The bad news is that you cannot play CDs on old record players. The good news is that there are thousands of collectors who prefer 16 2/3, 33 1/3, 45, and 78 rpm recordings over CDs. As a result, there remains a healthy demand for the older phonographs.

Like almost all collecting categories, phonograph collecting breaks down into numerous subcategories. The collecting emphasis within these subcategories has shifted in the past two decades.

For those of us in areas where Winter seems to last forever, the first auctions of the year can prove a real horror to the checkbook. I myself, have succumb to the raging heat of Spring Fever a number of times at those first auctions. If you have as well, then you know the sickening feeling of having purchased an old Kleenex or dirty sock for hundreds of dollars. Ok....it may be an exaggeration, but at the time that's what it seems like. You got caught up in the heat of the bidding, along with everyone else there, and bought a plastic dog dish for $20.

In Part 1, we presented a brief biography of Wallace Nutting and discussed his photographic pursuits. Although most people think of Wallace Nutting as a photographer, his passions extended far beyond the popular hand-colored pictures for which he became famous.

Attend just about any antique and collectible show, wander a brick and mortar shop, or peruse the offerings on Ruby Lane and you'll probably find hand tinted pictures by Wallace Nutting, David Davidson, Charles Sawyer, and others.

Besides my Ruby Lane shop, I rent a booth in a local antique shop and work there part time. I enjoy interacting with customers and marking places of interest on a city map. I also entertain future customers-children. March is a busy month with many visitors and antique shoppers.

Here are a few antiquing etiquette tips to make your shopping and browsing a pleasurable experience:

Please leave large bags in your car when visiting the store. The aisles are narrow and being able to use both hands is helpful.

Carry cash, ID, credit card and a checkbook.

As a lover and hunter of antiques, sooner or later you develop an instinct for a really nice piece when you see one. Even if you have no clue about its origin or who made it, there's just something in your gut that tells you, “This piece is special!”

Insects, mold, water, fire and light are just some of the things that can damage your works of art on paper, so how do you minimize these problems and still enjoy your art?

Several years ago, when we still had the 'bricks & mortar' shop, a man in his mid-70s came in, spent some time looking at a glass jug on a shelf, then brought it to the counter. 'I don't want to buy this', he said, 'I want to tell you that my father made it'.

In her book Lifting Depression, Kelly G. Lambert, Professor of Psychology at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia and President of the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society states “when you knit a sweater or plant a garden, when you prepare a meal or simply repair a lamp, you are bathing your brain in feel-good chemicals and creating a kind of mental vitamin.

I no longer do shows, but many of my fellow antique dealer friends still do. Over lunch or dinner we often reminisce about the "way things were". It's especially easy to wax nostalgic these days given the dismal economy and the mostly lackluster shows of the last several years.