What's on your shelf

Thank you to all the readers who’ve shared their collections with us.

• We’re taking another trip into readers' archives tonight.

Why it matters: Some of these collections have been curated over decades, some are inter-generational, some are a shared hobby between spouses — and all are just plain fun.

🗞️ "When I see a New York Times with a massive headline, I view it as a collectible item. I think I’ve been doing this since I was a teenager. [I’m 64 now.]

• "If it’s a real earth-shattering news story, I’ll also buy The Wall Street Journal and the N.Y. Daily News. I just like the idea of preserving historical events." —Jay Fields, Manalapan, N.J.

🥃 "I started collecting shot glasses from places I’d visited, sporting events I attended, etc., when I was a teenager. More than 25 years later, it’s a trip down memory lane every time I walk past the display case." —Jeremy Wien, Mount Kisco, N.Y.

🇺🇸 "I collect political campaign buttons. A couple interesting ones are a McGovern-Eagleton one — clearly a limited run! — and a Wendell Willkie one that reads, 'I want to be a captain too,' both gifts from my dad, a fellow collector." —Ashley Rees, Portland, Ore.

🏙️ "Years ago, I collected various souvenirs from travel. My shelves were overrun with stuff, all meaningful to me, but needing dusting and eventually, thinning out. I switched to collecting small original watercolors, frequently bought directly from a street artist."

• "Now [after visiting more than 80 countries], I live in one of those places I visited for the first time more than 25 years ago. My U.S. home, now summer home, still holds my collection of these memorials to various trips." —Victoria Sterling, Seville, Spain

🔥 "I have collected many hundreds of matchbooks from places I have gone for nearly 60 years. Inside I write the names of who was there and the date. The Sardi's matchbook was 2007 after seeing Les Mis on Broadway with my wife and two sons. A special memory."

• "With matchbooks disappearing, this way of chronicling experiences is becoming a thing of the past." —Dan Abrahamson, Albuquerque, N.M.