Antiques Roadshow $1-Million Baseball Archive in Season Premiere
October 20, 2015, Boston, MA—On January 5, 2015, ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, PBS's most-watched series, kicks off Season 19 with a home-run appraisal of an early Boston baseball archive for $1,000,000.
ANTIQUES ROADSHOW's new season features 35 never-before-seen episodes of its signature cross-country treasure hunt. Host Mark L. Walberg welcomes viewers to join ROADSHOW in sharing a new year of America's hidden treasures and untold stories starting Monday, January 5 at 8/7c on PBS.
ROADSHOW begins the season with its first trip to New York City in 13 years, catching the largest sports memorabilia find in the 19-year history of the series: an archive of rare photographic baseball cards with a handwritten letter from the 1871-1872 Boston Red Stockings. The letter was addressed to the owner's great-great-grandmother, who ran the boarding house that homed the team and features notes from pioneering Hall of Famers Harry Wright, George Wright and Albert Spalding. ROADSHOW's visit to New York City also included appraisals of a Joseph Kleitsch painting valued at $500,000 and another baseball card collection worth $200,000.
After New York City, ROADSHOW travels across the country to Austin, Texas; Bismarck, North Dakota; Birmingham, Alabama; Santa Clara, California; Charleston, West Virginia; Chicago, Illinois; and Albuquerque, New Mexico. ROADSHOW will also be honoring Black History Month with a "Celebrating Black Americana" special on February 15th at 9/8c pm on PBS.
EPISODES 2015 PBS AIRDATES (8/7c PM)
New York City, New York January 5, 12, 19
Austin, Texas January 26, February 2, 9
Celebrating Black Americana February 9 at 9/8c PM
Bismarck, North Dakota February 16, 23, March 23
Birmingham, Alabama March 30, April 6, 13
Santa Clara, California April 20, 27, May 4
Charleston, West Virginia May 11, 18, 25
Chicago, Illinois Fall 2015
Albuquerque, New Mexico Fall 2015
Here is a sample of discoveries from ROADSHOW's 2015 season:
- In Austin, a spinning wheel gifted to the owner's mother by Mahatma Gandhi is appraised for $50,000 to $75,000.
- Chinese Imperial armor kept in its box since 1948 is valued at $100,000 to $150,000 in Bismarck.
- A Frederic Remington portrait of the owner's great-grandfather and a letter that were appraised in the 1960s for $7,500 are now valued at $602,000 to $802,000 in Birmingham.
- An autograph book with signatures from Mark Twain, John Steinbeck, Leo Tolstoy and others, appraised for $25,000 to $75,000 in Santa Clara.
- In Charleston, an Edward Beyer oil painting depicting Charleston in 1854 before West Virginia became its own state is valued at $250,000.
About ANTIQUES ROADSHOW
Part adventure, part history lesson, part treasure hunt, 12-time Emmy® Award nominated ANTIQUES ROADSHOW is in its 18th broadcast season and is the most-watched ongoing primetime PBS series. The series is produced by WGBH Boston for PBS under license from the BBC. The Executive Producer is Marsha Bemko. ANTIQUES ROADSHOW is sponsored by Liberty Mutual Insurance and Subaru. Additional funding is provided by public television viewers. For more ANTIQUES ROADSHOW-including full episodes, appraiser information, tips of the trade, bonus videos, a comprehensive archive, teacher resources, and more-visit pbs.org/antiques. You can also find ROADSHOW on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, and Tumblr.
