Treffle Gervais Viola, ca. 1890
APPRAISER:
This is a Boston-made viola. And I know when you came to me, you said it was a violin.
GUEST:
I told you it was a violin, and that's what I believed it was all my life.
APPRAISER:
Now, what is actually the difference between a viola and a violin? Well, viola's bigger, and in this case this is about 16.25 inches long in body.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And a violin is about 14 inches long, so it's quite a big difference. First, why don't you tell me how you got it.
GUEST:
My grandfather played this instrument, and it was made by his father. I always thought it was a violin because I thought my grandfather played the violin. That's what they always talked about in the family.
APPRAISER:
Are there more instruments around in your family by this maker?
GUEST:
In my family, yes. I'm one of ten children. My mother inherited 50 violins and her sister inherited 50, so they split them evenly, and what happened to the rest of them over the years, I don't know.
APPRAISER:
This maker is named Treffle Gervais. Or "Ger-vay." "Ger-vay." And he was born in Canada...
GUEST:
I looked him up, 1863?
APPRAISER:
Yes, sir. He then worked in Boston for three major violin makers or violin houses. He worked for Elias Howe, for Orin Weeman, and worked for a guy named Jerome Bonaparte Squier, all of them very famous violin houses, Squier the most famous maker there at the time, in the 1880s. Then he went off on his own. And I have only ever seen violins by this maker. And when I looked at the label, the viola is not only labeled "Treffle Gervais, maker, Boston," but it also says "No. 1 Viola."
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
He's a relatively rare maker; I've never seen one of his violas before. And construction wise, it's just... it's beautiful. Typical maple back and sides, very pretty piece of maple. Maple ribs, spruce top, maple neck, maple head, ebony fingerboard. Beautiful wood selection, beautiful oil varnish. So you can see this nice, dark red varnish on top of this rather vibrant-looking yellow ground.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
And the part that's wiped off, that's just from normal wear and tear. Like you can see this area here and this area here just from...
GUEST:
From his hand.
APPRAISER:
Yeah, there's the hand mark from many years of use, like that. And we don't know when this one was made, but I'm going to guess it's made about 1890. And the condition is superb. I think that a violin by this maker might not be worth quite $10,000. I think less. But a viola, a solid $10,000, and perhaps in a local violin shop, as much as $15,000, because I think that a local Boston shop would be able to capitalize on the local maker.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
That being said, I've never seen one for sale. I'd also give it an insurance value of $15,000.
GUEST:
Very nice.
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.