GUEST: It is something that my
mother-in-law had in her house
for close to 70 years. She
and my father-in-law were in
Chicago in the late '40s. He
was a commercial artist. The
story that she told was that
he shared a building space with
Haddon Sundblom, and that when
they were clearing things out,
that they did not want this
anymore. And I don't know if
he asked for it, he was given
it-- really, details are a
little sketchy. But he ended
up with this.
APPRAISER: And who
was Mr. Sundblom?
GUEST: He was the Coca-Cola
Santa Claus artist.
APPRAISER: Mm-hmm, yes.
This is just an amazing
piece of original
Coca-Cola advertising art.
There are not a lot of them
left out there. And a lot of
them did wind up in the trash,
because they were not considered
valuable. The Coca-Cola
collectors, they are rabid.
This is a real rarity for
them. Coca-Cola art is highly
collectible, especially the
earlier art, because it
shows an America that
doesn't exist anymore.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: I actually was able
to find this image. It was
used in a 1942 ad, and it is
just such an amazing piece
of our history. Given all of
the parameters of this piece
and given how beautiful it
just is, even with all of the
issues, I would have no troubles
valuing this at
$4,000 to $6,000.
GUEST: Cool, very cool.
APPRAISER: You
should get it framed.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: Because it will
protect the paint from cracking
any further. And hang it on
a wall.
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: This is history.
GUEST: Thank you.