As a collector, I often think about subjects that I would like to collect, but the opportunity has never really presented itself to me. One such example is imprints (books, broadsides, etc.) produced by printers working mostly in the Mid-Atlantic and done in the German language. All too often today, people have a mythical view of 18th- and 19th-century America. They drink deeply from the legends created by the Great American Melting Pot where people from foreign lands arrived here and were immediately transformed into English-speaking Americans. Quite the contrary, especially in Pennsylvania, where the German language dominated the countryside outside of Philadelphia from the 18th century onward. In fact, German remained a dominant language in much of rural Pennsylvania until the First World War. At that time, the balance pushed far away from being German and so Bismarck, Lebanon County, became Quentin (for Quentin Roosevelt). By no means, however, did the language die out totally. In northern Lancaster County, for example, there are still roads that have signs in German with English subtitles in parentheses. It was only the economic conditions of trade that ultimately ate away at the German language. Your son or daughter was fine speaking German at home, but if he or she wanted to sell corn in Philadelphia or sue a neighbor over a bad land deal, then he or she would have to learn English. What this brings me back to are the host of printing shops, large and small, that produced books, broadsides and documents in German for local consumption. While my college German does not help me to read these at all, I do find both the technical virtuosity of their production (often on hand-pulled presses) and the artistic composition of their designs (especially from places like Ephrata Cloister) to be really remarkable. The German language imprints, while no longer as cheap as they were in my youth, still represent a tremendous value for a small collector. One could collect the works of the Sauers in Germantown (near Philadelphia), which is believed to be the earliest print shop producing German language press in the hemisphere. Or perhaps the wonderfully quirky and innovative world of Gustav Peters (1793-1847) who worked in both Carlisle and Harrisburg, whose work in stereotyping multiple colors was revolutionary. For me, I hunt for early imprints, in both English and German, from the small towns in the backcountry of Pennsylvania. Holding a book produced in places like Milton or Altoona or Chambersburg is really pretty cool. Realizing how challenging it was to get a printing press to that town and then to get it up and producing books to compete against presses from big cities is fascinating. The big lesson, at least for many Pennsylvania German imprints, is to buy in the best condition you can. The internet is filled with ratty disbound books priced to the nines. Spend the time, visit good used book sellers, and buy the best that you can. Those are thoughtful ideas for any antique, but in particular for early German imprints. Finally, as an added benefit, dont forget to always check and study the insides of any imprint. You might find a hand-decorated book plate or family register that makes the piece much more valuable. So if you have that scholarly bent and are looking for something cool to collect where you can still find early masterpieces for under $50, then check out early Pennsylvania German imprints. 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.