RAMM’s ‘What Do You Collect?’ display case is devoted to local collectors who want to share their passion. With two new displays each year, we show a wide range of collections that explore the breadth of people’s interests and enthusiasms. The display case can be found in the ‘The Finders Keepers?’ gallery, which is devoted to people who have donated their collections to RAMM.
I have a collection I would like to share
If you have a collection you would like to share with us, please get in touch. The objects can’t be too big as the collection will be displayed on 170mm shelves. The interpretation will include a brief description of the collection and how it developed, as well as a picture and a little about the owner.
Get in touch
If you are local and you have an unusual or interesting collection and would consider displaying it at RAMM, then let us know. The easiest way is to complete the online Contact us form: fill in your details, select Getting Involved, and answer the following questions:
- What do you collect?
- Which was the first item in your collection?
- What first attracted you?
- How many objects do you have in your collection? Which is your favourite object and why?
- What is your dream object for the collection?
- What would you like to happen to your collection when you die?
- Please tell us a little about yourself.
We have a passion for collections and look forward to hearing about yours.
Our ‘What Do You Collect?’ displays
A Hornby starter set with a small blue tank engine and three blue carriages was the first set our collector (then aged 7) received. Watching ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ on TV inspired his love of trains and since then, Charlie has been adding to his collection.
Ranging from early bellows and box cameras to the ubiquitous Kodak ‘Brownie’ and more sophisticated 35mm single-lens reflex types, our collector’s passion began when he was 10 and has continued for nearly seven decades.
These unconventional vessels task the user to empty the contents without spilling them – with perforated necks, puzzle jugs make it an entertaining challenge!
This fascinating collection of decorated lace bobbins from all over the world numbers over two thousand in total. Our collector has been volunteering at RAMM and teaching lace-making for many years.
Take a trip around the world with this display of rare and unusual musical instruments from the collection of Ian Summers. Discover treasures including panpipes from Peru, a Serbian fiddle, an extinct zither from Borneo, and some ‘Fairy Bells’.
For those with fond childhood memories or a passion for building with LEGO® bricks, this collection takes us back in time. Vintage sets from the 80s and 90s are exhibited alongside more modern pieces to appeal to both the young and the young at heart!
This canny collector is delighted by oil cans of all shapes and sizes. From sewing machines, bicycles and typewriters to cans for motor vehicles and industrial use – there’s a can for every occasion.
After 20 years together, a husband and wife arrived home separately one day with unexpected presents for each other – unknowingly, each had chosen to buy the other a set of salt and pepper pots. A collection began…
This remarkable collection of traditional Libyan wedding jewellery was handed down through the owner’s family. These beautiful gold pieces are customarily given to the bride by the groom and his family on the day of the ceremony.
Can you ever have too many bags? Not according to one Exeter-based collector, whose fascination with a bygone era of glamorous travel has led to this amazing collection of highly decorative vintage box bags, vanity cases and homemade bags from the last century.
These hankies are a triumph of design and vibrant in colour, often featuring illustrations, poems, songs or mottos. They are little works of art – all in a simple square.
This random group of objects were found by the MD Finds Group, an open group of responsible metal detectorists based in East Devon. They record their finds with the Portable Antiquities Scheme and on their database www.MDFinds.co.uk
These ingenious gadgets were designed to lift the skirt out of dirty roads. They came in a wide variety of designs and would have been attached to a cord or chain with a fob/chatelaine which fit over the waist band of the skirt or dress.
This display is selected from a total of around 3500 records and shows a selection of the interesting and inspiring artwork on the record sleeves. The collection is inspired by a life-long love of music, beautiful cover illustration and the stories written in the sleeve-notes and credits.
Memorabilia collected over 10 years of Exeter Pride – the city’s annual celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT+) communities – illustrates a decade of change and progress. The rainbow of objects include t-shirts, wristbands and event programmes.
This selection of vintage toy puzzles comes from a collection of more than 350. The collector is inspired by the striking use of colour and great design.
Another in RAMM’s special series showing the passions of local collectors – an unusual range of eyebaths collected by a retired ophthalmic surgeon. These cup-shaped vessels for rinsing the eyes have changed little in design from those produced 200 years ago.
Inspired by a box of her great grandmother’s jewellery, this collector shows off a selection of 1920s necklaces, amassed over the past 40 years.
Collected by Ray Bruno, these decorative boxes from the 19th and early 20th century are made from antimony, a metalloid element, usually combined with either lead or tin.
Take a journey across land and through time with a collection of local illustrated Ordnance Survey maps.
Marc Astley started collecting during Rugby World Cup in 2016 to ensure there was a legacy to remember this historic sporting event for Exeter.
A passion that started 50 years ago in Lusaka, Zambia, zoologist and zoo director Simon Tonge’s love of animals and biodiversity developed in tandem with his collection of plastic wild animals.
This collector loves inkwells. After a trip to an antique shop where one caught her eye, she now has more than fifty. From a knight to a nautilus, they come in all sorts of shapes.
Heather Coleman’s local collection of clay tobacco pipes is from the 16th to 20th centuries and includes examples from England, Scotland, The Netherlands and France.
In this display we have the opportunity to see part of one woman’s collection of Hornsea pottery. Hornsea Pottery was based in Yorkshire and produced ceramics for 50 years before finally closing down.
The changing programme continues with a collector who has a passion for political commemorative china, featuring a selection of prime ministers from past to present.
From well-known characters and novelty food to souvenirs of places visited, this collection featured in RAMM’s local collectors display case was started over 20 years ago and just keeps on growing. This stationery collection is far from stationary.
