Ink Salesman Samples & Book
GUEST:
It's a salesman cabinet for printing inks, and it's Ault & Wiborg. One of the more famous ink manufacturers at the turn of the century.
APPRIASER: And where did you get it?
GUEST:
It was from my next-door neighbor. He was a printer for a long time, and when he died, his wife offered it to me, and I just gave her $25 for it. Twenty-five dollars.
APPRIASER: Well, you know, I'm really a poster specialist, not an ink specialist. But if we open this up, we see that as the salesmen went from shop to shop, they had their samples of inks to offer for sale. But inks alone are not enough to really sell a product. And what I found so fascinating about this piece is, tucked into the side of the box, very much like your insurance in your car's glove compartment...
GUEST:
Right.
APPRIASER:...is, basically, the sample book that goes with all of the inks. And contained within the sample book are some works by very famous American artists. One of them is Will Bradley, perhaps the most famous American Art Nouveau artist, very influential in the Arts & Crafts movement. We also have great works by other artists really highlighting how good the inks are. But in fact, it was a little bit of a misleading book, because to achieve this kind of level really took artistic talent, not ink quality. Although the Ault & Wiborg Company really did make quality inks. Do you have any idea of the value of this purchase of yours?
GUEST:
Well, I thought maybe just because of the book, it was... would be worth maybe a thousand dollars.
APPRAISER:
Well, I think that's actually very close by a fraction of half. Basically, the inks themselves I think are a great curiosity piece, and I think the value for the case and the inks would be between $800 and $1,200. And I think the book I would value between $1,000 and $1,500.
GUEST:
Oh, that's what worth...
APPRAISER:
Bringing the total value of the whole package to $1,800 to $2,700 for the group.
GUEST:
Wonderful. (laughing) Not bad for 25 bucks.
APPRIASER: No, not at all.
Appraisal Details
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."
Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.
Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.
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