Major funding for Arkansas Treasures was provided by the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council and the Susan Howarth Fund at the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay.

Additional funding provided by Annette and Phil Harrington, the Arkansas PBS Local Production Fund and by viewers like you.

- Coming up on this Arkansas Treasures.

(upbeat music) - You look at it (snaps fingers), it's empty.

- The Theodore Roosevelt collectors out there will want it.

- It's my favorite thing here.

- All that and more right now on Arkansas Treasures.

- Do you have any idea what the book is worth?

- It's uncommon to see this.

- I think you'll be surprised that it's a little bit higher.

- Said I was not going to say wow, but I did anyway.

I should have said what?!

- Welcome back to another installment of Arkansas Treasures.

Our evaluators have been working hard, researching valuations and uncovering history of items Arkansans across the state brought to our Arkansas PBS studios.

We've certainly had a lot of surprises.

Let's see what they've got for us now.

- Hi, welcome to Arkansas Treasures.

- Thank you.

- I was so excited to see you carrying this in the door this morning.

Tell me a little bit about it.

- This painting I've had since 1973.

It was given to me by my godfather, who was in the Air Force.

I think he bought it in Paris.

We think it was painted around either '60 or '66.

- Right.

Yeah.

I love it.

It's a mixed media.

And I like particularly how they have mixed oil.

They've used even the bare canvas as part of the ornament.

It's got sanding in it, I think a little acrylic glitter or something.

It's just incredible.

It's definitely French and it is dated on the back in two places.

One on the frame says '60, and then on the back, we can't decide if it says '66 or '60.

The signature is right here and it's also on the back.

Right now, mid-century art, particularly French mid-century art, is at an all time high.

There's definitely this Picasso influence here.

It's very indicative of the time.

I just think it's super good looking and super handsome.

Unfortunately, conferring amongst all the other appraisers, we could not determine the signature, and we're going to shake our finger at that artist for not having more legible signature.

With that being said, I think I would appraise it decoratively, which right now this stuff is hot, hot, hot.

So I'm going to say this painting probably has a value somewhere between $6,500 and 7,500.

(bell rings) - Okay.

- Now, if we could get that signature, could be maybe a little less, but maybe a lot more.

But I do think it's a great piece.

I love the story.

I mean, it is it's my favorite thing here.

- We love it.

We like it.

- Good.

Well take care of it and I appreciate you bringing it in.

- Thank you very much.

- Thank you so much.

- I want to thank you for coming out to Arkansas Treasures, but a little bit of background about who I'm talking to.

- I am Marty Ryall.

I'm the director of the Arkansas Division of Arkansas Heritage.

- This is brilliant.

And what have you brought in today, Marty?

- This is an Olympic torch from 1996.

The Olympics were held in Atlanta.

And, of course, the flame for the Olympics begins in Greece.

And then it comes all the way across Greece and it comes the United States.

Came to California and then it came all across the country to Atlanta, but it came to Arkansas and dignitaries carried the flame in the various communities.

- I think there were some 17,000 people who ultimately, I think, carry the torch at one point or another.

- There were.

There estimated around 17,000 of these torches were created.

So, you know, honestly, as far as monetary value, there may not be a whole lot to it.

But it's significant for Arkansas because Willie Oats, this is inscribed with her name.

This is what she carried.

And Willie Oats is a well-known philanthropist in Arkansas, and she passed away in 2008, but she was well known for her hats, had very elaborate hats.

And she was.. - I hope she ran with this in a hat.

- You know.. - I think that would be the ultimate.

- I would be surprised if she didn't.

But I haven't seen the photos of that, so I can't say for sure.

- You say you don't know if it has a lot of value.

And torches actually are out there on the open market.

I mean, we see them come up at auction from time to time.

In 1996, Atlanta, somewhere in the $5,000 - $7,000 range where they do come on the market.

This obviously has a tie back to Arkansas that is priceless.

And what I think it is instrumental in showing is the diversity of the collection at the museum.

- Well, it is and this this is currently in our archives for the museum.

And of course, we put items for display in the Old State House Museum frequently.

And so, you know, if if there's a collection this fits, we'll certainly put it on display.

But anybody can go online and see our entire collection digitally as well.

So we have some great items and we appreciate you all inviting us out here to be a part of this.

- We're glad you here, really am.

(upbeat music) - Thank you so much for joining us today on Arkansas Treasures.

We're so happy to have you.

- It's my pleasure.

- Please tell me what you brought for us to see today.

- I have a book that Cowboys and Kings about Teddy Roosevelt and the amazing part is that I have the manuscript that was with the book.

- Wow.

I see you have the book and the galleys for the book?

- Yes.

- How did you come about getting these?

- Rather interesting.

Caspar Weinberger had his family home in San Francisco.

And he took a position on the East Coast and moved out.

And what was left in his house was a few articles that he didn't wish to take with him.

So he let this guy come in and pack up whatever he wanted and clean out the house and take it with him.

So the gentleman ended up traveling to Seattle from San Francisco, ended up at our business looking for a handout for some gas money.

- Okay.

Okay.

- And my husband said, I don't usually give people money just because they want it.

But if you have something that you're going to offer or, you know, wash the windows of the business or trade off, I'd be glad to help you.

So the guy said, Well, I got a box in my car that I carted out here from San Francisco.

And he said, if there's anything in it you're interested in, I'd be happy to let you have that.

- And this is what he chose.

- He opened the box and looked inside.

He had no idea what this was.

He just wanted, he gave the guy $20, but he didn't want to give it to him for nothing.

- I hear you.

I like that.

That's very nice.

All right, so what we have here is a copy of Cowboys and Kings, and it's three great letters by Theodore Roosevelt put out in 1954 by the Harvard Press.

And the book itself is not that valuable.

But what you also have here that is so interesting is the galley that goes with the book, the original galley, and it it's the original pages of the book.

And you said you'd gone through and it matched up with the book.

- Yes, it is that book.

- There are so many Theodore Roosevelt collectors out there.

As the 25th president, the United States, I bet he's probably the most popular, especially when it comes to people collecting him.

The Theodore Roosevelt collectors want everything they can get a hold of, and nobody else has this.

So do you have any idea what it's worth?

- No, I've, it's just been sitting in a box in my garage.

- Since, how long have you had it?

- Since the sixties.

Early sixties.

- Oh wow, so probably right after it was published.

Well, I think at auction, this could bring as much as $2,500 with the book.

It's just because nobody else has it.

And because the Theodore Roosevelt collectors out there will want it.

So this is a wonderful collection you brought to us.

Thank you so much.

- I have some grandchildren that would love to have it, too.

- Good, so it'll stay in the family.

- I think it will.

- I like it.

Thank you so much.

- Thank you.

Thank you for having me.

(upbeat music) - Hello and welcome to the show.

- Good morning.

- I would love for you to share these fabulous objects that you brought in today.

- Well, there is a bit of a background story that this painting by Clementine Hunter, all of these, was done for my grandmother as a commissioned back in the mid 1970s and that came from her brother was the parish priest for Mrs. Hunter in north Louisiana.

So she requested a painting and this is what she got.

- All right.

- And then some years later, it landed over to my father and he and my mother eventually caught the bug about Clementine Hunter paintings and started a collection then.

And these are several items from that.

- Okay.

So you said that your parents expanded on the collection.

So how many in total would you say that you have?

- At least a dozen, I believe, yes.

- All right.

Well, yes.

You have brought in these Clementine Hunter paintings.

She's an African-American artist out of Louisiana who is known for her, she's self-taught and we would call that folk art.

And so she spent quite a bit of her life on a plantation working.

And so the scenes that we see depicted in her artwork are just of the everyday scenes of life around her.

And so when we talk about folk artists, we're talking about they were not trained artists using higher end materials to create, but they used those things that they found around them.

And so that's what we see when we look at the bottles that there are those paintings on the bottles.

She's also known for her very vibrant colors that she chooses.

I love this church scene, water baptism, procession from the church, this scene over closest to you on that picture of people playing cards and dancing.

And then we have these bottles before us.

Do you have any idea what this collection or these pieces have been worth?

- Well, my father kept records of what he paid for them, and they're like the paintings were generally about $3,000 a piece.

- Okay.

- At the 1980s.

- So her market is is holding steady and continues to increase in value.

On a piece this size, we would look in the $5,000-8,000 range.

On the piece closest to you, we're looking at 2,000 - 4,000.

On the bottles, the pieces range for $200 to $400 a piece.

So do the multiplication on the math.

You all have just from your love of these objects, a nice collection with a nice value.

And I thank you so much for bringing them in today to share with us.

- All a pleasure.

Thank you.

(upbeat music) - Hi, Barbara.

Thank you so much for coming in.

- Thank you.

I appreciate it.

- Can you tell me a little bit about these albums that you brought in?

- Sure.

When I was little, my dad used to work at an auction house part time for his friend, and he got these from his friend.

And that's as much as I know about where he got them.

But when I was little, I would sit in his lap and we would look at the books together and everything.

And when he passed away a little over a year ago, I inherited the books.

- Wonderful.

That's so awesome that you used to look through these together and have fond memories of all of these photos.

- Very much.

- And these have so much sentimental value, of course.

- Yes, they do.

- Now, auction wise, there is definitely a collector and a buyer for these pieces as well.

We won't handle these too much because the binding is in a little bit rough shape.

But these are albumen prints and these would date to about 1890.

And all of the pieces in this book, in this book feature Japanese figures and scenery.

And you can see that the pictures themselves are in great condition and a lot of that color is still vibrant and popping, which is what a collector would look for.

And of course, the condition being great, that's important to collectors as well.

Let's flip and show this scene as well.

Perfect.

So like I said, there are you know, there is a buyer base for this type of item.

At auction, if we were to take these to auction today, I would say a conservative estimate would be 2,000 to 2,500 on each book.

- Nice.

He'd be so happy.

- Good.

Well, I hope you enjoy them for years to come.

- Very much.

Thank you.

- You're welcome.

(upbeat music) - Welcome.

What have you brought to us today?

- 1965 Topps Football cards.

Football cards?

Some of them are even great.

Cool.

- They sure are.

- So what got you into collecting Topps football cards?

- My husband and I got married almost 31 years ago, and when we married, he already collected football cards with his dad.

So I would go with them to shows and things.

And so I picked up on that.

- You got the bug!

- I did.

- So your objective is stay strictly with the Topps?

And you're trying to get a lot of the series for each year.

- You got it.

- At the same time.

We've got the Joe Namath here.

This one was graded a six.

Cards are graded from 0 to 10, with ten being the best grade.

It's a perfect, immaculate card.

They look at the corners, they look at the color of the borders.

But the main thing in grading is how well the card is centered and the overall card.

- Okay.

Because these were made in big sheets and then they cut them.

Do you know how much and when you got this, why you got this?

- So my husband and I have been working on this set, and it took quite a few years and that was the sole card that we lacked.

- It was missing the missing link.

- Yes.

And so we went to Chicago, to the National Card convention and had been looking for that card.

But it was rather expensive.

It was the highest dollar card in that set, and I found it there.

I actually paid 3000 for the card.

- 3,000 not graded.

- Not graded.

Yes.

And they were grading on site.

And so I took it to the PSA station and checked it in to have it graded.

- Had it graded.

And it came back a six.

- Six, yes.

- And when you bought it, you thought it would be close to a 6?

- I did.

I did.

- I mean, you saw that the corners were good.

- It looked like a really good card.

It was just a little off center.

- Just a little off center.

And that's why it became a six.

Which is why I agree with you, because it is off center.

You know what this card costs if you come back a nine?

- No.

- About $170,000.

And you paid three grand for this card and it came back a six.

Do you know what it's worth being graded a six?

- I really don't.

- At today's market?

- No.

- At auction?

About 7,000.

(bell rings) - Okay.

- So you did well.

Double your money.

- That is double.

Yeah, that's great.

- And you know, you've got a great collection here.

You love what you're doing.

- I do.

- And you better add up the value of your cards.

- I guess so.

Yes.

- Thanks for bringing it in.

- Thank you.

- We are so happy to have you today at Arkansas Treasurers.

- Thank you.

- Please tell me what you've brought for us today to look at.

- I brought a book wrote by German writer Klaus Mann, and his family were writers, and they had won the Nobel Prize in 1929, and they had to leave.

They were Germans and they had to leave Germany because of Hitler.

And Hitler burned all of his books in Germany.

- Oh my gosh.

Well, I would love to show the audience the inside of this book because it is signed by the author Klaus Mann.

Now, a little bit about him.

He as you said, he was born in Germany in 1906.

He came of age.

He was known as a political dissident, a radical, an anti fascist.

And that did not go over well with the Nazi regime or Hitler.

And he was kicked out of Germany.

His father was Thomas Mann, the famous writer.

But but Klaus was a good writer in his own right.

And he wrote several books and also was a newspaperman.

He wrote for a newspaper in Germany and founded a couple of magazines along the way.

After he was kicked out of Germany for being a dissident.

He went made his way to Czechoslovakia and then to the United States, and he became a U.S. citizen and no sooner had he become a U.S. citizen, then he was drafted and sent to Camp Robinson in Arkansas.

So while he was in Little Rock at Camp Robinson, he met a friend of a woman named Josephine Heiskell Harrison.

And that's how Klaus Mann came to be friends with Josephine and John Harrison and the Heiskell family owned the Arkansas Gazette.

So here was a newspaperman from Germany who had been kicked out, finds himself at Camp Robinson, knowing no one, English as a second language, and he makes friends with like minded people.

So this is a book of great Arkansas interest.

At first I was very confused about the signature and the writing because it didn't quite match what I found of other things he had written.

But that was in German.

And at this time this book was written in 1942, and at the time that he was having dinners at the Harrison House, he had started to write in English.

And what I found was that his English writing was much different than his German writing, which wouldn't make sense.

So he had signed this to Josephine and John because he was grateful for their hospitality, and he gave him a copy of his book.

And it even says Camp Robinson.

April 1943.

Do you have any idea what the book is worth?

- Well, I think it's worth at least maybe in the range of $1,000.

- Well, I think you'll be surprised that it's a little bit higher.

I would put this book at about $3,500, mainly because you can't find anything that he signed.

The sign books by him just aren't out there.

I think it would have the most value in Arkansas because of the Heiskell connection.

- Yeah.

- And I hope the book gets to stay in Arkansas, but I think 3,500 is a fair value for this really rare book with a fantastic Arkansas connection with an old Arkansas family.

And thank you so much for bringing it in.

- I'm happy for that.

- Good, good.

(upbeat music) - Welcome.

What have you bought for us today?

- Wilkins and Walkins.

- Who in the world are Wilkins and Walkins.

- Jim Henson made these puppets for the coffee company.

- For the Wilkins Coffee Company?

- Yes.

- 1957, 61 he had a contract with the Wilkins Coffee Company for a commercial in D.C.. How did you get them?

- Out of a storage auction.

Storage building.

- Storage auction.

Did you know what you had when you got it?

- No.

I had no idea.

- Well, you know, to get them, you had to send in a label from the Wilkins Coffee can, and they would send you these little puppets.

They had a big career.

So this is Wilkins, the blue guy.

- Right.

- Okay.

And the yellow guy is Walkins.

And Jim Henson, this was his first.

- This was the first one.

- As you notice, he's got he sort of looks like who?

(laughs) Kermit.

- Kermit.

- Doesn't he?

- Yeah, he does look like Kermit.

- That's a precursor .. - And the Cookie Monster.

- Right.

That's what.

That's what it looks like.

Do you have any idea what they might be worth?

- No idea whatsoever.

- No idea.

And you got them in storage.

You got a lot of stuff for the storage auction.

- Several things.

- Several things?

How much did you spend in the storage auction?

- I don't even remember the value.

What I paid.

You don't remember?

How long ago was it?

- Probably 5 to 6 years ago.

- They are a little dirty, but they can be cleaned up and in their condition, the pair of them go for about $150.

(bell rings) - Okay.

- Thank you for bringing them in.

- Thank you.

I've enjoyed the show.

Coming today, getting the value of them.

Thank you.

- You walked over to my table and you said you had a group of things by Edgar Payne, which got me very excited.

So tell me a little bit about this collection.

- Well, this collection came from my grandfather, who was a student with Edgar Payne at the Chicago Art Institute when they were young.

Of course, Edgar Payne didn't stay there.

He left to be self-taught, but my grandfather did.

But he became my grandfather's best friend.

- How neat.

- My grandfather had passed before I was born, but the items I brought in had belonged to him.

- Okay.

So that's how I came about that.

- Pretty neat.

So we were able to look through what you had, and we picked a couple of things to talk about.

Right.

We wouldn't be able to display your whole collection because you have a lot.

- Yeah.

- There were photographs of that he had taken in notated of the items that he had put in exhibition.

So it's a it's a really great collection.

Showing the artist's work, how he worked, where he exhibited, etc..

So we'll start with sketchbook kind of estimate there.

About 50 drawings in here and they vary from maritime images to cottages, mostly European.

You know, he was in Italy, in France.

There are a lot of drawings, good drawings.

It's interesting to see where he started and where he ended up.

So you started with realism and then he moves to plein air and impressionism.

You know, I'm going to go ahead and give you some ideas as to value on these two, and then I'll kind of give you more of a whole collection value.

So in terms of valuation on something like a sketchbook, individual drawings have come up at auction at some of the California sales and East Coast sales at the larger auction houses, Sotheby's and Christie's.

The drawings are bringing between $500-700 a piece.

Now, that would be for the more completed ones like this, one of a ship or for something like that.

Obviously not.

You know, but I think as a whole, you know, you're looking at probably $3,000 - 4,000 at least just for the sketchbook.

Now, then we go to the painting.

Now, if if I had seen this even unsigned and you didn't tell me who it was, it is absolutely Edgar Payne's work.

And you look at it and it's him.

It's his subject.

You know, Sierra Nevadas or Grand Canyon.

If it were finished and signed, the price adds a zero.

But even being a sketch, it shows how he worked.

And and it's kind of an important piece in the sense that it shows the beginnings of his work and how he would layer and layer and layer.

I would put this in the $4,000 to $6,000 range as it is now.

And we talked about before maybe taking it to a conservator.

And what they'll do is put an edge on it.

They'll actually stretch it on a canvas and then you could get it framed.

You know, it's it's a good $10,000 collection as a whole.

I think if it were all as one lot in a sale, I'm assuming you're going to keep it, which I think would be great and get it framed and you love it.

- Yeah.

- Well, good.

Well, you've had it in a box.

Let's get it up on the wall.

- Yeah.

- But it's a it's a neat collection, and I'm really pleased that I got to see it.

- Well, thank you very much.

- Thanks for bringing it.

- Well, that's it for this episode of Arkansas Treasures.

I wonder if there's something hiding in your attic that could be more valuable than you think might be worth checking out.

See you next time on Arkansas Treasures.

(upbeat music) - It's a Gone With the Wind type frame.

- Oh wow.

You hide your documents in here from the Yankees.

- You know, there's still folks out there that still know who Clement Hunter was and still appreciate her folk art.

And though not refined, they have a very good sense of documenting the life that she and her family lived there in north Louisiana.

- It's certainly a hobby that has a lot of value.

And the time spent with people you love is really what's important.

I wouldn't part with this set, but I do have other sets and certainly when I tell my husband the value, I might be pushing to part with some of those.

- I won't part with it, but it really looks better on my wall.

- I just love PBS.

It's the most educational TV publication that there is out there.

Just love it.

- Major funding for Arkansas Treasures was provided by the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council and the Susan Howarth Fund at the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay.

Additional funding provided by Annette and Phil Harrington, the Arkansas PBS Local Production Fund and by viewers like you.