German Nodder Rabbit, ca. 1900
Watch
GUEST:
Well, I brought this rabbit that I was given for my first Easter, which would have been in 1932. My baby book says that I received a brown rabbit that was a nodder. And I assume this is it. And as you can see from the picture, which was taken a couple of years later, with myself and my brother, we've... I've had him all my life.
APPRAISER:
He's German. He's clockwork. He nods, if we just do a little thing like that. You'll see his head nods and his mouth moves. Can't really tell you who made them. Sometimes you'll see a label on the bottom, "Made in Germany." But as to the company that produced it, I really don't know. They were made for quite a few years. This could have been made around 1900. I don't think it was made in 1932. Uh, it might have been your dad's.
GUEST:
Well, that's what I wondered. My dad was born in about 1909. I wondered if it could have been his, and then they just gave it to me.
APPRAISER:
It's sort of hard to date it exactly. By the '30s, this type of thing was sort of going out. This is more of an early-1900s-type piece. It's got a couple of little condition problems here. There's a missing little foot there...
GUEST:
Oh, yeah, right. Right.
APPRAISER:
One ear's torn there.
GUEST:
Right, right.
APPRAISER:
And you mentioned something you... used to have.
GUEST:
He had a bottle at one time.
APPRAISER:
A baby bottle, okay.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
These ears are a little bit loose, but that's no big deal. It's charming. It's in fairly decent condition. Did you ever have it appraised at all?
GUEST:
I did take it to a local antique shop, show, many, many, many years ago.
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
To a toy dealer.
APPRAISER:
Right.
GUEST:
And he said, to the right person at the right time, at an auction, for somebody who collected this kind of thing...
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
It could be worth $5,000 to $6,000.
APPRAISER:
Okay, well, he's a little high on that, because of the condition.
GUEST:
Yeah, right, right, right. (laughing): Well, he was in better shape 25 years ago, too.
APPRAISER:
Okay, all right, rabbits are very, very popular. Santa Clauses are popular-- all holidays. In the condition it is now, just like this, I would probably sell it for around $4,000.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
Once this is repaired-- which, it can be repaired... Say you put another $500 in it, on today's market, restored, he probably would bring between $5,000, $6,000, and maybe even $7,000. Rabbits are very, very, very popular. Everybody likes them. The history's great.
GUEST:
Have you ever seen another one like that?
APPRAISER:
A friend of mine has one. He bought it in Milwaukee years and years ago.
GUEST:
Really? Just like this one?
APPRAISER:
Just like that one. So it's the second one I've seen. So thank you very much.
GUEST:
Well, it was a pleasure to be here.
APPRAISER:
Great.
GUEST:
I'm sure, I'm sure the rabbit enjoyed it after all those years. (laughing)
APPRAISER:
I'm sure he did, too. He's still nodding his approval.
GUEST:
Yeah.
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."
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