Dear Lee,

We can’t escape new technology even at antiques shows. Computers and cell phones have changed the world of collecting, making some things easier and some more difficult. Finding a show is easier-just go online and search for the show name or location. Getting to a show is easier-we follow our dashboard navigator and rarely get lost. And shopping for the family is easier, too. You wanted us to find you a table at the New Jersey show we just attended. You got to approve the table from a photo we emailed via your sister Kim’s cell phone. Then we took the table to a shipper at the show who had it on a truck that very day. No hassle, no packing, no lugging for us.

A dealer told us he looks for collectibles to buy while his wife watches their booth. When he finds a good piece, he uses his camera phone to send a picture to his wife for her opinion. If a buyer comes to their booth when one of them is gone and asks for a special price, no problem. They consult by cell phone. We see collectors with laptop computers or handheld Palms checking their want lists. One collector had a full list of the Royal Doulton figurines he wanted and their going prices. Another was checking Kovels.com for prices of Depression glass. We also find that even with thousands of books in our own library, it is often easier to search online for information about a maker or pattern. (We check sources carefully, though. There is some misinformation online.)

But we are happy that some things are still better the old-fashioned way. You still have to touch the glaze and look for the flaws. You still have to wait for “that feeling” to come over you, the one that tells you whether a piece is good or great-or neither. At a shop or show you can see hundreds of objects and talk to informed dealers. You can closely examine a $50,000 Lalique necklace, turn over an 18th-century chair to inspect its construction, check the grommets on a ’50s chair to help you decide if it’s an original, and even find the surprise bargain you weren’t looking for.

At home and on the road you must still look in books (hopefully by the Kovels) that picture marks or list the latest prices or show pictures of patterns. We are old-fashioned enough that flipping through the pages of a book still provides great entertainment. So in this New Year, merge the old and the new and enjoy a happy, healthy year of collecting-the 21st-century way.