J.L. Mott Sitz Bathtub, ca. 1900
Watch
GUEST:
I, uh, purchased a home in West Reading, Pennsylvania, from a, a friend and neighbor, and this was in the basement over in the corner, and the lady explained that it had come from a hotel in downtown Reading years ago, and she and her husband salvaged it out of that. And I know it's a J.L. Mott. That's about what I'm familiar.
APPRAISER:
Well, we know for a fact it's a J.L. Mott, because it says so right here in the front.
GUEST:
It sure does. Yes, it does.
APPRAISER:
Yeah, that's a hard one to miss. Do you remember what year you got this?
GUEST:
It was in the late 1980s in West Reading, is when I purchased it originally, in the home, and, and then, uh, removed it from the home probably around 2000 to where I currently live.
APPRAISER:
And bathing, of course, has a long, illustrious tradition amongst the human race. Started with the Romans, pretty much. But about 1883, a guy named Kohler put feet, you know, really great feet on the bottom of a horse trough filled up with water and called it a bathtub. And J.L. Mott was right there with him. They sold stuff on Fifth Avenue in New York City. 1883, wealthy people start having bathtubs and indoor plumbing. I read that, that in the early 20th century, less than one percent of the houses in America had indoor plumbing. So this piece was really cutting-edge and really pioneering. So the material that this bathtub is made out of are, are quintessential Victorian. We have porcelain over cast iron, we have an oak frame. I believe the feet are made out of brass or bronze. On this end, we actually opened this piece up and we found a date of 1887, which helps us get an idea when it's from. It is absolutely a great piece. J.L. Mott made wonderful Victorian pieces. He starts making bathtubs in 1883, so this is probably made about the turn of the century, 1890, 1895, possibly 1900. And these are some of the greatest claw feet I've ever seen. I-- if I'm not mistaken, I believe they are duck feet.
GUEST:
Okay. Duck feet.
APPRAISER:
Which, which, which I absolutely love, and, and it's somewhat, uh, you know, I think connected with having a bathtub.
GUEST:
(laughs)
APPRAISER:
I love that. I love duck feet on a bathtub.
GUEST:
(laughing) Okay.
APPRAISER:
And they're gorgeous to, to boot. So this is a very small bathtub. Do you have any ideas what, what it was used for?
GUEST:
I thought-- or, initially, maybe for a, a little child, or even a footbath, something like that.
APPRAISER:
There is something called a sitz bath, and, and it could be used as, for that, as well, undoubtedly for a very wealthy family. The whole Victoriana era has taken sort of a hit as far as pricing goes.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
However, there are exceptions, and bath items are one of those exceptions. Even small soap stands made by this company are $400, $500, $600. Nozzles and other bathroom accoutrements, again, are $600, $800, $900. And bathtubs, full-size ones, are in the $6,000 to $9,000 range at auction. This one, being a tad smaller, I would estimate at auction it would bring between $3,000 and $5,000. This is a fantastic piece.
GUEST:
Oh...
APPRAISER:
I appreciate and respect the fact that you drug this into the ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
GUEST:
With the help of my wife.
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.
