Drop in prices of antiques since 2000

A number of months ago, Antiques Roadshow broadcast one of their "vintage" shows, this one showing appraisals from Birmingham in 1999. That was from only the third year of the show, the second year in which I appeared as a print and map appraiser. Watching it, the first thing that I noticed was how young everyone looked. A fair number of the appraisers who appeared in this episode are still appraising for ARS and everyone looked so much younger (of course, I haven't aged a bit...)

The second thing I noticed was how about 3/4's of items had current values below (and often well below) the original appraised values. The show initially puts up the original appraised value, and then after a pause (to let you guess which way the value has gone), they post the current appraised value. In the vintage Birmingham show, from almost twenty years ago, only a couple current values were higher than the original values and just a few were the same. By far most of the new values were below the original appraisals. So what does that mean?

This reflects the fact that, as a general rule, antiques have gone down in value since the turn of the millennium. Part of that is because in the last decade of the twentieth century, prices for antiques were quite strong. Antique shows were going strong, decorators were keen on using antiques in homes and even offices, and there were lots of established and new collectors seeking out the best antiques of all sorts.

In general, it was for the "top end" antiques that prices were steadily going up, the "low end" rising a bit, but really not that much. The advent of Antiques Roadshow reflected the popularity of antiques at the time and also helped to sustain the rise in interest and prices. Of course, in general the appraisals which were shown on ARS were for "top end" items, so combining that with high prices of the time means that the appraisals reflected the booming antiques market.

Then, of course, along came 2008 and the great economic crash. Many parts of the American economy were hurt by this, including antiques. In most cases, the purchase of an antique is a luxury or discretionary purchase, and this was the type of purchase that was most hurt after 2008. Auction and retail sales in antiques slowed dramatically. Auction prices dropped quickly, but this did not lead to an immediate drop in retail prices. Many dealers tried to hang on to the "old" pricing structure, though they were certainly much more amenable to giving a discount. Over time, however, it did definitely lead to a lowering of many prices in the antiques world. I would say that by about 2010-12, a pricing structure for antiques had become pretty standard.

In the last few years, in some areas of the antiques market, there has been some rise in prices, though we certainly have not reached the hey-day of 1999. People are much more likely to spend their discretionary dollars on things like antiques, so we have come out of the really dark days of 2008-2010. The market, though, is quite different. Few prices are reaching new heights, and some areas of antiques which used to be "hot" are no longer so.

I think probably the biggest reason for that is the lack of serious collectors. Back when the Birmingham appraisals were filmed, there were lots of collectors--some long-term, some new collectors--seeking out the best items in many areas of antiques. In my field, collectors of the best natural history prints, prints of Native Americans, Currier & Ives lithographs, and maps were steadily driving prices to new heights. The economic disaster of 2008 knocked most of these collectors out of the market, and frankly, few have come back in even a decade later.

Why is that? I suspect that some of it was that the most of the long-term collectors were not that young, and after they stopped collecting in 2008, they just never had the enthusiasm to restart. It is one thing to gear up for collecting when one is 30 or 40, but another thing when one is 60-70. Adding to the problem is the fact that there just are not that many young collectors entering the market. Whether that is a product of changing interior design styles, a lack of appreciation of "things," or just lack of education about antiques, everyone in the antiques world will tell you that there are not many millennials or other young people purchasing antiques.

Do I think prices will come back? I think eventually for the best of all types of antiques. Antiques are wonderful artifacts of our past which still can play a relevant role in our lives, even if just as furniture, decoration or whatever. If one looks at the prices for a really well-made antique compared to a mass produced modern equivalent, the antiques are often better value just as objects. When one factors in their history and scarcity, they have a huge appeal. Markets do tend to go up and down and I think the antiques market will go back up. How soon, I wish I knew. The continued popularity of Antiques Roadshow, however, is a hopeful sign.

Value of the Eagle map of the United States

At the Palm Springs filming for Antiques Roadshow, one of my favorite maps of all time—-the Joseph Churchman “Eagle” map of the United States from 1833--came in and I was able to do an on-air appraisal which just appeared in late March, 2017. I appraised the map at $25,000 for a retail value, noting that though that valuation might be a bit aggressive, it was “fair.”

In deciding on what value I would put on the map for ARS, I chatted with a friend who is also a map seller. We knew of only one instance where the map had been for sale in the last several years, where it was listed at $25,000, but my friend said he thought that price was high. He commented that the map isn’t (geographically speaking) that important and $25,000 is really quite a high figure for most American maps of the nineteenth century. However, the more I thought about it, the more I thought $25,000 was a fair price.

[image courtesy of the David Rumsey Map Collection]
As I have often noted, the value of most maps comes from their historical importance in showing new geographic or political information. This map is geographically derivative. It is basically a simplified version of the C.S. Williams map of the United States from the same year, which itself was based on a S. Augustus Mitchell’s map, which in turn was based on an 1830 map by Anthony Finley. Clearly, the value of the map does not come from its historical, geographical importance.

[image courtesy of the David Rumsey Map Collection]
A lot of the value, of course, comes from its unique appearance. The eagle is a very popular image, one which has an appeal across the board for anyone interested in Americana. Maps, prints and pretty much any objects with an eagle design are always in demand and the eagle here is striking and quite attractive, so that would naturally give the map extra value above its geographic content.

What makes this even more relevant is that this is the only use of the eagle for a map of the United States. Joseph Churchman wrote about how it was the happenstance of the way a map of the United States was hanging in his apartment which caused the light and shadows to create the impression to him which suggested a bird. Combine this with the fact that soon the shape of the United States changed—-with the addition of Texas in 1845—-so that the eagle shape no longer fit the country. Thus, this really delightful concept and design only appear on this single map.

The final factor increasing the value of this map is its extreme scarcity. Scarcity by itself does not create value, but when an object is particularly desirable, scarcity can ratchet up the value by considerable amount.

[image courtesy of the David Rumsey Map Collection]
This map is particularly scarce because of its publication history. The map was issued folded into a quite small book. Any such folding map—and these maps were printed on very thin paper—tends to be scarce because repeated folding and unfolding often leads to major tears or pieces torn right off. This natural attrition to a map folded into a book is compounded in this case by the fact that the book it was issued in, Rudiments of National Knowledge, Presented to the Youth of the United States, and to Enquiring Foreigners, was a book for young people, not a group of readers who would likely take much care with the map.

Given this history, it is somewhat remarkable that any of these maps survived in good shape. Almost all copies of the book which come on the market are missing the map or have only a fragment, and the map itself very rarely comes onto the market.

So, combining the fact that this is a very rare map with an appearance and symbolic power which appeals to a very wide body of buyers, creates a strong value for this map. Basically, the map almost never comes on the market and when it does everyone wants to own it. I think $25,000 would be a fair retail value, but would not be surprised if one came up at an auction and brought even more!

Along with the regular Antiques Roadshow programs, which show the Roadshow stops from the previous summer, the program has been airing a series of "Vintage" shows, which rerun selected appraisals from the past. For each rerun appraisal, the folks at WGBH contact the original appraiser to see how the appraised value might have changed. Recently I got an email from the produces asking me about a map of the Mississippi River I appraised back in 2001 for between $4,500 and $5,000.

Now this sort of map is just the sort of map which has become "hot" in the last decade or so, so when they asked me for a value, I knew it would have gone up, but I figured that just to be sure I would do some digging to see if there was a recent price record on it. Boy am I glad I did! The map had sold at an auction in 2009 for $300,000! As this was such a big jump, I thought it would be worthwhile writing up a posting explaining why I thought this had happened. This blog is a copy of that article. The original appraisal and the article can be seen on the Antiques Roadshow web site. The article follows:

For a map to increase in value about 30 times in 15 years is a huge jump and the reasons for this are quite interesting. Some of it has to do with a change in the market and some with what I call "auction fever."

When I first got into the business of selling maps back in 1981, most collectors were looking for maps from the earliest days of printed cartography, particularly the beautiful Dutch maps from about 1570 to 1650. These were from the Age of Discovery and the maps had beautiful engraving, rich hand color, and lots of fun features such as sail ships, elaborate compass roses, and even sea monsters.

One of the biggest changes in the attitude of map collectors since those early days has been shifting their focus from the decorative appeal of maps to their historical significance. The latter factor has always been important for collectors, but in the late 20th century, collectors became more enamored with maps that focused on specific information about particular events in history — such as the first map to show the City of New Orleans, or a contemporary map of the American Revolution — even when those maps did not have a lot of color and their decoration was limited to their cartouches.

At the beginning of the present millennium, it was 17th- and 18th-century maps that were particularly sought after by collectors, and so were increasing significantly in value. In the years since then, collectors have begun to turn more and more to 19th-century maps — especially those that have some intriguingly direct connection with history. As the 2000s progressed, it was maps like the first to show a rebuilt Chicago, or one showing the results of a seminal exploring expedition to the American West, or a folding map of a newly built railroad, which became more and more sought after and thus more and more valuable.

The Norman 1858 map of the lower Mississippi River is a perfect example of the type of map which has become ‘hot’ in the last decade or so. It has an immediate connection with the history of the boom years of the plantations along the Mississippi — the artist, Marie Adrien Persac, traveling between New Orleans and Natchez on a skiff and recording all the plantations and landmarks he saw along the way. There really could not be a more significant historical document of this region in that period than this map. Combined with the fact that it was a separately issued map — extremely rare today — means that when the ROADSHOW producers asked me for an updated value while preparing the Vintage New Orleans show this spring, I knew it would have gone up a lot since 2001.

My initial reaction was that its current retail value would probably be somewhere between about $20,000 and $30,000, quite a big jump from my valuation of $4,500 to $5,000 in 2001. However, given the way this sort of map had risen so much in demand, I thought I ought to do some further digging to find out if any had come on the market recently.

And am I ever glad I checked. One had indeed come up for auction at the end of 2009 and sold for a huge price! The auction house’s estimate, $18,000 to $25,000, was similar to my initial thinking about this map’s current value — but when the bidding had finished in that 2009 auction, the map cost the buyer $316,000!

There are few American maps that have ever brought that amount, and though the Norman map is special, particularly for that region, to pay over $300,000 for it seems excessive. I can find no similar map for any other region of the United States that has ever sold for so much. So why did it go for so much? My guess is simple "auction fever." Auction bidders with deep pockets sometimes have large egos that lead them to believe if they really want something then they must win it no matter who else might bid against them. If you get two or more such bidders for the same item, those egos can sometimes override any prudent financial sense, leading to prices well above what would be considered a reasonable value. I think something like that may have happened for this map.

So, that brings up the question of what I think this map’s “real” value might be today, having appraised it for $4,500 to $5,000 in 2001. Certainly, the 2009 auction means that my initial thought of $20,000 to $30,000 is too low, but I do not believe that in any other circumstances — without the heat of auction fever — this map would bring over $300,000 again. Still, any potential buyer looking at that auction record would realize he or she would have to pay well above $30,000 for it. So I think that if this map appeared in a retail setting, it would probably be listed somewhere between $150,000 and $200,000. If it came up at auction and bidders were able to keep their egos in check, it might bring half to two-thirds of that price. But then again, fever could strike again at any time!

Antiques Roadshow: the 20th season

I just returned last night from the second city of filming, Spokane, for the 20th year of Antiques Roadshow. The show films in the summer (this year in six different cities around the country), the takes are edited and episodes put together and finally aired beginning in January of the following year.

This anniversary season certainly got started with a bang, for just before we opened our doors for the thousands of clients to bring in their objects to be appraised, a small fire was discovered on set!

The first stop was in Tuscon (on May 30th) and as I was about to jump on the van to take me to the convention center, at 6:15 in the morning, a producer rushed up and told the van to take her to the set right away, leaving me stranded behind. I soon learned that a battery had started a fire on the set, Luckily, it was discovered almost immediately and, because of the quick thinking of our head of security, Sean Quinn, was put out with relatively minor damage to the set and no harm to any people or priceless objects.

Still, the fire made a mess, with smoke and ashes covering the set. The crew of the Roadshow and the convention center did a remarkable job of clearing things up and we got started only about 2 hours late. Of course, since we are usually filming for about 12 hours, we were on set until 9:30 that night, but everyone was amazed at how well the day went after that rather unusual start.

Last weekend we moved on to Spokane, Washington, where the filming went on in a more normal way. As at every stop, the crew and appraisers did an amazing job of running thousands of people with objects of every age and size through the process of, first, getting to the right appraiser, then getting their appraisal, and in the case of those few "special" items selected for possible airing, having their appraisals filmed.

Looking back on my 19 years of working as a print and map expert for the show, I am amazed at how it is still fun and often exciting to do the show, despite the extensive travel and long hours. After all these years, the show now has a stable of regular appraisers and we have gotten to know each other very well, spending a "fair bit" of time together in the bar and restaurants after the show finishes. It is also remarkable at how patient and friendly are all the guests, many who have to wait hours to see us, only to be told that their items have mostly "sentimental" or "decorative" value.

The people I spoke with in both Tuscon and Spokane were terrific and I saw a good number of interesting and wonderful prints and maps. I was filmed in both cities, so if the segment comes out well, you'll be able to see the result sometime next year. In the meantime, however, keep watching this year's shows (filmed in the summer of 2014). In Chicago I saw some great stuff and those episodes will be run for the first time this coming fall.

Antiques Roadshow: Eugene

I have been remiss about getting new blog postings up, mostly because I have been doing a lot of travel of late. One of my trips was to the Antiques Roadshow taping done in Eugene, Oregon earlier this month. This was the first stop for the 2012 season (the new season begins in January and it shows the episodes filmed the summer before). It was great to see all my fellow appraisers and the crowd in Eugene was terrific. The Roadshow is still very popular (viewer numbers are continuing to go up) and the crowd in Eugene was as good as almost any city I’ve been to in the 15 years of doing the show. Everyone was very nice and I saw some great stuff.

One of the surprises was that there were not as many out-right reproductions brought to the prints and posters table as usual; there were some, but I would guess at least half of what we see in most cities are reproductions and there were considerably less in Eugene. There were also less of the tourist prints we usually see so many of (as I wrote about in a previous blog). I had hoped to see some good Oregon views, but nothing of any note in that line came in.

What came in with somewhat surprising regularity were really good maps. I am not sure why that is other than that I think the map appraisals that are shown on the Roadshow are of considerable interest to people, spiking interest in maps in general (at least I hope so!). It also might be that maps remain a bit of a mystery to many people. Most prints are fairly obvious in terms of what they are about (a local view, a portrait of a famous person, a bird print, etc.), but unless you are someone who is pretty up on history or cartography, most people know nothing about the maps they have other than the geographic area they show.

Whatever the case, I enjoy it when maps come in; most have an interesting history and I love to explain the historic context of the maps for their owners. Maps also can be quite attractive, as was the Blaeu world map that I saw. This was a map which a young lady had inherited from her father. She thought it was nice, but really didn’t know anything about it. This was a beautiful example of a Blaeu world, with original color, and when she learned both how early it was (early 17th century) and its value (over $20,000), she was flabbergasted. Fun to be able to pass on such good news rather than the usual, “Your print is very attractive, but its value is really simply as a decorative item and it would probably be priced at less than $10 in a shop…”

I also saw a number of other very good maps (one of which was taped and I hope will appear in next year’s season). One was a nice “saddle bag” version of Simeon De Witt’s important 1804 map of New York State. De Witt had been the Surveyor General for the American army during the Revolution and he later became the Surveyor General for New York State, a post he held for half a century. In 1802, De Witt produced a large map of the state, based on earlier maps along with new surveys commissioned by De Witt. Two years later, this seminal map was issued in the reduced version, a nice example of which was brought in to the Roadshow. A rare map that is one of the best American maps of the first decade of the nineteenth century.

This coming weekend I am heading off for El Paso, Texas, for the second stop on the Roadshow tour this summer. One tends to expect to see things of local interest, but then again most of the things I saw in Eugene had little to do with Oregon. There are, of course, lots of great items related to Texas history: prints and maps. As I discussed in my blog of relative values for maps of different states, anything related to Texas history tends to be worth more than things related to the history of other states, so if I see a good view, battle scene or map of Texas history, it is likely to be worth a fair bit.

This brings up an issue I’ll briefly mention to end this blog, that is the importance of price or value for items on Antiques Roadshow. Early on, it was the big prices of some of the items which were filmed ($20,000!) that caught viewer’s attention on the show. However, large prices are not enough to sustain fifteen seasons of interest. It is a good story about an item that the producers are looking for. Yes, the price is important (most regular viewers I know are always trying to guess the value of items as they watch), but the story of the items is more so. Good thing for me, as on the whole maps and prints are in the lower price range in the world of antiques, but most of them have really interesting stories (to me especially). Here’s hoping to a bunch of fascinating and valuable items in El Paso!

Some thoughts on print values

Despite my intent, I have failed to make regular posts to this blog over the last couple of months. My excuse is that not only that I am in the midst of a move of my home and work from Philadelphia to Denver, but with the recent death of my mother, I have been swamped with personal matters. I have to confess that print thoughts have been pushed to the back of my mind since the end of May. I am finally beginning to get back on top of things and so plan (and hope) that I'll be able to make posts on a more regular basis here-on-in. In order to get at least one post done, I thought I'd just ramble on a bit about some thoughts I have an issue that comes up in queries about antique prints we get all the time: their value.

Through this blog, from our regular web site, and from our appearances on Antiques Roadshow, we get dozens of calls and emails each day with print questions. I would say that at least 80% of these have to do with the value of prints owned by the person contacting us. While I do understand this, it still is something that wears on us and is certainly less interesting than someone asking about the history of a map or the meaning of an obscure political cartoon. It is almost always the value of prints that people seem to want to know about.

One of the sources for this preoccupation with value is, of course, Antiques Roadshow, which Don and I have been appraisers on for more than a decade. Everyone who watches this program remembers the blockbuster items with huge prices. This seems to have raised everyone's expectations for the value of what they own. When we first went into business, if we offered $100 for a large historical engraving that we would sell for $250 after fixing up, the owner was usually surprised they could get that much. Today, if we offer $200 for the same print (which now after restoration would probably sell for about $500), they look at us like we are trying to cheat them. "I saw one just like this last week on Antiques Roadshow and it was valued at $3,000!

Of course the print on the program was quite different, but everyone's expectations have been raised and a lot of people tend to think their print is one of those very valuable ones. Soon I will make a post about the Roadshow stop in Billings, MT earlier this month and I will discuss the issue of values on Antiques Roadshow then, but suffice it to say here that this show has definitely raised everyone's awareness of the potential value of antiques of all sorts, including prints.

The thing we run up against vis-a-vis prices and antique prints is that relative to most types of antiques, prints and maps--for the most part--are not things that bring large prices. Most of the prints and maps we sell are priced between $300 and $1,500; this is no tiny amount, but relative to most antiques it is fairly low market. The "best" things we see tend to be in the $3,000 to $5,000 range and many very fine prints and maps we sell are in the mid-hundreds. This does not seem to impress many of the people focused on value of prints, so all the time I am finding I am being enthusiastic about a print someone asks me about where they are disappointed that their print is worth "only" $400. (Of course, this is when someone asks us about a print they own; if we are selling a print for $400, all of a sudden the question is raised about how it could be worth so much...)

Why is it that antique prints and maps tend to be in the lower range of prices in the antiques world? There are a number of reasons for this. First and foremost is that prints are, by their nature, multiples. For many antiques, each item is hand made, whereas prints and maps are usually printed off in relatively large numbers by a mechanical process. The matrix used to print the image is made by hand, but after that the process is less "hand-done." Many antique prints are very scarce now, but there still are usually a good number around.

The most desirable Currier & Ives print would just break six figures in price, but most of their prints are valued well under this despite their iconographic importance and the great demand for them. These prints were originally run off in the thousands and some of them are still relatively common, which keeps value of Currier & Ives prints reasonable even though they are as desirable antique prints as there are.

There are a number of other reasons that antique prints tend to be at the lower end of the value scale. One of these is the fact that to really appreciate the value of a print, you usually have to know the history of it. Prints tend not to "show" their value on the surface. Yes, the double elephant folio Audubon prints are big, bold, and beautifully made, which explains why they are some of the most expensive antique prints there are. However, compare these to the natural history prints by Mark Catesby. The Catesby prints are medium sized, somewhat crudely etched and drawn, and just don't "look" that valuable. To me, however, they are the most desirable of all American natural history prints. The same type of thing affects political cartoons, allegories, etc., where if you do not understand them, you cannot really appreciate their value.

This is one of the reasons why the publication of a book on a particular topic can be a big factor in helping to raise the awareness of the importance and thus value of certain prints and maps. For instance, we found that once we published Impressions of Niagara in 1993, the prices of some of the more important, though not necessarily visually impressive prints went up significantly. Our shop has always based our selling philosophy on educating our clients about the history of the prints in our inventory; this not only is something we believe in philosophically, but it also helps our business.

Another reason print prices tend to be fairly moderate is the fact that the vast majority of prints--both modern and antique--were issued specifically as decoration. Most people cannot afford original watercolors and oils for all their decorating needs and prints have always played the role of providing an affordable way for people to decorate their homes and work places. There is nothing at all wrong with this, as most people have a need for affordable decoration, but it does mean that the majority of prints are by nature going to have only "decorative" value.

The moderate value of prints is something I am perfectly happy with. It allows us to have a large inventory of material that I think is great but which is also affordable for most people Sure, I love to sell an expensive Audubon heron, Currier & Ives large folio winter scene or landmark American map, but it is more important to me that what we sell in any price range is appreciated for what is is. I think basically all antique prints and maps are great if appreciated for what they are and that is my main goal in this business, to facilitate that appreciation.

My main frustration when people ask about the value of their prints is when they are disappointed that their prints are not worth more. I guess it is human nature, but it is nice when people are turned on to their prints not because of their value, but because of their history.

New season of Antiques Roadshow

I am sitting in a hotel room in Billings, Montana, just about to head off for the appraisers meeting for the second stop on this summer's Antiques Roadshow tour. Earlier this month, my partner Don Cresswell went to San Diego for the first stop. He saw the usual mix of good and bad items and was taped with a terrific map. I hope you will all be able to see this taping when the 2011 Antiques Roadshow series runs, beginning next January.


I arrived in Billings yesterday and was able to visit the Battlefield of Little Bighorn, which was quite a fascinating and moving experience. It was exciting and enlightening to see the actual site and get a good idea of the actual events (the National Park Service does a terrific job with exhibits and signs, etc.) of this legendary episode in the sad history of the relationship between the United States and Native Americans.

This battle was almost immediately obscured by myths that developed around Custer and the events which transpired exactly 134 years ago today. Part of the myth making, of course, came through the propagation of prints of the battle. As I have written a number of times in this blog, the relationship between actual events and the way they are depicted in prints, as well as the impact that prints have on history are subject that I am particularly interested in. I plan to write a blog soon on the subject of printed images of the Battle of Little Big Horn.

On that subject, there is one print, or more specifically a series of prints, of the battle which are more common and had more influence than any other. Those are the prints that were issued by Anheuser-Busch as advertisements for Budweiser beer. I would be very surprised if any reader of this blog has not seen this famous image somewhere, even if not one of the original prints. The print was first issued in 1896 but was revised and continued to be used to as late as 1962. The earlier examples have quite a bit of value, whereas the later ones do not. This is one print I would love to see come in tomorrow at the Roadshow, for it has a very interesting history and is graphically terrific.

So what else might come in for me to see tomorrow? As I wrote last year, I enjoy trying to guess what I might see. Even though Billings is quite a small city and not surrounded by a very large population base, I could see some unusual things. I would expect I might see some good folding maps, as these were often used by those who traveled out to this part of the world in the second half of the nineteenth century. There might be some interesting views of western settlements or perhaps nearby Yellowstone, such as the great series of prints by Thomas Moran.

There also could be some good western art. Most of what we think of as "western art" is more recent than the 19th century. At that time, the west was not as glamorous as it later came to be; it was a rough and dirty and primitive life out here and not many of the general public wanted images of that life nor were there many artists out here making prints of it. There are some good prints done, however, and I hope I might get to see a print by some of the work of, say, Karl Bodmer or George Catlin.

I'll write up a report of my experience next week and with luck you'll get to see one treasure that comes in when the 2011 season runs...

Raleigh Antiques Roadshow: Trumbull engraving

The new season of Antiques Roadshow began on Monday night with the first of three episodes filmed last summer in Raleigh, North Carolina (click here to read blog on that event). An appraisal I did of one of the best American historical prints of the eighteenth century appeared on the show (click here to see video of this new appraisal). It was of a print of the Battle of Bunker's Hill by John Trumbull and today's post is to provide more information on this print, John Trumbull, and his other prints of early American history.

John Trumbull, a member of a prominent Connecticut family, was a participant in the American Revolution and a friend of most of the great figures of his day, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. After he left the army, Trumbull eventually found his way to the London studio of Benjamin West, under whom he studied. In the eighteenth century, the depiction of grand themes from mythological, sacred and classical history was one of the highest goals of any artist. West had taken the theme in a more secular direction, painting events from recent English history, depicting them in the grand European style of the more traditional themes. Inspired by his instructor, Trumbull early in his career became interested in this type of painting, conceiving of a series of canvases on the history of his own country. It was difficult to make a living from the sale of such paintings, and Trumbull realized there was a greater chance of profit to be made from selling engravings taken from the paintings. Thus he decided to proceed on such a project, testing the market in Europe and America for these prints. The first of his paintings to be made into a print was of a subject to which he was a spectator.

This print is "The Battle of Bunker's Hill" issued in London in 1798. The drama of the battle is strongly presented; the British forces are seen cresting the last defenses of the rebels, who continue to fight bravely. The central focus of the picture has an American and a British officer, Maj. John Small, restraining a ‘lobster back’ from bayoneting Maj. Gen. Joseph Warren, who lies mortally wounded in the midst of the chaos around him. This subject was one of particular interest to Trumbull, for during the battle he was stationed in Roxbury on the far side of Boston from Charlestown, from whence he could hear the sounds of the fighting.

Trumbull finished the painting for this print in 1786, and he arranged with London publisher Antonio C. de Poggi to have the print published. After three years delay, an engraver was found in Johann Gotthard von Muller, a professor of engraving from Stuttgart. Muller, who was engaged to engrave the plate in July 1788, took a long time with the engraving, informing Trumbull in July 1797 that the plate was ready for his final inspection. Poggi began to print the plate in November 1797, giving it a publishing date of early 1798.

That same year, de Poggi published the second engraving of a Trumbull painting, “Death of General Montgomery,” a stirring tableau intended as a companion to the Bunker Hill engraving. This image, which Trumbull started painting immediately after his Bunker Hill canvas, shows Montgomery at the Battle of Quebec in December 1775, dying from his wounds in the arms of his officers. The action of the battle and the drama of the expiring General are strongly presented. This plate had a more intricate history of production than the Bunker Hill print. Luigi Schiavonetti etched the figures, Wilson Lowry did the background, foreground and firearms, and Johan Frederick Clemens executed the rest of the engraving and finished the plate.

At about the same time as these two battle prints were published, Trumbull and de Poggi teamed up for a wonderful full length portriat of George Washington at Trenton. This was a stipple and line engraving done by Thomas Cheesman. It is based on a painting (currently at Yale University) that was commissioned by the city of Charleston, South Carolina in 1792. Choosing to depict Washington in a dramatic moment of decision the evening before the surprise attack, Trumbull wrote that he intended “to give his military character, in the most sublime moment of its exertion.” It is one of the best prints ever done of Washington, not surprising as Trumbull not only served on Washington's staff during the war, but was also on of Washington's personal friends. Trumbull considered it the “best certainly of those which I painted, and the best, in my estimation, which exists, [of Washington] in his military character.”

It wasn't until over two decades had passed that Trumbull's last great engraving of early American history appeared, the "Declaration of Independence." (I did an Antiques Roadshow appraisal of this print back in 2004 in Reno, Nevada. You can see a video of that appraisal by clinking here.)

The last of Trumbull’s patriotic series to be made into a print, this image of the signing of the Declaration of Independence was engraved and published in Philadelphia, almost three decades after Trumbull’s painting was finished. In part because of the decade long delay in producing the first two prints, their reception was less than overwhelming and the receipts covered only about three quarters of the expense. Thus Trumbull abandoned his original plan of producing engravings of all his historical paintings. Years later, in 1817, with the success of his large painting of the Declaration of Independence, commissioned to be hung in the U.S. Capitol, Trumbull decided to again try the market with a print of this scene.

The composition of this print was inspired by Trumbull’s friendly relationship with Thomas Jefferson. In conjunction with Jefferson and John Adams, Trumbull decided to show only accurate likenesses of the signers of the Declaration, in line with his concern of presenting a true memorial to this historic event. Trumbull drew images in person of all of the signers he could, using other life portraits or portraits of the sons for any of the other signers who were no longer alive or available. Originally Trumbull intended to have this print engraved in Europe, believing no American engraver was up to the job. However, there was something of an outcry against using a European for this American patriotic print. Thus Trumbull, in 1820, after becoming aware of the young artist, Asher B. Durand, and his excellent ability as an engraver, entrusted this task to the 22 year old American. He was not disappointed, for the engraving is excellent and Durand’s reputation was established to a great extent by his work on this print.

Antiques Roadshow: San Jose

The 2009 tour of Antiques Roadshow has come to an end, as the crew and appraisers head back to their homes after a final successful stop in San Jose. The weather was beautiful and a good crowd appeared with the usual mix of items, from the ridiculous to the fabulous. At the Print & Posters table we saw a wide range of prints, with some really wonderful things coming in. There were not as many unusual things as I saw in Raleigh, but still I was pleasantly surprised by some items brought in.

I had hoped that in San Jose I would see some California lithographs or at least some local views, but nothing of that sort came in (these prints are really rare, but I had hoped!). I also had anticipated that I would finally see a top-end Dutch world map from the sixteenth century. I did see one of these, but unfortunately it was a reproduction and not an original. Both the owner and I were disappointed, but it was a good teaching opportunity and I showed the owner how the map didn’t have a centerfold, that the there was no platemark, and that it was not printed on “laid paper,” all of which is evidence that it wasn’t an original. (You can read more about these and other ways to verify an antique map on the Roadshow website in their “Tips of the Trade” section.)

I had also guessed that I would see some good western maps and in fact I saw two great folding maps, both worth five figures. One of these was a dramatic folding map of the United States from 1833 that includes a diagram of an eagle imposed over the geographic information. This is quite a rare and unique visual map that I had not seen in person before. The other map was a folding map of California from shortly after the Gold Rush. One of the rarer and more desirable maps of the state.

Neither of these maps, however, was taped to appear on the show when the new season starts in 2010. Why, when they both were graphic, important, and valuable? This is because the owners were both sophisticated collectors who knew exactly what they had and pretty much knew the current value. As I discussed in my previous Roadshow blog, appraisals where we are able to teach the owners something new about their objects make the “best television” and there really wasn’t anything new I could tell these owners, other than perhaps a more up-to-date value. I was delighted to see these maps and enjoyed sharing my enthusiasm with the owners, but these items were not taped for the show.

I have also mentioned in the previous Antiques Roadshow blogs how most cities seem to have a “typical” type of print that shows up more than at other cities. This did not happen in Raleigh, but San Jose played true to form. The type of print which we saw a large number of (I would guess we saw about 40 over the course of the day) were what we call “tourist prints” from the beginning of the twentieth century. These are hand-colored aquatints or etchings that tend to show scenes from European villages or landscapes. They are usually immediately identifiable by their somewhat “soft” appearance, pastel colors, and indecipherable signature.

These were produced by publishers who hired art students or “commercial” artists to create these prints to be sold to tourists who wanted to take something home with them from their trips around Europe. (One of these publishers was Sidney Z. Lucas, the subject of my previous blog) They are nice prints, but almost never by an artist who is of note. They were made of most tourist villages in Europe and were produced in large numbers between about 1910 and 1940. The prints are originals and are usually quite attractive, but because they are not done by noted artists and were issued in large numbers, they have only “decorative” value.

As I said, the signatures are almost always impossible to read and people bringing these to Antiques Roadshow always want us to tell them who the artist was. We usually cannot, both because the artists are obscure, but also because we can’t read the signatures either. I am convinced that this incomprehensibility of the signatures was intentional to make the prints seem “special” or “artistic.” If the print was clearly signed by, say, “Jacques Pepin,” who no one knows, that isn’t very exciting, but when a print is signed by “squiggle-squiggle” then it seems more exciting or artistic, and potentially valuable. In any case, we see lots of these at every Antiques Roadshow stop, but there were far more than usual in San Jose.

I did get taped with a wonderful print, but I will not discuss what it was, so as not to ruin the “surprise” when the segment airs next year. I will, however, describe what happens at the Roadshow once a print is selected for taping. As I explained in the last Roadshow blog, when a print comes in I think is worth taping, I call over a producer, who talks to me, the owner and looks at the print. The producer then gives the thumbs up or down.

If the print is selected for taping, then the owner and print are taken off to the “Green Room.” This is a place where they can wait in comfort until it is time to tape the appraisal. There is food and drink there, and television monitors so the people waiting can watch those appraisals that are being taped. During the wait, the owner will have make-up put on so he or she will look their best when the cameras are rolling. The length of the wait at this stage can vary, but I would say my experience is that it lasts between about 20 to 40 minutes (it depends on how many appraisals are lined up in front of this one).

In this time, the appraiser is also made-up and gets a bit of time to do any extra research necessary and can check up on some of the facts (what were the exact years that firm was making those prints?...). The appraisers on Antiques Roadshow come across as so knowledgeable and with an amazing number of facts at their fingertips and people often ask me how we do it. Well, I have to admit that we do often look up of specific facts before the appraisal, but still, the appraisers carry around most of the information they present in their heads.

Anyway, when it’s time to tape the segment, the owner and item are taken out to the center of the set (which is in the middle of the circle of tables where the appraisers sit). The item is put onto the table, stand, easel or whatever so that it can be taped and the owner and appraiser put on their microphones.

In the center of the set, there are three taping “stages” with one set of cameras. On one stage the cameras will be taping an appraisal, while at the stage just counter-clockwise, the owner and appraiser, who just finished, will be un-miked, the proper paperwork filled in, and the stage cleared. At the stage on the other side, the next appraisal is getting ready. As soon as one appraisal is done, the cameras are swung to the next stage and the whole process will start again, one rotation clockwise. This continual appraisal process goes on all day, so that the producer can get 50 to 55 appraisals to be used in the three episodes that will be shown beginning the following year.

The whole procedure has been refined over the 14 years that Antiques Roadshow has been going and while there are always some glitches, it is an amazingly efficient process. Of course, it only works because the staff and crew of Roadshow are great and most of the appraisers have been on the show for a number of years, so we are all used to the process. I think that many of the people who come to have something appraised at the Roadshow enjoy seeing how the program is put together as much as getting their item appraised.

So, with the last stop of the 2009 summer tour over, this is the final of my “behind the scenes” blogs about the show until next summer. The appraisers' jobs are almost done (we do have to check the transcript to make sure we didn’t make any inadvertent mistakes), but the producers' jobs have really just started. They have to go through the many hours of tape and put together three one-hour episodes from each stop. It may seem like a long time between now and January 4th, when the season premiere will broadcast, but the Roadshow producers will work very hard to get the new episodes ready and think January will be here all to soon.

I hope that now when you watch the show you will have a better understanding of how Antiques Roadshow is put together. I saw some wonderful things this summer, some of which will appear in next year’s episodes, and talking to the other appraisers I know lots of other fascinating appraisals will be shown. Check out Roadshow’s website or watch your TV listings so you don’t miss the new season when 2010 comes around.

Looking forward to last Roadshow of season

It has been a number of weeks since my last Antiques Roadshow taping (in Raleigh, NC). My partner, Don Cresswell, did his three stops in the subsequent weeks and now it is my turn again. I am sitting in my hotel room in San Jose, CA, looking forward to a good day tomorrow at the Convention Center. The enthusiasm of the public for the Roadshow seems to continue unabated as the crowds have been excellent at each stop. With good weather predicted, it should be another very busy and fun day for all us appraisers.

I am always surprised by what comes into any stop that Antiques Roadshow makes around the country (cf. my blog on the Raleigh stop as an example), but I do often play the game of trying to guess what may come in before each stop.

One thing I have found is that we sometimes get more interesting items at some of the smaller cities (like Raleigh, Madison), as opposed to the larger cities (like New York, Boston). I think this is because the larger cities tend to have a lot of antique dealers and so a good number of people with antiques have already taken their prized possessions to a local dealer. There are still, of course, many fabulous things at the big cities, but owners in the smaller cities do not have as many opportunities to get expert opinions on their items and the draw of having so many of the most knowledgeable antiques authorities come to your home town can be a huge incentive to bring your prize to the Roadshow.

So what do I think will come in tomorrow? I am hoping some good western maps. Maps tend to be the most interesting, and thus valuable, if they show areas that were being explored and developed when the map was issued. The American west was in a continual process of discovery and settlement throughout the second half of the nineteenth century and many maps were made of it at that time. These are usually very interesting maps and I hope one of more of those will come in.

There were also a lot of terrific nineteenth-century views done of the American west, with a thriving California lithography industry producing some of the most interesting. I'd love to see a bird's eye view of San Jose, San Francisco, etc., or a gold-rush lithograph made in California.

One thing I haven't seen at any Antiques Roadshow visits I have been an appraiser at is a really good early Dutch world map. I don't know why, but I suspect one might just come in tomorrow. I'll see tomorrow and with any luck, you'll be able to see when the San Jose shows are run in 2010! Stay tuned for my report on the San Jose Roadshow to follow...

Antiques Roadshow: Raleigh

At the end of June, Antiques Roadshow taped in Raleigh, North Carolina, the second stop in the 2009 Summer Tour. One never knows what to expect from any of the many stops of the Roadshow tour, and it is not unusual that more interesting things come in at some of the smaller cities than at the larger ones. From my viewpoint, Raleigh proved to be the most interesting stop of all my thirteen years working as an appraiser for the Roadshow.

At every stop for Antiques Roadshow the appraisers at the Prints & Poster table see a wide range of prints in terms of quality and interest. The variety of prints that come in to be appraised fairly closely matches the range of prints that exist in the “real world”; there are far more prints that are reproductions or inexpensively produced prints intended for decoration than there are finer, historically important prints. As discussed in an earlier blog, this does not mean those prints do not have value, but they are prints we have seen many times over the years and which do not get the appraisers terribly excited.

Raleigh was typical in that the majority of prints were of the more common, decorative sort. I mentioned in my previous Roadshow blog that in most cities we tend to see one particular type of print that comes in more often there than at our other stops. However, I cannot say that that was the case in Raleigh. There were all the usual suspects (tourist etchings from the early 20th century, etching revival landscapes from the 1890s, sepia collotypes copied from paintings in the first decade of the 20th century, Currier & Ives copies, museum reproductions of paintings, and the like), but no particular single type that we saw in Raleigh more than usual.

What was unusual was the number of prints and maps that were of particular interest to me. I have been in the print business for over 25 years so I have come across thousands of types of prints. It is rare that something I haven’t seen fairly often comes in to the Roadshow (though, thankfully, interesting prints that are worth taping come in regularly), but in Raleigh I was surprised by how many such prints did come in. I will not discuss what was taped since it will air on the program next season, but there were some wonderful things I saw in Raleigh which were not taped.

One print which came in right at the end of the day was a large folio N. Currier print of the “Wreck of the U.S.M. Steam Ship ‘Arctic.’” This is a terrific large folio print, but what was exciting was that it was brought in by a descendant of James Smith, one of few passengers to survive and the artist whose sketch was the basis for the drawing by James E. Butterworth from which the lithograph was made! Not only did his great-grandniece have an original example of the print, which had come down to her from Smith, but she had all sorts of supporting documents, such as a book written by the artist of his experiences in the disaster, a photo of the artist, and a number of other fascinating documents. Pretty cool stuff.

Another impressive print which came in was an original John James Audubon print of the “Sea-Side Finch” which was said to be a gift from John James Audubon to a natural scientist who was a friend. We do not have the time while appraising at Antiques Roadshow to do any serious research, so I could not verify what the owner told me, but there was considerable, plausible evidence that this print was an early state of the print, hand-colored by Audubon himself, and given as a gift to this naturalist. Again, pretty cool.

What amazed me, however, was that I saw two prints that I had never seen before. While there are many book illustrations and ephemeral-type prints I haven’t seen, there are not a lot of large-sheet prints of note that I haven’t come across in the many years I have been in this business. To have two turn up in Raleigh was really exciting.

One of these was a double page bird print by John Gould. This was a complete surprise for me as I had no idea that Gould did a double page bird print. Almost all of Gould’s 2,999 different prints are folio prints, single pages that were issued in his many works. However, in his Birds of Australia there were a few double page images, including the one that was brought in to the Roadshow. I am sure most of my colleagues in Australia and England (where more of these prints turn up) would know this, but it was a surprise to me and also to the other print appraisers at the table. Not earth-shattering, but one of the things I enjoy most about doing appraisals for Antiques Roadshow is being able to learn new things.

An even bigger surprise was to come across a wonderful emancipation proclamation print published in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. This was a surprise because Lincoln prints are one of our specialties and I almost never come across a major Lincoln print I haven’t seen before. I hadn’t come across this print in person or in a reference book, but it turns out that an example is in the Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana at the Library of Congress.

The print contains the text of the proclamation, with an image at the top of Lincoln either handing the document to or receiving it from an angel (“The Hand of God in Freedom”), while at the bottom are two vignettes. The one of the left shows a slave in a cotton field and the one of the right a black member of Congress. The print was printed by the Enquirer Job Printing Company of Cincinnati, but was published by A.B. Daniel in Tuscaloosa. There is text at the bottom saying that “Agents Wanted,” so it is possible that this print was issued to advertise a book on the topic (I have not been able to locate any such book). In any case, another wonderful print that came as a surprise to me.

These are just some of the interesting maps and prints that came in to Antiques Roadshow in Raleigh and none of them ended up being taped. And of course, there were hundreds of not-so-wonderful prints that also were not taped, though all received a verbal appraisal from myself or the other appraisers at the Prints & Photographs table. So how do those items which are taped get selected?

Each appraiser spends about 11 hours sitting at a table looking at item after item in their specialty, giving each owner information on the history and value of their lamp, broach, book, vase, print or whatever. If something comes in that an appraiser thinks might make a good appraisal for the program, he or she starts the process by calling over one of the producers.

An appraiser can judge an item is worthy of taping if the manner in which it was acquired is interesting, its history is unusual, its value substantial or it is just an exciting piece. Basically the appraisers are looking for things which will be of interest to the television audience. If the appraiser thinks the item would make “good TV,” then no information of the item is given to the owner at the appraisal table, but instead a producer is called to look at the item, hear the tale from the appraiser, and talk to the owner.

If the producer agrees with the appraiser that the item should be taped, then the owner goes off to the “Green Room” to get made-up and to wait until it is time to tape the appraisal. Up to this stage the appraiser has not had time to do any serious research, but once the decision is made to tape, the appraiser can do some research to pin down a particular fact or get a bit more context on the item. The appraiser then goes before the cameras and gives the owner an appraisal in one go. Those appraisals are not staged; what you see on air is how the appraisal happens in real time.

From what I have written above it is clear that some really nice items do not get taped. Why not? There are many reasons. Often, the owners knows too much! In the age of the Internet and Google, owners can often find out a lot about an item before they bring it in. It is much more interesting for viewers of the program if an owner is learning something new in an appraisal, as opposed to if they are just being told what they already know. Because of this, it is not unusual for something of great interest not to get filmed because the owner was too knowledgeable. Other reasons that items don’t get taped are that similar items might have been already shown on a previous show or that the item is not owned by the person bringing in it (an on-air appraisal can be given only to the owner of the object).

All these reasons for not taping an item make a lot of sense, though it sometimes seems a shame that something does not get taped. However, I can tell you that everything brought in to Antiques Roadshow does get a verbal appraisal. All the appraisers are aware that the owners put in a lot of effort and spend a lot of time to bring them down to the event. We all make it a point to give as much information as we can for everything brought in, whether it is worth $5 or $50,000, and whether it is selected for taping or not.

Sometimes if you watch the Raodshow you might think everything that comes in is valuable or has an interesting story, but if you watch the “Feedback Booth” segment at the end, you get a sense of how many items that are brought in are not that interesting nor that valuable. I hope you also get a sense of how even people whose items are not that valuable still get a good appraisal and have a good time.

The appraisers also have a good time and in Raleigh I not only had a good time, but I also saw some really cool things and even learned quite a bit. The next three stops on the 2009 Summer Tour are in Madison, Phoenix and Denver, and my partner, Don Cresswell, will represent us there, so I won’t be back at the appraisal table until the last stop, in San Jose. I can’t wait to head out west and hope I’ll see even more interesting things then…

As a reminder, if you would like to see some of the archived print appraisals from Antiques Roadshow, by myself and other appraisers, you can find these on the Roadshow web site.

Antiques Roadshow: Atlantic City

Last weekend I was in Atlantic City for the first stop for the 14th season of Antiques Roadshow. Each summer the crew and appraisers for Antiques Roadshow visit a number of cities around the United States to tape material for the coming season of programs. This summer Roadshow is visiting six cities and from each stop three programs will be produced, to begin airing in January next year. My partner, Don Cresswell, and I have been working as appraisers at the Prints & Posters table for Roadshow ever since the second season (back in 1997) and this summer we will each work as an appraiser at three different cities. Atlantic City was my first; in two weeks I will head down to Raleigh; and in August I’ll fly out to San Jose for the final city of the 2009 tour (the episodes taped this year will broadcast in 2010).

Antiques Roadshow remains one of the most popular shows on PBS and generates a lot of interest and questions whenever we meet any of its many viewers. I will post a blog after each city, explaining a bit about the process and discussing my experience at each stop. In this blog I’ll give an overview of how the process works at each city.

During the early years of the show, it was first come, first served for those who wanted to bring items in for an “appraisal.” With the incredible popularity of the show, however, it became clear that this wouldn’t work, as people ended up waiting many, many hours and there was no way we could see all the items people brought in for us to look at. Thus the show began to issue timed tickets, a system that works quite well now. Most tickets are distributed by the producing station, WGBH, and also some tickets are available as gifts for donations made to the the local PBS station in the city.

Each ticket-holder can bring in two items to be appraised. You arrive with your items at the ticketed time and when you get to the front of the line you go through Triage. Nothing is rejected at Triage—within the rules of the show, anything you want to have appraised will be appraised, except for stamps, coins, vehicles, ammunition, explosives—-but it is there you will assigned to a particular table. You might be sent to the table for Tribal Art, Toys, Collectibles, Furniture or (of course) Prints & Posters. At each table will be appraisers who are specialists in that subject who will then look at your item. When your turn comes, you show the items to the appraiser, who will then tell you what he or she can about it and give you an estimated value.

The producers of Roadshow work hard to have the best possible appraisers in as wide a range of subjects as possible. Of course it is impossible to have a specialist in every field of antiques, so it does happen that sometimes someone will bring in an item for which there is no specialist, but in those cases, appraisers will collaborate and use their general experience to give as much information as possible. For most items, however, one of the appraisers at the show will know about the item brought in and the owner will get a free appraisal from one of the country’s top experts. Not a bad deal!

As a point of interest, the sixty plus appraisers for each city are not paid anything for working on the show; not a salary nor expenses (we do, however, get a free lunch…). Obviously, our “pay” is when we appear on one of the episodes for the show, as this is terrific publicity, which we certainly couldn’t afford if we had to pay for the air time! However, I think most experts, and certainly my partner and I, continue to appraise for the show because it is actually a lot of fun, it gives us a great opportunity to spend time with our colleagues in other areas of the antique world, and because we all care about sharing our knowledge with as many people as possible.

After the next stop (Raleigh later this month), I’ll write about how some of the items get selected for filming, but today I’ll just make a few comments on my experience in Atlantic City…

It should not be surprising that the majority of items we see at the Prints & Posters table do not have a lot of value. As I discussed in an earlier blog, the vast majority of prints were made not as “fine art” or “collectible,” but rather as inexpensive, decorative items. This is exactly what we see mostly during a day’s filming for Antiques Roadshow. Most people who come in suspect that their print or map is not valuable, though they have a hope it might be, so most are not upset when we confirm that their item doesn’t have a lot of market value. However, we do try to give them as much information as we can about their prints and to put them into context so they can appreciate their print for what it is. As I said in the earlier blog, most prints have only “decorative” value, but there is nothing wrong with that!

I did see good items in Atlantic City, some of which might appear in the produced episodes when they appear next year (we never know what will actually appear on the show until they run), but typically most of what I saw were inexpensive, decorative prints. I am not sure how many items I appraised, but I would think somewhere around 200-250! We see our first item around 8:00 am and the last person came to our table at about 7:15 pm. There are usually three people at the Prints & Posters table and we pretty much work non-stop except for a 15-20 minute lunch break. An exhausting day! We have a good time, however, by trying to make it a fun experience for the people bringing items in.

One of things I have noticed over the last 12 years is that at each city there seems to be a particular type of print that we see a lot of, which we might see very few of at other cities. I suspect this might be in part because there was a gallery which sold that type of print in the past, but for this or some other reason, almost every stop has its signature type of print. In Atlantic City it was the early twentieth century, hand-colored aquatints based on classic paintings. These are “original” prints, in the sense the plates are made by hand, but they are “reproductive” prints in the sense that they are copied from paintings. There were a lot of these made between about 1905 and 1930 and they are quite lovely images. However, because they are reproductive and because this sort of print is not currently that popular, they have only “moderate” value (most in the range of $150-$350). Over the years we usually see about one or two of these at each city, but in Atlantic City I saw at least a dozen.

I’m off to Raleigh in a couple weeks and will make another post about the process and my experiences then. In the meantime, you can see many of the appraisals I have made in previous years on the Antiques Roadshow video archive.