Derby & Co. American Pedestal Safe, ca. 1875
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GUEST:
This came from our great-grandparents originally, and they were married in Buffalo, New York, in 1874. And they purchased it sometime after that, and then it just has stayed in the family ever since. It was brought out to California in about 1940 by our parents, and it's been here ever since.
APPRAISER:
That's great, and I understand there's some kind of interesting information regarding the combination.
GUEST:
It's a combination with letters, and three letters open and close it. If you need to know the combination, we can tell you.
APPRAISER:
Okay.
GUEST:
And you've also noted...
GUEST:
On the inside there are our great-grandparents' intertwined initials-- ETE and JHE.
APPRAISER:
Really?
GUEST:
So that really dates it from the fact that they owned it.
APPRAISER:
That's wonderful. Well, everything you've said, this makes an appraiser's job very easy. This is a very simple piece to appraise. It dates to probably about 1880.
GUEST:
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
Probably manufactured in New York.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
It may have been upstate rather than New York City.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
The foundation here is cast iron, and then we have a polychrome application which is paint, with a wonderful floral decorated panel here which sort of moves us into the Aesthetic movement, which becomes popular in the 1880s in America. But it's a safe. I probably forgot...
GUEST:
A bedroom safe.
APPRAISER:
That's right. And we have this wonderful rosewood lining here, which is a high-quality wood that they didn't use too often, but on important pieces of furniture. Also, bird's-eye maple drawers, which again indicate New York manufacture.
APPRAISER:
Okay.
GUEST:
Containing a change drawer, lined in mahogany. The gentleman's drawer.
GUEST:
Yes. Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
A jewelry casket.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
Velvet lined. And then just a larger drawer for probably documents and similar material. What's wonderful about the piece is it retains its original surface and decoration, which is generally lost. And that's really where the great appeal lies here. And also the novelty of design. This is not a common form.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
So an auction estimate on a piece like this, $1,500 to $2,500.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
GUEST:
Wow, great.
GUEST:
Thank you.
GUEST:
Thank you very much.
GUEST:
That was wonderful.
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."
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