A trip to the Antiques Road Show
Your Heritage is a new monthly feature of the Weekend Pinnacle,
that will appear the fourth Friday of every month. Send comments,
column ideas or questions to
ca******@pi**********.com
.
Well, I finally made it to that famous PBS production that so
many family historians dream about! The Antiques Road Show set up
shop in the McEnery Convention Center in downtown San Jose Aug. 15
to an anxious 5,000 participants. My husband and I were, luckily,
amongst the masses. In fact, we won a random lottery drawing back
in March for the coveted tickets. Genealogists, everywhere, will be
excited to learn that we gave some thoughtful consideration as to
what we were going to bring. Of course, family items were at the
top of the list.
A trip to the Antiques Road Show
Your Heritage is a new monthly feature of the Weekend Pinnacle, that will appear the fourth Friday of every month. Send comments, column ideas or questions to
ca******@pi**********.com
.
Well, I finally made it to that famous PBS production that so many family historians dream about! The Antiques Road Show set up shop in the McEnery Convention Center in downtown San Jose Aug. 15 to an anxious 5,000 participants. My husband and I were, luckily, amongst the masses. In fact, we won a random lottery drawing back in March for the coveted tickets. Genealogists, everywhere, will be excited to learn that we gave some thoughtful consideration as to what we were going to bring. Of course, family items were at the top of the list.
The experience of going to one of these Road Shows is thrilling if you are an antique aficionado, a genealogist, or a history buff in any category. The opening of the show began early, with ticket holders assigned a time slot to appear for appraisals throughout the day. This made the traffic of the crowds incredibly manageable, quite unlike the experience I had back at the 1998 Antiques Road Show in Los Angeles where 10,000 people appeared. No tickets were issued back in that year, so the possibility of being turned away when the maximum was reached was real, and we were! So, this time things were really different.
My husband Don and I arrived on schedule, treasures in tow, beaming from ear to ear and conversing along the way with fellow displayers just as excited. Our quickly moving line for the 9 am. hour swiftly wound around the convention center until we stopped for the first sentinel, who examined what we brought. Items were categorized for appraisal in the next room where the real excitement lay.
Led behind the tall partitions, and into the lines of the appraisers, the fun began! A circle of bright lights shone above us, and the big cameras were rolling. The first sight was the handsome Keno twins! With their typical enthusiasm, they examined furniture pieces, trunks and tables. Other appraisers were queuing up for cameras while the appearance of the owner of the antique had the finishing touches added.
“You’ve brought in a very lovely piece today. Tell me what you know about it …,” was the signal for the excited owner to share all they knew. While several stories were being shared, a quick glance around the room revealed appraisers at work, faces reacting with excitement, while others had their hopes dashed. While I waited in line, clutching my first item, a vase, the suspense rose to an incredible pitch. I handed it to the appraiser. An expert in his field, he gave the vase a quick check, “Bonn, Germany, 100 years old, hand-painted, well-known company, great condition …” I couldn’t believe how quickly each item passed through their skillful hands and adept eyes. On we went to the next tables. A silver compact from Tokyo, a set of Godey’s Magazine fashion plates, and an etching by the well-known 19th century British/American engraver, Charles Mottram, brought some interesting comments. I learned the engraving was older than previously imagined. We were in possession of a Civil War-era artwork.
Before we knew it, we’d passed through it all. The next time slot was already arriving for their appraisals.
“Gads, it’s not over already, is it?” I thought. As we exited the cameras, we were met by a wonderful woman from the PBS station. “Would you like to have your picture taken with your items for KQED?” she said. “We’d love to!” we replied.
“So how’d you do today?” Seeing that we didn’t come bringing the appraiser’s jackpot, she jokingly exclaimed, “So what do they know anyway!?”
