How to Collect Boudoir Glass

Check your library, bookstore or online for information on boudoir glass. Most of these resources have accompanying images that will help you determine your collecting preferences, plus you will find historical and background information as well as various insights into the hobby. Boudoir glass comes in many shapes, size and colors; there is blown glass from England, France, German and Bohemia and cut glass and pressed glass with ornamental designs and interesting figures.

Having decided what to collect (for example, perfume bottles) experts recommend you start your collection by prowling antique shops, flea markets, Goodwill stores and other outlets where you can find old and discarded items. It is unlikely you will start collecting expensive Czechoslovakian boudoir glass or Rene Lalique's French boudoir glass immediately unless you have ample resources for these items.

Set up a budget for your collecting. You can do this by deciding how much to spend per month or per item. Collectors often get carried away and overspend on items they covet. Boudoir glass is no exception and can get quite expensive. For example, an antique boudoir pink bullet lamp with an Art Deco design sold for $325. Similarly, Lalique's boudoir glass sells for hundreds of dollars a piece.

Check for a boudoir or glass collecting club in your area. For example, Kansas City is home to the Heart of America Glass Collectors specializing in all manner of glassware, including boudoir glass, manufactured during and after the Great Depression. The club encourages the collecting and preserving of 20th century American glassware and publishes various articles on different aspects of the hobby. Affiliating yourself with like-minded collectors can open doorways to collecting that you might not otherwise discover.

Ask questions. Don't be afraid to approach antique dealers or other collectors with your specific questions. They may know of other places to search or investigate that you have not considered. Antique dealers often visit obscure places in search of various items. Some of them may share those places with you or, if you are searching for a specific piece of boudoir glass, they can be on the lookout for it.

Regularly check auction sites, such as eBay, Online Auction, Hi Bidder and others sites that frequently carry all manner of boudoir glass. Searches for "perfume bottles," "glass bedroom lamps," boudoir glass," boudoir bottles," and so on can produce results. Also, check your daily newspaper ads section for estate sales or collectibles.