Passing the time
THE other day my son suggested I should start dealing in arms and armour, and make some money on the stuff I tell you about each month. After all, he pointed out, I not only know a bit about the subject but I’m obviously fascinated by it. It’s a question many a collector before me has doubtless asked himself or herself. The first answer, apart from the ignominy of making a pig’s ear of things and losing a load of money, is that I buy things because I like them. I then treasure them once I have them. A dealer recently told me that the moment he has tracked something down and bought it at the right price it ceases to be an object of interest and becomes something to sell for a profit. It’s the chase he loves, much like some of my chums back in our courting days, back when we had dark hair and a pulse; once
