1000 objects – A history of the passion for collecting

Collecting as a hobby is deeply rooted in human nature. In surveys, three out of four Germans say they like to collect things themselves. The objects of desire are as diverse as their collectors: From beer mats and porcelain figurines to historical artifacts or paintings by the "Old Masters", there is hardly anything that is not collected, whereby it is usually the wallet that decides usually decides whether the objects are of any value in themselves.

Peter Grünbaum’s career as a collector also began in his early years with the widespread classics: Stamps and coins were among the first objects that awakened his passion for collecting. However, less conventional objects were soon added, such as toy robots, space toys, or Mickey Mouse comics, which Grünbaum collected with growing success.

Over the years, Grünbaum’s collection reached a size that was difficult to manage as a hobby. After getting to know the no less passionate collector Rolf Fehlbaum, initiator of the Vitra Design Museum founded in 1989 and already a collector of everyday and popular culture objects in the 1980s, Grünbaum made the decision to sell. With around 1,200 objects, the largest toy robot collection in the world at the time changed hands and moved to Weil am Rhein.

What may look like the end of a career as a collector was ultimately just a brief respite for Grünbaum. After a short time, the interest in collecting beautiful, special, and rare objects outweighed the space gained. This rekindled passion was directed primarily towards furniture and lighting design as well as objects made of fine Murano glass.

After Peter Grünbaum ended his professional career as the owner of a successful marketing agency after three decades in 2005, he finally decided to become an experienced collector. In the following years, Grünbaum invested his energy in expanding and raising the profile of his steadily growing collection with the name "1000 objects", which is clearly an understatement from today’s perspective. From the very beginning, the focus was not only on collecting but also on offering selected objects for sale. The basis for this was the website 1000-objekte.ch, operated by Grünbaum with an integrated web store and a gallery in the center of Zurich.

While Grünbaum’s collection continued to grow in the following years through the acquisition of various collections and further increased in the diversity of the objects it contained, the sale also proved to be quite successful, with more than 4,000 objects sold. In 2015, Peter Grünbaum finally decided to embark on a new phase in his life and closed the gallery in Zurich.

Today, Peter Grünbaum’s collection comprises more than 6,000 objects, from the rare Vateria Artistica mosaic vase to the Swatch watch from the early 1980s, which he now only exhibits in changing combinations in his private four walls.

More information:

www.1000-objekte.ch (@petergruenbaum) • Instagram-Fotos und -Videos
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