Antiques Roadshow

APPRAISER

So it was 1997 and there we were in Secaucus, New Jersey. And it's the last place that I would expect to see what we, what we saw, upside down and a cart being rolled in by a lady. A school teacher from New Jersey named Claire.

GUEST

I went to a garage sale.

APPRAISER

How long ago was this, Claire?

GUEST

This was about 30 years ago. As we moved into our new house, I needed a diminutive table and I thought, I think I know the shape and size...

APPRAISER

She had gotten it one day when she was antiquing with a friend. The friend, actually said you know "don't buy that it's so wobbly, it won't hold a lamp," so she was actually considering not buying it.

GUEST

When I saw this out in the yard, I thought this is a great thing. It was pitch black. It was a moldy mess. And the lady was asking $30, so I said, "But I only have $25." I said, "That's all I have." She said, "You can have it for $25" and I took it. What you brought in today here is a Federal inlay mahogany demi-lune card table made by John and Thomas Seymour, very distinguished cabinetmakers who made some of the most distinguished and fine furniture for the very wealthiest families in Boston at the time. we're very fortunate-- you are, in fact-- to have the actual label of John Seymour and Son...

APPRAISER

There it was. John Seymour and Son, Creek Square, Boston. And that's all we needed to see. Oh my god, we just, we just looked to each other, we just couldn't believe it. Here we are with an absolute masterpiece. I mean one of the greatest pieces of federal furniture I've ever seen. This table, everything about it, even if it didn't have the label, says "John and Thomas Seymour."

GUEST

Really?

APPRAISER

The quality is incredible.

GUEST

Uh-huh.

APPRAISER

Did you try to clean it at any point?

GUEST

Uh, linseed oil and turpentine. I didn't refinish it. I wiped it off and then I saw this, and I took the dirt all off.

APPRAISER

Well, Claire, luckily, you weren't a really great refinisher because if you were...

GUEST

I am!

APPRAISER

No, I'm joking. She kind of looked at me like, "what do you mean I'm not a good cleaner," you know... and I said, well it's because you didn't take all the grunge off. If you'd cleaned it a lot more you would have taken a lot off the value.

GUEST

I figured, yeah.

APPRAISER

Luckily, it still has a nice old color... See all the dirt down at the bottom? I love that.

GUEST

That, yeah.

APPRAISER

I just want to say, when we first saw you, my heart started going like this. You can feel it right now.

GUEST

That's right.

APPRAISER

Mine did, too. Leslie,

Leslie looked over and said

"Leigh, is that what I think it is?" And as we got closer, you had this upside down, and we saw that label, and Les went up to the label and said "It isn't, is it?" And I said, "It is." (laughs) So it's really one of the most exciting moments I've ever had-- Les?

APPRAISER

Yes. Absolutely, one of the most exciting pieces I've ever seen. Do you have an idea of what it's worth or have you gotten some idea?

GUEST

Oh, probably $20,000, now, I just said that.

APPRAISER

I think the estimate we're going to give you is going to top that.

GUEST

Oh, yes.

APPRAISER

I think Les and I both feel that this piece in the open marketplace on a good day, would be in the range of about $200,000 to $225,000.

GUEST

Wow! $200,000 to $225,000?

APPRAISER

Now, I want to say that on a very good day with everything in place, it has the possibility of bringing $300,000. I don't want to get your hopes up that much but $225,000 isn't bad, I guess, right?

GUEST

It's not bad!

APPRAISER

Claire's mouth, I mean it was just like, it was, it was priceless. A really good policy on the ROADSHOW is that, of course, we don't exchange business information with the person whose item we just appraised. We said goodbye to Claire that day and I never thought I'd see her again really. I think it was within weeks after the appraisal she actually looked up my brother's number and called him at Sothebys. And then the table went to auction. I remember that day well. It was January of 1998.

ANNOUNCER

Lot #1440, the federal mahogony card table labeled by John Seymour and Son.

APPRAISER

I was sitting in the front row and the ROADSHOW cameras were to the far left and Claire was also in the front row way to the left. And there's pretty much every collector of American furniture in the audience that day, so the feeling was one of excitement. The bidding started and uh, it started at $200,000, $220,000, $240,000, $260,000, $280,000, $300,000, and once it got to $300,000 it was, I remember just looking down at Claire and she was already just, just, you know, she had the look on her face like she did at the ROADSHOW. But the number kept going up.

ANNOUNCER

$400,000, $410,000, $420,000, $430,000, $440,000, $450,000 $460,000 $480,000, $490,000, At $490,000 and still on the right side and down it goes, where you've called it at $490,000. Sold for $490,000. Thank you all.

AUDIENCE

(clapping)

GUEST

(laughing) Isn't that neat? $490,000. Wow, that's neat, yeah.

APPRAISER

The buyer's premium, in other words, the BP, is the amount added on by the auction house to the hammer prices paid for by the buyer. Including the BP, the selling price ended up being $541,000, Which was a world record for federal furniture at the time. So it's twenty-one years later, so what's it worth today? It's a tough question because the very very best of American furniture has capped its value more than the middle level stuff, and the brown wood has gone down. The thing about this card table is that because it's rare, because it's labeled, because it has the original finish, and because it was made by probably the greatest federal furniture makers in New England at the time. Is it worth $350,000, you know? Is it worth $300,000? And I think there is someone that would pay that, but $550,000? I don't know.