GUEST: When my mother met my father, he was taking care of his widowed mother. My mother was a little concerned, because she thought if she married my father, that she might have a clingy mother-in-law. However, when she married my father, my grandmother took off on a world vacation and she collected things. She liked miniature furniture. Pianos, also, were included.
APPRAISER: Well, they're lovely pieces. I'd like to tell you a little bit about the furniture that you have. The little parlor set, actually, was made in Czechoslovakia. It's made up of a gilded metal with a little enamel insert to look like an upholstered back. The enamel is decorated with transfer printing. It was a little bit more economical than hand-painting. The little parlor set would probably sell in the value of about $50 to $100. On the other hand, you have another piece with the parlor set, is the little piano. This is silver with an enamel overlay. It's made in Austria. It's what is referred to as a Vienna enamel. It's hand-painted. Very nice detail. This would have been made probably about 1920. The little keyboard opens up and you can see the little hand-painted keys, made the first quarter of this century. If I turn it over slightly, you can actually see where it is stamped Austria.
GUEST: Right.
APPRAISER: These are very collectible. The work on it is all done by hand, very carefully painted on the top and on the lid here. This piece would probably sell in the neighborhood of about $1,500 to $2,000.
GUEST: Oh, my.
APPRAISER: Your parlor set is in very good company with the little Viennese Austrian piano.
GUEST: How interesting-- funny, I had always thought it was a complete set, but I guess it's... obviously it's not.
