Justus Da Lee Portraits, ca. 1840
Watch
GUEST:
I bought it probably 30 years ago as a birthday gift for my mother, and she loved antiques and collected antiques. And I knew she would love it, which she did. She died in 1981, and I have kept it.
APPRAISER:
When you brought it up to the folk art table, I guess you kind of noticed that our eyes perked up a little bit.
GUEST:
Yeah, I did.
APPRAISER:
We know it was done in New York. It says, "Rochester," and it's got his name on there. This was done by Justus DaLee, who was a folk miniature portrait artist. It's interesting that it has the date 1840, because that's right at the time that photography would have started being used in America.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
And it wouldn't be too long after this that everybody would have had their picture taken with a camera instead of having somebody do a portrait by hand. So once I figured out who it was, then the thing that puzzled me was the fact that the man's portrait is a little bit smaller than the woman's portrait. Luckily, it was okay with you for me to do this. This was glued in the back.
GUEST:
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
And underneath that, was a piece of wood...
GUEST:
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
And underneath that was the original image.
GUEST:
Huh.
APPRAISER:
Which I will pick up out of here very gently. And once you see this without the glass on it, it really does strike home with you how wonderfully detailed Justus Da Lee could do this type of thing. He was active from the 1820s up to about 1848. I think this lady in this portrait is his second wife.
GUEST:
Oh, really?
APPRAISER:
I do.
GUEST:
Oh, for heaven's sake.
APPRAISER:
And you know why I think that? Because if you pull the mat back...
GUEST:
Oh.
APPRAISER:
Look how much larger her portrait is. And it's still done by the same artist. I think his first wife died, and his second wife had her portrait done to put that there and have it in the family. Now, what did you pay for this when you got that?
GUEST:
It was probably around ten dollars. I'm sure it wasn't more than $15.
APPRAISER:
Okay, do you think it's gone up in value any?
GUEST:
Well, I'm beginning to think so. (laughing)
APPRAISER:
Well, I talked to my colleagues at the table over there, and there's been several of these examples. He did portraits of children, but he also did double portraits like this, and we feel like a conservative estimate at auction would be $6,000 to $9,000.
GUEST:
Oh! That's wonderful.
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.
