Antiques Roadshow

MAN

Well, the kangaroo bird is a Dr. Seuss sculpture that my mother found at an art auction in La Jolla about ten years ago. Very strange, very depressing.

I have to say this to you

I was about to lose my shoes... Yes....when I saw this.

MARK WALBERG

San Diego has been called America's Finest City. And back in 2001, Antiques Roadshow found that claim was pretty convincing. Many fine objects came into the show, like this classic cast-iron toy. Did the values of San Diego's treasures increase, decrease, or stay the same? Find out in this fresh look at San Diego. Now, this was your dad's, right? Right. Well, where did he get it? He got it at a thrift store in San Diego. Uh-huh. How long ago? I'm not really sure. About two months. About two months ago, okay. And what did you pay for it?

DYLAN

Seventy dollars. Seventy dollars. Well, you rounded it up a little bit, I guess, because there's the price right there-- $69.95. My husband collects Santa Clauses of every kind, be it paper or metal or, you know, stuffed dolls, everything. Now, you were concerned a little bit about this condition, and you were wondering, uh... Yeah, we believe it was repainted, and he wonders how that affects the value and whether he should make the effort to get it restored. I see. Now, do you know who made this? I have no idea. Okay... Well, it was made by Hubley, who was a great toy manufacturer. It's cast iron. The typical, wonderful galloping action of the reindeer. And, um... as far as getting it restored, I think that would be a pretty big mistake since this is absolutely 100% original condition. My husband swore it had been repainted. Well, it's kind of odd when you find something so perfect that it looks like it's been repainted. So you have a gem here. It is absolutely one of the finest examples I have ever seen. It's got a few flakes and chips, but it's just really, really wonderful. It's made in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and, uh, made... it was made in the '20s and '30s. And, you know, when you find one this nice, it can, kind of, fool you. Wow. And I think you did very well with your $69 or $70 purchase. You want to know what this is worth? Yes, I would. What do you think? About, somewhere in the hundreds or thousands? Well, not hundreds, thousands. Between $3,000 and $4,000 this would bring at auction. Wow, he will be so pleased. (laughing) And we really thank you for bringing it in, and thank you, Dylan. You're welcome. Okay. I bought this at a de-acquisition sale at a museum in Santa Monica, Angels Attic, and they told me that they had bought it on the East Coast and it was shipped here. And in shipping it was damaged and it came in pieces, many pieces.

APPRAISER

So you assembled it, glued it back together, you put pieces back on. Right, as best I could. We're going to look at the outside first because your big question is "What is it?" What is it? I've been dying to know. That's what we're going to try to figure out. Tell us what you know. Oh, I know it was made in Granada, Spain... We've got the name of the maker. Well, I don't think he's the maker. Castro Fern�ndez-- maybe it was made for him. Mm-hmm. Maybe it was the maker. Okay. And we also know this is plaster. Yes. It's been incised decorated. Painted plaster with very low fired enamels, apparently. Uh, as we go around, we can also see from the side that it's beautiful- quality inlay work-- intarsia work. And the basic design we can see also is Islamic influence. The Islamic movement was in Spain at a very early date, in the eighth century. So that is what this essentially is looking back to. And as we go around, we see that, in fact, there's a label here at the top that talks about the Spanish maker who made it. He was also working in Germany... Yes. And the question we have... There's no date on it. No, there's no date. He just says in his shop he made these models of the rooms in the Alhambra Palace, in the Moors' palace. Which is what we assume this is. Yes, yes, it is. And we go around... More of the same work. As I'm going around, I'm also noticing there's a lot of losses and damage. A lot. But we've looked at the outside of the building, so now let's take a look on the inside... It's the best. Because the inside's pretty spectacular, I think. And we open it up... Yes. The inside is more of the same with the incised plaster work, but also you can see that he used alabaster elements. Oh, that's alabaster. So it's very beautifully done. Now, what intrigues me about this is the combination of elements. This is a miniature little building. You wonder, what in the world was this for? I think that this was actually made as a tourist item to bring back... for somebody that was taking... Oh, really? A trip through Spain. But I think it was also possible this would have been something that would have been bought for a small museum... Oh... Put in a gallery so people could come in and see what Moorish architecture was. Oh. And the challenge really is in terms of the value because the damages are pretty severe. Oh, it is? But what did you pay for this? $225. Whatever it's worth, you're in great shape. Oh, yes-- no, I love it. I think in its current state it's worth about, uh... I would say $5,000 to $7,000. Oh, my goodness, really? I'm serious. Even in this state? Spend a little bit of money to fix it up properly, I could see easily $7,000 to $10,000. Not many people know that the Shakers were making clothing as well as the furniture. And the Shakers were producing these things into the 20th century. It was one of the ways that they supported themselves. Thanks for being our model. (chuckles) Are you handy with your hands? Not at all, no. Well, then I think you'd better have a professional put it together. I think so. Because what you have here is a wonderful $2,000 Venetian glass mirror. And we have a few problems, but this can all be repaired. Thank you very much. You're welcome-- thank you. Before the days of portable radio, they had many devices that played music, and this is a great one because it still has the original bellows intact, and it played with this paper roll, much like a player piano did. Let's give it a crank and see how it sounds. (starts playing hymn) "Nearer My God to Thee." (music continues) Okay, Claire, you have one of the greatest flea market finds I've seen at the Roadshow.

MAN

Well, that's excellent. It's by the leading black artist, or black sculptor in America, Richmond Barth\, who was active in the 1920s, through to the 1940s. It's just a great piece of sculpture. It's beautifully modeled. The conception is wonderful. I think the mood and the spirit is really extraordinary. And you told me about the price. It was, I think, about $400. About $400. This area of collecting has become very, very popular in the last couple of years. There have been a number of exhibitions devoted to this period, and interest is terribly high. The pieces are very rare when they're lifetime casts, which this is. I would put a conservative estimate of $20,000 to $30,000. Yikes! That's great! It's great, it's a great piece. Wow, thanks very much. Thank you. My wife fell in love with that picture because of the haunting eyes of the subject. And she was told that it was the painting of a Moroccan girl. And because it was so beautiful and the setting so unusual, we had to have it, so she bought it.

APPRAISER

This is probably one of the most famous paintings in the world. It's one of the most copied paintings ever. Really? This is a copy of a famous painting that's in Rome. It's a painting that supposedly was painted by Guido Reni around 1640 in Rome, of an unfortunate woman by the name of Beatrice Cenci. And Beatrice Cenci was a young woman who got caught up in a problem with her family, and ended up with incest and murder and violence and mayhem. It was the O.J. Simpson trial of the day. And this was supposedly painted by Guido Reni the night before she was to be executed. And there's a great legend. The painting is still today in Rome. And in the 19th century, the author Shelley wrote a poem called "The Cenci" describing all of this, and people read it; it was a very popular poem in the 19th century. When Americans and Europeans would go to Europe and they would go to Rome, this was the first place they would stop because they remembered Shelley's poem, they remembered the story of the Cenci, and they'd go see this poor, unfortunate young woman and her painting. Now, the Romans, being smart... the young Roman painters would make copies of this painting to sell to the tourists who come by, and this would be like a postcard or a souvenir that you would take back from Rome, back to the United States. So, in fact, it was a tourist production. Exactly, and you think about it today, this is a little large to put on the 747, but in those days, you would go for months with huge pieces of furniture and luggage and whatnot; you'd take all this back. Now, this painting probably came back without a frame. One of the great things about this is this frame. The frame is a lot of value. This is an American frame from the mid-century, mid-19th century, so it's probably framed back here and that's where a lot of the value is. The whole piece-- I know you paid, what, about $2,500 for it? That's correct. That's about what they're worth. They sell for about those. This one, a little bit more with this nice frame, probably about $3,000 or $4,000 for it. I've sold them before, but again, it's something we see all the time, and it's nice to be able to see one and tell people what it is exactly so they know that it's a real copy of an old master and not an original. That's wonderful. Well, thank you very much. Well, thank you. Thanks for coming. I know only a little bit about it. Um, I believe it to be colonial, made late 1700s, maybe early 1800s, somewhere on the East Coast, but that's almost the extent of my knowledge. Okay. One of the things that's interesting is that it's definitely a New England desk. And we know that because it's maple, it has bracket feet, which are typical of New England, with this distinctive little cutout. The interior is a New England interior. These small drawers, these moldings, stepped interior-- typical of New England, as are these hinges. As far as narrowing it down, if we pull out this drawer, we can see that this is chestnut. It's a distinctive porous grain with these striations, and that's a tree that was primarily growing in Rhode Island. So we can actually narrow this down to being made in Rhode Island, and it's probably about, right about, um... 17... right around 1760, maybe '65. The big question I know that you had I think, was about whether or not this was made for a child. Yes, I've been told that it's possibly a child's desk or possibly a salesman's sample, and that's an unresolved question. Okay. It's a good question to ask, because they did have salesman's samples in the 18th century, but they were usually smaller... Okay. and more transportable. This was made for a child, possibly made by a cabinetmaker as a token of love for his daughter or son to use. And actually, the desk is in great condition, but when I first looked at it, I have to tell you, I looked at this backboard and saw that it was white pine with these modern nails, and I sort of said, "Uh-oh," you know, "What's wrong?" because inside, when you look, this is actually... deep inside, the backboard is chestnut, which you see... In the drawers. in the drawers. And if we turn it upside down, in fact, we see evidence that sort of vindicates the piece, because there's actually a layer here, like a sandwich. You see that? So the original chestnut board is here, and someone laid on a pine board. So you could actually take that off, and you'd have the original backboard on the piece. So it's got the orig... so that's very refreshing because it really changes the value quite a bit. This does not have its original brasses, but you can see the outline of the brasses here. They were a little bit larger, so it would have looked a little better. We saw holes before, coming through the drawer, so we know it's about the third set of brasses. So, it's a pretty rare desk. We see lots of adult-size desks, but very few little ones like this. And value-wise, did you ever have this appraised? I've never had an official appraisal. I've never had any real interest in selling it, but I am curious. Okay, well, it's probably worth in the range of $20,000 to about $25,000. Hmm, well, that is a bit higher than I would have guessed. I probably would have said something in the range of half of that. No, there's no question about it. You told me that your grandmother left this pendant to you. This was given to her by her second husband. When were they married? They were married in 1918. Now, I understand you had other jewelry from her, but this was the piece you chose to bring to the Roadshow today. Why did you pick this piece? Because I like it. I've worn it a great deal of the time over the years since she gave it to me. It sits in just the right place on my neck, and it's beautiful. And what do you know about it? What did your grandmother tell you? She said that it was a yellow diamond and... And did you believe her? I didn't know, because it seemed pretty big, and Granny kind of liked to... If she wanted you to like something, she sometimes sort of embellished on its attributes so that... I see, I see. Well, I must tell you that when you came and showed it to me and you said you weren't sure that it was a diamond, I kind of looked at it and was actually curious myself because it has a beautiful vivid yellow color. And on closer examination, I realized it was a diamond; she was telling the truth. Oh, really? Yes. Not only is it a diamond, but it's actually an important size for a yellow diamond because it measured over one carat. Wow... Yeah. And it's an old European-cut pear-shaped. And you know what else I found out about it? When I turned it over, it has a signature. The signature... do you have any idea? No, because I looked to see if there was one and couldn't find anything. It's Tiffany and Company. Yeah. Wow... This is Tiffany and Company, and quite rare, because of that period-- and I would date it between 1918, 1920-- you rarely found a yellow diamond in a piece of Tiffany jewelry. And I even think this was designed by Louis Comfort because it has that kind of wonderful wire work. So now we've got to appraise it. It's a tough appraisal because it's rare-- $20,000 and up. What do you think? Holy mackerel! I can't believe... Yeah, so you really hit the spot today. You knew what to pick, and... I almost didn't bring it. And your grandmother was not telling a lie. And she left you something great. That's wonderful! Isn't that great? Yes. Thanks for coming. That is so exciting! Great! We have a wonderful English sterling muffineer. What? English sterling muffineer. Now, a muffineer is a wonderful piece because in Victorian times, when your servant brought you breakfast in bed, you had sugar and cinnamon in it. It was made in London about 1880. In the marketplace today, $1,500 to $2,000. It had sort of a multitude of uses, but it was basically a sugar shaker. It's really... I love it. This is a Tiffany feather lamp. It doesn't have his signature, which sometimes happened on some of the earlier pieces. We would probably sell this for between $20,000 and $30,000 in our gallery. It was left in an old house. My dad used to do a lot of property management. Somebody abandoned the house, skipped out on the rent. This was a piece that was left. Have you ever had the opportunity to show this to anyone? I had the bridge replaced and the guy that replaced it told me that the sticker on the inside was a forgery-- the label on the inside was a forgery. How much did he tell you it was worth? Well, I bought it for $700 and he told me that I didn't get taken for it but he said it probably wasn't worth much more. Danielle, you surely didn't get taken for it. It's labeled Joseph Hornsteiner Mittenwald, 1792. Danielle, that's exactly what this violin is. It's classic 18th-century Mittenwald. Correct, by this maker. He's a good maker, beautiful work. To the tee. Great, great fiddle. Um... you bought it for how much? $700. Try times ten. Yes, $8,000... $7,000 to $8,000. Oh, my... Oh, my! In a heartbeat. Yeah. This doll was bought in the United States, and my sister was so enthusiastic about her because she seemed so unusual, and her costuming was so different from anything we'd ever seen before. So I had to wait quite a long time, and she talked to me several times on the phone about her, and finally flew out, hand-carrying her, to gift her to me. And you said your sister paid $500 for it-- this doll-- and you were wondering why she has this outfit on. Exactly. Well, this is actually a German doll made by the Simon and Halbig firm, which was a very prestigious firm in the 1800s. And the reason she's dressed as she is is that Simon and Halbig made dolls and exported them to France for different makers. On the back of the doll is a label that says Jumeau, which is a French firm. So I think this was a special order where Simon and Halbig made the head, shipped it to the Jumeau firm, and then they costumed it in this wonderful Joan of Arc costume. Simon and Halbig is known for their wonderful bisque. This doll has original finish on her composition ball-jointed body, and then the costume is just fabulous. Over here, we have the little sword. Look at the detail in the vest-- somebody's spent a lot of time on that-- and then as we come down, look at the nice silk costume and the wonderful sandals. So it's a German influence, but sent to France, with a Joan of Arc influence. What also I like about the story about your sister is that she bought these for you, and what did she use to do to trick you as a child? Well, in order to get her room cleaned, she always promised that I could look at her dolls, so I would clean her room, and then she would take her storybook dolls off the shelf and show them to me for a short period of time, and then put them up again until the room needed cleaning. But you became a doll collector, yet she goes and buys the dolls for you... That's correct. And she paid $500. It's now worth about $1,500, so it has appreciated and will continue to appreciate. Thank you for bringing this in. Well, actually, I inherited this piece. It was bought by a friend in the early '60s in Beverly Hills, and I was told it came out of the estate of Marion Davies. Oh, that makes a lot of sense. A silent movie star, of course, someone to whom looks would be important, because what you have here is an allegory of vanity. And you see this graceful lady here, sort of a classical lady, holding a mirror, and that mirror has been an ancient symbol of vanity since Grecian times, and you see she's in rather Grecian dress. So if it did come from her estate, it makes all the sense in the world. Also, she was a lady who was surrounded by wonderful, expensive things. This piece was made-- and you can tell by the signature-- by Elkington & Company, an English firm who was famous for perfecting the electroplating technique. And the fascinating thing about this example of electroplate is that it is not just a poor man's silver. It is a work of art in its technique, and Elkington was famous for inventing a kind of technique which perfected the art of these relief plaques in the electrodeposit technique, which is depositing metal into a mold. They had the best artists working for them. The signature on the left side is that of the sculptor. His name was L\onard Morel-Ladeuil. And here he says, invenit and fecit-- the Latin words for "invented it" and fecit, meaning "made it." In other words, he made the first sculpture that was the prototype for these electrotype models, which were made in some quantity. This is dated 1876, and I have every confidence that this was made specifically for an important international exposition, the Philadelphia Centennial of 1876. I'll show you on the back a little bit more... because I love these electrotypes, and I think there's as much on the back as the front. If you see this texture here, which is very lumpy, almost-- those are the nodes that the electrodeposit technique made, and instantly you can tell a 19th-century electrotype by that. Also, up here, very importantly-- they were able to license this technique to other countries, so you have an Austrian, a German, an English, a French and American license information on the back of this. It was a very, very important design. The importance... of this piece in my mind is the marriage of art and industry, and I think here you have the finest example from its period. I don't think the marketplace today is quite as sensitive to this art form as it should be, and electroplates still carry somewhat of a stigma, even though this was made as a work of art. As far as market value, I would say at auction about $3,000 to $5,000. Well, it was in my mother-in-law's family and that's all I know about it. And, uh... she was German, and the other side of the family said they were Swiss. But this is German, so... who knows? Well, it's a nice-sized stein. This is what's called a 3.1-liter stein. They don't come much larger than this. Sometimes they did have pewter lids, and other times-- in this case-- they did not have a pewter lid. This is called an incised decorated stein, in where the artist has actually incised the work and then painted the colors over it. In this particular case, we have a gentleman on a high-wheeled bike, which is a very interesting subject. And it's been signed by the artist. Let's find the signature. There we go-- "Schultz." Schultz was one of the more famous artists that worked at the Mettlach factory and worked out of Hanau. A very, very popular artist and certainly one that would be considered collectible. Mettlach itself is a very, very collectible area in the world of steins. It tends to be, there's Mettlach and then there's everything else. Most people want Mettlach. It's very competitive. And they have a number system, which we'll take a look at on the bottom. And the number, what that does is show us by identification. Here we have the Mettlach symbol and the number 1817. Now, 1817 is identified only as this particular model with this particular subject on it. Off to the right-hand side you can barely see there's an incised number 88, and that would actually be the year that it would have been manufactured, which was 1888. Oh, really? Betty, do you have any idea how much this is worth? Absolutely none. No? You've had it for a long time now, and I would expect if this came up at auction now, it should sell somewhere between $2,500 and $3,500. Well, that's pretty nice. Is that good? Yeah, that's great. Terrific. This is a picture by Grant Wood. This is an artist that everybody knows because we all are familiar with American Gothic-- the farmer and his wife looking very serious holding the pitchfork. If something like American Gothic were to come on the market it would literally be worth millions and millions of dollars. So it's a little bit harder to know how to appraise something like this because it's not his instantly recognizable style. But I think with the interest in Wood, it would still be worth about $20,000 to $30,000 at auction. Well this is from the Kalo Shop, which was in Chicago. They're particularly known for this hand-wrought look, reminiscent of the Arts and Crafts movement. Valuewise, probably about $4,500 to $5,000. For the whole pieces? Yeah. Oh my heavens. That's very nice. Good. I love this stuff, I think it's great. It's beautiful. Wing, I understand you used to sleep on this settee as a child, right? Yes, I sleep on that for three or four years when I was small, and I was five years old. I jump on top of it, bouncing back and forth. Your parents didn't mind that? No, no, no. Do you know how old it is now? I was told it's somewhere in the Qing Dynasty. Exactly how old, I have no idea. You're absolutely right. It's Qing Dynasty; it's about 1890. It's probably worth today somewhere in the area of around $4,000. Okay. It's nice to know. Well, I inherited this from my mother's grandmother. Okay, and do you know how old he is at all? No, I don't. Okay, well, he's a really, really pretty color. Beautiful condition, great fur, great pads, nice shoe-button eyes. And we've had white bears on the program. We've had black bears on the program. This is one of the first cinnamon bears we've had on the program. Any idea who made him? No, I don't even know what kind of bear it is. Well, he is a Steiff bear. Oh, okay, Steiff. He's from about 1905. He's in absolutely incredible condition. I sold one similar to him about, oh, two years ago for $6,000 to a friend of mine who again resold it again, I think, for around $7,000. So this guy's probably in the $8,000 to $10,000 range. Oh... great. So, I think it was worth your waiting around. I hope you don't miss your plane. Oh, me. It's been in my grandma's house for a while. It was given to her by her grandaunt and -uncle. It was given to them as a wedding gift from his father. Well, it's something I'm very familiar with. Most of the ones I have are from the 19th century. Where this is different is this is a lifetime image of George Washington, and that's what makes it special. Lifetime images of George Washington are what the collector really wants. This is one of the most interesting one of them. The artist was a man named John Trumbull, and he was an American who was actually involved in the American Revolution and knew George Washington personally. And if you look down here, you can see his name, "Painted by J. Trumbull, Esquire, of Connecticut, 1780." He painted it in London. He wanted to publicize his art and George Washington, so he decided to have a print made of it, and he hired the best printmaker of the day, a guy named Valentine Green, and his name is down here, and it says "Engraved by V. Green, mezzotinter and engraver to His Majesty," and that's the King of England, so really top man. And it was published in London in 1781, and you can see that information down here. January 15, 1781. Now, that's before the treaty was signed that ended the American Revolution.

So it's interesting

An American goes over, publishes a portrait of his hero and sells it in England to the English. The English, of course, were fascinated. Washington was becoming a legendary figure, even then. This portrait, which is a very famous portrait of him, was sold in London, also came over to the United states and sold throughout Europe, and people copied it all the time, so it's really quite an exciting and valuable portrait. You're interested in the history. I told you about the history. I'm also sure you would like to know its value. Yes.

We always play the game

Do you have any idea what it might be worth? No idea whatsoever. Well, most of the portraits we have, the 19th- century ones, sell for under $1,000. Lifetime portraits, and especially one of this quality, even though the condition isn't good-- and as we talked about the condition, we have a couple of tears up here and a spot... It's a little dark, and that kind of thing, but most of that can be fixed. Desirable... the history, all of that makes it... If I had it in my shop and I fixed it up, I'd probably put about $4,500 on it, which is because it's lifetime, because of the connection with John Trumbull, the great mezzotinter, and its whole history, it's really just a terrific image of George Washington. Thank you. It belonged to my parents. It was given to them as a wedding present in 1926 in New York City by a friend who was a gun collector, and eventually it became mine. Do you know anything about it? We were told that it was carried by a British soldier during the Revolution, and that's really all I know. It's a wonderful rifle. It has wonderful raised carving, which I'll show you, but the most remarkable part about it is it's in untouched original flintlock condition, which is very rare for a rifle, because rifles were used until they were worn out, and they converted most of the flintlocks to percussion, which was a more modern ignition, and this has never been touched by anybody. Now, let me show you... the name Christian Beck, who worked in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, from the late 18th century to about 1810. And here's the original... This is the original lock. It's missing the frizzen spring, but it's all there. Wonderful carving here and tremendous carving right here. It's just a remarkable rifle, made by an expert gunsmith, and I'm so happy to have seen it and that you brought it in. Where do you have it now in your house? I'm embarrassed to say it's in the closet. Well, you'd better get it out of the closet and put it on a wall and look at it. Do you have any idea of the value? Oh, none at all. Really? None at all. Well, I think, because of the condition and because of the quality of the carving and because of the gunsmith, Christian Beck, this should bring between $18,000 and $25,000. That's amazing. So get it out of the closet... Yes, sir, I will, right away. Well, uh, being a native San Diegan, I worked for the local utility, and I was in a department called the Art and Display Department. We built displays for the fairs and home shows, and it was appliances and things like this here, and during the '70s, they decided to get rid of this department. And it found a home with you. Yeah, right, so my old boss at that time-- I asked him if I could please have that, and he said, "Yeah, go ahead and take it." Well, it was a nice gift of him to give to you. Oh, yeah, now I'm realizing that today. Well, I guess it's not a secret to anyone that this is a light bulb, but it's a very special kind of light bulb, and it has a presentation plaque, which is interesting. We don't know the truth or not behind the plaque. It says it was presented by Thomas Edison to a Mr. Raymenton and then later given to a club in the late '30s. But we know it's an Edison bulb for a number of reasons, mostly by the construction, and also because it has the original Edison patent label, which is actually applied as a paper label to the base of the bulb. It has the brass and ceramic collar at the base. It's in incredible condition, been protected in this case, and the carbon filament. Again, the big controversy with Edison was that... what were you to use as a filament in order to last for a long time, until he ultimately settled on the carbon filament. The reason that things like this are so interesting and so popular is because a person like Edison is so key to the history of technology in the country and in the world, and he's such a fascinating character, the more we learn about him, the more interesting he is. So, the number of collectors surrounding Edison and all his inventions and all his patents has grown dramatically, and of course, he's most known for the light bulb, something that really changed the face of the world for everyone. Right. Now, a light bulb like this from the late 19th century is pretty scarce, and they don't come up at auction very often. One from a little bit earlier than this recently sold in London for around $5,000. This one probably dates a little bit later than that, and I'd put it at $3,000 to $5,000 easily. If you could find out a little bit more about Mr. Raymenton-- maybe he was somebody very interesting that had an interesting association with Edison-- that might boost the value a little bit. But what you've got here is a fantastic piece that has great potential, easily in the $3,000-to-$5,000 range, and I'm really, really glad you brought it on the show. Yeah, well, I'll have to thank my wife for that. She's the one who told me to get it out of the garage and into the house. Get it out of the garage. Here it is, and gee, that's really nice to know. Well, it's a very interesting rug. It's a Tekke rug from Turkmenistan. This rug is a late 19th century rug that shows the transition from nomadic lifestyle to a more commercial cottage industry. The value of this rug is about $7,000 in today's market, which is a big surprise given the small size of it. It is a big surprise, period.

APPRAISER

You told me that you bought this box at a yard sale? Yes, I did. And you paid a lot of money for it, right? $15, yes. I think as far as value is concerned, you and I discussed in the area of perhaps $3,000 or $4,000. So this is one heck of a find. Oh wow, that's fantastic. Yeah. Great. So there's that trip to Hawaii. It'll still go right back where it was. This horse was brought back by my grandfather probably in the late '20s, early '30s. He purchased it in Europe. He made it into a lamp. He did. This is actually earthenware. It's got a lead glaze, which is what you see the very fine crackle on it. It is made in a mold, but it dates to the eighth century. Eighth century. Really. It's eighth century. You think it's real? It's real, it's eighth century, Chinese. I'd say easily $2,000 to $3,000. Okay? So it's a nice lamp. It was a great lamp. Glad you came. Diana, tell me how much you paid for this. I paid $600 for it at auction. You did. Yes, I did. And what do you think this is? I think it's a Humphreys, Native American. I believe he was from England, an Englishman. He's done several pieces and some are in museums. I think it's worth about five times what I paid for it. What do you think? Well, I think actually what you paid is pretty much what it's worth and here are the reasons why. Okay, oh tell me. This actually is a... Shall I use the word fake here? Yes, yes, tell me. Well, the issue with it is that it's been re-struck. When you actually begin to look at the articulation of this bronze, it doesn't have the finesse that an original would. Was it recast from an original mold, or it was a mold was made of the original? A mold would have been made of an original bronze. There's no one really legitimately at this point creating these Humphreys bronzes. And it's important to know because so many of these come up on the marketplace, and people, they look good, and to the untutored eye, they really appear as though they're period, and in fact they're not. So they're worth about $600. Well, yippee. If they were original, we'd be looking at a $30,000 bronze. Oh well. So the price structure is very different. In my boy's bedroom it looks great. Perfect. Great, just the place for it. Do you know anything about James P. Johnson? No, I don't, just what I was able to research from a book-- several books-- that came with this collection. We acquired this-- my husband and I-- through a storage auction that we attended one day. We were basically bidding on was some badly needed furniture that we were looking for. And you end up with furniture and a magnificent collection of one of the greatest musical geniuses to ever live. Yes. Can I just tell you a little bit about James P. Johnson? Yes, please. James P. Johnson is known as the father of stride piano, and that comes from a term when they used to play shout piano or rent party piano music to raise money in Harlem. He taught the late Fats Waller. He played with Sidney Bechet, with Ethel Waters, with Bessie Smith, with Duke Ellington, and even composed a symphony with Langston Hughes. This is a magnificent collection that includes his 1955 obituary, a lovely four-album set of his 78 records, some sheet music, and his very stylish hat right here-- because, as I understand, he was a natty dresser-- and originally penned sheet music that James P. Johnson did himself. And here's a lovely press release photograph of him. When you look back up here, you see there must be 20 or more pieces of his original sheet music that is outstanding. He performed with all of the musical giants, but yet his name is still unknown today. It's a crime, because this man is that important. Here's his 1921 Conservatory of Musical Art diploma from New York and his Victrola. Do you have any idea what this could be worth? Have no idea at all. You have no idea? No idea. I'm not into jazz music-- I have no idea. After I tell you, you're going to be into jazz music. I have to say this to you-- I was about to lose my shoes when I saw this. There are contracts, there are letters, there's sheet music, there's you name it. This is worth about $12,000 to $15,000. Oh, my gosh. But I have to say that this is what it would be worth on the open market, because it's black memorabilia, it's music Americana, and it's just an outstanding story. That's fantastic. We've been told that it might be a marriage. We don't know. The chest was purchased by my husband's great-uncle... Okay. and it's been in the family ever since. That was in the late 1800s. Now you've had two different people say different things. One person said this section was added to this section. The other one said, "No, absolutely not," right? Correct. What we do is look at whether or not everything on top goes with everything on bottom. And first of all, what you have here is an early 18th century, Anne, 1720s, in really what was known as, really, the George I style walnut-veneered chest-on-chest. Did you know it was... No, no. You didn't know it was early 18th century English? No, we had no idea of the age, no. But you've always been curious? Yes. And this was really known as the age of walnut because English cabinetmakers were using walnut veneers, these wonderful walnut veneers, and the secondary woods inside were oak, also a local wood. And later on, they'd use all sorts of imported woods, but during this period, the 1720s, it was all local woods. So if you look at this piece, first of all, Anne, you look at it, we have these wonderful flitches of walnut, and they all match-- look. It's almost like a Rorschach test, you know, when they have a matched... matched designs. These are all matched with light wood stringing and this herringbone inlay. Do you see that? And it has these fluted corners, and the thing that's really wonderful about it is this inlaid compass fan. It's really, it has all the bells and whistles of the George I style. So, let's quickly pull out a drawer and say, "How do they go together?" First of all, we know all the woods match on the front. If we take out a drawer... Let's put this one here from the top section and this from the bottom section, and... the dovetails all match. Look-- identical dovetails. All the drawer sides are oak, which is typical of early 18th century English furniture, and even the backs, even the same worms, Anne... (chuckling) had their lunch or dinner and maybe breakfast on the backs of these drawers. Same exact worms. So, the piece does go together. It's always been together. Even though lots of other pieces are marriages, this has always been together. I'll tell you, valuewise, because it's not a marriage, Anne, because it's always been together, it would be... retail here in America probably at around $15,000 to $18,000, maybe. Retail-- $18,000. Uh-huh. And, um, the ironic thing is that this type of piece, Anne, inspired a whole group of American pieces that were made in Boston and other areas in the early 18th century. And there's one at the MFA in Boston-- the Museum of Fine Arts-- that has this exact same fan, and that piece is probably worth about $200,000 to $250,000, so multiples because it's American. But isn't it ironic that this is the prototype, but it's worth $15,000 to $18,000, and the copy made in America in the 1740s is 15 times that. Well, thanks. Well, that's wonderful to know. Are you happy, then? Oh, yes, very. Love to know about the history. I was fascinated when you came through the line this morning and said that this was something that, as a child, you saw in a guest bedroom and thought, "This is a really weird thing." Very ugly, very depressing. So tell me a little bit about what you thought as a kid looking at it. It was always there and I grew up with it and I just thought it was very strange, very depressing. My friends spent the night with me in the bedroom and they always thought it was very... I kind of wished my parents would get rid of it. It was very embarrassing. And then as an adult, I got interested in needlework and I began to look at it carefully and say, "This is really impressive." It's a piece that was made in actually Hadley, Massachusetts. Oh, really? Yes. At a particular school called the Abby Wright School in South Hadley, Massachusetts, in the early 19th century. The way that we can tell that is that it has this very characteristic, sometimes gold, in this case silver thread that's coiled around to embellish those urns. And as I said, it was probably made in the early decades of the 19th century by a very diligent little girl... You think a little girl?...in your family, whose picture, I think, is there, and she was... 75, yeah. And this also teaches us a lot about American history because it's not really that morbid. Really? (chuckles) It was the kind of mourning picture that was done in the years immediately following George Washington's death when it was a fashion for mourning art. He died in 1799 and this was made in the first decades of the 19th century as part of that kind of fashion and you can see that these are blank so that there was no particular relative that this was done for. And made in the most beautiful materials with fugitive dyes-- vegetable dyes-- that have flown away. And these were the kinds of things that families, as they moved west, kept with them. So the fact that it has shown up here in San Diego is another aspect of American history. So it's a really wonderful, wonderful piece. Sometimes they would have put names in those. If there had been a convenient relative who had died, they would have been memorialized in that. I looked up her husband, and he died after her and I thought, "Is this the sort of thing you..." This was just something that was made. So you didn't do it in anticipation? Not necessarily, but there is an interested market for this and if this were to come to auction, I would guess that it would bring somewhere in the vicinity of $4,500 or $5,000. Wow! A friend... the reason I brought it was that a person who knew something about antiques was looking through our house and said, "This is very interesting." And so I thought, "Well, okay." It is and I'm delighted to see it. Great, well, thank you very much. Thank you. It's appropriate that we're on PBS to uncover this previously undiscovered species of bird. Can you tell me a little bit about the kangaroo bird? Well, the kangaroo bird is a Dr. Seuss sculpture that my mother found at an art auction in La Jolla about ten years ago. At the time, she didn't know what it was, and she bought it as part of a box lot. What'd she pay for it? She paid $60 for it. Well, I think the universal reaction to this piece is, "Wow!" It is incredible. What I find fascinating about it is the next step your mom took after she had the great eye to pick it up. Well, she wasn't sure what it was, and she was able to contact Dr. Seuss by mail with a photo of the kangaroo bird, and so he wrote back a nice note saying that it was something he created. That's right. He actually authenticated his own sculpture, which I think is just amazing. Here, he talks about how yes, indeed, it was something he created in the late 1930s. I've never seen anything like it. The only ones that I've seen have been in books, obviously in very private collections, probably of the family. To find one at an auction is just truly incredible. Dr. Seuss is an icon of universal proportions. Big time. You're talking about pop culture. You know, you're talking about comic collectibles. You're talking about everything. It all converges in this piece. It's just an amazing, amazing piece. If you were to ask me to give you an insurance appraisal on it, I'd be hard-pressed to give you anything less than a $25,000 appraisal. It's truly remarkable. Wow! I mean, it is a piece that can be enjoyed forever. Look at the little baby. I mean, it's incredible. The species goes on. It's just amazing. And the letter authenticating it just makes it that much better. It's truly a phenomenal piece.

MAN

I'm ashamed to tell you how much I paid for it.

APPRAISER

What did you pay for it? Oh... I paid two dollars. (chuckles)

Coming up

how did this winter scene weather the ups and downs of the art market since 2001? Find out as "Vintage San Diego" continues right after this.

MAN

I know it's an Ansel Adams photograph. I bought it at an estate sale, and I spotted it right away. How early in the day? Pretty early,

around 6

00, 7:00ish, something like that. Anything else at that garage sale? Uh... no. This I knew right away that it was something good. It's what we call a gelatin silver print, and this is in fact Ansel Adams's signature, his delicate little signature. His middle name was Easton, Ansel Easton Adams. And he used to sign some early prints with an E, Ansel E. Adams, and then later dropped the E. This doesn't have the E. This is just Ansel Adams, right. The piece is called "Oak Tree Snowstorm." I don't know if you know, but on the back, it says, "Special edition of fine prints, photographs of Yosemite by Ansel Adams." The original owner probably bought it on a trip to Yosemite and paid very little for it, maybe not much more than you paid for it. Oh, I'm ashamed to tell you how much I paid for it. What did you pay for it? Oh... I paid two dollars. Ooh. I have chills. It's a printed later, it's not a vintage print. I suspect the piece dates to about in the '30s, but this was probably printed in the '60s or '70s. And the way we know that is from the stamp that we have on the back. I see. I never realized that we had a stamp on the back. I never took it apart. Photographs are a hard thing to identify when they're framed, and you often need to take them apart. Your piece is in what we call pristine condition. Oh, terrific. I noticed that it's in an old frame, and I might suggest that you do a few things. Okay. I'd take it to a good framer, and have it matted in an archival mat, and I might replace this glass with Plexiglas and put it in a little different frame. It's not the most stable. Pretty good purchase for two dollars. I've seen people pay $2,000 for this photograph, and at auction, I'd easily estimate it at $2,000 to $3,000. Well, that's fantastic! Really, what a surprise.

WALBERG

I'm Mark Walberg. Thanks for watching. See you next time on Antiques Roadshow.