GUEST: I've brought what I believe to be a ewer presentation from the Accessory Transit Company of Nicaragua, which is a company opened by Cornelius Vanderbilt. And it was presented to Captain Peter Lefevre for his successful placement of the SS Central America on Lake Nicaragua. My husband's uncle was somebody who loved to go to auctions and flea markets. He was a bachelor, didn't have any children, so he would gift us things.
APPRAISER: It's a coined silver presentation pitcher, or ewer, made by Ball, Tompkins and Black, which is a New York silversmith. It was originally called Marquand and Company, and the mark is under here on the base. You mentioned the Accessory Transit Company, which was a company owned by Cornelius Vanderbilt.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: He started the company because 1848, everyone was going to San Francisco for the gold rush. As we know, he was the great railroad and shipping magnate. And so he came up with a way to get to San Francisco from the east coast faster. So he formed this company, and he had some dealings with the Nicaraguan government to have rights to their land. So they would go to the Caribbean, They would cut across Nicaragua, and then take a steamship up to San Francisco. So this Captain Lefevre, obviously, captain of the steamship, and we have a picture, this little crest here, it says "The Accessory Transit Company of Nicaragua." It has the paddle steamer here with the palm trees and mountains. And the inscription was the paraphrase. They presented it to Captain Lefevre for his ability in assisting... placed the steamship Central America on Lake Nicaragua. And this is all inscribed right here. And it gives the date, December 2, 1851. Then it has his monogram on this side. It's silver. It's got the Vanderbilt connection. It has the gold rush connection. So all that said, for auction value, we would probably put $3,000 to $5,000 on it.
GUEST: Nice, great, great. Thank you-- that's awesome.
