A few thousand people brought their collectibles to Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens in Akron Tuesday for a taping of 鈥淎ntiques Roadshow.鈥� The popular PBS show visits five historic sites each year to hold all-day appraisal events.
Executive Producer Marsha Bemko said the choice of the 70-acre landmark was simple.
鈥淣ot everybody wants 3,000 of our friends on their grounds,鈥� she said, adding that it is a 鈥渂eautiful鈥� place.
Stan Hywet, which is Old English for 鈥渟tone quarry,鈥� was built in the early 20th century by Goodyear Co-Founder F.A. Seiberling. After his death in 1955, the historic home and gardens became a nonprofit museum. Today, furniture and artifacts from that era, labeled mid-century modern, are increasingly popular on 鈥淎ntiques Roadshow.鈥� Bemko said that鈥檚 a stark contrast to when she started with the show in 1999.
鈥淰ictorian furniture was hot,鈥� she said. 鈥淣ow, you can't give it away. People call it 鈥榯he brown stuff.鈥� Tables that were worth tens of thousands of dollars are now worth a grand.鈥�
Instead, pieces such as a pristine 1966 Gibson ES 335 guitar, like the ones made famous by Eric Clapton and B.B. King, have been gaining popularity. Carrie from Solon said her father traded some amplifiers for it in the 1970s, and it鈥檚 been sitting quietly under a bed in their house for years. It was valued by an appraiser in the high four figures.
鈥淲e鈥檙e just going to pass it down through the family,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 play acoustic guitar. I鈥檝e never dabbled in electric, but I鈥檒l be excited when it comes down to me.鈥�
Ideastream Public Media is not sharing the last names of guests in accordance with an 鈥淎ntiques Roadshow鈥� privacy policy.
Debbie from Barberton presented a well-loved comic book, 鈥淪trange Tales鈥� #169. It was bought new by her son in 1973 for 20 cents, and it is now valued at $100. She and her granddaughter plan to save it since the lead character, Brother Voodoo, is rumored to be in the next 鈥淏lack Panther鈥� film.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what we鈥檙e going to do with it,鈥� she said. 鈥淧robably put it in a frame.鈥�
At the other end of the spectrum, Tony from Canada brought a handwritten manuscript by Parisian watchmaker Ferdinand Berthoud from 1791. 鈥淭he schematics and the diagrams are fascinating,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t pulls at my heart strings to see the handwritten drawings, and there鈥檚 the actual item in a museum.鈥�
Tony purchased the bound volume at an antique mall for $200 and learned its value is in the mid-five figures.
鈥淚t鈥檒l be my daughter鈥檚 inheritance,鈥� he said.
Stories like that are what 鈥淎ntiques Roadshow鈥� is looking for. About 150 guests in attendance are filmed during the visit, and around 60 of those people will make it on the program.
鈥淚 will today turn down valuable things because the story is anemic,鈥� Bemko said. 鈥淥r the guest, the owner, knows absolutely everything and 鈥楻oadshow鈥� has nothing to impart. So, we're not just about the money. But I have to be honest: Sometimes the story is a little anemic, but the thing is worth 500 grand. I'm putting it on.鈥�
Bemko summed up the feel of an 鈥淎ntiques Roadshow鈥� appraisal event with memories of her very first one in Austin, Texas.
鈥淚 was addicted ever since,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his is all your journalism skills combined into this reality television moment. And we actually touch people's lives. This is a place where there鈥檚 community, there鈥檚 education, there鈥檚 love - differences melt away. And we need more of that in this world.鈥�
The scene today at for with
— Kabir Bhatia (@KabirBhatiaTime)
Where to watch
Debuting in 1997, 鈥淎ntiques Roadshow鈥� is based on the BBC series of the same name. Each season鈥檚 episodes are recorded a year in advance. The PBS show has previously taped in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus. Three episodes from the Akron visit will air next year on WVIZ Ideastream Public Media during season 28. A bonus episode, 鈥淛unk in the Trunk,鈥� will have extra footage from Akron and the other sites visited this year: LSU Rural Life Museum in Baton Rouge, the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts and the Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage.