WEBVTT

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GUEST: I brought a family book
that we were always told was
very special and we were not

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allowed to touch it.

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APPRAISER: (laughs) Uh-huh.

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GUEST: So probably 60 years
before I touched it.

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And when I opened it, I couldn't
really make any heads or tails
of it.

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But supposedly it was written
by an ancestor of ours.

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APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.

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GUEST: And my grandfather
collected it at some time in his
life.

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And then he gave it to my father
for Christmas in the '60s, so...

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APPRAISER: And what
makes it a family book?

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GUEST: Our name is Digges, and
my grandfather was really big
into family genealogy, and

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we tend to be architects,
builders, mathematicians.

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(chuckling)

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APPRAISER: Uh-huh.

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GUEST: And I think this book was
written by a Digges that he has
in the genealogy book

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as being part of the family.

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APPRAISER: Okay.

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GUEST: So that's what I know
about it, so.... (laughs)

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APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.

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GUEST: It's...

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APPRAISER: So what we're looking
at here is a book by Leonard and
Thomas Digges.

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It was published in 1597.

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GUEST: Uh-huh.

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APPRAISER: And the
binding is parchment.

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So parchment is a
treated animal skin.

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GUEST: Oh, it is.

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Okay.

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APPRAISER: Yes.

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So it's a 16th-century binding
on a 16th-century book.

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GUEST: Okay.

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APPRAISER: And that makes
it very interesting.

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Many times, books of
this age were rebound.

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GUEST: Okay.

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APPRAISER: If you look at the
title page, it's by Thomas
Digges, who took his father's

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manuscript.

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GUEST: The father,
Leonard Digges.

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Mm-hmm.

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APPRAISER: And it first
was published in 1571.

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And this is the second edition.

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And the title is "A Geometrical
Practical Treatize Named
Pantometria."

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And so it's a book on
geometry and surveying land.

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You can see that in this nice
emblem down on the, on the title
page, there is sort of

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a triangular geometrical
shape in the world map.

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And there are a fair number of
really interesting illustrations
in here.

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For instance, here, a device is
being used to measure the size
of a fortress.

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And in this illustration here up
front, they're using the same
device to measure the height

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of a tower.

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GUEST: Okay.

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APPRAISER: Both Leonard and
Thomas Digges were into geometry
and surveying of the land.

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But they also invented various
devices to, to measure land.

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GUEST: Okay.

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APPRAISER: And in this case
here, on page 35, you see the
composition of the instrument

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called theodelieus.

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And this instrument is a,
is a fascinating device.

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It's, it's illustrated
here, as well.

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But to this day, that instrument
is used, for instance, in
rocketry.

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GUEST: Hm!

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APPRAISER: So an invention from
the 1590s is still being used
today.

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And here is the
first illustration.

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GUEST: Hm.

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APPRAISER: And it is your
ancestors who, who invented that
device.

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GUEST: Yes.

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APPRAISER: Have you had
it ever appraised?

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GUEST: No.

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No.

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APPRAISER: Because the book is
in its first contemporary
binding, and it has wide
margins,

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it's not been cut down, and the
nice condition it's in, I would
put a conservative estimate

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at auction of $15,000
to $25,000 on it.

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It's a real...

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GUEST: For a book.

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APPRAISER: Yes.

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For this book.

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Yeah.

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GUEST: Wow.

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APPRAISER: It's a
real, real treasure.

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GUEST: Very nice.

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APPRAISER: So I hope you keep
the book in a safe place.

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GUEST: I do.

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I keep it locked up.

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(laughs)

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APPRAISER: Yeah.

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And an insurance value for the
book I would think is about
$40,000 all told.

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GUEST: Wow.

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Okay.