tv Up to the Minute CBS January 25, 2013 3:35am-4:30am EST
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doesn't make sense. so, then, someone's trying to stitch him up. she gave me two lousy reviews, therefore i murdered the woman? is that the case for the prosecution? are you a lousy actor? two agents who came to see the show the other night want to sign me up so, no, i don't think i'm a lousy actor. so why was she so vindictive? she fancied me and i didn't fancy her. would it help us to know who if anyone, you did fancy? i don't know whether it helps, but the answer's richard scott. and was your love requited? is that relevant to your inquiries? we have no way of telling. occasionally. lewis: i could make out a case. gay lovers' quarrel. joe myers kills richard scott. amanda costello makes an educated guess as to what's happened
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and confronts myers with it at the first night party. he says, "let's talk about this quietly in the cellar." "but," you'll say, "did he fetch a piece of string with him on the off-chance?" what do you reckon? you usually have an opinion. sir, there's something else you need to know. sounds exciting. you're not getting married? no, sir, it's about simon monkford. what about him? how long have you known? since the call from the met. is that what that was? the final confirmation-- date, place, time. why the hell didn't you tell me then? because the last time i mentioned your wife you made it very clear to me that i wasn't to mention the subject again. this is different. this is purely professional. how can that be? what were you frightened of? that i might go barging into the interview room and batter the living daylights out of the man? i think i'd be tempted under the circumstances. well, maybe i'd be tempted too. but it wouldn't happen. shall i tell you why? why? because you're a good cop and you'd stop me. as it is, all you've proved is you
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do you realize all our student suspects have web sites? of course they have. time was you had a fountain pen; now you have a web site. emma golding's comes complete with a copy of her dissertation. according to professor gregson the finest piece of english prose since the king james bible. what's it about? "twentieth-century drama: a view from the lower depths." will it keep you quiet for an hour? rough guess i'd say 40 days and 40 nights. i'm popping down to the theater. with a view to what? we're up against a conspiracy of silence even though they talk all the time. i'm going to have a one-to-one with the only one that shed a tear. (sighs) a few routine questions? well, questions certainly. you'll have to tell me whether they're routine or not.
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like, for instance, when richard scott was murdered you were the only one that showed any emotion. the rest, not a tear between the lot of them. why was that? shock, i suppose. it's the first time i've ever been close to somebody who's died, so i cried a bit. i suppose the others were trying to be cool and sophisticated. i'm no good at that. i didn't like richard that much, but when you've acted with someone it makes a sort of bond. probably like you and your sergeant. is that silly? no, i've heard sillier things. what really happened in edinburgh? sorry? we've heard all sorts of half-baked accounts of your adventures at the festival. sex and drugs and rock and roll, i daresay. richard stealing from you all and getting thumped for his pains. what was it that really mattered? it wasn't about sex or drugs.
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and i don't know for sure why it was important but everybody went ape when phil beaumont's laptop disappeared. phil being the one who sits in the corner, watching everyone, writing it all down? five minutes, isobel. i'm sorry. may i go to venice now? of course. have a nice time. oh, robbie, um... did he tell you about monkford? eventually. did you know all the time? he consulted me about whether to tell you and when. that was thoughtful. so, you two still friends? interesting question. we're colleagues. workmates, they'd say in the northeast. we don't swap comics every week
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and he listens to weird music, but he's a damn good cop. he's just a bit young and, i suppose, enigmatic. he's private, you know? he says much the same about you. well, that's ridiculous. there's nothing enigmatic about me. so, tell me honestly are you okay? honest answer, i don't know. so i'll just throw myself into my work and see if that makes me okay. you've just walked in on a eureka moment. you've found something? i have. this is from emma golding's dissertation. "those eminent men and very occasional women, "who dwell on mount olympus, "sharing profound philosophical reflections, "invariably do so with their eyes looking upwards to heaven "whether they believe in its existence or not. "once in a while, why do they not cast their eyes downwards, "to the shantytowns and slums clustered at the foot "of their blessed mountain
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from which flow their security and prosperity?" it takes a bright lass to write stuff like that. where does eureka come in? well, about a year and a half ago phil beaumont wrote an article in the student newspaper saying that basically "all life (no audio)," but he did end with the self-same paragraph about mount olympus. therefore what? phil beaumont helped emma with her dissertation? they were a couple. why not? what couples do. what about if he wrote the entire thing? an academic star who plans to run the country one day if nobody stops her and the piece of work that gave her lift-off was, what, stolen? we don't know all the details yet but it could be a valuable blackmailing weapon. "sorry, darling, you stole the whole thing, "but i won't mention it again if you chuck a little check in the post." you reckon that's what richard scott did? it's possible. what about phil beaumont? he knows what really happened.
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why is nobody murdering him? well, maybe he's careful. professor gregson? what about her? well, if it comes out that people have been awarded doctorates for other people's work her career would soon start to unravel. sergeant nicholson called from sheffield? oh yeah, that's his mobile number. he wants you to call him back. ah, in the morning. right, i'm ready to talk to monkford now. come with me. yeah. inspector lewis. ah.
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would it help if i say i'm truly sorry? no. nothing helps. in which case, may i offer you a proposition? try me. well, i was in the theater the afternoon that young man was murdered. i saw various people leaving at the time in question. i'd be happy to give evidence if that would help you. what would you get out of all this? the nice, warm feeling that comes with being a good citizen? drop the murder charge and i'll plead
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guilty to manslaughter. you're trying to do a deal with me? it's not that simple. i'll tell you what's simple-- we put you in court as a prosecution witness, with your record any defense counsel would tear you to shreds inside 30 seconds. sorry, i simply thought... you no longer have the right to think. we'll decide on the charges. i don't do deals with people like you. take me away from this man. sir. you told us that emma golding is a brilliant scholar. she is. that her dissertation is the best you'd read. did she write it herself?
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that really is a gray area. i don't see that it's at all gray. did she write it or did phil beaumont write it? they were a couple at the time so he probably had an input. you must understand how difficult it is for university teachers these days. we're more familiar with our difficulties. i've just set some first-year students an essay on thomas hardy. they'll go straight on to the net, google thomas hardy find ten, twenty thousand entries. the bright ones will pick and mix all the best bits, throw in the odd spelling error to make it look authentic, and i'm supposed to sort out the original thinkers from the looters. but i will say this about emma's dissertation: none of it was stolen from the internet. it was all her own work. or phil beaumont's work? as i say, he probably had an input. you must ask them. we're going to. (jackhammer pounding) hi, guys, what can i get you?
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we'll have two coffees. but before you do that tell us something. did you write emma golding's dissertation? yes. hathaway: all of it? yeah. lewis: why? because i'm a better writer than she is. i'm just about the best on the block. isn't that against the rules? probably. mind you, oxford works mostly on unwritten rules so there might not be any. i just thought it was funny. emma and i were a couple at the time, soulmates or so i thought. i was dropping out anyway so it seemed like fun to take the piss out of the system, sticking up two fingers as a farewell gesture. hathaway: soulmates? yeah, for a while. but then when i'd finished the dissertation she found herself another soulmate. amazing, really. that would be richard scott? yeah. who stole your laptop in edinburgh? so i'm told. you'd have said there wasn't enough evidence. but the dissertation was on the laptop? yeah, along with two unfinished novels, a stage play, my diary and a couple of dirty limericks.
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your diary? yeah, my oxford journal. is that something you were planning on publishing? (scoffs): no chance. it was a bit, you might say, warts and all. i even named the warts. was there anything on there that could have led to richard scott's death? or amanda costello's? i suppose it's possible i mean, it was a secret diary. that was the point. but you'd have to know where to look. and where should we be looking? (cell phone rings) ah, well, like the man said in the movie, follow the money. hathaway. we'll be there in ten minutes. beaumont: do you still want those coffees? yeah, but not today. beaumont: good choice. where are we going to be in ten minutes? back to base. forensics have come through with some interesting conclusions. lewis: we know that richard scott was murdered with that knife. it was a really good clue, finding it sticking in his chest. but now we know for certain that amanda costello
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was strangled using this string. and both weapons have identical traces of soil on them. from phil beaumont's allotment? wouldn't bet against it. so whoever stabbed richard scott was wearing gardening gloves? a persuasive idea. but you still come back to who takes a piece of string to a first-night party on the off chance of needing to murder someone with it? but this is the icing on the cake. the two quotations from shakespeare that we found next to the bodies were both written on an old-style typewriter with a carbon ribbon. phil beaumont had a typewriter in his room. yeah, but he never locked his room, so anybody could have used it. we need to talk to emma golding. i think we've been too nice to these kids. we should be behaving more like coppers, shake their tree see what drops out. hello, emma. i hope it's important. i'm meeting an agent from london. and we're investigating two murders. shall we walk together? tell us about cheating your way to a doctorate.
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no idea what you mean. well, your last major piece of work was written for you by phil beaumont. can you manage on your own? or are you lining up another soulmate already? i thought you said this was a murder investigation? or have you diversified into copyright law? we're exceedingly versatile and very thorough. meaning? meaning we're going to start by searching professor gregson's house from top to bottom not forgetting the places you live, the places you work and the places you go to have fun. what on earth do you hope to find? we want to test out amanda's big story. well, here's my big story: i don't give a toss about my doctorate, or oxford university. if this agent comes up with the right deal, i'll be out of here by the end of the week. all right? we get the gist. thank you for sparing the time. (lewis's cell phone rings) let's go and frighten the children. inspector lewis. oh, sergeant nicholson yeah, thanks for getting back to me.
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listen, simple question-- a couple of years ago when you were down here in oxford you were called out to a domestic incident a couple of academics. yeah, can you tell me anything you remember about that? (police siren wailing) any joy? no typewriters, but i did find some intriguing bank statements. no sign of beaumont's laptop either. professor gregson rang. she said she assumes there'll be receipts for anything you take away. where is professor gregson? is she teaching? teaching? most unlikely.
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professor gregson. it would be foolish to deny it. perhaps you'd like to tell us what you've been doing here while sergeant hathaway does his duty and searches the toolshed. i suppose this is the moment when i say i can explain everything. i hope you will. it's very simple. i'd borrowed some secateurs from phil to prune the roses in my garden and decided to return them in person. but phil beaumont lives at your house. you could have returned the secateurs over breakfast. i know it sounds illogical but... was this a sudden impulse or more premeditated? you've lost me there. well, did you decide when you got up this morning, "this afternoon i'll return phil's secateurs," and therefore take them with you to college, or did you decide much later? maybe emma called to say we were going to search her house. god, you sound so like a policeman.
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that's because i am a bloody policeman! found these. what's more, i think we were meant to find them. shall we start again? you're the bloody policeman. i am a policeman but i'm operating on a pretty short fuse, so be warned. we've had to put up with a lot of oxford bollocks on this case-- theatrical jealousy, maybe sex, maybe drugs. but it isn't, is it? it's about one thing only-- your academic career. emma golding has just completed a doctorate here, hasn't she, even though you knew it was phil beaumont who wrote it. now phil, who despises this place anyway, doesn't give a toss, neither does emma. she could be out of here by the end of the week. who needs academic qualifications to work in the theater? no, the only person that cares about any of this is you. is it wrong to care about my students?
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i would have thought that was a good thing. you paid phil beaumont £5,000 to keep his mouth shut. that, i suggest, is not a good thing. we've seen his bank statements. unfortunately the whole story was in phil's diary on his laptop. so when richard found it he realized he had you right over a barrel. i hate to state the obvious, but i'm not the murdering kind. not according to sergeant nicholson of sheffield. who the hell's sergeant nicholson of sheffield? when you met him he was a humble pc here in oxford. he was called out to a domestic disturbance, a report from one of your neighbors. apparently you went for your then-husband with a knife. but he being a nice liberal-minded oxford don, decided not to bring charges. well, he always was spineless.
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let's assume that you murdered richard scott and amanda costello. why amanda? because she was one of the family, one of your blue-eyed girls. she knew what you were up to. but that wasn't much of a story, was it? a bit of academic naughtiness. maybe a couple of paragraphs on page seven. but the minute richard was murdered it was straight to the front page. she had a good, big story. she boasted about it at the first night party. all i have ever done is try to help my students. but if you like students that much, why try to implicate them? why try to pin it on phil beaumont? or joe myers, come to that with those ridiculous quotations from shakespeare? theoretically, if i were a murderer i'd do all i could to implicate other people. it's basic common sense. what happened to beaumont's laptop?
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it's in the river. portia: the quality of mercy is not strained; it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath. it is twice blest: it blesseth him that gives and him that takes. it is mightiest in the mightiest. becomes the throned monarch better than his crown. clerk: you are indicted on one count of manslaughter. do you plead guilty or not guilty? guilty. please be seated.
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this textile would be worth about a half a million dollars. half a million? no way. i knew it. it's just a blanket. man: laying on the back of a chair. second man: well, sir, you have a national treasure... wow. a national treasure. congratulations. i can't believe this. next time... woman: this man climbed into a ten-ton truck and drove it straight into our hatchback. man: driving a truck into the path of a young teen-age girl is not an accident. try attempted murder. hathaway: wrong corpse. right corpse wrong name. what's going on? woman: the man's insane. oh, shut up! looks like they're all in it together. woman: you know when you're a long way from home and you do stupid stuff? misleading a police investigation-- that's not good. cumming: inspector lewis, next time on masterpiece mystery! watch masterpiece video online explore our book and film club. pbs.org. this program is available on dvd. to order, visit shoppbs.org or
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host: coming up on chesapeake collectibles ... appraiser: i have never in my life seen this many farm tokens in one place. guest: well, it's a first official u.s. government long arm that was commissioned by george washington at springfield, massachusetts. appraiser: it's an exciting find, and i think it would be nice if you alerted experts on grant wood to let them know that it does exist. [ trolley be ll rings ] [ horse hooves clopping ]
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[ train whistle blows ] [ steam rises ] announcer: chesapeake collectibles is made possible in part by the mpt new initiatives fund founded by irene & edward h. kaplan. major funding is also provided by aarp. jeff gordon: for some this line is a convenience. but for others it's all they can afford. clerk: anything else? woman: no. jeff gordon: join the drive to end hunger by visiting drivetoendhunger.org. announ cer: and by center for vein restoration. over 30 million americans suffer from painful, unsightly varicose veins.
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we use modern outpatient methods to help bring relief. look better. feel better. live better. welcome back to chesapeake collectibles as we explore the colorful tapestry of history through its treasures and your stories. i'm rhea feikin. public television viewers are curious by nature and find meaning in the artifacts of the past. you can see this all around the studio in the astonishing range of items that people have brought to share with us. let's see what's arrived today... appraiser: you've brou ght a beautiful item today. what can you tell us about it? guest: well, my parents inherited this probably about 40 years ago from a very, very dear family friend who really was a part of the family. and it was always one of those things that my mother put it on the shelf and we weren't allowed to touch it. and, you know, as i got older, we started looking at markings and that type of thing. i'm aware it's russian cloisonné.
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and i had been able to find online similar items but not an item like this, spoons and that type of thing. appraiser: one of the first things that we noticed was that the very top of the tea caddy was engraved with three initials. can you tell me what those three initials represent? guest: that is from the family that my parents inherited it from. appraiser: okay. guest: through their family. appraiser: through their family. okay. appraiser: well, it is a lovely piece. and not only does it have the engraving but it has -- as i'm sure you're aware if you've been doing the research on it -- made for tiffany and then it has a maker's mark. so what we have is a very important tea caddy that was designed by an artist who specialized in enamelware, and his name is gustav klingert. he worked between 1880 and 1915,
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and the majority of his work was in moscow. guest: oh. appraiser: yes. so this was a piece that tiffany commissioned him to do much as they commissioned fabergé to do work for them. it has a cover and it has a stopper which is also marked. inside the cover there are hallmarks. and this is a gold wash over silver. and it appears to me that it probably has never really been used as a tea caddy. guest: i would say that's probably accurate. appraiser: yeah, it is in perfect condition and as i've completed my research, i would have to say it's one of the best examples of his work in this form that i've been able to find. i have not been able to find any comparable that is quite this large.
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so it is just a perfect example of his craftsmanship and his skill. so it is russian silver gilt in cloisonné enamel and it is dated by the artist 1896. it's quite lovely. guest: really intricate, isn't it? appraiser: it is intricate. the craftsmanship required the artist to know a good bit about chemistry. and the reality is that the melting point for glass, which becomes this enamel, is only a few degrees less than the melting point for the metal that its on. so, the chemistry and the understanding of how to work with the glass and the metal takes a highly skilled individual and certainly someone with a delicate hand and an eye for beauty to complete and compose something that fits together as perfectly as this does. having found some comparables,
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but, again, comparable is not quite this size i would value this piece for you between $11,000 and $18,000. guest: really? appraiser: yes, really. guest: really? appraiser: really. guest: oh my! wow! i guess my mom and dad are going to get it back. oh, that's wonderful. appraiser: it is wonderful, and you are so lucky to have it in your family. it is a beautiful work of art. guest: ah, thank you. appraiser: and that you appreciate it and brought it to us today just makes me feel very happy for you. guest: this is great. thank you so much. appraiser: thank you. appraiser: tell me what you have brought. guest: i brought an original farm box that has picker tokens in it or picker checks. when you went to the farm to pick either strawberries or tomatoes, instead of them giving you coins
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they gave you a picker token that showed you how much you picked for the day. appraiser: and we've got some examples out here. some of the larger brass tokens here represent that somebody had picked... guest: 500 pints. appraiser: 500 pints of strawberries. that's a lot of strawberries. guest: yes, it is. appraiser: i have picked strawberries and our rule of thumb was pick one, eat one, pick one, eat one. but that's not what - these were mainly for migrant farm workers. guest: correct. appraiser: and they would contract or come to a farm to pick the crop, and they were compensated rather than in currency, that they could go spend anywhere, they were given a picker token. and then what would they do with that picker token? guest: then they would go to the farmer's store. he would have a store normally on the farm and they would turn them in for either food, canned goods, fabric, so they could make dresses. appraiser: so this is working for the company store. that's where that phrase comes from because they were actually
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sort of indebted all the time to the farmer because the only place that they could exchange these tokens was at the store on the farm. so it was a way of controlling the working population. now, you're family has been in the maryland area since the 1700s. guest: well, actually my sixth great grandfather bought his first farm in the pasadena area in 1792 but actually our family has been here since the early 1600s. i'm the 12th generation born in maryland. my daughter is the 13th. appraiser: and a lot of agrarian ties back through. guest: correct. appraiser: now this as i understand it, was a piece that you actually acquired from another farmer. guest: i did. appraiser: okay. and what we have here are a variety of styles, denominations. sometimes the tokens were paid depending on which vegetable or fruit they were picking. guest: correct. appraiser: and you have the original farm box. i mean, this was something that was
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kept by the farmer in the barn or wherever they were bringing the product to. so he was the paymaster as well. this branches into an area of collecting called exonumia. exonumia are tokens or metals that represent a monetary value, but they are not themselves currency. and we see this not only in farm tokens but in transportation tokens tax tokens of the mid-century, and have been utilized to sort of control who was paying for what. i have several farm tokens in my own collection. i have never in my life seen this many tokens in one place. you've never actually counted how many tokens are here. guest: no, no idea. appraiser: there's certainly several hundred of a variety of denominations, sizes, and styles. do you have any idea of its value? guest: i really don't. i paid $500 for it, but...
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appraiser: not an insignificant sum. guest: no, but i had purchased one here, one there, but never had i seen anything with the original box. so i was willing to do that. appraiser: it's the box and the number of tokens and the varieties that are here that make it so interesting, as well as the tie back into the pasadena part of maryland. and you're family also farms in that area? guest: they did, yes. appraiser: talking with some of the other folks at my table we feel that there's probably between 250 and 300 tokens here, and sort of given the collection i would estimate it somewhere between $2,500 and $3,000 for all of it. exonumia and the collecting of tokens and medallions it's a very accessible part of collecting for most people, and its popularity is on the rise but this is really exciting because it's a tie back into maryland history,
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a tie back into personal history, and certainly an example of sort of an odd type of economy that existed for a very long time. guest: yes. appraiser: the bigger token was used probably up even into the 1960s. guest: that i didn't know. appraiser: the eastern shore of maryland still had methods of utilizing quote, unquote, company store. guest: okay. appraiser: well, we want to thank you for bringing this in. it's a marvelous piece of maryland memorabilia, and thanks for coming. guest: thank you. appraiser: tell me where you got this painting. guest: my husband and i, our whole house is from garage sales and so forth, and at a country auction we found it, plus some others, but this really caught our eye for some reason. appraiser: this is a very, very nice
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chinese painting. it shows a scholar in mandarin robes. you know he's a scholar because behind him are some books and he's being waited on by a male servant, who i think is putting his shoe on. it's a classic painting. it's not that old. but what really makes it a zinger is the label on the back. the label in the back says this was purchased in 1945 in kung ming, china. the label gives it a chinese american connection, has a real historical aspect to it. kung ming china was the landing point for allied airplanes american airplanes flying over the hump from india, or burma, to bring supplies to chiang kai-shek into china when the chinese were fighting the japanese and getting ready to fight the communists. many, many american airmen died flying over the hump.
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guest: what they said before we purchased it -- you know, they were giving the talk, that it was a present that was given to an ambassador at the time. appraiser: our embassy was in chongqing which is a bit further away, but it's possible, because it's a very nice painting. its size is very large and it's in good condition. what did you pay for it? guest: about $300. appraiser: well... guest: that's for everything that came with it. appraiser: everything. you had a bunch? guest: yup. you had maybe five or six, didn't you? guest: yes. appraiser: this easily is almost a historic document, and it would be probably at least $1,000 or more. you have a very nice thing. guest: thank you. as one of the original 13 colonies, maryland boasts centuries of military history and heroes. the national guard museum of military
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history preserves artifacts from the revolutionary war to today's global conflicts, right in the heart of downtown baltimore. ltc charles kohler, pa officer: well, we're at the historic 5th regiment armory in baltimore it's the headquarters for the maryland national guard, but it also houses our historical museum. this is a complete his tory of the maryland national guard and the maryland military, and it goes through every conflict that maryland has been involved in and where the national guard has been involved. john, i want to welcome you to our museum. john: thank you, charlie and it's great to be here. fascinating place. tell me what gallery we're in right now. charlie: well, this is really the beginning of the maryland militia. the 5th regiment goes back to 1774, before we actually had a country. john: now, this particular room covers the revolutionary war and the war of 1812.
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charlie: that's correct. john: but you have similar galleries for all the other conflicts? charlie: that's true, we do. we have world war i, world war ii we also have a small section for korea, as well as modern day iraq and afghanistan. john, what we have here is one of our prized possessions from our 1812 collection. this is what we call our "defenders letter. this is a letter from the mayor inviting three prominent officers that were involved with the defense of baltimore to sit for a portrait. major general samuel smith as well as brigadier general john stricker, who was in charge of the troops at the battle of north point then you also have lieutenant colonel george armistead who was significantly involved in the defense of fort mchenry. john: charlie, i'm from the south but i've never seen a confederate flag like this. what are we looking at? charlie: this is an 1861 confederate calvary battle flag. john: now, that means it was very early in the conflict? charlie: yes, it is. you can see that it only has 12 stars on the flag and that's the stars from the state
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of texas. we know that it joined the confederacy after the war had actually begun. we had an expert look at it, and we know that the stitching represents northern virginia around 1861. john: now, i know there's an interesting story about where this flag came from. charlie: right, it was found actually in the desk drawer of one of our armories we were actually in the process of cleaning it out. and the nice thing about it is it's very rare. there's only one other flag that we know of that was made like this that is still in existence. john, we have a lot of artifacts in our museum and you being a car guy, i know you'd appreciate our jeep here. john: boy, charlie this willys must have a lot of history behind it. charlie: well, this was actually general charles gerhardt's jeep, he was the commanding general for the 29th infantry division. and they used this jeep in preparation for the d-day landings in normandy and throughout the invasion, and actually when the 29th division went into germany. it's got a captured german helmet on the front that the soldiers welded to the front of it. it also has -- on the rear spare tire
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it has a piece of shrap metal where it punctured that particular tire on july 29, 1944. john: now, i notice you've got a picture of dwight eisenhower? charlie: that's right. a picture of dwight eisenhower actually riding in the jeep when he was visiting the troops. major general ja mes adkins: the museum is here not only for our own members but also for the citizens of maryland anyone interested in our great history. arrangements can be made by calling us and we will let people use and see the museum. john: charlie, we've seen a lot of interesting galleries with artifacts but this room's different. tell me about it. charlie: well, this is where we keep all our records and our after-action reports for the maryland units. john: so, in this room is pretty much the archive of the history of the military in maryland. charlie: that's true. we have records from all of the engagements that the military department's been involved in. john: now, this room is not just for folks like us to look around in, it's open for research? charlie: family members can come
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-- make an appointment, and look at our archives and find loved ones. john: wow! what a great resource. charlie, thank you very much for allowing us to come in. it's been a great experience. charlie: thank you our pleasure. appraiser: very nice item you brought in today. what can you tell me about it? guest: well, it's a model 1795 springfield long arm flintlock which was produced at the first arsenal that was commissioned by george washington at springfield, massachusetts after he became president. so it's a first official u.s. government long arm. it was modeled after the french charleville model 1753 that was brought over by the marquis de lafayette in quantity numbers when they came over to join with the revolution. and it pretty much looks like the french charleville. this one in particular is dated 1812.
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it relates to the war of 1812. appraiser: i noticed on this one when i looked at it a little earlier that it's marked s.n.y. here on the barrel which means that it was issued to the state of new york militia. this is what they call the 1795 type iii, which is identified by the rounded flash pan here and as you said, this one's dated 1812, which is particularly interesting. now, it should be dated 1812 down on the tang of the butt plate, and i think you'll see it down there. this is a particularly nice musket. certainly, the new york militia saw a lot of action. guest: the new york militia, in particular, fought under general van rensselaer stephen van rensselaer in one major campaign in 1812, which was the assault on queenstown heights, across the niagara river near fort niagara. now, unfortunately it turned out to be a disaster
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it was not very well lead. appraiser: well, i think it's particularly exciting to think that we may be looking at a musket that was there and particularly relating the war of 1812. as you said, it represents a very significant place in american military history and american armament history. guest: thank you. do you have an idea to its current value? appraiser: i would say that the value on this would be between $4,000 and $5,000. guest: that sounds about right to me. thank you very much for having me. appraiser: as you were pulling it out i could see you had a really wonderful picture. please tell me some more. guest: well, this is a picture done by grant wood which my grandmother purchased on a grand tour of europe in 1924. on the advice of one of her best friends that she should look up this artist in paris, grant wood,
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and if possible, purchase one of his paintings and bring it back on her tour. well, she did it, and it's been in the family ever since. and this is the first time it's ever been seen, and i'm just quite curious is this a valuable painting? tell me something about it. appraiser: well, grant wood is probably one of the most recognizable names in american art because of one thing and that was he painted a very famous painting called american gothic, which is considered to be the most recognizable painting. and it's the painting of the farmer holding his pitchfork next to his wife. and it's an iconic picture. so he's got a very important place in american art history. now, this dates from when he was in france and he was in europe four times in the '20s. i believe it was from '20 to '28. the painting dates from '24. it's located paris in the corner. and i'm assuming this could have potentially been his home we're not sure. but the painting is untouched, nothing's ever been done. and you were talking about the frame itself...
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guest: right. i saw, about three or four years ago, an exhibit of his early work at the renwick in washington and some of the other pictures had the identical frame, so i assumed that he framed it as well. appraiser: i think that's certainly a strong possibility. the painting has been glazed which is a term that we use when they put a sheet of glass on it. it's not necessary but it was actually a style, and used to protect the painting. what i find exciting about this picture although it's not his regional work, which comes in the '30s and '40s which is a more angular, modernist subject matter you can see that he's progressing towards it. in the '20s, and let's say late teens his work had a more kind of impressionist -- post-impressionist feel. forms were broken up it was much more of a staccato very quick dash brush stroke. but you can see he's starting to refine into shapes. you can see the angular composition, the strength of the vase; it's probably
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a french vase. i would imagine those are from the southern area of france, not in paris, the cacti. but it's his progression and so it's an important piece because it is showing how the artist is moving towards what he's best known for and what he's most successful with. have you ever had it valued? guest: no, never. it's been in the family forever. appraiser: well, again, grant wood is a highly sought after artist and this has many things going for it. one, it's a kind of transitional piece, so in terms of fitting into a puzzle, it's right before he hits his stride. it's never been seen and it's never been restored reframed. i can see on the back it's got the original backing on it. so it's an exciting find. i think, conservatively, at auction probably would be in the $40,000 to $60,000 range... guest: oh my god! appraiser: ...and potentially could do better
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based on the composition being that slow movement towards modernism, and that's what's popular today. so it's an exciting find. and i think it would be nice if you maybe alerted the different experts on grant wood to let them know that it does exist because i feel sure that they would like to include something like this in any exhibition that they do in the future. and you could do it anonymously or you could have your name on it, but i think it would be a nice thing to do. but thank you so much for bringing it. it's an exciting painting and a pleasure. guest: i'm amazed, really. i'm glad that my grandmother had good fortune to get it. appraiser: she did. guest: thank you. rhea: it's been another wonderful walk down memory lane. join us next time for some very special new finds... guest: he had quite a history. he was with mcclellan when they crossed into virginia, and was wounded at chancellorsville. i still have the bullets out of his leg. appraiser: most significant libraries
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would want a copy of almost any book. in fact, even the library of congress apparently doesn't have this. appraiser: what's like the most you'd pay for some of these pieces? guest: you know, anywhere from $1 to $20, but the average piece is maybe $3 to $5. i'm rhea feikin, and we'll see you soon for another edition of chesapeake collectibles ! announcer: chesapeake collectibles is made possible in part by the mpt new initiatives fund founded by irene & edward h. kaplan. major funding is also provided by... center for vein restoration. over 30 million americans suffer from painful, unsightly varicose veins. we use modern outpatient methods to help bring relief. look better. feel better. live better. and by aarp. jeff gordon: for some this line is a convenience. but for others it's all they can afford.
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