"When I first began my career as an art appraiser in the '70s], America became enthralled with "Upstairs/Downstairs." Now, forty years later, new versions of the same story lines have recaptured our fascination. While these have been pure fiction, what follows are true vignettes of Old Money life from my years among the rich and quietly famous. And I can assure my readers the real Biddles, DuPonts, and Rockefellers exhibited all the grandeur, falderal-and occasional witlessness-of their made-up British counterparts."
-from "The Appraiser Calls, Encounters with Aristocracy"

"The knowledgeable and always entertaining John Hazard Forbes takes us along as he unlocks the secret enclaves of exclusive families, often exposing much more than the mere value of their possessions."
-E. Shaver, bookseller

"The Appraiser Calls" is the latest addition to the Old Money America book series. Each chapter is a true recollection of the author's encounters with the very rich and quietly famous. Within each self-contained chapter, the reader will meet remarkable people of elegance, whimsy, courage, foolishness, and tragedy - plus the cover-up of a nasty crime.

The Addendum section includes notes on Old Money savior faire, the secret language of America's oldest and richest families, and an actual room by room appraisal of every item inside an elegant New York City townhouse.

The upper class. The upper crust. Brahmans, blue bloods, and high society. Patricians, plutocrats, and aristocrats. Each describes Americans who have enjoyed generations of wealth and prestige, but such people never use these terms. Old money is preferred. In Old Money America, author John Hazard Forbes shares an insider's view about old money and the life of America's upper class.

Forbes' thirty-five-year career as an art expert and appraiser gave him unusual entre into the houses and lives of the old rich. Along with their collections, he closely examined the customs, manners, and viewpoints of America's upper crust. Old Money America presents a discussion of the: Ironies of old money Who and where of old money Financial secrets of old money Hallmarks of old money Care and housing of old money Secret language of old money Skeletons in the closet of old money Simple life of old money Gear and garb of old money Having known the elites of New York, Pennsylvania, the Midwest, New England, and the South, Forbes is in a unique position to observe and report on his interaction with these remarkable, if often peculiar, people.

"When I first began my career as an art appraiser in the '70s], America became enthralled with "Upstairs/Downstairs." Now, forty years later, new versions of the same story lines have recaptured our fascination. While these have been pure fiction, what follows are true vignettes of Old Money life from my years among the rich and quietly famous. And I can assure my readers the real Biddles, DuPonts, and Rockefellers exhibited all the grandeur, falderal-and occasional witlessness-of their made-up British counterparts."
-from "The Appraiser Calls, Encounters with Aristocracy"

"The knowledgeable and always entertaining John Hazard Forbes takes us along as he unlocks the secret enclaves of exclusive families, often exposing much more than the mere value of their possessions."
-E. Shaver, bookseller

"The Appraiser Calls" is the latest addition to the Old Money America book series. Each chapter is a true recollection of the author's encounters with the very rich and quietly famous. Within each self-contained chapter, the reader will meet remarkable people of elegance, whimsy, courage, foolishness, and tragedy - plus the cover-up of a nasty crime.

The Addendum section includes notes on Old Money savior faire, the secret language of America's oldest and richest families, and an actual room by room appraisal of every item inside an elegant New York City townhouse.

The upper class. The upper crust. Brahmans, blue bloods, and high society. Patricians, plutocrats, and aristocrats. Each describes Americans who have enjoyed generations of wealth and prestige, but such people never use these terms. Old money is preferred. In Old Money America, author John Hazard Forbes shares an insider's view about old money and the life of America's upper class.

Forbes' thirty-five-year career as an art expert and appraiser gave him unusual entre into the houses and lives of the old rich. Along with their collections, he closely examined the customs, manners, and viewpoints of America's upper crust. Old Money America presents a discussion of the: Ironies of old money Who and where of old money Financial secrets of old money Hallmarks of old money Care and housing of old money Secret language of old money Skeletons in the closet of old money Simple life of old money Gear and garb of old money Having known the elites of New York, Pennsylvania, the Midwest, New England, and the South, Forbes is in a unique position to observe and report on his interaction with these remarkable, if often peculiar, people.