Victorian Insect Collage, ca. 1870
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GUEST:
I bought it in London, I think it was in 1991. I bought two other items with it.
APPRAISER:
And what did you pay for it at that time?
GUEST:
Um, all three items, this and a book of pressed flowers, and an edition of Spencer's The Faerie Queene, was printed in about 1700, $400, as I remember.
APPRAISER:
For the whole grouping?
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
Well, when you opened this up, we were amazed what we saw here.
GUEST (chuckles)
APPRAISER:
At first, I thought I was looking at some glass beads, and then of course, as I looked down, I saw all of these wonderful scarabs, and these wonderful butterflies and moths. And this was made during the Victorian period in England somewhere in the 1860s-1870s.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
They had a tremendous culture for nature at that time. The English did stuffed fish, they did exotic birds. I can't tell you the name of all these beetles here, but I think they're possibly from all different parts of the world. It's in remarkable condition. It's in a beautiful mahogany case, which is so typical of these Victorian pieces, with hinges, and has the latches on the side. This should be carefully preserved, not hanging on a wall, but maybe down flat. As you can see, we've got a couple little scarabs here that are falling off...
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
And dropping down into the case here. But all in all, it's still in remarkable condition, and it's truly one of a kind. What do you think the fair-market value would be on this piece?
GUEST:
You know, I have no idea. I, all I know is that I actually was not gonna buy it. And I walked about a block away and I stopped and thought, "I'll never forgive myself if I don't go get that."
APPRAISER (chuckles): Well, I'm glad you went back. I would say, fair-market auction value, between $2,000 to $3,000, but we think that if at auction for exotic, nature things, this might even do considerably better. But thank you. This is really a fun piece.
GUEST:
You bet, thanks.
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