Antiques should be displayed away from direct sunlight. Even things that seem indestructible can melt when stored near a sunny window. A good humidity balance remains important for most antique items. When there's not enough humidity, items can shrink, crack and become very brittle. When humidity reaches excessive levels, rust can develop, mold can grow and insects breed.

Another consideration is temperature. Avoid the extreme temperature fluctuations of storing collectibles, especially when considering organic materials. The ideal temperature for preservation hovers around 64 degrees. That's a little cold for most people.

If you have one room in your home that tends to be a little cooler than the rest of the house year round, that's going to be your best spot for displaying and storing collections. Again, hallways and dimly lit rooms seem to provide a little more coolness so consider those areas for fragile items like paper and textiles.

And if you decide to change the way your storing items, moving from hot to cold and vice versa, do so gradually. Most antiques expand or contract too fast when exposed to temperature extremes too quickly.

This is probably the most comprehensive and authoritative directory of antique dealers on the net.

You can search for antique dealers via state, city or specific keywords. If it isn't listed here, it probably isn't worth knowing about.