GUEST: I know that it was purchased by my grandparents in 1911.

APPRAISER: Mm-hm.

GUEST: In, uh, Denmark.

Uh my grandfather was from Denmark.

And they had to return because they had a set of twins, and so... APPRAISER: Return oh, okay.

GUEST: Return to the old country.

(chuckles) APPRAISER: I see, I see.

GUEST: And at the time my grandparents had bought this... APPRAISER: Yeah.

GUEST: ...uh, they were homesteaders in South Dakota.

And, uh, those were tough times.

APPRAISER: Really?

GUEST: And I can imagine them making a late-night cup of tea when it was 40 degrees below zero outside.

APPRAISER: Yeah.

GUEST: Because obviously it's been used.

Um, there was APPRAISER: Well, I was going to say it, it, it has a, you know, very uh elegant look for somebody who was homesteading at that time.

GUEST (laughing): Yeah.

Yes.

APPRAISER: It's interesting that you said that they bought it in Denmark, because the marks that are on here indicate that it was made in Germany.

There is a little, um, monogram here.

GUEST: I noticed that, yes.

APPRAISER: It's actually kind of a little ostrich running in a, in a diamond.

And it's, uh... GUEST: Is that what that is?

(laughs) APPRAISER: It's, it's the mark for a German metal company... GUEST: Uh-huh.

APPRAISER: ...uh, WMF or, uh, ürttembergische, uh, Metallwaren... ...Fabriken.

GUEST: Fabriken.

APPRAISER: This was made around 1911.

This has a little alcohol burner here.

GUEST: Is this, is that what the fuel would be?

APPRAISER: Yeah, it would have been, uh, uh, alcohol.

GUEST: Okay.

If we, if we pull this out, uh, it, I've never tried to light it, APPRAISER: It adjusts, absolutely, GUEST: but it does adjust up and down.

APPRAISER: yeah.

GUEST: Uh, quite a bit, and, uh, obviously it's been well-used.

APPRAISER: Uh, but it is, uh, it kind of epitomizes a school of design that was, was occurring in, in both Germany and Austria at the time.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: Uh, in Austria, it was the, uh, Secessionist.

In, uh, in America, it was, uh, Frank Lloyd Wright and the Arts and Crafts movement.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: In, uh, Germany, they called it the, uh, "jugendstil," meaning modern movement.

GUEST: Oh yes.

Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: And so from 1911, you have this very, kind of, severe and conscientiously-designed teapot I don't know if we could put an exact designer's name to the piece, uh, but it certainly is inspired by some of the designs of-of Vienna and Germany.

Notably, a designer named Peter Behrens comes to mind, but I don't think it's by him, but merely by a factory designer... GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: ...from, uh, the factory at the time.

But today there's been a resurgence of interest in, in this period in this condition, which is nice, original condition, uh, it may have a value of around $800 to $1,200.

GUEST: Mercy sakes.

APPRAISER: Yeah.

GUEST: That's a, a surprise.

APPRAISER: Thanks for bringing in your interesting tea kettle.