Autonomous Oral History Group (AOHG)

Interviewee: Quim Packard

Interviewer: Hailey Loman

November 12, 2018

Conversation:

HL: How did you first learn about your Uncle Joaquim Blasco Font de Rubinat’s dog collar collecting?

QP: I lived with him while I was studying in the university. He had his collection in the attic where I had my bedroom. So I would see them almost everyday.

HL: What were your initial feelings about his collecting and his collars?

QP: I always admired my uncle’s interest in preserving things from the past. He was very dedicated to political and social issues. His collecting of collars and other things was part of his commitment to history and understanding our cultural background. He believed that too many things were being forgotten and eliminated from our culture so collecting objects was part of his way to try to remember our past and heritage.

HL: How did your uncle speak about the collars? Professionally? To family? To other Collectors?

QP: I never heard him talk about them. It was probably part of his personal life. He didn't care much for showing off or for professional environments.

HL: So he was primarily private about his collecting?

QP: He wouldn't hide it but it was mostly private.

HL: How did your uncle find these collars? Online or in Auction Houses?

QP: I don’t know. Most of his collections are a mystery. He also collected woman side saddles, goat hair trunks and typewriters among other things. He had many friends that were in the antiques business so I guess he got it through connections he had.

HL: Do you think your uncle was always a collector of sorts?

QP: Yes, as a kid he collected sticks, seeds, minerals and animals. He was a geologist so the natural world always interested him. His grandfather was a book collector so it was part of the family tradition.

HL: Do you identify as a collector?

QP: Not really. I like to keep odd things I like. But I have enough taking care of my mothers and uncles collections. I don’t have to have one of my own.

HL: Does your mother share you or your Uncle’s relationship to the items?

QP: My Uncle was more committed and almost obsessed with his collections than my mom. He saw a kind of activism in it as well as an almost spiritual responsibility in keeping these objects. My mother respects my uncle’s ideas and feels she has a responsibility to preserve his collections. She always enjoys the strangeness of the collections.

HL: Do you think your Uncle was more the compulsive collector (hoarder) type or more the slower, meticulous buyer -- more of a curated collector?

QP: He was very meticulous. He almost hunted down specific items he was interested in. He also collected furniture and he was incredibly dedicated in finding the pieces he wanted.

HL: Where did your Uncle’s love of animals come from?

QP: He lived on a farm during the summers and during the holidays. This was a family farm that his aunt ran. My mom also loves the natural world that is why she studied biology and became an oceanographer. My uncle was even more interested than the rest of the family. As a child he had a dog as a pet and he learned early to keep and train animals. He had a snake in his clothe draw as a teenager. He also trained various birds to talk such as a magpie. He would have these birds in his bedroom as a teenager on a coat hanger. His parents (my grandparents also enjoyed animals) They also had various birds as pets that they would have free flying in their house.

HL: How do you think your Uncles love of animals translated into “animal-object” collecting and then into collecting medieval dog collars?

QP: He believed that our relation to animals has been part of our way of living since the beginning of humanity. The separation of the animal and human world was a recent invention he didn’t really agree with. The collars where a trace of how important dogs where for shepherds in the Pyrenes for a long time. He also enjoyed the fact that they also said something about our past co-habitation with wolves. On the other hand, he admired many types of craft. So, the colors are very unique as hand-made craft objects.

HL: What is your definition of collector traits?

QP: I guess someone that has a fascination in keeping trace of some a part of a culture and decides to do it through objects mostly. I think they are afraid of losing something, so they hold on to what they can, admire, etc.

HL: Do you find yourself having collector traits?

QP: I try not to. But I often find myself being nostalgic about certain things.

HL: What is your relationship to the collars? Joyous? Hate? Nostalgia?

QP: As I said, I admire my uncle’s dedication in preserving or trying to help remember things of our past that are relevant. These dog collars talk about our cultural heritage of shepherds, dog owners and facing the natural elements. I don’t think they represent the best of human culture, but they do remind us of when we did not simply exclude and forget that we are dependent on our natural habitat, resources, climate and other species. At the same time, I must admit that they look almost scary for me now. I prefer to establish a less aggressive relation with our natural surroundings and with other species.

HL: Do you have a favorite collar? And why is it your favorite collar?

QP: No I don’t.

HL: What did your Uncle do for a living?

QP: My uncle had a water surveying company that would help farmers and landowners track down water on their land. He also was an artist, collector and curator. He was also very dedicated in taking care of his mother and aunts as they grew older.

HL: Did he find his work life a “success”? Or instead did he find his collecting a “success”?

QP: Most definitely. He didn't really seem to care about the idea of success. I think he believed he was born a success and that he didn’t have to prove anything.

HL: Do you think this was a finished or complete collection?

QP: No. I don’t think he saw his collection that way.

HL: Did your Uncle intend on buying more?

QP: Not that I am aware of. He was more interested in his furniture collection when he passed away.

HL: What was your knowledge of costs for the collars?

QP: I have no idea.

HL: Were you made privy to their price?

QP: No

HL: Did you have concerns about their expense or value?

QP: Not really

HL: Was cost ever a concern while collecting these collars for your uncle?

QP: I’m sure he bargained to get them in a good price. He also made trades so it is possible he didn’t buy them.

HL: Were there terms in inheriting the collars?

QP: No.

HL: Is there any upkeep or preservation/cleaning to the collars that you or your mother need to do?

QP: Not really.

HL: Do you think that collections are a way to live on?

QP: Yes, as I mentioned earlier my uncle saw these collections and objects almost in a spiritual sense. I’m sure he believed that his spirit would continue living in a way literally through his collections.

HL: What are some of your fears of dying?

QP: Missing out on things and most of all of not seeing my son grow older.

HL: What makes you “productive”

QP: My love for my family, my values and my passions. Curiosity is also a main drive for me.

HL: What compels you to accumulate objects? What is the function for these collectibles?

QP: I don't really collect. But I won’t get rid of my family’s collections. I think they have a strange function of inspiring and learning things from our past and family.

HL: Do you find these objects ever comforting in reducing or adding to anxiety?

QP: When well preserved and organized they are comforting. When not, they are adding anxiety.

-------------------------END OF CONVERSATION------------------------

Reviewed by Hailey Loman November 12, 2018

Edited by Hailey Loman April 26, 2019

Quim Packard

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