WEBVTT 00:01.933 --> 00:05.200 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% GUEST: Well, I found it last fall in a local antiques store. I went to visit it almost 00:07.700 --> 00:12.700 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% every weekend for... for a month, and it was meant to be mine, you know. I absolutely love 00:14.100 --> 00:16.066 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% the piece. 00:16.066 --> 00:20.033 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% APPRAISER: I mean, this piece of furniture dates from probably 1760, '70. It's made of 00:20.033 --> 00:25.033 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% mahogany, as you know. This has the earmarks of a Queen Anne dressing table of good quality. 00:27.733 --> 00:32.533 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% They went to the trouble of molding the edge of the top, the top has a little bit of overhang, 00:32.533 --> 00:37.400 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% which gives it more grace. The drawers are thumb-molded, and that's typical of that period. 00:37.400 --> 00:41.500 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And thumb molding is this, is this molded edge. The central drawer has a 00:41.500 --> 00:44.966 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% well-executed carved fan, and that cost extra money. So whoever ordered this up said, "I'm 00:44.966 --> 00:47.033 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% willing to spend X-what can I get for X?" Well, here's the result. These legs are well-formed, 00:47.033 --> 00:51.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% in pad feet on platforms. And a pad foot on a platform, again, cost a little bit of extra. 00:53.666 --> 00:56.166 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% We could just look quickly at drawer construction. Again, the top edges of the drawer sides are 00:56.166 --> 01:00.833 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% double-beaded. That's a sign of a good cabinetmaker. And he didn't have to do it, but it finishes 01:02.766 --> 01:05.766 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% it off nicely. And there's this on the bottom of the drawer. This is terrific oxidation. 01:05.766 --> 01:10.533 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% But you can see the center of the drawer, which runs on a central support underneath, 01:10.533 --> 01:15.533 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% you know, the oxidation is considerably worn away. These are things that we want to see, 01:16.000 --> 01:16.666 align:left position:40% line:89% size:50% okay? 01:16.666 --> 01:18.766 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% GUEST: Great. 01:18.766 --> 01:20.766 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% APPRAISER: I think the origin of this piece, probably the North Shore of Massachusetts, 01:20.766 --> 01:24.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% in the Salem area. I've seen similar dressing tables and high chests that have very much 01:24.833 --> 01:27.300 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% the same treatment of a valance. 01:27.300 --> 01:28.933 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% GUEST: Okay. 01:28.933 --> 01:32.800 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% APPRAISER: So at the time that you purchased it, what did it cost? 01:32.800 --> 01:35.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% GUEST: I ended up paying $8,500 for it. 01:35.800 --> 01:38.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% APPRAISER: Okay. And do you think you got a bargain? What do you think it's worth? 01:38.833 --> 01:43.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% GUEST: I feel I got a bargain. I was told that... Well, that the family might have had 01:46.466 --> 01:51.433 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% it appraised some time in the early '90s, and the appraisal came in rather 01:54.100 --> 01:55.100 align:left position:40% line:89% size:50% high. 01:55.100 --> 01:56.100 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% APPRAISER: How high? 01:56.100 --> 01:58.133 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% GUEST: $30,000. 01:58.133 --> 02:01.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% APPRAISER: $30,000, okay. Okay, this is what's happened to the American furniture market. 02:01.233 --> 02:06.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% A) You're buying at a really good time, because as wonderful as this piece is, it isn't worth 02:08.133 --> 02:12.633 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% particularly more than you paid for it. So you paid around $8,500. I think that's kind 02:14.600 --> 02:18.500 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% of on the money. In an auction situation, for example, I would not be surprised if it 02:19.933 --> 02:23.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% brought $8,500. I think, I think that's realistic. 02:25.700 --> 02:30.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% GUEST: Yeah? Okay. Well, to me it's worth a million, so... And I absolutely love it, 02:31.133 --> 02:34.033 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% and I'll pass it on to my son. 02:34.033 --> 02:39.033 align:left position:10% line:71% size:80% APPRAISER: It's money well spent. Smart purchase. The thing that prevents it perhaps from being 02:40.433 --> 02:42.366 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% a little more valuable is that the brasses are old, but 02:42.366 --> 02:44.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% they're not original. They've been replaced. 02:44.166 --> 02:46.233 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% GUEST: Really? 02:46.233 --> 02:49.533 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% APPRAISER: And also the quality of the mahogany, as good as it is, is not spectacular. These 02:49.533 --> 02:51.566 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% are all very subtle things that ultimately add up to what it's worth on today's market. 02:51.566 --> 02:54.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Today's market is not supported by a lot of young folks. The fact that you're interested 02:54.600 --> 02:59.566 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% in this is a really good thing. But that's what's lacking. Competition for these pieces 03:01.633 --> 03:05.433 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% today is just not what it used to be 25 years ago. 25 years ago, when the market was up, 03:06.866 --> 03:09.933 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% you know, $35,000-- that's what I would have gotten for this.