What I like most......

The best thing about antiques and collectibles is learning about your new acquisition. That's the part I really like, investigating and learning everything I can about what I now hold in my hands. It may be a piece of glass, or a piece of jewelry or a simple wooden box with a label, but it's also a mystery with a story to tell. I just have to ask the right questions.

I use all the means at my disposal to find out the who, what, where and when of an item. I have a large (and growing) library of books on marks, general/specific information on several types of antiques and collectibles, general guides on a variety of items, and of course, price guides. I also use the library on occasion to find information on more esoteric items and antiquities (don't have any of those in my collection). Don't tell anyone, but I also use bookstores to get information when I'm traveling, as I don't have my library with me, when I've found something interesting that I don't know much about. Even the newspaper can hold answers to your questions, the Kovels answer that type of question every week for some inquisitive soul.

I ask friends in the business, and clients too, about the things they collect, in order to gain information on items they may know more about than I. One thing I have learned in this field; people love to talk about the stuff they collect.

And I use the biggest information source there is, the Internet! Lots of information to find there, some of it good, some of it bad, and some downright wrong! That's why you need a lot of sources of information, some things that may have been accepted as true in the past, turned out to be wrong when additional information was brought to light.

Sure you can buy an antique or collectible just because you like the way it looks, but you'll love it even more when you find out it's background information and dig into it's history, just as we find people more interesting when we ask questions and find out their history and stories.

If you're reading this blog, and have questions, ask me! That is part of what this blog is about, to inform and get informed. Over the course of this blog I will be taking items and writing about I've found out about it.

That's how collectors get started really, by finding an item that intriques them enough to want to know more. Maybe I can trigger that spark in you.