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Concord, Massachusetts Card Table, ca. 1800

Value (2016) | $3,000 Auction – $5,000 Auction
Watch  

GUEST:
The story in the family is that it was made by my great-great-grandfather in Concord, Massachusetts-- Cyrus Benjamin.

APPRAISER:
Okay.

APPRAISER:
And that's all I know about it. It's been in the living room of my mother's house and my house for as long as I can remember.

APPRAISER:
So family lore says it was made by Cyrus Benjamin.

GUEST:
Cyrus Benjamin.

APPRAISER:
About what time would that have been?

GUEST:
It would probably have been-- we thought-- about 1860, 1870.

APPRAISER:
Okay.

GUEST:
About the time his son had gone into the Civil War, and he had a shop in the back of the house.

APPRAISER:
Okay, well, as sometimes can happen, family history is off by a generation or two here. A table like this is generally referred to as a demilune card table. Made in eastern Massachusetts, about 1800. So 60 or 70 years earlier than family lore would suggest.

GUEST:
And before Cyrus Benjamin was born.

APPRAISER:
Exactly. This table, though it's based on a Boston example of a demilune table, is likely made, if not in Concord, certainly in the Concord, Massachusetts, area.

GUEST:
That makes sense.

APPRAISER:
Without a doubt. It would be referred to as a Federal period card table. It relates to Federal furniture made in Concord and Sudbury and Carlisle, all neighboring towns of the general area west of Boston.

GUEST:
From where my relatives would have originated anyway.

APPRAISER:
Exactly, which was the countryside at that time.

GUEST:
Yes.

APPRAISER:
It is a remarkably colloquial table.

GUEST:
What does that mean?

APPRAISER:
Well, there's a lot of country cabinetmaker things that are going on. Especially with relation to the inlay on this table, which relates to a lot of Boston forms. At the top of the dies here, you can see what I would refer to as a contrasting quatrefoil.

GUEST:
I see.

APPRAISER:
Very similar to a lot of furniture made in Concord, certainly. What I like best, however, is the really delicate line inlay just below that, at the top of each leg. You can see this maybe light wood, could be holly, wavy line inlay that sort of intersects a couple times, and then ends in drops that we looked at very closely and can't really determine exactly what the substance is. It may be horn, it may be mother-of-pearl.

GUEST:
Wow.

APPRAISER:
It's difficult to know. The whole table is covered over in a varnish that sort of obscures exactly what materials are being used. But what's so interesting about the table to us is that it's a great country example of a city form made with indigenous woods like cherry on the top. Actually two boards of cherry. And it excited us when we saw it because it's a good rarity to have a table made in that area of Massachusetts. Is it something you've ever had appraised? GUESTL Never.

APPRAISER:
Well, in its current state, we'd estimate it for auction purposes at $3,000 to $5,000.

GUEST:
(chuckles) That will shock my brothers and sisters.

APPRAISER:
(laughs) Well, good.

GUEST:
Wonderful to hear. I appreciate that, thank you very much.

Support provided by: Learn more

Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Christopher Barber
Decorative Arts, Folk Art, Furniture
Bonhams Skinner, Inc.
Doyle New York
New York, NY
Appraised value (2016)
$3,000 Auction – $5,000 Auction
Featured In
Orlando, Hour 2 (#2117)
Event
Orlando, FL (June 18, 2016)
Category
Furniture
Period
19th Century , Civil War
Form
Card Table , Furniture , Table
Material
Cherry

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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