Seldom does anyone make such an impact on a hobby that their contribution can be called a water-shed moment. Barbara Edmonson was the first to bring definition and direction to collecting pre-prohibition spirits glasses in 1985 with the publication of her Historic Shot Glasses: The Pre-Prohibition Era. Similarly, Robin Preston brought the hobby into the 21st century with his 2002 breakthrough website devoted to the pre-prohibition whiskey trade www.pre-pro.com.  It's an eclectic, kaleidoscopic site - a gathering spot - part market place, part research tool and part chat room. A glass repository filled with news, opinions and, most of all, with great eye candy.

Robin's a research professor of pharmacology at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Born in England and educated all over, he's stopped in Wisconsin and Vermont enroute to his current position. The bane of many online bidders, he may be more familiar under his eBay handle of "oldwhiskey".  He recently acquired copyright to both of Barbara's books and they may be accessed in a searchable format complete with links to his own database on his website. The database is a combined effort of several collectors and all contributions to it are greatly appreciated. At press time, it was at 1200+ glasses.  Pay a visit! In this issue, Robin shares some glimpses into his collecting obsession.