1898 Whirlpool Bridge Silver Presentation Model
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APPRAISER:
George, what do we have here?
GUEST:
We have a bridge that was given to my great-great-grandfather. It's a bridge over the Whirlpool Rapids in Niagara Falls. My, uh, great-great-grandfather was president at the time, and the board of directors gave him this.
APPRAISER:
President of…
GUEST:
The Niagara Falls Bridge Company.
APPRAISER:
Oh, okay.
GUEST:
We have both this one and another model, which– this is a suspension bridge, and the arch bridge we have at home, also. And they've been just sitting on the countertop.
APPRAISER:
Well, um, you're being pretty modest about this. (laughing) Because what this is, it's not the first bridge over the Whirlpool Rapids...
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
...but the second bridge over the Whirlpool Rapids. The third bridge, which is still in existence, opened around 1897 or '98.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
But your family has been involved with all three of those bridges. There's a plaque on the front.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
It's basically what?
GUEST:
"Thank you for being president."
APPRAISER:
Yeah, to your...
GUEST:
Great-great-grandfather.
APPRAISER:
...great-grandfather, George Burrows.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
So, this was probably commissioned when the third bridge opened.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And it was given to him in appreciation of...
GUEST:
The years.
APPRAISER:
...all the, all the years that he'd served with the company. We see here an incredible scale model, but it's made out of silver.
GUEST:
Not wood.
APPRAISER:
(laughing) It's made out of sterling silver..
GUEST:
Well, that's, that's nice.
APPRAISER:
Yeah. So it's not clear whether it was ever meant to be shiny and polished, because– or whether it had this sort of patina. You've never done anything to it.
GUEST:
No, I, I did the plaque in front so I could read it, that was it.
APPRAISER:
Yeah, yeah, and you can see in here the silver popping through...
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
...where people have probably touched the, the rapids here.
GUEST:
Hm.
APPRAISER:
And it was made by Ryrie Brothers, Toronto.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
They were jewelers and made silverware.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
So this was something that would have been made entirely by hand...
GUEST:
Nice.
APPRAISER:
...by a silversmith working for this silver company. This sort of detailed scale models of buildings, ships, and that sort of thing was a very sort of 19th-century thing to do. And they're always presentation pieces for important events, like your great-great-grandfather's retirement as president of the company. So what's it worth? What do you think it's worth? Knowing that it's all silver.
GUEST:
$1,000? I don't know– sentimental value is high.
APPRAISER:
I think maybe a little bit more.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER (clears throat): I think, since I… I'm gonna assume this a, these are family pieces. They'll never leave the family.
GUEST:
Mm.
APPRAISER:
I would tell you, for insurance purposes, you should insure this for $25,000.
GUEST (chuckling): Wow, that's a lot more than I thought. Wow.
APPRAISER:
Now multiply that by two, because you have another one.
GUEST:
Yes. Eh, I'm gonna have to polish 'em up, I guess, and cleanse them nice...
APPRAISER:
Don't you dare polish them! (laughs)
GUEST:
Okay. I won't, I won't. (laughs)
APPRAISER:
I want to emphasize that the value is not in the silver, the value is in the model itself.
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