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Owner Interview | 1919 William Faulkner Handmade Poetry Book

Owner Interview | 1919 William Faulkner Handmade Poetry Book

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Samuel Yellin Light Fixture, ca. 1910

Value (2019) | $3,000 Auction – $4,000 Auction
Watch  

GUEST:
It actually belonged to my father-in-law. Um, he was in the boys' choir at the Washington National Cathedral, and when his voice changed, he worked on the custodial crew at the cathedral to help pay his tuition. And he said he found this lamp in the trash, being disposed of, and he rescued it. Uh, when he passed away, no one in the family wanted Dad's ugly lamp, and my mother-in-law was going to call someone to pick it up for scrap metal. I asked her not to do that, to let me look it over. When I saw that it was marked Samuel Yellin, I did a little bit of research, and my husband and I visited the Washington National Cathedral to kind of learn a little bit more about Yellin, and we were shocked to find what appears to be an identical lamp hanging on the wall of the Chapel of the Resurrection. When my father-in-law had it displayed in his home, he had that shade on it. I don't know if it was original to the lamp, or something that he created to go with it, but that's how we got it.

APPRAISER:
Well, I'll tell you what: It has nothing to do with it whatsoever.

GUEST:
(laughing)

APPRAISER:
I think it was just a nice, decorative shade that fit well. Uh, but no, it has nothing to do with the piece at all.

GUEST:
Okay.

APPRAISER:
I love the story, and what's really wonderful about this piece is that the mark on it of Samuel Yellin is so very clear, and Samuel Yellin was a metalworker based in Philadelphia. And he started his business in around 1907, and at the peak of the business, had over 200 people working for him, providing, uh, metalwork and lighting for great American homes. Also, national monuments-- the Washington Cathedral. Uh, from my little research I could do, he continued to supply pieces for the National Cathedral throughout a period of time. What's lovely about the piece is that we're here at Winterthur today, and there are actually drawings in the museum collection of Samuel Yellin's work.

GUEST:
Really?

APPRAISER:
Yes, so really wonderful to see this here. This is a single light fixture, and it's more ecclesiastical in design, so the value's, uh, a little on the softer side for his pieces. But if I were to see this come up for auction, I would expect to see an estimate of around about $3,000 to $4,000.

GUEST:
That's fantastic. That's an expensive piece of scrap metal. (laughs)

Support provided by: Learn more

Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Sebastian Clarke
Decorative Arts, Furniture
Doyle New York
New York, NY
Appraised value (2019)
$3,000 Auction – $4,000 Auction
Featured In
Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library, Hour 1 (#2401)
RECUT: Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library, Part 2 (#R0304)
Event
Winterthur, DE (June 18, 2019)
Category
Decorative Arts
Period
20th Century
Form
Lamp
Material
Metal

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.

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More on This Appraisal

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Yellin Floor Lamp, ca. 1925
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