Around Home : Emyl Jenkins’ Appraisal Book

BY EMYL JENKINS

(Crown Publishers Inc.; 1989)

IN THIS ACQUISITIVE, nostalgic age of ours, Emyl Jenkins notes, everyone who has ever kept anything tends to want to know, “What is it? How old is it? Where did it come from? And always . . . what’s it worth?” Jenkins goes on to explain in a direct, sometimes churlish, style why your possessions are valuable, though they may not be as valuable as you think, or why they may be more valuable. Reading the text is like following a no-nonsense appraiser striding past a display table at an auction. Offered are tips on, among other things, taking inventory, buying insurance, paying taxes and giving gifts.

Also provided is a crash course of sorts on how to tell the worth of such popular items as silver sets, china, crystal and glassware, select furniture, bric-a-brac, Oriental carpets, militaria, limited editions and a variety of other items and memorabilia found in basements, attics and garage sales. The total is a reasonable introduction to antique appraisal in which lots of questions are asked and a few answers given. ($24.95)