Antiques Roadshow

I love the American version of "Antiques Roadshow" that is shown on PBS. It's very, very interesting and even my daughter loved it when she was a tiny kid. Why? Because the stories are so interesting and the appraisals so enlightening. Think about it--folks bring in their knickknacks and treasures to discover if they are actually worth something--and that's most of what the show is all about other than a visit in each episode to a museum or collection for a short interlude in the middle of the show.

Although the British first came up with "Antiques Roadshow", I find that I prefer the American one (though I watch both). That's because, for me, much of the excitement of the show is watching the reactions on the public when they get their appraisals--and the British reactions are, in general, much more muted.

Roadshow, while it does nothing to compensate the original artisans who created these works (they presumably were compensated at original manufacture?), does help the rest of us who might discover a potential windfall in our attic. The show's long run has actually HURT the rich antique collectors in the sense that hundreds of thousands of everyday people now know what these pieces are worth, and they are not as easily duped by the proliferation of unscrupulous dealers.

To say that we should completely forsake collectibles in favor of buying new goods is to say that we should never place a premium on quality and craftsmanship, for that is the common thread. We should be happy with a few new music discs or movies, rather than have a large collection of great and classic material purchased used.

There is room for both, and this is another example of where we need balance in our lives. Besides, it is great entertainment!

It's funny that the same review fits here as the one I wrote for the British original: A nice little show about antique objects and their value. But it could have been presented better, more beautifully, more comfortably. The German version "Bares für Rares" is a lot better positioned here.

Let's face it, we are all trying to make money in these tough times or invest it in antiques. In this series, the appraisers travel around the country to appraise various items. There are always interesting items that pop up at the road shows. There are thousands of willing guests praying that they hold a treasure among their prized possessions. One guy brought Gale Sayers football jersey with marks and all that his wife was going to throw out. The appraiser valued it at 20,000-30,000 easily. The jersey was priceless anyway because of the history during his season. Of course, some people like myself look around for my most valuable piece whether it's furniture or a book. One lady retrieved a book from the garbage which was an actual screenplay to an early film with autographs from the director, writer, and major cast members. She saved it from near destruction. Now, not everything is going to be valuable unless you pay a lot of money or go treasure hunting. I think this hobby is better suited for adults. Check around to see if you have a valuable painting etc. that could pay the bills or if not. Keep looking, and watch and learn from the show itself.

The Antiques Roadshow came to my city a few years ago and, after being a big fan of it for a long time, I begged my husband to go and planned on bringing along a German air rifle my father brought home from The War. Since each person was allowed to bring two items I also brought along a hunting rifle that belonged to my brother-in-law's uncle. The gun's stock had been repaired and was held together in places with screws and was never a valuable item, even when new.

We got to the arena at 6am and the line was already down the block and around the corner, with more people showing up in droves every minute. We stood on line for six hours, most of it in the pouring-down rain, with no port-a-potties anywhere, nobody offering to sell us any snacks, and no protection from the downpour.

The people on line were friendly and in good spirits, tho, and after spending so much time with them we made a lot of new friends who were eager to share the stories of the items they had brought along. I felt sorry for one woman, tho, who had brought a lovely table that was getting ruined in the rain.

By the time we got inside we were soaked thru from the rain, but we were all happy to be able to dry out a bit, finally buy a pretzel, and anxious to get to the appraisers, to see if all that suffering we had endured in the elements was worth it.

It wasn't.

Once we got to the door of the huge appraisal room we were told which table to go to, depending on what type of item we had, and we were told we had five minutes for the appraisal, that was all, and most of all, to keep moving and exit the room as quickly as possible following the appraisal process.

My husband and I bid farewell to our new friends as we all split up to our appointed sections of the room, and we hurried to the firearms appraisal table. I found out that my air gun had been used by the HitlerYouth as a training weapon during World War II and had a value of about $100, which seemed rather low to me, considering its morally unpleasant but nonetheless interesting provenance. I tried to ask a few more questions, but the appraiser was rude and cranky and kept cutting me off. Then he gave me the value for my brother-in-law's gun, the homemade one that was held together with screws and spit. $200! I couldn't believe it.

I don't think we even got our five minutes at the table. We tried to look around at other things on our way out, and I was excited to see Leigh and Leslie Keno recording a segment for the broadcast, but overall I was left with a sour taste, that we had been treated so poorly by everyone involved, and were dismissed almost as non-entities, when if it weren't for people like us, they would have no show at all. We had wasted an entire day, were miserable and wet for most of it, and had a disappointing result.

I watched the broadcast a couple of months later to see if we had been caught on tape, milling around the room (we had not), and that was the last time I ever watched that show.