
Appraisal: 1957 Henry Varnum Poor Charger
Clip: Season 28 Episode 20 | 2m 43sVideo has Closed Captions
Appraisal: 1957 Henry Varnum Poor Charger
Check out David Rago's appraisal of a 1957 Henry Varnum poor charger in Vintage Madison 2024, Hour 1.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Funding for ANTIQUES ROADSHOW is provided by Ancestry and American Cruise Lines. Additional funding is provided by public television viewers.

Appraisal: 1957 Henry Varnum Poor Charger
Clip: Season 28 Episode 20 | 2m 43sVideo has Closed Captions
Check out David Rago's appraisal of a 1957 Henry Varnum poor charger in Vintage Madison 2024, Hour 1.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
How to Watch Antiques Roadshow
Antiques Roadshow is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio.
Buy Now

ANTIQUES ROADSHOW 2025 Tour!
Enter now for a chance to win free tickets to ANTIQUES ROADSHOW's 2025 Tour! Plus, see which cities we're headed to!Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipGUEST: It belonged to my parents.
And my father was an art collector, mostly paintings.
But then later on, he became interested in ceramics, sculpture, and other mediums.
Now, I think he met Henry Varnum Poor somewhere.
Some of the artists he collected were friends of his.
They may have introduced him.
They have known him.
They may have helped him make the connection.
APPRAISER: How'd you acquire it from your father?
GUEST: Well, he gifted it to me, and he had three others that...
Both my brothers and my sister also received a plate.
They were totally different.
I mean, my sister's had a lot of browns in it.
And, uh, it wasn't as pretty as this one.
I really like mine the best.
APPRAISER: Henry Varnum Poor was born in Kansas in 1888.
He fought in World War I.
Built his house in 1920 with his own hands.
It was part of the Arts & Crafts tradition from which he sprung, and started potting about that time.
And he potted until his death in 1970.
This piece is signed and dated '57.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: Which is sort of in the middle of his career.
I, I've seen a fair amount of his work, and I have never seen this color before, this technique.
It's almost like enamel on a yellow background.
The glazing technique, it's more of a faience type, where there's a, a lighter-colored background that offsets the artwork, which is loosely contained within, uh, incised lines on the surface of the plate.
It does tend more towards the browns that you're talking about.
This is unusually pretty and colorful.
Poor tended to make utilitarian ware: cups, saucers, bowls, and plates.
He didn't make a lot of vases.
Consequently, in terms of valuing things, utilitarian pieces, for most potters, their works are devalued.
But in Henry Varnum Poor's work, it doesn't really affect pricing all that much.
Same thing where there's some flat chipping around the edges, because it is low-fire ware.
Just recently, three very important pieces of Poor's work were just donated and accepted by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
So, he's getting quite a bit of recognition as a potter, even though he was primarily known as a painter.
GUEST: As a painter, yeah.
APPRAISER: But he was also an architect and a writer.
GUEST: Oh, yes, yes.
APPRAISER: I mean, he was a real Renaissance man.
If I were to see, at auction today, I would expect to see an estimate of at least $2,500 to $3,500, and probably $3,000 to $4,000.
GUEST: (laughs) APPRAISER: Even with the, even with the damage.
GUEST: Oh, my gosh.
Well, I'm, I'm, I'm thrilled.
I'm absolutely thrilled.
APPRAISER: This is the first time in 14 years I've seen a piece of Henry Varnum Poor's work here.
GUEST: Really?
Yeah.
So I'm really delighted to see this.
APPRAISER: Oh, well, thank you so much.
I'm really happy I brought it.
Appraisal: 1655 Ortelius Theatro Del Mondo Atlas
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S28 Ep20 | 3m 12s | Appraisal: 1655 Ortelius Theatro Del Mondo Atlas (3m 12s)
Appraisal: 1856 Jacquard Coverlet
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S28 Ep20 | 30s | Appraisal: 1856 Jacquard Coverlet (30s)
Appraisal: 1870 Folk Art Watercolor Painting
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S28 Ep20 | 25s | Appraisal: 1870 Folk Art Watercolor Painting (25s)
Appraisal: 1893 Tiffany & Co. World’s Fair Exhibition Vase
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S28 Ep20 | 3m 4s | Appraisal: 1893 Tiffany & Co. World’s Fair Exhibition Vase (3m 4s)
Appraisal: 1910 Bertha Schrader Oil Painting
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S28 Ep20 | 2m 47s | Appraisal: 1910 Bertha Schrader Oil Painting (2m 47s)
Appraisal: 1922 Serge Férat Gouache
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S28 Ep20 | 38s | Appraisal: 1922 Serge Férat Gouache (38s)
Appraisal: 1938 Martin D-18 Guitar
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S28 Ep20 | 2m 53s | Appraisal: 1938 Martin D-18 Guitar (2m 53s)
Appraisal: 1947 Albin Polasek Portrait Bust
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S28 Ep20 | 1m 3s | Appraisal: 1947 Albin Polasek Portrait Bust (1m 3s)
Appraisal: Alfred de Bréanski Jr. Oil, ca. 1930
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S28 Ep20 | 1m 13s | Appraisal: Alfred de Bréanski Jr. Oil, ca. 1930 (1m 13s)
Appraisal: Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington Bronze, ca. 1910
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S28 Ep20 | 2m 39s | Appraisal: Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington Bronze, ca. 1910 (2m 39s)
Appraisal: Art Deco Charm Bracelet, ca. 1935
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S28 Ep20 | 1m 54s | Appraisal: Art Deco Charm Bracelet, ca. 1935 (1m 54s)
Appraisal: Ault & Wiborg Salesman’s Sample Case, ca. 1900
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S28 Ep20 | 2m 11s | Appraisal: Ault & Wiborg Salesman’s Sample Case, ca. 1900 (2m 11s)
Appraisal: Big Bird Figure, ca. 1975
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S28 Ep20 | 25s | Appraisal: Big Bird Figure, ca. 1975 (25s)
Appraisal: Buddy "L" Steam Shovel on Treads, ca. 1925
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S28 Ep20 | 2m 55s | Appraisal: Buddy L Steam Shovel on Treads, ca. 1925 (2m 55s)
Appraisal: Chinese Bamboo Mountain Carving, ca. 1890
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S28 Ep20 | 2m 17s | Appraisal: Chinese Bamboo Mountain Carving, ca. 1890 (2m 17s)
Appraisal: Handel Chipped Ice Lamp Shade, ca. 1920
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S28 Ep20 | 36s | Appraisal: Handel Chipped Ice Lamp Shade, ca. 1920 (36s)
Appraisal: Hank Aaron-signed Game-used Bat, ca. 1965
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S28 Ep20 | 1m 34s | Appraisal: Hank Aaron-signed Game-used Bat, ca. 1965 (1m 34s)
Appraisal: Keystone Watch Co. Pocket Watch, ca. 1890
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S28 Ep20 | 29s | Appraisal: Keystone Watch Co. Pocket Watch, ca. 1890 (29s)
Appraisal: Lenticular Advertising Sign, ca. 1920
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S28 Ep20 | 1m 48s | Appraisal: Lenticular Advertising Sign, ca. 1920 (1m 48s)
Appraisal: Rivir Studios China-painted Vase, ca. 1925
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S28 Ep20 | 30s | Appraisal: Rivir Studios China-painted Vase, ca. 1925 (30s)
Appraisal: Simon Sparrow Mixed-media Art, ca. 1980
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S28 Ep20 | 2m 50s | Appraisal: Simon Sparrow Mixed-media Art, ca. 1980 (2m 50s)
Appraisal: Stickpin Collection, ca. 1900
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S28 Ep20 | 2m 9s | Appraisal: Stickpin Collection, ca. 1900 (2m 9s)
Appraisal: Tiffany Brown Diamond Ring, ca. 1920
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S28 Ep20 | 35s | Appraisal: Tiffany Brown Diamond Ring, ca. 1920 (35s)
Appraisal: Tillman Parker Goodan Oil Painting, ca. 1925
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S28 Ep20 | 54s | Appraisal: Tillman Parker Goodan Oil Painting, ca. 1925 (54s)
Appraisal: Walnut Reclining Chair, ca. 1876
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S28 Ep20 | 3m 3s | Appraisal: Walnut Reclining Chair, ca. 1876 (3m 3s)
Appraisal: Weller Hudson Blue & Decorated Vase, ca. 1925
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S28 Ep20 | 33s | Appraisal: Weller Hudson Blue & Decorated Vase, ca. 1925 (33s)
Appraisal: Zdeněk Burian Illustrations, ca. 1930
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S28 Ep20 | 3m 41s | Appraisal: Zdeněk Burian Illustrations, ca. 1930 (3m 41s)
Appraisal: 1915 Ingersoll Military Wrist Watch & Box
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S28 Ep20 | 3m 11s | Appraisal: 1915 Ingersoll Military Wrist Watch & Box (3m 11s)
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipSupport for PBS provided by:
Funding for ANTIQUES ROADSHOW is provided by Ancestry and American Cruise Lines. Additional funding is provided by public television viewers.