(Enlarge) J. Michael Flanigan, an appraiser on PBS' "Antiques Roadshow," talks to Susie Hunterabout a tea service her mother received in 1928 as a wedding gift. Flanigan was offering his consultations Nov. 7 at the Church of the Good Shepherd's Centennial Bazaar. (Staff photo by Sarah Nix-Pastrana)

At first glance it was simply a champagne-colored piece of nice, embroidered fabric, about 12 inches by 18 inches.

Homeland resident Tina Darrell found it in her attic, she said. What was it worth?

That was the question she asked J. Michael Flanigan, of PBS "Antiques Roadshow" fame, at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Ruxton.

But Darrell, a member of the congregation for 33 years, upped the ante when she told him the fabric dated from 1824:

"It was a piece of a dress worn by Mrs. Charles Robb at a ball given for (Marquis de) Lafayette" -- the French aristocrat and general in the American Revolutionary War, she said.

The occasion was Good Shepherd's Centennial Bazaar on Nov. 7. The church, on Carrollton Avenue since 1916, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

Flanigan, who has been in the antiques business for 28 years, was on hand to provide appraisals of and comments on "treasures" -- real or imaginary -- people brought to him.

The fee people paid went toward a donation that the church will make to Preservation Maryland in honor of Good Shepherd's former rector, the Rev. David Gearhart.

If those who consulted with Flanigan didn't feel richer after meeting with him, at least they felt entertained.

Darrell told him the framed fabric was given to her husband, Butch, by his aunt, Flanigan looked it over carefully and smiled.

"When Lafayette came to this country in 1824," he said, "it was the closest thing to the Second Coming. It was the most recorded event in American history that didn't involve war."

It became family lore when somebody leaned out the window and actually saw him pass by in a parade, Flanigan said.

By the next generation the story would be that the family member gave him a cup of tea, by the third generation it would be she entertained him with a full course dinner, and by the generation after that it would be he gave her an entire suite of dining room furniture.

"The nice thing about this," he said, looking at the fabric, "is that it is a modest claim. But the problem is it's not the whole dress -- and it's got a hole in it."

Flanigan gave her homework and told her how to research who Mrs. Robb was and when and where the ball was and suggested she reframe it with the information.

"It's really a memento," he said.

Darrell was amused.

"It's not worth a hill of beans," she said, "but I'm going to follow through and present it to one of the younger members of the family."

Becky Slater, whose husband, Scott, is rector of the church, came with a Flow Blue pitcher made by Royal Doulton that her late grandmother told her was valuable.

But Flanigan told her it was "not terribly valuable" and worth only $150 to $250. "Pitchers like this were produced by the thousands," he said, noting that the popularity of Flow Blue peaked in the 1960s and '70s and was past its heyday. "There are tons of them around."

Slater plans to keep it.

"It was valuable to Granny and to me," she said. "I love it."

Her husband was relieved.

"Now we don't have to insure it," he said.

Bob and Sherry Locke, of Ruxton, showed up with an item they treasure -- a short, typed letter addressed to "Mrs. Gibson," with a written signature and personal notation. The letterhead reads "Mrs. F.D. Roosevelt, Eastport Me."

"Would you and your friends and guests come to tea on Thursday, the 8th anytime after 4?" Eleanor Roosevelt inquired. "It would be nice to see you before I leave."

The note might sell in the low hundreds, Flanigan told the Lockes, but the key is they need to get a date for it, and it would sell for more if it were a full letter or if she put a note on it, such as, "Dec. 9, 1941 -- things are not going well."

Flanigan's face lit up when Southland Hills residents Susie and Bill Hunter brought in a long narrow rosewood box.

The box, lined in lush purple velvet, held an ornate golden scabbard encasing a long ceremonial sword.

Bill Hunter said the sword had been presented to his great-great-grandfather, Col. Dixon Stanberry Miles, on March 10, 1860, in appreciation for service during the war with Mexico.

It had been passed down through the family -- to Bill's mother's brother, who taught at West Point during World War II -- and had been in their attic until the roof leaked, Susie said.

Unfortunately, the couple told Flanigan, Col. Miles' military glory was short-lived. In 1862, during the Civil War, he was in charge of the Union troops in the battle for Harpers Ferry. They lost, and blamed it on him.

"They said he was drunk," Bill said, "but the family story is he had dysentery and was taking medicine."

He was shot and killed on the last day of the battle.

"It's a great item," said Flanigan, who estimated its worth between $7,500 and $12,000.

"Don't do anything to it," he said, "I can see Civil War collectors just fighting over this. It's a wonderful thing to see."

Bill Hunter said he was pleased. They had given it to their son, who was interested in the family history, he said. "I'm not sure he'll get it back for a while."

Another family heirloom produced a slightly different result. The wrapped silver tea set that Good Shepherd's organist, Jane Miller, unveiled was given to her mother by an English lady her mother took lessons from in the 1920s, she said.

But it's not silver, it was silver plate, Flanigan said. And it's not English.

Besides, "it's been polished to hell," he said. "It would take more labor to clean these up than they're worth."

He priced it at $200.

Miller said afterward she didn't think she'd have the good luck to have anything valuable.

"I should take it straight to the white elephant table," she said.

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