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North Carolina Secretary, ca. 1790

Value (2012) | $60,000 Auction – $125,000 Insurance
Watch  

GUEST:
This desk belonged to Kenneth Roberts, and we've had it for 50 years or more. And Kenneth Roberts was a real famous author in Maine.

APPRAISER:
Right.

GUEST:
Known for his historical novels.

APPRAISER:
So why don't we talk a little bit about the desk. It's North Carolina School. From 1780 to roughly 1800, there was a cabinetmaker in North Carolina whose name was William Seay. And he made a lot of furniture for a man whose name was Whitmell Hill. Whitmell Hill was very wealthy, and of course his initials are W.H. So for years, we thought that whoever made these was named W.H. But actually, William Seay made quite a bit of furniture for him because he had three houses he wanted to fill up down in North Carolina. The way the cornice is done, that decoration across the top of it.

GUEST:
Yes.

APPRAISER:
And that pediment, and that flame finial, and this beautiful molding at the top of the window lights, all of those things are characteristic of what William Seay did. The other thing that I love... is that Kenneth Roberts wrote in here.

GUEST:
Yes.

APPRAISER:
Now, he didn't date it.

GUEST:
No.

APPRAISER:
But he basically talks about where he bought it, and the fact that the desk was originally in Petersburg, Virginia. And that it was mentioned in the book Antique Mania. And this type of case furniture from that particular part of the country, you see a lot of this yellow pine secondary wood.

GUEST:
Oh.

APPRAISER:
It makes it hard to move, doesn't it?

GUEST:
Heavy.

APPRAISER:
Extremely heavy. We took all the drawers out, we looked inside of it, we looked all behind it, because sometimes we find William Seay's initials.

GUEST:
Oh, wow.

APPRAISER:
And I couldn't find it, so I would want to look some more, but there's no doubt about the fact that he made this desk. Let's talk a little bit about condition. The really cool thing about this book is he talks about buying this.

GUEST:
Right.

APPRAISER:
And he also talks about the things that were wrong with it when he bought it.

GUEST:
The glass?

APPRAISER:
Replacing some glass.

GUEST:
Yeah.

APPRAISER:
They had to put about the top two-thirds of that finial on there. He did get it right. That's an accurate representation of what that finial would be. The only thing that I would criticize that restoration for was that they beveled these drawer fronts.

GUEST:
I know.

APPRAISER:
But you know, that's not a deal killer. That could be fixed like it never was there.

GUEST:
Oh, okay.

APPRAISER:
It's got replaced brasses. In the book, it tells about the fact that they thought it would look really nice with new feet.

GUEST:
Yeah.

APPRAISER:
Those feet are reduced, but I don't think they replaced the feet. Your primary wood is walnut. Your date is probably 1790, somewhere in that neighborhood. It's hard to say for sure. A conservative estimate at auction would be $60,000 to $90,000.

GUEST:
Wow.

APPRAISER:
And for insurance value, I would say $125,000.

GUEST:
Wow.

Support provided by: Learn more

Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Ken Farmer
Decorative Arts, Folk Art, Furniture, Musical Instruments
Ken Farmer LLC
Charlottesville, VA
Appraised value (2012)
$60,000 Auction – $125,000 Insurance
Featured In
Boston, Hour 2 (#1705)
Event
Boston, MA (June 09, 2012)
Category
Furniture
Period
18th Century
Form
Secretary
Material
Glass , Walnut , Wood

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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