Hi All, I have an antique desk that belonged to my great grandfather who was an engineer on the Pennsylvania Railroad (late 1800s). I'm told he used the desk the caboose. Unfortunately we have no where to put it and our kids aren't interested, so I'm thinking of getting it appraised and probably selling it. It's a shame for it to sit in the garage. Someone is sure to appreciate it. I haven't been able to find anything like it. Any ideas where to find a reputable appraiser?
Hi and WELCOME to ANTIQUERS, @Denise490!! My first thoughts are I would NOT go with just ONE appraiser!! Secondly, take a series of really GOOD pictures from ALL Angles....back, front, sides, insides, look for labels & if any take pics of them too!! Whatever provenance you have, make copies of that too!! Railroad related items tend to have good interest, but what I've said above is most of what I can tell you! Also, do some Online research on such desks if you can find any! Others should be along to help you out more! Where you are located in the country can also affect the value of your item!! Best of luck in your venture!!! We here do understand about 'kids not being interested'.....they are a different & more modern generation!!
Hi @Denise welcome! We'd love to see images... Appraisers are members of a few associations, you might call them in your area. Heres an article Understanding the Three Professional Appraisal Organizations Hard to say whether you need a full appraisal on it. You can ask for a verbal appraisal, which is cheaper and doesnt involve a written report. Heres another discussed recently: @James Conrad @verybrad
I recently sorta helped a guy identify a small cast iron stove as a caboose stove and it amazed me how much he sold it for. If you can firmly place it (picture,etc) as a caboose desk be sure to mention it in your ad.Apparently RR collectibles still do well.
Any photographs? kinda hard to discuss what we can't see. I think that's right, if desk has a RR stamp on it or you have photo of it on a train, it could sell for more than it's usual furniture value as RR collectors could be interested.
What they said. If you can document where it was used ... paydirt! Railroad collectors are still collecting, especially items from real trains. As a bonus, caboose pieces or things used on trains are compact, and folks with small houses and apartments are looking for small pieces. Get the thing into a decent auction house with provenance and it might well fly.
Hi Thanks for your replies. Would love to post some pics. I'm having trouble uploading the images I have.
I use toolwiz app to crop and resize. I just put in 900px. Like so to scale down: Say hi to Keeper, @Aquitaine's new doggy
@Denise490 I see you have managed to upload 1 picture to the Gallery. You can "embed" that one (and any others you upload to the Gallery) into your thread here by using the "camera icon" in the reply toolbar. Position you cursor where you want to picture to be placed in your Reply, click on the camera, that will access your Gallery Album so you can select which picture to embed. Voila!
Nice "Eastlake" style decorations! Do the side pieces fold down when not in use? I hope you can add pictures of the interior! What part of the country are you in? I am sure that members here would have suggestions for auctioneers and or appraisers they would recommend for you to contact.
