Collector Profile: Henk Brassien (The Netherlands, 1948), Hobbit Hunter
I was born in a little village called Den Hulst, above the butchery of my grandfather’s. Maybe there my Bourgundian way of life started?
I went to school, to university (for not too long), found a job, got married, got two sons, got divorced (my ex and I still like each other in a way, go on holiday together etc.) and now live in the city of Zwolle, in the eastern part of The Netherlands. In 2007 I had to move because of my Tolkien collection. I now have a library with lots of room for my books (but, for how long?)
In my daily job in Human Resources I help colleagues - that lost their jobs because of internal reorganisations - to find another job.
My ultimate wish? A small bookshop with lots of books on and by Tolkien. And a large table where you can drink a Belgian beer while deciding to buy that book or not.
How did you get started in collecting?
In 1960 my schoolmaster in the fifth form of a primary school (I was 11 years old then) was Mr. Van Dijk. He used to read books every last hour Friday afternoon. He was reading De Hobbit. It struck me like lightning and I wanted the book for myself. Saved my pocket money for five weeks (Hfl 1,25, about EUR 0,60, yes!!) and went to the local bookshop. Mr B.H. Kok said that he did not sell that book to children. I was completely knocked-down and left the shop. A trauma! At that time I was not keen enough to tell him that Tolkien wrote the book for his children.
It took me until 1975 to get a first Tolkien book of my own. I wanted revenge, I started to collect.
What do you collect?
I collect books by and on Tolkien. But, as it is impossible (and too expensive, too) to collect everything, I specialized in collecting The Hobbit. All the Dutch imprints (I now have 73 out of 73 imprints since 1960) and at least one copy of any language in which The Hobbit ever was published. As far as I know, there some 60 (or a little more?) different translations of The Hobbit.
The missing ones? See my website, www.hobbithunter.nl.
If anyone of you has a missing Hobbit: mail me at hobbits@planet.nl, please.
How big is your collection?
My collection is about 1.500 items at this moment (November, 2009) and still growing – thanks to the internet . Almost all the items are books. I have some 400 Hobbits in 59 languages. As I said, there are 73 Dutch Hobbits, but also 27 German Hobbits (including the first print 1957), 106 English, 18 French, 32 Russian, 14 Spanish, etc. Plus some Tolkien-inspired music (LP’s and CD’s), board games (that I never play), folders, calendars, History of Middle-Earth, books on Tolkien, etc.
What has been your greatest find so far?
Hard to say. Many finds are precious to me. Because they are scarce or just beautiful. You want some examples? Well, there is of course the first Hobbit I ever had (1975), the first imprint of the Dutch LotR (1956 – 1957 with dust jacks, only 3.000 sets were printed) and the Linguaphone LP-set on which Tolkien reads two chapters. And the first prints of the Swedish (1947) and German (1957) Hobbit.
Tell us about your Web site.
Since June 2009 I have a website of my own: www.hobbithunter.nl. Amazing to see where all the visitors come from. On the site you find the covers (plus a lot of information about those books) of all the Hobbits I have. Somewhere in 2010 an internet bookshop will join the site. There I will sell the double books from my Tolkien collection.
What does collecting mean to you?
Collecting is a way of life. Freud said once, that collecting is because of lack of mother’s love in your youth (but, he has been wrong before).
Collecting is trying to get something complete. But at the same time: nothing is worse than a collection that is complete. It is the end of the hunt.
Collecting also is meeting people (thanks to the internet), helping each other to get that one missing book etc.
Collecting also is asking friends that go to a country with a Hobbit that I do not have: “Get me a …. Hobbit”. And you know what? They had the time of their live, met all kinds of nice people etc. I think I will start a Travel Company called The Hobbit Hunter someday.
Collecting is the ultimate joy of finding THAT item.
Is it an illness? Yes, it is. Do you have to be treated? No, no one can really help you.
If ever I could ever be someone else, I would like to be a Hobbit. And have a nice and peaceful life, give and get presents, have a good meal, smoke a pipe and live long and prosperous.
