Tabletop Stereo Viewer, ca. 1870
Watch
GUEST:
As far as I know, it's a table model stereoscope.
APPRAISER:
Right. It's a stereoscope. This is a particularly nice one. It was invented by a guy named Alexander Beckers. And the early ones were made as early as 1859, 1858. I would tell you that this one is probably from the 1870s. It's solid walnut. It has two ocular pieces so you can look at these things from two different sides. You can sit one person here and one person here on the back side of the table and look at these. Let's take a look inside, because that's where the real action is. In the days before television, in order to see other parts of the world, you would do it through a machine called the stereoscope. And these cards that you see in here have two identical images on either side. Let's take one out and look at it. You see they're two identical images that were taken with a stereoscopic camera, a camera with two lenses that were set about the distance apart as your eyes are. So when you look at this through a stereoscope, these two images become fused to provide depth. It actually looks like a three-dimensional photograph. These photographs from about 1860 until the early part of this century were the most common form of parlor entertainment in the United States. And what's very interesting about these is that... Where'd you say you're from, New Albany, Indiana?
GUEST:
New Albany.
APPRAISER:
This is by C. Heimberger, photographer, New Albany, Indiana. So it's a local photographer was taking this particular photograph. All these photographs are on a belt that you can swing around and it provides views of Niagara Falls and all sorts of other places. Let's take a look over here because there's another interesting part of this story. Here are some other stereo views.
GUEST:
I never really looked at the back of them.
APPRAISER:
These are produced by a company called the Keystone View Company of Meadville, Pennsylvania. This drawer was part of an elaborate set that had 600 of these stereo views that were marketed by salesmen so you can have a tour of the world. When you look on the back of this drawer, you see 576-600. There were 600 cards in this set. So you have a part of the set that was probably done around 1910. This was done in the 1870s. Very interesting pair. The market value of this machine and the cards is probably $400 to $600. The cards here, because they're more common and only part of the set, are probably only worth $50 for the whole drawer.
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.
