Antiques Roadshow (U.S. TV series)

Antiques Roadshow appraises thousands of items in any given taping, with the public ticketed for time slots between 8 am and 5 pm local time; this image shows a portion of the public entering a July 2009 roadshow in Madison, Wisconsin at noon.

Antiques Roadshow is an American television program broadcast on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Public television stations. The series features local antiques owners who bring in items to be appraised by experts. Provenance, history, and value of the items are discussed. Based on the original British Antiques Roadshow – which premiered in 1979 – the American version launched in 1997. In 2005, the American version produced its own spinoff called Antiques Roadshow FYI, which follows the fate of items appraised in the main series. When PBS decides on the taping locations for each year, it publicizes the chosen cities and airs the city and items to be appraised nationwide on PBS stations the next year, therefore raising the profile of various small to mid-size cities, such as Billings, Montana; Biloxi, Mississippi; Bismarck, North Dakota; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Hot Springs, Arkansas; and Rapid City, South Dakota. Antiques Roadshow has been nominated 11 times for a Primetime Emmy.

Format

Each episode begins with a self-introduction by the host (currently Mark L. Walberg) followed by an announcement of the taping location. Each city taping is split into three hours, i.e. Boise Hour 1, Chattanooga Hour 2, or Raleigh Hour 3. Various three to four minute long segments of selected people talking about their item(s) and their appraisers talking about the provenance, history, and value of the item(s) follow, interspersed with several brief informal appraisals, lasting about a minute or so and called single-camera appraisals. Another segment, lasting about three minutes long and called a field segment, shows a selected site in the event city and the host talking with an appraiser about selected items.<ref name="Information about "single-camera" and "field" segments (under 'Why can't I find the appraisal or segment I'm interested in?')">Staff (2013). "FAQ". WGBH. Retrieved 25 September 2013. </ref> The segment concludes with the host wrapping things up; in more recent seasons, the Feedback Booth, a series of clips of people talking about their experience at Antiques Roadshow rolls with the credits.

History

Before people enter the main appraisal/recording area, general appraisers quickly categorize and give tickets to specific appraisers (e.g. "Asian Art", "Metal Work", etc.).

The series was created in 1996 by WGBH-TV, based on the BBC's series of the same name that had been airing in the United Kingdom since 1979. The first US episodes were broadcast on PBS in 1997. (PBS also airs the original BBC series, though it is called Antiques Roadshow UK to differentiate it from its own version.) The American version of Antiques Roadshow is produced by WGBH-TV, the public television station in Boston, Massachusetts. The American version has been hosted by Chris Jussel (1997–2000), Dan Elias (2001–03), Lara Spencer (2004–5), and Mark L. Walberg (2005–Present). Marsha Bemko is executive producer. Notable appraisers include Leigh and Leslie Keno, Nicholas Lowry, Noel Barrett, David Rago, Arlie Sulka, J. Christopher Mitchell, Ken Farmer, Wes Cowan, Timothy Gordon and Kathy Bailey who appraise furniture, posters, toys, pottery, glass, arms and militaria, and folk art. Auction houses Christie's, Sotheby's, Heritage Auctions, Skinner, Inc., Doyle New York, Freeman's Auctioneers & Appraisers, and Swann Galleries provide expert appraisers for venues across America.

In 2005, PBS introduced Antiques Roadshow FYI, a sister series to Antiques Roadshow. The weekly half-hour show, hosted by Lara Spencer with correspondent Clay Reynolds, provides information on items shown on previous episodes of Antiques Roadshow, as well as additional information on antiques and collecting.

Appraisers in memoriam

• Bill Bertoia — Toys
• Frank Boos — Silver
• Barbara Franchi — Front Desk
• Wendell Garrett — Appeared on every season from its debut in 1997 until the season premiering on January 7, 2013, due to his death at the age of 83.^[1]
• William Guthman — Arms & Militaria
• Richard Kennedy — Arms & Militaria
• Jerry E. Patterson — Books
• Christie Romero — Jewelry
• Albert M. Sack — Furniture, Folk Art
• Malcolm Stearns Jr. — Decorative Arts
• Erica Voogd-Phillips — Asian Arts
• Barry Weber — Jewelry
• John S. Weschler — Jewelry
• Richard Wright — Dolls, Toys & Games

Notable appraisals

Eleven items are recognized as the most valuable items featured on the American Antiques Roadshow:

• On July 23, 2011, a collection of Chinese cups carved from rhinoceros horns, believed to date from the late 17th or early 18th century, was valued at $1–1.5 million at a show location in Tulsa, Oklahoma.^[2]
• Four pieces of Chinese carved jade and celadon ceramics dating to the reign of the Qianlong emperor (1736–1795), including a large bowl crafted for the Emperor, were given a conservative auction estimate of up to $1.07 million.^[3] However the items sold at auction for only $494,615.^[4]
• A trove of 1870's Boston Red Stockings (now the Atlanta Braves) memorabilia including players' signatures and rare baseball cards was appraised at $1,000,000 for insurance purposes in New York City.^[5]
• An Alexander Calder mobile, c. 1950, was appraised in Miami, Florida, for anywhere from $400,000 to $1,000,000.
• A 1937 Clyfford Still oil painting, valued conservatively at $500,000, was appraised on the first episode of its 13th season on January 5, 2009.^[6][7]
• A Norman Rockwell oil painting was appraised at $500,000 in 2010 in Eugene, Oregon.
• An Andrew Wyeth watercolor painting was appraised at $450,000 in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 2010.
• A collection of Charles Schulz Peanuts comic art was appraised at $450,000 in Phoenix, Arizona.
• A mid-19th Century Navajo Ute First Phase blanket, believed once to have been owned by Kit Carson, was valued in Tucson, Arizona, from $350,000 to $500,000.
• An 1847 James Henry Beard oil painting, "The Illustrious Guest", was valued between $300,000 and $500,000 in Dallas, Texas.
• An 1881 Jasper F. Cropsey landscape painting was appraised at $300,000 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Antiques Roadshow taping locations

The following is a list of the seasons, hosts, broadcast/taping years, and taping locations of Antiques Roadshow from 1996 to the present:^{[8][nb 1]}

States or province (Ontario) where tapings have taken place are listed below:^[8]

Tickets

Tickets are free, but are only provided to preselected people on a random basis. To request tickets, prospective appraisees must fill out a form on the official website.

Pop culture references

Antiques Roadshow had a notable role in the 2006 comedy Grandma's Boy and the 1999 episode of Frasier "A Tsar Is Born".

Former Appraisers Fraud Convictions

In 2001, two dealers who had appeared on the show were indicted on mail and wired fraud charges.^[9] Russ Pritchard III and George Juno were accused of defrauding Civil War descendants out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The pair also had faced accusations of phony appraisals on the show. In 2002 they were sentenced after being convicted.^[10][11]

See also

• It's Worth What?
• Buried Treasure
• Market Warriors

References

External links

• Official website and ticket request information