We had a total of 28 people show up at the Mt. Zion Lodge in Barre, MA to get their items appraised.

It was a great night and as usual, I was not disappointed with the items brought for me to inspect. I was able to evaluate most items without issue, but there were a few things that stumped me so here is a follow-up on those.

After the show, a Margaret Mee gouache was taken into the hall. It’s absolutely stunning. I was able to find results of other works by MM at Sothebys. Works I found were in the $5,000 range. In my opinion, the one I looked at in Barre Wed. night, was much nicer than the ones I researched.

The most significant piece of Americana that I’ve looked at in a while was this American Civil War silk battle banner.  My advice on this if the owner were to sell it, was to place it in a well advertised auction with like items. It’s a one-of-a-kind so the true value can only be set at auction, but my pre-auction estimate would be about $2,500.

It’s funny how in this business, one day you’ll see something you’ve never seen, and the next day, you see another one!

Below is a very unusual meat chopper mfgd. by L.S. Starrett co. of Athol, MA. circa 1860-90. I’m familiar with Starrett’s quality tools, antique ones as well as newer, since I’m only a couple of towns away from the factory in Athol. But, as I’ve said, I’ve never seen one of these rare meat choppers. This one was in excellent working condition, and the barell rotates ad the crank is turned.

Two days later, ad I was closing a deal on some antique buttons, I looked over and saw the same exact type of meat chopper on the table of the dealer I was doing business with!

This one was all but ruined. Still the owner felt it was scarce enough to put a price of $185 on it.

When I asked what he thought one in mint condition would go for, he said, “well, those are far and few between, I doubt you’d ever find one in that kind of condition. But if I had one in excellent shape, I’d ask about $1,500 for it”. Little did he know!

Sometimes size is everything! Take a look at this decoy, it’s one of the largest I’ve ever seen at about 2 foot long. The neck was made of a sheet metal. There was no makers mark, so we don’t know who the artist was. I evaluated at $250-$300 retail.

If you’d like to find out about how you can put together one of these appraisal nights contact me.

They are profitable, tons of  fun, can be put toghether with very little effort and involve no up-front costs!