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Arts & Entertainment

Got Junk? Local Appraisers Want to Know

Howard County Historical Society will hold its own "Antiques Roadshow."

If there is one piece of advice antiques appraiser Lyndi McNulty has for people, it’s to never throw things away without a professional once-over.

“I tell people if you think it might be good, it doesn’t hurt to bring it in,” McNulty said. “Some plastic jewelry is worth more than gold.”

Over the years, the owner of Gizmos Art in Westminster has given estimates on everything from a signed Picasso lithograph to a Fender guitar valued at $20,000-$30,000.

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“Usually, people come in with all sorts of interesting things that have been passed down through the family over the years,” she added. To her, nothing is too strange to take a look at, although she says the main problem she runs into with people is their overestimation of an item’s worth.

“The hardest thing to do is to tell somebody who thinks it’s worth $20,000...‘No, it’s worth $4,000,’” McNulty said.

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On Saturday, May 21, McNulty will be one of three professional appraisers who will be giving verbal estimates on items during the  to be held at  in Ellicott City.

The event is the ’s annual fundraiser. This time, organizers wanted to try something different, in the vein of  the PBS hit television program Antiques Roadshow.

“Gather up some things you’ve been thinking about—drag them out of your attic—bring them out, and let us tell you what we think,” McNulty said.

But she warned that unlike in the show, these appraisers don’t have added resources at their disposal to perform a detailed review of each item.

“People should bear in mind that we’re doing this with five minutes' notice,” she said. But she added that it should be an interesting time. “It’s a fun day. You’ll get to see other people’s fun things that they have, and hear lots of stories."

The event will raise funds for the relocation of the historical society’s library, archive and offices to the new Charles E. Miller Branch and Historical Center of the Howard County Public Library System in Ellicott City later this year.

During the event, there will be hundreds of rare and used books for sale on various topics, including Maryland and Civil War history. For antiques lovers, there will be rare items for sale such as presidential campaign scarves circa 1880, along with historic newspaper front pages such as The Baltimore Sun’s April 1912 paper, featuring the Titanic disaster.

At last year’s event, the historical society raised $8,500. “We’re hoping to surpass that this year,” said Executive Director Lauren McCormack.

It costs $10 per appraisal, and McCormack is even bringing her own antique to be appraised—an 1860s-era stovepipe hat (no, it’s not Lincoln’s).

“I think overall it’s going to be a really fun event,” she said. “I’m hoping people bring in their treasures."

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