Even an amateur collector might find something previously unknown to science.

"A serious collector can find fine American furniture, folk art, important ceramics and much more," she said.

A collector may find and join a local knife club to meet other people who collect knives.

But the color was not made available to gardeners until 1989, when several collectors found two more blue varieties in China.

Many collectors find the old appliances better than the new.

Japanese collectors find it easy to appreciate prints, because works on paper are very much part of their own cultural heritage.

Even some collectors are finding that fixed-price sales can work.

But there are anomalies that rock collectors with a sense of history may find astonishing.

"And here in one building, a collector can find the selective windfall of some 60 dealers."

In the early years of this century, many a collector found Madeira a happy hunting ground.