It’s a human thing: Collecting

Buy or not: Gustavo Salmeron (centre) looks through bins of old photos for sale at a Los Angeles flea market. Most of us find photos particularly difficult to get rid off. Photos: TNS

For many people, gathering possessions is just the stuff of life.

WE cherish things and accumulate them. We move them from shelf to shelf, and from home to home. Even those without a permanent home carry their stuff around with them.