Antiques Roadshow (American TV program)

Antiques Roadshow
Created by	BBC Television
Developed by	WGBH, Boston
Directed by	John Boyle III (current) Bill Francis (current) Susan Conover Phillip Gay
Presented by	Mark L. Walberg
Theme music composer	Tom Phillips
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	22
Production
Executive producer(s)	Marsha Bemko Aida Moreno (1996–2001) Peter Cook (2001–2003)
Producer(s)	Sam Farrell Sarah Elliott
Production location(s)	List of locations
Cinematography	Chas Norton
Editor(s)	Jeff Cronenberg Kelsey Bresnahan Sharon Singer Shady Hartshorne
Camera setup	Multiple
Running time	60 minutes
Production company(s)	WGBH-TV
Distributor	PBS
Release
Original network	PBS
Original release	January 9, 1997 (1997-01-09) – present
Chronology
Related shows	Antiques Roadshow FYI Market Warriors
External links
Antiques Roadshow

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.

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.).

Antiques Roadshow is an American television program broadcast on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Public television stations. The program 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 first aired in 1997; when taping locations are decided, they are announced on the program's website 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 16 times for a Primetime Emmy.

During 2005, the American version of Antiques Roadshow produced its own spinoff called Antiques Roadshow FYI, a half-hour program that followed the fate of items appraised in the parent show and provided additional information on antiques and collecting.

Format[edit]

Each show began with an introduction by the host (first, Chris Jussel, then, Dan Elias, Lara Spencer, and 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 over-the-shoulder appraisals; the show ends with the host wrapping things up. In the show's early seasons, the episodes ended with the Antiques Roadshow crew getting ready to turn the studio lights off, and take down the set. In seasons 5-7, a semi truck drove by. In later seasons, the closing credits featuring the crew taking down the set was discontinued, and was replaced by a Feedback Booth, a series of clips of people talking about their experience at Antiques Roadshow rolls with the credits.

History[edit]

The program was created in 1996 by WGBH-TV, based on the BBC's program of the same name that had been airing in the United Kingdom since 1979; the first American episodes were broadcast on PBS in 1997. In 2001, PBS aired the original BBC program, 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.

Hosts[edit]

The first host of the American version of Antiques Roadshow, was antiques expert Chris Jussel, he hosted the program from 1997 to 2000 (seasons 1-4). He was followed by contemporary art expert Dan Elias, who took over after Jussel's departure, he hosted the program from 2001 to 2003 (seasons 5-7). Good Morning America correspondent Lara Spencer replaced Dan Elias as the host, she hosted from 2004 to 2005 (seasons 8-9). Mark L. Walberg took over as the show's current host, who replaced Lara Spencer. He hosted the program from 2006-present (season 10-present).

Antiques Roadshow FYI[edit]

During 2005, PBS broadcast Antiques Roadshow FYI, a short-lived spinoff of Antiques Roadshow; the weekly half-hour show, hosted by then-Antiques Roadshow host Lara Spencer, provided information on items shown on previous episodes of Antiques Roadshow, as well as additional information on antiques and collecting.

Highest appraisals[edit]

The following ten items are recognized as the most valuable items featured on the American Antiques Roadshow:

• A 1904 Diego Rivera oil painting, El Albañil, valued with a retail price of $800,000 to $1 million in 2012.^[1] In 2018 the painting was reappraised at $1.2 million to $2.2 million.^[2]
• 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.^[3]
• Four pieces of Chinese carved jade and celadon ceramics dating to the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (1736–95), including a large bowl crafted for the emperor, were given a conservative auction estimate of up to $1.07 million.^[4] However the items sold at auction for only $494,615.^[5]
• A trove of 1870s 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 on January 5, 2015.^[6][7]
• An Alexander Calder mobile, c. 1950, was appraised in Miami, Florida, at $400,000 to $1,000,000
• A 1937 Clyfford Still oil painting, valued at $500,000, was appraised on the first episode of its 13th season on January 5, 2009.^[8][9]
• 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.^[10]
• In 2001, a mid-19th Century Navajo Ute First Phase blanket, believed once to have been owned by Kit Carson, was valued in Tucson, Arizona between $350,000 and $500,000; the appraiser called it a "national treasure."^[11]

Antiques Roadshow taping locations[edit]

The following is a list of the seasons, hosts, broadcast/taping years, and taping locations of Antiques Roadshow from 1996 to the present:^{[12][nb 1]}

States or province (Ontario) where tapings have taken place are listed below:^[12]

Tickets[edit]

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.

Fraud conviction[edit]

In 2001, two dealers who had appeared on the show were indicted on mail and wired fraud charges.^[15] 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.^[16][17]

See also[edit]

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

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Official Website