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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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Käthe Kruse Doll One, ca. 1915

Value (2011) | $4,500 Retail – $5,000 Retail
Watch  

GUEST:
His name is Charlie, and my great-grandmother bought him after... I think my grandfather was born in 1892. She had only boys, she bought a boy doll. But boys being boys, it was never played with.

APPRAISER:
Did she ever travel to Germany at all in her lifetime?

GUEST:
I know that her sister did spend a time, when her husband was a physician, in Germany, yes.

APPRAISER:
The doll that you brought today is actually from Germany, although it may have been purchased in the United States, but it was more likely, at that time, purchased in Germany. It's made by Kathy Kruse, or Kathe Kruse, who was a woman who started manufacturing dolls in about 1910. She was a Bohemian actress who had this talent for creating dolls and loved the softness of oil paint and fabric. And so all of her dolls were molded and sculpted and then oil painted. The bodies were stuffed with reindeer hair. The doll that you brought is remarkable because of the condition. If you look at the face, all of its original paint is there. There's no wear. The painting on the hair is exactly like it was when it came out of the factory. She made this particular doll, which is referred to as Kathe Kruse Doll One, and she made that from about 1910 to about 1929. During that time and after, other dolls were created, different size dolls. The company is still in business today, and they're still producing dolls, and they do do a line of high-end dolls that are still stuffed with reindeer hair and hand-painted. Both male dolls and female dolls were exactly the same. They were just dressed in different clothing. They'd both be valued the same. They get much more expensive if you get into World War I uniforms or really intricate clothing. It has all of its original clothing. I feel that the shoes... the actual shoes are probably missing, which could have been wooden clogs, or they could have been a hemp or a woven shoe or a felt shoe. The only issue with condition would be the moth condition on the hat. Often, the dolls were enhanced with hand embroidery, which this doll has feather stitching all around the hat, all around the bottom. This particular doll is a very popular doll today with collectors, and on the retail market this doll would sell between $4,500 and $5,000.

GUEST:
(laughing) I thought it was a three-figure doll. (laughing) Oh, my goodness!

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Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Marshall Martin
Dolls
Antique and Collectible Dolls
Folsom, CA
Appraised value (2011)
$4,500 Retail – $5,000 Retail
Featured In
Minneapolis, Hour 1 (#1616)
Event
Minneapolis, MN (July 09, 2011)
Category
Dolls
Period
20th Century
Form
Doll
Material
Cloth , Oil

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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