GUEST: My dad bought this lamp when he was like 20 years old going to college, riding a bicycle. And there was an elderly gentleman that had this lamp in the window. So my dad saw it and he said, "If you ever want to sell that lamp, I'd like to buy it." So the elderly gentleman said, "It's not for sale." So about three months later the man said, "Would you really like to buy that lamp?" And he said, "Yes, I would." He said, "I'll sell it to you for $25." So my dad said, "Okay," he said, "But will you take payments?" And he said, "Yes, I will."
APPRAISER: So it's been in your family ever since then?
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: Yeah?
GUEST: And I didn't see this as a little girl and I said when he gave it to me and he told me the story I said, "How come I've never seen this lamp before?" And he said, "Because it was always hidden. I was afraid it would get broken." (laughs)
APPRAISER: Do you know what it is?
GUEST: No, and there's no signature.
APPRAISER: Okay. Well, I can tell you that it is a Steuben gold aurene glass lamp. And gold aurene is the type of glass, so it's got that iridescent gold color. They also came in blue.
GUEST: Oh, really?
APPRAISER: In a blue aurene. Steuben was working in about the same time as Tiffany & Company and Tiffany Studios in New York, so Steuben opened about 1903 in Corning, New York. And Corning, New York, is in Steuben County, so that's where the company got its name. This lamp dates to about 1910, and what I like about it is that it's got the glass shade, but it also has the glass base. Sometimes we get a metal base to it with a glass shade, but you have glass on glass, which is rare and unusual. It's not unusual that it's not signed, but I recognize the glass and I recognize the color. And I recognize the shape and that's what tells me that it's Steuben.
GUEST: Oh, okay.
APPRAISER: Okay? At auction, it would most likely sell for $2,500 to $3,500.
GUEST: Okay. Very nice. Not bad on $25 investment.
APPRAISER: No, I should say so, and it's a beautiful lamp.
