Antiques Roadshow

GUEST

I was on a road trip with my parents in Montana. Went on a fishing trip. Stopped at a garage sale and it was there. Picked it up for a dollar.

APPRAISER

And what did you think the violin was?

GUEST

We didn't look at it that close until I got home. Didn't really look inside until last week, when we got tickets for the Roadshow. Started looking a little bit and thought, "This might be something."

APPRAISER

And what attracted you about it?

GUEST

My grandfather played and my daughter plays also.

APPRAISER

Really? Now, do you think your daughter is going to play this violin?

GUEST

Depends on what it's worth.

APPRAISER

(laughing) We've got quite a bit of wear in the varnish, as you probably notice, and that's part of what we call the patina. And the nice thing about this violin is that all of the surface is original-- there's never been any retouching or overcoating to the varnished surface-- so all of the wear that you see is natural, and it was probably played quite a bit. That's what we like about the old violins, is just the gradations in color. This is an American violin made in the shop of George Gemnder in New York, who worked with his son, George Jr. And George Gemnder is generally acknowledged to be perhaps the finest American maker of the 19th and 20th centuries.

GUEST

Nice.

APPRAISER

His violins are extremely popular today with collectors and musicians, and for

very good reason

the work on these violins is exquisite. Because George Gemnder Sr. died in 1899 and this violin is dated 1901, it's possible that it was a collaboration between father and son. But nevertheless, one from his son would share all of the attributes of a violin that was made by his father. Here, we can see his hand-written label inside the f-hole. He used a very simple, hand-written label, unlike his father, who used a very fancy printed label. And "New York, 1901." The varnish on this violin is a very beautiful oil varnish. It's this old-style varnish, which takes a long time to dry, but is a very beautiful, thick, pasty varnish, which adds a lot of beauty to the wood. The wood that they used was American wood. This was probably from the Northeast. The woodworking and carving on the violin is exquisite, and it's in great shape. And you don't have any idea of the value of it?

GUEST

I don't.

APPRAISER

Well, the auction value of a Gemnder and Son violin of this level is between $10,000 and $15,000 at auction.

GUEST

Nice. Good buy for a dollar.

APPRAISER

So you did well. Has your daughter tried to play it at all?

GUEST

No, she hasn't.

APPRAISER

Are you going to let her play it now?

GUEST

I doubt it.

APPRAISER

(laughing)

GUEST

Put it back away.