>> Welcome to Mississippi Antique Showcase.

In this episode, we're in Natchez, Mississippi with our expert appraisers to look at your rare finds family heirlooms and your quirky collectibles.

We'll see what we can learn about these unique treasures, and of course, see what they might be worth.

>> At the end of the day.

it was a pretty good trade.

>> Alright, well thank you for joining us here today.

Number one, tell us your name and then what'd you bring in.

Um, my name is Gail Guido.

I brought in this beautiful watercolor from Newcomb, the University of Newcomb outta New Orleans that my sister actually purchased and gave to me not very long ago.

She purchased it a long time ago, but I just got it.

I just love the colors, I love everything about it.

Um, just don't know much about it.

>> Right, well, it's not signed.

Do we know who the artist is?

>> Yes.

The artist is Jane Whipple, and I do know that she's quite proficient and does beautiful artwork and very different from this, I think more florals, >> A lot of florals.

>> Or botanicals.

>> First off, I find it funny that I came to Natchez and then you bring us a painting from Newcomb College, which is a New Orleans institution, right?

Newcomb College, mainly known for their Newcomb Pottery, things of that nature.

Really, the Newcomb pots are what they're known nationally known as internationally for, but they also were artists.

and they had two teachers, big ones, William Woodward, Ellsworth Woodward, who taught the art classes and they did watercolor and things like that.

First thing I noticed when I look at this is that there's nothing on it that would tell me who the artist is.

So luckily for us... >>Yes.

>> It has a cheat sheet.

>> Yay!

>> Right?

So Jane Randolph Whipple in Newcomb 1927 to 1931, which we know.

Now, she lived to almost be a hundred.

So she lived from 1910 to 2007.

And so, throughout her lifetime, she was painting, like you mentioned earlier, mainly florals.

This is a great scene.

Do you know what this is?

>> Well, it's a riverboat on the mighty Mississippi.

>> Yes, and that's exactly how I would describe it.

But it's a riverboat, a great southern scene, great New Orleans scene, Louisiana scene, and of course Mississippi scene.

It's something that we see out of our backyard here, you know, at the Convention Center.

And it's something that you see all over New Orleans.

Now, this is definitely, you can imagine her sitting on the docks, you know, painting this thing.

She was a big watercolorist.

So this is all watercolors, and you and I were talking off-camera, and you thought that it could have been a study, right?

>> Yes.

>> And the biggest reason it could be a study is because it's not signed anywhere.

So we don't see her signature here.

We don't see anything up here.

We just see, you know, a little bit of a check, maybe, but she didn't really do oils, so she did a lot of watercolors.

The watercolors all look, for the most part, unfinished I guess would be, for lack of a better term here.

So, you know, it's, uh, kind of flowing.

It was her style and it was nothing specific about the painting.

Now, the fun part, do you have any idea what she's worth?

>> My sister told me that she paid, like, $175.

>> And when did she buy it?

>> Had to have been 40, 50 years ago.

>> Okay.

So she hasn't appreciated like some other Newcomb artists have, to where, you know, you're seeing results in the tens of thousands or anything like that.

But her works are steadily climbing.

Most of the stuff is florals.

This is arguably a much better scene, a much better genre for the true collectors of Louisiana, the true collectors of Newcomb College.

So I think conservatively, you know, you could put a retail number of about $1,500 to $2,500 on it.

>> For insurance purposes, you could put about $3,000 and I'd say at auction, you know, we'd be looking at somewhere in the $800 range.

>> It's beautiful.

>> It's beautiful.

You gonna sell it or are you gonna hang it in your house?

>> Oh, no, We'll just hang it right on the wall.

I overlook the river and it's just perfect right there.

>> It sounds perfect.

You get to see that scene every day.

>> Every day.

>> Amazing.

>> It is amazing.

>> Well, thank you so much for bringing it in.

>> Thank you.

Thank you.

>> It's been a pleasure.

>> Mary, welcome to Mississippi Antique Showcase.

How are you doing today?

>> Just fine.

>> Terrific.

Tell us about this item you brought for us.

>> Oh, I have my grandmother's Bible.

My great-grandmother gave it to them for wedding gift in 1888.

Um, it was copyright in 1881, and it has the 12 lost books of the Bible.

And of course it has a dictionary and chapters with all the parables and everything in it.

>> It's really nice to see a family pass down that type of heirloom.

So I'm sure it has a special meaning to you.

>> Yes.

>> Jace is gonna talk a little bit about what he sees, some unique things about it, and then we'll give you an appraisal.

Okay?

>> Okay.

>> It really is a fine specimen for the later part of the 19th century.

I mean, from the get-go, you can see on the outside the gold guilt engraving.

And there are a few condition issues just with the leather, but that's gonna be typical, especially if this is kept in the family and actually used.

And so when we open up the inside, we can actually see the first thing we see is a dollar figure, and it's got $2,500 listed.

Can you tell us about, maybe was that what it was valued at at some point?

>> If it was, I don't know it.

>> Okay.

>> I've never had it appraised.

>> Well, that was just an interesting thing of note.

And then you can open it up and there really are some pretty features and colors on these pages.

So you can tell how detailed the printing was.

And you can see here that all of the things that it contains, of course, it was printed by BF Johnson and Company in 1881, and that's the copyright in Richmond, Virginia.

So it does contain the Old and New Testament.

It has a history of all of the religious denominations, which is very interesting and typical of the time that Bibles included the apocrypha and the Psalms as well.

And then we can also see where it was given to your... >> Grandmother.

>> Grandmother and grandfather.

And their names are also here.

>> I'd like to say that my grandmother and granddad had 15 children.

My dad was the baby, and he passed-- his dad passed away three months before he was born.

And of course, through the years later, he got the Bible.

And then since he passed, I've had it for over 50 years.

>> That's incredible.

It really is.

And you know, as far as valuation, do you have any idea what you think?

>> I have no idea.

>> Well, I will just say generally, before Cory gives you an evaluation, I usually leave the numbers to this guy, but any Bibles printed after 1800 are not as rare because after the 1800s, that's when, whether it's printing became more available, and so they were more mass-produced.

But why don't you try to give an estimated value?

>> Sure.

So at auction, you probably could expect somewhere between $300 to $500 for a book like this.

Jace did note there's some condition issues and that always impacts the value.

But because it's such a family heirloom, I can imagine that you're not interested in selling it.

So I would keep it, if I were you.

>> Okay.

>> We really appreciate you coming in, Mary, and bringing us this nice Bible.

>> Thank you.

>> Thank you.

>> Appreciate y'all.

>> Well, hello.

My name is Luke.

And you're Jack?

>> I am.

>> What brings you to the Antique Showcase?

>> This little guy right here.

>> Okay.

And what can you tell me about him?

>> It was my uncle's.

My mother's brother.

And he was killed in a railroad accident when he was only 20.

And my grandmother was so hurt by it, she kept all his stuff, and none of us ever saw it.

So when she died, my mother's next in line, sister got whatever was over there.

And then when she died, apparently this was in the stuff.

And mother and daddy came to live with me in 1980, on up in their years.

And I was getting her settled down and going through her stuff, and this was there and I said, "What?

What?"

>> This is just a little hidden treasure.

>> Yeah, and it's so cute.

>> Well, how old do you think your uncle would be today?

>> Oh my God.... so if you were born, like, in 1906, that'd be coming up on 110, 120, something like that.

>> Yeah.

That's amazing.

It's a really cute bear.

And to be that old, he is in surprising shape.

He's got all his little seams are still intact.

And the whole bit, the only thing I'm worried about or I'm wonder about is his eyes.

If he had a glass eyes at one time.

These look like somebody put buttons in because maybe they fell out, so I'm guessing, but it's apparently what it looks like.

They would've had little glass eyes with little irises and that kind of thing.

So based on its construction and the way it's put together, I'm assuming it's a Steiff bear from Germany.

They were very popular, and you know, about the time he was born, Teddy Roosevelt was the president and he was the bear president.

And everybody had this affinity for bears.

And the teddy bear came about because of Roosevelt.

And it became an American icon of sorts and culture and, cartoons and tv, Yogi Berra, the cartoon and the whole bit.

I think he's just delightful.

What do you do with him now?

Is he sitting on a shelf or on a chair?

>> He has been in a little case on a shelf forever.

And through some hard times I thought maybe I ought to go see if that's worth anything.

>> Yeah, yeah.

>> But I never did.

And, um, I don't think I could part with it now.

>> Yeah.

And you never got to meet your uncle.

He died before you were born, right?

>> Right.

>> It's amazing to have a keepsake from a relative who's no longer with us.

It's just kind of a neat feeling.

So, his paws are just adorable.

The little stitching and the whip stitching around.

>> I think leather, right?

>> Leather.

It is leather.

Yeah.

And that's another thing that makes me think it's German origin, because they were so meticulous about putting these things together.

Nowadays, when toys come over the United States, they're from China, and they're very poorly made sometimes, but this is built to last and he's got the little hinged arms and the legs.

And that was just an extra step that they don't take today anymore, you know?

So, but anyway, I think he's just a wonderful treasure.

And to put a value on him, he'd probably be worth about $300 or $400, probably $350 to $400.

If he had his original eyes, I think it'd probably more like $650, $700, because they're so, and the size of this one's just delightful.

He's such a little thing.

He's really, really cute.

But I think you have a treasure here.

And if something ever happened to you, God forbid, who would get this bear?

>> My daughter.

>> Well, I hope she knows the value.

>> She does.

>> And I hope she keeps it.

>> She absolutely does.

I've told her many times.

>> I started to tell you before, I love your outfit.

I just love the color and the flowers and all that.

It's so cheerful and happy.

>> (laughing) Thank you!

Would you like to know what it is?

>> What is it?

>> It's a tablecloth.

>> Oh My God!

You're so talented.

Did you put that together?

>> I just said I like panchos.

>> Well, I love your tablecloth and I love your little bear, and I think you have a treasure here.

>> Thank you.

>> Thank you so much for bringing it into the showcase.

>> Well, you're absolutely welcome.

It's been a delight.

>> You're so welcome.

>> Well, Keith, it looks like these folks are in love that you brought with you today.

>> Yes, sir.

>> Yeah.

>> How long have you had that one?

>> Uh, it's my wife's and her dad traded... his wife's old buck saw she had hanging on the porch for it.

And when she got home and saw her saw gone, she was so mad >> And traded the saw for that?

>> Traded the saw for that.

And when he passed, he, uh, her mom gave it to her.

>> Okay.

About what year did the saw trade take place?

>> I'm not sure.

I don't know any history on it or anything.

>> My goodness.

You know, it looks like something carved, maybe, uh, in the Caribbean or maybe in the Polynesian Island.

It just kind of has that look.

Um, and it makes, you know, it's the kind of piece, you look at it and you really wonder what's behind this.

These faces almost look like the faces on the statues at the Easter Island in the Pacific.

So it kind makes me think it's probably more Pacific than it would be, uh, the Caribbean, that sort of thing.

Uh, have you ever had it appraised?

>> No, sir.

>> Nothing like that?

Uh, did your mother-in-law and your wife, did they think it was worth a lot?

>> Uh, my mother-in-law don't.

(laughing) My wife, she doesn't really know anything about it either.

>> Your mother-in-law, that's the one that traded the saw for the statue, right?

>> Yeah, her husband did.

Yeah.

>> Well, there was a pretty good carver there and probably a self-taught carver or an outsider artist if they were in this country.

A lot of folks would refer to 'em.

I especially like their hair there.

They've, uh, they've cut grooves in there for the hair, but their faces, the more I look at it, the more they look like those Easter Island people on those huge stone carvings.

Um, you know, this piece, it looks to be 50, 60, 70 years old.

You know, it kind of has that look.

There's a pretty good patina developing with the wood there.

You know, today in a good auction, I think a piece like that, all hand carved would probably bring $250 to $350, something like that.

Uh, if it was Valentine's Day and you had a couple of men trying to buy it for their wives, you know, it could go higher.

It's a kind of piece, it'd be fun to say, oh, you know, you'd get a, you'd get a lot of comments off of this if you had it at an auction.

But, uh, but I like it.

And I think it would do all right.

But probably $250 to $350, I think, right in there someplace.

It's kind of different.

>> I'm here with Geraldine McClodden from Tallulah, Louisiana.

Hi Geraldine.

Welcome to the Mississippi Antique Showcase.

>> Hi.

Thank you.

I'm glad to be here.

>> Thank you so much for joining us.

Tell me all about what you have today.

>> Well, I have this compote dish.

It's porcelain.

I obtained it maybe about a little over 10 years ago.

Don't remember if I got it from a yard sale or a thrift shop, but I'm just a collector, you know, of compote dishes.

I just have tons of them at home.

>> Right, right.

So when you found it, how much did you actually pay for it, where you found it?

Do you remember that?

>> Well, I don't remember what I paid for it, but I do know it was under $20.

I'm kind of cheap.

(both laughing) >> So when it comes down to being budget friendly, what did you get appraised for today with that?

>> Well, he said somewhere around maybe $495.

>> Oh, wow.

>> Yeah.

>> Wow.

Wow.

Did that excite you?

>> It did uh-huh.

It did uh-huh.

>> So if you-- do you plan on selling it or do you plan on keeping this one?

>> Oh, no, I'm not selling it.

I'm keeping it.

I'm using it for a centerpiece at home.

I may put it on my fireplace.

>> Right, right.

Right.

Now, in the future, in the future, Miss Gerry, do you plan on bringing any more compote dishes to get appraised at Antique Showcase?

>> I will.

I will.

>> I'm here with Harriet from Madison, Mississippi, who she has brought in some absolutely exquisite Japanese porcelains.

Harriet, tell me a little bit about it.

We're so glad to have you here today.

>> Thank you.

I'm excited to be here to find out a little bit more about... My grandmother's uncle, who was from Gallipolis, Ohio, had been over in Japan toward the end of the Boxer Rebellion.

>> Rebellion.

Yes.

>> And he came home, as the story in the family goes, with these two barrels of Japanese Porcelains.

>> Beautiful things!

Huh.

>> And beautiful things.

And anyway, they came down in the family.

So when we had this opportunity, I wanted to see, to find out a little bit more about what they were.

>> Yeah.

>> And how old.

>> They're absolutely exquisite.

And I see that you have a set of six.

>> Yes.

And my brother has, uh, six more >> That match this exactly?

>> That match these.

So... >> Is there a way you could talk him out of those six?

>> I'm gonna work on it.

I can tell.

(both laughing) >> Well, I think you should.

I think that should come to you, those other six.

>> Because I'm so much older.

>> Well, listen, we won't talk about that today.

But I wanna show everyone what a lovely pattern this is.

It's a Japanese porcelain from the 1800s, probably mid 1800s.

Um, and of course on the back, we have it signed and we have it dated.

Um, unfortunately I don't read Japanese and I don't know who we could get to do that, but I want you to also see it how lovely they are on the bottom.

>> Mm-Hmm.

>> I'm really crazy about bowls, soup bowls.

>> Oh, yeah.

>> I love soup at every meal if I can have it, but you rarely see it so beautifully done on this other side.

>> On this side, yes.

>> I love it.

But they're really, they're really lovely and they're all in perfect condition, I think.

Now, do you use them?

>> No, I'm afraid to.

We have one little crack.

>> I think we have one little chip.

Yeah, one little chip.

I saw that right then.

You don't use them very much?

>> Well, I don't.

I don't want to take a chance on cracking one of them.

>> Oh yes, absolutely, 'cause they are really totally exquisite, really.

>> It's, it's been fun.

>> I love the motif around here too.

They're all circled with, with this, you can see, I don't know if you can get a closeup of it, but it's, it's really quite beautiful.

And, you know, there, there are scenes that the, it's, of course this is all hand painted.

And the the scenes are, are really wonderful as well, I think on, on them.

So, um, first of all, I'm gonna encourage you to get the other six.

>> Okay.

(laughing) I'll work on that.

>> But, you know, anyway, I think what they are, I mean, I think I would, I would say on these is that they are, they're worth probably $125 a piece.

>> Oh, wow.

>> Yeah.

They're early and they're exquisite.

And now of course we'd have to do a little bit different right there.

>> Right, right.

>> But I would say that, you know, you're looking at maybe $125, $140 a piece.

Now I'm giving you a fair market value.

>> Right.

>> Which means if you decided tomorrow you wanted to sell 'em to me, you know, that would be what I would encourage you to ask.

>> Okay.

Oh okay.

Ooh!

>> About $140 a piece.

You know, so that's a nice-- it's a beautiful set.

It's a small set.

>> Mm-Hmm.

>> But it is a beautiful set.

So I think that's, that's probably what I would suggest for you.

>> I think that sounds wonderful.

And I'll be going after those other six.

>> I think you should.

And then after you do that, invite me for soup.

>> I promise.

>> You promise?

>> I do, I do.

>> I know where Madison is.

>> That's right.

Come this way.

>> All right, well, thank you so much for coming in and I've enjoyed being with you today, Harriet, and I hope to see you again.

>> I hope so too.

>> When we're having soup.

>> When we're having soup, I love it.

Anytime.

>> Thank you.

>> Thank you, Ron.

>> All right.

Sure.

>> Well, what do we have today?

>> We have a present I was given by a lady that I did not know in any way, shape or form that came from Canada to give it to me.

She said it was a treasure of the family, and I should have it because I saved the house.

The house was, uh, built in 1830, but it had never been modernized.

>> You live here in Natchez?

>> I live here in, in Natchez.

And the house is out on, uh, Foster Mound Road in the county.

It's was a beautiful house, uh, with a front porch that was a hundred feet long and it had four front doors and it had 30 brass knobs on those doors that took a long time to keep shining.

>> Well, I've restored a lot of old houses too.

I know what you've been through.

Uh, this is a beautiful piece.

It's, um, here I see, um, it, it has a hallmark on it.

And this one is a Basant Line, which says it's English.

And then it has another hallmark over here that says it's London.

It was made in London.

>> Right.

>> And it's, uh, it is sterling silver and, uh, a beautiful piece.

And then it has the engraving and shield on it.

And how long have you had it in the, in the family?

>> Uh, it had to be in the late 1970s or early 1980s that she came by and gave it to me.

>> Yeah.

Well, it's a beautiful piece.

>> Thank you.

>> And I would say the market value on this would be from $400 to $600, uh, simply because the value is the story.

>> Absolutely.

Yeah.

>> And then of course, uh, what do you intend to do with it?

>> Well, I do have a granddaughter, a little bitty grand, great-granddaughter, and her name is Lucy.

So maybe she would like it.

>> And and she's named after you?

>> She is named after me, yeah.

>> I think that would be a great idea.

>> Thank you.

That's a good idea.

>> Yeah, that's a good idea.

And thank you for bringing it by and thank you for that great story.

I love those stories of Natchez.

I've spent a lot of time in Natchez myself and, uh, I love the homes here.

They're beautiful homes.

>> Wonderful.

>> And, and all the people, my hats off to 'em that restore these houses.

>> It's work.

>> Yep.

It's work.

>> It is work.

>> And you guys need a special award of some kind to keep 'em.

And I know how that works.

And thank you so much for bringing this.

>> Thank You.

Thank you.

>> Hey Mark, I wanted to share this with the viewers of Mississippi Antique Showcase because it's sort of an oddity for me.

You might have seen this, I've never seen it before.

But tea caddies, they're an interesting thing that people always collect for decorative items or whatever, but they had a purposeful use at one time where key was value-- uh, tea was valuable and it would be locked up.

This little one I brought is a gentleman's tea caddy, because it'd be for a single guy.

And I brought it because I wanted to show you that these tops would lift off where different teas were stored.

Usually a light tea and a dark tea.

And they were lined with the foil paper to keep the tea fresh and then you'd lock it.

The reason I brought this bigger tea caddy is because this is an unusual one for me.

It has its original waste bowl, which is an Irish cut crystal.

This is where the used tea would go.

And it has these really cool glass canisters, which have zipper cut Irish rims on 'em and the little lid lifts off.

I can tell they're original because there's no, bracket in here for a top or anything like that.

But I just thought it was sort of different.

I'd never seen it before.

And it's probably one of my most treasured, um, things.

It's got the ponto mark at the bottom, which is >> Means they're hand-blown.

>> Yeah.

So, and they've survived all these years with no breakage or loss or whatever.

A lot of times you find these tea caddies and all this is missing.

You just have the two tops maybe or something like that.

>> About how old do you think this one is?

>> I think it's probably Georgian.

It's probably 1830, something like that, maybe 1820.

It's got some age on it, but it's been well cared for.

May have even been refurbished at some time 'cause it's in such good shape.

But, um, you mentioned earlier we were talking that the brass fittings are just so precise inside.

Where everything cuts, it is just to the T so beautiful, beautiful box and the graining on it is fabulous.

So I wanted to share that.

>> Well, I'm glad you did.

It is a beautiful tea caddy.

No doubt about it.

>> So Mark, uh, I have an idea of what I think this is worth.

Do you have an opinion of what you think it would be worth?

>> You know, we've sold some tea caddies in the past and sold some nice ones, but I don't think we've ever sold one any nicer than this one.

You know, it's anywhere probably from $600 to $900.

>> I was kind of in the same ballpark.

I thought somewhere starting around $600, $750, something like that because of the unusual canisters on the inside.

But,yeah.

I'm glad we're kind of on the same page.

So hopefully, um, other appraisers here will have other beautiful things on Mississippi Antique Showcase show and we'll take it from there.

>> Sounds good.

Thank you for joining us here.

>> Thank you.

Sure.

>> Join us next time on Mississippi Antique Showcase and see if you have a hidden treasure in your closet.