Pickard Studios Chocolate Set, ca. 1917
GUEST:
This is a hot chocolate set, and it was given to me by my husband's cousin. She passed away about two months before she was 100 years old. And I know that it was given to her when she was in college by a gentleman friend. And she just said to me, "I'm giving you this, dear, because someday, it'll be very valuable." But it was from the minute she gave it to me, because she chose me to take care of it for her.
APPRAISER:
Do you know when she was going to college, when she was given this set?
GUEST:
Well, she was born in 1894. And so she would've been about 20 years old when she was in college.
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm. Okay. This is a hot chocolate set, consisting of a chocolate pot, a creamer and a sugar bowl. We here at the ANTIQUES ROADSHOW see a lot of what is called china painting. And that refers to a technique that was very popular at the turn of the century, where people would go and buy blanks, usually European blanks, from France or Germany. And you would go to a shop that specialized in china painting. They had the blanks, they had the colors, the glazes. But it was done by amateur painters. You can tell that it's an amateur painting from the get-go. The lines aren't very good, the brushstrokes are not solid. They just look like they weren't having great days all the time. And they're usually signed by the artist and often dated. Men did these and women did them, but it was one of the few things that women could do to earn a little bit of money in a genteel way between the 1890s and the '30s-- something that was still acceptable for women to do. However, there was a company called Pickard which was started in 1893, and in 1911 or so, they added this line which is gilded and etched. And this would've been mid to late teens to early '20s that this set would date to. Folks who look for Pickard wares like to have them signed by artists. This set is not signed, that I could see. However, this daisy pattern is very popular. It is one of the most popular patterns. These are marked in two different ways. And one of them is this black stamp. And there's another mark, which I've never seen, and that's an actual paper label. That's quite exciting. "Pickard Studios."
GUEST:
Oh, my goodness.
APPRAISER:
It's beautiful. That's very fine. So your set here, um... at an antique shop or an antique show, would probably retail in the thousand-dollar range, for these three pieces, which is far and away better than most regular china painted sets, that would be probably at $100 or so.
GUEST:
Well, very nice to hear. Now, I bet she's happy.
Appraisal Details
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."
Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.
Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.
Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.
Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.
Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.
