According to ANTIQUES ROADSHOW ’ s Executive Producer , Marsha Bemko , Vermont was the most popular stop on the 27th season ’ s nationwide tour . “ It was interesting to see that Vermont had the most applicants of any stop on our tour – 17,428 to be exact .” According to information provided by GBH ( the PBS station that oversees the production of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW ), 11,245 of the applicants were from Vermont . “ The tour stop with the second-highest number of applicants was Woodside , California , and California has a much larger population .”
Bemko adds that although ANTIQUES ROADSHOW is inundated with requests from people who want the show to come visit their city , Shelburne Museum stood out for several reasons . Firstly , the president of GBH Jonathan Abbott , has an ancestor that was a docent at Shelburne Museum . “ In addition to the numerous suggestions that we received , Jon also highly recommended the Shelburne Museum ,” said Bemko .
“ Receiving a significant number of suggestions for any location will cause you to look at a place . Still , sometimes after we take a good look at a location , we realize that we can ’ t hold an event there . Shelburne fit the bill for us in so many ways . Wherever we are , the grounds need to be able to cope with thousands of participants . Not every place can work for that kind of crowd flow . The other real clincher for Shelburne Museum was that it had history that we could talk about . There ’ s a lot to see there , and it had a lot of gorgeous spots where we could film .”
Once Shelburne Museum was selected as the location for the 27th season ’ s final stop , prospective participants applied for tickets through a ticket sweepstakes , through which winners were randomly selected . 2,000 pairs of tickets to the Vermont event were distributed through the 2022 ANTIQUES ROADSHOW sweepstakes , 1,139 of which were given to Vermont residents . Participants came from all corners of Vermont , nearby states in New England , and parts beyond to enjoy the experience .
Upon arrival , participants checked in at Shelburne Museum gift shop at the southern entrance of the museum grounds . After passing through the gift shop , they proceeded to the “ Triage ” tent , which was located in a field next to the Pizzagalli Center for Arts and Education . At the Triage tent , participants ’ items were categorized into 23 categories . Participants were then directed towards the appraisers who corresponded to their items ’ categorical designation . Although a thunderstorm briefly passed over the grounds of Shelburne Museum at the beginning of the day , the inclement weather did little to quell the enthusiasm of the crowd . Some participants returned to their cars to wait out the storm . Other participants found safe refuge inside , where they congregated and swapped stories about their respective items . After the storm subsided , many participants flocked towards the appraisal tent that was set up on the Circus Lawn outside of the Circus Building . Appraisal tables for Arms & Militaria , Books & Manuscripts , Collectibles , Dolls , Glass , Musical Instruments , Paintings , Drawings , Pottery & Porcelain , Rugs & Textiles , Sports Memorabilia , Sculpture , and Toys & Games were set up on the lawn south of Shelburne Museum ’ s carousel . Two additional booths for Prints & Posters and Photographs were set up in the halls of the Circus Building , as well .
Inside of the Circus Building , seasoned appraiser Nicholas D . Lowry held court over the Prints & Posters appraisal table with flair and panache . As president of Swann Auction Galleries in New York City , Lowry is well-versed in the history of prints and posters . In addition to running the company , he is also a working auctioneer who directs the auction house ’ s Poster Department . Dressed in a sharp multicolored suit , Lowry stepped away briefly from the desk to share some fantastic advice for prospective ANTIQUES ROADSHOW participants . “ The best things that you can bring to ANTIQUES ROADSHOW to be appraised are the things that you want to know the most about . Don ’ t try to hit a home run . I ’ ve heard people come in today and say , ‘ I ’ ve been wondering about this for years , and I ’ m so happy to know the answer .’ Oftentimes , it will be an inexpensive piece , so they won ’ t walk away rich . However , they will walk away fulfilled , and will learn something new about an item that they ’ ve had for a long time without knowing the story behind it .”
Outside the Circus Building , two native Vermonters , John and Carol , were waiting in line to have their items appraised at the Collectibles table . Standing in the middle of a grassy field , John was clutching a three-dimensional mounted display . It was unique , to say the least . “ What you ’ re looking at is a display that was in England at the first fair where toilets were shown ,” said John . “ My grandfather got it back in the 1920s . In the 1800s , Sir Thomas Crapper invented the toilet . I brought it to Sotheby ’ s a few years ago to get it appraised , but they couldn ’ t put a price on it , because they had never seen anything like it . My goal today is to find out whether it ’ s an original or a duplicate . I ’ m quite sure that it ’ s an original .”
Further up in line , Carol held a second artifact that had been passed on to John by his grandfather : a miniature wooden canoe with beautiful pieces of birch bark folded to the inside . “ A lot of salesman samples of similar boats were made back in the early 1900s ,” noted John . “ Still , I don ’ t think that this is one of those , because it has artwork on the side of it . That ’ s what we ’ re here to find out today .”
At the front of the line , Collectibles Appraiser Travis Landry was deep in thought as he held a timeworn collectible in his hands . Landry is the director of the pop culture department at Bruneau & Co Auctioneers in Cranston , Rhode Island , where he also works as an auctioneer . “ Most kids want to be a football player or a doctor when they grow up ,” said Landry . “ I literally grew up with the idea that I wanted to be on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW as an Appraiser .” Although Landry is only 26 years old , he has been volunteering as an Appraiser for the ANTIQUES ROADSHOW for six seasons . A passionate
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