The New York Times - October 11, 1998

rian Snyder started collecting Statue of Liberty memorabilia in 1984 after learning that his grandfather saw the statue when he emigrated from Italy. Now Snyder, 35, a pharmaceutical salesman, owns more than 400 representations of the statue that occupy two bedrooms in his three-bedroom house in Fresno, Calif.

They range from half an inch high to the more than 8-foot-tall cast aluminum replica that sits in his backyard illuminated by six lights on the lawn and a small light in the torch. Last month, he took his girlfriend to the foot of the statue and proposed marriage holding a Statue of Liberty ring of his own design.

"It's almost become an obsession," he said.

In July 1997, Snyder developed a Web site for the Statue of Liberty Collectors' Club, of which he is a member. The club was founded in 1991 by Iris November, 65, a retired librarian in Beechwood, Ohio, and her husband, Mort, 72, an insurance salesman. The Novembers own more than 800 Liberty representations, including 300 statues, but also rings, drinking glasses, dishes, posters, post cards, stamps, dolls, boxer shorts and a pair of plastic shoes with a tiny Liberty floating in each heel. To Mrs. November, whose late grandmother fled the pogroms in Russia, the Statue of Liberty "represents the safety and security that people can find in this country," she said.

WHAT YOU SEE Excerpts from the club newsletter and notices of upcoming meetings, like a December gathering in Las Vegas, Nev., at the New York, New York hotel and listings of items for sale.

So far, only three pieces of Statue of Liberty memorabilia are posted for sale, but they are rare American Committee Model statues sold from 1884 to 1886 to raise money to complete construction of the statue. The rarest -- a 36-inch model, one of only 10 made and five known to exist -- has an asking price of $15,000.

A new section profiling collectors has only one entry but it is charming. Nickolas, a 7-year-old collector from Virginia, has an 11-inch green Liberty he bought at the Empire State Building. "I am in the first grade," writes Nickolas. "I have a little brother, Alex, and I have a beautiful dog named Bear. My favorite movies are 'Men in Black' and 'Ghostbusters I and II.' I like the part in 'Ghostbusters II' when Liberty walks off her base." Nickolas has contributed two sketches, one of which depicts a giant helicopter hovering over the statue.

The site's classified advertisements demonstrate the dazzling array of objects that can be collected, including 1910 Liberty brand coffee boxes and an uncut sheet of 25 "Fight Communism" stamps from the 1940's and 50's, for $27.

LINKS About 20, including Liberty Cam, a live shot of the statue from Manhattan, and La Statue de la Libert*EEclairant le Monde, a French site.

WHAT YOU GET Everything a fan could possibly want.

• The Statue of Liberty Collectors' Club

• Liberty Cam

• La Statue de la Libert*EEclairant le Monde