1906 - 1920 Tiffany Desk Set Pieces
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GUEST:
I brought my great-grandfather's Tiffany desk set that we recently found in an attic. But as far as how he acquired them, we're not too sure. I know that I have a letter holder, a letter opener, and a paper clip. They've been boxed away for the past 30 years, and no one's seen them until just recently.
APPRAISER:
And so, unearthed treasure.
GUEST:
It is, yes.
APPRAISER:
So, um, they are made by Tiffany, but it's two different names of the company, because the, um, the paper clip-- which actually Tiffany referred to as a letter clip in his 1906 catalogue...
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
...and this, which I would call a letter opener, but Tiffany called it a paper knife...
GUEST:
Mm.
APPRAISER:
...work from what they called the bookmark pattern. I still want to say paper clip, by the way, but now that I saw "letter clip" was the original term, I'm trying to adhere to that.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
It's got this wonderful, uh, cold-painted enamel design on it, which, I think that cost a little extra...
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
...than just not having that. And it's really quite beautiful. So I would date that and the paper knife 1906. And then the other piece, this letter holder, is later.
GUEST:
Hm.
APPRAISER:
And it's actually at least 14 years later.
GUEST:
Oh, really.
APPRAISER:
And the name of the company, and in the 1920s, became Louis C. Tiffany Furnaces, Inc.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And that's how it's marked on the bottom. This was really, I would say, Tiffany's attempt at doing something a little more Art Deco.
GUEST:
Mm.
APPRAISER:
You really don't see that much of it coming out of Tiffany. When we think of, uh, Tiffany Studios, we think more of, an, sort of an Art Nouveau taste. And this actually came in different colors. You could also buy it in green and you could also buy it in red.
GUEST:
Mm.
APPRAISER:
These are all made of bronze, and then it has a gilded finish on it.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And they actually used 24-karat gold finishes on these things. So, in a retail shop today, we'll start with the paper knife. Um, that would sell for between $200 and $300. And then the letter clip... (chuckling) ...would sell for between $700 and $900.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
And then, this is actually the most, most desirable piece. And this would sell anywhere from maybe $2,000 to $2,500.
GUEST:
How wonderful.
APPRAISER:
I have a feeling, since these were in a box for 30 years, that's probably why they maintained the finish.
GUEST:
They are. Then I took them out of the box and put them in a curio just as they were. I didn't touch them and do anything and just left them alone.
APPRAISER:
They're all still useful. You can still use the paper knife, or letter opener, and you can see that it has been used.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
It's got a little bend in it. But it's meant to be used, and that's an acceptable change in the object.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm. Well, it's wonderful to know. That's great, thank you.
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