The Retort

Roadshow Hits Billings

October 23rd, 2009 by Lou Donaldson Of The Retort Staff

At nine in the morning on September 26th people started lining up outside the Yellowstone Art Museum for the Antiques Road Show (seen on PBS at 8pm on Monday nights) style appraisal event. For ten dollars per piece, patrons could have their items appraised by Mr. Thomas Gordon; the fee also admitted entry into the museum to see exhibits such as “Curious Finds.” The turnout far exceeded the museum’s expectations and some people were permitted to observe the event but weren’t able to have their piece appraised. The thick walls of the old jail hindered the internet service and so the appraiser was not always able to provide exact amounts.

People brought in a wide array of items including books, paintings, fossils (the legacy of one woman’s recently deceased husband who collected and catalogued them over twenty years), a Yukato stencil used to hand-stencil kimonos, part of a woman’s great grandmothers dowry and even a complete set (bullet mold and all the trappings) of dueling pistols from 19th century Germany worth five figures. A gift from native painter Tahona given to the owner of the Santa Fe Wigwam Café in 1945 was priced between $3500 and $4000.

A woman by the name of Beth Morrow brought in a piece that had been in her family since her mother’s great grandmother had brought over from England. Mrs. Morrow also had records documenting the plight of 17-year old Anna Wise and her friend from the Isle of Wight who, during a boat voyage from England in 1773, were told they would be sold into slavery to pay their passage. While her friend jumped overboard, Anna earned her freedom and went on to marry. Because the document was mounted in a shadow box the appraiser was unable to give a price range.

I brought in a small wooden box that a hermit sheep herder found in a rotted gunny sack on the prairie south of Chinook and gave to my grandmother. It is called a tobac box and has hand-carved imagery, a wooden hinge, and an inscription stating that the box was a present from Christopher Knauff to his brother Bernard Knauff in 1854. Even through the box is not for sale it is interesting to know that it could fetch three to four thousand dollars.

The piece de resistance of this event was a light from the Vatican. Brought in by Tex Janecek, the lamp is carved from marble and is in eight interlocking segments. When asked how he acquired such a rare piece Mr. Janecek stated that as a boy he lived on the shore of Lake Oconomowoc near a monastery run by the Sistertion monks. When the Vatican converted from electric to gas lighting in 1962, a Father Pitosy collected about a dozen or so of the lamps which broke in transport. Father Pitosy gave the two remaining lamps to Mr. Janacek’s father. The appraiser stated that he couldn’t put a price on the lamp and that it’s origin made it priceless.

The Yellowstone Art Museum hopes to make this an annual event, extending the length and possibly bring in other specialists in addition to the appraiser. Hopefully this year’s turnout has proven the need for such improvements.