'Antiques Roadshow' guest struggles to speak after expert revealed the value of his 1795 lap desk
"Antiques Roadshow" is one show that has given common people the hope that seemingly mundane items in their house, which have been in the family for years, could be worth more than they think. But despite expectations of a high appraisal, a guest was left in shock after finding out that his old lap desk was worth over $50,000. The owner, who bought the item for less than $3,000, knew that it was an investment, but the show's expert, Wes Cowan, blew him away by revealing that the item belonged to Eliza Law Custis, the step-granddaughter of George Washington. In the end, when the guest found out that the item could bring $30,000 to $50,000 at auction, he was left speechless.
The guest shared how he was a fortunate buyer at a liquidation sale. "I was the fortunate bystander, I guess you could say, in a liquidation of a large collection of Mount Vernon memorabilia that was known at that time as the Edmund Law Rogers Smith collection. A descendant of the Custis line liquidated that large estate, much of which went back to Mount Vernon, especially the items that were known to have been at Mount Vernon during the occupancy by George and Martha Washington. And I purchased this directly from the descendant," he told Cowan.
The owner further shared that he bought it between 1981 and 1983, and it was so long ago that he could only remember the price being under $3,000. At this point, Cowan took over from the guest, saying, "The history behind this box is absolutely incredible." The appraiser noted that there was a silver plaque on the box that read, "Presented by Marquis de Lafayette to Eliza Parke Custis, who gives it to her beloved daughter Eliza Law."
"The Marquis de Lafayette was one of our big allies and one of our liaisons with France during the Revolutionary War, and was very important in our winning the Revolutionary War. Eliza Parke Custis is the granddaughter of Martha Washington. She was Jack's daughter, and Jack was Martha's son, Jack Custis," Cowan explained.
He then opened the box to show that it was a lap desk, a lady's writing desk, or a traveling desk. "Here in the top, you have all the necessary tools, a little sander to brush on top of your inked paper. This is a little ink well. You'd put your pens in here. This may be where a sealing wax or something went. And basically, this says that this was given to Eliza Parke Custis, and she's giving it to her daughter in 1823," he added.
The appraiser also found the same message written in the letter that was inside the box. "This is on the kind of paper that one would expect to find in 1823, and this is basically telling a little bit more about it, saying, 'It was sent to me by the Marquis de Lafayette'," he explained.
The expert noted that the Marquis de Lafayette came to the U.S. in 1777 and left in 1824 after the Revolutionary War, before he went back to France. "So it says, 'This was sent to me from the Marquis.' So presumably this was sent from France to the United States," Cowan noted. "Now, you've done a lot of work on the genealogical connections between all the various family members, and I've got to say, from what you've shown me, the provenance of this box is absolutely ironclad," he added.
Coming to the appraisal, Cowan estimated that the value of the item at the time would be somewhere between $30,000 to more than $50,000. This left the guest in shock as he struggled to utter a single word. After gathering his breath, all he could say was "Wow."
In the end, the appraiser noted how great of an investment the item was, to which the guest responded, "I'll be very careful driving home. I'm aghast."
