GUEST: It was my grandfather's, who was a antique dealer in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. I don't know if he made it, and it went to my father when he married my mother. And then it came down to me.
APPRAISER: He definitely didn't make it.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: This is a piece that would date to the 1820s, or 1830s maybe. They're a little bit hard to pin down specifically because they're more of a rural interpretation. This isn't made, necessarily, in an urban center. But the main reason this is so exciting is that in the collecting world, and to the people out there who are seeking these things, small is big. Perfect little gems like this are what really send the collectors to the moon. If you're collecting chests of drawers, you can only fit so many into your room, or in the house. But I've seen collectors who will take these little things and make a whole wall of them. Tiger maple, you find used in Pennsylvania, but it's a little bit more common in New England. And I think, actually, despite the fact of the Doylestown history, I think this might be more of a New England piece.
GUEST: Oh.
APPRAISER: The secondary woods are white pine and what looks like basswood. You find that in Vermont and sort of northern New England. The inlay that you see on here, you find those motifs, the little diamond motif, you find it in New York and Pennsylvania. But what this is really about is a perfect little gem of an object. You said that a lot of dealers had been knocking on your door, trying...
GUEST: Right.
APPRAISER: That's always a good sign when they keep calling.
GUEST: Yeah, they would offer something, and then call me back, say they found somebody else who might offer me more. And I would just say no, and that's why I brought it here.
APPRAISER: Okay; did they make you any specific offers?
GUEST: I, I had $1,500, in that area. Maybe $2,000 if they could find somebody.
APPRAISER: Okay; I think you're smart to have held off a little bit. I think, at auction, I could see this estimated at $6,000 to $8,000.
GUEST: Oh, my God, wow.
APPRAISER: And I wouldn't be surprised if it, if it even did a bit more.
GUEST: Great news, that's a shocker.
