Gustav Stickley Andirons, ca. 1905
Appraised Value:
$10,000 - $15,000
IMAGE: 1 of 1
Appraisal Video: (2:20)
Appraised By:
Eric Silver
Metalwork & Sculpture
Director
Lillian Nassau, LLC
Appraisal Transcript:
GUEST: I got them at a yard sale about three or four years ago.
APPRAISER: And did you know what they were when you saw them in the yard sale?
GUEST: I knew they were andirons, just the front half of them. The guy just had the front half. I bought them, and I asked him if he happened to have the back half, and he said that, yeah, he thought he did. If I could leave my number with him or come back later, he would see if he could find them. And he called me about an hour and a half later, and he had the other half-- the back half of them, so...
APPRAISER: Then you saw that they were marked?
GUEST: Yes, uh, when I got them home, I examined them a little closer and, yes, they were marked on the back, "Gustav Stickley." A friend of mine who knows a lot about antiques happened to be there when I took them out of my van and he seen them and told me that's what they were.
APPRAISER: Well, that's exactly what they are. They're by Gustav Stickley, and he was the premier maker in the Arts and Crafts movement, which was active in America from the turn of the century until the First World War. He worked in upstate New York. He had a workshop called the Craftsman Workshop. He had a building in New York City, where he sold his furniture and metalwork. And at that time, he actually lived in New Jersey. He lived at a place called Craftsman Farms. He raised fruits and vegetables and animals. There was actually a restaurant in his building in New York and, you know, he supplied some of the produce and food for the restaurant. At the time, his work was very, very popular. It was sold all throughout the country. I just wanted to show the mark to everybody... It's very clearly marked over here, "Gustav Stickley," and it has a joiner's compass. It's an early mark; it's probably from about 1905. I see these are not the original bolts.
GUEST: No, I have the original bolts at home, but I just didn't find them in time to bring them.
APPRAISER: Oh, okay. They're really fantastic, and they have this wonderful little design here, and you have all the great hammering marks on the supports here. Now, you say you paid ten dollars for them?
GUEST: Yes. That's not bad.
APPRAISER: A retail price for this would be in the $10,000 to $15,000 range.
GUEST: Oh, really? Oh, my gosh. That's fantastic.
