RICK: Hey, how's it going? MATT: Hey, pretty good.
I was wondering if you guys would
be interested in purchasing this songbook.
It's made in 1945 by Woody Guthrie.
CHUMLEE: Nah, we're cool.
RICK: Do you even know who Woody Guthrie is?
MATT: Where'd you get this guy?
[chuckles]
My father-in-law got this songbook
directly from Woody Guthrie.
Woody Guthrie was pretty much the godfather of folk music
in the United States of America, and I would ask about $5,000
for this.
But honestly, the least I'd take would probably be about $3,000.
RICK: Woody Guthrie made this?
He was a pretty interesting guy.
Basically when the Dust Bowl came along,
he ended up hitchhiking to California.
He became a migrant farm worker.
But then some people realized how well he played the guitar
and sang.
Ended up getting a gig on the radio.
And he became so popular that he started adding
his own little bit of politics.
He was pro-union, sort of socialist.
Then the 1950s came along and he was blacklisted.
Amazing guy, though.
Wrote thousands and thousands of songs.
What's your favorite song?
He wrote "This Land is Your Land."
I know that.
Do you remember that song?
CHUMLEE: No.
RICK: My god.
Really?
You guys didn't sing that song at school?
CHUMLEE: I don't remember singing that song.
You don't remember a lot.
You mind if I look through it? MATT: OK, yeah.
Go right ahead.
But be very careful.
It's very fragile.
OK.
Did he actually sign this?
MATT: Yes, he did.
RICK: That's cool.
To my good friends the Calverts.
All right, do you know who these people are?
Oh, absolutely.
The Calverts are my in-laws.
It belonged to my father-in-law.
This was given to him when Woody Guthrie and Marjorie
were together in New York.
RICK: Woody Guthrie was an American legend.
He shaped music for guys like Bob
Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.
So if he actually wrote this thing by hand,
I can see this going for a lot of money
to the right collector.
What do you want to do with it?
MATT: Well, if I get the right price I'd love to sell it.
OK.
What are you looking to get out of it?
$5,000.
Do you mind if I call someone to look at it?
MATT: Oh.
Oh, no.
It's OK.
Yeah, go ahead if it makes you feel better.
RICK: OK, just hang out and I'll be back.
MATT: Super.
I don't understand why he needs a second opinion.
This book is definitely genuine, and who would really
fake something like this?
RICK: So check it out.
It's Woody Guthrie's songbook.
And it's signed by Woody.
Oh, very cool.
We don't see many of these at all.
I mean, they're ultra rare.
You know, interesting about him, the guy he really inspired
the most was Bob Dylan.
And so Bob Dylan would go and visit him
when he was in New York, go play a guitar, sing songs,
and Dylan would say, you know, he had good days and bad days.
But on the bad days, Guthrie would
berate Dylan in his singing and made fun of him.
RICK: So what do you think?
Is the signature real?
And what's it worth?
OK.
First thing I want to do is use the pro scope,
and this allows me to go in and take a look at the signature
I could see overlapping.
So this is definitely a live signature.
No question about that.
All
Right, next step I want to do is compare this to known exemplars
that I have with me.
One distinct feature I'm noticing immediately
was the top of the G here.
And I like the general formation of it.
The DY, he connects the D to the Y.
I'm seeing a lot of great things here.
RICK: OK, so you think it's legit?
EXPERT: I mean, based on everything
I have here, based on all the evidence, the exemplars,
I think he did sign this.
Yeah.
So what do you think it's worth?
Based on everything I see today,
I think this piece is worth about $2,000 to $2,200.
All right. Thanks, Ben.
Thank you. Appreciate it.
You're the best.
MATT: I have seen some other Woody Guthrie documents
going for well over $6,000.
So yeah, I think it's a little low.
RICK: So what do you want now?
You still want $5,000?
Because you're not going to get it.
MATT: Yeah.
RICK: You know, I'll give you $1,500 for the book.
MATT: $1,500?
That's--
That's what I could do.
MATT: Not only is it handmade by Woody Guthrie, it's signed.
RICK: It is what it is.
It's neat.
It's rare.
But you're going to have to find people that are
older, that like folk music.
So it's going to take a very long time to sell it.
MATT: How about $2,500?
No.
I'd go $1,600.
Can you do $2,250?
I mean, I'll go to $1,700.
I won't go up anymore.
Well, at that price I'll just make it a family heirloom.
All right, well, have a nice day.
MATT: All right.
Thank you.
Since I wasn't able to make a deal today,
that songbook will stay in the family.
This is a really rare book, so it'll
be a wonderful family heirloom.