GUEST: Well, my mother is involved with the food industry.
APPRAISER: Uh-huh.
GUEST: And has attended a few auctions throughout her professional career.
APPRAISER: Sure.
GUEST: One of which was an auction where Julia Child was in charge of something on the auction. (inaudible) or something
APPRAISER: An honorary chairwoman or something like that.
GUEST: Right, that's exactly right.
APPRAISER: Okay.
GUEST: So she donated these five pans to encourage developing the careers of those interested in pursuing culinary arts.
APPRAISER: I don't think it's possible to overstate the impact that Julia Child had on cooking in this country and on, on pop culture. If you go back to 1961, when the Mastering the Art of French Cooking came out, it was an instant sensation. One publisher initially turned it down because they thought it was too much like an encyclopedia. There were also magazine articles that she wrote. She did a column for The Boston Globe. And then, in 1962, she did something that she had never done before. She cooked an omelet on public television. She wasn't the first TV cook, but she really connected with so many viewers out there. Julia Child once said that her first French meal was "an opening up of the soul and the spirit," and she really communicated that. Some of these pans weigh quite a bit. (chuckling) They are... It's, it's amazing to think about her carrying these around. They are really quite heavy and, and massive. Do you remember how much your mother paid for them?
GUEST: I believe it was about $3,300.
APPRAISER: Well, I think that was a very fair price. I think anyone would be thrilled to own this set of wonderful cookware for about $5,000 in a... That would be a retail price.
GUEST: Wow.
APPRAISER: So I think an auction value today would be about in the same range as what your mother paid. Right around $3,500.
GUEST: That's great.
APPRAISER: Wonderful to see them.
GUEST: Thank you.
