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Close Up | Poet Rainer Maria Rilke's Quote

Close Up | Poet Rainer Maria Rilke's Quote

Owner Interview | Korean Yayoi Stone Dagger, ca. 750 BC

Owner Interview | Korean Yayoi Stone Dagger, ca. 750 BC

Appraisal Collection | All Our Appraisals from Colonial Williamsburg, Hour 3

Appraisal Collection | All Our Appraisals from Colonial Williamsburg, Hour 3

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Webber Singing Doll

Value (2010) | $800 – $1,200

GUEST:
She is a Webber Singing Doll from 1882. She belonged to my grandmother, who was born in 1883. My grandparents owned a grocery store, and one night, someone came in and took the doll, and my grandma and her folks were lucky enough to find her in the alley. Her hands had been cut off, as well as her hair, and my grandmother resewed her shoulders.

APPRAISER:
What you have here is indeed a Webber Singing Doll. It has wonderful patent marks on the back of the doll. Here it says "The Webber Doll." There's a U.S. patent, there's a Brussels patent, there's a French patent. The doll was actually assembled in Germany. And on the front, it says "I sing sweet bye and bye." You demonstrated, uh, to me how the doll sings, and I'm wondering if you could do that for us.

GUEST:
Absolutely, I'd love to. (doll whistling)

APPRAISER:
The whistling sound is made by a bellows, and to have the doll still working is very rare. The doll has a papier-m‚chÈ head and glass inset eyes. The wig, although you were disappointed it had been trimmed many years ago, it still has its original wig, which is better than having no wig. It has kid leather gloves, or arms-- they were sewn in-- and your grandmother did a wonderful job sewing them back on. Original shoes, original underwear. This was the original dress that was on the doll. But then some family member made several other pieces that are over here.

GUEST:
What is she stuffed with?

APPRAISER:
Usually they're stuffed, stuffed with horsehair. On today's retail market, the doll would sell between $800 and $1,200. Now, the interesting thing about that is, it's a very rare doll, very rare, but rarity doesn't always translate into mega dollars, so it's a modest retail for what dolls do sell for on the market today.

GUEST:
Okay, thank you very much.

APPRAISER:
Okay? Thank you for bringing it.

Support provided by: Learn more

Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Marshall Martin
Dolls
Antique and Collectible Dolls
Folsom, CA
Appraised value (2010)
$800 – $1,200
Featured In
Billings, Hour 3 (#1512)
Musical Scores (#2624)
Event
Billings, MT (June 26, 2010)
Category
Dolls

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.

Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.

Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.

Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.

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