About this season
Based on the popular BBC series running since 1979, the PBS Antiques Roadshow combines history with discovery. Each year, the show visits a handful of cities to appraise items brought in by viewers. Are these items worth a lot of money, more than the visitors expect?
Episodes (13)
1. Chicago, Illinois
Aired 9 January 1997 • 60 min
Appraisals include a 19th-century kaleidoscope; a calendar watch dated circa 1640; a Women's Professional League baseball. Also: a woman learns that the vase she bought from an antiques dealer is a replica. Host: Chris Jussel.
2. Seattle, Washington
Aired 16 January 1997 • 60 min
From Seattle: Items appraised include a Confederate sword; a painting by an Aboriginal artist; three handcarved pottery pieces; a series of letters written by Gen. W.T. Sherman after the Civil War.
3. Denver, Colorado
Aired 23 January 1997 • 60 min
Appraisals from Denver include a silver tea set made in 1871 and believed to have been a gift from the Czar of Russia; a Li'l Abner toy that sold for $2.59 in 1945; a sword dating back to the Revolutionary War. Host: Chris Jussel
4. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Aired 30 January 1997 • 60 min
Appraisals include a 16th-century Milanese parade helmet that the owner discovered in her parents' attic. Also: a Gibson mandola; a document written by Abraham Lincoln; a Colonial mug made by a renowned Boston silversmith.
5. San Antonio, Texas
Aired 6 February 1997 • 60 min
Appraisals include dueling pistols; a doll; and a pocket watch said to have belonged to Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa. Host: Chris Jussel.
6. Southfield, Michigan
Aired 13 February 1997 • 60 min
From Michigan: Appraisals include a Duncan Phyfe sewing table-desk; an 1867 watercolor by Carl Haag; a pre-1850 carved green limestone necklace. Also: a visit to the Henry Ford Museum. Host: Chris Jussel.
7. Minneapolis, Minnesota
Aired 20 February 1997 • 60 min
From Minnesota: Appraisals include a stuffed bear manufactured by Steiff; a flag from the 1901 Pan American Exposition with an interesting history; an Oriental rug. Also: a woman learns that the ceramic figures she purchased in China are replicas.
8. Albuquerque, New Mexico
Aired 27 February 1997 • 60 min
Appraisals from Albuquerque include a 1498 etching by printmaker Albrecht Durer; a banjo with mother-of-pearl inlay played by the owner's father during the 1930s; a pie safe circa 1870; a Chippendale slant-front desk.
9. Concord, Massachusetts
Aired 6 March 1997 • 60 min
Appraisals from Concord, Mass., include a needlepoint sampler that records six generations of a Massachusetts family; a highboy; a 19th-century Loetz vase that the owner's mother bought for $5 at a yard sale; a Swiss music box made in 1818.
10. College Park, Maryland
Aired 10 April 1997 • 60 min
Appraisals include two rare and valuable quilts; a thank-you letter written by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis; handpainted French vases; a walnut pie safe with an unusual eagle motif. Also: a segment on African-American memorabilia. Host: Chris Jussel.
11. Kansas City, Missouri
Aired 17 April 1997 • 60 min
Appraisals from Kansas City, Mo., include a Thomas Hart Benton painting; Tiffany vases purchased in the 1950s; an 18th-century cedar chair made in Bermuda; a collection of rare pin-back buttons; a photo collection of members of a Civil War regiment.
12. Durham, North Carolina
Aired 24 April 1997 • 60 min
Appraisals include autographed photographs of Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley; a baseball autographed by Babe Ruth; an 18th-century table; Glenn Miller memorabilia; a schoolbook dated 1819. Also: a gun collector learns the truth about some of his pieces. Host: Chris Jussel.
13. Greenwich, Connecticut
Aired 1 May 1997 • 60 min
Appraisals include a Civil War sword; a single-action Colt revolver; a Hepplewhite card table; a 1936 New York Yankees home-run baseball autographed by several prominent players; two Kewpie dolls; a Masonic watch.