Sep 2003
When Antiques Roadshow makes a stop in Kansas City, Missouri, host Dan Elias reveals how it went from cow town to "Paris of the Plains," with almost as many fountains as Rome and Swopes Park's two thousand acres of formal gardens and winding boulevards. Appraisers at the Kansas City Convention Center encounter a remarkable array of objects, including a vase made for the Imperial Household of China between 1736 and 1795, a wild collection of memorabilia -- including a tee shirt with bullet holes -- documenting the life and antics of beat generation writer William Burroughs, and an 1880s Pennsylvania poplar dry sink with fantastic grain painted finish, estimated to be worth $8,000.
Sep 2003
Antiques Roadshow continues its stay in Kansas City, Missouri, and host Dan Elias relates the story of the Steamship Arabia, a legendary casualty of the treacherous Missouri River in 1856, and a salvage triumph in 1987. It was retrieved, not from the depths of the Missouri's muddy waters, but half a mile from the river under 50 feet of dirt. At the Kansas City Convention Center, appraisers have an easier time spotting treasures, including: a carte-de-visite album from 1860 featuring photographs of Civil War generals, Sojourner Truth, and other notables of that era; a beautifully hand-painted and gilded 18th-century Sevres box; and a Walt Disney celluloid, personally signed by the legend himself, valued at between $7,000 and $8,000.
Sep 2003
In the final hour of Antiques Roadshow from Kansas City, Missouri, Dan Elias pays his respects to the veterans of World War I at the Liberty Memorial, the only public museum in the country dedicated entirely to the history of the First World War. Inside the Kansas City Convention Center, collectors arrive with armloads of items for appraisal, including a well preserved Roy Rogers holster set, a beautifully beaded 1840s Native American bandolier bag owned by an employee of the Missouri Fur Trade Company, and an elegant early 19th century Federal sofa estimated to be worth $10,000 after going "under the knife" of a Roadshow appraiser.