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Then there is his Henrici hot air engine. Dating to the late 1800s, the engine stands less than a foot tall. Cast mostly in bronze, it was used to power calliopes, or pump water in decorative fountains.

Arthur sees himself as a sort of caretaker, protecting treasures of the past for another generation.

"We are storing these things for a short time," he said. "We are not the owners of any of it. We can't take it with us."

Preservation is the key, he said.

"A lot of people today, they don't know what they are looking at, when they see old things," he said. "It has to do with their education, their homes, their environment. Kids today grow up with TV... plastic everywhere - it's all made for them; it's all too easy. If you have a kid, you take the kid with you to shows and see collections. That will create people that have an interest in the old things. But there has to be someone around that starts the machine up."

He continues to collect, as he has for 50 years. And while his chief interest is in the past, he finds plenty in the present that is collectible.

"They're doing fantastic things with sculpture," he said. "As an example, bronze statuary of automobilia. And there's people that build beautiful models, such as gas, steam hot air engines, and miniature workshops. I have seen fantastic pieces."

If he has a worry, it is that some treasures fall through the cracks.

"Things are still being scrapped today," he said. "Some pieces, because of their size, are just too costly to handle. Wars do a lot of damage, and this is a very wasteful country. So many things over the years... but where are they? Thrown away... scrapped... melted down."

Still, Arthur remains optimistic.