So you've been smitten by the pre-pro collecting bug and now you want to start collecting in earnest. Where do you go from here?
There are two basic approaches. The first and more typical approach is to buy every glass that you run across, regardless of whether or not you already have it in your collection. After all, you can always use extras as traders, no? By the time that your collection hits the three-digit mark, you may wonder about the wisdom of this strategy. By the time it hits 500, you begin to question your sanity. By the time it reaches 5,000, the men in white coats will be coming for you -- and your family members will be applauding as they take you away.
The problem is that there are less than 3,500 "known" pre-pro shot glasses and this represents only a fraction of the true number of unique glasses that were produced in the 25 or so years leading up to prohibition. A reasonable estimate would be between 10,000 and 20,000. There's just no way that you're ever going to collect them all and even if you did, where would you put them?!
A more reasonable approach is to narrow your focus to a particular region of the country, or a single state, or a single city and only collect glasses that fall within that narrow focus. An alternate approach is to collect only the "fancy glasses". To see what a museum-quality collection of the most valuable and rare pre-pro glasses looks like, click here, but I give you fair warning, you may curse the day that you do. If a pre-pro collector's blood truly runs through your veins, it will light a fire in your soul that may never be extinguished or sated.