Based on the BBC television show of the same name, Antiques Roadshow is to history buffs what CNN is to news junkies. It's televised candy. The premise is that average Americans bring their "buried" treasures for a qualified expert to examine. The item, depending on its provenance, age, or quality, is given a value based on current auction prices or historical worth. That's just a basic summary, however. The true joy of the program lies in the human drama.

The Provenance

The Public Broadcasting Service, or PBS, brought the Antiques Roadshow to these shores after a successful and devoted following was established on the BBC. Instead of grannies bringing their Staffordshire china down to the town hall in Milton Keynes the American version features Texans bringing chairs made of longhorn cattle horns and San Franciscans showing off their Inuit battle helmets in convention centers around the United States. Each week a different city is featured--some areas prove to be so fruitful, second or even third airings are shown at the same location. A revolving series of experts join the host, formerly Chris Jussel, now Dan Elias, in greeting the guests, examining the objects, and discovering historical sites, interesting museums, or outstanding architecture in the featured area. The experts are usually owners of antique shops, auction house employees, or outstanding specialists in their particular field. Their fields of expertise run from jewelry to Civil War memorabilia, Early American furniture to Art Deco kitsch, weaponry to Afro-American pottery.

How to Get on TV

The fun begins when Americans bring their stuff up to the table. Each convention center is segmented into areas based upon the type of item in question. Queues are formed behind banners reading, for instance, "painting", "books", or "mechanical toys". People from all over the region wait patiently, holding a mysterious object draped in a quilt or proudly towing a desk in their child's Radio Flyer wagon. Once at the head of the line the experts and the television crew set aside those of unusual or educational interest to be televised. People can be chosen because either they've brought something really interesting or they have an outrageous fake that needs to be used as an example of what not to spend precious money on. Apparently in the US, many valuable antiques can be found at yard sales for ridiculously low prices. A common story shared by owners is that while out on a weekend morning they just happened to stop at a garage sale in the next town and accidentally bought a Chippendale sideboard. The converse is some doting husband attends an estate sale in a wealthy area of a big city and inadvertently pays thousands of dollars for a cheap item made in China during the 1960's. Viewers can usually tell when this will happen. It's when the owner provides a lot of background, such as:

"My father brought it back from Czechoslovakia after World War II. He bought it from a lady who said she was a Countess and got it as a present from the Emperor of China when she was first married. I think he said it was from the Ming Dynasty..."

Sure enough, it will only be worth about $1.99. People have been known to faint or run screaming off camera into a loved one's arms after finding out they actually own a Van Gogh.

While examining the antique or fake, the expert takes the time to give the owner and the viewer a little history lesson. The region an antique was made in is discussed. The process of making it, the historical events behind its construction, and the different kinds of collectors that would be interested in it are mentioned. One such object, found on a recent trip to Charleston, South Carolina, was a child's toy. It was a series of pictures depicting African-American minstrels designed to scroll across a cardboard stage. Made in the 1880's it had stayed in one family for the last 120 years. Collectors of Americana, children's toys, Victoriana, and Afro-American memorabilia would all dearly want what was once a Christmas gift costing about two dollars.

So You've Got a Lakota War Bonnet...

Each item is valued based upon it's rarity, interest to collectors, relative auction value, and historical worth. Some owners have subsequently been contacted by museums or historical socieites interested in acquiring an object of importance. They can choose to offer their antique to an auction house. Or they can keep it and pass it on to the next generation. However, Antiques Roadshow does not offer any of the items featured for sale. Antiques Roadshow and it's companion series for children, Antiques Roadshow, Jr. offer the best of television viewing: a game show, a history lesson, a mystery, and a drama. And it's all in one show.