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“She was a tough lady from Missouri,”
Katy said. Her family plans to keep the
pelt regardless of its worth because it was
passed down.
A ‘showstopper’
About 125 people are chosen per event
to have their appraisal filmed; 30 will make
it to air each episode.
A wooden rocking chair with carved
gargoyles and two devils under each arm
was among the items handpicked to be
filmed by the PBS crew. Its owner, Robert,
purchased it for $60 at an auction.
To his surprise, the chair turned out to be
from a Venetian furniture company, Fratelli
Testolini, and could be worth thousands of
dollars.
The chair’s appraiser, Karen Keane from
Boston, said the item is a “conversation
piece and showstopper.”
“It had this ‘Game of Thrones’ look,”
she said. “In the early 20th century, people
decorated wacky. In this item in particular,
it has signature griffins, devil heads and
mythical creatures.”
PHOTOS BY JANAE EASLON
LEFT: The rocking chair was chosen to be filmed by PBS crew for the Portland episodes of “Antiques Roadshow.” Originating from 19th century
Venice, Italy, the Fratelli Testolini style of furniture can be sold for thousands at an auction. MIDDLE: Katy Kane, an appraiser from Pennsylvania,
specializes in textiles. She holds a 1920s hair pin worth about $90. RIGHT: Marsha Bemko, executive producer of “Antiques Roadshow,” has been
with the program for 18 years. Previously, she has worked for the PBS series “Frontline.”
Learning as you go
Forty to 70 appraisers travel with “An-
tiques Roadshow” each summer to film and
participate. Most work as auctioneers and
antique collectors in their spare time.
Katy Kane, an appraiser and textiles spe-
cialist from Pennsylvania, started buying
and selling collectibles in 1978.
Kane holds a real tortoiseshell hair pin
in her hands. Rotating it slowly, she ex-
plains the accessory originates from the late
1800s and can be sold for about $200.
“You learn as you go,” she said. “Cloth-
ing has evolved so much. People used to be
looking to collect clothing from the prairie
days with high collars, and now people are
searching for vintage from the ’70s and
’80s.”
While on the road and visiting each city,
Kane said she wishes to see more French
couture. “As an appraiser, you really want
to see something that takes your breath
away and is unusual.”
‘Smart reality television’
Eight and a half million viewers tune in
to watch “Antiques Roadshow” each week,
Executive Producer Marsha Bemko said.
“Even beyond your beautiful city, there
is something very special about Portland
and its love of public television and educa-
tion,” she said about returning to Portland
after 13 years. “I want to ask residents:
How do you get a town like that?”
Why does the show stand out from the
reality television crowd? Its fun and educa-
tional content, she said.
More than 3,000 people attended the “Antiques Roadshow” pit stop at the Oregon Convention
Center in Portland on Saturday, Aug. 12, spending an average of two hours to meet appraisers
and vintage experts from across the U.S.
“You learn as you watch the show;
you’ll learn when the Civil War happened
by accident if you tune in. You can’t help
it,” Bemko said. “That is smart reality
television. There are no actors on this set.”
She said the immediate results and the
connection with the guests make the show’s
viewers return every season.
Worth the wait
A man named Dave leans against a wall,
guarding his item while his nephew stands
in line for him.
The painting by N.C. Wyeth, titled
“Alaskan Mail Carrier,” previously hung in
Dave’s tavern he owned in North Bend. It
depicts a postman with a gun and snow-
shoes on a frozen lake, with eight dead
wolves at his feet. It isn’t the original, but
Dave wants to learn how who painted the
copy.
Before buying the tavern in the 1970s,
the previous owners had the painting above
the bar since before Prohibition.
The painting is a reminder of his old
business. “I still go to the tavern to shoot
pool,” Dave said.
While the journey to “Antiques Road-
show” was long for some people, guests
like Dave who entered many times over the
years to win tickets said it was worth the
wait. CW
“Antiques Roadshow” attendee Jenni-
fer clasps her Jules Verne novels she
brought to be appraised by the Books
and Manuscripts table on Saturday,
Aug. 12. “The books are worth about
$30 each, but the chair I brought is only
worth sitting in,” Jennifer said.