Finally, we have been to The Antiques Roadshow and we are home at last! To go ahead and satisfy your curiosity, we did not get on tv, but we had a great time and would do it all over again with no regrets.

Update: The Jacksonville Slideshow is up on the Antiques Roadshow website now. We saw the piece of furniture at slide # 12 being rolled in early while we were still sitting in the chairs a little after 8:00. It came had been taken apart and was being wheeled in on two different dollys. 

I have so much to tell that I will probably do two or three posts, but I know that everyone is the most curious about our appraisals, so that is where I will begin.

Our tickets were for the 9:00 entry. Online, there were two times given as entry choices, 9:00 and 1:00. I was glad that we got the 9:00 slot because we prefer mornings and don’t have any trouble getting up early. The night before, we timed the trip from the hotel to the Convention Center. Adding some time for traffic, parking, unloading the wagon and putting it together, we decided to leave the hotel around 7:15. Even though the website says to not get in line earlier than 30 minutes, we decided that we would get there by 8:00. All of the research that I had done online ahead of time said that everyone ignores that 30 minute rule!

Unfortunately, we did not count on the “continental breakfast” at the hotel to be nothing but vending machine type foods! In addition to the vending machines, there were some muffins and pastries, juice, coffee, and cereal. That was it. Nothing for a diabetic. So we got our things together and left so that we could find something that David could eat before we went to the Roadshow. Neither of us function well on an empty stomach, plus David has to have something to take with all of his morning meds and cannot skip meals.

We drove through a McDonald’s and got sausage/egg burritos for him and a sausage biscuit for me. When we got to the Convention Center, we paid $5 for parking, which we did not mind at all. They directed us to a good place and made sure that everyone was parked a decent space apart. When we left, they directed us out. The $5 was well worth it to us.

Of course, people walking by starting showing interest as soon as David got the wagon out of the back and began putting it back together. I had read online that some sort of rolling cart was recommended to bring your things in since the lines would be long, so we had planned to put everything in the wagon. That worked really well. The wagon, as I have mentioned before, is very loud because of the old iron wheels, so we were pretty noticeable. Do you remember when I mentioned in a previous post that the noise could work either for us or against us? More on that later.

When we got in the convention center, there were already gobs and gobs of people there, so I was glad that we got there early. Volunteers at the entrance looked at your tickets and motioned you in line. We went inside the next door and volunteers looked at our tickets again. This time, when she saw the 9:00 time, she said that we would have to get in the 9:00 line since all of these other hundreds of people were in the 8:00 line. We had no idea until then that there was an 8:00 time!

We were moved to the 9:00, and we were the second people in the 9:00 line! We were so excited! I called my mother at 8:02 to tell her that we were second in line. The volunteers let us get a couple of chairs, and we settled in for the long wait.

We visited with the couple in line behind us, and we watched people coming in. That was really interesting. I tried to get a few snapshots of different things that we saw, but the lighting was not very good inside, and most of the pictures are pretty dark. There is no way the above shot gives a true picture of the lines, but I was mainly just trying to show how interesting it was to see the many different ways that people were carrying things in.

David saw the guy open this little silver case to show someone. Inside was an old Marilyn Monroe Playboy. Wonder what that was worth! (Update: There are 2 good photos of the Playboys in the Jacksonville slideshow, #10 and #11. I can’t wait to see the episode to see what they are worth.)

Do you think that this is a child’s coffin? It is! I wonder what it was worth..and who would want one? I asked the lady if I could take a picture, and she said that it had never been used. Well, that was a relief.

You can’t really tell, but this looked like a very large hand carved water buffalo. It was resting on top of a wooden chest that was carved with Asian scenes on the front and the back. Both were quite unusual.

I thought that the base of this clock was really lovely. Of course, David and I like old wooden things. [Update: This lady is in slide #24. She got filmed, and this clock was one of the top 3 most valuable items in the show.]

The website says that they don’t appraise guns, paper money, coins, automobiles, or explosives (thank goodness). As we entered, the volunteers were constantly saying, “Any firearms? Any firearms?” Well, I thought that there weren’t supposed to be any. But I lost count of the number of guns that we saw go by! [Update: I went back to the website and checked. Firearms are not on the list on things they don’t appraise. When the volunteers took up the firearms, uniformed policemen were there to take them apart and make sure they were not loaded. The Roadshow does not appraise vehicles, stamps, stock certificates, paper currency, coins, glass fire extinguishers, bicycles, tools, fossils, or hazardous materials.] The lady behind us in line said that she thought that the volunteers were taking up the firearms and breaking them down to make sure that they weren’t loaded, then giving them back to the people.

This pic just shows yet another way that people were carrying things in. The website says that the art line is very long and expect to wait quite a while there. I saw lots and lots of art just in the few people around me, so I can’t imagine how much of it there actually was. Glad I didn’t bring any. About 8:35 or so, the 9:00 line got moved up to go behind the 8:00 line. At this point, we had also realized that there was also a 10:00 line. So was there a new line every hour? We were really confused and never did figure out how it all worked. But once we got in the 9:00 line, we never stalled. The lines were long, but moved constantly at a steady pace.

The next stop in line was where you enter to go to the inner room where all of the appraisals take place. At this point, cell phones had to be off and no cameras or recording devices were allowed. They said that it interfered with recording. {Update: The guy in slide #7 was the one filming when we were first stopped because of the noise made by the wagon.} I’m sure it did, but I can also imagine that it keeps from copyright infringement as well, in addition to people slowing things down to take pictures of their appraisals.

So we got our four tickets, one military, one textiles, and two toys. By the way, when you got to the ticket stop, you had to have all of your items unwrapped and visible.  The volunteer said that we didn’t have to split up like we originally had planned, so we started over to the military line with David’s Nazi helmet. Back to the noisy wagon. As we walked toward the military line, a volunteer came running up to us with his hands up in the “Stop” position.

The loud wagon was interfering with taping! The guy said he would come back with some WD-40 (like that’s gonna help!). I told David to go ahead to the military line, and I would wait there with the wagon. I hadn’t been there but a few minutes when a volunteer came up with the WD-40. She said, “O.K., which wheel needs spraying?” I resisted the temptation to laugh in her face and just said, “All of them.” When she finished, the noise was less, but obviously not enough less. She said that she would stand there with the wagon if I wanted to go ahead and get in the textile line. It was right next to the military line, so that was fine with me.

There was no one in the textile line. Seriously, there really wasn’t. Both ladies at the textile table talked to me since they were obviously not busy. I told them about what I had discovered about the history of the McTeiyre School, and my supposition that perhaps students may have embroidered these. They agreed that it was possible, more on the embroidered ones than the appliqued ones, but said that it was just something that we would never know (which I had figured out already, of course). They said that there were some condition problems, which I knew. However, what I did not know is that these do not need to be so sharply creased. She recommended getting the creases out because that is where dry rot would occur. She also said not to use starch because it attracts bugs. I was really glad to learn these little tips. Due to the condition, the overall value of the lot of linens was $75. I was quite pleased with that.

When I walked back to the wagon, David was standing there with the helmet. He learned some things that were really interesting about it. For one thing, we had looked online and knew that there were double decal helmets and single decal helmets and that there seemed to be fewer of the double decal. We also had noticed from the online pics that the decals on our helmet were still in pretty good shape and not peeling off.

The guy said the early helmets were the double decal; therefore, ours is an early one. At some point the Germans realized that the bright shield was acting like a target for the enemy. The colors of the shield stood out brightly next to the olive drab, and all someone had to do was aim for the shield! Therefore, the shield decal was eventually taken off, which is why more of the single decal helmets are out there.

Also, both the chin strap and rivets in the helmet are original; these are sometimes either replaced or faked in some helmets.

The flying eagle holding the swastika in its talons symbolized the Luftwaffe, or Air Force. The guy remarked on the good condition of the helmet, except for the liner. He said that single decal helmets are worth around $600-$700. Our double decal in pretty good condition is worth $1100. David was really pleased, and we were very surprised about that number. Neither of us had expected it to go for that much. David mentioned that Mr. Estes (who gave the helmet to David when he was a teenager) would be pleased. I said, “Well, David, you know what Mr. Estes would say.” He nodded. “Yep. Sell it!” We both had a good laugh, and David put it right back in the closet where it has been for almost 20 years, and there it will stay.

Then we tried to quietly and gently roll the wagon over to the toy line, easier said than done. I presented the toy guy with my wooden game with the numbers and pegs. He said that these were commonly brought back from Asia by the GI’s during WWII.

Do ya’ll remember Hi Q? I actually do remember playing this game a lot, and this little box is the original Hi Q game!

It makes complete sense, doesn’t it? As for the numbers that slide, this was another brain teaser in which you were to put the numbers in order, a sort of early Rubik’s cube with numbers instead of colors. These little games were fairly common, and it is worth around $10. I do not mind that it was not worth a whole lot. This was the item that I chose to take because I had absolutely no idea what it was, and now I know!

Then I showed him the wagon. He did not seem all that interested in it and said that it is worth around $300 or $400. He said that it did not have a lot of value as a toy unless it was made by a known manufacturer or one of a kind, or something like that. When I told him that I had a lot of history of the wagon, he listened a little more closely. I told him that it was by a known local maker from where I’m from and that it is possible that it could be a one of a kind, although there is no way to know for sure. Then he said that the wagon was really going to be more valuable as folk art.

Remember that I told you that you had to have a ticket to get in the proper line? We had already used our four tickets! The guy picked up a card from his table and wrote in “toy” on the top and “folk art” at the bottom. This ticket gave us permission to go in the folk art line. Once again we had to wait while some filming was going on, then we moved {as quietly as we could} to the folk art line.

The guy said that this type of folk art was once used a lot by decorators [he called it the “Martha Stewart” years], but not as much now. I showed him the proof I had that Mr. Burchfield had been at the Smithsonian and told him how this could be the only child’s wagon that Mr. Burchfield ever made. He put the value at $1100-$1500. He seemed almost apologetic about that value, but we were thrilled!

So what else was great about getting moved to the folk art line? One of the Keno brothers (I have no idea which one) was making appraisals right next to us. Seriously, I could have reached out my arm and touched him. But I didn’t and no pictures were allowed, remember? You just have to take my word for it! Elated, we made our way to the exit.

There are no souvenirs to buy, or I certainly would have come home with a t shirt! The volunteers would make your picture next to the sign, and that was it. But we were happy, and we had a great time.

I called my mother at 10:09 to tell her that we were finished. All in all, from start to finish, we were there a little over two hours. We came away with a great impression of the Roadshow. Everyone was extremely friendly and courteous. It was one of the most organized and well-run events I had ever been to! We had a great time, and we want to sign up to be volunteers if they are ever in our area. We had plenty of time to do some sightseeing after leaving the Roadshow, and I will continue that in my next post.

I am joining: A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday (vignettes, tabletops, tablescapes), Home and Garden Thursday at A Delightsome Life (decorating, gardening, recipes, collecting), Vintage Thingie Thursday at Colorado Lady,   Sunny Simple Life (decorating, projects), Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday (tablescapes) and Metamorphosis Monday, Masterpiece Monday at Boogieboard Cottage (crafts, home decor, thrifty finds),  Cozy Little House for Tweak it Tuesday (deocrating, garden, projects),  Under the Table and Dreaming for Sunday Showcase (any project or idea made by you this week),  The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home (home & garden), Cuisine Kathleen for Let’s Dish (tablescapes), Treasure Hunt Thursday at From My Front Porch to Yours,  Make the Scene Monday at Alderberry Hill (home decor, projects, recipes), Cottage Style at Lavender Garden,   The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday (tablescapes),The Thrifty Groove for Thrifty Things Friday (thrifty decorating, tablescapes), What’s It Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants; Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now (recipes, crafts, home décor), Meet Me Monday at You Are Talking Too Much (projects, decorating, recipes),  Spotlight Saturday at Classy Clutter (recipes, crafts, home décor), Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage (decorating, crafts), Efforts and Assets at Hickory Trail, Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound (anything pink),You’re Gonna Love It Tuesdays at Kathe with an E (recipes, crafts, home décor), Mop it Up Monday at I Should Be Mopping the Floor (projects, decor, recipes), Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style (recipes, crafts, home décor),  Make it Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House (decor, projects),Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style,  Create It Thursday at Lamberts Lately,   Flaunt it Friday at Chic on a Shoestring (decor, projects, recipes),  Tuesday’s Treasures at Uncommon Suburbia (projects, decorating, recipes),  Return to Loveliness at A Delightsome Life (home decor, projects), Centerpiece Wednesday at The Style Sisters (centerpieces),Open House Party at No Minimalist Here (crafts, home décor), Time Travel Thursday at The Brambleberry Cottage (memories, projects), Tips and Tidbits at The Stone Gable(projects, home décor, recipes),Thursday Favorite Things at Katherine’s Corner (projects, home décor, recipes), Sizzle into Summer at DIY by Design (home décor, projects)