That advice came from a seasoned author of books on antiques. "He told me, when you rewrite your books always raise the prices. Well, now looking back on that, his books aren’t selling well … and I never took that advice. I’ve always called it like it is - even though some dealers don’t often like it. If the price of a glass pattern decreases, that’s the way I list it."

And, with his integrity and credibility intact, Florence – the "Dean of Depression Glass" – is leaving the book-writing field. His last three books rolled off the press at Collectors Books in July.

And, fittingly, one of those books is the Collector’s Encyclopedia of Depression Glass, now the 19th edition of the very first book he wrote.

"We were sad to hear that he was retiring," said Gail Ashburn, editor at Collector’s Books. "We just as soon he stay, but we don’t blame him. It’s a lot of work … and life’s too short."

Within the stable of writers from Collectors Books, the 65-year-old Florence has routinely been one of the best producing "hosses." His Very Rare Glassware of the Depression Years books have been bestsellers for years, helping collectors spot the rare and valuable, or at least find a "realistic bargain."

For any glass collector, books written by Florence have been an indispensible resource.

Although Florence is best known for his scholarly work in Depression Glass, through the years he has written books on Occupied Japan collectibles, kitchen glassware, very rare glassware, 40s, 50s and 60s glassware, elegant glassware, stemware, glassware pattern identification, Anchor Hocking’s Fire-King and glass candlesticks. In addition, has written seven books on collecting baseball cards.

In all, Florence says he has sold more than 2.5 million books.

From the beginning his wife, Cathy Gaines Florence, has helped write the books, co-authoring several. She also wrote her own book in the mid-1980s on collecting quilts.

As the two authors break into the "Golden Age of Life," it was the perfect time to step out of the writing arena and enjoy life. However, they still plan to "stay in the game," going to numerous antique venues throughout the country, and setting up at two shows a year.

"I still enjoy the hunt," Florence says, "that’s something I won’t ever leave."

But, although the hunt has been good – and arduous – Florence admits that glass has been very, very good to him, and his family.

The beginnings of Florence’s affair with glass began back in the 1960s, while he was experiencing a hardscrabble existence as a Kentucky high school teacher with a wife and two sons. In those days, he said, he was paid enough to qualify his children for the free lunch program at school. But Florence – a passionate collector and quick learner – found the antique world a place in which he could generate additional income.

He and Cathy started with the basics, setting up at flea markets.

"Back then we lived on the ABCDs - selling Avon, Beam (Jim Beam collectibles were readily available in Kentucky), coins and Depression Glass," he says. "It kept us going."

Then, in the early 1970s Florence - with his ever-burgeoning knowledge of Depression Glass - was approached at the Bardstown Flea Market about writing a book on that very much overlooked subject. That book - Collector’s Encyclopedia of Depression Glass – would ultimately become one of America’s best selling glass books.

"The first book sold 17,000 copies, and I was really disappointed," Florence said. "We were getting 50 cents for each book sold. I remember the publisher wrote me a note, with a copy of a story saying that first-time authors were lucky to sell 10,000 copies. I think he was just trying to make me feel better, give me some encouragement."

But Florence’s second book sold 85,000-95,000 copies. And, once established, the numbers only grew larger.

"I was a math teacher at the time, and I started doing the math on the books versus teaching, and it just didn’t make much sense staying in the classroom," he says.

That was in 1976, and Florence kept writing, and writing.

"I suppose I’ve written enough about Depression Glass to have a good size novel," he says.

Florence claims that he was the first writer "I know of" to include the price of an item, right there next to the photo - saving the reader the anguish of flipping to the back of the book each time for a price.

Ever endeavoring to take a scholarly approach - and unflaggingly including new glass discoveries in each book – Florence took a simple approach to his books.

"I’ve always tried to take the KISS approach, "Keep It Simple, Stupid," he says. "When we first started, I handwrote all the books and Cathy typed it. Then, we went to a typewriter in which you could store copy. You could store the words, but you weren’t able to turn it off … you’d lose everything. I remember working one day in our shop, and a worker on a jackhammer – or something – hit an electrical power line. It threw him up, like 15 feet in the air, he was hurt really bad. We felt bad for him, but I tell you, he would have been hurt a lot more if Cathy could have gotten hold of him."

In addition to the writing, he and his wife opened a Lexington, Ky. antique store – Grannie Bear Antique Shop – and began traveling throughout the country buying and selling at shows, while his mother tended the store.

It was a different era then. As the 1970s gave way to the 80s, there were more shops, more glass to discover and prices continued to go up. In those pre-Internet days, the world of collecting was different, he says, much different.

"The whole market has changed," he says. "People used to collect four, six, eight and 12-place settings. They’d buy a china cabinet, fill it up, buy another china cabinet and start over.

"Today’s collectors are buying stuff to use. They no longer buy the cordials, the wines, or even the tea glasses. They’ll buy the water glasses, the tumblers … when I do a show, it’s a guessing game. You never know what they’ll buy."

And not only are glass prices down by, as much as 50 percent in many cases; the number of venues has declined. That has, Florence maintains, become one of the reasons "the hunt" has become less productive.

"Last year I found four pieces of glassware that has never been seen or documented. I used to see 100-150 new pieces a year."

Of course, Florence also attributes the Internet as a large factor in changing, not only the market, but also how information is disseminated.

Florence has had to work faster and smarter to stay on top of prices, which have become more fluid than publishing deadlines. And, he has had to learn to deal with much of the "misinformation" that is on the Internet.

"People think they can get everything off the Internet," he says. "That’s just not true … you have to look at what things actually sold for - and, in reality, that often should reflect several factors … such as condition, there’s a lot of these Internet auctions, where people don’t know a chip from a hole in the ground."

Which brings us back to pricing.