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

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

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the piece.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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okay?

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GUEST: Great.

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

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

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the same treatment of a valance.

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GUEST: Okay.

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

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

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

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

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

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high.

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APPRAISER: How high?

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GUEST: $30,000.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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and I'll pass it on to my son.

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

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

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

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GUEST: Really?

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

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

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

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

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

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