Collecting Watercolor Tins

Do you ever wonder how people start collecting things? I do. I collect many things. Here is a sampling of my watercolor tray collection. It all started with my Great Aunt Mable's, Prang No. 2 tray, approximately 90-100 years old. It only has three colors in it, primary colors of course. Since I'm the art teacher in the family, I claimed it easily. I had my sets from my childhood and then started seeing some at garage sales, then antique stores. I've even gotten some in boxes at auctions. Since I have so many, I'm picky of what I'll buy and how much I'll pay. They bring back memories of me painting with my sister at our kitchen table and of course I wonder about the original owner and what they painted.

I have duplicates of some of these and many other antique art supplies. (more photos another time perhaps) I even have a pamphlet on how to make jewelry out of asbestos!