Janet Firth: Wausau Antique Appraisal Event

ANTIQUE EVENT HELD TO ALLOW LOCALS TO RECEIVE APPRAISALS

BY JANET FIRTH

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AN EVENT WAS HELD, RECENTLY, TO ALLOW LOCAL COLLECTORS

TO BRING THEIR ANTIQUES FOR APPRAISAL.

THE EVENT “WHAT’S IT WORTH?”- LOCATED IN THE WAUSAU HEADQUARTERS OF THE

MARATHON COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY FEATURED

PROFESSIONAL APPRAISER, MARK MORAN,OF “ANTIQUE

ROADSHOW.”

MORAN USED HIS OWN EXTENSIVE KNOWLEDGE TO APPRAISE THE ITEMS BROUGHT TO HIM.

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MORAN, WHO RECENTLY BOOKED HIS ONE HUNDRED AND

FORTIETH EVENT THIS YEAR,INDICATES THAT CERTAIN

TV SHOWS HAVE INCREASED THE INTEREST OF CONSUMERS IN COLLECTING ANTIQUE ITEMS.

“ANTIQUES ROADSHOW,”“AMERICAN

PICKERS” AND “PAWN STARS”ARE SOME EXAMPLES.

THIS INCREASED CONSUMER INTEREST HAS SPURRED ON MORE WORK FOR HIM AND

MANY OTHER APPRAISERS IN THE INDUSTRY.

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MORAN HAS FOUND THAT STANDARD AMERICAN

SNAPSHOTS ARE INCREASING IN VALUE—

SIMPLE PICTURES SNAPPED IN THE BACKYARD,

AT PICNICS OR IMAGES OF THE COUNTRYSIDE.

ALTERNATIVELY, MORAN DECLARED THAT CHINA DINNERWARE AND CERAMICS HAVE DECREASED IN VALUE.

THIS IS DUE LARGELY TO THE FACT THAT NEITHER ITEM CAN BE PLACED IN A MICROWAVE OR DISHWASHER; WITHOUT THIS EASE OF USE, MANY CONSUMERS NO LONGER WISH TO HAVE THE ITEM.

SPECIFICALLY, AT THIS EVENT, MORAN FOUND SEVERAL KEY

ITEMS THAT WERE UNEXPECTED. FIRST, THERE WAS A PRINT OF A HORSE PAINTING, BROUGHT IN

BY HOWARD BICHLER OF BIRNAMWOOD.

BICHLER BELIEVED THE PAINTING TO BE A MEAGER STOCK

CATALOGUE PIECE.

HOWEVER, MORAN DISCOVERED THAT THE PIECE WAS A

LITHOGRAPH OF THE MOST FAMOUS PAINTING COMPLETED BY ROSA BONHEUR, ENTITLED

“THE HORSE FAIR.”

MORAN APPRAISED THE PIECE AT APPROXIMATELY ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS. NEXT TO

APPEAR WAS AN ANTIQUE MOROCCAN GUNPOWDER FLASK,

BROUGHT IN BY ANDREW RICHARDS.

RICHARDS ENGAGED IN HIS OWN RESEARCH PRIOR TO THE EVENT, AND HAD A FIGURE IN MIND IN

TERMS OF APPRAISAL;

HE FOUND MORAN’S DATABASE-CENTERED DECISION OF THREE

HUNDRED DOLLARS TO BE SLIGHTLY LOW, BUT DID NOT

REGRET PAYING FOR THE APPRAISAL.