1857 Mormon Ad & Proclamation
GUEST:
These were, uh, part of a collection that belonged to my great-grandfather that fell into my grandpa's hands. I asked him for this when I was a young man--I said, I like that guy exploding down there. He captured my attention so it fell into my hands, happily. The rest of the collection went up to the University of Utah. This one was in a book, folded in half, that I also inherited from the same collection.
APPRAISER:
So the Johnson in Johnson & Blake at the top of this textile is your ancestor.
GUEST:
That's my great-grandfather. He was kind of a merchant, and uh, getting the goods together, they came up by rail and up the Missouri River, and then they probably go up to Saint Joseph, Missouri, and then on across the Missouri River out to Utah.
APPRAISER:
And this piece was actually printed in Iowa.
GUEST:
In Iowa, Crescent City, Iowa. Yeah.
APPRAISER:
Advertising on textiles in themselves aren't that unusual, but this one is quite scarce. Johnson is the patriarch of a prominent Mormon family in its day, and down here, underneath the graphic is the "Mormon War Goes on and Supplies have arrived at the Universal Emporium." Which would obviously date it to the time of the Utah War and the Great Mormon Rebellion of 1857.
GUEST:
Exactly.
APPRAISER:
as you know, in 1857, the Mormons were at odds with the United States government, and President Buchanan sent an invading army to invade Brigham Young and the Mormons. So on the eve of 1857, Johnson's army made it as far as Fort Bridger, which was then in Utah territory, not Wyoming, as it is today. And Brigham Young categorically stated that Colonel Johnson and his so-called army would never be allowed to invade Great Salt Lake City. And that's what the invasion proclamation relates to. And also, this very curious advertising textile, it was a very traumatic time in Utah and Mormon history, and by the Spring of 1858, they were able to come to a peaceful resolution of the conflict, and Johnson's army marched through the valley and took up quarters in the western part and Brigham Young allowed them safe passage and they eventually worked out the problems. And Utah got statehood some 40 years later in 1896. This Johnson here is also given credit for printing the first newspaper west of the Missouri.
GUEST:
Now that I didn't know.
APPRAISER:
In Nebraska, out on the plains.
GUEST:
Very interesting.
APPRAISER:
I've never ever seen an advertising piece trying to market things related to the Mormon War, and especially the unusualness of this textile. But then the proclamation that you have that go with it... This is the so-called Invasion Proclamation of 1857. The citizens of Utah by the then territorial governor, Brigham Young. There are two different variants of it, one of August and one of September of '57. Both are quite scarce. If I had these two items together in my shop, in today's market, I would value the pair at between $10,000 to $15,000.
GUEST:
Oh, well, if I sent a dollar to each of my cousins, they'd all get one.
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.
