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Moe-Bridges Table Lamp, ca. 1900

Value (2014) | $1,200 Auction – $1,800 Auction
Watch  

GUEST:
It was my mother's. Ever since I was a little kid, it's always been in the house.

APPRAISER:
Well, the lamp we know was made by the Moe-Bridges Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We know that because of the signature on the bottom of it, which we should take a look at. This lamp made in Milwaukee, in probably the late 19th, early 20th century, is really in the Arts and Crafts style. Now, Moe-Bridges was working off of designs that the Handel Glass Company and the Pairpoint Glass Company made very famous in New England. And this is what I would describe as a notch down in quality from those lamps. Those reverse-painted lamps have beautiful scenic images on them, as this one does, and you can see the landscape decoration on it. It is part of a design movement that I would describe as the Brown Decades. It is mid 19th century to late 19th century, when people were decorating their homes in very somber colors and dark browns and dark greens and wine reds, and this is, finally, we get to the middle class when they're able to appreciate the high style Brown Decades at the turn of the century. Another tip-off on this lamp in terms of its value is the fact that this does not have a bronze base to it. It looks like bronze, but it's not. It's probably an iron base that has been patinated in this brown color.

GUEST:
Oh.

APPRAISER:
And you've done a wonderful thing here. You've got 25 watt bulbs in this lamp, which is perfect to really enhance its color. It really does look like a sunset. It's the type of bulb that would have originally been in the lamp. I would appraise it probably in the $2,000 to $3,000 range.

GUEST:
Really?

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Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Karen Keane
Decorative Arts, Furniture
Skinner, Inc.
Boston, MA
Update (2014)
$1,200 Auction – $1,800 Auction
Appraised value (1999)
$2,000 Auction – $3,000 Auction
Featured In
Vintage Salt Lake City (#1830)
Event
Salt Lake City, UT (July 10, 1999)
Category
Glass
Period
19th Century , 20th Century
Form
Lamp
Material
Glass , Iron

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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