
Appraisal: Mike Disfarmer Portraits, ca. 1940
Clip: Season 29 Episode 3 | 3m 29sVideo has Closed Captions
Appraisal: Mike Disfarmer Portraits, ca. 1940
Check out Aimee Pflieger’s appraisal of Mike Disfarmer portraits, ca. 1940, in Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Hour 3.
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Funding for ANTIQUES ROADSHOW is provided by Ancestry and American Cruise Lines. Additional funding is provided by public television viewers.

Appraisal: Mike Disfarmer Portraits, ca. 1940
Clip: Season 29 Episode 3 | 3m 29sVideo has Closed Captions
Check out Aimee Pflieger’s appraisal of Mike Disfarmer portraits, ca. 1940, in Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Hour 3.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipGUEST: These photographs that we brought today are some photographs that we inherited.
Our great uncle, he had these photos made of his daughters, Iola and Picola.
We knew who the-- found out who the photographer was from a newspaper article that was located with the pictures that said that his name was Mike Disfarmer and it had a copy of that photo.
APPRAISER: Of this one?
GUEST: So we knew--of the first one there--of them in their prom dresses.
And so we received other photos along with the same packet.
And we were just wondering if any of the other photos were Mike Disfarmer's photos also.
APPRAISER: Mike Disfarmer was actually born in Indiana.
And he never really felt like he was part of his family.
They were farmers.
He didn't want anything to do with that profession.
He just always felt like he was an outsider.
When he was able to, he moved to Heber Springs, Arkansas, and he wanted to start a photo studio there.
People understood him to be very eccentric and someone who was very standoffish and just had a weird demeanor about him.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: In addition to that, when he died, he had no will.
So all of those negatives from his studio were left to just rot.
And it wasn't until several decades later that those negatives were purchased.
And people began to find out about who this photographer was, this mysterious photographer who just appeared in this small town...
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:...and created over 3,000 glass plate negatives of the inhabitants.
What happened was that people were making posthumous prints from his glass plate negatives.
So there are photographs that exist, that show up on the market, that are actually later prints.
But what's much less seen are these vintage prints.
This one here is one of my top ten of his images.
I think it is so charming, and this is one that you can actually buy later prints from.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: But I have never seen a vintage print of it.
GUEST: Great.
APPRAISER: Who is this here in this photo?
GUEST: Now, both of those, I believe, are younger photos of the girls.
APPRAISER: I definitely think this is one of his photographs, mostly because it has this very strong black stripe behind her.
And that is very telltale for his studio.
And then the child in the center.
The reason why I know it's by Mike Disfarmer is what's on the back.
It's the Meyer Studio.
He changed his name.
GUEST: Oh.
APPRAISER: He was born Mike Meyer.
GUEST: Uh-huh.
APPRAISER: And he wanted to really distance himself from his family after his mother died in 1930.
So he changed his name from Mike Meyer to Mike Disfarmer, which he thought literally meant "not a farmer.
In auction, I'd be mostly thinking about the value of this print, which is the most well-known image, and I would put an estimate of $8,000 to $12,000 on the group.
GUEST: Wow!
(chuckles) Super--$8,000 to $12,000?
APPRAISER: $8,000 to $12,000.
GUEST: Wow, that's astounding.
(both laugh) For something-- APPRAISER: Much more than you thought?
GUEST: Yes, and something that was just passed down.
APPRAISER: Somebody should have been taping her.
GUEST: I was looking at my sister's face when she said $8,000 to $12,000, and I go...(gasps, laughs)
Appraisal: 1832 Andrew Jackson Proclamation on Silk
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Clip: S29 Ep3 | 2m 36s | Appraisal: 1832 Andrew Jackson Proclamation on Silk (2m 36s)
Appraisal: 1857 Queen's Cup Ascot Race Trophy
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Clip: S29 Ep3 | 3m 24s | Appraisal: 1857 Queen's Cup Ascot Race Trophy (3m 24s)
Appraisal: 1873 W. G. Chamberlain Photo Album
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Clip: S29 Ep3 | 3m 8s | Appraisal: 1873 W. G. Chamberlain Photo Album (3m 8s)
Appraisal: 1954 Gibson Les Paul Standard Guitar Group
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Clip: S29 Ep3 | 1m 3s | Appraisal: 1954 Gibson Les Paul Standard Guitar Group (1m 3s)
Appraisal: 1956 Curta Calculator Type II
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Clip: S29 Ep3 | 1m 25s | Appraisal: 1956 Curta Calculator Type II (1m 25s)
Appraisal: 1958 Ludwig Bemelmans 'Rio' Watercolor
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Clip: S29 Ep3 | 3m 48s | Appraisal: 1958 Ludwig Bemelmans 'Rio' Watercolor (3m 48s)
Appraisal: 2nd - 3rd Century C. E. Roman Glass Bottles
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Clip: S29 Ep3 | 2m 27s | Appraisal: 2nd - 3rd Century C. E. Roman Glass Bottles (2m 27s)
Appraisal: American Satsuma Box, ca. 1910
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Clip: S29 Ep3 | 2m 44s | Appraisal: American Satsuma Box, ca. 1910 (2m 44s)
Appraisal: Elvis Presley Military Archive, ca. 1960
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Clip: S29 Ep3 | 2m 23s | Appraisal: Elvis Presley Military Archive, ca. 1960 (2m 23s)
Appraisal: German Wax Doll with Original Dress, ca. 1890
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Clip: S29 Ep3 | 2m 18s | Appraisal: German Wax Doll with Original Dress, ca. 1890 (2m 18s)
Appraisal: Japanese Russet Iron Namban Helmet, ca. 1800
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Clip: S29 Ep3 | 2m 39s | Appraisal: Japanese Russet Iron Namban Helmet, ca. 1800 (2m 39s)
Appraisal: Neal Walters Circus Poster & Woodblocks, ca. 1950
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Clip: S29 Ep3 | 3m 16s | Appraisal: Neal Walters Circus Poster & Woodblocks, ca. 1950 (3m 16s)
Appraisal: Omega Seamaster 300 Wristwatch, ca. 1965
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Clip: S29 Ep3 | 2m 34s | Appraisal: Omega Seamaster 300 Wristwatch, ca. 1965 (2m 34s)
Appraisal: Platinum & Thai Sapphire Ring, ca. 1935
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Clip: S29 Ep3 | 3m 25s | Appraisal: Platinum & Thai Sapphire Ring, ca. 1935 (3m 25s)
Appraisal: Winchester Single W Cartridge Board, ca. 1890
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Clip: S29 Ep3 | 3m 26s | Appraisal: Winchester Single W Cartridge Board, ca. 1890 (3m 26s)
Preview: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Hour 3
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Preview: S29 Ep3 | 30s | Preview: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Hour 3 (30s)
Owner Interview: 1873 W. G. Chamberlain Photo Album
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Clip: S29 Ep3 | 1m 33s | Owner Interview: 1873 W. G. Chamberlain Photo Album (1m 33s)
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Funding for ANTIQUES ROADSHOW is provided by Ancestry and American Cruise Lines. Additional funding is provided by public television viewers.