Robert Wadlow's Custom Shoe, ca. 1934
Watch
GUEST:
This is a shoe that belonged to Robert Wadlow, the tallest human recorded in history. He's in the Guinness Book of World Records. It was a shoe he gave to my grandfather in 1934.
APPRAISER:
And why did he give it to your grandfather? Well, my grandfather was a local merchant here in Knoxville. He was the local representative for Peters Shoes out of St. Louis, Missouri. And Peters made shoes for Robert Wadlow. And in turn Robert Wadlow traveled around on promotional tours. He came here to Knoxville in 1934. He and my grandfather struck up a nice relationship, and he was a very nice young man. And before he left, he gave him a shoe.
APPRAISER:
He's from Alton, Illinois, outside St. Louis, born in 1918. He is recorded as the tallest... irrefutably the tallest man recorded. There have been other ideas of people elsewhere in the world, but there's actual documentation of him and photos. And he was an American celebrity. He had his shoes custom-made for him. They had to be. This is a size 35. A normal man's shoe today is about a ten and a half. So in the '20s and '30s it may have been about a nine and a half or so. So a size 35 was a particularly important shoe for people. Who knows where the other one is? Maybe gave it to another shoe store. He was on his promotional tour. Embroidered here in the inside is "Peters," for the shoe company. It's wearing off now, but they would have been hand-embroidered for these custom shoes. And also on the bottom, we see "Peters Diamond Brand." He came here, and he hadn't reached his full height. He was seven feet, 11.1 inches.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
He died in 1940.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
The brace that he used for his legs, because he had to be supported early on just to be able to walk and support his frame, he got a blister. And he got an infection. They gave him a transfusion, and he died 11 days later. And when he died, he was eight feet, 11.1 inches, so he had a whole nother foot to grow after here. And he was documented as still growing even at his death at 22. He died needing 12 pallbearers. His casket was ten feet long and half a ton.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
His family was worried that the body was going to be tampered with, so they interred it in solid cement, in concrete, so no one would tamper with it. This is going to be of interest to collectors.
GUEST:
Oh, yes.
APPRAISER:
And collectors for quirky things. I would put an auction estimate of $1,500 to $2,500 at auction. Thank you so much for bringing this.
GUEST:
Oh, thank you.
APPRAISER:
It's a great piece of American history.
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.
