Most collectors who frequent antique co-ops quickly begin to read each one as to the types of merchandise they offer for sale. One of the tricks is to look at the booths by the front door and also near the cash register. They are usually the ones rented to the longest operating tenants (often the mall owners) and usually represent the top end of whatever is in the mall. Its a fast way of gauging the quality of the mall. Proof of this could be found the other week when I was headed to a conference in State College, Pa., and I stopped at a large antique mall near Belleville. I had not visited that mall in close to 20 years and so was curious to know if it had changed. I walked in, and the first booth held a lovely collection of early pewter, country furniture, frakturs and textiles. Man, my alarm bells went off! Not because of something bad, but rather realizing that the mall had not changed in all those years. Sure enough, the quality remained, and I ended up making a $500 purchase. The tell of seeing a quality booth to start my exploration made it all worthwhile. On the flip side, a tell that usually makes me leave an antiques mall is an overabundance of modern crafts. The mixed messaging between real antiques and those that are newly made to perhaps look old is not a healthy marriage. Antiques need to be showcased with antiques. When a collector sees a reproduction coke sign or a barnwood sign advertising eggs or newly constructed but artificially aged baskets, he or she becomes pretty skeptical of the real stuff. If the mall does not discriminate between the two, then what assurances does the collector have about what is there? Most antique malls do have a certain feel as to the type of merchandise you can expect to find. One located in a rural area will be heavy in farm collectibles, both because the dealers can find such items and because the buying public expects them to be there. Conversely, antique malls located near the suburbs surrounding big cities will often have more high style items like sterling, china and paintings. Again, its what you will more than likely find in the area and what the buyers are hunting. In saying that, however, I am always struck by the dealer in a rural area who has high style items or a dealer in an urban area who carries country. I tend to think those dealers are very smart. Many years ago, my mother and I debated about setting up at the Eastern National Antiques Show in Harrisburg. Many readers remember that show as being hot and heavy for antique glass. You went if you liked Daum or Tiffany. We did not carry that kind of material, but a friend suggested we do the show just to be different. Well, the show ended up being a windfall because most people did not just collect glass. They liked other things as well, and our booth was a respite from the sea of glass. The mall that I went to recently near State College had wonderful early country items that caught my eye. But I went home with an Arts and Crafts table bowl and a Moderne vase. They were not giveaways, but the quality was exceptional and they spoke to me more loudly than the Amish quilts and Mennonite blanket chests, at that moment. Collecting is in the eye of the beholder, so not surprising this eye went a straying when it came to what I hadnt expected to see. Born to collect should be the motto of Peter Seiberts family. Raised in Central Pennsylvania, Seibert has been collecting and writing about antiques for more than three decades. By day, he is a museum director and has worked in Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Virginia and New Mexico. In addition, he advises and consults with auction houses throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, particularly about American furniture and decorative arts. Seiberts writings include books on photography, American fraternal societies and paintings. He and his family are restoring a 1905 arts and crafts house filled with years worth of antique treasures found in shops, co-ops and at auctions.