This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Blog: Old Things Considered: Our Close Encounters with Antiques Roadshow

So close, but yet, so far. Fame and fortune (or at least a television contract) continue to elude this intrepid soul

Another Monday night in the Beem household: Ken’s watching “Antiques Roadshow,” and I’m not. I don’t know what it is, but as much as I love antiques, I just can’t seem to find enthusiasm for television programs about collecting. Not that I haven’t had a few brushes with “Roadshow” greatness over the years.

Thanks to our association with AntiqueWeek, a national publication for collectors and dealers for which Ken and I have written for the past 19 years (in case you haven’t been following along), we’ve had our share of close encounters. There was the time we covered the Philadelphia Antiques Week, a concentration of shows that is second in the country only to its counterpart in New York City. Anyway, several years back, we snagged press passes to the multi-hundred-dollar preview gala, and we not only a great free dinner, but an opportunity to meet and greet Leigh Keno.

At that very moment, one-half of the Dynamic Duo was quite jubilant, having just sold a miniature bed, circa 1805, quite neat even though its linens were not of the vintage variety. For the sake of our story (and because we wanted to talk to him longer), we asked him to describe the bed, which he did, pointing out all of the little piece of furniture’s high points, just like he does on television, pausing only to compliment Ken’s choice of necktie.

Find out what's happening in Catonsvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“So how much was it tagged?” we asked.

“Fifty-three thousand dollars,” he responded.

Find out what's happening in Catonsvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“And for whom was it made?”

“A very lucky little girl,” was his response.

The new owner? we pressed.

“A very lucky little dog.”

Ta dumdum.

Then there was the first time the “Roadshow” came to Baltimore back in the ‘90s. Ken went in his “civvies” and stood in line for hours, a cardboard box of Baltimore pottery tucked under his arm. Inching around the Baltimore Convention Center, he vowed never to do that again without pulling strings. When it was his turn for an appraisal, David Rago asked him what he had, and Ken answered with such a detailed answer that he was told there was no drama in the story. Had he not known what he had, he would probably still be showing up in reruns, looking shocked at his piece of pottery’s worth. As it is, if you look really closely, you can see Ken standing in the background on that episode, looking chagrined.

The best, though, was when we covered the season opener, which happened to be in Charm City, four years ago. Let me tell you, if journalists are not the best paid people on the planet, they make it up in bennies. We were escorted past the head of the line, where we were introduced to our guide for the day. “What would you like to see now, Mrs. Beem? Mr. Beem, is there anyone here you’d like to chat with?” That kind of thing. The attention was great, so great that the fact that no one really knew what we had with us that day was of little importance. (As an aside, the appraisers, who wear flipflops and jeans below their professional looking jackets, spend a lot of time behind the curtain, a la Wizard of Oz, consulting the Internet and calling their network of expert friends. What, did you think they had all of that knowledge at their fingertips?)

Okay, so what is it about antique shows that I can’t stand? Maybe it’s the fact that no one wants to learn anything, that they just want to hear they can sell Aunt Susie Q’s teacup and retire for the next 50 years. Maybe it’s the fact that some of the hosts on these shows (I’m not talking “Roadshow” here – and for the record, Mark Wahlberg is really charming) are a bit vapid. Or maybe it’s the fact that Hollywood has yet to come calling at our door.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?