U.S. House of Representatives Desk
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GUEST:
I was at the flea market here in Tulsa one day and I saw this beautiful piece of oak. It was in bad shape. It had been in somebody's chicken house. The lid was broken, it was kind of beat up, but I was impressed by it.
APPRAISER:
And tell us then what you discovered on this piece. First of all, there is a tag at the top, isn't there? That's right. And it says... "W 64." And it has an inkwell here.
GUEST:
Right. I didn't know what those meant. There were stars on the sides here. I didn't know what they meant. The... there was a globe with America on it... and it also had a shield here. That was significant. I had no idea what it was. I restored it first, and then I put a yardstick by it and took pictures from all different angles, sent the pictures to the Smithsonian Institution. They referred me to the Architect of the Capitol-- which I had never heard of—
APPRAISER:
Yes.
GUEST:
and he sent me back some information that explained what it was and where it was from.
APPRAISER:
And it is a desk out of the House of Representatives.
GUEST:
Yes, sir.
APPRAISER:
And it was assigned to West 64.
GUEST:
Yeah, the western door, the western half.
APPRAISER:
And from that, we can tell on the map where it was in the building.
GUEST:
Yes, sir.
APPRAISER:
We know today that these desks were made in the 1850s, designed by Thomas Ustick Walter, the great architect from Philadelphia, a founder of the American Institute of Architects, designed Girard College in Philadelphia, and later made great additions to the United States Capitol. He's the one who put the cast-iron dome on the building in 1855 to '63. We think this desk was made about 1857, probably made by the firm of Doe and Hazleton in Boston. So this is pre-Civil War and shortly after, they sold most of them out of the House and put new furniture in. And one sold recently in New York. It was discovered with an impression on it of the company's name. It sold for about $15,000. We think that this, with the restoration, probably is more in the $8,000 to $9,000 range.
GUEST:
Oh, wow... wonderful.
APPRAISER:
But a great deal more than your buying it in the...
GUEST:
Yes, sir, I only gave $350 for it.
APPRAISER:
$350.
GUEST:
Yes, sir.
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.
