1 00:00:01,200 --> 00:00:02,733 GUEST: I'm hoping it's a woodblock print. 2 00:00:02,733 --> 00:00:04,933 APPRAISER: Mm-hmm? 3 00:00:04,933 --> 00:00:08,466 GUEST: A friend of mine gave me, or let me choose, two. And these prints were given to her 4 00:00:10,566 --> 00:00:13,833 by her aunt, who had a friend that had a friend that worked in the embassy during World War II. 5 00:00:15,966 --> 00:00:17,966 APPRAISER: Ah. 6 00:00:17,966 --> 00:00:20,700 GUEST: So they were exchanged, I, we were told, for food, medicines, or whatever. 7 00:00:20,700 --> 00:00:22,466 APPRAISER: Yeah, yeah. 8 00:00:22,466 --> 00:00:26,200 GUEST: She was given a, a, a fairly good-sized stack of all kinds. 9 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:28,033 APPRAISER: Mm-hmm. 10 00:00:28,033 --> 00:00:29,500 GUEST: And she told me I could pick two. And this was my favorite. 11 00:00:29,500 --> 00:00:31,500 APPRAISER: Oh, you did well. 12 00:00:31,500 --> 00:00:32,900 GUEST: Oh, good. (both laugh) 13 00:00:32,900 --> 00:00:33,866 APPRAISER: You know what it is? 14 00:00:33,866 --> 00:00:36,066 GUEST: I think it's a woodblock. 15 00:00:36,066 --> 00:00:37,033 APPRAISER: Yes, it is. A woodblock print. GUEST: I'm hoping-- that's what we were told. 16 00:00:37,033 --> 00:00:39,000 APPRAISER: Yes, woodblock print. 17 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:40,866 GUEST: Okay. 18 00:00:40,866 --> 00:00:43,966 APPRAISER: But, uh, um, not traditional one. It's an early 20th century... 19 00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:46,600 GUEST: Ooh. 20 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:49,000 APPRAISER: ...called sosaku-hanga. So the, uh, artist, Kotondo, is very famous. 21 00:00:49,633 --> 00:00:51,633 GUEST: Okay. 22 00:00:51,633 --> 00:00:53,833 APPRAISER: And all the print collectors like him. His, um, last name was Torii. 23 00:00:53,833 --> 00:00:55,900 GUEST: Okay. 24 00:00:55,900 --> 00:00:58,800 APPRAISER: And he's, um, famous, um, maker, famous, uh, printmaker, making, uh, posters 25 00:01:01,100 --> 00:01:04,466 for kabuki. Also, uh, he did bijin-ga, meaning "beautiful women prints." It's very popular. 26 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:08,300 GUEST: That's where this comes from, yeah, okay. 27 00:01:08,300 --> 00:01:11,333 APPRAISER: Yes and he worked in Tokyo. And it's signed here, 28 00:01:11,333 --> 00:01:16,333 Kotondo. Here-- it says its artist's name and the artist's name in a seal. It's dated Showa, 29 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:22,000 Showa-- fourth of Showa. So that's around 1930s. 30 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:23,500 GUEST: Okay. 31 00:01:23,500 --> 00:01:26,166 APPRAISER: And she's combing her hair, actually, right? 32 00:01:26,166 --> 00:01:27,933 GUEST: Yeah. APPRAISER: You can see. Yes. 33 00:01:27,933 --> 00:01:29,466 GUEST: Yeah, long hair. 34 00:01:29,466 --> 00:01:32,000 APPRAISER: Yes, yeah, long hair. So the title is, it's embossed. 35 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:33,166 GUEST: Oh! Yes, it is! APPRAISER: Can you see? 36 00:01:33,166 --> 00:01:34,700 GUEST: I see, I never saw that before. 37 00:01:34,700 --> 00:01:36,866 APPRAISER: Says "Kamisuki," meaning, uh, "Combing Hair." 38 00:01:36,866 --> 00:01:38,800 GUEST: Huh? Never saw that. 39 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:40,700 APPRAISER: Wonderful, yes. Yes. GUEST: And I called it "The Girl With a Comb." 40 00:01:40,700 --> 00:01:44,400 APPRAISER: When they do a block, it's not one. You have to make several. 41 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:46,233 GUEST: Oh. 42 00:01:46,233 --> 00:01:48,433 APPRAISER: You have to do the key block, which is just black outline, 43 00:01:48,433 --> 00:01:53,400 and then you have to do red, the lips, and yellow for the comb. 44 00:01:54,966 --> 00:01:56,966 GUEST: Jeez. 45 00:01:56,966 --> 00:01:58,600 APPRAISER: You see? So you probably have to do four, five different blocks. 46 00:01:58,600 --> 00:02:00,066 GUEST: Oh, wow. 47 00:02:00,066 --> 00:02:01,900 APPRAISER: Japanese prints are not numbered, yeah. 48 00:02:01,900 --> 00:02:04,233 GUEST: Oh, okay. 49 00:02:04,233 --> 00:02:06,933 APPRAISER: But they probably made about 200. So, yeah, I have seen this, it's one of my favorite. 50 00:02:07,766 --> 00:02:09,200 GUEST: Oh, you're kidding. 51 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:11,433 APPRAISER: So I was surprised to see it in, uh... 52 00:02:11,433 --> 00:02:15,233 GUEST: I have looked, I have gone on the computer. I have never found it. 53 00:02:15,233 --> 00:02:16,466 APPRAISER: Oh, you haven't? Yeah, okay. 54 00:02:16,466 --> 00:02:18,300 GUEST: No, never saw it before, again. 55 00:02:18,300 --> 00:02:22,300 APPRAISER: Oh, I see. Yes, and you probably wonder how much that would be, 56 00:02:22,300 --> 00:02:26,733 'cause you didn't pay for it, right? You picked. (chuckles) What do you think? 57 00:02:26,733 --> 00:02:29,366 GUEST: $500? 58 00:02:29,366 --> 00:02:32,600 APPRAISER (laughs): No, much more. 59 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:33,266 GUEST: Ooh. APPRAISER (laughing): Yeah. 60 00:02:33,266 --> 00:02:35,266 GUEST: No, no... 61 00:02:35,266 --> 00:02:38,266 APPRAISER: Um, I think in a shop, they could go for... It's a good condition, 62 00:02:38,266 --> 00:02:40,466 so it could go for maybe $4,000? 63 00:02:40,466 --> 00:02:43,100 GUEST(gasps): Oh, my gosh! (laughs) No! 64 00:02:43,100 --> 00:02:45,500 APPRAISER: On a good day, $5,000 or more. 65 00:02:45,500 --> 00:02:48,400 GUEST: No idea-- none. 66 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:49,900 APPRAISER: Yeah, yes, yeah, yeah. 67 00:02:49,900 --> 00:02:52,000 GUEST: Wow. APPRAISER: But anyway, if you wait, the, 68 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:56,033 the market is very good for these Japanese prints, so it might go up in prices. 69 00:02:56,900 --> 00:02:58,433 GUEST: Wow. 70 00:02:58,433 --> 00:02:59,833 APPRAISER: So I'll see you in five years. (both laugh) 71 00:02:59,833 --> 00:03:03,466 GUEST: Yeah, oh, that's exciting. 72 00:03:03,466 --> 00:03:04,266 APPRAISER: Isn't that?