Queen Victoria Commemorative Parasol

Appraised on: June 14, 1997

Appraised in: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Appraised by: David Gallager

Category: Decorative Arts

Episode Info: Pittsburgh (#1627)

Originally Aired: July 23, 2012

IMAGE: 1 of 4  

Appraisal Video: (2:11)

GUEST: This parasol came to me by way of a lady who was in Queen Victoria's court. And her husband was involved with the queen's horse guards.

APPRAISER: Uh-huh.

GUEST: Queen Victoria presented this to her as a gift.

APPRAISER: Well, I think one of the first things that we notice here is what beautiful condition this is in for something that is from Queen Victoria's time. The silk and the wonderful lace, it's most beautiful. And what's great about this is we've got this wonderful porcelain handle with the gilt mounts, and I'll just put it back here so we can look at it. The top here has got a marvelous portrait of Queen Victoria. Down here there's a little open cartouche where someone might have had their initials engraved if they wanted to. Um... here is the V.R. For Victoria Regina, Queen Victoria, and the date's when she was made queen of England, 1837. So quite a wonderful item. Another great thing about this is because it's been kept in such great shape, we can open it up, and inside is the maker's name. And it says "Paragon, Fox & Co., Ltd." So we've got the original maker, and it's really in perfect condition. Uh... so you've kept it all this time. Have you ever had it appraised or tried to figure out what it was worth?

GUEST: No, I haven't.

APPRAISER: This is really a very special example of a British royal commemorative item. Uh... taking this into account, there's a certain rarity, it's very beautiful, in superb condition... I would expect this to be worth approximately $2,000 to $3,000 today at auction.

GUEST: Oh, my! Oh... I will take better care than I did.