Antiques Roadshow Detours

When a large equine statue first appeared at ANTIQUES ROADSHOW in 1997, Asian Arts expert Lark Mason was suspicious if it was truly an authentic relic from China’s Tang Dynasty or if he was dealing with a horse of a different color. There was only one way to know for sure if this U.S. Air Force pilot's 1950 purchase was authentic. Would the piece pass an age-detecting thermoluminescence test? Join host Adam Monahan as he follows the horse’s trail from ancient-buried treasure to modern-day marvel, and finally to the shocking result with a return to the appraisal table!

Since ANTIQUES ROADSHOW debuted on PBS almost 30 years ago, toys and games expert Noel Barrett has brought joy and vast knowledge to countless guests, but there’s one appraisal—and mistake—he just can’t let go of: a 1930s Snow White painting that defied all initial expectations. Join host Adam Monahan as he takes us on an unexpected journey through the world of Disney art, exploring how the true value of this treasure only revealed itself over time.

Thirteen years ago, a life-sized Elvis Presley cutout rocked ANTIQUES ROADSHOW with a $10,000-$15,000 estimate but now it’s time for him to leave the building. Join ANTIQUES ROADSHOW DETOURS host Adam Monahan for a journey through pop culture history and a dramatic auction filled with twists and turns. Will the superfan owner score a princely payday for the King of Rock and Roll or are they headed to the heartbreak hotel?

Boston Red Sox fans are a committed bunch – to the game, the team, the players, and the belief that a curse from 1918 kept the team away from a World Series win until broken in 2004. So, when a guest brought a Red Sox calendar, discovered behind a barn door after almost 100 years, to GBH’s Antiques Roadshow in 2021, that fan commitment clearly shone through in the $20K-$30K appraisal value. Join host (and Red Sox fanatic) Adam Monahan as he takes a swing at tracing the events leading to the curse, how this particular long-ago brewery-sponsored calendar stopped time at the moment it began, and how fans rallied when the calendar went to the auction block!

News that a famous Galileo manuscript at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor was revealed to be a fake raises questions about a similar letter that appeared on GBH’s Antiques Roadshow in 2014. Did the show get it wrong? And how can a fake be so convincing it fools multiple experts? Host Adam Monahan, joined by forgery-sniffing historian Nick Wilding, dig into a world of deception to uncover if the producers are in for a letdown.

In 1999 a box of artifacts from the sinking of the Titanic made its way to GBH’s Antiques Roadshow, including blurry photos of the eerie ice-filled wreck site, a handwritten diary, and -- a biscuit. But how could something so simple and fragile have survived the ship’s sinking? And could the biscuit and other items from the famed shipwreck find a place in today’s collector’s market? Join host Adam Monahan as he dives deep into the story of one tragic night, a honeymooning couple’s tale of survival, and the ship that continues to capture the attention of people more than a century later.

A World War II Navy helmet brought to GBH’s Antiques Roadshow, and used for years as a decorative planter, was revealed to be that of the US Naval officer in charge at Utah Beach during the allied landing in Normandy. Appraiser Jeff Shrader carefully inspected the helmet. What did his analysis along with an archived diary and other accounts from museum experts in two countries reveal about the full heroic story of this U.S. Naval Officer? Join host Adam Monahan as he discovers and memorializes the military life of the helmet’s original owner.

Is it true that one person’s junk could actually be a treasure? If you’re an ANTIQUES ROADSHOW fan you might know our Junk in the Trunk specials – loving tributes to the left-over appraisals from the cities we visit each year. But what happened when an odd-looking pen was discovered during ROADSHOW’s 2023 visit to Akron, OH? Join host Adam Monahan as he picks through the junkpile of history to rediscover a forgotten invention by Thomas Edison and rescued an appraisal from the cutting room floor to fulfill the TV dreams of the guest who owns it.

For an appraiser, keeping a keen eye out for forgeries is part of the job. But just how complicated can that task become and to what lengths will forgers go to pass their work off as authentic? Join host Adam Monahan as he explores the story of famed 20th century Louisiana folk artist Clementine Hunter, a prolific painter whose work regularly appears at ANTIQUES ROADSHOW events, and uncovers how an astute student of her work noticed oddities in the marketplace which led to the FBI cracking the biggest Hunter forgery case ever!

Are you in danger of being poisoned by an antique book? The Victorian era ushered in new bright vivid dye formulas that produced brilliant yellows, reds, blues, purples, and greens. Although an antidote to the pervasive soot and grime of the day, these new dyes were laced with poisonous heavy metals – the worst being Emerald Green containing arsenic. Join host Adam Monahan who questions if over 29 seasons of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW a poisonous book has ever come before the hit series’ cameras? Follow the search through the show’s appraisal archive, the discovery of a curiously bright green book filmed in Hartford, CT in 2008, and a visit to The Poison Book Project for the shocking answer.