1976 Andy Warhol Illustrated Title Page
Watch
GUEST:
Andy Warhol was in Birmingham in 1976. He appeared at the Birmingham Museum of Art. The morning before that event, he was selling the book, which was The Philosophy of Andy Warhol. He asked if I would like for him to sign it, and I said sure. He also signed the celebrity register that I had, too. But he drew the tomato soup can, and awhile later, I cut that piece of paper out of the book because after I'd read the book, it was pretty pathetic, but I liked what he did by signing it.
APPRAISER:
So you read the book and...
GUEST:
And I gave it away.
APPRAISER:
You gave it away. You didn't care for it too much.
GUEST:
No, I didn't care for it.
APPRAISER:
Do you remember what the book was about?
GUEST:
His crazy ways of going to shop for groceries and sending people off to do things, you know, for him. It was involving The Factory.
APPRAISER:
We do have an inscription to Richard, and then he's titled it "Campbell's Soup." And then we have a signature, "Andy Warhol, Birmingham, '76." And the book came out in 1975. And he did do these book signings regularly, so we do see many copies of either the book with the signature and a drawing or simply just this page, where people have removed it from the book. So Andy Warhol is quite an important artist and really the most important artist of the pop art movement. He is most well known for a few images. Probably one of the most famous would be the Campbell soup can. So you have a couple of great things here. You have a drawing of one of his most important images, you have something that comes from his heart in that he wrote this book and it really meant something to him, and you have a great provenance, which is very important with Warhol. As you've probably heard, there are lots and lots of fake Warhol drawings, prints, everything out there because he's become so valuable. I would estimate this for auction today at $3,000 to $5,000.
GUEST:
(laughs) What? Can you repeat that?
APPRAISER:
We would place an auction estimate of $3,000 to $5,000.
GUEST:
That is totally amazing. Totally amazing. I'm delighted.
APPRAISER:
The book itself, I did speak with my colleagues at the books table, and we see copies of it come up for auction. Usually, they sell for a few hundred dollars. Copies have come up with the drawing inside the book, and they bring about what the drawing itself brings, so you didn't really lose much by giving the book away. It's really this drawing on this page that's the value there.
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.
