Welcome to Oxford.

We're glad to have you.

I'm Robyn Tannehill, mayor of the City of Oxford.

Oxford is a town that has a lot of character and a lot of characters from William Faulkner, who is still sitting on the bench out in front of City Hall to the folks that walk up and down the streets here every single day.

We're so excited to have Antique Showcase in Oxford to showcase all of Oxford and to find some really cool things that people have in their attics and in their old garages.

Welcome to the Mississippi Antique Showcase.

In this episode, we're in Oxford, Mississippi with our expert appraisers.

To take a closer look at your rare finds, family heirlooms and quirk culture.

Sanders, thank you so much for coming to Mississippi Antique Showcase.

I think we have some terrific items here, all on the theme of blue, but if I can quote Devil Wear's Prada best.

It's not blue, it's not lapis, it's not cerulean.

It's actually turquoise and sapphire.

So, ah, I quoted that right.

I just thought we could do that.

Um, I wanna start with the first is the lovely set of, uh, blue milk glass, or sometimes they're referred to as saline glass.

Um, tell us a little bit about, uh, where you got it.

Um, well, this set's a five piece set from my grandmother.

Um, I don't know too much about it, just that it's Victorian and, uh, French.

Well, you're correct.

And it actually is a 19th Century set.

Uh, unfortunately it doesn't have all of the pieces, so what we call a dresser set.

These would've been, and they're extremely large actual perfume bottles.

You have some soap dishes and other things that would've been kept, uh, around there for women when they're getting dressed.

And what's great about this set is that these are abnormally large perfume bottles.

Usually you see perfume bottles and some people incorrectly call them decanters.

This is a, a really great, uh, set if I have to place a value on it.

I've actually seen some of these comparables that, um, which are just a decanter and they're several hundred dollars.

So even with, even with pieces in the set missing, I would probably put a value about this to be five or $600 is a lower auction estimate, and it could go up from there.

As you can note, it's got a foliate pattern, which is really pretty.

The gilt has come off and there's some significant wear around the perfume models in several of the dishes, but that doesn't detract from its beauty.

It's very rare.

So we appreciate you bringing that in.

Yeah.

Your grandmother has a lovely dresser set.

Sanders, why don't you tell us about this lovely ring that you had brought us.

Okay, so this ring, it's not the original setting here.

I've actually had it reset in the last year.

Um, but there's a lot of history to this ring.

So it was actually part of the Lee Merriweather estate who was an author in St.

Louis, Missouri.

And there was this, uh, stack of purses in the attic that my mom found, and she went through them and, uh, she found a diamond ring and this ring, and then we didn't know too much about it.

So my grandmother did take it to a jeweler and his comment was that it's so large, it must be a piece of glass.

We finally took it to, uh, The Roadshow and, uh, they mentioned that it was a 12 carat sapphire from salon in a platinum setting with about 20 mine cut diamonds around the sides.

And now that was before You've now gotten it re..., Now the original setting was platinum, but it was just a different style, the art deco style.

So now tell us about this new setting that you did, so that I assume you could wear it.

Yes, yes.

So I, she gave me the ring so that I could wear it, and so I had it reset and I used a jeweler down in Ocean Springs, Mississippi to create this setting.

And I wanted something with kind of motion.

So it's kind of got like a water theme going around the side.

Mm-hmm.

And that filigree and I wanted as much light through It.

Yeah, we call it a reticular so you can see, see through it.

Right.

It it, it is pretty special.

And obviously the, the main thing, the highlight being the 12 karat sapphire, I mean, it's cushion cut, so it's set perfectly even in this new setting for hopefully a lot more use and wear.

But let's be honest, how often do you really do it walking around with the 12 k carat sapphire on your Hand?

Uh, it's usually under lock and key.

And, and rightly so.

I would probably given just the size of this sapphire for insurance purposes, at least a hundred thousand dollars if not 110,000.

But I would say at an auction, you probably could expect somewhere about 80 or $90,000.

I think that's a pretty fair auction value.

Wow.

It's a spectacular ring and we can't thank you.

Well, I see we have a, a beautiful Swiss music box today.

How did you acquire this?

My grandfather?

Your grandfather Uhhuh, What year was that?

I think he went in service in 1916 and bought this in Germany and brought it back to me.

But all my life he gave me music boxes.

Yeah.

But nothing this valuable.

Yeah.

Or this nice.

It was, yeah.

This one is really nice.

I, I looked it over a minute ago and, uh, it has all its teeth.

That's the little cone across there, but the little fine tooth out on the end of it, it, it pricks on the cylinder and it plays five songs, six songs.

Those are right there.

And it says there it is made in, uh, Switzerland.

And they, they sent these all over the world, but the Swiss were the ones that couldn't make the most beautiful sounds out of such a small box.

And this one, uh, was a nice one.

It, it, uh, is rosewood grained all the way around.

And the great thing about this one is it plays When he was at the store where he bought it, which was an antique place, he went to antique places all the time that there were three or four people that were wanting it and he almost had to fight to get it.

He said he knew that I would, I would really love this one and have.

It was made probably somewhere around 1880, 1870, 80.

Could even been 1890.

But it still plays.

And, and, uh, we're going to play it in just a minute.

It's a great, great example.

Most of 'em that you find now, there's always some little mechanical thing and finding anyone to work on it is really difficult.

I'll tell you, there's only a few, um, craftsmen left that can work on it.

So you really don't need to over wind it.

And you need to not let children play with it.

I don't let any children play.

Yeah.

So, yeah.

But otherwise, uh, I'm going to wind, wind it up just a little bit.

See, this just reminds me of him.

It does every time.

He used to play it for me all the time.

He came every weekend.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's, uh, it's the great music box and most of them, you know, they have something wrong with them, but I've examined this one all over and it, it's in top shape.

They stopped one song, now it's starting another.

Okay.

Has another thing about it.

The top has a beautiful painting, top several musical instruments there.

I would, I were you, I would keep it and, and, uh, keep it in a safe place.

I think the value on this one is somewhere around 3000 to 3,500.

We are here with Nita Walton all the way from Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Yes.

All the way to the Mississippi Antique showcase.

Ms.

Walton introduce who you brought with you today.

Yes.

I brought my husband Maurice Walton.

Alright.

Yes.

And then I have to know about this beautiful work of art it you all brought in to be appraised.

Tell me a little bit about it.

Well, yes, uh, this is by um, uh, Thomas Elby and he was from Okolona, Mississippi and he was a very good friend of mine.

He came in one day as I was working on a Saturday and he said, I want to give something to you.

And he gave me this drawing.

I was like, really?

Really?

Okay, thank you.

But I'm so glad to, to have it and share it with, uh, those that really like some charcoal art.

Yeah.

So what, what was your appraisal today?

Uh, Between $400 to $800.

Oh, wow.

Oh wow.

Okay.

So, But he's upcoming.

Uh, Adam, who, who who appealed to me, uh, on the broadcast said that he could only find a print, not an original.

And it was only one.

And this is an original.

And this is an original.

Yes.

That's amazing.

So I asked this question at the end, especially when you get a good appraisal like that.

That was a good appraisal.

Yeah.

Are we gonna sell this?

No.

If it had To been a little more, little more up than a thousand said, why Got printed and then so we were gonna make a copy and then give it a way.

Exactly.

Exactly.

Yes ma'am.

Exactly.

Well, I enjoy you all coming out today.

I'm so glad I got a chance to talk to you all.

I'm definitely a fan of art.

My mother is an artist.

She's worked with charcoal medium before, so I'm glad you all brought this beautiful walk of art now.

Thank you so much.

I'm glad I did too.

I'm here with Clinton from Oxford, Mississippi where we are.

Who brought us just a treasure trove of items.

Tell me what you brought.

Uh, brought my grandfather's World War I uniform.

Um, he joined the military in 1917 and was first sent to Fort Bowie in Texas.

And as I understand, it was in France during World War I, he was part of the Signal Corps.

So this is my grandfather Clinton Harriet Nash.

He was born in 1894.

His brother Rufus Nash was born a year earlier and they were both in the military at the same time.

Okay.

And all of this was, was grandpa's?

Grandpa's, yeah.

Okay.

Mm-hmm.

Fantastic.

And then what are these right Here?

Okay, so I've got, uh, a number of letters and cards and postcards that he sent his parents while he was in the military.

And uh, I just thought I'd bring a couple of them for y'all to see.

Can you read one to Us?

I'd be glad to.

This is, uh, this is one that I thought was pretty interesting.

It's real short, but it says, "dear parents, we are on our way all well, and feel fine.

You may not hear from me again for a month or six weeks, but do not worry as I will be Okay.

Cannot wire my address as I expected to do.

Lots of love Clinton."

Man.

So that gives me goosebumps.

Yeah, I love that soldier writing home to his parents.

Yeah.

We've got, this is what's called a summer jacket.

Mm-hmm.

Um, you know, the buttons here U.S.

This is called a T patch.

So, um, this is for soldiers that were stationed in Texas.

Okay.

Um, and this is World War I, everything is right on it matches.

Um, this is one of two right here, you know, for the leg protectors.

Um, and then there's other ephemera, there's other photos and stuff that we're not seeing on, on this table right now.

So do you have any idea of value?

Have you ever had it looked at?

Never had it looked at.

Very few people have seen this.

This was packed away in the trunk for decades.

This stuff has a pretty good market right now.

It's a niche market, but the World War I, uniforms and collectibles are fairly hot.

Uh, we can see just the jacket selling for $300 at auction.

Really the jackets with the stuff that's not pictured right here with all of the ephemera and then the true lineage showing where all of this came from is almost priceless.

But if this were to show up at an auction, a military auction, um, well advertised, I think that we would be looking at an auction estimate somewhere in the neighborhood of $2,000 to $4,000.

Really?

Yeah.

For everything.

And that's when you start adding up the uniform pieces and then you add up the letters and stuff.

Right.

And it just, it's a great story.

But obviously with the relation shouldn't sell.

It's not going anywhere.

Yeah.

Good.

It can remain in your house.

That's while That's right.

Passing it on to the kids.

On A side note, I heard you showed up in something pretty cool with that.

Well, Uh, yeah.

A 1947 Chevy A 47 Chevy.

We love To show it to you.

Alright.

Okay.

Adam, you wanted to see the car.

Here it is.

It's 1947 Chevrolet.

It's a Fleetline air sedan, which was Chevrolet's top of the line.

Uh, they made about 160,000 of these, which was their number one selling vehicle.

During the war years, production all went to military.

And so in 46 people were scrambling to buy cars and manufacturers were scrambling to, to get them out.

It had all this extra stainless and chrome wood grain dash and garnish moldings, just some upgrades.

This is an interesting piece for a lot of people.

It's a spotlight.

You say, why?

Well, if you think back to the forties, you didn't have all the lighting and, and roads were different.

So when you're out looking for somebody's house, you might use this to find it.

Some things that we take for granted now, all vehicles have backup reverse lights in 47.

They were not standard on the car.

That was an optional accessory.

You've got the, the accessory trunk guard.

It really serves no real purpose, but it's a neat accessory and made it look cool.

So the car was powered by a two 16 straight six engine produced 90 horsepower.

So you can cruise comfortably at about 45 or 50.

You know, nowadays all vehicles have an oil filter.

In 47, it was an add-on.

It was an optional item that the dealer would add on after the fact.

So this orange canister up here is an add-on that the dealer did, and that's your oil filter.

So some things about the interior of this car, everybody smoked back in the forties.

So you had an ashtray for upfront passengers.

AM radio was the only option in 47.

Uh, but they had a couple of different radios that were available.

This one has the, the nice knobs and little nicer dial to it.

So this is the Deluxe AM radio.

Uh, it has a windup clock, which was not standard, but that was an add-on accessory, a windup clock, had to wind it every day.

Back to the smoking, we've got, uh, an accessory lighter.

This green button in the center lights up when the lighter gets hot.

Something else that's interesting about this car is that it has vacuum assist shift, which means, uh, it shifts extremely easily if you're comfortable driving it.

Once you get used to it.

The car has a vacuum system that actually helps pull the car into gear as you, as you're shifting gears.

Hey Kent, good to have you with us today.

Good to be Here.

Yeah.

And I see you brought a, a bow and looks like a Buck skin vest and some arrows.

And, uh, where did you, uh, where did you find these Kent?

Uh, up around north Mississippi.

Up here around in New Albany.

Not far from here.

Uh, and a little, uh, mom and pop consignment shop.

The bow.

Have you ever shot it?

No, I'm afraid I'd break it.

Well, I would be as old as it is.

It almost looks too pretty to shoot.

Uh, it looks like it has, uh, an Indian belt inlaid in it.

Yes.

And then leather wrapped around the handle.

And I guess that's some rabbit skin, rabbit fur Rabbit, either rabbit or fox.

She said it was One or the other.

Mm-hmm.

And some feathers off the end.

Mm-hmm.

When you bought it, what did you have to pay for it?

I asked her to, if she would pleased, put it on layaway for me.

Mm-hmm.

So I paid her $50 that I had and, and she said that would be fine.

And, uh, I went back the next week.

I thought, thought I'd pay up on it and everything, get it while I didn't have all the money that time.

So I paid a little bit more up to $125.

Mm-hmm.

But before I left, she said, please come get this thing.

People are asking all the time about it.

It's like an, almost like an Indian beaded belt that's inlaid, into the bow.

And then the back of the bow is, is sewn with, with leather.

Mm-hmm.

It's lash together covering leather, leather.

And same with the hand guard.

It's wrapped and uh, it's got a lot going on.

Mm-hmm.

Beautiful.

And you have these, uh, arrows with, uh mm-hmm.

I guess that's some sort of a bone tip Or is that, that that's where that, that's where I was wondering.

I I looked at it.

It is, it is definitely not stone, it's bone.

Oh, it's bone and it's, it looks like bone.

It looks like the bow itself is made out a oak.

Mm-hmm.

And, uh, but I think it was probably made more for decoration mm-hmm.

Than it was used.

And then you have the leather, uh, uh, the buck skin vest there.

Uh, and it's all looks like in good shape and kind of a small size, you know, maybe it might a child's Yeah.

Young man or something.

Mm-hmm.

But, uh, you know, I think probably in today's market at uh, a well-advertised auction, you could see your bow, your vest, and your arrows as a complete, uh, little collection or group.

Uh, I could see it bring in $250 or $300, uh, something like that.

And of course you never can tell you get a couple of guys that just have to have it.

It can go more.

Alright.

So we're here to kind of just talk about different things about what we do and things that kind of tell us what to do and direct us in what we are doing.

So one of the questions that I, I thought was really a good one is, um, what's one item that people always think is worth more than what it really is worth?

Mark had a great answer to this.

Haviland China.

Haviland China.

China.

Well, my answer would be anything that was my grandmother's, because actually if it were your grandmother's, it doesn't mean that it's an antique.

It doesn't mean necessarily that it's that valuable, but I think that's one of the things that I hear quite often.

What about you?

Yeah, that there's a lot of things.

I could name off a million things, but you mentioned a minute ago about something that he wanted appraised.

It was very difficult to appraise.

And the people, the lady died and the people came from Michigan down.

They wanted me to appraise everything in the house.

So I was going along appraising and there's grandma, she's in the casket.

Oh goodness.

I told em, I said, I don't have a, I don't have a price without, I don't, I don't never had that in the ca in The house.

She was in there with me Watching me.

I've never had that one to happen.

How Long was she in the casket?

She was in there two or three days I'm sure.

And, uh, but they've wanted me to appraise that I couldn't get around her.

Everywhere I looked, I just see that casket.

Did She correct your appraisals?

No, she didn't.

She was very silent.

I have got Ms.

Shane Sellers here.

Tell me about this little banjo thing.

From what I've been told, everything I've been able to find out, it is a banjo ukulele.

It's a hybrid.

It's a hybrid epidemic.

Um, kind of like a mini banjo.

Yeah.

The appraiser was telling me, um, this was among my stepfather's things.

I had never even seen it before.

Okay.

So now you've gotta tell me what you found out.

How much were you appraised for?

Um, approximately $250.

Okay.

Have you played it Yet?

No, I have not.

I would try because I'm like a child.

Well, it kind of might be a little like out of tune.

Yeah, Yeah, yeah.

It may be.

I'm going to, um, check into having it restored.

I have a friend in New Orleans who owns a music store.

He restores instrument.

Okay.

So once restored, and I do this question, kind of like a say yes to the dress.

Once restored, are we gonna try to sell it or are we gonna keep the item?

I think I'm gonna have to keep it a while to see if I can play it.

I'm not, I'm not a musically inclined person at all.

Yeah.

But it's, it's, it burns a hole in me to want to play it too.

So I hope you do too.

At least strum it a couple of times.

Yes, ma'am.

Yes ma'am.

Well, I thank you so much for telling me all about this piece.

I'm excited for you to get this refurbished and, and get your hands on it a little bit.

Thank you.

I'm here with Parker Dilworth from Marigold, Mississippi, and the first thing I asked him was, did he ever hear of McCarty pottery?

He just laughed.

We're so glad that you're here.

Thank you for coming.

Thanks for having me.

We, we, we are thrilled to have you.

And I think you can see we have a, a bunch of beautiful sterling silver pieces and a couple of coin silver pieces as well.

I want you to tell me a little bit about how you acquired it and tell me whatever ever story you might have.

Uh, sure.

Uh, well my grandmother grew up here in Oxford and she inherited it from her parents and so forth and so on.

I got it from my mother after she passed.

My brother and I did.

I just wanna learn more about what it actually is.

Okay.

Alright.

Than, than anything else.

Well, actually what it is, of course, is sterling, sterling silver pieces, uh, flatware.

And of course, um, it's, uh, you, the way you value it is by weight, by weight, by weight.

And, um, so what we have here is we have six salad forks.

We have four, uh, beautiful, uh, dessert spoons with the gold wash.

Absolutely.

Beautiful.

And then we have two coining silver service pieces right here.

And, um, then we have, uh, a bunch of, of, uh, spoons.

We have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 beautiful spoons right here.

And some of this matches, and then a bunch of it does not.

Now it is monogrammed and it is the will of be Willin.

Willin Willin is the name.

Um, on most of this you've got a, a set of, of dinner forks right here.

And, um, so it's really quite, um, quite a, a collection of different pieces.

It's a mishmash.

It is.

It's not a full set of any one pattern, but it's really beautiful.

You know, they say silver will tarnish if not used.

Okay.

And it's kind of like our lives.

Um, yeah.

Tennyson wrote a poem, um, Uly Ulysses, that was about how we shined with our lives when we use our lives.

And so I kind of look at silver and I think about that same thing.

That makes sense.

Yeah.

Yeah, it really does.

Well we're, we're really glad you came.

I kind of looked over this and what I, I think really would be a really fair price for one thing.

Of course it doesn't all match.

Yeah.

But that's not important to the weight of what it is.

Right.

It's, it is all by weight.

So I would think that you've got, um, really right here, um, at least $1,000 of, of sterling pieces.

Join us next time on Mississippi Antique showcase and find out if you've got a hidden treasure tucked away in your closet.

Your grandmother has a, a lovely dresser set.

She really does.

Thank you.

Tee top would be nice.

Somebody said that this table right here needed something that looked good.

So I thought I'd come over and Ron, just 'cause you look good doesn't mean you can jump right in the middle of our set right here when we're filming Y'all.

We're not really, we're, We're, you see, they're gonna keep all this in.

Someone's good to have you extra help, especially during these we're Not Yes.

You sands.

He wouldn't be here if you were.