A visit to Antiques Roadshow!

On Tuesday, my friend Kathy and I traveled to Savannah for the taping of Antiques Roadshow! I had entered the ticket lottery months ago and told her that if I won two tickets, I was inviting myself to stay overnight with her in Statesboro and would take her to Savannah with me. Fortunately, she was okay with that, and when I got word that I had won tickets, she was all in.

They have time slots spaced at thirty-minute intervals throughout the day, and we arrived promptly for our four-thirty visit, catching a trolley as we ferried our goodies to the site. We could each take two items with us. Kathy took her grandmother’s silver-inlaid wooden snuff box and an antique chocolate mold. 

I took this tea-themed silhouette Alex got for me years ago and …

This antique needlework sampler from 1816. I had already figured out it was probably Dutch, which was confirmed, and the gentleman said it might have been made from a kit, which was surprising. (Maybe they had a Dutch Hobby Lobby back in the day?)

The organization of the event, not surprisingly, was first-rate. Our digital tickets were quickly scanned, and volunteers were absolutely everywhere, eager to help direct us. You simply told them what items you wanted appraised, and they pointed you to the area for that category of appraisal. Both of mine, I learned, fell under Folk Art, and while neither was valuable, I did end up discovering a few things about them, just as I’d hoped. The silhouette might or might not have been die cut, I learned, and the only way to find out for sure would be to take it out of the frame, which would likely damage it, so I’m fine with not knowing. The appraiser said it appeared to be an Art Deco piece, which was news to me. I had assumed it was Victorian and placed in a newer frame. The antique sampler, the other appraiser said, does indeed look right for the 1816 date at the bottom, though, like me, he couldn’t read the name and noted the faded letters. He asked if this was a family piece, and I said oh no, it was something I found at a thrift store, and he said, “Good!” (You know the Heritage Society’s august Timothy Neville from Laura Childs’s tea shop mysteries? That’s who this guy reminded me of.) Because the piece is so worn, he said that it’s worth only about $50, which happens to be exactly what I paid for it. (And I’m still happy with that purchase!)

Kathy’s pieces, by the way, were the treasures of the day for us! I believe she said the wooden box was a French souvenir worth about $30-$50, and the heart-shaped candy mold (which she says I may borrow sometime to make chocolate) may be worth as much as $150! Neither of us was interviewed on camera, but you know that little segment at the end of the show where the riffraff collectors tell you what they learned about their items? Yes, that was where we ended up. So there’s only a small chance that we’ll be on TV after the new episodes begin airing next January, but stranger things have happened!

It was fun to see all the items folks brought to the event (like this table, which barely made it onto the trolley), and despite all that we saw and did, we were in and out in about thirty minutes.

The event was held at the Georgia State Railroad Museum, and I hope to return someday for a visit—when I'm not lugging antiques around!