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Lucy Peck Poured Wax Doll, ca. 1875

Value (2013) | $3,000 Retail – $4,000 Retail
Watch  

GUEST:
It was my great-aunt's. My mother eventually was given it and then she gave it to me.

APPRAISER:
From what country did it come from?

GUEST:
I'm not absolutely sure. I think it was England.

APPRAISER:
Well, it's an English doll, it's wax, and it's made in the period of the 1870s, early 1880s. These were luxury toys. A doll like this would have belonged to a very, very, very wealthy family. It has its complete wardrobe plus something which was very interesting: the crate that it came in, which lists all the clothing.

GUEST:
Oh.

APPRAISER:
Which is very, very neat. It came to this country in 1937. The doll was made, like I say, 1870s, 1880s. It has a very interesting mechanism in it. If you go under here, down towards here under all these petticoats, there's a lever, and this lever opens and shuts her eyes. Do you know who made the doll at all?

GUEST:
I have no idea.

APPRAISER:
Okay, this is very hard to see, but under here again, if we can get down really, really low, there's a label that says "Lucy Peck Dolls Bazaar," which was in London. Now, a doll at this time, in the 1880s, sold for approximately $75 to $100. So that was a lot of money in 1880.

GUEST:
Oh, yes.

APPRAISER:
It's what they call "poured wax." A Lucy Peck wire-eyed wax on today's market would sell on the cheap side for $4,000 to $6,000.

GUEST:
Really?

APPRAISER:
And you have a prime beautiful example of a great doll.

GUEST:
She's a wonderful doll.

Support provided by: Learn more

Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Richard Wright
Dolls, Toys & Games
Update (2013)
$3,000 Retail – $4,000 Retail
Appraised value (1999)
$4,000 Retail – $6,000 Retail
Featured In
Toronto, Hour 1 (#0411)
Vintage Toronto (#1828)
Event
Toronto, ON (August 07, 1999)
Category
Dolls
Period
19th Century
Form
Doll
Material
Wax

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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