Samplers & Family Heirlooms

Appraised on: July 16, 2005

Appraised in: Houston, Texas

Appraised by: Allan Katz

Category: Folk Art

Episode Info: Houston, Hour 3 (#1006)

Originally Aired: February 13, 2006

IMAGE: 1 of 3  

Appraisal Video: (3:06)

GUEST: I've brought two samplers that were in my family. This first one is by Clarrissa Chadwick, and she was born in 1775. She was 12 years old when she did this sampler. She was not related directly, but she was a friend of our family.

APPRAISER: And what part of the country did she make this in?

GUEST: This was made in Massachusetts, probably around New Bedford. Her father was a sea captain.

APPRAISER: Uh-huh.

GUEST: And he brought her that watch from Bordeaux, France when she was a youngster. You can also see we have a picture of her, and she was an old maid.

APPRAISER: And that's wonderful to have all this together as part of your family treasures. We see a lot of samplers here on ROADSHOW, and these are really amazing in the fact that the condition of them is just superb. I love this one over here, because her father was a sea captain, and in the corners we have anchors and it's a very, very folky. This was probably not done in a school, because it's very stylized.

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: Look at the flowers-- they're just absolutely wonderful folk-art renditions of flowers. Tell us about this one.

GUEST: This one was done by Rebecah C. Tuffs, and she did it around 1811.

APPRAISER: And she was a family member?

GUEST: Yes, she was.

APPRAISER: This is a beautiful, beautiful rendition. It's silk, it's on a very, very fine linen, and we really think that this was probably done in a school that taught them how to do these. This has a little more of a formula...

GUEST: It's more elaborate, yes.

APPRAISER: Attached to it, it's a little more elaborate. It's not as stylized, it's not as folky as the other one,

GUEST: Right, right.

APPRAISER: So therefore it was probably taught in a school, and they had to stick to certain standards. I love the sayings on here, the last two lines being: "Then let those fingers, whose unrivaled skill, Exalt the needle, grace the noble quill." It was made in West Cambridge, Massachusetts, right in Harvard country, in 1811.

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: It's really wonderful. This is very fine, that's very folky. Both have their merits, and the condition of both is just impeccable.

GUEST: I'm glad to hear that.

APPRAISER: Now, in terms of value: obviously, they're priceless family pieces.

GUEST: Exactly-- they'll stay with our family.

APPRAISER: So I think what we should do is place an insurance value on these.

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: Since they're family pieces and they're not going to be sold, on the two samplers I would place a value of somewhere around $15,000 to $20,000 each.

GUEST: Each?

APPRAISER: Each.

GUEST: Oh, goodness. All right, that's wonderful.

APPRAISER: And the watch, I conferred with our watch experts, and indeed it is French-- that your grandfather brought it back.

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: It's a Romilly, it's a good maker, it was made about 1750, worth around $1,500.

GUEST: Oh, my.

APPRAISER: The daguerreotype...(both laughing) I think has more value as a family piece.

GUEST (laughing): Yes.

APPRAISER: So we'll be generous and say it's $50 to $100.

GUEST: Oh, goodness. That's wonderful.