The collector: Allister Lee, Toronto, Canada. Graphic Design and etcetera maker.

The collection: Black Markers. Criteria > Must be larger than the average Sharpie. Must make black ink mark.

The story behind the collection:

I started collecting in 2002. I had a shoebox of drawing supplies and separated the black markers from the rest of the pack into another shoebox as a way of organization. At some point in time I started a third shoebox and kept single specimens - no repeats - of black markers in there. I bought a bunch of black markers at Osman & Sons on the corner of Wardour to grow the collection and consciously started looking out for new black markers on street wanders thereafter.

Black markers are a mix of utilitarian form, design and function. I use them to make drawings and write things down. They are relatively cheap and easy to acquire and store. I like how they look, their variance in construction, labelling and design and I like how they smell.

I have been collecting since 2002 and currently have close to 600 unique markers. Right now they are on a white background on my floor. I took them out to take photos. I arranged them according to scale and type across 7 rows. Usually I have them bagged in large plastic ziplocs in groups of 50, put away in a small trunk.

My best find was the stationery/art supply district on Fuzhou Lu in Shanghai - rows of shops with one large 3 floor building, all containing little concessions. I just went from one shop to the next, picking up new black markers. Between two trips I picked up 150-ish markers from that one area.

The 'Holy Grail' used to be the Sanford El Marko but my friend picked one up for me earlier this summer. There are a lot of markers missing from my collection. Off the top of my head, a Mickey Mouse Capped Zebra Twin-Tip, a vintage jumbo Niji, Marsh 88's, a lot of the Magic Marker brand range...

I don't think the collection is out of control. Black markers are cheap to acquire, and at the moment it fits into a small trunk and can be kept out of the way. It does however probably reveal that I can be selectively obsessive and focused when I feel like it. I'm passively obsessed. I like it when I find/get new markers, but don't think about it all too often. But then sometimes I do.

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Earlier this year Allister made a poster print to commemorate the acquisition of his 500th piece. From vintage glass-barrel Magic Markers, famed Mini-Wides, metal-jacket Sakuras, up to the contemporary Super Sharpie, the collection as depicted in the illustrated poster, shows a historical and international spectrum of black marker design.

The poster is available through San Francisco based Equal Dist, New York City based The Reed Space, as well as directly through Allister's website at the Studio B.I.Boutique.

Images © Allister Lee.