Antiques Roadshow

GUEST

Well, my mother is involved with the food industry and has attended a few auctions throughout her professional career, one of which was an auction where Julia Child was in charge of something on the auction.

APPRAISER

An honorary chairwoman or something like that?

GUEST

Right, that's exactly right.

APPRAISER

Okay.

GUEST

So she donated these five pans to encourage developing the careers of those interested in pursuing culinary arts.

APPRAISER

Sure. It's exciting to think that Julia Child used these not only for herself, but on her TV show, isn't that correct?

GUEST

Right.

APPRAISER

I don't think it's possible to overstate the impact that Julia Child had on cooking in this country, and on pop culture. If you go back to 1961, when the Mastering the Art of French Cooking came out, it was an instant sensation. One publisher initially turned it down because they thought it was too much like an encyclopedia. There were also magazine articles that she wrote. She did a column for the Boston Globe. And then in 1962,

she did something that she had never done before

she cooked an omelet on public television. She wasn't the first TV cook, but she really connected with so many viewers out there. Julia Child once said that her first French meal was an opening up of the soul and of the spirit. And she really communicated that. Some of these pans weigh quite a bit. It's amazing to think about her carrying these around in her program, and they are really quite heavy and massive. Do you remember how much your mother paid for them?

GUEST

I believe it was about $3,300.

APPRAISER

Well, I think that was a very fair price. I think anyone would be thrilled to own this set of wonderful cookware for about $5,000, and that would be a retail price.

GUEST

Wow.

APPRAISER

So I think an auction value today would be about in the same range as what your mother paid, right around $3,500.

GUEST

That's great.

APPRAISER

Wonderful to see them. Thank you.