21 COLLECTIONS at the Los Angeles Public Library: Every Object Has a Story

A life-size elephant made of walnuts dominates the first room of the 21 Collections Exhibit at the Central Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library

From Tom Hanks’ typewriters to a life-size elephant made of walnuts, to bird eggs and photos of men in rows, the 21 Collections exhibit at the Central Library in downtown Los Angeles is an amazing variety of the diverse and surprising things that people collect. If you live in the Los Angeles area, and haven’t seen it, it's worth a trip to the library. Truly, every object has a story. 21 Collections will be on view until Sunday, March 24, 2019. Here is a sample of some of my favorites in the exhibit:

Typewriter, one of many in Tom Hanks typewriter collection. This is the first time the collection has been on public view.

Close-up of walnut elephant. This is a reproduction of the first walnut elephant, made by the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair from 6100 pounds of large walnuts.

Eggs from the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, home of the world's largest collection of bird eggs and nests.

Anonymous vintage photographs of men in rows.

Artist Karen Collins and one of her dioramas from the African American Museum of Miniatures.

Doll hats collected by Olive Percival.

Straw horse.

Candy wrapper collection.

And these are just samples from the exhibit! They go to show that one can collect just about anything!