Copy of Curtis’s 1905 Geronimo Photo, ca. 1920
Watch
GUEST:
This is a photograph that was taken by Edward Curtis. And Edward Curtis was a photographer that headed west to, uh, capture the Indian lifestyle because it was rapidly disappearing. He took a whole series of photographs, came back east, and in order to finance his next expedition, he created portfolios and then he offered those to contributors. And the picture that we've got here is of Geronimo.
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
Periodically, my wife and I would go to art galleries, and I saw this one, and of course right away recognized who it was, and I purchased it.
APPRAISER:
Well, Edward Curtis is known for a very ambitious undertaking that he called The North American Indian. This was a series of portfolios and books devoted to culture that Curtis recognized was disappearing and wanted to chronicle. He did get support from Roosevelt and funding from J.P. Morgan, and this project took him over 30 years to complete. Now, this particular photograph was done in 1905. So it's at the end of Geronimo's life, Geronimo being an Apache warrior. And what's interesting about this picture is that it's actually a copy.
GUEST:
Interesting.
APPRAISER:
The border around the photograph tells us that this is a sepia-toned border print. It's a photograph that Curtis made of his own photograph. And in fact, in the lower left corner, we can see an original inventory number that in the negative would be very clear. But in this second-generation picture...
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
...it becomes a lot fuzzier and somewhat illegible. Now, the good news is...
GUEST:
(chuckles)
APPRAISER:
...that Curtis authorized this photograph. If we look at the lower right, we see that he signed it.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
And there are the letters "L.A." Curtis was actually working in Los Angeles for a period of time as a cinematographer and Hollywood photographer to raise money. In the 1920s, he was still working on completing...
GUEST:
Ah, interesting. Uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
...The North American Indian. And we also see that it has Curtis's circle C, his copyright.
GUEST:
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
I see that there's an indication of what you paid for this print.
GUEST:
Yes. (chuckling)
APPRAISER:
And that is $25. How long ago was that?
GUEST:
I believe in the... 1972.
APPRAISER:
Well, pictures of Geronimo are very scarce and very desirable. In fact, though Curtis made thousands of images for The North American Indian, this is certainly in the top ten of that group of material.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
And a conservative estimate at auction today is $10,000 to $15,000.
GUEST:
Whoa!
APPRAISER:
It's a great, great piece. Thank you for bringing it in.
GUEST:
Wow. Thank you for the information. This is wonderful. I'm going to have to hide it.
GUEST AND
APPRAISER:
(both laugh)
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.
