Martin Luther King, Jr. Archive
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GUEST:
My husband is an avid collector. And he was able to get this from a collection in Durham, and it shows when he visited St. Mark's AME Zion Church in Durham. And he was the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and this is from their conference when they were here in Raleigh in 1966. And along with that, he was able to acquire the book from the same collection.
APPRAISER:
Well, that's what's so fantastic is that it comes from the period. It's direct from 1966, when the visit occurred. This was at the apex of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s ascendency in his importance as a cultural leader.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
And what I think is really terrific about the dust jacket on this book is its pristine condition. With all modern literature, whether it's a historical book or a piece of fiction, collectors care about the preservation of the dust jacket. And it's just immaculate. What makes this even more special is the fact that it has been signed.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
It's been signed on the front free endpaper. And because it was signed at the time of these others, we are very confident that the signature is authentic.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
In terms of value, the book is going to be worth about $2,000 to $3,000, since it's signed. Unsigned, they bring in the low hundreds. As an archive, I would give it a premium value and therefore say that everything together is in the $3,000 to $4,000 range, and that's an auction value.
GUEST:
Wow, my husband is going to be really excited.
APPRAISER:
Oh, terrific.
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.
