Regency Rosewood Folio Stand, ca. 1810
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GUEST:
My mother was a caregiver for an elderly woman for 35 years or so. And she's willed a couple of things to us.
APPRAISER:
Do you actually know what it is?
GUEST:
It's a portfolio stand, and I'm understanding that you put portraits in here.
APPRAISER:
It is, in fact, a display folio stand, or a portfolio stand. It's actually really used for large books. This was made probably just around 1810 or 1815, during a part of the Regency period. This is a period in England that showed very explosive growth and a lot of wealth. And this is a perfect example of something that a wealthy person would have purchased. During this time period, you had very large books. It's sort of a, a macho thing to have. You know, it's, like, "I've got big books, so I need something to be able to display them with." It moves down like this. And that way, you can put the book in the middle of it, and then you're able to turn the pages. And more importantly, what this actually did was, it saved the spine of the book. And you're able to put it up at the end. A lot of those are made in mahogany. This one is actually made in rosewood. In today's market, if you saw this in an auction house, I would probably say you would see an estimate of around $2,000 to $3,000 on it.
GUEST:
Okay, that's nice.
APPRAISER:
Now you're on a mission.
GUEST:
(laughing)
APPRAISER:
Now you got to find a big-ass book and put it in there, so...
GUEST:
(laughs)
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