18th C. Windsor Chair & 19th C. Windsor Rocker
GUEST:
When my parents bought their first home, my mother wanted to fill it with American, early American antiques.
APPRAISER:
And when was, when was this?
GUEST:
1950, 1951.
APPRAISER:
1950. And where, was it right here, in Spokane?
GUEST:
No, it was in Los Angeles. I wanted to know their value, because I want to insure them properly. My father always warned me that they were valuable, but that's all he ever said.
APPRAISER:
Okay, that's it. No numbers or anything?
GUEST:
No.
APPRAISER:
First of all, I love Windsor chairs.
GUEST:
I do, too.
APPRAISER:
Okay. You love them, too? That's great.
GUEST:
I have seven at home.
APPRAISER:
Seven of them. Well, which one of these do you think is the better chair?
GUEST:
I don't know, I mean...
APPRAISER:
Which would you pick?
GUEST:
I would think this one's older. But I wouldn't know.
APPRAISER:
That's older, okay, all right. But you don't have any idea of value comparison?
GUEST:
No.
APPRAISER:
Okay. Let me just quickly say, this is a lovely oval seat, probably New England. You always look underneath here at the wood, and that looks like white pine. It suggests it's New England because they used a lot of white pine there.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
Nice chair that has, that's a rocker. But it's not going to be that valuable, okay?
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
This little rocker could be insured for about $600. If it had paint, it'd be more valuable. I'm going to slide this rocker back and come over to this one. It's a Rhode Island Windsor from about 1760 to 1770.
GUEST:
Oh, cool.
APPRAISER:
Okay? And what's neat about Rhode Island Windsors is that there are a group of them with this profile-- do you see this curved profile?
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
This is the crest rail, these, usually hickory or ash-- because they're bendable-- spindles...
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
...come down to this little pillow on top of the seat rail.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
You see how it's echoed, this S-curve is also echoed here?
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
Now, the arms-- I'm going to tip it forward just a little bit. What kind of wood do you think that is? It's a light-colored wood, very hard.
GUEST:
I don't know.
APPRAISER:
Maple? Maple?
GUEST:
Maple.
APPRAISER:
It's a wood that they used a lot in Rhode Island. They used hardwoods. This seat, it looks like it's chestnut. That makes sense for Rhode Island. And the wonderful seat with this-- let me just show you this. See that little flair?
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
Now, that was something that you see a lot on English chairs.
GUEST:
Oh, mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
That wonderful little flair that gives it that extra, extra curve. And this fits the bottom quite nicely, right?
GUEST:
Yes, it's very comfortable.
APPRAISER:
Very comfortable, right? And one of the really nice things about the chair is that the feet are original.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
These feet usually get cut off, they turn them into rocker chairs, like the other chair was turned into a rocker. Original feet. It's... I couldn't believe it. I looked very carefully to see.
GUEST:
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
Because they're often replaced. You need to check that, and that takes away about 80% of the value.
GUEST:
Oh!
APPRAISER:
But these feet are good. So it's a really, really nice chair.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
Now, there's one thing that it used to have that it doesn't have anymore. It's missing paint.
GUEST:
Paint?
APPRAISER:
It lost its paint. Almost every Windsor was painted.
GUEST:
Oh, I didn't know that.
APPRAISER:
If you look at the bottom...
GUEST:
Oh!
APPRAISER:
Do you see this? It has the original wash and then the white, the white paint. So this is what stayed, it's like the DNA...
GUEST:
Oh!
APPRAISER:
...that remains after they took away that surface, probably a hundred years ago.
GUEST:
Amazing.
APPRAISER:
Now, for insurance purposes, you could easily put this chair for about $16,000.
GUEST:
$16,000?
APPRAISER:
$16,000, yes.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
(chuckles)
GUEST:
16!
APPRAISER:
I mean, just for this chair. So that's quite a difference.
GUEST:
Wow. That's a lot.
APPRAISER:
That's a lot.
GUEST:
For a chair.
APPRAISER:
For a chair, it is a lot for a chair, and it should be protected. Would you like to sit in it?
GUEST:
Sure.
APPRAISER:
Have a seat-- do you mind if I sit in this, this?
GUEST:
No.
APPRAISER:
And I can look up at you.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Now, if the white paint were still on there...
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
...it would probably be, kind of on a bad day, $60,000.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
Now, your mom didn't take the paint off, so you can't blame her.
GUEST:
No. No, she didn't.
Appraisal Details
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