.
I was reading this little volume while sitting on a
big veranda looking out over old Great
Comanche Barrier country between Glen Rose
and Stephenville, Texas, now the site of Rough
Creek Lodge. This is yet another recommendation
I make to you. I was reflecting over what I
had learned as a collector since becoming president
of TSCA. I concluded that I am a slow learner.
Let me explain my conclusion.
Several years ago I decided to get into the cattle
business. Having been influenced by J. Frank
Dobie's The Longhorns and wanting to preserve
some of that Texas cattle heritage, I acquired a
starter herd of registered longhorn stock. J. Evetts
Haley said to me one time that he "used to buy
books and borrow money to buy cows, but if I
had it to do all over again, I would buy cows and
borrow money to buy books."I should have
learned. I should have bought books.
As a new cattleman I was having a telephone conversation
with Evetts Jr. and boldly asked, "How
many head do you run, Evetts?" There was a long
pause at the other end of the line and then Evettsreply, "Charles, asking a man how many head he
runs is like asking how much money he has in the
bank." I should have listened and learned.
When I assumed the president's role of TSCA, I
thought it wise to contact members in order to
find out something about them and what they
collected. Perhaps you are beginning to now see
how slow a learner I am, even though I had been
instructed. I rushed in where a wiser collector
would not go. I remember my conversation with
Byron Price. When I asked about his collection,
there was another long pause, and then Byron's
answer, "I collect information, a few books, and a
little western art." Do you see a reoccurring
theme? This time, it was a lesson that has stayed
with me: real collectors are a very private group
and careful who they invite into their personal
collecting circle. Byron taught me a lesson that J.
Evetts Haley and Evetts Jr. had tried to teach me,
but alas, I was slow to learn.
When reflecting on my collecting learnings, I
find that I learned some of the lesson well. I'm
still working on others. I now use Byron's
response as a frame for my collecting. I mainly
collect information, some books, and a little
western art. I am the world's largest, and only,
collector of Texas artist Lee Herring throwaways,
trying to get to his studio before he burns those
he doesn't like. If you are interested in Lee's
work, he is at leeherring.com, and he's good.
But what I have learned most, in thinking about
this collecting road I travel, is the information I
gather from listening to, and learning from collectors,
historians, and preservationists I meet.
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Texas Historical Foundation. Texas Heritage, Winter 2006, periodical, Winter 2006; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth45364/m1/24/: accessed May 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Historical Foundation.