Psychoanalysis as Pseudo-Science
Psychoanalysis has drawn severe criticism over the years, leading to what became known as the Freud Wars. Many sceptics have pointed out that Freud's theories are primarily based on clinical observations rather than quantitative and experimental research, lacking empirical confirmation. One of Freud's fiercest critics was arguably Vladimir Nabokov, who regarded Freud as a charlatan.The prefaces to his novels are rife with eloquent invectives aimed at the "Viennese delegation." A prime example is the preface to The Eye, in which Nabokov remarks of his novels:
“Freudians flutter around them avidly, approach with itching oviducts, stop, sniff, and recoil.”
The Application of Psychoanalysis to Collecting
Curiously, despite such criticism, psychoanalysis is still practiced today—though its prevalence has significantly diminished. Even collectors have found themselves subjected to the Freudian couch. In 1994, psychoanalyst and passionate collector Werner Muensterberger published a study titled Collecting: An Unruly Passion. Psychological Perspectives. The book’s first part is a series of chapters explaining the motives for collecting through a psychoanalytic lens. The second part examines various case studies of collectors, followed by historical excursions in subsequent sections.
The Case of Sir Thomas Phillipps
The first case study concerns a book collector: the infamous bibliomaniac Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792–1872). Phillipps aspired to own a copy of every book in existence—a goal he naturally could not achieve, though by the end of his life, he possessed the largest manuscript collection ever assembled by an individual.
Yet, Phillipps was driven less by a love of content and more by an obsession with quantity. His mania for acquisition left little time for reading. The relentless hunt for new acquisitions consumed his life and wreaked havoc on the lives of his wife and children. Furthermore, he impoverished many booksellers by refusing to pay, or delaying payment on, his substantial bills.
Psychoanalysis and the Motives of Collectors
This case, according to Muensterberger, serves to validate the theories expounded in the first part of his study. Collecting, he argues, stems from a traumatic experience in early childhood. The collector attempts to compensate for a sense of loss and to mitigate feelings of loneliness and fear by surrounding themselves with objects imbued with a quasi-magical significance. Moreover, collectors exhibit a "phallic-narcissistic personality," embody the "anal type," and can best be likened to drug addicts who experience a fleeting euphoria after each acquisition.
Critique of Muensterberger’s Theories
For such theories, the case of the unhinged Phillipps is undoubtedly apt. According to Muensterberger, Phillipps began collecting to compensate for a lack of maternal affection. There are indeed other book collectors who might partially fit Phillipps’s profile; in the Netherlands, Boudewijn Büch is perhaps a notable example.
Yet it is peculiar that Muensterberger shows no interest in the cultural-historical value of collections. This omission is especially glaring in the study of book collections. Books are not merely texts; they are objects. However, it is equally evident that books derive much of their significance from their abstract content—the information they contain, be it texts or images. Muensterberger seems to overlook this entirely. For him, a book is just another object, and book collecting is fundamentally no different from amassing knickknacks.
The Intellectual Side of Collecting
Muensterberger could have selected countless historical and contemporary collectors for whom book collecting was far more than a mere addiction or a quest to compensate for maternal deprivation. Figures like Isaac Vossius, Gabriel Naudé, Christina of Sweden, Duke August of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Anna Amalia, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Hans Sloane, Joseph Banks, Arthur Alfonso Schomburg, Umberto Eco, and Aaron Lansky—to name but a few prominent examples—built significant libraries. These collectors undoubtedly had diverse motivations for assembling their collections, but intellectual curiosity was clearly a key driver.
Conclusion
The libraries of such individuals, along with their personal motivations for collecting, deserve serious cultural-historical study. Muensterberger’s work, by contrast, possesses primarily anecdotal value and belongs squarely in the category of varia et curiosa.
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