GUEST: It was a small flea market in northwest New Jersey. I was late that day, and it was just sitting on a table.
APPRAISER: What did you pay for it?
GUEST: $125.
APPRAISER: Well, that's a pretty good deal. I love salesman sample stoves. Most of the ones we see are from the early 19th century, the elaborate cast iron. They were coal burning or wood burning. One of the main things about a salesman sample: it needed to show all the mechanism. What is intriguing about this, I've never seen one from this era, which is, I'm guessing, late '30s and into the '40s. Hard to imagine that people used coal-burning stoves in the '40s, but out in the farmlands, that's what they used. And that's what this is: it's porcelainized, it's got cast-iron plates, just like the old stoves. Detail is amazing. It even has a working floo. All the doors open. Also, this mechanical aspect in the back, with the little dials, this regulates air into the burn chamber. All this is there to say this is how this works, and you just need this in your home. It's absolutely intriguing. This market is not what it was ten or 15 years ago, but I think even today, this would sell for around $2,000 to $4,000.
GUEST: Geez!
