1973 Charles Schulz-signed Drawing & Book
GUEST: I grew up in Santa Rosa, California. Charles Schulz's first wife was a patient of my father's. My father and Charles Schulz played golf together, so the Schulzes became friends of the family. When I was about 15, I g, wasn't old enough to have a job yet, and I guess during a golf game or something, my father's, was talking to Charles, and asked if we, he could come over and help with babysitting-- they had four children. So I drove over to their house, which was called Coffee Grounds. It was really a cool place, and-- had a swimming pool and everything. My job was primarily babysitting, but I also taught the kids how to swim, 'cause I had been on a swimming team. His wife was always running around and Charles was always in his office. Charles, A.K.A. Sparky. One day, I went up to get my paycheck, and he was doing one of the scripts for the, um, syndicate that was in New York. And he said, "Here, you want this?" And he handed me a book that was behind him, and I said, "Sure." This was January 7, 1973, and he signed it "To Carole," and he screwed up the A here.
APPRAISER: (laughs)
GUEST: "With memories and friendship," and it's Snoopy, who is swimming. And he said, "Carole taught me all I know about the dog paddle." And I thought that was pretty cool. And then he just drew a picture of Linus, because I told him I really like Linus. He was the nicest guy-- he was very quiet, very soft-spoken. His wife was not. (both laugh)
APPRAISER: It takes two-- it takes two different types. (laughing)
GUEST: It does take...
APPRAISER: Yin and yang, right?
GUEST: No kidding.
APPRAISER: I'm a big dog fan.
GUEST: Are you?
APPRAISER: So of course I love Snoopy.
GUEST: Me, too, yes.
APPRAISER: And that's what I loved about your inscription here.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: Is that you have Snoopy swimming.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: And he's doing the doggy paddle.
GUEST: Yeah, he was. (laughing)
APPRAISER: And it's also fun that he signed it "Sparky." He was born in 1922, and within days of being born, there was a popular comic character at the time called Spark Plug, that was a horse.
GUEST: That's it! Yeah! (laughs) I remember, yeah.
APPRAISER: And so he became Sparky.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: So, he, his nickname from the time he was born...
GUEST: Right, that's right!
APPRAISER: ...was actually a popular comic character.
GUEST: I remember that, yeah.
APPRAISER: So, he, he was meant to do this.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: Their value is probably about equal.
GUEST: Oh, really?
APPRAISER: Um, because he signed this one "Schulz." It's framed, it's easy to display. This one's inside a book.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: So, if you did want to display it, you'd have to kind of have it open.
GUEST: Yeah, right.
APPRAISER: At auction, I would expect them to bring anywhere in the $1,000 to $1,500 apiece.
GUEST: Hm, really? Really? Okay! Did you hear that? (laughing) Talking to my daughter.
$2,000 - $3,000 Auction
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Understanding Our Appraisals
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."
Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.
Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.
Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.
Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.
Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.
