Victorian Baby Carriage, ca. 1870
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GUEST:
I brought what I believe to be a child's carriage or pram. I purchased this from a farmer in my hometown a couple years ago, and I love old things, unique things, fell in love with it, and it sits in the corner of my living room.
APPRAISER:
All right. This is made about 1870 or so.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
It's made probably in New England. There was a company called Joel Ellis, who made doll carriages and, to a lesser extent, baby carriages. They were in Springfield, Vermont. And this has a lot of elements that would relate it to especially doll carriages made by Joel Ellis.
GUEST:
It wasn't for dolls, I mean...
APPRAISER:
It wasn't for dolls. It's too big. A doll's carriage tends to be maybe a third this size. This is a baby carriage, and what's remarkable about it is the condition that it's in. The leather top is likely the original one, the tasseling is all original. The upholstery on the backrest and the seat is probably an early replacement, but probably from the late 19th century still. The best part about it is the decoration. It's painted by what would be generally termed a decorative painter. He would do Victorian flourishes and things like that. This is the kind of item that would get a great deal of use and would tend to be subjected to a great deal of wear. And even in some of the places where the wear is most, you still see some of the painted decoration, which is really remarkable. You said you bought it from a local farmer; what did you pay?
GUEST:
$175.
APPRAISER:
I think that because of the condition that it's in, I would place the value for insurance of $1,500.
GUEST:
Wow. That's wonderful.
APPRAISER:
It's one of the best ones we've seen.
GUEST:
That's wonderful.
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