GUEST:
I grew up in Biloxi, Mississippi, and my grandfather worked in the Ohr studio. My grandmother was friends with George Ohr's son Geo. And so, consequently, we had some pottery that was given to them at some point.

APPRAISER:
What did your relative do? What was his occupation?

GUEST:
He worked for George's son Geo in doing machine type stuff.

APPRAISER:
Well, that, that, that would make sense, 'cause Ohr primarily worked alone. He had some help, but what happened is, in 1907, thereabouts, his sons took over the pottery, essentially retired their dad...

GUEST:
Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER:
...and turned it into a repair shop.

GUEST:
Right.

APPRAISER:
And they were involved with mechanics. So, tell me about these pieces that you have here. You got a couple of vases.

GUEST:
Yes. This one has some little breaks here, and we had a cleaning lady who probably put it through the dishwasher. In fact, I'm sure she did.

APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.

GUEST:
And because it was just stuff, you know? It wasn't...

APPRAISER:
Important safety tip: no dishwashers for George Ohr pots, sort of...

GUEST:
No, I know, and... (laughing) It was just not valuable.

APPRAISER:
These haven't had much value for most of their life.

GUEST:
I know.

APPRAISER:
It's not been since the last 25 years or so that they, they took on some value. So, this little guy here, you like that one a lot, this little jug.

GUEST:
I like that one a lot. For my grandparents' wedding present, they were given that jug and then a jug that goes with it that is supposed to have a picture of George Ohr in it, and this one has, I think, Josephine in it, his wife.

APPRAISER:
These are quite rare.

GUEST:
Hmm.

APPRAISER:
Uh, there's only a handful of these known. And some of the ones that, uh, still exist don't have the little cellophane in there. You look through, it's just, it's just hollow.

GUEST:
Right.

APPRAISER:
And this is a photograph of George Ohr's pottery. He called it his pot-Ohr-y.

GUEST:
Right.

APPRAISER:
Now, these are George Ohr bordello tokens.

GUEST:
Yes, my father had them. I'm sure that my grandmother probably gave them to him, because they're inappropriate and...

APPRAISER:
Which is why we have them under lock and key here, in this pill bottle.

GUEST:
Right, right.

APPRAISER:
'Cause they have rebuses on them that are very suggestive, and...

GUEST:
Very.

APPRAISER:
We, we put a couple of the tamer ones, uh, "I love you dearly" and "Let's go to bed." The rest are inappropriate for public broadcasting.

GUEST:
Right, which is why my father didn't let me see these until I was in my 30s.

APPRAISER:
The trend...

GUEST:
And he gave them to my, to my husband, not to me.

APPRAISER:
Ah-hah. George Ohr was rather bawdy in, in addition to being a great potter.

GUEST:
Yes.

APPRAISER:
He had a very, uh, a very interesting poem he used to inscribe on the sides of some of his pots, and it goes like this: "Molly and I were on the beach engaged in nature's folly. The sand was hot upon my back, but the sun was hot to Molly."

GUEST:
That is great.

APPRAISER:
When there's a mark, we know when he made them. And so, those two, we'd say 1898 to 1902. The other pieces, probably about the same time, but with less certainty.

GUEST:
Okay.

APPRAISER:
Let me give you some values on some of these. These bordello tokens. You have the entire set of six of them. There aren't that many sets out there. An auction estimate on these would be between, say, $5,000 and $7,000 for the six of them, which is a lot...

GUEST:
Wow.

APPRAISER:
...but well worth it. This little jug, there's only a handful of them known. As I said, most of them are missing the cellophane. Auction estimate on that one would be $2,500 to $3,500, maybe $3,000 to $4,000.

GUEST:
Wow.

APPRAISER:
This blue vase, which is bigger and in perfect condition, as opposed to the green one. The form's a little stiff. The glaze isn't great. Auction retail estimate between $15,000 and $20,000. And finally, this green one...

GUEST:
Wow.

APPRAISER:
...and it's an interesting point. In spite of the damage, Ohr's work is so rare that a little bit of damage, if the pieces are there, does not make a world of difference. I would estimate this one, again, for between $15,000 to $20,000...

GUEST:
Wow.

APPRAISER:
...or maybe $17,000 to $22,000, in spite of the repair to the handle.

GUEST:
Wow, really?

APPRAISER:
Yeah.

GUEST:
That surprises me.