Herter Brothers Arm Chair, ca. 1865
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GUEST:
My wife and I bought it at an auction probably a couple years ago. We got a pair of them, and we think they might be possibly Herter.
APPRAISER:
I'm happy to report to you that your assumption of them being Herter Brothers is absolutely correct.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
So Herter Brothers was the pre-eminent cabinetmakers, decorators of the 19th century, and they furnished the wealthiest Americans of the gilded age. With the painted plaque, the acanthus leaf that comes down off the crest, this arch back here, and then one thing that's very typical of Herter Brothers, the way these arms pop out. Very typical, you don't see that. It's complicated. We come down, you see this... where this almost explosion, it's almost a cornucopia with this face looking up into the sky. Fabulous condition. But there's even one thing that's even better.
GUEST:
Yeah?
APPRAISER:
And if we turn it upside down... ...you can see a number stamped right here.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
So there is a new body of work that's being developed by a collector of 19th century furniture. He is funding this project on his own, documenting these numbers because they tell a story about what time frame furniture was made, but also who it was made for. I happened to call that person today after we met. The number 1206 is four digits off of the bedroom set made for the Darius Ogden Mills house in San Mateo, California. And it's interesting, at Palm Springs, the last time we were here, there was a table by Herter Brothers that came out of the Mills house that surfaced here. So that's just a mystery to me how these pieces got to Palm Springs. But the condition, the fact that it's here in California, and the fact that we can connect that to the Darius Ogden Mills house makes it a very important chair.
GUEST:
Wow. That's incredible.
APPRAISER:
So what did you pay for them?
GUEST:
I believe we paid about $1,200 for the pair at the auction.
APPRAISER:
Okay. Well, I'm happy to report to you that I believe they will sell relatively easily at auction for $8,000 to $12,000.
GUEST:
(chuckles) That's incredible.
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