Great point about the relative cost of that landscape Dr. Hoffman bought from the Todds for $300.00 in 1969. It got me to thinking about the value of other apparently rare items we saw on DS; how much was that seemingly ubiquitous silver-filigreed pen worth, that caused poor Roger Collins so much anxiety and “agita”? And, considering how the darned thing continued to work so flawlessly after over 170 years, how much would Josette’s music box go for today in 2022?
That ornately hand-carved box that Barnabas gave to Phillip and Megan Todd was even more ubiquitous in Collinsport than Burke Devlin’s silver-filigreed pen; we’d see it on a table in the hallway outside of David Collins’ bedroom in Collinwood (I think?), on the mantle over the fireplace in the Old House drawing rooms and the d@mned may have also been in poor Victor Flagler’s house, when Barnabas and Dr. Hoffman visited Cliff at his home during their brief visit to Collinsport, circa 1995. Maybe many residents of Collinsport owned exact replicas of that distinctive Leviathan “Naga” box in much the same way that people own exact replicas of that kitschy ladies’ stocking leg-lamp, featured in the 1983 film, “A Christmas Story” today?
Of course, the most-cherished and, no doubt, highest-valued item on DS has to be Barnabas’ silver wolf’s head cane. It was probably worth as much as all of Naomi Collins’ extensive jewelry collection and even Nicholas Blair’s exquisitely-tailored (and, presumably only) light-grey suit he wore exclusively while dating Maggie and master-minding the Adam and Eve Progeny, Satanic Take-Over-The-World-Plot
I think it’s safe to say that the folks at PBS’ “Antiques Roadshow” program would have an absolute field day, appraising the value of all these rare and unique DS items! And, what about if Lovejoy, that renowned British antiques dealer, ever paid a visit to Collinwood? Lovejoy was a divvy,” a person with the unique ability to recognize exceptional and valuable items. He could literally spend countless hours in both the East and West wings of Collinwood, perusing all of the curios and artifacts, the Collins family had accumulated over the centuries. If Lovejoy had happened to discover the Parallel Time room in the East Wing with all of its opulent furnishings and possessions, I wonder how the usually-unflappable Lovejoy would react to seeing that cornucopia of valuable items and not being able to get in there and handle all of those treasures? Oy vey!
In these days of rampant inflation, I believe that the current members of the Collins family, could easily weather the current uncertain economic times by hocking that statue of the bare-chested shoveler in the Collinsport foyer or even Angelique’s striking portrait for a couple of bucks at the local Collinsport flea market!
(and presumably only) light-grey suit!
