♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Major funding is provided by Alex Cooper Auctioneers, appraisers and auctioneers of fine art, jewelry, and collectibles.

Online and in-person gallery auctions every month.

Serving buyers and sellers in Maryland and around the world for over 100 years.

♪ ♪ Second Story Books, celebrating 50 years of dedicated book-selling.

LEX REEVES: Coming up on "Chesapeake Collectibles."

SELDEN MORGAN: I was so excited when I saw these wandered across my table this morning.

GUEST: This is a portrait of Marlon Brando that was given to my mother.

She was a singer and dancer on Broadway, and she dated him for a little while.

GUEST: I brought in a few items from my grandfather's time at the White House, he was a White House butler from Eisenhower through Reagan.

GUEST: I collect menorahs; I have about 150 of them.

I purchased it at an antique store in New Orleans.

GUEST: It was the only company in the Battle of Gettysburg that fought in their own hometown.

SELDEN: I would say this is about a 20 to $40,000 collection that you have.

GUEST: Wow.

♪ (theme music playing) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ROSS KELBAUGH: One of the things I love about being an appraiser on "Chesapeake Collectibles" is that occasion when somebody brings in something that is truly exciting and brings me joy, of about a story about somebody who has been significant in history, and it's time to be able to shine a spotlight on them.

Now, what did you bring in here today?

GUEST: Well, today I brought in a few items from my grandfather's time at the White House.

He was the White House butler from Eisenhower through Reagan.

ROSS: Yeah, I wanted to pull out a few pieces that were personally presented to him.

What was his name?

GUEST: Benjamin Harrison.

ROSS: Named after a president of the United States.

And from the left on down here, we have the Fords inscribed to him, Pat Nixon inscribed to him, the Nixons here inscribed to him.

This wonderful photograph of him standing in the White House with the painting of Abraham Lincoln.

Another photograph of him that was presented to him as part of a packet when some of the astronauts were received at the White House.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

ROSS: This very interesting picture of the staff, that here he is, and he is the tall man, I believe, there on the left.

How tall was he?

GUEST: He was 6'3".

ROSS: 6'3"?

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

ROSS: And then this photograph here is a bowling league?

GUEST: The White House Bowling League, mm-hmm.

ROSS: Incredible, and then here are the two photographs, again, inscribed to him by Lyndon Johnson's daughters... GUEST: Yes.

ROSS: ...with their husbands, taken in, taken there at the White House.

I believe they had their weddings; at least one of them had a wedding there at the White House.

GUEST: Oh, I didn't know that.

ROSS: And as going through the other memorabilia that you had brought, there were invitations to so many of events that were held there.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

ROSS: What a story he had to tell.

Did he tell you any of the story?

GUEST: No, I wish he had.

But I think one of the things working at the White House was that you know, there was a standard, so no, he really didn't discuss that part of him.

And so he was a very, a very, a private person.

But I also, my grandmother also worked at the White House as well, and she worked in the old Executive Office Building.

So I have both sides of, of, of the story.

ROSS: Okay, how did he get the job, do you think?

GUEST: Well, normally, what would happen, I think he was working at a restaurant, and someone probably witnessed and saw him and recommended him for the job, because that was how everything usually happened then, because there are no job descriptions.

So you stayed as long as, I guess, you wanted to stay, or that you were in good stead with the administration that you were serving.

ROSS: Hmm, hmm, that's amazing.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

ROSS: Have you ever had all of this grouping appraised?

GUEST: No, never.

ROSS: Well, on the one hand, of course, it's priceless.

GUEST: Right.

ROSS: Incredibly priceless.

And it just knocks me out to have had these photographs autographed by these prominent politicians and family to him.

What, what an incred... what an incredible grouping.

I would put, put a valuation on this of at least $10,000 to $15,000.

GUEST: Oh.

ROSS: Or more, really, or more.

Because this is the kind of material that today, particularly amongst institutions looking to fill in the missing pieces of the mosaic of American history... GUEST: Mm-hmm.

ROSS: ...this is what people are looking for.

He was there.

He was literally in the room... GUEST: Yes.

ROSS: ...to witness all that was going on in the history of these administrations.

And it just knocks me out to be able to see these today, that you, you brought them in.

So I, uh, want to thank you so much for coming in to be able to share this story with the public about the contribution that Benjamin Harrison made to American history.

Thank you very much.

GUEST: Thank you, I appreciate it.

(cash register bell).

♪ ♪ SELDEN: Hi, welcome to "Chesapeake Collectibles."

Thanks for coming in today.

GUEST: Well, thank you.

SELDEN: I mean, this, I was so excited when I saw these walk across my table this morning.

Tell me a little bit about these pocket watches, what you know.

GUEST: Okay, well, these watches came down through my family.

Believe this was my mother's grandfather's pocket watch, and this was my father's grandfather's pocket watch.

It's a repeater watch.

It chimes.

And then this is a Tiffany pocket watch that came from a great aunt, I believe.

SELDEN: Okay, that's fabulous, that's fabulous.

What I really like about this collection, they all have individual values, and we'll talk about all of them.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

SELDEN: But they represent different time frames... GUEST: Ah.

SELDEN: ...you know, and different eras.

So we're gonna start with um, the, the, the oldest.

So now that's this one.

This is an Elgin pocket watch that was... GUEST: Okay.

SELDEN: ...made in America, and that dates back to 1871.

GUEST: Mm-hmm, wow.

SELDEN: So they referred to these pocket watches as a hunter-case pocket watch, so it has a cover on the top and on the back.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

SELDEN: So you could ride your horse, and it could fall off, and it wouldn't get damaged.

GUEST: Hmm.

SELDEN: In comparison to this pocket watch that is an Oscar Fresard pocket watch, and you're right, this is a repeater, so it does chime.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

SELDEN: And this pocket watch is an open-face pocket watch in comparison to the hunter-case one.

And um, the great thing about this one is it's a minute repeater.

So that means that you can click a lever on the pocket watch, and you won't have to look at it, but it'll tell you what time it is.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

SELDEN: So it is currently going to ding eight single chimes for the hours, and then 18 or 20 single, a different type of sound for the minutes.

As you can imagine, the mechanism that goes inside of that pocket watch is far superior because of the chiming, and not only just the hour keeping of it compared to any of these other ones.

GUEST: I would think so.

It's got some weight to it, that's for sure.

SELDEN: It does, it does have some weight to it.

There is, there is pretty amazing mechanisms on the inside of it.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

SELDEN: And then last but not least, and maybe one of the most exciting ones, is a classic Tiffany and Company Art Deco pocket watch.

Once again, it's an open-face pocket watch.

It's made in platinum, and I would date this to around 1920.

The Art Deco era is very well known for their jewelry.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

SELDEN: And while this is a gentleman's pocket watch, they would use contrasting different colors.

So there is a black enamel outline rim to it, and then with these diamonds, so it is a classic Art Deco.

And it also has this pocket chain, so the gentleman could wear it in his vest.

GUEST: Hmm.

SELDEN: And then it would get hooked to a... maybe there was a pocket knife that would hang, um, from the end of that pocket watch.

GUEST: Ah.

SELDEN: So question for you.

Have you ever had them valued?

GUEST: No, I never have.

SELDEN: Have you ever worn them?

GUEST: I have never worn them.

SELDEN: Oh, well, so there is a collection value to them.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

SELDEN: And I would say that from a collection standpoint, I'll break them out for you individually.

GUEST: Okay.

SELDEN: But I would say this is about a 20 to $40,000 collection... GUEST: Wow.

SELDEN: ...of pocket watches that you have.

GUEST: Wow.

SELDEN: I know, I know.

And most importantly, this one of the three of them is the most valuable... GUEST: Really?

SELDEN: ...because of that repeater.

GUEST: Hmm.

SELDEN: Did you think the Tiffany one was more valuable?

GUEST: I thought the Tiffany.

SELDEN: Yep.

GUEST: I thought the Tiffany.

SELDEN: Yep, there's a couple of good examples of Tiffany pocket watches on the market.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

SELDEN: And Tiffany and Cartier also, they were very well known for making their pocket watches, but these repeaters are really, really, really special.

And gold is at an extreme high right now, and so there's a tremendous amount of gold in these pocket watches... GUEST: Mm-hmm.

SELDEN: ...specifically this hunter case.

But I think this one is about a 7 to $9,000 one, and then this one is about 6 or $8,000.

GUEST: Hmm.

SELDEN: And then this one about 5 to $7,000.

GUEST: Wow.

SELDEN: But in totality, it's an amazing, amazing collection.

GUEST: Well, thank you.

I'm glad I brought all three in.

SELDEN: Yeah, I'm glad you did too.

You made my day.

GUEST: This was just kind of an extra I wanted to bring in.

SELDEN: Oh, good.

Well, it was a good extra.

GUEST: And I thought this was a woman's watch with all the jewelry on it.

SELDEN: No, no, a woman's watch would've been smaller.

GUEST: Okay.

SELDEN: Yep, yep.

GUEST: That's tremendous.

SELDEN: Thank you so much for coming to "Chesapeake Collectibles."

GUEST: Thank you.

SELDEN: I appreciate it.

(cash register bell).

♪ ♪ GENICE LEE: Welcome to "Chesapeake Collectibles."

GUEST: Thank you.

GENICE: Please tell me about what you've brought in for us to take a look at today.

GUEST: This is a portrait of Marlon Brando that was given to my mother.

She was a singer and dancer on Broadway, and she dated him for a little while.

And you want to tell them how they... GUEST: Yeah, they met on a blind date.

She was a showgirl in New York, and he was a fledgling actor, and they were set up on a blind date.

And so she'd stand on a street corner at a predetermined time, and he arrived on a motorcycle.

She got on the back, and off they went through Central Park without a word.

And, and the, the, the painting hung in the theater where he was doing "Streetcar Named Desire," and when he went to Paris to do his first movie, called "The Guy," the, he took the picture and gave it to my mother when he left New York and he and his best friend, Wally Cox, and my mother went to the airport, and then Wally drove my mother back on the motorcycle, on the Indian motorcycle that he owned.

GUEST: And then my mother gave this to me and said, "This portrait goes to all the women in our family."

So you don't get it, sorry.

But my daughter will get it, and it will, it will move on to all the women in the family, as it should.

GENICE: Okay, so along with the portrait, you've brought in a photograph and a letter from your mom.

Can you tell us a little bit about those?

GUEST: Well, the photograph I found was in a, a grouping of my mom's things, along with this note, which explains where this came from.

It basically tells the story that my brother just told you.

Um, it, this hung in the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.

And this picture, from what they looked at, I think you saw that was from "A Streetcar Named Desire," I believe.

And then the picture all the way over there is the gentleman, Loving, who painted this picture.

He was his brother-in-law, married to his sister.

GUEST: Marlon Brando's sister.

GUEST: Marlon Brando's sister.

And it looks like the painting that he's working on in that picture there is the same portrait as this one.

GENICE: Okay, so we've got quite a grouping of items here that tell this one combined story about your mother and her dating life back in the day.

So we've got this portrait of Mr.

Brando in his earlier days that is signed here.

I love that we have this imagery of Marlon Brando with Richard Loving, the artist of this piece here.

About Richard Loving, he was known more for his abstract pieces, and so doing this portrait was really outside of what we've come to known his artwork for.

And then we also have this photograph by Carl Van Vechten, who is known for his imagery taken during the Harlem Renaissance of the African American community.

So a lot of the images from this particular photographer come, are known for that era.

And then, of course, we have the letter by your mom, which we love when we're talking about these objects, we talk about capturing the provenance.

Who had it?

How does it move down through the families?

And a lot of times, those things are lost.

But we have all of those here to tell this fabulous story about your mom and Mr.

Brando.

And so when we look at this grouping of items, again, we've got the letter, the photograph, and the portrait.

And so if we were to group the items together and we were looking to sell them at auction, we would be looking at an auction estimate of $900 to $1,200 as an estimate.

Now you all know when things go to auction, if people are really interested in them, it can blow past that auction estimate.

And so that is my conservative value amount to this wonderful collection and your wonderful story, and we thank you for bringing it on the show today and letting us into some insight about your mom and her dating back in the day.

GUEST: Thank you.

GUEST: Thank you.

GUEST: Thank you for having us.

(cash register bell).

♪ ♪ ED MORENO: Good morning, this is such a marvelous object you brought in to "Chesapeake Collectibles" today, can you tell me a little bit about it and why you have it, and how you collected it?

GUEST: Well, it's a menorah.

I purchased it at an antique store in New Orleans.

ED: Mm-hmm.

GUEST: I collect... ED: How long ago was this?

GUEST: Oh, I don't know, probably 15 years ago, maybe.

ED: Okay.

GUEST: I collect menorahs.

I have about 150 of them.

ED: Really?

GUEST: Yes, yes.

ED: Okay.

GUEST: And I try to get all different kinds.

ED: Mm-hmm.

GUEST: So this one certainly spoke to me because it's very different.

ED: Right, did they tell you anything about it when you bought it?

GUEST: What they told me was that they thought it was Hungarian.

ED: Mm-hmm.

GUEST: That it perhaps was from the 1940s.

ED: Mm-hmm.

GUEST: That it moved, the arms move, so that it could be disguised as a candelabra as opposed to a menorah.

ED: Mm-hmm.

GUEST: Because, of course, of the Second World War.

ED: Okay, well, I think most of it is great.

I think the date is a little off.

I would put this closer to the turn of the century, closer to the 1900s.

GUEST: Wow.

ED: Maybe 1890s, 1900s.

What is really fantastic about this, and of course, you know all about this because you have 150 of them, is it's a complete menorah, and a lot of times we're missing these additions that fall out.

You have everything in situ, and so it's a wonderful, wonderful piece.

One of the things I'd like to talk about briefly is condition.

GUEST: Yes.

ED: And since you have 150 of these, I'm sure condition is important for you.

As you see, there's a lot of residue left from polishing.

The problem with the polish is that it's great to polish originally, but if you leave it on, it actually becomes a corrosion product.

It'll actually corrode this silver.

This is, by the way, not sterling; it's 800 silver, so it has a little bit more to corrode than sterling.

So sterling is 92.5, this is 800.

So all of that difference between that amount is going to be corrodible, basically copper.

So when you get home today, if you can take a very soft bristle brush, like a toothbrush.

GUEST: Uh-huh.

ED: Get all that out.

If you can take it off the wooden base, it'd be nice, but if you can't, just a damp bristle brush to get all of that, all of that little white stuff off of it.

GUEST: Yes, okay.

ED: You can use toothpicks, you can use Q-tips, and you can make your husband do it as well, so... But it really deserves a really good cleaning.

You can use a little bit of water, but because of the wood, wood base, it might be difficult.

Have you had it appraised ever?

GUEST: Um, I don't think so.

ED: Okay, is this one of the larger menorahs that you have in silver?

Or you have other ones in brass, I'm sure.

GUEST: Yes, but I do have some in silver.

But yeah, this may be one of the largest ones in silver.

ED: Okay, this is an exceptionally nice, complete, also in great condition.

Once we take the polish off, it's going to be really spectacular.

I think on the market, this would bring around $3,200 to $3,500.

And I think you'd find that a lot of people would want to collect it as well.

Of course, as we know, a lot of these were, were not, are not with us anymore... GUEST: Right.

ED: ...because of the war.

So they are valuable in a sense that they're a, a uh, a remnant of many, many, many more thousands that existed prior to the war.

So thank you for bringing it in.

It's a wonderful piece.

I'm excited for you, and excited that you have 150 of them, so thanks again.

GUEST: Thank you.

(cash register bell).

♪ ♪ LEX: So, tell us a little bit about what you've brought us today.

GUEST: Well, the first one over here, this Company K of the Pennsylvania, First Pennsylvania Reserves, was recruited in Adams County, Pennsylvania.

It was the only company in the Battle of Gettysburg that fought in their own hometown.

LEX: Okay.

GUEST: One of the people listed here is Henry W.C.

Elden, who is my great-great-uncle.

LEX: Right, I see, right there.

GUEST: Yeah.

He was, uh, when joined up, he lied about his age.

He was 16 when he signed in, and he continued to serve in this unit through the Gettysburg.

Company K in Gettysburg charged down Little Round Top on July 2nd... LEX: Okay.

GUEST: ...and then took up the position at the base of the Little Round Top.

Henry W.C.

deserted after the Battle of Gettysburg on July 6th.

The battle ended on July 3rd.

But he showed back up in August and rejoined the company and continued to serve.

He was eventually captured at the Battle of Bethesda Church, and he went to Libby Prison in Richmond, Andersonville, and then Florence, South Carolina, where he died in November of 1864.

And he's buried in an unmarked grave... LEX: Okay.

GUEST: ...there in Florence.

His brother is over here.

His name was Thomas.

He was a sergeant in the 138th Regiment.

He was wounded in the Battle of the Wilderness, went to Washington, D.C., where he passed away.

LEX: Okay.

GUEST: And this is a ring that he wore and a list of his personal effects that were picked up by his brother after he died.

LEX: And I noticed that along with his effects was $11.47.

GUEST: Something, yeah.

LEX: So it was quite a regiment that got everything back to the family.

GUEST: Yeah.

LEX: Which is pretty neat.

And that's made of bone, so we're surmising that he, as you mentioned, maybe around the campfire one night after... It looks like bovine.

It looks like cow bone.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

LEX: Carved his name, his regiment.

Put the N backwards, as you can see.

GUEST: Yeah.

LEX: So these are Currier and Ives, who, that was a lithography firm working in the 19th century, from around the 1850s to around the turn of the century, and they did historical prints of presidents.

They did scenes of American life.

They did records like birth records and baptism records.

And here we have soldiers memorial, which are the soldiers that died, and then soldiers record.

Now, Elden was your great-great... GUEST: Great-great-uncle.

LEX: ...uncle, okay.

GUEST: And so was Thomas, was a great-great-uncle.

LEX: And did you acquire these together?

Or no, you... GUEST: This was passed down through the family.

LEX: Okay.

GUEST: The ring was passed down through the family.

I got this copy of the, the personal effects from the National Archives.

LEX: I see.

GUEST: And this, there was a private museum in Gettysburg.

LEX: Okay.

GUEST: And I went in one time, and I saw that it was in the case, and I told them that I had a relative on that.

LEX: Right.

GUEST: I went back later, and the guy said, you know it's a, it was a private museum, and the guy said, "My sister said I can sell that to you."

LEX: Oh, wow, okay.

GUEST: So I bought it from him, and I was impressed by the fact that the frames are identical.

LEX: Sure, probably framed as a pair... GUEST: Yeah.

LEX: ...together.

That's a remarkable survival.

GUEST: Yeah, my thought is because they're both Elden's... LEX: Right.

GUEST: ...and they're both framed the same... LEX: Right.

GUEST: ...that they probably existed in the same Elden household... LEX: Sure.

GUEST: ...at some point in time.

LEX: Sure, sure.

Well, when you brought them, immediately I remarked, as you were taking them out, I said, "Wow, those are in amazing condition."

Because, as a rule, Currier and Ives prints were backed with wood, and they usually burn right through.

So most of these that pop up have a large burn acid mark.

They're highly acidic pulp in the paper, and the matting usually, which these don't have mats or the backings, they end up being a mess, and these are crisp.

But you had them restored.

GUEST: Yes.

LEX: Both.

GUEST: Yes.

LEX: What's nice is a lot of times the color fades.

So the lithographs that Currier and Ives did would be hand watercolored, of which these are.

That one is particularly strong.

So when you get a collection like this, as a rule, when they do pop up, they don't tend to bring a lot, most of the time, because they're in terrible condition.

But they can bring $100 to, let's say, $300.

These being in the condition they're in, and of course, having this family tie and the story behind it, they have really kind of a historical importance and a sentimental value that far exceeds a monetary value.

But I would think if, if these popped up in an auction, you know the restored condition, the original frames, you know, including the ring, in a, maybe a Civil War-related auction, that the group could exceed you know in the $1,500 to $2,000 range, perhaps.

GUEST: Okay, that's good.

LEX: And the fact that you ended up getting the other one by going into a private museum... GUEST: Yeah.

LEX: ...is remarkable.

And it's really a wonderful collection, and a family collection.

GUEST: Good.

LEX: ...that's going to keep in the family, I hope.

GUEST: Yeah, it's a story I like to tell.

LEX: I can imagine.

Well, thank you so much for bringing them.

GUEST: All right, thank you.

(cash register bell).

LISA JONES: Next time on "Chesapeake Collectibles."

KATHLEEN HAMILL: I think today we have a "Chesapeake Collectibles" first.

GUEST: This is an Altair 8800 computer.

It was introduced on the front cover of "Popular Electronics Magazine" in January of 1975.

LISA: So, what we actually have and what you found is a Soviet Union propaganda plate.

GUEST: What I brought was material that I've collected over years for an organization called the Order of the Caravel.

GUEST: And it was a gift to one of his friends, and she was a hostess at the Gayety Burlesque House on The Block in Baltimore.

NARRATOR: Major funding was provided by Alex Cooper Auctioneers, appraisers and auctioneers of fine art, jewelry, and collectibles.

Online and in-person gallery auctions every month.

Serving buyers and sellers in Maryland and around the world for over 100 years.

♪ ♪ Second Story Books, celebrating 50 years of dedicated book selling.

GUEST: Oh, this was fantastic.

This was my very first time coming.

GUEST: We enjoyed our experience tremendously.

GUEST: All the people here were so friendly and so nice and really put us at ease.

GUEST: Who knows, you may have hidden treasures at home, and those things could be part of history.

GUEST: Some of those things that are hanging around the house might be worth more money than you think.

GUEST: I would definitely recommend coming to "Chesapeake Collectibles."

GUEST: Everybody has a story, and they're all here.

NARRATOR: Stream anytime, anywhere with the free PBS app.