Our Appraisal Services

Since 1970, we have served hundreds of private and institutional clients. Now, our appraisal and consulting services are available to you—at fees that you can afford. Our appraisals range from multi-million-dollar university collections of rare books and the lifetime papers of major American political figures to the professional papers of a working anthropologist and the fire-damaged library of a local homeowner.

Our rates are reasonable. We provide an up-front estimate of our fee for appraisal of your property. And we will tell you in advance—at no charge—if your books or documents do not warrant a professional appraisal.


PetrillaBookAppraisals.com is a division of R & A Petrilla
PO Box 306, Roosevelt, NJ 08555
Phone: 732-823-2721

Over the years, we have written hundreds of professional appraisal reports for libraries, historical societies, and individuals — reports that satisfy the requirements of insurance companies, executors, and the Internal Revenue Service.

We assign realistic, defensible dollar values to your property, and we tell in plain English how we arrived at those figures.

Our appraisal reports contain a detailed statement of our qualifications.

  • Gift appraisals are based on current fair-market value as defined by the IRS, and are accompanied by the IRS tax-deductible-gift form (Noncash Charitable Contributions), with our portion of the form filled in and signed.
  • Insurance appraisals reflect replacement value, the cost of replacing items lost by fire, flood or theft.
  • Estate Settlement appraisals, which may be required when property passes from the deceased to the heirs, incorporate conservative fair-market values.

In many cases, we are able to work from a detailed inventory of a collection or library, especially when accompanied by pictures. In the case of professional papers and large groups of scholarly or rare books, we may have to travel to the location. If travel becomes necessary, we keep expenses to a minimum by charging only for out-of-pocket costs. We will be happy to discuss the options and your preferences when you contact us.

References

Over the years, our clients have included academics, librarians, curators, business and professional people, and their heirs. Personal names are kept confidential. Listed below are some of the institutions named in our appraisals.

  • American Philosophical Society
  • Andalusia Foundation
  • David Library of the American Revolution
  • Emory University
  • Frelinghuysen Arboretum
  • George Washington University
  • Hershey Medical Center
  • Historical Society of Pennsylvania
  • Johns Hopkins University
  • Institute for Advanced Studies
  • Lehigh University
  • Library Company of Philadelphia
  • Martin Luther King, Jr, Center for Nonviolent Social Change
  • Marcus Garvey Memorial Foundation
  • Naropa University
  • Peddie School
  • Pennsylvania State University
  • Philadelphia Museum of Art
  •  Princeton University
  • Princeton Theological Seminary
  • Rutgers University
  • Temple University
  • University of Maine
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • .....and others