Rogers Smith Company Silver Plate Vanity Mirror, ca. 1875
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GUEST:
I had neighbors who were antique collectors, and they were in Canada one time, in an antique store, and their daughter found it hanging on a wall in the back. And it was all dusty. They bought it. I think they paid between $15 and $25 -- it wasn't very much -- and it hung on their living room wall for 40 years.
APPRAISER:
Okay.
GUEST:
And then he passed away, and she had to go to an assisted living, and it came to live at my house.
APPRAISER:
Wonderful. And that's about all you know about it?
GUEST:
Well, the thieves didn't take it when they broke into her house and took all the rest of her silver.
APPRAISER:
Well, let me tell you a little bit about it.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
It is a fold-out vanity. It's made by the Rogers Smith Company, based out of Connecticut. And it is actually made of silver plate.
GUEST:
It's silver-plated. Okay.
APPRAISER:
They were one of the most prominent manufacturers of American silver plate at the end of the 19th century. It dates from about 1880, 1870 -- the height of the
Aesthetic Movement.
GUEST:
Oh. Okay.
APPRAISER:
And, as you can see here, with this decoration, you have this wonderful sort of influence of Japanese decoration surrounding the frame. But then you also have this fabulous pierce decoration which is matched on all four corners. You have the sides which swing out, and there's also loop handles which it can hang from. Also, you have this wonderful little element -- and I'll just spin this around. And it's decorated with flowers on the reverse, which is a very nice element. When it comes to cleaning of this, don't polish it or anything.
GUEST:
Don't polish it.
APPRAISER:
Just lightly dust it. Because it's silver-plated -- it's already lost some of it -- you can see someone really cleaned the heck out of it here, and so it's gone down to its brassy finish. Do you have any idea of the value on this piece?
GUEST:
I was told maybe $2,000-$3,000 but...
APPRAISER:
Okay. Well, I think, in the right type of sale, it could have an auction estimate of about $4,000 to $6,000.
GUEST:
Oh. Okay.
APPRAISER:
It is a very, very, very nice example of American Aesthetic Movement silver plate.
GUEST:
Well, cool.
APPRAISER:
And thanks for coming to the ROADSHOW.
GUEST:
Thanks.
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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