Theodore Crongeyer Trade Sign, ca. 1875
Watch
GUEST:
And the fisherman came from my great-grandfather's house. Um, he bought the home from a man that owned a fleet of fishing boats, and it was carved for him.
GUEST:
This fisherman was found in a home that my great-grandfather purchased. And the owner of the home previous to him was a captain of a fishing fleet. And it came from Alpena, Michigan. After my great-grandfather owned it, it came down to my mother, and as a child, he lived in our basement. And with those terrifying red eyes in the black corner next to the coal bin, we were afraid to go to the basement. (chuckles)
APPRAISER:
What we have here is a late-19th-century trade sign.
GUEST:
Trade sign?
APPRAISER:
It's, it is a sign that is beckoning a profession-- a fisherman-- where one would go in and buy fishing supplies for the profession.
GUEST:
Oh.
APPRAISER:
So the fact that it was owned by a professional fishboat captain makes a lot of sense. And a piece like this is carved wood, and the wood is white pine.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
And it was a, a wood that was very, very favored by the trade shops because it was soft, it was easy to carve, and it took paint very nicely. And this would have been carved out of a two-foot log. And what is wonderful about the piece is, it's virtually untouched and it's wearing its historic surface. And we have a very important thing going on here, and that is the beautiful 19th-century nameplate that was put on when the piece was made that says "T," which is for Theodore, and "Crongeyer," a street address in Detroit, Michigan.
GUEST:
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
And we know his shop, he did church work, he did tobacco store trade figures, he did design work. So this figure would have been outside a shop, possibly up high, over the door of the shop, so that people, when walking down the street in either direction, could see what is going on inside that shop. Don't forget, it's 1875-- people coming to America, many of them can't read, can't speak English.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
So this becomes a sign language.
GUEST:
How wonderful.
APPRAISER:
When we turn it around and we take a look, we see etched into the side of the piece the word "fisherman."
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
That was done at a later date. And when we go around to the back, We see a wonderful surface. And you said that this was stored near the coal bin.
GUEST:
Correct.
APPRAISER:
I suspect it was subjected possibly to heat.
GUEST:
Oh.
APPRAISER:
And that's how you created the surface over here. I think today it's a desirable piece for the folk art collectors that collect trade signs. But, really, these are so rare because the number of shops that sold s, fishing supplies were quite few. The number of tobacco shops were, were plentiful. Many more. So we're going to put a retail valuation today of $3,000 to $5,000.
GUEST:
I'm amazed. (chuckles)
APPRAISER:
Yeah, I think it's, it's...
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
...being a little conservative, too. I think it's a very desirable form by a, a known maker, who's quite rare, actually. It's a wonderful piece.
GUEST:
Wow, thank you, Mr. Katz, I'm so surprised. Thank you for telling us it's a sign. Who would have guessed? Well, you knew. (both chuckling)
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.
