Like Allen, I subscribe to collectors' magazines for the same reason I subscribe to
the SHA journal -- I like to keep as up to date as possible about what is happening in
bottle research.  Prior to the last two decades, virtually all bottle literature was written
by collectors for collectors.  Despite its inaccurate information, Grace Kendricks'
book, The Antique Bottle Collector, is probably the single most cited work in
archaeological reports (aside from Toulouse, of course).  Cecil Munsey (a PhD
holder, by the way) is also frequently cited.  Toulouse wrote for collectors, not
professionals.

Many collectors are excellent researchers, although frequently uneducated in citation
and copyright issues.  At this point, at least fourteen of you are not too concerned
that Dave Bethman is a collector.  In reality, he offers a great deal that Toulouse (in
his *very* thorough work) missed.  I have learned an incredible amount by reading
collectors' literature.

Most collectors (who also frequently call us the enemy!) are *not* looters and are not
lawbreakers.  They very consientiously obey the law by asking permission to dig on
private land, filling in holes, and never violating public land issues.  As long as the
law allows what they are doing, we have no legitimate complaint toward them.  We
may argue that we have a legitimate complaint about the lawmakers who refuse to
change laws, but how can we censure lawabiding citizens?  I, too, would rather see
more protection and preservation, but I cannot see punishing people who are not
breaking the law.

As several of you have noted, collectors' groups are composed of a large number of
people.  The idea that our money, spent on collecting information in the form of
publications and books, will have any bearing on whether they continue is a bit silly.
If every archaeologist in the US boycotts every publication by collectors, not one will
go out of business, and we will lose a lot of knowledge.

Finally, collectors are here to stay.  As a pragmatist, I suggest that we accept reality
and coexist as peacefully as possible.  Collectors have a great deal of positive
information to offer, even if we disagree on how they obtain some of it.  I have
recorded collections in New Mexico and Texas.  They often provide examples of
bottles that we would not be able to identify otherwise.  Photos and examples make
bottle identification (especially local bottles -- which frequently provide the tightest
date ranges) much easier.

While I understand the moral concerns that are being expressed, I do not see where
boycotting collectors will actually accomplish anything.  If we could slow down the
destruction of public and private sites by concrete action, I might take a stronger
approach.  But I do not see that track taking us anywhere.  In fact, I see it leading to
information loss.  The collector/researcher is not bound by deadlines, financing, or
conflicting scheduling.  For him/her, it is a labor of love.  The collector wants the
"goodies," and we want the information.  Surely, we can fins some middle ground.

Bill LockhartBill Lockhart
New Mexico State University
Alamogordo, NM
(505) 439-3732