Overly protective of a beloved Tintin collection?

I'm very protective of my personal Tintin collection. I have the newly revamped 3-in-1 omnibuses displayed beautifully on my bookshelf.

I own a lot of things, but for some reason I hold my Tintin collection in higher regard than my other possessions. I know it sounds kind of silly, but I cherish Tintin. To me, he is more than a book - he's an whirlwind of excitement and intrigue that never ages.

I don't let others read my books, as I am afraid they will become careless and crease the pages, etc. If any of my friends wanted to borrow one of my Tintin books, I'd tell them to go to the local library and hire a copy out themselves! If I lent them a copy of my own, I'd fret and worry that they'd ruin it.

So what do you guys think? Am I too protective of my collection or do you feel the same way I do?

I think that you sound a bit overprotective about your collection, but we are all like that about something we own. I personally will let others read my Tintin books quite readily, but am always reluctant to let people borrow them. Not that I think they'll not be careful, but I want my whole collection at my fingertips at a moment's notice.

Me? I have the highly-secured Tintin cabinet.

Well, being an avid Tintin fan means not only buying his merchandise but also promoting them to people, and that's what I'm doing.

However, knowing the items' actual cost, I'm lending my Tintin comic books provided that, for example, if they would like to borrow The Blue Lotus today, they must sign a pact that they will return it to me two days after. If there would be damages upon surrendering the material, it's obligatory for them to pay a minimal amount for repairs. If lost, they will pay me the whole amount, which is Php395 so I can buy a replacement copy at Baguio City (two solid hours from my residence).

With my Tintin t-shirts, my younger brother usually asks permission from me for him to use them. I allow him so, but he must wash the Tintin shirts after wearing.

But with my Tintin DVD? Over my dead and mutilated body! The animated series is for home viewing only. If my friends, relatives, and colleagues would like to borrow one of these copies, I would invite/beg them to watch the episodes at my home. It's too rare (almost none) here in the Philippines, and I get mad whenever I find them misplaced somewhere, for I never want the DVD to be scratched on.

I do not easily lend people my older albums, like "The Shooting Star," for fear it will return to me in shreds. I'm fine with lending them newer ones, because the people I'd lend them to I'm sure I can trust, but I wouldn't even let my sister borrow some without my constant supervision. Oh, and my shirts-never. They were really expensive and they don't make the kind I have anymore so I only wear them on casual days and when at a friend's house. I would never, ever, dream of sleeping in them or using them as smocks for art or anything...

Hm...

I wouldn't call myself overly protective of my collection. But I'm not sure how easy it is to replace all the albums, so maybe I should be more careful.

When it comes to "protective", I'm somewhere in between - I wouldn't go jumpy and nervous if somebody said that they wanted to borrow one of my albums, but I wouldn't like them to take my hardback guidebooks (or dog-ear or tear the pages of my albums, either).

As for me, I have put my Cigars facsimile edition in a satellite and put it to orbit around Mars. However, even if someone reaches there by accident (for which I'm in constant dread for what with NASA and ISRO launching rockets and satellites all over the place), they have to get past a thousand-digit password and a retina scanner and if everything else fails, a bottle of Loch Lomond is kept inside the satellite to divert the intruder(s) attention.

The rest of the series I keep safely tucked away in my cupboard, and let my sister and friends read them.

Almost 11 years after this thread first began, I'm very pleased to discover it. I am extremely protective of my Tintin collection. The items I collected as a child are very special. My first book. A metal badge I got as a birthday gift. The original books I read in my grandparents house that belonged to my uncles...Later in life, I've added to the collection and love a trip to the Tintin shop in Floral Street. I've bought a few first editions and even have one of the initial UK versions of 'The Secret of the Unicorn' with the 'dauntless reporter' medallion. I'm currently on the lookout for a good display cabinet (or three). Currently everything is in a big plan chest or on the wall if its a lithograph. I used to wonder whether I was a bit strange. Now, I just don't care!

illustration inc

Wow! That one with the "dauntless reporter" medallion means that you've got a really rare edition! Congratulations!

snowybella
Thank you! I need to complete the set with RRT. There's one on eBay for just under £1000 but it has a tear. And it's just under £1000!