ABOUT BECOMING AN ANTIQUE COLLECTOR
Before buying anything; make a point of studying books and catalogues (even old ones) on your subject, then attend a few auctions, be sure to inspect your choice of antiques on the viewing days before the auction, always allow enough time to visit and explore the main dealers' stock, both before and after any auction sales. This way you will gradually be able to assess what quality items are available and the prices being currently asked. Make a point of chatting to dealers, or well-known collectors, about what has happened after an auction. Not always, but sometimes one can gain quite a lot of useful guidance about particular pieces, what to look out for and importantly about the general feelings about any record breaking prices.

After an auction it can be possible sometimes to find that a dealer might have a similar quality piece, or even a better one, for much less than has just been paid! A note of caution here, sometimes a really silly price is paid in the auction room, simply because two determined people badly wanted that piece. In such a case of course, that value has to be discounted to a certain extent. It is this sort of information that should be sought (in my earlier suggestion of chatting at the end of the auction).

BUYING GUIDANCE
The best advice for anyone tempted to collect any antiques would be, first, to study your choice of subject and attend auctions, meet and talk to the dealers, handle and see as many pieces as possible. Do not rush in to buy because unfortunately trying to collect, in any specialised antique area, it often takes many years to acquire the necessary expertise, without which, very costly mistakes can be made. Once you feel more confident you should then be prepared to commission a well-known specialist dealer to bid for you. You would have to expect to pay at least 10% (of the bid price) for this service. But this can be well worth paying, as you will not only benefit from his knowledge and guidance, you will also stop him bidding against you!

Only another collector can fully appreciate that overpowering urge, that comes over one, on finding a treasure really wanted. It is the closest feeling to that of love at first sight. I have been told that one