Antiques Roadshow Detours

Longtime folk art expert for GBH’s Antiques Roadshow, Wes Cowan, has seen so many unusual items that very little surprises him. But a perplexing apothecary bottle filled with colored sand brought to the show in Hot Springs, AR in 2002 led to his discovery of a 19th century artist with an amazing story and no auction records at that time. Join host Adam Monahan as he uncovers the story of the artist who lost his hearing and speech as a result of a childhood illness and later designed remarkable sand art created grain-by-grain, and the two appraisers who would be transfixed by what happened at auction!

A collection of vintage mousetraps appraised on GBH’s Antiques Roadshow in 2016 became eerily relevant as DETOURS host Adam Monahan faced an ongoing war with rats in his own urban backyard. Are these disease-carrying pests or intelligent emotional beings? Join the lively journey tracing back to the earliest forms of traps and efforts to control rat populations along with expert musings from the rat’s point of view on whether there really is a better way to build a mouse trap.

Celebrity letters provide a glimpse into what was happening in that person’s life in a particular moment in time, beyond what the newspapers were printing. When a fiery letter written by legendary star Frank Sinatra was appraised on GBH’s Antiques Roadshow in Tulsa, OK in 2018 that glimpse revealed a raw response to a letter from a prison chaplain, asking forgiveness for the two men who abducted Sinatra’s son in 1963. What was the one point around the kidnapping deemed unforgivable by the entertainer? Join host Adam Monahan as he digs into the kidnapping and its tragic and lasting aftermath.

It’s a little-known fact that appraisers on GBH’s Antiques Roadshow are not paid to appear on the show. What keeps them on-set for 10+ hour days season after season? The special excitement from coming face-to-face with a once-in-a-lifetime object. So when a guest brought what they thought to be Rodin’s sculpture “Eternal Spring” to the show in Fort Worth, TX, would the piece of art turn out to be an extraordinary find or a fake? Join host Adam Monahan as he uncovers the surprising story of the sculpture and the lasting mark left on two appraisers.

A cast-iron mechanical bank appraised in 1997 and broadcast on GBH’s Antiques Roadshow was resurfaced by producers when reviewing archival content for an upcoming show. The appraisal is strikingly outdated in that it never properly acknowledged an aspect that today feels impossible to ignore – racism. But can an ugly part of history be used to inspire important conversations? Join host Adam Monahan as he seeks to learn from experts about discussing items with offensive historical backgrounds and how a show about the past should approach difficult topics in the future.

When humorist Mo Rocca appeared on GBH’s Antiques Roadshow, he was eager to find out the true identity of a treasured antique store purchase - a bronze-painted plaster bust he long believed was President Grover Cleveland. Though his TV appraisal yielded no answer, the name of the stranger he’s lived with for years has finally been revealed! Join host Adam Monahan on a hilarious journey - which included the New York Times, New York Police Department and Cleveland’s own grandson - to unravel the mystery behind the mustachioed model.

An early-American desk and bookcase set was appraised in 2006 at GBH’s Antiques Roadshow for a whopping $250,000. But was this coveted circa 1775 two-piece secretary a match made in heaven? Join host Adam Monahan as he discovers how a shocking secret revealed after the show making the piece even more rare, along with a powerful new market trend combine to dramatically change the value.

The legendary comedic duo Laurel & Hardy have a very dedicated fanbase. But will a relic toy soldier from their 1934 film, Babes in Toyland, have the owner laughing all the way to the bank? We follow one soldier’s march from appraisal to the auction block, to find out what it’s really worth. Along the way Adam crashes a meeting of the international Laurel and Hardy fan club - yes you read that correctly -- and tracks down the one other soldier known to survive from the film.

Can you put a price on Christmas? Years after a visit to GBH’s Antiques Roadshow, Santa and Rudolph original puppets from the beloved 1964 stop-motion-animation holiday special Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer made their way to the auction block. Join host Adam Monahan as he uncovers the story of the puppet’s discovery and restoration, the bidding surprise at auction no one expected, and whether efforts to keep these cultural touchstones on public display succeeded!

A guest’s experience at GBH’s Antiques Roadshow starts an investigative journey to determine if her family’s heirloom Tongan war club was actually brought to England aboard one of Captain Cook’s ships as family notes suggested. If proven true, the value of the club soars to over $100,000. Join host Adam Monahan to discover what we learned - and how a strange tale from another ship’s captain led to the club’s shocking history and a call for it to be returned to its land of origin.