1 00:00:02,669 --> 00:00:07,040 GUEST: I brought a family book that we were always told was very special and we were not 2 00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:08,308 allowed to touch it. 3 00:00:08,308 --> 00:00:09,809 APPRAISER: (laughs) Uh-huh. 4 00:00:09,809 --> 00:00:13,747 GUEST: So probably 60 years before I touched it. 5 00:00:13,747 --> 00:00:17,550 And when I opened it, I couldn't really make any heads or tails of it. 6 00:00:17,550 --> 00:00:20,286 But supposedly it was written by an ancestor of ours. 7 00:00:20,286 --> 00:00:22,255 APPRAISER: Mm-hmm. 8 00:00:22,255 --> 00:00:25,892 GUEST: And my grandfather collected it at some time in his life. 9 00:00:25,892 --> 00:00:28,728 And then he gave it to my father for Christmas in the '60s, so... 10 00:00:28,728 --> 00:00:31,297 APPRAISER: And what makes it a family book? 11 00:00:31,297 --> 00:00:36,870 GUEST: Our name is Digges, and my grandfather was really big into family genealogy, and 12 00:00:36,870 --> 00:00:38,204 we tend to be architects, builders, mathematicians. 13 00:00:38,204 --> 00:00:39,305 (chuckling) 14 00:00:39,305 --> 00:00:41,574 APPRAISER: Uh-huh. 15 00:00:41,574 --> 00:00:45,445 GUEST: And I think this book was written by a Digges that he has in the genealogy book 16 00:00:45,445 --> 00:00:46,679 as being part of the family. 17 00:00:46,679 --> 00:00:48,515 APPRAISER: Okay. 18 00:00:48,515 --> 00:00:51,684 GUEST: So that's what I know about it, so.... (laughs) 19 00:00:51,684 --> 00:00:52,619 APPRAISER: Mm-hmm. 20 00:00:52,619 --> 00:00:54,821 GUEST: It's... 21 00:00:54,821 --> 00:01:01,061 APPRAISER: So what we're looking at here is a book by Leonard and Thomas Digges. 22 00:01:01,061 --> 00:01:02,929 It was published in 1597. 23 00:01:02,929 --> 00:01:04,697 GUEST: Uh-huh. 24 00:01:04,697 --> 00:01:08,234 APPRAISER: And the binding is parchment. 25 00:01:08,234 --> 00:01:10,370 So parchment is a treated animal skin. 26 00:01:10,370 --> 00:01:11,204 GUEST: Oh, it is. 27 00:01:11,204 --> 00:01:12,305 Okay. 28 00:01:12,305 --> 00:01:14,074 APPRAISER: Yes. 29 00:01:14,074 --> 00:01:16,076 So it's a 16th-century binding on a 16th-century book. 30 00:01:16,076 --> 00:01:17,777 GUEST: Okay. 31 00:01:17,777 --> 00:01:19,312 APPRAISER: And that makes it very interesting. 32 00:01:19,312 --> 00:01:21,281 Many times, books of this age were rebound. 33 00:01:21,281 --> 00:01:24,117 GUEST: Okay. 34 00:01:24,117 --> 00:01:28,588 APPRAISER: If you look at the title page, it's by Thomas Digges, who took his father's 35 00:01:28,588 --> 00:01:30,023 manuscript. 36 00:01:30,023 --> 00:01:30,723 GUEST: The father, Leonard Digges. 37 00:01:30,723 --> 00:01:32,492 Mm-hmm. 38 00:01:32,492 --> 00:01:35,595 APPRAISER: And it first was published in 1571. 39 00:01:35,595 --> 00:01:38,865 And this is the second edition. 40 00:01:38,865 --> 00:01:44,904 And the title is "A Geometrical Practical Treatize Named Pantometria." 41 00:01:44,904 --> 00:01:50,543 And so it's a book on geometry and surveying land. 42 00:01:50,543 --> 00:01:55,615 You can see that in this nice emblem down on the, on the title page, there is sort of 43 00:01:55,615 --> 00:02:01,020 a triangular geometrical shape in the world map. 44 00:02:01,020 --> 00:02:08,495 And there are a fair number of really interesting illustrations in here. 45 00:02:08,495 --> 00:02:17,137 For instance, here, a device is being used to measure the size of a fortress. 46 00:02:17,137 --> 00:02:22,108 And in this illustration here up front, they're using the same device to measure the height 47 00:02:22,108 --> 00:02:23,243 of a tower. 48 00:02:23,243 --> 00:02:25,712 GUEST: Okay. 49 00:02:25,712 --> 00:02:32,719 APPRAISER: Both Leonard and Thomas Digges were into geometry and surveying of the land. 50 00:02:32,719 --> 00:02:37,257 But they also invented various devices to, to measure land. 51 00:02:37,257 --> 00:02:39,826 GUEST: Okay. 52 00:02:39,826 --> 00:02:47,033 APPRAISER: And in this case here, on page 35, you see the composition of the instrument 53 00:02:47,033 --> 00:02:50,904 called theodelieus. 54 00:02:50,904 --> 00:02:53,773 And this instrument is a, is a fascinating device. 55 00:02:53,773 --> 00:02:57,076 It's, it's illustrated here, as well. 56 00:02:57,076 --> 00:03:00,813 But to this day, that instrument is used, for instance, in rocketry. 57 00:03:00,813 --> 00:03:02,982 GUEST: Hm! 58 00:03:02,982 --> 00:03:08,555 APPRAISER: So an invention from the 1590s is still being used today. 59 00:03:08,555 --> 00:03:10,123 And here is the first illustration. 60 00:03:10,123 --> 00:03:12,192 GUEST: Hm. 61 00:03:12,192 --> 00:03:13,927 APPRAISER: And it is your ancestors who, who invented that device. 62 00:03:13,927 --> 00:03:15,495 GUEST: Yes. 63 00:03:15,495 --> 00:03:16,829 APPRAISER: Have you had it ever appraised? 64 00:03:16,829 --> 00:03:17,997 GUEST: No. 65 00:03:17,997 --> 00:03:20,667 No. 66 00:03:20,667 --> 00:03:26,706 APPRAISER: Because the book is in its first contemporary binding, and it has wide margins, 67 00:03:26,706 --> 00:03:32,946 it's not been cut down, and the nice condition it's in, I would put a conservative estimate 68 00:03:32,946 --> 00:03:35,081 at auction of $15,000 to $25,000 on it. 69 00:03:35,081 --> 00:03:38,084 It's a real... 70 00:03:38,084 --> 00:03:39,953 GUEST: For a book. 71 00:03:39,953 --> 00:03:41,020 APPRAISER: Yes. 72 00:03:41,020 --> 00:03:41,888 For this book. 73 00:03:41,888 --> 00:03:42,989 Yeah. 74 00:03:42,989 --> 00:03:44,557 GUEST: Wow. 75 00:03:44,557 --> 00:03:45,091 APPRAISER: It's a real, real treasure. 76 00:03:45,091 --> 00:03:46,960 GUEST: Very nice. 77 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:49,095 APPRAISER: So I hope you keep the book in a safe place. 78 00:03:49,095 --> 00:03:50,230 GUEST: I do. 79 00:03:50,230 --> 00:03:50,964 I keep it locked up. 80 00:03:50,964 --> 00:03:52,098 (laughs) 81 00:03:52,098 --> 00:03:54,434 APPRAISER: Yeah. 82 00:03:54,434 --> 00:03:56,903 And an insurance value for the book I would think is about $40,000 all told. 83 00:03:56,903 --> 00:03:57,904 GUEST: Wow. 84 00:03:57,904 --> 00:03:58,004 Okay.