Antiques Roadshow

GUEST

It's a 1919 military athletic calendar that I purchased at an estate sale in Nashville, oh, about 12, 15 years ago. I liked it. Unusual combination of military and sports, but primarily sports. Great color, good graphics. So I really like it. I can't tell you much more about it. Never had it appraised. I have no idea as to value.

APPRAISER

It's a calendar.

GUEST

Right.

APPRAISER

Now, normally I appraise posters. But in effect, each one of these calendar pages I feel is like a small poster, which is why I have some ability to help you figure out what it's worth. Now, do you know something about the company that put this calendar together?

GUEST

Well, I noticed that it's an early Wilson, but it has a name in front of it, and so I assume that that's what actually became Wilson Sporting Goods.

APPRAISER

The name is right here-- Thomas E. Wilson & Company.

GUEST

Right.

APPRAISER

And having done a little research, I can confirm that this was the company that went on to become the Wilson Sporting Good Company.

GUEST

Right.

A curious side note

when Wilson started, their main purpose was to find unique ways of using slaughterhouse byproducts. And they ended up making tennis racket strings, surgical sutures and violin strings. So the sporting good industry started as the byproduct of the slaughterhouses. Just in a side note, but kind of neat, right?

GUEST

Yeah.

APPRAISER

Anyway, these images are all stunningly good Art Deco depictions of sportsmen in great sporting poses. I should say that the front of the calendar is signed. We don't know who the artist is.

GUEST

Right.

APPRAISER

But each one of these images is very much in the style of popular early 20th century American illustrators, most notably Joseph Leyendecker, whose work looked very much like this.

GUEST

Okay.

APPRAISER

I should point out also, if you notice, each one has a copyright of 1918. So these images were done in advance for the calendar. Tell me how much you paid for it.

GUEST

Ten dollars.

APPRAISER

Ten dollars for the whole thing?

GUEST

Yes, sir.

APPRAISER

By my estimation, as a group, the seven different pages, including the front page and the six different calendar pages, at auction I feel would sell for between $3,000 and $4,500.

GUEST

Wow. Are you serious? That's great, I really apprec...

APPRAISER

I also like the golf one because he's got my shoes.

GUEST

Yeah! Yeah, he does. I just noticed that, yeah.

APPRAISER

Great graphics, great graphics.