1798 George Washington Letter
Watch
GUEST:
My grandfather, Abbott Kimball, is from Fitchburg, Massachusetts, and he moved to New York in the late 1910s and was in the advertising business. He was very creative and was a big art collector. He collected a lot of art and other things, and this was one of the pieces that he purchased when he was in New York.
APPRAISER:
Do you have any idea what he paid for it?
GUEST:
I really don't. It was one of many items that when he passed away, my mom and her sister sort of divided these things, and this came into our possession. My mom gave it to me just a couple of years ago.
APPRAISER:
It's a very interesting item. At first when you look at it, and just a quick look, "Gee, it's a letter and it's George Washington." So when you read the letter, it says, "Dear sir, I'm going to send my carriage "for you and your guests. We'll pick you up and we'll look forward to seeing you." It essentially refers to Mount Vernon. So wow, somebody's getting picked up, coming over, seeing the president in 1798, just shortly, actually, before George Washington died at the end of the next year. But where it even gets more interesting is on this side piece here. It's the address form and it's to James McHenry.
GUEST:
That's right, the secretary of war.
APPRAISER:
The secretary of war, not only with Washington but with Adams. He was also a doctor in the Revolutionary War. Of course, one of the more famous things about McHenry was the fort was named after him.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
A lot of times when these are framed like this to make them graphically more interesting, they frame a picture of the people involved. Well, you have Washington and you have McHenry. Tell me about the bottom piece.
GUEST:
Yes, the bottom piece is James H. McHenry, the son of James McHenry, secretary of war, and he is giving this autographed letter of George Washington to an individual, and I can't quite read his name. It looks like "McKitrich" or something like that.
APPRAISER:
With the "George Washington" and actually all of the writing, it's dark, it's very bold. A lot of these letters tend to fade, so that's a big plus. Bringing together the two famous figures adds to the value. I would say on a retail level, this is probably a $10,000 to $15,000 item.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
If it was just the George Washington without the address and then you wouldn't know it was McHenry, you would be talking probably a $5,000 to $7,000 just nice sign. But bringing in the address form adds that extra doubling of the value to some degree.
GUEST:
Wow, isn't that great?
APPRAISER:
You almost start wondering, "What was that meeting like?"
GUEST:
Great.
APPRAISER:
Thank you.
GUEST:
Thank you.
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.
