• Connect with us
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  • Our Sponsors

Discovering America’s Hidden Treasures ™
On Tour
Watch
Special Features
Appraisals Archive 
Appraisers 
 Shop
    Quick links
  • Complete Ticket Rules
  • How the Event Works
  • 2020 Tour FAQ
  • Williamsburg, VA — Canceled
  • Nashville, TN — Canceled
  • Boston, MA — Canceled
  • Estes Park, CO — Canceled
  • Santa Fe, NM — Canceled
Latest: 2020 Tour Update

Latest: 2020 Tour Update

Tour FAQs

Tour FAQs

Things We Commonly See at ROADSHOW

Things We Commonly See at ROADSHOW

    Quick links
  • Watch Episodes Online
  • TV Schedule
  • Best Moments of Season 24
  • Best Moments of Season 23
  • Best Moments of Season 22
  • Cities from Past Seasons
  • About Executive Producer Marsha Bemko
  • Roadshow's Editorial Policy
Watch | Vintage Spokane, Hour 1

Watch | Vintage Spokane, Hour 1

Watch | Harrisburg, Hour 3

Watch | Harrisburg, Hour 3

Watch | Vintage Orlando, Hour 2

Watch | Vintage Orlando, Hour 2

    Quick links
  • Find Features by City
  • Video "RoadShorts"
  • Roadshow Topics — Endangered Species
  • Roadshow Topics — Sports Appraisals
  • Roadshow Topics — Best Moments
  • Roadshow Topics — Staff Picks
  • For Teachers
  • Vintage Minute
  • AR "Extras" Newsletter Sign-up
Article | Collecting Kachina Dolls

Article | Collecting Kachina Dolls

Article | Read President Abraham Lincoln's Letters

Article | Read President Abraham Lincoln's Letters

Article | Overview of Current Ivory Law

Article | Overview of Current Ivory Law

  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  

Victorian Magic Lantern & Slides

Value (2016) | $2,000 Auction – $3,000 Auction
Watch  

GUEST:
I was in a used furniture store in North Vernon, Indiana. They had used furniture and antiques. I bought the item from the owner of the store for about $35, and that was about 20 years ago.

APPRAISER:
Okay, okay. And did you find out where it had come from?

GUEST:
Yeah, it had originated from the Knights of Pythias Hall in San Jacinto, Indiana, so it was used in some of their rituals, I guess.

APPRAISER:
For some of their lodge fraternity work. So it was part of their meetings and all that.

GUEST:
Right.

APPRAISER:
Okay, well, what we have here is not your standard magic lantern. Magic lanterns tended to be very boxy, either mahogany or Japan metal with maybe a brass lens in the front, and you would change the slides individually. What this is is...you've got your brass lens in the front, with focusing, which is normal, and then, you know, the main lens. But then this part is wonderful. Instead of changing slides, you have this...this fan of slides so that you just spin the wheel. And the slides we have here are colored lithograph; they're not hand-painted. I like this one in particular because it's got the factory that it was made at.

GUEST:
Yeah, that's interesting.

APPRAISER:
And that's very important, you know. You don't see that very often. And the whole thing is nickel-plated. Nickel was kind of the chrome of the Victorian era, nickel and lacquered brass, which this is. And although it says it's an oil burner, it is in fact electric. It's a very early electric, uh, machine. Because these contacts here are all original; these were not added. The venting down here is to allow air to get into the electric lamp housing back here, and there is no place for oil to have been. This was originally electric.

GUEST:
Okay.

APPRAISER:
Now, magic lantern collectors like showy pieces. They love pieces that look unusual. But they don't like them to be too big, either. I think, conservatively, in an auction of early technology and of cameras, you'd easily get 1,000 to 1,500. But I would not at all be surprised if the two, three, four, five collectors fight it out, and it goes up even higher than that. It's a real collector's piece and a really beautiful, beautiful piece of American technical history.

GUEST:
Pretty good return for $35.

APPRAISER:
Excellent return for $35.

Support provided by: Learn more

Appraisal Details

Appraiser
George Glastris
Science & Technology
None
Chicago, IL
Update (2016)
$2,000 Auction – $3,000 Auction
Appraised value (2001)
$1,000 Auction – $1,500 Auction
Featured In
Indianapolis, Hour 3 (#0615)
Vintage Indianapolis (#2021)
Event
Indianapolis, IN (August 18, 2001)
Category
Science & Technology
Period
Victorian
Form
Lithograph , Projector
Material
Brass , Glass , Metal , Wood

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.

More from PBS

The Black Church

Trace the 400-year-old story of the Black church in America.

9to5: The Story of a Movement

Go inside the movement for women's workplace equality in the 1970's.

Finding Your Roots

Discover the surprising ancestral stories of a variety of public figures.

"I know there's a lot of envious people hearing that story..." Antiques Roadshow on Facebook

What’s inside the case?

@RoadshowPBS on Instagram

William Austin Burt patented the U.S.'s first "typographer” on July 23 in 1829. 110 year later came this "The Gold Royal" typewriter… @RoadshowPBS

We're soaking up the story behind this @LeslieKeno appraisal! #antiquesroadshow @RoadshowPBS

  • Connect with us
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  • ABOUT ROADSHOW
  • Schedule
  • Contact Us
  • Credits
  • Press
  • For Teachers
  • Telephone Scam Warning
  • Roadshow Imitators Warning
  • Doing Business with Appraisers
  • Our Sponsors
  • Our Funders
  • Corporate Sponsorship

Funding for ANTIQUES ROADSHOW is provided by Ancestry and Consumer Cellular. Additional funding is provided by public television viewers.

Produced By

ANTIQUES ROADSHOW is a trademark of the BBC and is produced for PBS by GBH under license from BBC, Worldwide. PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. ©1997 – 2021 WGBH Educational Foundation.

  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Editorial Policy
  • Copyright
Subscribe Hide  ×

A weekly collection of previews, videos, articles, interviews, and more!