My Obsession: R You a CollectoR of Anything?




Letterpress R's from various sources.
Also, notice the "R" on the prescription bins.

  It is actually my birthright, I think, to be a collector of the letter R. I mean, my parents chose to name me Robin and later in my life, I have chosen to marry someone with his first and last name beginning with this, oh so awesome, letteR. Call it fate, destiny, whatever you want... I have an obsession for the letter R.


R necklace by Avon


This necklace is my first memory of my collection of the letter R. This was given to me by my parents when I was a child and I still have it in my possession. I don't wear it often but I should. I kind of forget it is in my jewelry box. I think it needs to be displayed somewhere so I see it when I am getting ready.  It goes with everything. Most R's do!


I have at least one letter R sign in every room of our house - every room! This R is sitting in our bedroom. I thrifted it at a "junk" store for $1.50. You read that right, $1.50.  It is an old marquee letter, I think, or maybe it came off of a building. It still has the hardware on the back to attach it. It measures 18" tall by 13" wide and is a fabulous red Lucite type material. I found it with several other letters (not R's) that I parted with on my eBay store a couple of years ago. I sold them for too cheap, looking back on it now and how popular letters have become, but I made money on them and I am sure they found good, loving homes!

I told you - every room. This letter R is actually in our first floor bathroom (along with Elvis because it's just about the irony there). It is actually a part of a Ranier beer sign  - I purchased this single letter off of eBay. I love the font of this letter R - it is so fun and playful. I am sorry to say that I have not actually had a Ranier beer (I know it is hard to believe for those who truly know me) - I think I need to find some and partake in it soon. I am sure with the killer R for it's logo that the beer has to be ridiculously tasty!

This letter R is one of my favorites as it is part of the history of my hometown of St. Joseph, Missouri. I picked this up for $5 at an estate sale. It used to be part of the signage for Wyeth Hardware store. The store had been a part of the St. Joseph community for over 100 years and unfortunately, closed in the 1980's. The Wyeth's were also an integral part of the growth and prosperity of St. Joseph and I feel privileged to own a piece of it. It is nestled amongst a couple of my other obsessions - vintage Kodak cameras and globes.

An ode to a couple of R's.

This is just a taste of my many R's. So, are you collecting anything? What inspires you to pick it up and take it home? What do you seek out? Look at what others are collecting on Selena's Collect Share. And check out Vintage Spinster - she has a collection of metal state trays to which I recently made a contribution plus she has some cool stuff. It is amazing to see what people are passionate about.