| What's different about pre-pro? It seems to me that in
most collecting hobbies, there is a base of common to scarce items, which
collectors can find, and then a few rarities, which are fought over. The
pre-pro glasses seem to be upside down. There are a few common glasses, the
Hayners, Zimmermans, Riegers. Everything else is scarce to rare. I think that
most collectors want local items, primarily as go withs. To collect nationally
means going after glasses that were made for small, localized markets, so there
aren't very many of them to begin with, and the locals compete strongly. It's
not like bottle collecting on a national scale, where you can usually acquire
the piece you're after with enough patience. The scarcity factor also means
values are not fixed; an unlisted glass comes up virtually weekly. There are
probably more unlisted than listed. So, there is still plenty of appeal there,
the great unknown. It can get discouraging, so I would have to say go where the
glass is, the bottle shows. Decide on what you like and buy accordingly. You
won't be disappointed if it appeals to you. Condition wise, most collectors,
myself included, will tolerate damage if confined to the rim of the glass, but a
strong, unfaded etching is a must. It helps to carry a picture or an example,
because there are still many people who don't know what you're after.
Reproductions haven't been a problem; I have yet to see a credible replica.
So it
went until.....................eBay! I began seeing glasses I
had only dreamed of. Problem was, I had no computer, just a
hotmail address, so I couldn't register. For a while I phoned
in my bids to a friend, but this became too cumbersome.
Another friend I work with offered to register for me, and he
created the account and user ID bluroc (he's a guitar
player). Things really took off after that. Have eBay
and the internet ruined the hobby? It has been great from my
point of view (except I'm still all over the road when it comes to
buying); I have access to rarities that are seldom seen. The
information available is staggering. Robin Preston's website,
pre-pro.com, is unprecedented in gathering data for collectors, and
getting them together. On the flip side, I fear that as Google
and other information technology takes hold, antiques will become
another commodity. This is a ways off. I would hate to
see the day when the thrill of finding a rare or unusual item is
gone. As much as I have benefited from the internet, hunting,
researching and spending time with friends are really the worthwhile
aspects of collecting. I think my bigger concern is whether
enough replacement collectors are in the pipe. Let's face it,
there are a lot of graying heads out there. The things that
drew me, the reminders of the past and the places to roam and
explore freely are disappearing. With new technologies
changing our daily lives and the way we spend our free time, I hope
there is always room for collecting. |
