The woman who owns 20,000 erasers, and why such odd collections can provide a window to the past
Pan Mok started amassing erasers by accident, but is now driven by the desire to save ‘pieces of history’
The collecting bug can bite in the most unexpected of ways. Pan Mok Wing-sze was a master at “beat the eraser” when she was in primary school in Hong Kong in the 1970s. The addictive game involves flipping an eraser with the objective of landing it on top of your rival’s. The winner gets to keep both.
“I kept winning other people’s erasers and became quite attached to them,” Mok says. “I once spotted a full set of A-to-Z erasers with green tops in the local bookstore and desperately wanted it. I saved up my pocket money for a long time to buy it. I was in Primary One.”
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Today, Mok owns a staggering 20,000 erasers, which she keeps in boxes in her flat in Tuen Mun. Sadly, the original A-to-Z set (duotone white and green rectangles with an ornate letter printed on each) is long gone. But she has acquired many special pieces along the way.
Last month, she showed a selection at Nlostnfound, a vintage store in Sheung Wan, among which were erasers made in the 60s that Santa Claus had supposedly sent from Santa Village and others shaped like timepieces, computers and calculators.
“I buy most erasers online but I try to find them in flea markets when I travel,” Mok says. “I was in Cairo once and begged the tour guide to take me where people might be selling erasers. Amazingly, he found somewhere, miles away from the usual tourist areas. It sure was a great way of seeing Cairo.”
I collect because I want to save these pieces of history. I want to tell future generations of the beauty and importance of writing
However, Mok, who runs the 6070 interior-design studio in Shanghai, is trying to trim down her collection because “I realise some pieces are just not special. Do I really need more sushi erasers?
“I am trying to focus on specific categories: pieces from the 20s to the 40s, erasers with unusual shapes.”
There is no money to be made from this hobby, she says, adding, “I collect because I want to save these pieces of history. I want to tell future generations of the beauty and importance of writing. Erasing something you have typed on a computer is different. You don’t remember it afterwards. But you remember what you’ve written on paper even after it has been rubbed out.”
Post-Lunar New Year, Nlostnfound plans to host yet another unusual collection – vintage celluloid toys.
Local advertising creative Szeto Kwong-kin started out collecting made-in-Hong Kong plastic toys about 20 years ago.
“I was filming a bank advertisement and we used Hong Kong-made toys to reflect the fact that they have been our major exports. And I thought they were worth keeping from a historic point of view,” he says.
Like Mok’s erasers, Szeto’s collection grew and grew, until “around seven years ago, I decided to focus on celluloid toys because nobody makes them any more [made of a highly flammable, toxic material, they are no longer deemed suitable for children], and they often have beautiful colours and delicately constructed moving parts”, he says.
Invented in the late 19th century, celluloid is a kind of plastic made with camphor and synthetic materials.
“A lot of my toys were made in post-war Japan. The celluloid is very thin and fragile,” says Szeto, whose collection includes dolls, animals, cars, ships and planes. “I keep them inside drawers at home, where I have devoted an entire room to my toys.
“I have about 50 pieces. I’ve probably spent about HK$50,000-HK$60,000 over the years. I don’t go for the expensive pieces, though on eBay I’ve seen a 60s, battery-operated snake charmer with a snake that climbs out of the basket and I am really tempted!”
Do you have an unusual collection to tell us about? Email The Collector at [email protected].
