October 05, 2015: Following is a transcript of the first and fourth pages of the letter included in this appraisal. The second and third pages are currently unavailable. According to this archive's current owner, James Henry Hartshorn died from malaria in 1863, only a few months after writing this letter.

U.S.S. "Katahdin"
Galveston May 17th, 1863

Dear Mother & Father,

The U.S. supply steamer "Tennessee" arrived yesterday from New Orleans bringing me a letter from Nellie dated April 18th and one from somebody else. I also received a large official letter which made me jump up for a minute. I thought to be sure that I was to be ordered home but I soon found that there was no such luck in store for me it proved to be a letter from a friend of mine in the Custom House at New Orleans. I guess you would laugh if you could see me now. Yesterday I shaved off my whiskers from my chin leaving them only on the side of my face. I don’t know myself so it is not at all strange that no one else knows me. After I had shaved I changed my clothes and went on deck to the first Lieut and asked him if he would let me have a boat to go on board of my own ship. He looked at e and said in the most earnest manner Certainly sir in a few moments. In a few moments … [end page 1]

[pages 2 and 3 not available]

[page 4]

… like drowned rats than human beings. She flew an English flag all the time we were chasing her. I gobbled that and brought it off together with a few other articles. She was not worth much she was bound in to get a load of cotton I suppose. By the way speaking of cotton tell Nelly that Amanda did not say anything to me about that piece of [illegible] she built for my niece Miss Kitty. I have seen some of Amandas handiwork and know that what ever she does do she does first rate. I saw Capt Bailey again the other day. The Anderson has gone back to New Orleans to repair. I went on board to see him. He gave me a box of cigars that he got from a prize and a lot of reading matter. I gave him a lot of reading matter. I do not think he is very well. The Harriet Lane has not come out yet that we know of. We are keeping a good look out for her all the time. Every thing looks very quiet about Galveston. I think they have sent off all their spare troops to look after Banks. I should not wonder if Banks marched down this way before long. I hope so I would like to go on shore now it looks like a very pleasant place. After this steamer leaves here I don’t expect another down for four or five weeks. So if you should not hear from me for some time you must not worry about it. Remember me to all. write as often as you can. One of you can write every week, I should think. I like to hear as often as I can. Give my kindest regards to Mr. & Mrs. Champney and lots of love to [?] Nelly & Frank. Kiss Miss Kitty for me and tell her to be a good little girl and hurrah for Uncle Jimmie. Good bye for a while. Write often to your affectionate sonny boy, James Henry

According to this archive's current owner, James Henry Hartshorn died from malaria in 1863, only a few months after writing this letter.

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.

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