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| Antiques Road Show | July 16, 2005 |
 Antiques Roadshow Comes to HoustonThe Antiques Roadshow came to Houston on Saturday, July 16, 2005, and we were there. We had a 9:30 am timeslot and had to be at the Reliant Center by 9 am sharp. We showed our tickets at the door, and went into the convention center. We got at the end of a very long line and waited. Everyone had their items, and the smart ones had rolling carts. The crowd was very friendly, and we quickly found ourselves breaking up into small groups and talking about our stuff, but not getting too far out of line. After about an hour we got to the door of the main area. Our tickets were torn in half and our items were categorized. We were given tickets for the Furniture, Arms & |
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 circa 1830 |
Militaria, and Tribal Arts tables. The main area had tables around the edges, and an area for the television cameras in the center. Each table had its specific experts, who were very knowledgeable. We took our place in the line at the "Militaria" table. I have an old military bass snare drum that I suspected was pre-Civil War. We had it appraised at the "Militaria" table and at the "Musical Instruments" table. We got a better appraisal at the "Musical Instruments" table. They estimated that it was made around 1830, and was worth about $1000. The other item we had that was actually worth something was a Lakota Pipe Bag, that has been in Mike's family for over 100 years. It had been given to his great grandfather by residents of the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1890 when his grandmother was born. |
 circa 1890 |
The appraisers were actually very interested in this piece. They said that it would have been a "real find" if not for one thing. Evidently the pipe bag had seen a little use in its time, and the leather had a little water damage. If not for that, it would have been appraised for around $5000, and might have gotten us on television. As it was it was appraised for around $1000. The high point of my day came when we went to the Furniture area. My old chair turned out to be a reproduction and worth very little, but the appraisers were none other than Leigh and Leslie Keno. I watch their show "Find!" every week and I'm a big fan of theirs. I got to meet them, and they autographed my ticket (See below). We had a great time. There is one other thing I should tell you about, and that's the rules of the show. In the literature they sent us beforehand, they said we could bring only two items each. This rule was not rigidly enforced. They were interested in seeing everything that was brought in. There was one rule that was enforced, and that was the rule against cameras. Evidently having cameras in there was some kind of copyright infringement, and they were not allowed. I was disappointed, because I had planned to take a lot of pictures. Tina |
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 Store!   |