We’re extras on the Antiques Roadshow
The British version of
"Antiques Roadshow" came to Melbourne on Aug. 10, 2005, and, being
longtime fans of both the American and British shows, we applied for tickets to
attend and have an antique appraised by one of about two dozen experts. Lisa
and Jacob also applied and on the appointed day we all rocked up (with Tilly and
Eleanor in tow) at the majestic, old Royal Exhibition Hall, a glorious
125-year-old Victorian building that was built in the wake of Victoria state’s
Gold Rush. It remains one of the world’s oldest and grandest exhibition
pavilions.
Alma and I arrived earlier than the rest and the first thing we encountered was a very long queue snaking its way around the vast main hall. Some of the thousands of people standing in line with all manner of dusty old relics dragged out of their attics and cupboards told us this was "the queue to get a ticket to join the other queues," which eventually would lead us to well-known specialists in various categories of antiquities. But the long waits didn’t really bother us because half the fun of attending an Antiques Roadshow is the chatting up the others in the queues, comparing old junk (and treasures in some cases) and watching the television camera crews scurrying about to capture the most interesting visitors.
We waited patiently for about an
hour, getting friendly with a very nice couple our age from New South Wales and
their Melbourne-based son 
and
daughter-in-law—all rabid fans of the Carlton Blues (Australian Rules) Football
Club, which pleased Bill no end. Our one antique, selected for its light weight
and ease of carrying, was an old copper quarter-peck measure that has been in
the family for ages. It was dated 1784 (with a stamp) and was made in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Jacob brought along a late 19th Century ornately
carved Japanese wooden box that his dad passed on to him.
Finally we got to see an appraiser, who didn’t seem too impressed by our copper vessel because, he said, we didn’t have the full set of peck measures. He valued ours at about U.S. $600, but I sensed he may have been just winging it because he admitted he didn’t know a great deal about early American copperware. Jacob was told his relic was worth $400 to $500, which we decided would just about cover a good meal at Melbourne’s tony Vu de Monde restaurant. But it was all great fun, and determining the value of the artifacts was not really the point of our being there.
Here are some of the photos I took:
|
Royal Melbourne Exhibition Hall as we arrive |
The crowds begin to arrive and queue up |
Alma waits behind someone’s antique table |
|
Bill, Alma, Lisa and Tilly waiting in line |
Even these crowds are lost in the hall’s vastness
|
A caped ceramics and art appraiser at work |
|
Bill and appraiser haggle over the price |
The fun of it was the stuff other people brought |
Some of the antiques really were priceless |
|
"Sticky beaks" (nosey people) abounded here |
Another sticky beak and unusual clothes rack
|
Jacob and Lisa caught up in a paparazzi scrum |
|
Lifestyle Channel crew setting up cameras |
Eleanor seems unimpressed by all the hoopla |
Jacob and Lisa chat with their appraiser
|
