by Shelley Marsh, special to The Shorelines
published March 15, 2014
The Fourth Annual Antique Appraisal Showcase took place Saturday, March 8 at the Ponte Vedra Library. Crowds of people brought their family heirlooms or garage sale bargains to be appraised by professionals for a $5 donation to the Friends of the Library. Experts in various fields were on hand providing oral appraisals on individual items including books, coins, fine art, jewelry, dolls and more.
Some individuals were pleasantly surprised to find their items were worth more than they expected. Others were dismayed to learn that items thought to be valuable were actually worthless. Regardless of appraised value, many patrons expressed that these possessions had a sentimental value that was priceless.
Local resident Jane Skelton attended the event because she was interested to learn more about two paintings. One was a watercolor of Saint George Street in Saint Augustine painted by Nan Greacen. Nan Greacen was the daughter of American Impressionist Edmund W. Greacen, who directed the New York City Grand Central School of Art for twenty years. His daughter, Nan, was born in Giverny, France, where the family lived near Claude Monet.
A second painting was found in Mrs. Skelton’s grandmother’s attic in “a dimestore frame.” She suspected the impressionist oil painting might be the work of a well-known artist, and waited patiently to hear the opinion of local art expert Henry Robert
Another patron, Bob Cowhey brought his family heirloom: a large, framed artwork presented to his grandfather by early twentieth-century comic artists of the Chicago Sun Times. Mr. Cowhey’s grandfather was Harry Baker, a journalist in Chicago and New York. The drawing depicted various famous cartoon characters shaking hands with his grandfather, who was seated at his desk at the newspaper office. Each cartoon artist took a turn adding his contribution to the artwork, a compilation of many famous cartoonists. The colors were still bright and eye-catching.
Some of the experts on hand included Ron Chamblin of Chamblin’s Book Mine, Bea Ketchum of Avonlea Antiques & Design Gallery, Bill Hardy, Miriam’s Jewelery, Henry Robert, Dave Workman and Joyce Fleming. Ms Fleming manages “Joyce’s Dolls” in Jacksonville. She reported “we’ve seen quite a few nice, antique dolls today, but not many that people thought were worth 100000 but turned out to be worth 10.”
One participant who declined to give her name emerged from the “rare coins” room smiling: “I found out that my coin is worth a dollar in a Saint Augustine gift shop, but it was fun anyway!”