Gustav Stickley Andirons, ca. 1905
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GUEST:
I got them at a yard sale about three or four years ago. I knew they were andirons.
APPRAISER:
Then you saw that they were marked?
GUEST:
Yes, 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, uh, he's 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 Workshops. 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 this building in New York, and 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. It's marked over here, "Gustav Stickley," and it has the joiner's compass. It's an early mark. It's probably from about 1905. You 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...
GUEST:
This right here.
APPRAISER:
...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.
APPRAISER:
That's not bad. A retail price for this would be in the, uh, $10,000 to $15,000 range.
GUEST:
Oh, really? (laughs) Oh, my God. That's fantastic.
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