When looking for the perfect, portable memento of your literary travels, the pin is mightier. ♦
I mean, it’s almost impossible to buy a t-shirt or a mug or a keychain at every gift shop I visit when I brought an already-full suitcase and duffle bag with me for Study Abroad.
However, on a surprisingly warm day for London in May at the Globe Theater, with the Thames air offering a bit of free air-conditioning, I saw something that would alter my London souvenir experience. In a small bin, for only £1, there were pins. So many pins. Thus began my souvenir adventure: to buy cheap pins, either enamel or button, and put them on the tote bag I brought with me.
To Pin or Not to Pin, That Is the Question
Throughout my six-week trip, I collected a whopping twelve Shakespeare pins, with the majority displaying quotes from Shakespeare’s various comedies and tragedies. Most of them were inspirational or popular quotes with a fun background, and the rest were Shakespeare’s face, his handwriting, or the Globe itself. Although not all of the quoted ones are so simple, there is an adorable “To be or not to be” pin with a bee on it, making it more of a pun than a simple quote.
Some of the pins are from Stratford-upon-Avon at the Royal Shakespeare Company, which apparently, fun fact, has a big feud with the Globe. I learned that one the hard way.
It’s also important to note that my five Back to the Future pins were inspired by Get Thee Back to the Future, a Shakespearean book-adaptation of the original movie, which encouraged me to buy a five-pack at the Science Museum. My friends and I put on our own production of the play in as much Shakespearean gusto as we could manage (I played Marty McFly).
The love for Shakespeare in London is everywhere, which is evident in my pin collection. There were very few places I could turn without seeing that little ear piercing and prominent facial hair, but somehow it made me appreciate him more. I found myself wanting to go to statues commemorating him, or go back to the Globe gift shop since I didn’t complete the collection the first visit. I never really considered myself to be a huge Shakespeare fan, more of a casual enjoyer, but London has changed my tote bag and my mind for the better.
I know the culture surrounding the series has been rather problematic in recent years, but it’s almost impossible to go anywhere in London without coming across some sort of Harry Potter merchandise.
Of course, as a Harry Potter lover from childhood, I sought out some gift shops on my own, whether they be tourist shops, bookstores, Platform 9¾ at King’s Cross station, or the House of MinaLima where the props for the movies were made. The pins can be rather expensive in the HP fandom, making my collection only five pins big, but five pins mighty.
Each pin represents both the prevalence of Harry Potter in London and people’s desires to sort themselves into the various houses (I am a Ravenclaw personally), as well as to share their favorite characters with their friends. Harry Potter has brought people together all around the world for years, and it seems that London is no exception.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: “That’s a crazy number of pins.” But each of them represents something vital to the history of London. They tell the story of people from the past, whether this is the Rosetta Stone, Sutton Hoo, Jane Austen, or the Romans, and they create a path through the city with snapshots into the biggest parts of its history.
Although this adventure started as a fun collection, my tote bag looks like so much more. It is a journey through London, through its history, through its biggest authors, and more importantly, through its culture and the people that love it.
I know, as I look back from the future to this trip, I’ll be able to remember every part of it through each little piece of metal and plastic. All sixty-two of them
