Edison Stock Ticker with Stand, ca. 1910
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GUEST:
I got it from my grandparents. My grandpa after World War II had the good fortune of working on Wall Street. He was a broker. From being a little girl, I always remember it being there. Approximately seven years ago it became mine. He always said it was from the 1800s. It was a Thomas Edison ticker tape. And other than that, I don't know very much about it.
APPRAISER:
The Western Union Telegraph Company worked with Thomas Edison. And this was really Edison's very first commercial success in making a machine. One of Edison's first jobs was as a telegraph operator. These are probably the most common example of what you think of when you think of Wall Street. This is the second model that was produced by Edison. And this one was produced between about 1900 to 1920. One of the interesting ways this got its name, "ticker tape," is because of the ticker, ticker, ticker sound that the tape made when it came out. What makes yours really special is that almost always you only see the top of the ticker tape. You never see the pedestal. Most of them that come up for auction are just the top piece. For the ticker tape machine, $8,000 to $10,000 at auction.
GUEST:
Oh, my God! Wow.
APPRAISER:
But of course, you have the pedestal. For this particular package, it would bring between $15,000 and $20,000.
GUEST:
Oh, my Lord. That's crazy. I can't even believe it. That's crazy. But it's priceless to me. It just reminds me of my grandpa, and you know, all the stories he used to tell about work and everything.
Appraisal Details
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