Dr. Lori brings laughs, appraisals to Home & Garden Show
When appraiser Lori Verderame comes to the Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show, she expects to see antique glassware and ceramics from regional manufacturers like Jeannette, Northwood and Westmoreland.
But it’s the surprises that get her and the audience buzzing during Dr. Lori’s Antiques Appraisal ComedyTour. Like the old baseball signed by Honus Wagner that the owner kept in his sock drawer. His grandfather caught it at a Pirates game at Forbes Field in the 1940s and asked Wagner to sign it.
“Some people didn’t know he was a coach for the Pirates in the 1940s,” Verderame said.
She valued the ball at $50,000, but told the man it would have been worth $250,000 in mint condition.
After a pandemic lull, Verderame returns to the home show, which runs March 3-12 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The veteran appraiser from Bucks
County will examine and value — for free — one object per person. For larger objects, a photograph will do.
Growing up in New Haven, Connecticut, Verderame’s love affair with art and collectibles began when she saw a painting by Philadelphia artist Cecilia Beaux (18551942) in a museum. She earned a Ph.D. in art history from Penn State University and worked in the campus museum for a time.
As Dr. Lori, she began doing appraisals at home shows and other large events in 2007 and started at the Pittsburgh show in 2014. She appraises antiques on the TV shows “Pawn Stars Do America” and “The Curse of Oak Island.” Her YouTube channel @DrLoriV has over 32 million views and she reviews about 20,000 objects a year, sharing information on her website, www.DrLoriV.com.
“All of it is interesting,” Verderame said. “I like the culture and history and background.”
At her shows, she aims to entertain and educate people about their items. Sometimes she’s the one who learns something.
“People get to tell their stories. That’s interesting to me,” she said.
At the Pittsburgh home show, people bring a wide variety of items, including sports memorabilia connected with the Steelers and Pirates and prints by Andy Warhol and other local artists.
Verderame is especially excited when she sees works by Bucks County painters like Edward Redfield and Charles Sheeler and other 20th-century American artists.
Pittsburghers gasped in 2017 when Verderame appraised a painting a man had bought at auction for $5 as a 19th-century landscape by French impressionist Eugène Boudin worth $150,000.
Since she is an appraiser, not a dealer, Verdrame never offers to purchase the items she sees.
“People know I’m going to tell them the truth and not going to take advantage of them,” she said.
She is looking forward to returning to Pittsburgh.
“The people are so much fun. They laugh with me, play Dr. Lori’s treasure hunt. … The Pittsburgh stories make it fun.”