The Watch, the Book, and What Survived: Jeff Cohen with Carolyn Hollander

A gold pocket watch passed from hand to hand. A leather-bound family book, worn at the edges. In that moment—one expert appraising an heirloom, one granddaughter guarding a fragile record—two strangers found a story large enough to carry a family name across a century.

Jeff Cohen, a Chicago dealer in vintage timepieces, and Carolyn Hollander, whose grandfather compiled a precise family register in 1930s Germany, will retrace how those objects became keys. What began as a televised appraisal widened into archival work, field research, and a return of family books in Berlin in August 2023—steps that restored names, places, and paths once thought lost.

The evening includes a brief in-room video excerpt from their appraisal, a focused slide talk, and a guided conversation that pairs careful inquiry with personal testimony. Audience questions are welcome and select antiques will be on view in the theater.

Two members of the FBI Art Crime Team will join Jeff and Carolyn to add perspective on provenance, recovery, and the protection of cultural property.

Reservations required. Free to the public.