Abolitionist Diary, ca. 1865
Watch
GUEST:
I bought it about 15 years ago, and I bought it at an estate auction. Paid five dollars for it. I really didn't know anything, and I still don't really know anything about it.
APPRAISER:
Well, let me first show whose this is, and the owner was Warren. He's in Boston.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
The address is 28 Cornhill. And he was an abolitionist, and a lot of what he's writing about, he obviously traveled through the South right after the war, maybe even during parts of the war as the Union advanced.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
And was giving an idea of the conditions of the blacks, slavery.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
Here-- and I'll summarize a little-- he was giving an account of a, a particular slave. And the slave says, "I started out here at 14 and was sold. Then I was sold again for the sum of 12..."
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
"Over $1,200."
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
Which was a huge amount of money at that time.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
And then, as you read down the page, he's saying that, well, he thinks he got more money because he was... he could read. He also said that they allowed them to have education, to free religion. And they said the neighbors actually weren't too happy about that.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
There's another one here. This, he shows "Brian's Slave Pen."
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
So, he must have gone through Savannah, where the slave markets were. And he was showing just an illustration of what the...
GUEST:
Oh!
APPRAISER:
...where they were holding the slaves before they were auctioning them.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
One of the things that you get into with diaries, the value depends a lot on, is it interesting?
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
What's the content? And here, there's so much historic information.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
I think very, very conservatively, $3,000 to $5,000.
GUEST:
Oh! (laughing) Really? Wow! (laughs) That's great!
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.
