To further explore the differences between CONTRAB’s four different Collection Types, I made a subjective assessment of the actions I was aware had been taken on each of the categories of object**. This identified 25 different Practices, each of which was performed on a varying number of the categories. For example, the Practice “Placed together to know where to find them and use them” was performed on 29 of the categories, and the Practice “Clean items with special fluid to ensure they continue to look good” was performed on only two of the categories.

** For this exercise it was necessary to break down two of the categories to lower levels as their components used different Practices: Bridge Artefacts (Bridge Booklets, Bridge Magazines, Bridge Books, Bridge Cards, Bridge Trophies, Bridge Scoring Pads); and Garden Goods (Garden Furniture, Gardening Equipment, Gardening Chemicals, Soils and Composts, Plants in Pots). Including these breakdowns, 65 categories were employed in this investigation of Practices.

All 25 Practices and the number of categories they were performed on, are listed below.

The above table indicates that Accumulations and Amateur Collections can utilise many of the Practices. Indeed, the same may also be true of Files and Archives but the small number of Files (4) and Archives (1) in this sample preclude any conclusions being drawn. What the table does demonstrate, however, is that a wide range of Practices are performed on collections, and that some Practices are more common than others. The table is by no means an exhaustive list of Practices: a wider study of many more collections and owners would undoubtedly identify more practices, and would provide a clearer indication of their usage by different types of collection.

One item of note in the table above is that there were 7 categories for which no practices were identified. All 7 were Accumulations – Furniture, Lamps, Clocks, Mirrors, Garden Furniture, Plants in Pots, and Unused Goods. However, the fact that no Practices were identified for these items is not particularly significant; it just indicates how ‘quick and dirty’ this exercise has been. No doubt a more detailed study would have identified practices associated with each of them. However, there is one characteristic common to each of these categories that may provide an explanation as to why no Practices were immediately identified for them: most consist of items that may be placed in a distributed manner throughout house and garden. Even the Unused Goods (for example, unwanted gifts such as boxes of soaps etc.) were found in a variety of rooms in the house. Such categories of items are perhaps not perceived as collections until gathered together.