Klaus Kuhnold owns around 14,000 ballpoint pens. Sorted by type and color, he has arranged them on shelves, hung with wires on the wall. Because there is not enough room in his house, the bricklayer rebuilt his garage, now he keeps his treasures there. Kuhnold is one of almost 30 collectors who visited the photographer Matthias Ritzmann at home.

As part of a scholarship, Ritzmann was able to work on his series for one year. In addition to Klaus Kuhnhold and his pens, he met vase lovers, sign collectors and a man whose passion are business cards of car dealers. He talked to them about their weakness and portrayed them with their collection.

Ritzmann decided on black and white photos: "There's so much going on in the pictures anyway, and besides, I find it fascinating when people blend in with things and space."

Every collector has his own system for collecting objects. One arranges alphabetically, the other by color, in folders, boxes or shelves. Many of the items are just beautiful, like old porcelain or stones - or at least interesting. There is almost no living area where is not collected.

Often also collected together. 30 years ago, Timmka Würzburg accidentally discovered a packet of coffee cream, which printed on Aludeckel with a dinosaur. He liked her so much that from now on she was looking for more. At some point, her husband was infected by collective fever, meanwhile, the two have more than 3,000 lids, neatly packed in foil and filed in folders.

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Comics, vases and pens: What people collect

For some, collecting is just a short episode, while for others it is a matter of life. Günther Fiedler's collection now includes around 90,000 beer labels. "Many older people also reflect their lives on the objects," says Ritzmann. They would remind them of certain stages of life or events, are associated with emotions.

The collectors said that their passion is ridiculed by some, but admired and even supported by others. For example, friends, relatives and acquaintances of the Würzburg family regularly bring coffee cream packets from their holidays.

Why people gather

Why do people collect? There are many reasons, they are different for everyone. "I think all of us are still hunters and collectors, we want to accumulate things," says Ritzmann. Often there are very rare pieces that every collector wants to own necessarily: If he finds the piece, happiness is great.

For many, it is also a way to make contacts with like-minded people, to share about the common interest. Earlier, many collectors went on file sharing, today plays a lot on the Internet.

Dealing with your own collection can relax, have a calming effect. Günther Fiedler says that he has often missed lunch because he was so engrossed in his beer labels. Gathering, for example, deals seriously with objects from the past. Sometimes it's just entertaining.

In addition to taking pictures, Ritzmann has another passion: pocket knives. He already owns around 40. "I always think when I buy a new one: 'That's the last one.' And then I'll buy one again a little later. "

Exhibition: SPENGLER AND YOU. Show your collection of the world. Spengler Museum, Sangerhausen, until 20 January 2019