1931 Margaret Bourke-White Photo
Watch
GUEST:
I got it at a flea market. I saw this, and it seemed like a really great object. The frame seemed like the original, and...
APPRAISER:
What'd you pay for it?
GUEST:
A few hundred dollars.
APPRAISER:
And how much is a few?
GUEST:
About three, I think.
APPRAISER:
This is a great photograph, and it's one of the sort of iconic photographs of American aviation. Do you know what the photograph is of?
GUEST:
Yeah, there's a little plaque on it. It's the Goodyear zeppelin.
APPRAISER:
And did you know this is the maiden flight of the Goodyear zeppelin?
GUEST:
No, I did not know that.
APPRAISER:
This is the USS Akron, which was one of two zeppelins made by the Goodyear Corporation, the other one being the Macon. And this is the air dock that the zeppelin was in. It's in this great frame, which is made of the same kind of material that they used to frame the rigid structure of the zeppelin. If you look over here in the corner, there's a signature there. Can you read that signature at all?
GUEST:
I can't.
APPRAISER:
Well, it's signed by a great 20th-century photographer whose name was Margaret Bourke-White. She worked for LIFE magazine.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
This was one of her signature photographs, and really one of her most famous photographs.
GUEST:
Great.
APPRAISER:
This particular photograph in this frame outfit-- and you can see the label here, it mentions something about the Goodyear zeppelin race-- these were given out to top salesmen for the Goodyear Corporation for selling tires and that sort of thing. There's a great auction record for these kinds of photographs. The good news is that they're very collectible. The bad news is, the value of them has started to decrease. About 15 years ago, when the first one came on the market, it sold for about $15,000.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
Since then, the market value has started to go down and down and down. But even so, with it being signed by Bourke-White, being in great shape, its value is somewhere between $5,000 and $7,000.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
Yep, no question about it.
GUEST:
So it was a good investment.
APPRAISER:
I think that for 300 bucks, you did okay.
GUEST:
Yeah, great-- that's great news.
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.
