One of five found in a wall during house restoration

[newbieprospector]

I was wondering if anyone might be able to tell me an approximate value for this item...I found five (all different though) inside a wall while restoring my house (of course there were many other documents as well...but only 5 prints) they all appear to be late 1800's and taken from the New York Recorder. Not in perfect condition of course but they were in a crawl space that outside air was flowing through so it's amazing they are in the condition they are in. Any glares are caused by the melinex sleeves I have put them in to prevent further deterioration. Thanks.

 

[BioProfessor]

I would say (from watching too many Antique Roadshows) that they are probably close to worthless. Their condition is really bad and they appear to be printed copies of a piece of artwork - not even signed and numbered.

Daryl

 

[newbieprospector]

Yeah...that's about what I was thinking too...especially after viewing a lot of old docs on eBay...ah well, at least I'm getting an interesting history of the people who lived in the house, apparently these and quite a few poems and letters were left behind by a school teacher who resided there temporarily. I'm having some fun collecting the old toys from the front yard with my detector though! So far the coolest (other than the plethora of marbles my kids keep finding) is the "hopalong-cassidy" toy gun complete with teeth marks from the dog who buried it ! I've attached a picture of what the gun used to look like...mine has teeth marks on the handle and no plastic end cap in the barrel though.

 

[BioProfessor]

Don't throw anything away. Some of the documents may be worth more than you would think. And those marbles; some can be worth big bucks.

As far as the old prints go, if you can mat a portion that is not damaged and it looks nice you can keep it as just a nice picture in a frame with memories.

Daryl

 

[newbieprospector]

I would never throw anything out just hoping to recoup some of the cost of the restoration with a few items...the rest are going into a display that will be a permanent part of the home since it's in a historic district and will be part of a historic home tour when we complete it...the upstairs served as the school house until the city built a public school in the early 1900's.

 

[duffytrash]

lets see some of those marbles!!!!!

 

[newbieprospector]

I'll get some pics of the marbles next weekend...have them in storage

 

[newbieprospector]

Here's a couple of the marbles...the one on the left looks like it's chipped in the picture, but it's not....it's just a small clear spot.

 

[Montana Jim]

The painting seemed to be signed and numbered at the top... can we see a pic of that?

 

[EDDE]

The painting seemed to be signed and numbered at the top... can we see a pic of that?

i think its a reproduction print to much lettering to be original

 

[Montana Jim]

The painting seemed to be signed and numbered at the top... can we see a pic of that?

i think its a reproduction print to much lettering to be original

I agree it's mass produced and prolly worth 5 bucks in perfect condition... I was just interested in the original artist's signature... late last night I needed something to do.. LOL :P

 

[oldhermit34]

That's OK, gets the blood flowing. Least for me.

 

[newbieprospector]

I'll get a better pic of the signature tonight...but I can already tell you that it is a "supplement to the New York Recorder" so they were cut out of that publication and saved. I'm thinking a buck a piece at the most...so in that case, they will be a part of the display for the history of the home that we have started.