Hyde & Goodrich Silver Water Pitcher, ca. 1850
Watch
GUEST:
It was handed to my mother from her mother. And it came from one of her relatives that was a Yachtsman, and he won it in a race in, uh, the Gulf of Mexico, I guess it was. They're from Biloxi, Mississippi, and she gave it to us. And we put it on the shelf, and that's about all I know about it.
APPRAISER:
Right. Do you know where it's from, where it was made?
GUEST:
Um, I don't, I don't know where it was.
APPRAISER:
Okay, well, it was made in New Orleans, in Louisiana.
GUEST:
Oh.
APPRAISER:
So the mark is on the base here. It's marked for Hyde & Goodrich, which were a retailer in New Orleans, sort of similar to Tiffany in New York. They were sort of the big name. And what's interesting, there's another mark on here. There's an H, and the H actually stands for the, the name of the person who actually did the silversmithing.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
So Adolphe Himmel, who was a German immigrant, who came into New Orleans in the 19th century. And this piece is probably 1850s, pre-Civil War South. New Orleans is a very large, important city on the Mississippi. It's got, um, trade, and there's a lot of money there. And so people were buying these sort of rich and ornate silver items. It' s a water pitcher, a form very typical of the time and place. This fantastic handle looks like a branch that has just been fashioned.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
There's a lot of greenery and flowers decorating it. Pretty impressive piece for New Orleans in the 1850s. For insurance purposes, I think you want to think about a figure at around $10,000.
GUEST:
Whoa, are you kidding me?
APPRAISER:
I'm not.
GUEST:
Oh, my goodness. Is it solid silver?
APPRAISER:
It is solid silver.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
Southern silver, very popular. Um, not a lot of it, great design, great style.
GUEST:
That's a real surprise.
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.
