RECUT: Newport, Part 1

♪ ♪ CORAL PEÑA: "Antiques Roadshow Recut" is highlighting "Roadshow's" first-ever outdoor event in Newport, Rhode Island.

(laughs): Awesome!

Crazy.

Absolutely crazy.

PEÑA: Stay tuned for part one of "Antiques Roadshow Recut: Rosecliff."

♪ ♪ PEÑA: Rosecliff Mansion, the so-called summer cottage of heiress Theresa "Tessie" Oelrichs, was the perfect location for our "Roadshow" event back in 2017.

Less than perfect?

The weather conditions brought to Newport by Hurricane Jose.

But the storm couldn't dampen the spirits of our guests and appraisers.

So imagine, you are invited to a party here.

You're coming off the back porch, you're walking down to see the water.

In a gown.

In a gown.

And you're wearing this.

Tell us what you brought in.

The pin belonged to my grandmother, who lived in Chicago.

I don't know where she bought it.

I don't know what it's worth.

And never had it appraised, did you?

Never had it appraised.

We love people like you when you come in here with that.

Lack of information.

Lack of information, solid lack.

Right.

(laughs) You see, I'm just standing here, and it's moving.

In the wind.

Is that fantastic?

It is lovely.

Imagine if you were dancing in this house, you know, in 1940, because that's about when I think this pin was made.

Okay.

I think the pin was added.

I think it was always made to have some type of a chain running through it, and it hung as a necklace.

Not that it doesn't work as a pin.

Okay.

It reminds me of a waterfall.

I mean, the diamonds are truly dripping off of this.

There's a little over two ounces of platinum in the whole piece.

Then there's about four carats in baguettes.

The marquise-shaped stones, they're all different sizes.

One of them is as large as a carat.

You add them all up, there's nine carats in the marquise diamonds.

So all together, we got 13 carats of goods.

Any thoughts on the piece?

Beautiful.

Beautiful, I like that.

So you really don't need to know what it's worth.

I would like to know.

(laughs) Thought I'd get out of here.

So I would say at auction, $15,000 to $20,000 Great.

It's not bad, right?

Not bad.

Yeah.

For a bunch of rocks.

(laughing) That's great, I love it.

Good backdrop, huh?

Yeah.

This, I believe, is a foghorn from the 18th century that my dad found in the bay when he was scuba diving in about 1960.

MAN: So it might be useful today.

It might be very useful today, since it's rainy and foggy, yeah.

(blowing, no sound coming out) No.

He could do it, though, so you just need more wind.

♪ ♪ (water flowing, birds chirping) PEÑA: Rosecliff Mansion was made to have a ball-- literally.

This 3,200-square-foot ballroom is the largest of all the surviving Newport mansions.

I think it's a tiara.

Oh, will you put it on?

Can I see it on you?

Yeah, well, I... You don't have enough hair.

Oh, you have to have a bun?

(laughing) WOMAN: I collected things, always, from when I was very young, because my mother was, collected things.

And then I started to get older, and I fell in love with Modernism.

I don't think Claire Falkenstein is that well-known to a large jewelry audience because she really was known for sculpture.

The most famous sculpture she made was for Guggenheim, "The New Gates of Paradise" in Venice.

Yes, yeah.

And did not use expensive materials, and that was really because she didn't, couldn't in the beginning, but then she continued to use wood and glass and iron and silver and very rarely used gold.

And what you brought are two quite rare pieces.

I have actually never seen a pair of her earrings.

I mean, it was not a big body of work.

But this piece, this is very unusual.

I imagine it was worn as a head ornament, probably in a bun, and then you'd put these in the back and they would dangle.

There's brass, there's iron, there's silver and gold, and also, it's signed.

Her full name, Claire Falkenstein.

Where did you get this?

The hair ornament I bought online.

It came from Paris.

It was about 20 years ago.

It was at an auction thing, and it didn't sell, and in those days, you could contact the owner.

And buy it.

Which I did, and she said, "Nobody bid on it.

If you want, you can have it for $50."

The earrings I bought when we were living in Milwaukee at a church thrift shop.

I paid probably like two, three dollars.

I'm thinking this was made in the '60s.

That could be in the '60s...

But that's, that's what I'm thinking.

And the earrings were probably late '40s.

Yeah.

I am hard-pressed to put a value.

It's not for everyone, it's not that wearable, but if you want to be avant-garde and cool, hey, that says it all.

On this head ornament, I would put a value, at auction, $4,000 to $6,000.

And I would say as an insurance value, probably in the $15,000 range, at least.

And the earrings I would also put up there, maybe $4,000 to $5,000 as an auction price, and a replacement, I'd have to say $10,000, $12,000.

I think people will all of a sudden say, "Claire Falkenstein-- who was she?"

WOMAN: I brought a Royal typewriter that was presented to my grandfather, and he worked at Royal for many years.

For his ten-year anniversary as vice president of sales, he was presented this typewriter by his staff, and all the top salespeople were able to sign it, and then get it-- and so it was engraved at Cartier.

And it's gold.

(chuckles) And my dad also worked at Royal, and so it went from my grandfather to my father to me.

And they do refer to this as the Gold Royal.

Right.

So Royal Typewriter Company was founded in 1904, but it wasn't until the 1930s, when your grandfather was in charge of national sales, that they really started to take off.

Right, right.

Which, as a result, led him to be the top salesman, and then eventually the president of the company.

Right, and he actually only had an eighth-grade education and became president of a Fortune 500 company.

Right.

There's 1,064 names inscribed in this.

Oh, wow.

And they're inscribed by a fellow named Warner MacDonald by hand, individually.

The typewriter itself has 2,257 different parts.

What Royal did is, they then took a completed typewriter, took it to Cartier...

Yes, okay.

And every exposed piece, large and small, was plated in 24-karat gold.

That was in 1939 at a cost of $5,000.

When I asked some of the appraisers at the jewelry table... Uh-huh.

"What would you think it would cost to have something like this commissioned today?

", they couldn't even put a number on it, barely.

Because of, the cost of labor was less back then.

Right.

And the cost of gold was less back then.

$150,000, $200,000, perhaps, they speculated.

It was exhibited in the 1939 New York World's Fair.

Okay.

Then it went on tour all around the U.S. at the offices of Royal sales agents.

And it was presented in 1940 to your grandfather.

Half a dozen appraisers were all involved in this with me... Uh-huh.

As we tried to talk about the different components to it.

We would put a value, at auction, of $30,000 to $40,000.

Oh, my God.

(laughs) Awesome!

That's amazing, wow-- I had no idea.

It's been in my closet.

(chuckles) ♪ ♪ You have a Japanese form here...

Right.

That some clever Western person said, "What a nice idea, "I can turn this into an oil lamp...

Right.

and we'll add this little bit."

And they actually made all of this in the U.S.

Okay.

Here we go.

This was the height of fashion in 1900.

Right.

And now not so much.

And now it's, like, not fashionable anywhere.

(laughs) This is an object that came from my great-grandmother's dining room table.

We're not quite sure what it is.

Might be a U.F.O.

(laughing) This violin is labeled "Matthias Averill," but just when you opened the case, I could see that it reminded me of a, what's called a Schweitzer commercial violin.

From around 1900 to 1910, I would guess this one is.

PEÑA: Architect Stanford White based the elegant Rosecliff Mansion on King Louis XIV's palace, the Grand Trianon of Versailles.

The intention to create an opulent home fit for so-called American royalty like the Oelrichs family was abundantly clear.

This is a letter from Jackie Kennedy that was sent to the Men's Democratic League of Newport, because she was in Newport, and had, unfortunately, a stillborn child at Newport Hospital, and the Men's Democratic League sent her a bouquet of flowers.

And this is the thank-you note that she sent to them.

And my grandfather, at the time, was the president of the Men's Democratic League, and this was 1956.

So he kept the letter, gave it to my mother, and said, "Keep this letter, "because he's going to be president, and she'll be first lady."

Wow.

And it came true.

Wow, very prescient.

Yeah.

You know, it's interesting, because there are a lot of ties from Newport and the Kennedys.

They were married here, 1953.

Mm-hmm.

Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, actually, Hammersmith Farm, so there's a very strong Newport connection.

Yeah.

It's just a lovely little note, basically, "Thank you for the roses."

On the back here, it is nicely signed.

It said, "It meant a great deal to me," so...

Elegant note from a very elegant lady.

At auction, I would expect this to bring around $1,500.

Wow.

Very good.

WOMAN: They came down from my mother-in-law.

We think they may be Benjamin Greenleaf, but I'm not sure of that.

My mother-in-law was given to hyperbole.

Ah.

And these came down from the family, and each woman brought it down.

Since you've had them, have you done anything to them?

The only thing we did was frame them.

And so these are newer frames, then?

Yes.

And what did the original frame look like?

Well, the frames that my mother-in-law had, um, were really the kind that you would put on a diploma, those little black ones?

Uh-huh, okay.

And they were falling apart.

Let's start with dispelling any family hyperbole, any apocryphal story.

These paintings are definitely by Benjamin Greenleaf.

Greenleaf, as you may know, was born in Hull, Massachusetts, in 1769, and he really started painting when he was in his early 30s.

Before that, we don't know what he did.

He's one of those artists that we don't know much about.

But we do know when he was born and when he was active.

And he was active for about a 15-year period between 1803 and 1818.

He was an itinerant painter, going from town to town, staying there until... he had either worn his welcome out or he's painted enough commissions that he was done.

These two portraits-- this painting is very typical of Greenleaf's work, because it's painted on glass.

In other words, it's a reverse painting.

Greenleaf took a piece of glass and painted the portrait on the back of the glass, and they're very fragile.

The gentleman, who's almost certainly by-- also by Greenleaf, but it's on a panel.

It's on a piece of wood.

One of the things that Greenleaf was known for was painting these profile portraits and virtually filling the painting with the portrait.

And, in fact, this one, I wonder when it was reframed, if, there, her bonnet really goes underneath the rabbet of the frame.

Oh, yeah-- oh, interesting.

Here's the potential bad news.

Greenleafs, every one that I've seen, they're in those little crummy black frames, so you might have thrown away the original frames.

That hurts the package, because it's not the original frame.

In spite of the fact that the portraits are great, if they'd been in their original frame, they'd be even greater.

Greenleaf's work is really pretty rare.

There are less than 60 of these portraits known to have been done by him, probably because a lot of them broke.

In this condition, in these new frames, a good pre-sale auction estimate would be $5,000 to $7,000.

Wow, very good.

Now, if they were in their original frames, you might add a few more thousand, and it might have been worth $8,000 to $10,000.

I should also point out that Greenleaf did various sizes of these, so the bigger that they are, the more expensive they are, because they're more fragile.

PEÑA: Rosecliff has seen many notable gatherings over the years.

A circus tent was erected on the grounds in 1901 for the tenth birthday of Tessie Oelrichs' son.

For her Bal Blanc, or white party, in 1904, Tessie had full-size silhouettes of sailing ships anchored in the water off the back lawn to give the illusion of a grand white fleet.

WOMAN: Years ago, my husband and I went to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston for an exhibition, and on the way home, we passed this little antique shop, and I wanted to stop.

He didn't, but we stopped-- I won.

(chuckling) Nothing of the, in the shop was of value, but this was hanging on the railing outside.

And I said to my husband, "I absolutely love that rug.

I've got to find out how much it is."

So I went in to see the gentleman, and he said, "The rug's $100."

And I said, "Are you sure?"

He said, "Yes, it's a good rug."

I wanted the rug.

Early 20th century, there was a trend of collecting Oriental rugs in the United States.

People collected paintings, tapestries, furniture, also collected great rugs.

And as a result, other people thought, "Hmm, we have this tradition of American hooked rugs.

We could use those designs and create..." Basically, not really reproductions, but our own variations on what Eastern rugs looked like.

Mm-hmm.

They were really originally sold as kits.

Circa 1920, you'd buy the burlap backing and it would have a pattern stenciled on it, but then you'd get your own wools and you'd get your own fabrics, and do the hooking yourself.

And so whoever did this went out and very specifically bought the proper yarns.

I think, just because the color's so consistent throughout, it's obviously not scrap material that's been used.

Yeah.

But you can see a few a spots where they have filled in.

There's a deeper red through here.

I can see it, yeah.

There's a purple, and I originally thought, "Hmm, some restoration."

But when you look at the back of the rug and really look at the consistency of the yarn itself...

They ran out of this red, so they transitioned to the other?

Absolutely, absolutely.

Uh-huh.

And that's a really nice aspect of things, because hooked rugs really come out of a Folk Art tradition, so it's nice to have those kind of homey touches that are coming into the rug itself.

This example's in extremely good condition, with very, very good color retention.

I think it would have a retail price of $8,000.

$8,000?

$8,000.

Oh, my goodness.

That... that is remarkable, and certainly far beyond what I've ever expected.

I have loved this for the years that I've had it, and, actually, I tried to give it to one of my girls, and she said no, and I bet she regrets it right now!

(laughing) MAN: Well, I got it from my ex-mother-in-law, who grew up in Cooperstown, New York.

APPRAISER: Right.

And they happened to go to this event, which was the only exhibition event held by Major League Baseball at the time, called "Cavalcade of Baseball."

Right.

And it was held at Doubleday Field.

These tickets are really rare, and they sell anywhere between $500 and $800.

This is like a little pencil box or a dresser box.

Uh-huh.

And it's probably German.

German!

European.

We made things like this in America.

Yeah.

But the way it's painted and the decoration and the wood...

Yes.

That tells you that it's probably European.

You're looking at about $350.

I like to yard-sale, but I get a lot of grief from my sons all the time, so I've been trying to, like, not do it as often, but I saw a sign, and I stopped, and I saw these, and I liked them.

Okay.

And the price was right.

Can I ask what you paid for them?

For all of them, $25.

How long ago?

Just a few months ago.

Really?

When you came in, you had these all in a folder.

That I bought last night.

That you bought last night.

Probably for almost the same amount.

Yeah, yeah, it was $20 for the folder, yeah.

And the top one was this one up here.

Yes.

I really liked it, and I'm familiar with the artist, but I wasn't sure if it was real or not.

And it's signed "Edward Hopper" underneath.

Yes.

So then, I flipped the page in the book, and this piece showed up.

This is by Kenneth Hayes Miller, who is, was, in his day, a very important artist and instructor, but isn't somebody who's really withstood the test of time.

But what's interesting about seeing these two together is, the Hopper was in a portfolio called "Six American Etchings: The 'New Republic' Portfolio."

That was published in 1924.

This was also in that same portfolio.

Oh.

So just by having found the two together, that strengthens the provenance even more.

Oh, okay.

To tell me, "This looks very good."

Also in that same portfolio of six prints was a John Marin print, an Ernest Haskell print... Ah!

And a Peggy Bacon print.

And I left one behind.

And that was by John Sloan?

I don't know.

Because I didn't have enough money-- I only had, like, $25, so I left one behind.

Oh, no!

(laughing) And I just took the one that I didn't-- yeah.

So that was probably a print by John Sloan called "The Bandits Cave."

Okay.

So the fact that you have all these together is wonderful proof that this is indeed what it purports to be.

The Hayes Miller, also pencil-signed, also an etching, lovely print, not in terrific condition.

Realistically, were you to sell this at auction, you might expect it to bring about $80 to $120.

Okay.

Not a tremendous amount.

Yeah.

The Ernest Haskell, also signed, called "Sentinels of North Creek," another lovely etching, but again, not very important.

$200, $300.

Peggy Bacon, a fairly unusual female artist.

This is a more important print.

It's called "Promenade Deck."

At auction currently, you're probably looking about $500 to $700 for it.

Okay.

The John Marin is interesting.

When the portfolio first came out, it included this John Marin print, which is called "Brooklyn Bridge Six Swaying."

Okay.

After just a few of the edition was published, he changed out that print for another print called "Downtown, The El."

This is the more rare and desirable print.

Oh.

So this is a fantastic etching, and it's in lovely condition.

So at auction, for the John Marin, you're looking about $15,000 to $25,000.

Oh, my God.

Oh, my God!

I'm glad I didn't leave that one behind.

(laughs) The Hopper is possibly one of his best-known prints.

And at auction, you're looking $30,000 to $50,000.

Crazy.

Absolutely crazy.

Are your kids going to give you grief after this?

No, they better not.

(both laugh) They better not.

No, not at all, they better not.

The one you left behind, the John Sloan, $500 to $700 at auction.

PEÑA: This is part one PEÑA: And now it's time for the "Roadshow" Feedback Booth.

And these are two German wooden figurines.

They're pretty crudely carved, so they were only worth five or ten bucks.

So, play toys!

(laughs) My wife won me tickets to the Antiques Roadshow for my birthday, and there's no one luckier than me.

Everyone who brought something worth money's luckier than me, but, oh, well.

Next time, we're going to have more fun and more money.

And I brought a carriage clock that, actually, the case is worth more than the clock itself.

I brought the family heirloom medals.

I found a lot about them, and the appraiser, I made his day, and my grouping was worth about $1,000, so I am very pleased.

And I found out that my photographs of Elvis Presley doing karate were worth about $225, so, not bad.

My family has told me for years and years that it was a print and it wasn't worth very much, but today, I came to the Antiques Roadshow, and I found out that it was a print and it wasn't worth very much.

$100.

I've got this antique chicken boot scraper that my wife bought at a yard sale for $25 and appraised it for $15, so I think we are rich.

$1,500.

$1,500, yeah.

PEÑA: Thanks for watching.

Tune in again for another great episode of "Antiques Roadshow Recut."