herself. great to see you guys. thank you for being with us. congressman trent franks and greg forbes our guests tomorrow night. >> it's a collection most any girl would die for... >> it's almost too much barbie for a girl. >> ...a houseful of dolls from all over the world. >> you couldn't even walk into the room. there were thousands. >> so what makes this inheritance so strange? [ clockwork music playing ] say hello to the heir. >> "mother, why -- me being a boy, why was it dolls?" >> she had a dying wish. >> "please don't throw these dolls away. find a home for them." and that's what i want to do. >> but does the man have a plan? >> they call me the "doll boy." [ laughs ] >> how's that working out for you? >> i thought, "you can call me whatever you want. i've got a pretty good inheritance here, boys." [ door creaks ]

[ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ] ♪ >> i'm jamie colby, and i'm driving into portales, new mexico, along the texas border and near the cannon air force base. you know, the welcome sign here says it all -- "17,000 friendly people (and three or four old grouches). i'm here to meet a man whose strange inheritance certainly called for that kind of sense of humor. >> my name is john wall. my mother, irene wall, passed at 90 years old. she had left me with a very large collection that meant a lot to her, but i didn't know what to do. >> great. so nice to meet you. >> nice to meet you. welcome to my home. well, so, what do think of all

these dolls? >> wow! >> this is kind of the way it was in my mom's house, only there were so many more. >> johnny, i feel like i'm 8 years old again with all these dolls. >> well, i have the reputation around here as the "doll boy" but i don't know anything about them. >> looking around, you have earned that reputation. what are you going to do? >> the goal of my mom's and mine was to find a home for them, and that's what i want to do. >> the collection meant the world to john's mother because of the world she grew up in. >> december 7th, 1941. a date which will live in infamy. >> when the u.s. enters world war ii, 20-year-old irene jennings is teaching high school in her hometown of dora, new mexico. she's barely older than her students.

>> this is when she graduated from new mexico state university. >> now, for the time, graduating from college is very important for a woman. >> very important back then. very few got to be there. >> of all the inheritances i've learned about, your family has suffered so much pain. it started with your mother's brother. >> yes. >> tell me about him. >> he was drafted after pearl harbor, and they were sent to the philippines. >> irene's brother vernon is one of more than 60,000 american and philippine soldiers captured by the japanese on the bataan peninsula. they're forced to march 80 miles in scorching heat without food, water, or medical care. thousands die of exhaustion. some are executed by the japanese. did your mom think that her brother was going to come home? >> they always had hopes. >> many of the boys in irene's classroom are eager to sign up

and fight. their way of assuring her that they will return is to promise to bring her something back. like a doll, maybe. your mom was such a beloved teacher that they brought her these dolls. >> even back then, mother was known to be a doll lover, and the students would bring them to her. >> the returning vets do bring irene dolls from all over the world. rare geisha dolls from japan, lifelike celluloid dolls from germany, and beautiful duchess dolls from france. for irene, whose hardscrabble youth left little time for fantasy, her foreign dolls open a window to the big wide world. >> my grandparents were sharecroppers. toys was not one of those luxury items they had a lot of. and i think once she become financially able, she had those feelings that, "i love dolls, and i think that's what i would like to collect."

>> when the war ends in 1945, irene finally gets a letter saying her brother vernon died in captivity. >> he had died during this death march deal, and was buried in the philippines. >> in a twist of fate, this tragic news brings irene in contact with the man she would eventually marry, a man who nearly starved to death in a japanese prison camp. >> when my dad came home from the service, he felt he owed it to the families of roosevelt county to go around and talk to them about their loved ones that they lost. and my mother's brother was one of them, and then that's where they got acquainted. >> as she collected all these dolls, what did your dad say? >> my dad let my mother have a lot of reins. irene was a very keen woman. >> john wall jr. is their only

child. he grows up, marries a hometown gal, starts a family of his own, and gets a job as a groundskeeper at new mexico state university. over the years, irene's ever-growing collection is a marvel to her great-niece lori davis. >> every year we went over there, there were more dolls in her house. >> there was campbell's soup dolls, flintstone dolls, dolls like shirley temple. >> irene invests thousands of dollars into collecting a wide variety of dolls. then, in 1977, her husband, john sr., dies of respiratory failure at the age of 63. irene's obsession with dolls only grows after her husband's death. that worries her little sister juanita. >> i'd say, "irene, do you know what a mess your house is in?" and she'd say, "it's my house." >> juanita asks her daughter

emma and her granddaughter lori to go to irene's house and conduct a head count. a census might be more like it. are their hundreds of dolls? a thousand? many thousands? >> i was shocked, and i know lori was... >> oh, my gosh. >> ...really shocked. >> that's next. >> but first, our "strange inheritance" quiz question. the world's priciest doll is the $6 million clockwork l'oiseleur doll. what makes it so special -- it was owned by marie antoinette, it was the barbie prototype, or because it has thousands of moving parts? the answer in a moment. ♪ it's a highly contagious disease that can be really serious... especially for my precious new grandchild. it's whooping cough. every family member, including those around new babies, should talk to their doctor or pharmacist about getting vaccinated.

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stop getting in the way of patient recovery and pay attention. every single one of you is on our list. at optum, we're partnering across the health system to tackle its biggest challenges. >> so, what makes the $6 million clockwork l'oiseleur doll so special? the answer is "c." the four-foot tall french doll is also known as the bird trainer, and has more than 2,300 gilt or steel parts. >> john wall's mother, irene, had always promised to leave him with a strange inheritance -- her extensive collection of dolls. maybe promise is the wrong word. threaten is more like it. didn't you ever wish your mom bought half as many dolls and put the other half in a bank account for you? >> oh, yes. it would have been sure enough easier. but, then again, maybe she wanted my inheritance to be a

bit of a challenge. i don't know. >> by 1990, no one knows exactly how many dolls irene's collected in her house in portales, new mexico, and she shows no sign of slowing down. irene's younger sister juanita enlists her daughter emma and granddaughter lori to visit aunt irene and, while they're there, find out just how many dolls she has. >> i was shocked, and i know lori was... >> oh, my gosh. >> ...really shocked. the first room we tackled, you had to suck up, yes... >> [ laughs ] >> ...to walk around. >> right. >> we knocked some dolls off while we were counting. >> i was like, "oh, my gosh. i don't know if this is collecting or hoarding." i've never seen anybody with that many dolls. >> emma and lori are flabbergasted to see dolls packed like sardines occupying every room in the house. >> we're counting one by one, and we're just overwhelmed.

>> the final tally for irene's collection? over 5,000 dolls! it's time for an intervention. >> enough was enough on the doll collection. i had to sit down and speak with her about the matter. and it was hard. >> irene is fiercely opposed to just throwing away her lifelong collection. next-door neighbor suzy nuchols comes to the rescue. >> i do a lot of ebay, and so he knew that because we're neighbors, and we just decided, "let's do it." and we went to his mom's house, and it was full of dolls. everywhere you looked. and so we started just looking them up and just getting an idea. >> one of the first things they learn on ebay -- irene wall isn't the only one obsessed with dolls. >> there are some people that are on there continuously watching these dolls. it's amazing. >> dolls are scooped up by buyers from all over the world. one of irene's favorites, a german celluloid doll -- likely a gift from a returning

world war ii vet -- is bought for $225. john and his wife lynn are mesmerized by the bidding process. >> it sometimes would get down to the last five minutes, for sure, then those prices would just run through the ceiling. and lynn thought it was kind of like playing the slot machine. >> over the summer of 2007, they sell about 60 dolls to online bidders for a total of $15,000. >> and mama was happy. >> i could tell by the look in her eye, the amazement, was, "i told you so." >> but out of 5,000-plus, it's not even a dent in the collection. then, in april 2010, john's beloved wife, lynn, passes away at the age of 57. 18 months later, his mother, irene, dies, too, at 90. >> i lost mother, and i lost lynn to... phew!

[voice breaking] ...cancer. and that's the hardest thing i've told people you'll ever lose... is a wife and a mother. >> his children are grown up and on their own, leaving john with more than 4,000 dolls to sell to keep his promise to his mom. now john gets help from a second lady friend. patty beggs, who, like john, has also suffered the death of a spouse. >> did john ask you for help? >> oh, no. we just was there for each other, and he needed help. i don't know if he asked or if i volunteered, but we just started doing it. i mean, we had to do something with them. >> between suzy and patty, it just seems as if women like coming to john's rescue. >> [ laughing ] >> those dolls ended up helping you out in those young days. >> and evidently it did. i was around some awfully nice girls in my life. >> in 2011, john and patty

actually start dating. with patty's help, john rents a storefront in downtown portales from thanksgiving until christmas, and calls it the dollhouse. the dolls sell like hot cakes, some for $1, some for $10. >> it went really well. we had lots of people in, because everybody wanted to buy the dolls, hear the story. >> and meet john? >> but he was mine at that time, so they couldn't have him. [ laughs ] >> i like that. you must have a reputation around town? >> they call me the "doll boy." [ laughs ] >> how's that working out for you? >> once everything started going, with both ebay and the dollhouse, i thought, "you can call me whatever you want. i don't care. i've got a pretty good inheritance here, boys." >> and john does make a tidy sum -- $5,000 on the store. add that to the $15,000 from ebay, and he's liquidated the bulk of his mom's doll

collection for $20,0000. but his job isn't over. john still has close to 1,000 dolls stacked in his barn that he's yet to unload. >> will selling the doll collection help your life? >> it will help me to know that i've fulfilled what my mother asked of me. >> well, if that's what's important to you, johnny, i want to help. >> oh, i would love that more than anything. there is a few of them out there you might like to see, too. >> oooh! >> do you like barbies? there are 19 boxes of solid barbies. >> barbie?! >> yes! >> that's next. >> here's another quiz question for you. which of these toys sold for the highest price at auction -- was it the 1963 g.i. joe prototype, a diamond barbie, or a gold-plated nintendo wii? the answer in a moment.

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>> so, which of these special-edition toys sold for the highest price at auction? the answer is "b," the canturi diamond barbie, which sports a four-carat pink-and-white diamond necklace. it sold for over $300,000 in 2010. >> john wall's mother leaves him a strange inheritance -- more than 5,000 dolls from all over the world. now he's taking me out to his barn to show me the last of his mother's collection, and what he believes may be the cream of the crop. john's hopeful the rest of his mother's dolls are worth one more big payday. >> close to 500 of these

barbies, still in their original boxes. >> johnny! i knew there'd be one just for me. seriously? sagittarius barbie! i am a sagittarius. you know what? earrings -- check. evening gown -- check. beautiful silky hair -- check. this is me! >> it's everything, yes. >> and you have almost 500 of these barbies? that's almost too much barbie for a girl. >> yes. >> and i know someone that may be able to tell us what it's worth. to help john out, we contact tim luke of the treasure quest appraisal group based in south beach, florida. here's tim. he's the former director of the collectibles department at the famed christie's auction house in new york. >> i understand you've got a great collection. >> tim has agreed to help appraise john's strange inheritance. you looked at all these barbies. i really need your opinion. >> well, barbie's a cultural icon. i think that today you see a lot

of people that are in their 40s and over, that's the demographic that is really holding onto this. it's that nostalgia. >> barbie's dream house! >> in 1959, the first year of production, mattel sold more than 300,000 barbies, and a first edition can go for about $8,000 today. >> suntan barbie. >> yes, her features are a tad unrealistic, but she's a strong female character, beautiful, powerful, and rich. and that's what attracts collectors. how do you tell what year a barbie is made? >> well, the very first year that they came out, mattel had to recall and change. they had to soften her features because she looked too much like a, um... "lady of the night." and the mothers... >> oh, my! >> yeah. the mothers, they just -- uproar because of the eyeliner and shadow. and the number-ones will have a hole in the foot, both feet, because there was a stand that barbie came on.

>> there are ken dolls here, too. >> [ laughs ] >> is ken more valuable than barbie? >> no. he doesn't even rate. >> i'm thinking, "and they call john 'doll boy'?" sounds like tim's just the guy to tell us what john's collection is really worth. >> my mother's thoughts were that it was worth over $25,000 for that barbie collection alone. >> johnny, the most important thing is to fulfill mother's wish. will it be the payday john is hoping for? that's next. copd makes it hard to breathe. so to breathe better, i go with anoro. ♪go your own way copd tries to say, "go this way." i say, "i'll go my own way" with anoro. ♪go your own way once-daily anoro contains two medicines called bronchodilators, that work together to significantly improve lung function all day and all night.

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>> now back to "strange inheritance." >> here's tim. john wall is hoping doll expert tim luke can give him some good news about the value of his remaining inheritance -- about 500 mint-condition barbies, all in their original boxes. of the 5,000 dolls his mother collected, this is the bulk of what's left.

tim, we went through all these barbies. there's plenty of them. you have to have an opinion. >> the downside is that most of them are from the '90s. >> but they say collector. >> they do. [ sighs ] and don't be seduced by the box. >> so, let me stop you there. you're saying that this barbie, this is a reproduction. >> this is the 50th anniversary, but this came out in the '90s as a celebration of the 50th anniversary. not as valuable. >> johnny told me he thinks $10,000 to $15,000, maybe $25,000 for all of this. how off the mark is he? >> i think he's close to the lower end. >> tim thinks john can still make about $10,000 with a good strategy. >> i think the best way to do this is to put these on ebay, because it's worldwide. somebody may only need one item for their collection, and they're gonna pay a premium for it. >> hello. >> time to share the expert opinion with the heir. >> your mother had such a wonderful time putting this all

together. what i suggest is that you put these on ebay. they're all salable, and they could all do well. >> john takes the sober appraisal of $10k like a man. what do you think mother would say? >> well, she'd say, "we got to do what we got to, baby." >> [ laughs ] >> you know, "let's move with it." >> i'm here. i got my checkbook. i would like to take the last of that series, the sagittarius. i'm thinking i'm going to offer $100. >> i think that's very fair. but if you wanted to step up and offer him $200... >> hell no! i'm not overpaying. [ laughter ] >> hey, we'll have an auction. wait a minute. we'll do an auction. i know. i'm looking out for my client here. >> oh! before i go, i get my barbie sagittarius, and i ask john if he plans to save any of his mother's other dolls. he says just a few, in particular those fragile japanese dolls from world war ii, a reminder of how

his mother started collecting them in the first place. >> i kept going back to what my mom told about them, to please respect it as an inheritance. i've did everything i can to do it in a way that is respectful to her wishes. >> and here's a note to those of you who might want to start a barbie collection of your own -- to tell when a vintage barbie was manufactured, you have to... well, you have to take a look under her dress. in the back. in the early days, when barbie was made in japan, the year each model was created got stamped on her right buttock. now that's a pretty private hiding place, proving that barbie's age is really no one's business but her own. i'm jamie colby for "strange inheritance." and remember -- you can't take it with you. do you have a "strange inheritance" story

you'd like to share with us? we'd love to hear it! send me an e-mail or go to our website, strangeinheritance.com. >> a hard-charging real estate mogul who's ahead of his time... >> edmund was a real visionary. >> ...meets a cutting-edge furniture designer. >> there was a lot of synergy when the two of them came together. >> he fills one home with ultra-modern pieces. then another and another. >> they jumped on it. they puked on it, they came in from the swimming pool and sat on it. >> when he's gone, his heirs are in for the surprise of a lifetime. >> and it rachets up, and it rachets up. i'm sitting there next to my son, slapping his leg, going, "matthew! matthew! matthew!" [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ]

♪ >> i'm jamie colby, and today i'm in tucson, arizona, to meet the family of a man who spent his entire life building beautiful homes, and it led him to amass a collection of what some would say was less-than-functional furniture but others insist were works of art. >> my name is diane bennett. i was married to edmund bennett for 30 years. he left us an inheritance that had collectors around the world buzzing. >> hi, diane. >> hi, jamie. >> diane was ed's third wife. this is the last of eight homes they shared until his death in 2013. oh, my. >> this is a history of 33 years of a blended family, ed's children, my children, ed, and me. >> diane, tell me about edmund. >> well, he was a very complex man. he was very pragmatic

but a real romantic. ♪ >> born in washington, dc, in 1920, bennett serves in both world war ii and korea. by 1953, he's ready for peacetime and takes a job at the state department. he and his first wife, wilda, are making their own contribution to the baby boom. he buys two lots in washington, with plans to build a home on one and sell the other. >> as soon as he would start to build one, someone would offer him enough money that would inspire him to sell it. >> so he bought two more lots and built two more houses, and the same thing happened. actually, it was five houses before the family got to move into a larger house. >> suddenly, bureaucrat edmund bennett has a new career as a real estate developer. in 1962, he lands his first big project -- carderock springs, maryland, a 300-acre upscale

subdivision. >> he was an artist, and he was very aware and wanting to preserve the natural habitat, making each neighborhood unique. >> bennett demands complete control of the project. buyers are subject to strict rules -- no metal fences, no outdoor clothes lines. you don't like it? don't buy the house. >> he had a vision always of what he wanted. it was difficult sometimes for him to understand that those in his immediate circle might have their own vision. >> what's it like to live with a man like that? >> not calm. when there were differences, we had to learn how to negotiate those differences, and sometimes it was at the top of our lungs. >> to furnish his model at carderock, bennett wants something that has a wow factor yet matches his own naturalistic

design philosophy. his search leads him to the studio of an idiosyncratic woodworker named george nakashima. >> nakashima was known for taking naturally felled wood and creating inherently individual works for that specific piece of wood. >> nakashima's story oddly parallels bennett's. born in washington state, he earns an architecture degree from mit. in 1942, just as ed bennett is being inducted into the army, nakashima, his wife, and young daughter are among more than 110,000 japanese americans forcibly interned in war relocation camps. it's a dismal experience, but he meets a master woodworker who teaches him to craft simple but beautiful furniture using traditional japanese hand tools. after the war, nakashima builds

a workshop in new hope, pennsylvania, where he uses these centuries-old techniques to create modern masterpieces. "every tree," he says, "has its destiny." >> we're allowing the wood to speak for itself. i am trying to reveal the beauty that is in the wood. and part of that is this beautiful natural edge, which is a real characteristic of nakashima work. >> to better understand this zen modernism, i turn to ben mcnitt of tucson, one of legions of contemporary craftsmen deeply influenced by nakashima. i'd love to help you make this table. >> well, to get started, what i'd like you to do is take this chisel, and in very light little taps... >> i can see what it means to give a tree, in nakashima's words, a second life through this technique. look, i'm doing a good job, i think. >> you're doing a very good job. >> i also see why edmund bennett is dazzled when he first steps

into nakashima's studio in 1963. soon, george's workshop is humming with furniture for the carderock model. dozens of pieces, including lounge chairs, benches, and headboards. bennett commissions some items, like this lamp, for as little as $110. >> it quickly became a marriage made in heaven. they recognized in each other a tremendous appreciation for design. >> that marriage is memorialized in extensive correspondence between the two men about the carderock project. and nakashima personally checks out the installations, including this $350 wall case, when he visits the development. >> it was a bonus for mr. nakashima because it was a showplace for his furniture, as well as being a bonus for ed in terms of having people come see the community. >> and when the carderock model

opens, it's clear that the design vision shared by bennett and nakashima is a winner. >> that first weekend, that generated over a thousand visits through the model home. so it was a huge success. >> before long, bennett sells out to american cyanamid and pursues other opportunities in real estate and banking. but he hangs on to his friend george's quirky furniture. for the next 40 years, he fills every one of his homes with it. elizabeth, your dad let you play on the furniture. did you let your kids play as well? >> they played on it. they jumped on it. they puked on it. they came in from the swimming pool and sat on it. >> that's before they knew what it was worth. nakashima achieves superstar status in 1973 when new york governor nelson rockefeller commissions 200 pieces like these for his mansion in westchester. nakashima's reputation keeps growing even after his death in

1990. in 2014, a half century after ed bennett's first visit, nakashima's workshop is designated a national landmark. the developer and the woodworker -- two men ahead of their time. >> the george nakashima couch -- $4,500 on the internet now. >> just how far ahead? ed bennett's family is about to find out. >> lot number 245 is one of the lots from the bennett family. >> that's next. >> but first, our "strange inheritance" quiz question. the answer i♪ a moment. it's a highly contagious disease that can be really serious... especially for my precious new grandchild. it's whooping cough. every family member,

including those around new babies, should talk to their doctor or pharmacist about getting vaccinated. money managers are pretty much the same. all but while some push high commission investment products, fisher investments avoids them. some advisers have hidden and layered fees. fisher investments never does. and while some advisers are happy to earn commissions from you whether you do well or not, fisher investments fees are structured so we do better when you do better. maybe that's why most of our clients come from other money managers. fisher investments. clearly better money management.

bburning of diabetic nerve pain these feet... liked to style my dog as a kid... and were pumped to open my own salon. but i couldn't bear my diabetic nerve pain any longer. so i talked to my doctor and she prescribed lyrica. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions, suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worse depression, unusual changes in mood or behavior, swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever,

tired feeling or blurry vision. common side effects: dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain, swelling of hands, legs, and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. now i have less diabetic nerve pain. ask your doctor about lyrica. >> so, what piece of furniture sold at auction in 2004 for a record $36.7 million? the answer is "a," the so-called badminton chest, commissioned by the 3rd duke of beaufort in 1726. it was made of ebony and encrusted with amethyst, quartz, and other jewels. >> for half a century, real estate developer ed bennett fills his homes with quirky furniture from master craftsman george nakashima. elizabeth soto and bruce bennett, two of bennett's four children, grew up

surrounded by the stuff. the tables and chairs, the bench in the hall, all crafted by nakashima. but one piece in particular embodies the close bond shared by both edmund and diane's children. >> my favorite piece by far was the dining room table. we would gather around this table, and it turned out that we blended quite well. >> a black walnut tree given that second life by nakashima. bennett cherishes it for the rest of his. >> well, the dining room table was the center of the family. i look at it -- there was four generations of our family that sat at that table. it just seemed like if there was another person, somehow, another chair fit there. >> in march of 2013, the family gathers around it for a meal. edmund is 93 and seriously ill. >> he was sitting up at the head

of the table where he always sits. >> we didn't know for sure that it was going to be his last one, but it was his last one. >> two weeks later, edmund bennett dies. so kind of you to share. his will provides generously for diane. however, he leaves his large nakashima collection to his four biological children. ♪ what ed's children don't inherit is his almost obsessive love for it. >> we all talked first -- "does anybody wanna keep any of these pieces?" >> some of it was pretty big. it was a pretty easy decision because the process of downsizing warranted that we weren't all gonna be able to keep the furniture. >> they decide to sell. but how? where? and for how much? that's when pam hardie, an ex-girlfriend of bruce's and often one of those extra chairs at the nakashima table, offers to help.

>> i'm a huge antiques fan, and i'm a huge bennett fan, so it was a match made. >> she's always been just a tremendous family friend and has always stayed close to the family. >> pam, a director in a marketing firm, first wants to get an estimate for the value of the collection. she takes this lamp to a professional for an appraisal. >> i get on the phone, and i called elizabeth. >> she called me. >> i could hardly breathe and said, "you've got to sit down." >> she goes, "liddy! liddy! liddy! do you know how much this lamp is worth?" and i went, "no, pam. tell me!" and she said, "$10,000!" >> and there was a thud on the other end of the phone. [ laughs ] >> if a single lamp is worth $10,000, the bennett heirs must be sitting on a small fortune. the excitement just built from there. >> $20,000, the bid now. any advance over $20,000? $22,500... >> that's next on "strange inheritance."

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>> so, where does the most expensive furniture wood come from? the answer is "c," southeast asia, where a single pound of agarwood can cost more than $13,000. >> so many memories. >> there are. sometimes i just come and stand here and reminisce. >> in 2013, when ed bennett dies, his four children inherit more than 60 pieces of furniture by master designer george nakashima. all sorts of stuff -- lamps, a

rocking chair, and a dining room set beloved by four generations of the family. it's been half a century since edmund bennett first walked into george nakashima's workshop and nakashima installed his work in bennett's model home. since then, nakashima -- who died in 1990 -- has become one of the most iconic and collectible american designers. still, bennett's heirs are not interested in keeping their strange inheritance, so they decide to sell the collection through a los angeles company, la modern auctions. a perfect excuse for me to pay a visit to the auction house owner, peter loughery. peter? >> hi. >> hi. how are you? i'm jamie. >> good! welcome. >> ah! and there's a nakashima. >> yeah, this is one our favorite pieces. it's a round table in a round space. >> turns out peter has studied and collected nakashima furniture for almost 30 years.

>> i think the first nakashima piece i bought, i may have been 18 or 19 years old. it was still considered used furniture. >> once loughery sets the auction date, the family ships the bennett collection to la. did you have a reaction when you saw the furniture being packed up and taken out? >> we had our last family dinner, and we sat around the table, and we talked about edmund. we all held hands, and we said a prayer of thanksgiving for the table and for edmund, and hoped that the next family that had the table have the pleasures that we had with it. ♪ >> as the big day approaches, diane bennett and three of ed's children fly to la. elizabeth brings her two children, and, of course, pam hardie is there, too. >> i wouldn't have missed being at that auction for the world.

>> we all said we were going to sit on our hands in case we accidentally buy a piece back that we don't want. [ laughs ] >> take me inside the auction room that day. >> nervous, everybody was nervous. >> lot number 245 is one of the lots from the bennett family, >> i take out my phone. i start filming. >> the first nakashima piece is that wall case bennett bought for his carderock model home in 1963. loughery estimates it's now worth between $20,000 and $30,000 -- many times what ed bennett paid for it. could it really go for that much? >> $20,000, back of the room. >> i was floored. >> we just were speechless. >> all through? >> that's next. you know who likes to be in control? this guy. check it out! self-appendectomy! oh, that's really attached.

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watches with anticipation as the bidding begins on his collection of zen modern furniture by george nakashima. the first piece up, that wall case from bennett's model home way back when. bidding begins at the low estimate -- $20,000. >> and it ratchets up. and it ratchets up. and another phone bid comes in. and an online bid comes in. peter would say... >> all done, all through? >> and then somebody picked it up again. >> i'm sitting there next to my son, slapping his leg, going, "matthew! matthew! matthew!" >> the next thing you know, it is far above the high estimate. >> all done, all through? >> pam and i are like this. [ laughs ]

>> sold! >> the hammer price was actually $52,500. that was crazy. >> it's almost twice the high estimate and 150 times what bennett paid for it back in the 1960s. >> the george nakashima couch, $4,500 on the internet now. >> that first piece sets off a bidding frenzy. >> sold. this is the conoid headboard from the bennett family commissions. >> conoid bench -- $32,500. sliding-door cabinet -- $16,000. "q" bench... >> sold it. >> 14,000. pam's lamp, the one she had appraised, goes to the la county museum of art... >> sold it! >> ...for $12,000. and that dining room table with 12 chairs, the one around which ed and diane's sons and daughters, grandchildren and friends shared so much joy...

>> any more? sold. >> ...they sell for a total of $90,000, more than anything else in the collection. >> my daughter had like a little mini breakdown. >> george nakashima couch, the george nakashima lounge chairs, george nakashima table lamp. >> to her, it was like, "you're selling grandpa." >> $3,750. $4,000 is bid. $4,500 i have. fair warning... >> once she talked through it with me... >> sold. $7,000. >> ...she realizes it was a very good thing. >> yeah, it's bittersweet. i mean, he meant a lot to me. and he was a self-made guy. you know, he came from that greatest generation. >> the auction yields almost $400,000, a new standard of value for the works of george nakashima. i guess ed bennett knew what he was doing, lugging all that furniture from one house to the next. the bennett family's strange inheritance -- born in the

forests of pennsylvania, given a second life by the hands of a master craftsman, then witness to decades of happy family life -- is shipped off to collectors around the world, treasured now as high art. george nakashima was right -- each tree does have its own destiny. and one tree's destiny will be to rock to sleep another generation of bennetts. it's the one thing ed's daughter keeps for herself. >> my dad had a rocking chair here that i really liked, with a free-form arm, so that was the piece that i decided to keep. i was thinking in the back of my mind, "oh, someday somebody will rock a child in this rocking chair." >> diane bennett has now furnished her house with other great american mid-century designers. the nakashima furniture is gone, and edmund is gone. what is that like for you every day?

>> i miss edmund terribly. i go by a saying that's important to me, which is "do not mourn that which you've lost. rejoice instead that you had it." we had a wonderful life together. >> edmund bennett not only insisted his home be filled with nakashima furniture -- he also had very definite ideas about what would or wouldn't work on the walls, right up till the very end. weeks before he died, he saw diane hanging some things on the wall, and he looked chagrined. he turned to one of his kids, and he said, "i'm very worried about diane and all of her european art." well, ed's gone. the european art has stayed. he's still resting in peace, diane says. i'm jamie colby for "strange inheritance." and remember -- you can't take it with you. do you have a "strange inheritance" story

you'd like to share with us? we'd love to hear it! send me an e-mail or go to our website, strangeinheritance.com. . >> abby: have a great saturday everyone. >> north korea and the cost of natural disasters all giant worries yet the markets keep hitting new highs despite it all so is wall street telling main street we're strong enough to handle it all? hi, everybody i'm dagen mcdowell this is bulls & bears. the bulls & bears this week, gary b. smith, jonas ferris, a lock with lee carter and jessica tarlove. welcome to everybody. gary k, what is the smart money telling us? >> well first off when you have all kinds of suppose ed bad news and the market has the best week we've seen basically all year it really tells