Curatorial consumption: Objects’ circulation and transference in the vintage marketplace

The role of objects’ histories in shaping consumers’ relationships with them has received limited attention outside the family setting. This paper proposes a wider view of curation within consumer research, one which moves beyond possessions’ mnemonic links and also incorporates the consuming and selling of old objects within the marketplace. Drawing on in-depth object interviews with 28 vintage enthusiasts, we shed light on how material remnants of the past are preserved in contemporary consumer culture. We identify how old objects’ circulation and their actual and imagined historical associations shape consumer-object relations and associated meanings. We contribute to existing knowledge regarding consumers’ relationships with their possessions by developing a conceptualization of curatorial consumption. Curatorial consumption is a dynamic process, whereby facets of the past are acquired, interpreted, preserved and transmitted to others.