by Sam Madsen

Created on: April 24, 2009   Last Updated: September 13, 2010

Do you enjoy reminiscing about the good Ole days? Antique glassware and china, can give you that window to the past.Or maybe you remember listening to your grandmother tell you some stories about how life was and the types of things she used as a child. All these things can give you a personal view of the past and an age gone by. You can even find this on your own by rummaging through an old junk shop, which has been in the same spot for the past thirty years. Which is just absolutely over flowing with items, big, small, old and new?

Well my friend, if you are a true antique nut, than you have just stumbled upon a small little dream come true, that us antique collectors crave for. Yes, I sure did say crave, it can get in your blood and very easily become a hobby.

Once you start collecting different antique items, whether it is a piece of furniture you just had to have, or the really cool alligator-covered trunk, maybe something small and whimsical to set on a table and cherish looking at it daily. Whatever it may, be that sparks your personal interest, you can get all caught up in the adventure of the search.

Sure there are several antique shops and some specialty malls filled with dealers, or at shows that are put on by various contributors around the country. They have all there stuff really clean and priced to sell. But if you want to find a good deal that the dealers them selves may have missed out on, well then you will have to go on a hunt yourself and find those little out of the way places that most people passes by, because they think it is just a bunch of junk.

Sometimes this is true, but if you look good enough you can find several true antiques and some can have a very nice retail price that can from time to time makes you a nice little profit, by offering an antique at a good price to the new buyer, without charging too much for it. This is a path that several antique dealers do pursue in order to keep some fresh stock in their booths or stores.

But say you just want to own nice, really cool old things, you may not want to sell them just keep them to wonder about.

Say you come across an old hand-held vanity mirror, which is from the early eighteenth century. It's in remarkable condition and has a beautiful real silver handle and the back of the mirror has a design that holds a mystery all it's own in the design it is graced with. Which could have some random jewels placed around in the design?

Have you ever thought about how that may feel to look into that particular mirror and wonder who else looked back years ago? Who was she? A fair maiden, or a real life princess of royal blood. Considering the value it must have held back when it was new, it could have very well been either person. What did she look like? How old was she when she owned this mirror, or who gave this luxurious item to her back then in the days gone by?

Antiques hold a history and a mystery, for all to share and wonder about or possibly even pursue it further and do some research on it to find out as much information as possible.

There are many things we can learn from the antiques, such as what time period are they from? What region was the original maker located in? Were certain items used for just everyday people and what ones were used for the more wealthy persons of the time.

Going antiquing can turn into a hobby for the young and young at heart to get involved in. Grandma's memory of younger days and living in a calmer time may be able to fill in the blanks on several different things and that could lead to a trip down a memory lane for you both. You can learn as much as you can enjoy collecting antiques to cherish now and leave for a loved one you choose to pass it on to.

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