Welcome to the Mississippi Antique Showcase, where our expert appraisers take a closer look at your rare finds, family heirlooms and quirky collectibles.

We'll uncover the stories behind these unique treasures and of course, find out what they might be worth.

We're here with Zelina from Greenville, Mississippi, who has been having fun with us all day today.

I got to spend some time with her at another table, but she brought us something that I haven't seen in a long time.

certainly haven't seen one today.

Zelena, what'd you bring us?

- So I have this charm bracelet.

It's sterling silver.

I really don't know much about it.

I think it's World War II because of some of the charms, but that's about all I know.

- Well, where'd you get it?

- Okay, so my grandmother and I went to a yard sale when I was about nine.

She got it for me then.

I think she may have paid like five or $10.

And I've had it since then.

I haven't really worn it much because I didn't want to lose any pieces.

But most of these charms are mobile.

Oh, right.

Yeah.

So they're interactive, basically, so they can do things.

Give me an example of one that's interactive.

OK, so this right here, I think is a butter churn and the top moves here.

Right.

You're churning butter.

And then this is a lawnmower.

And it actually rolls if you move it.

And then there's a mailbox that you can open, a lighter you can flick.

Alright, well so you're spot on.

This is a World War II charm bracelet or they were often referred to as sweetheart bracelets.

Okay.

So what you did, the servicemen would send charms home to their sweetheart, their wives, their girlfriend, their spouses.

And a lot of times they had meaning.

So I did notice on this one somewhere over here, you see that anchor?

You know what that tells me?

Navy, yeah, right on.

So that's a Navy symbol for him.

You could also have been a pilot.

So we have an airplane here or work somewhere in there.

Now, a lot of here's another anchor right there, solidifying the fact that this was a Navy serviceman.

So these are all things that he would send her probably piecemeal one at a time that reminded him of her.

So again, it was a sweetheart thing.

It was a very sentimental thing.

These show up, they're very personal.

So your tastes are not the same tastes as another woman's tastes.

And the charms you get from your spouse are not the same as the charms that other spouses, where other servicemen were sending home to their spouses.

And for that, it's very important and kind of historically important.

And just a cool thing to see.

Now we don't see a ton of them anymore.

A lot of times, you know, with the price of silver rising, they've been scrapped.

Yeah, you know the people take the charms off or they give them to other people.

So we don't get to see one as complete as this.

This is incredibly complete.

Yeah, to the point where there's very few spots that don't have a charm.

Yeah, I think it's 28 charms on here.

28 total.

Yeah, 28 total.

Have you looked into the value at all?

I looked online, but I couldn't find one exactly the same like you just said.

It's very personal.

So I don't know.

I think a retail asking price would be right around 800 bucks.

Okay, so I need to continue to put this up so I won't lose it.

Continue to keep it safe, that is for sure.

We really appreciate it.

I love seeing things like this.

Military is so cool, and the history behind this stuff right now surrounding World War II is just awesome.

So again, thanks so much for coming down to MPB.

Thank you for having me.

Well, welcome to the Mississippi Antique Showcase.

Thank you so much.

It looks like you brought us an interesting dress.

Why don't you tell us a little bit of what you know about it and maybe how you acquired the dress.

I received this dress from my grandfather's first cousin.

He was Warren Buford.

She was Hazel Hope Kennybrew and she lived in Greenwood.

The story I heard was that it was her mother's wedding dress.

>> It's interesting because when I first saw it, you have to see things in person like most things.

But it is not 1900s, it's actually a little earlier than that.

It's 1880s to 1890s.

And we can tell that it's not past in a century based on the fashion motif.

So these dramatic sleeves, the fitted bodice to this dress, which the people at home may not be able to see, but it is two pieces.

So as far as a wedding dress goes, not all wedding dresses were white.

In fact, the majority of them may not be.

So this could have easily been a wedding dress.

And so what we have to go on is story and provenance.

Back then, wedding dresses could be garments that were worn multiple times.

They're not just a wedding.

They could refashion it into something else.

And they were made to be worn again.

And if you'll help me lift up, you can see we were talking about this before.

You can see the inside, and you see a lot of evidence of hand stitching.

And so you can see some detail along the outer rim, and of course some of the stitching in the middle as well.

So it's just fascinating.

I will say, I'm just feeling this, this would not have been a cool fabric.

I don't know, this would have been very-- I hope it wasn't an August wedding.

I know, but in addition to the two-piece, we also have this added purse with it as well.

And so we call this usually a flapper dress.

So it was after 1910, 1915, and 1920s.

You see a lot that are made, some even have sterling.

This is more of a cast brass.

But, so this probably wouldn't have been-- This didn't go with this.

This didn't originally go in the 1880s, 1890s.

I may have conflated that.

Right, and so this, by the time the 1900s, 1910s came, this was a little out of fashion.

This could have been earlier where they still paired it with it, or you know, but it's a nice touch all together because one, you got it from the same person, the family probably not stood as well.

So is this something that you're interested in keeping?

You have any idea what it's worth, the value?

I have no idea about what it's worth, but I was really wondering if there was a good place to donate to or if it was anything, you know, like a museum or something like Sure, okay, so I'm from Columbus area and we have the Stephen D. Lee Home and Museum in Columbus and it, the second story of the home is actually a museum and showcases Victorian gowns.

So I found the place.

>> They're always looking potentially from donations to show about a period time.

And some of those are more specific, I think, to the family.

But if you look in many historic cities, they may want a collection to have in a museum if they have an, you know, older home that is a museum.

So that's just the first one that came off the top of my head, just because it's an issue.

But a lot of people love to put this on mannequins and place them in rooms so people can get an idea period wise what all we're wearing for the time.

So if you put this in the right auction environment with the entire package, I think you could expect somewhere in the $300 to $600 range.

Wow, that's wonderful.

I think especially with this combined, we routinely put lots of these in auctions with flapper purses.

Well, they're kind of usable still.

I mean, and people still like to dress for Halloween parties and a lot of different occasions.

And so we just sell these individually or in pairs.

And so they bring a decent amount on their own.

I think because it came from the same family, you explained that Providence, I think, you know, that's why you're thinking more in the three to six, four to six, maybe even more than that if you get, you know, some aggressive bidding.

But I know you want to donate it, which I think is great.

Just make sure that whatever organization gives you a letter based on the value, you know, that's always yes, taxes roll around pretty regular.

We always like that letter, but I think that's great because a lot of historical sites do want to use things like this.

Okay, well I'll check it out.

Great, well thank you so much for bringing this in.

Thank you, I appreciate the information.

Absolutely.

Germaine, who do you have with you now?

A wise amphibian once said, "It's not easy being green."

But here in Leland, Mississippi, we are getting it done at an exhibit of Jim Henson's Delta Boyhood and the birthplace of none other than Kermit the Frog.

Right now in with me to tell me all about it is none other than the resident expert of everything Jim Henson, everything Leland, Mississippi, everything Kermit the Frog.

It's Miss Mary Shaifer.

How did you become the resident expert of everything Jim Henson and Herman?

Well, I'm not, but I've been here a long time.

And my first husband was a very close friend, Sammy Schaefer was my first husband.

And he was a very close friend of Jim Henson's.

I never met him, but I met all of his family at one time or another.

After he died, of course, they came to help us put the exhibit up, and then they came back to check it out several times.

We started collecting and getting ready for this before Jim died, but actually the exhibit didn't open until 1991.

But we're real proud of it.

I feel like I've come back to my childhood when I walk in here.

And one of the questions from my childhood was, where was Kermit born?

1986, we had a centennial celebration of our town.

I called him to see if he could come and be a part of our centennial celebration.

He could not come, but he sent us a video, he sent us a clip that we could play and we did.

And it was a great big, we put it on a great big screen at our celebration and we loved it because he had Kermit with him.

He said, "Hi, I'm Kermit the Frog here.

I was born in a swamp in Mississippi.

- Now I wanna know though, the exact swamp.

And I feel like it's the one that's out back.

- It's Deer Creek.

- From this building right here.

- Deer Creek, Leland, Mississippi.

- You know a whole lot just by yourself, Ms.

Mary.

And I thank you so much for giving me some more information.

Things that I didn't know and things possibly the audience doesn't know as well.

It's just been a great time here with you at literally the exhibit of Jim Henson's Delta Boyhood.

I could not feel more like a child.

Miss Mary, thank you again for joining us.

Thank you for having me.

Thank you, Germaine.

Now let's get back to the showcase.

We're back with another item that you brought to us.

Tell us about this flask.

Well, I received this from my mother's estate, and she received it from her mother.

The name on the front, Mr.

Young, was a good friend of my grandfather's, Warren Buford, And he would come and visit them and stay with them.

And I have no idea when the transfer took place, if it was a robbery or a bad debt or- >> Maybe pay off a debt or something.

>> Most likely he just left it at the house and it never got back to him would be my guess.

>> It is a flask and beautifully decorated.

So this is in the floral repoussé pattern, okay.

These are actually I think chrysanthemums, and it's a dense floral field.

So I mean you have the decorative aspect already.

You can see that it is a screw cap, so we can kind of show the folks at home.

And there's still some probably liquor residue on here if I had to guess.

Oh, is there?

It wasn't me, I promise.

But you can also, I mean that's exactly what it was used for.

It's just more highly stylish than what we probably carry around in this flask today.

Interesting when I first kind of saw this in the photographs and I was thinking, oh this is probably a European plate, you know, what type of silver, because that would substantially affect its value?

Well, if you turn on its bottom, you can see that there are actually Chinese markings.

Chinese?

They're Chinese markings.

Oh, wow.

And so I thought it was interesting because that really dramatically changes kind of the outlook on this piece.

And so what I'm starting to think when I've kind of looked at this now in person, is this is Chinese export silver.

And it could be coin silver, or Export Alloy, and it's probably in that Victorian era, so before the 20th century.

It's probably around the same time as the dress that we saw earlier.

Oh, the small boy.

Yeah, and so it really turns on kind of the weight of this object, but I mean, even if I don't have whether to test whether it is actually sterling, It very well could be.

It could be a coin silver.

I mean, if confirmed silver, I think you're looking at at least a $600 to $900 valuation.

If we can wait it.

And if I had the proper testing, like I do at the auction house, then it could definitely go up from there.

So in the 12, 1500 range, just looking at the spot price of silver and you know, that it's a vector, But putting that aside, it is really one of the more pretty flasks that I've seen in silver.

And so I don't think I've seen a lot of the Chinese export silver in quite some time.

So it's not European, it's not American.

It was made for the export market back in the Victorian period.

So, I mean, I think you've got a great decorative object and you can still use it, I'm pretty sure.

Yes, yes.

But also just depending on the silver, it really, you know, kind of determines the way the silver... This is easily resellable, but because you've had it in your family, I assume that's not what you wanted.

Probably not.

Probably not.

But thank you for bringing this in.

It's probably the prettiest piece I've seen today.

Oh, you're too sweet!

That's lovely.

Lovely.

Well, thank you.

We're glad to have Catherine Koehler with us today.

And Catherine has a painting of a rabbi.

It's an oil on canvas.

And Catherine, I think I read what you said when you submitted this piece, and you said it spoke to you.

It did.

And you found it at a thrift store?

I found him at a Goodwill auction and I was scrolling through and I actually was looking for genre paintings and this one was somehow or another in the mix and I promise you he spoke to me and he said stop, stop.

And so I couldn't let him stay there.

What did you pay for him, Catherine?

$65.

$65.

He looks like somebody you wish they could speak to us.

He looks like a very wise man.

You can just see a lot of time in his face there oil on canvas.

I noticed his sign, W. Topman, And you've researched the artist a little bit.

And what did you come up with there?

I came up with several different signatures, several different names who were producing these things, but the images that I saw were so disparate.

They were so different from one another.

They were all kind of the same theme, but the skill of the artist was very different from painting to painting.

I saw about the same thing you did.

I saw several Topman artists and it looked like of all the artists I saw and most of them were from the Netherlands, but W., and maybe that's a William, was possibly the most talented of the group because his painting just really stood out.

I love this one.

The condition looks good.

You know, the frame looks like possibly 1960s, '50s.

And I think it was probably painted in the mid-20th century.

And as far as the value, at a well-advertised auction, I think this painting would probably bring somewhere between $600 and $900, Somewhere in that neighborhood.

And of course, it's it's hard to say at an auction.

You know, it could go more, but talk to somebody else.

Yeah, it was a good buy at sixty five dollars.

Looks like to me.

Catherine, thank you for bringing it in.

Thank you.

This is the Mississippi Antique Showcase.

I'm Germaine Flood.

We are here at the Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville, Mississippi, and we are with none other than the head of the center, Dr.

Jeff Gore.

What a beautiful facility you all have out here.

I've got to know all about it, all about you.

Agriculture is very important to this area.

It's the number one industry in this area.

So in 1904, some growers in a local area said, we need a research station to serve our area.

And so they bought 200 acres of land right here in Stoneville and donated it to Mississippi State University to start a research center here in the Delta.

- Wow.

Let everybody know exactly what you all study.

I've heard about some catfish.

I saw a pecan orchard outside.

So tell everybody what you all study.

So historically when we started we were primarily a cotton and cattle research station.

Throughout the years cattle have kind of moved out of the Delta.

We stuck primarily with cotton and eventually started adding in soybeans, corn, rice, a little bit of wheat.

And then in the 60s started doing catfish research as that industry started developing.

Now you coming here and being the head of all of this, how much joy do you find out of it?

And you know, how much more do you learn on a daily basis?

Well, we learn something every day because agriculture is constantly changing.

Farming today is not just getting on a tractor and driving.

Every one of these tractors and pieces of equipment the growers have has a computer in it with GPS guidance and most of the tractors can drive themselves now.

It's very important for us to do the research that we need to do to figure out where growers can cut costs to continue to make money and pump that money back into the community.

I thank you so much for letting us know more about the DREC here in Stoneville, Mississippi, at Mississippi State University because our listeners need to know, our viewers need to know, and you've just been a great host for us here at Mississippi Public Broadcasting.

So thank you so much, Dr.

Chap.

Yep, we appreciate y'all.

We appreciate you too.

Well, I'm not exactly sure what it is.

It was my great-grandmother's and we think it came from her mother.

We've had a lot of arguments among the family of what it really is.

Is it something for water, wine, coffee?

And it does detach.

And we think that maybe there were some cups or something with it at one time, but those have been lost if there was.

Okay.

And so it was descended in the family?

It was my great great grandmother and she came to the U.S.

from Bremerhaven in Germany.

And she was really aspiring to the American dream and I think this was one of her ideas of getting there and being there.

And so this was one of the first things she bought and she didn't have many other things.

She died relatively young and passed it on to my great grandmother and then that's how It's come down in the family.

Well, this is a post-Victorian, so American aesthetic period, 19th century coffee urn or hot water urn, as they're referred to.

What we're missing here is the cup.

So this would have that you pour directly into the cup.

And that's what I wondered, because it has that nice little rim part there.

Right.

And the cups actually fit directly over the rim.

These are fairly common.

We would see these in a lot of houses.

You know, everybody had one.

Now, you say you can't remember the last time it was used.

I will tell you that there's coffee stains right here, and it smells like coffee still.

Oh, wow.

On the inside when I was fooling with it just now.

But you'll find these throughout time, but I want to point out something pretty cool about this one, okay?

So, the American aesthetic period was about 1870 to 1900.

And it was a revolution of sorts to the Victorian era where people said that things were clunky.

So the motto of that period was "Art for Art's Sake."

So they pulled from Japanese influence, they pulled from all sorts of things because they wanted things to be decorative, they wanted them to be beautiful.

They weren't going to have something in their house like the Victorians that was just going to be functional.

It was going to be over the top, you know, it was going to be amazing.

Look at this.

There are some over the top.

So we've got faces here.

And this is, again, silver plate.

So it's silver over another metal, probably a copper.

We've got blossoms here in the work there.

And then down below, we've got more stenciling in there and then more detailed work there and then here and what we're looking at is that is just you know hands down the period the style everything about this tells me that it's 1880s somewhere in there.

We thank you for bringing it in it's pretty awesome you have any idea what it's worth?

Not really but I know because it's probably missing the cup that it's it's not mint condition.

It's not in mint condition.

It's missing the cup.

It's bent a little bit down here.

It doesn't sit flush anymore.

We've got a little bit of dust at the top, which does nothing to the value.

I'm just pointing that out.

But this will clean.

So if you wanted to polish it with a silver polish, you could.

If you wanted to get the old coffee off, you could.

And really make it a showpiece in your home.

That being said, in perfect condition with the cup and everything else, we're looking at an auction value of roughly about $250.

That's cool.

Yeah, and they can bring upwards of about $500 retail.

Okay.

And you can clean it up and put it right back on your sideboard.

It's where it's going.

Thank you very much.

Well, Melanie, what have you brought us today?

Today I've brought a Japanese two handed sword from World War II.

It was brought back from the Pacific Rim and was a gift to my father by the gentleman who brought it back.

I used to love taking it to show and tell at school and was fascinated by it.

Did my book report in eighth grade on Shogun because I thought it was a Shogun sword.

Yeah, yeah.

It was used in battle, you know, probably from the South Pacific War.

They were used during World War II.

Now, this one, before we went on the air, I was trying to get it apart, and I see that it's probably, this is a bamboo sheave, and the rust, and then there's a little bit of tape around it somehow, and all of that has prevented it from coming out.

You probably could get it out if you put penetrating oil on it and let it seep down in there.

And this is all hand-wrapped and that's bamboo underneath it.

And the sheave is bamboo.

And so it is authentic South Pacific.

So these type military things have a great value.

And I think this one, it needs to be restored somewhat, but I think two to $2,500.

- Well, that is beautiful.

- And so, but you've owned it for a long, long time.

- My dad, it's daddy's.

And when he passed away, it's in the house.

So you don't plan to ever part with it?

I do not.

It's kind of a family, unless one of the, you know, the grandkids want to.

It's still a good piece and I'm sure you want hang on to it and just thank you so much for bringing it by today.

Mr.

Stevens, I appreciate it.

Thank you so much.

We're here in Stoneville, Mississippi at the MPB Antiques Showcase in the Delta.

Now, one thing I want to touch on that's so important is we've been all over with MPB, the state.

Now, we're seeing unique items in the Delta.

And I think we know why that is.

There's been a lot of influence.

People come from all over.

The river's right here.

We're very close to Arkansas.

We're close to Louisiana.

The historical significance of the Delta in the state of Mississippi much throughout time, starting in the early 1800s.

Talk to us about the antiques that we find in the Delta versus maybe elsewhere in Mississippi.

I mean I always see in the Delta a pride from people when they say they're from the Delta.

So even if they transplant somewhere else like northeast Mississippi where we are.

And so I saw a lot more of items today where this is my third, fourth generation object or flask or this was my great-great-grandmother's wedding dress and so to me it seems like specifically for the Delta we see a lot of family heirlooms as opposed to just you know more recent buyers or collectors or maybe one generation it goes back and I think that has a lot to do with the pride people in the Delta have from being from the Delta and keeping those items.

You saying that made me think back but today I think that I might have only had one person that was a first generation owner.

You know, these items were second and third generation on every appraisal I did today.

I think that's why man more.

What about you, Lance?

One lady.

Yeah, that's the same way.

So, I mean, that's something important.

So the items come here, these fine items, and then they remain here and they remain in the family.

And that's the generationality of that is pretty spectacular.

We had one lady came in, she had a scrapbook, like from her, I think she said she was six generation granddaughter to this lady from the late 1800s or whatever.

But it was a scrapbook of her grandmother's life, like from the very beginning.

And she has three books full of scrapbooks of her grandmother's life.

It's pretty cool to see, you know, just like you said, generation.

They've kept this for generations and generations.

I looked at an item today and the woman's great-great-grandmother moved here from Germany and wanted to live the American dream.

So the first thing that she bought was this very spectacular teapot in like the 1870s.

And that was, she made it, right?

It was this big, large teapot, well done American aesthetic period.

You know, it was a thing of beauty.

And she said that that was always they made it.

And, you know, she lived the American dream with that teapot.

And then she passed that teapot down to her daughter.

And now it's four generations down the line.

And it still signifies not only the American dream, but their move from Europe to the U.S.

- Join us next time on Mississippi Antique Showcase.

Find out if you've got a hidden treasure tucked away in your closet.

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