GUEST
Well, uh, my mother was a closet collector, and, uh, in New York City, and she came home one day, and this was there. And I asked, "What's the story on this?" And she said, "Well, it's just a little something I got." And that's what I know. I mean, it just appeared in our apartment.
APPRAISER
And do you know where she got it?
GUEST
Yeah, she got it from, um, a dealer in New York.
APPRAISER
Did you know the name of the dealer?
GUEST
Carol Ferranti. She got it in the '60s. And knowing she got it from Carol, I'm sure it was quite a lot. (chuckles) Couple of thousand dollars, maybe.
APPRAISER
Oh, wow. And she did actually say she paid that in the 1960s?
GUEST
Uh... That seems like a lot?
APPRAISER
It does, actually.
GUEST
Yeah.
APPRAISER
Carol Ferranti was a very well- known dealer in New York City, and she handled all kinds of lamps, including Tiffany, and also lamps that were made by this company.
Wow. APPRAISER
And did you ever look for signatures?
GUEST (chuckling)
No, but I just saw that there is one.
APPRAISER
Okay. But you don't know what it, it stands for.
GUEST
No, I don't, I don't.
APPRAISER
Okay. Well, it's very discreet, because on the underside of the lamp, there is this lovely little diamond-shaped signature with a P in the middle, which is the way the bases would be signed for the Pairpoint Company.
GUEST
Uh-huh, oh.
APPRAISER
And Pairpoint originally made a lot of silver-plated metalware. And, uh, in 1894, they joined with Mount Washington Glassworks.
GUEST
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER
They were both based in New Bedford, Massachusetts. But they didn't start making lamps that look like this until 1907, when they applied for the patent for the particular technique that was used to make this shade. The shade is called a blown-out shade.
GUEST
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER
And blown-out shades were blown glass, and then they were actually... They, um, acid-treated the surface, and then after that, the interior was painted. Today a lot of us refer to these as Pairpoint puffy lamps.
GUEST
Oh.
APPRAISER
I really like this. This is, it's, this is very unusual. Because what, what I've been accustomed to seeing, and also on ROADSHOW, the only types of, uh, Pairpoint puffy lamps that we've seen have been florals.
Yeah. APPRAISER
And to have this unbelievable owl, who is perched on a branch ready to pounce on its prey...
GUEST
(chuckles)
APPRAISER
...which is a little ominous, but beautifully rendered...
Uh-huh. APPRAISER
...is a rare form.
GUEST
Hm.
APPRAISER
This came in two types. That, this is, uh, the simpler base, and then there is, uh, a base that is comprised of an owl, sculptural owl form.
GUEST
Oh.
APPRAISER
Uh, but this is, this definitely came this way. The, for the most part, the condition of this is really terrific.
GUEST
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER
There is some sign of corrosion. That's not unusual. So, um, do you have any idea, um, of value on this?
GUEST
No, not really.
APPRAISER
Okay. All right, so on this particular base...
GUEST
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER
...a good retail value would be $25,000 to $30,000.
GUEST
Wow.
APPRAISER
Now, if you had the owl base...
GUEST
Yeah.
APPRAISER
...it would be more in the range of $60,000 to $70,000.
GUEST
Wow.
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