Hyde & Goodrich Tea Service, ca. 1850
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GUEST:
It was my grandmother's grandmother's wedding present from her grandmother. And that would have to be 1841 or before. I know it's coin silver, and that's about all I know about it.
APPRAISER:
And how did it come to you?
GUEST:
My mother, who's the oldest daughter, who got it. And I'm the next one, so...
APPRAISER:
Okay, well, excellent. I don't know if you know this, but it was retailed by Hyde & Goodrich. They were the preeminent retailer in New Orleans. Basically, if you lived up in the North in New York, you went to Tiffany. And down south you came to Hyde & Goodrich. They were around from about 1815 to 1860. And they retailed very high end luxury goods that were produced usually in France. Generally, when you see this type of tea service, I expected it at first to be made in New York because that was where a lot of this type of silver was produced. However, what is really special about this service was it was actually made by a local New Orleans silversmith firm known as Kuchler and Himmel. You can see the mark on the base of the sugar bowl down here. This is the only piece that has the Kuchler and Himmel mark, but we can assume that because it's with the rest of the service, that they produced the entire set for Hyde and Goodrich.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
This set was probably made a little later than the 1840s. Kuchler and Himmel worked together in the early 1850s. So that's when I would date this set. It is so rare to have a set of Southern silver produced in the South and retailed in the South, and that has survived. A lot of these silver services were melted down during the Civil War, they were stolen, plundered. They just don't exist. Southern silver is extremely rare. I really like it. The detail is beautiful. You have these beautiful grape leaves and vines beautifully chased and engraved. I just love it. In terms of condition, you did a really great job cleaning it. It is gleaming. But, it is missing a few pieces. You can see the finial is missing here.
GUEST:
The finial's missing.
APPRAISER:
And there are a couple of dents here and there. However, I think a collector of Southern silver would not be deterred, and I think at auction you could expect between $10,000 and $15,000.
GUEST:
Oh, my gosh.
APPRAISER:
Yeah, and I think if you put a little bit of money into restoring it--maybe $1,000--I think it could bring even more.
GUEST:
How about insurance, about the same?
APPRAISER:
Insurance, I might triple it. I might triple the value for insurance.
GUEST:
Thank you.
APPRAISER:
Thank you. I'm really glad you brought it in today. It was a really exciting piece to see.
GUEST:
Yes.
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