As children we collected candy wrappers and corks, now we collect magnets from different countries, or even reproductions of French impressionists.
And if for some collecting is just a hobby, for others it is a real passion, manifested in the most bizarre forms. We can say that this is a unique form of game for all ages. Everyone just has their own toys.
The largest men's collections
Hassanal Bolkiah - the Sultan of Brunei - has the world's largest collection of cars. Its fleet consists of about 5,000 cars. At the same time, a significant part is made up of rare Ferrari models - among them there are single copies. Much attention The collector pays attention to the brands Rolls-Royce (160 pieces in total), Bentley and Mercedes. Moreover, the Sultan is crazy about racing cars and can boast of Formula 1 winning cars.
Italian David Blay collects Rolex watches. His collection is notable not because it is the largest, but because it is the most expensive: the rarest and most luxurious specimens are collected here. The pearl of the collection is the Stelline Oyster Perpetual Chronometer model, the approximate cost of which is estimated at 320 thousand dollars. Another standout model is the Paul Newman Cosmograph Daytona, which has a white dial, gold numerals and black subdials. If desired, you can get from 58 to 87 thousand dollars for it.
The largest collection of Scotch whiskey belongs to the Brazilian Clave Vidis - a total of 3,384 bottles collected over 35 years. Connoisseurs call this collection “priceless.” It presents all types of whiskey - from the most popular to the rarest. Among the most rare examples is the Strathmill bottle, released in honor of the centenary of the Speyside distillery. A total of eighty bottles of this whiskey were produced. They were offered to buy only to a narrow circle of sophisticated people, including several heads of state.
The largest historical collections
Philip Ferrari (descendant of the Duke of Cagliar, a great German politician) was one of the greatest collectors of all time. His stamp collection was the largest in the world and included all philatelic rarities known at that time. And this record has not yet been broken. Philip was called the King of Postage Stamps - the entire collection was presented in the form of 8058 large lots, some of which themselves contained more than 10 thousand stamps. After the Duke's death, the proceeds from the sale of the collection amounted to over 23 million French francs. It is noteworthy that he died of a heart attack, which occurred after an unsuccessful trip to buy a rare Swiss stamp.
The Russian Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, despite his frailty, was a passionate collector of bladed weapons, which served as the basis for the creation of the Armory Chamber in Moscow. And his famous son Peter I became the first Russian numismatist. This hobby helped to carry out a very successful monetary reform in Russia. However, Peter collected not only coins, but also weapons, rare minerals and art objects. During his lifetime, he collected an amazing collection of “The Sovereign’s Cabinet,” which was subsequently transferred to the first Russian museum, the Kunstkamera, formed by his decree.
Extravagant collections
The collection of German farmer Heinrich Katha includes about 20,000 beer mugs (and he himself, mind you, does not drink). Chinese Wang Guohua is pleased to show off the 30,000 cigarette packs he has collected in ten countries around the world. Frenchman Michel Pont, a winemaker by profession, owns 100 jet fighters, ranging from English Vampires to Russian MiGs.
Famous collectors also included: German Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck, who collected thermometers; our beloved Yuri Gagarin, who collected - what do you think? - cacti(!); the writer Georges Simenon, who bought various telephone directories, from which, by the way, he drew names for the heroes of his works; the sinister Cardinal Richelieu is a passionate lover of smoking pipes.
Among his contemporaries, Sir Elton John stands out - he has more than 20 thousand glasses in his collection, Barack Obama, who collects paintings by African-American abstract artists, and the great fashion designer Gianni Versace, who is partial to antiques. His mansion, for example, contained two 19th-century cherry-wood cabinets that were later sold for £481,000 and £601,000.
By the way, if we talk about money, it turns out that collecting is a good business. You can always play on the sale of one or another unique item. For example, Philip Niarchos, a Greek shipping magnate, owns an art collection valued at at least two billion dollars.
Prominent Hong Kong businessman William Chak paid a record price of HK$115 (US$14 million) for a Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911) porcelain vase. We imagine the joy of the former owner of the vase, who bought it for next to nothing at a flea market. So I recommend taking a closer look at your own collection of anything - just in case.
For many millennia, necklaces have not gone out of fashion, adorning women's necks all over the globe. The materials from which necklaces are made are changing, precious stones are being replaced by plastic and crystals, but the essence of this luxurious jewelry remains the same - as before, it emphasizes the femininity and beauty of its owner. Let's trace the history of the necklace along with “Atmosphere”.
People began decorating themselves back in the Stone Age. And what could be simpler than hanging the fang of an animal killed during a hunt around your neck? Archaeological research confirms that the first pendants were carved from animal bones suspended on a thread of salted animal sinew. Their age is as much as fifty-five thousand years. As soon as humanity learned to work with metal, medallions became less primitive. Bronze and copper elements appeared in them. But in general, we will consider these simple jewelry to be the prototype of a modern necklace.
Luxurious items appeared in Ancient Egypt. Pharaohs wore necklaces made up of many polished and glazed gold plates. Such a necklace, naturally, was very heavy, and for convenience, a counterweight was even hung on the back. Finding Egyptian necklaces was not difficult, since the owner was buried with them. The most famous pendant is the golden scarab beetle of Tutankhamun.
In ancient times, neck decorations were treated with special reverence. They were not only an attribute of luxury, but also a sacred thing. For example, the Inca priests wore jewelry made of gold beads woven in several rows, and the Aztecs wore a necklace of bird feathers around a person’s neck before a sacrifice.
The necklace in its more familiar form appeared several centuries later in Ancient Greece. It was a decoration made of small shells strung on an ordinary thread. Even men wore such a necklace as a talisman when they went to sea, as well as on holidays honoring the gods and wedding ceremonies. IN Ancient Rome the pendants were of a more utilitarian nature: all legionnaires wore pendants with their names. They helped determine the names of soldiers who fell on the battlefield and convey the news to relatives. This type of medallion is still used in the army today.
In the Middle Ages, only members of the royal family, ecclesiastical nobility and members of the upper class could afford necklaces. The fact is that precious stones became especially popular then - and ordinary people could not buy such expensive jewelry. But the rich had a place to roam, both women and men. Church necklaces were often decorated with a crucifix or a Maltese cross, and were made exclusively of gold or silver. A sapphire or emerald was placed in the center of the cross. And we can judge the jewelry of the highest nobility from many paintings and testimonies in fiction. The record holder was, perhaps, Marie Antoinette, who had a huge collection of jewelry. Among her necklaces were hidden items of such value that even the royal family had difficulty acquiring them. The wife of Louis XVI loved diamonds; one of her most expensive necklaces used stones weighing almost two hundred carats, including pink, yellow and clear diamonds. Queen Elizabeth I had a special craving for pearls, which at that time was considered a love stone.
Tighten the noose
Let's go back a little to the roots and remember that the word “necklace” comes from the French collier, which translates as “collar”. This strange meaning The explanation is very simple: at that time, most of the necklaces were tightly wrapped around the neck.
Collar necklaces (or, as it is now fashionable to call them, chokers) became popular in France in the 18th century during the Rococo period, and in Victorian era Queen Victoria began wearing them. Later, in the 19th century, in England, the wife of Prince Edward of Wales, Danish Princess Alexandra, loved wearing a choker so much that she was popularly nicknamed “the dog lady.” And so strong love there was a reason for chokers. The princess had an accident as a child, which left a large scar on her neck. To hide it, Alexandra began wearing a necklace made of strings of pearls or velvet ribbons studded with precious stones high under her chin. By the way, this is where the fashion for “suffocating” necklaces originates, the most extravagant of which were described in the works of the Marquis de Sade.
The most popular in those days were chokers made of velvet or strings of pearls, decorated in the middle with a tablet with various patterns. They were made by the famous French jeweler of that era, Rene Lalique. There could also be a lintel studded with diamonds in the middle. But not every beauty could afford such luxury, so jewelers began making necklaces from less expensive materials: precious stones were replaced with crystal, and strings of pearls with lace.
In the twentieth century, Coco Chanel made chokers one of the main accents of her collections, and they took on a new fashionable life. Now their fan is John Galliano. He considers the collar a universal accessory that fits both an evening dress and jeans. But they don’t leave the necks of royalty either; for example, Princess Diana adored pearl chokers, constantly wearing them to social events.
On all screens
Nowadays, necklaces have become an exclusively female attribute, while men wear only strict pendants. Of course, to this day there are varieties of men's beads and amulets, but they are used only for ritual purposes. But the ladies mastered all types of complex necklaces that jewelers began to come up with. And, of course, celebrities started wearing the necklace. Thus, the unrivaled Sophia Loren posed for Vogue wearing a luxurious riviera necklace encrusted with diamonds. Its peculiarity lies in its design: the stones are connected to each other so tightly that it is impossible to see where they are fastened. This creates the illusion of a flowing stream.
Marilyn Monroe also had an iconic piece of jewelry. She wore the Moon of Baroda necklace with a canary yellow pear cut diamond in the movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The words of her song “Diamonds - best friends girls" could well be dedicated to this unique stone. By the way, its history goes back half a century.
Elizabeth Taylor once told reporters: “My mother told me that I didn’t open my eyes for a week after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw was a wedding ring.” In her huge collection there were almost three hundred legendary jewelry, most of which were bought by her husband, Richard Burton, indulging the desires of his beloved. At that time they cost about twenty million dollars. However, at an auction dedicated to the actress, they were sold for one hundred million. Elizabeth loved jewelry so much that she dedicated the book “My Romance with Jewelry” to them. Moreover, Liz not only wore other people’s jewelry. Thus, the design of the legendary wandering pearl “Peregrina” was invented by the actress herself, and the jewelry was eventually given to her by her husband. The pearl crowning the necklace is considered one of the most significant in history. Found in the 16th century in the Gulf of Panama, it became part of the Crown Jewels of Spain. In 1969, the pearl was purchased at auction by Taylor's husband. Impressed by the portrait of Mary Stuart, the actress commissioned Cartier jewelers to create a new ruby frame for her.
And the most recognizable necklace appeared in the movie Titanic. The necklace with the romantic name “Heart of the Ocean” was crowned with a fifty-carat blue tanzanite in a ribbon. Since then, many jewelry companies have produced analogues of necklaces with blue heart-cut stones. After the film was released, an exact copy of the jewelry was created, although this time with a sapphire weighing one hundred and seventy carats. It was sold at a charity auction to the husband of singer Celine Dion, who performed the song My Heart Will Go On in Titanic. Moreover, the “Heart of the Ocean” had real prototype. This is a blue diamond “Hope” necklace created by jeweler Pierre Cartier in 1910. I bought it socialite Evelyn Walsh-McLean wore it almost without taking it off. After her death, the necklace went to her grandchildren, who sold it to jeweler Harry Winston, who in turn donated the stone to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, where it remains today. By the way, this is perhaps the most famous unlucky piece of jewelry in the world: everyone who ever wore it either went crazy or was killed. Thus, Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI had their heads cut off, and Princess de Lamballe was beaten to death by a crowd. In 1911, the owner of the pendant became Mrs. Evelyn McLean, who was not afraid of the diamond’s dark past. However, the fate of this woman confirmed the murderous energy of the jewelry: Evelyn’s son died in an accident, her daughter died of a drug overdose, her husband left for his mistress, and the owner of the necklace herself ended up in a homeless shelter.
The Kohinoor diamond is also notorious. It was brought from India in 1850 and presented to the royal family. It is now in the crown of Elizabeth II. Fortunately, the diamond is harmless to the queen herself, but each of the men who wore this stone was soon deprived of their crown.
Practical method
It’s not without reason that ladies love these jewelry, because they can visually lengthen the neck, emphasize the line of the neckline and elongate the entire silhouette. To do this, you just need to choose the right necklace model. A long necklace is suitable for those with a short neck, which will look more elegant and graceful thanks to it. Light jewelry with pendants will help highlight your neck, which is distinguished by its beauty without additional tricks. Choker necklaces are best combined with dresses that reveal shoulders and a deep neckline, but long models are also suitable for closed dresses.
What's going on with the trends this season? Of course, voluminous jewelry does not go out of fashion and can become a key detail of your look. These models are generously studded with stones, crystals and beads and are perfect for simple monochromatic outfits.
Ethnic style is no less popular. Combine such necklaces with hippie-style clothes, just don’t overdo it, otherwise they won’t be able to distinguish you from the “flower children.”
Multilayer pearl necklaces are also very trendy, especially if they are decorated with an original brooch-type clasp. They should be worn openly, exposing the neck and décolleté. Also this fashion accessory Can be worn over the collar of a shirt, sweater or dress.
Incredible facts
One way to get into the Guinness Book of Records iscollect something that others don't need.
However, it is worth knowing that some places in the book are already taken. If you want to start collecting, there are a few things you can consider eliminating from the list, including umbrella covers, fossilized feces, and toy dinosaurs.
Chair collection
3,000 miniature chairs.
Buying doll-sized chairs on the weekends has become a hobby for Barbara Hartsfield. Over the course of 10 years, until 2008, she managed to assemble a collection of small chairs, which totals more than 3,000 units. Today, in her museum in Stone Mountain, Georgia, USA, you can find bottle chairs, feeding chairs, and chairs made from toothpicks and clothespins.
Toy collection (photo)
571 Daleks (extraterrestrial mutants from the TV series Doctor Who).
Surprisingly, Englishman Rob Hull is not a fan of the Doctor Who series; he only likes to collect Daleks - half-cyborgs and the main opponents of Doctor Who, who wanted to conquer the Universe.
Rob began collecting action figures as a child when his parents refused to buy him a toy Dalek. At the age of 29, he bought his first figurine. In 2011, he entered the Guinness Book of World Records with his collection of 571 Daleks. The only person who was annoyed by his hobby was his wife.
Strange collection
730 umbrella covers.
Of course, Nancy Hoffman did not become the owner of all the umbrella covers in the world, but this did not stop her from getting into the Guinness Book of Records. In 2012, her collection consisted of more than 730 cases. Since 1996, she has been adding to the collection in her Umbrella Cover Museum, which is open to everyone who wants to visit Peaks Island, Portland, Maine, USA. Her collection includes cases from 50 countries, and she always greets her guests with a live accordion performance of the song “Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella.”
Home collection
3,700 units of snack bar paraphernalia.
Like many Americans, Harry Sperl loves hamburgers. But the Daytona Beach, Fla., resident has gone beyond just ordering his favorite snack—he's spent the last 26 years adding to his collection of diner paraphernalia. Today his collections number more than 3,700 items.
Because of his passion, he was nicknamed Hamburger Harry. It all started when Harry decided to sell one vintage tray that was used in a drive-in diner. To do this, he decided to purchase some plastic hamburgers to decorate his tray and increase his chances of selling it. Then he began to acquire more and more various goods related to snack bars, and even later they began to simply give him such goods as gifts.
He calls his friends and fans "hamburger helpers." Today it can be found in the Guinness Book of Records. His collection includes everything from a waterbed in the shape of a hamburger to a Harley Davidson motorcycle in the shape of the same hamburger. He plans to open a museum shaped like a double cheeseburger soon.
Dinosaur collection
5,000 toy dinosaurs.
Randy Knol's collection will be the envy of any 5-year-old summer child. Randy started collecting toys after he was given a set of The Flintstones for Christmas (the characters are famous American cartoon), where there was a toy dinosaur. Today, even he himself does not know how many dinosaurs he has in his collection. According to him, there are five and six thousand, all of which are stacked in boxes, bags and food containers placed throughout the house.
Experts from the Guinness Book of Records have yet to verify the exact number of toys, but, according to Randy, he knew a couple of people who had a richer collection, “but they are no longer alive.”
Collection of plaques
11,570 DO NOT DISTURB signs.
Some people who travel a lot tend to buy souvenirs as keepsakes. These could be T-shirts, magnets or keychains with a picture of the place they visited. But in the case of Rainer Weichert, these are “Do Not Disturb” signs, which he brings to his home in Germany after his next trip.
In 2014, his collection included more than 11,570 plaques from various hotels, cruise ships and aircraft. All signs were collected from 188 countries. He considers two plaques to be the most valuable: one was part of the Olympic village in 1936, during the Olympics in Berlin, and the other was from the Canadian General Brock Hotel, which is more than 100 years old.
Toy collection
14,500 bistro toys.
Growing up in the Philippines, Percival R. Lugue took great care of his toys. As he grew up, his thriftiness never went away. Today he is the owner of the largest collection of toys purchased from restaurants. fast food. His collection includes more than 14,500 toys, which allowed him to get into the Guinness Book of Records in 2014. He considers the most valuable toys to be a 1999 Inspector Gadget bought at McDonald's, a 1987 Popeye the Sailor Man and a set of Friends from the Philippine bistro chain Jollibee.
Unusual collections
1,277 fossilized excrement.
George Frandsen can easily be called the Indiana Jones of excrement. Today, his collection includes more than 1,277 coprolite specimens (the scientific name for fossilized excrement). In 2016, he temporarily donated his collection to the South Florida Museum. The collection contains specimens from 8 countries. Among them is a 2-kilogram coprolite of a prehistoric crocodile.
The most unusual collections
137 traffic cones.
David Morgan's obsession with traffic cones began in the UK when he began working for Oxford Plastic Systems, the country's largest manufacturer of traffic cones.
In 1986, Oxford Plastic Systems was accused by a competitor of copying one of its traffic cone designs, so Morgan had to search for the same cone to prove that the design was not new and that the company had not copied anything. After this incident, he developed a desire to collect cones.
675 back scratchers.
If you visit the dermatology clinic where Manfred S. Rothstein works, you can see the world's largest collection of back scratchers for free. In 2008, according to the Guinness Book of Records, the doctor had 675 of these useful instruments in his collection.
Hundreds of scratchers are hung along the corridors and in the clinic’s offices. Among them you can find a scratcher with an alligator paw, or a scratcher made from buffalo ribs. It also has electric combs dating back to the 1900s.
Pokemon collection
16,000 Pokemon.
26-year-old Lisa Courtney boasts the largest collection of toy Pokemon. Today the collection contains more than 16,000 units of these fairy-tale creatures. She started collecting Pokémon when she was 17 years old and has been in the Guinness Book of World Records since 2009, when she had just over 12,000 toys. According to the girl, every day she spends about 7 hours searching for new Pokemon models.
Vinyl record collection
6,000,000 vinyl records.
Wealthy Brazilian businessman Zero Freitas has been collecting for almost his entire life. vinyl records. He loves to travel around the world and buy records from the most famous collectors.
The 62-year-old businessman even hired international scouts who shop for him from New York, Mexico City, South Africa, Nigeria and Cairo, thousands of records in his name, after which they send them to him in Brazil.
Since the businessman was well aware that a collection was of no use if people could not see it, he decided to found a non-profit music organization called Emporium. It will play the role of a music library. It is also worth noting that the businessman decided to digitize part of his collection, since huge amount music, especially Brazilian music, is preserved only on vinyl records.
Doll collections (photo)
300 hyper-realistic dolls.
The author of such an unusual collection is Marilyn Mansfield from Staten Island, New York, USA. It took her tens of thousands of dollars and a huge amount of time to become the owner of more than 300 dolls, which are different high level realism. All the rooms in her house are literally filled with dolls. Moreover, she cares for each doll as if it were her own child.
At over thirty years old, she loves to take dolls for walks, feed them and nurse them. The husband supports his wife and even decided to build a new room for her favorite dolls.
850 models of fire trucks.
Nail Ilyasov from Ufa, who holds the post of colonel of internal affairs, boasts an amazing collection. In addition to domestic cars, Nail also has many foreign ones.
The collection may be included in the Guinness Book of Records, but several cars still need to be obtained for their number to reach 1,000 units. After this, you can safely submit an application to the Book.
Nail Ilyasov himself said that he started collecting cars by pure chance, when his wife gave him a model of a Moskvich.
These people, who are in the Guinness Book of Records, have amassed the world's largest collections of things that you would never have thought to start collecting.
1. Umbrella covers
Nancy Hoffman from Peaks Island (Maine, USA) owns the largest collection of umbrella covers (730 unique items). You can visit her museum, which she created on her home island, and even sing along with her accordion in person.
2. Bottled water labels
Italian Lorenzo Pescini has a collection of labels from 8,650 types of bottled water from 185 different countries and 1,683 different sources.
3. Troll dolls
Sherry Groom from Ohio set a record by collecting 2,990 unique Troll dolls in 2012. Now the collection has grown to 3,500 dolls.
4. Hygienic air bags (in case of vomiting)
Nick Vermeulen from the Netherlands has collected 6,290 packages for airsick passengers from 1,191 different airlines in nearly 200 countries.
5. Miniature chairs
Barbara Hartsfield is the owner of a collection of 3 thousand miniature chairs, which she collected over more than 10 years. After she entered the Guinness Book of Records in 2008, she opened her own museum in Georgia.
6. Daleks
The official 2011 record belongs to Briton Rob Hull, who owns 571 Daleks. Now there are already 1202 copies in the collection. The most surprising thing is that Rob is not even a fan of the television series Doctor Who.
7. Dice
Kevin Cook is a record-breaking dice collector with a collection of 11,097 unique dice. In September 2014, his personal website indicated the number of collected copies was already 51 thousand.
8. Teddy bears
Jackie Miley of South Dakota collected 7,106 Teddy bears in 2011, when she set the record. Now she already has 7790 bears.
9. Winnie the Pooh and everything, everything, everything
Deb Hoffman also loves bears, mostly Winnie the Pooh, and has 10,002 Winnie the Pooh and friends items in her collection.
10. Traffic cones
Briton David Morgan has collected the world's largest collection of traffic cones. He has only 137 different cones, and that's about two-thirds of all the varieties ever produced in the world.
11. Talking clock
Mark McKinley from Ohio owns the largest collection of talking clocks; at the time of the record there were 782 of them; Mark currently has 954 talking clocks.
12. Barbie dolls
German woman Bettina Dorfman collected 6,025 Barbie dolls worth a total of 150 thousand US dollars.
13. Toothbrushes
Russian Grigory Fleisher collected 1,320 toothbrushes. By the way, he is a dentist.
14. Stamps with birds
Daniel Monteiro from India is the proud owner of the largest collection of bird stamps. It contains 4911 stamps from 263 countries.
15. “Do not disturb” sign from hotel rooms
Swiss Jean-François Vernetti collected 11,111 “do not disturb” hotel signs from hotels in 189 countries. He started his collection in 1985.
16. Flamingo
Sherry Knight from Florida set a record for collecting flamingos and everything related to these birds. There are 619 copies in her collection.
17. Paper dolls
Malin Fritzell from Sweden has been collecting paper dolls since 1960; she currently has 4,720 of them.
18. Chickens and everything connected with them
Meet Cecil and Joan Dixon, they have collected 6,505 specimens of a variety of chickens.
19. Ready meals
Japanese Akiko Obata collected 8083 copies in her collection. They are all related to food and all sorts of food products, more precisely they look like ready meals. This includes magnets, stationery, toys, keychains and souvenirs.
20. Card Jokers
Tony De Santis, Italian magician, has the largest collection playing cards with Joker. He collected 8,520 unique card copies.
21. Surfboards
Hawaiian Donald Dettloff has 647 different surfboards in his collection. He made a fence for his house from these boards, which is what he became famous for.
22. Sneakers
Jordan Michael Geller broke the record by amassing the most impressive collection of sneakers (2,388 pairs). His personal shoe museum in Las Vegas now consists of 2,500 pairs.
23. Napkins
German Martina Schellenberg collected the largest collection of paper napkins, a total of 125,866 copies.
24. Erasers
German Petra Engels has a huge wealth of 19,571 erasers from 112 countries. There are no duplicates, all erasers are in a single copy.
25. Mobile phones
German Karsten Tews assembled 1563 models mobile phones, all models are unique and not repeated.
26. Back scratchers
Dermatologist Manfred S. Rothstein of North Carolina collected 675 back scratchers from 71 countries. A true professional!
27. Toe nail cuticle samples
Although not a personal collection, Atlantic PATH collected 24,999 toenail cuticles in 2013 and currently has skin samples from over 30,000 people for the good cause of research into skin disease factors, including cancer.
28. Pokemon
Briton Lisa Courtney holds the official record in 2010. At that time, her collection amounted to 14,410 different souvenirs in the form of Pokemon. Now there are 16 thousand copies in the collection.
Today we can safely say that collecting is the most popular hobby in the world - more than 20% of the world's population is engaged in it. We present the most famous collections in the world from A to Z.
Cars
The Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, owns the largest collection of cars. In its collection there are more than 5,000 of the most expensive cars from all over the world. To store them, the Sultan maintains four huge garages, the total area of which is 1 km².
Among them is a fleet of rare Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, Mercedes, Jaguar and Bentley cars. In addition, Hassanal Bolkiah's garage has a collection of winning Formula 1 cars dating back to 1980.
Butterflies
Literature and love for butterflies have always been inseparable in life famous writer. Vladimir Nabokov caught his first butterfly at the age of 6, and wrote his first poem at 8. Butterflies are mentioned in almost every one of his works. 
The collections collected by Nabokov are kept in several museums around the world. More than twenty species of butterflies, most of which he discovered himself, are named after the writer and his literary characters.
Ties
Collecting ties has a scientific name - “grabatology”. This term was coined by the Guild of British Tie Makers specifically for the collection of Tom Holmes from Walsall, UK. His house contains more than 10,000 different ties from different corners peace. Tom Holmes acquired the first copy of his collection almost 70 years ago.
Gems
Main storage precious stones of our country - Gokhran of Russia. His collection contains many unique items. For example, the world's largest emerald weighs 136 carats. To others amazing stone is a bluish blue sapphire of 260 carats. It is considered the best representative of Ceylon gems in terms of color and elegant cutting.
Toys
Last winter, a unique collection of toys consisting of 35,000 was put up for auction at Sotheby's vintage toys and trains collected by American collector Jerry Green over 50 years. The age of the exhibits, some of which are extremely rare, handmade and of exceptional value, ranges from 70 to 160 years.
Nowadays, few people remember that the first person to go into space, the legendary Yuri Gagarin, was fond of collecting cacti. The modest home collection of the idol of millions impressed the whole state: following Gagarin, the entire Soviet 
The Union began collecting strange succulents. In florist shops, huge queues lined up for specimens similar to those the astronaut had.
Coins
The largest collection of coins is in State Hermitage in St. Petersburg. Today it includes 63,360 ancient, 220,000 eastern, 360,000 Western European and 300,000 Russian coins. The collection contains such masterpieces of ancient coinage as the famous Syracuse decadrachms. They were minted to commemorate the victory of the Syracusans over the Athenians in 413 BC.
Shoes
On May 9, 1995, the Bata Shoe Museum opened its doors to visitors for the first time in Toronto. It features the largest collection of shoes in the world, numbering 10,000 pairs, including shoes by Pablo Picasso, Marilyn Monroe and John Lennon. 
And it all started with a small private collection"shoe fan" Sonya Bata. Since 1940, she has traveled around the world, bringing back different shoe designs from each country. Over time, from this private collection the Bath Family Museum Foundation emerged, giving rise to the Shoe Museum in its modern form.
Postage stamps
British postman Alan Roy is the owner of the world's largest stamp collection. For 70 years, all members of his family, day after day, carefully soaked the envelopes in water, removing them with tweezers. postage stamps from the surface. Mr. Roy then dried the stamps and stored them in his house. As a result, the collection was so huge that it was housed in 40 wooden boxes, which, if placed one on top of the other, reached the size of a two-story house.
Sculpture
An unusual collection of gold sculptures was released by the luxury mosaic brand Bisazza together with designer Alessandro Mendini. Mobili per Uomo (Things for Man) is a limited collection of objects created between 1997 and 2008. Today it consists of nine giant objects covered with mosaic plates made of 24-karat gold. The collection features a gold jacket, glove, boot, head, lamp, cup, star, hat and bag.
Watch
American pensioner Jack Shoff has the world's largest watch collection. His collection includes 1,509 copies and is included in the Guinness Book of Records. 
There is not a single “owner of time” on the walls in the house square meter, wherever there is a clock, but Jack Shoff is not going to stop there.
Faberge eggs - a legendary series of Easter eggs jewelry Carl Faberge company. In total, 71 precious eggs were created, of which 62 have survived to this day. 
The largest collection (10 eggs) is kept in the Kremlin Armory and belongs to the state. The largest private collector is Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, who owns 9 precious Faberge eggs.
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