Antiques Appraisal Day Sifts Through

Trinkets And Treasures

By Andrew Gorosko

An attentive group of antiques owners looked on from the compact pews of the Newtown Meeting House last Sunday afternoon, as a four-man team of appraisers plied their trade, gauging the quality and value of scores of antiquarian objects presented for their critical review.

Roughly 150 items were presented for the appraisers’ judgment during the session in the Main Street building, which itself is an antique and also a former Congregational church.

 During the three-hour event, the Newtown Historical Society offered the public an opportunity to obtain for $5 verbal appraisals of those old objects that they had whose value was uncertain.

At the Sixth Annual Antiques Appraisal Day, Tucker Frey, the owner of Tucker Frey Antiques in Woodbury, offered his estimations on sundry objects. Mr Frey specializes in 17th, 18th, and early 19th Century furniture and decorative accessories.

Wayne Mattox of Woodbury owns an auction gallery and an appraisal service. He is the author of the syndicated Antique Talk newspaper column.

Steve Stieglitz of Manhattan and Newtown offered his valuations of jewelry.

Also, Jack DeStories of Newtown, the president of Fairfield Auction on Church Hill Road, provided value estimates. Mr DeStories specializes in furniture, decorative arts, clocks, collectibles, autographs, and sports memorabilia.

The men’s running commentaries and appraisals, which were offered at a table at the head of the room, were amplified to allow those within to expand their antiques knowledge.

As the four appraisers commented on the items that were presented to them, the pieces’ owners stood by, listening attentively to glean some bits of antique knowledge about the value and proper care of their treasures.

Items often presented at such sessions include Victorian-era art prints, European porcelain, teapots, and a variety of knick-knacks.

Among the scores of items viewed last Sunday, the session turned up “a couple of pretty exceptional things,” Mr DeStories said.

They included a vase in the Newcomb pottery style from Louisiana, such as was produced during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The piece in the Art Noveau style is worth approximately $4,000.

Perhaps, most impressively, the event uncovered a New England landscape painting on stretched canvas by artist David Johnson estimated to be worth about $25,000, Mr DeStories said.

Also, the appraisal day attracted a high quality 18th Century blanket chest, which was made near Newtown, he said.

People are sometimes surprised by the value of items that are brought to the antiques appraisal day, Mr DeStories said.

By contrast, some items presented at the event currently have little value, such as a jam container bearing the likeness of cartoon character Charlie Brown, which was appraised at $1. But such objects hold the promise of becoming more valuable in the future, Mr Mattox observed.