GUEST: I brought a photograph of a clown from the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus, with compliments to my grandmother, who actually ran away, left her young son. Gave him the decision to stay either with his stepdad or to go with her to join the circus. And I assume it was because her second marriage, to her sister's husband, was not working out well. So she joined the circus, and this is about five years after she joined. So...

APPRAISER: That's a great story.

GUEST: Yes. (laughs) Really exciting.

APPRAISER: Well, this gelatin silver photograph would have been a souvenir at the time. It's says, "Compliments of John F. Slater." John F. Slater was the head clown in 1921, or here is referred to as "the chief clown."

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: It's dated 1921, so we know exactly when it's from. Today, the equivalent would be a headshot that a celebrity would give to a fan.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: What's really great about this is, it's a piece of memorabilia at the heyday of the traveling show. And it's particularly poignant, because the circus closed in 2017.

GUEST: I know.

APPRAISER: So it's kind of a souvenir of a bygone era.

GUEST: Absolutely.

APPRAISER: If I were valuing this for auction, I would estimate this print at $100 to $200.

GUEST: Oh, wow, okay. Well, it has so much meaning.

APPRAISER: Of course.

GUEST: But the money is... But I'm even surprised it's worth that. That's wonderful.