Dear Lee,

Collecting changed dramatically in the 1990s and again when the economy tanked in 2008. Collectors over 70 years old who own 18th-century furniture, early English porcelains, Meissen figurines and silver tea sets are now learning that, except for great rarities, prices have gone down. I have an American Chippendale fall-front desk we bought years ago at a house sale for the then-low price of $1,000. Today I would be lucky to sell it for $400. “Brown” furniture isn’t selling well at antique shows.

Collectors 50 to 60 years old are stunned to learn that Royal Doulton and Hummel figurines are not even being sold at some shops and sales. There’s too little demand. But collectors over 50 who bought old advertising signs, high-priced bottles like flasks and bitters, or top-quality paperweights can sell their collections for a profit.

And so it goes. Pressed glass and Depression glass are going down, but Scandinavian glass will be going up. Ordinary plastic purses and lunch boxes are down. Costume jewelry by famous makers is way up. Good Chinese antiques of all types are way, way up.

A few years ago, it was Arts and Crafts and Fifties that were collectors’ favorite styles. This year, it’s 1960s and ’70s styles that new collectors want. You can see it in new fashions and furniture. Look for large stylized floral patterns and bright geometric designs on upholstery. Favorite colors include orange, lemon-yellow, yellow-green, hot pink and aqua. New furniture is being made with grillwork doors, plain thin legs, lacquered finishes, lots of mirrors and geometric designs. Even the boomerang shape is back, and so are vase-shaped lamps with large drum shades. And decorators are using fewer pillows. All of this goes great with the vintage pieces of the 1960s and ’70s that are showing up at many auctions and sales.

It is said that any single collecting interest lasts about 25 years—and gives rise to clubs, publications, publicity and increasing prices. Today’s collectors, we’ve heard, want “what they don’t remember from Grandmother’s house.”