GUEST: Well, I found it last
fall in a local antiques store.
I went to visit it almost

every weekend for...
for a month, and it was
meant to be mine, you
know. I absolutely love

the piece.

APPRAISER: I mean, this
piece of furniture dates from
probably 1760, '70. It's made of

mahogany, as you know. This has
the earmarks of a Queen Anne
dressing table of good quality.

They went to the trouble
of molding the edge of
the top, the top has a
little bit of overhang,

which gives it more grace. The
drawers are thumb-molded, and
that's typical of that period.

And thumb molding is
this, is this molded edge.
The central drawer has a

well-executed carved
fan, and that cost extra
money. So whoever ordered
this up said, "I'm

willing to spend X-what
can I get for X?" Well,
here's the result. These
legs are well-formed,

in pad feet on platforms. And a
pad foot on a platform, again,
cost a little bit of extra.

We could just look quickly
at drawer construction.
Again, the top edges
of the drawer sides are

double-beaded. That's a
sign of a good cabinetmaker.
And he didn't have to
do it, but it finishes

it off nicely. And there's this
on the bottom of the drawer.
This is terrific oxidation.

But you can see the center of
the drawer, which runs on a
central support underneath,

you know, the oxidation is
considerably worn away. These
are things that we want to see,

okay?

GUEST: Great.

APPRAISER: I think the origin
of this piece, probably the
North Shore of Massachusetts,

in the Salem area. I've seen
similar dressing tables and
high chests that have very much

the same treatment of a valance.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: So at the
time that you purchased
it, what did it cost?

GUEST: I ended up
paying $8,500 for it.

APPRAISER: Okay. And do you
think you got a bargain?
What do you think it's worth?

GUEST: I feel I got a bargain.
I was told that... Well, that
the family might have had

it appraised some time in
the early '90s, and the
appraisal came in rather

high.

APPRAISER: How high?

GUEST: $30,000.

APPRAISER: $30,000, okay. Okay,
this is what's happened to
the American furniture market.

A) You're buying at a really
good time, because as wonderful
as this piece is, it isn't worth

particularly more than you
paid for it. So you paid around
$8,500. I think that's kind

of on the money. In an auction
situation, for example, I
would not be surprised if it

brought $8,500. I think,
I think that's realistic.

GUEST: Yeah? Okay. Well, to
me it's worth a million, so...
And I absolutely love it,

and I'll pass it on to my son.

APPRAISER: It's money well
spent. Smart purchase.
The thing that prevents
it perhaps from being

a little more valuable is
that the brasses are old, but

they're not original.
They've been replaced.

GUEST: Really?

APPRAISER: And also the quality
of the mahogany, as good as it
is, is not spectacular. These

are all very subtle things
that ultimately add up to what
it's worth on today's market.

Today's market is not supported
by a lot of young folks. The
fact that you're interested

in this is a really good thing.
But that's what's lacking.
Competition for these pieces

today is just not what it used
to be 25 years ago. 25 years
ago, when the market was up,

you know, $35,000-- that's what
I would have gotten for this.