Springfield man and his 180-year-old pickle visit 'Antiques Roadshow' in Arkansas
Oil paintings, wooden guns and a nearly 200-year-old pickle were among the thousands of items carried onto the campus of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art on Tuesday.
The art museum in Bentonville, Arkansas, was closed to the public, but the campus was buzzing with energy as collectors, appraisers and production crew milled around for filming of the long-running PBS television series "Antiques Roadshow." Crystal Bridges will be one of five locations featured on the series' upcoming 29th season, which will air in 2025.
In order to attend the free, daylong appraisal event, folks had to enter one of three sweepstakes PBS opened earlier this year. Arkansas PBS Director of Communications Julie Thomas said 10,333 people entered the Crystal Bridges sweepstakes and 2,000 people were selected. Each winner received two tickets. In total, up to 4,000 people could have attended the event. Each ticketholder was able to bring two items for appraisal.
How much is a 200-year-old pickle worth?
Sandi Green-Baker and David Baker of Springfield were among the eager collectors who arrived to the museum early Tuesday morning — 8:30 a.m., to be exact. Sandi brought two paintings for appraisal and David brought a nearly 200-year-old pickle that has been passed down in his family.
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David's pickle, which is safe inside a glass bottle full of a murky mystery liquid, is likely 179 years old. A label on the bottle reads "1845," which corresponds with genealogical paperwork David's late father, Tom Baker, collected of its past. According to previous News-Leader reporting, Tom guessed that it was his maternal great-grandparents, Daniel D. and Elizabeth Reiff, who put the cucumber in the bottle.
Upon arriving at Crystal Bridges on Tuesday morning, the Bakers first went through a triage. This is where the Bakers and other collectors met with an initial set of appraisers who categorized their items. Collectors were then sent to the corresponding area on the museum's campus to meet with a specialized appraiser.
Categories included books and manuscripts, paintings and drawings, photographs, prints and posters, sculpture, clocks, folk art, furniture, jewelry, watches, ancient art, Asian arts, decorative arts and silver glass, glass, musical instruments, pottery and porcelain, tribal arts, arms and militaria, collectibles, dolls, rugs and textiles, sports memorabilia, and toys and games. David's pickle? Collectibles.
David said upon meeting with the collectibles appraiser, the appraiser didn't know what to think of the pickle and said he needed to step aside to chat with some other individuals. A few minutes later, Sandi received a text message requesting the Bakers to come to the production's green room, which was located inside the museum's cafe.
Though up to 4,000 people could have attended the daylong appraisal event, only about 140 were actually filmed with the potential to be on television, Thomas said. From there, 90 clips will be chosen for three one-hour episodes dedicated to the Crystal Bridges event.
When appraisers see an item they think should be considered for filming, they contact one of the show's four producers, also known as "pickers." Appraisers then pitch why the item should be filmed, Thomas explained. If the producers agrees, the guest is taken to the production green room, where they meet with the show's makeup team before being filmed. Thomas clarified that if an appraiser spots an item they want to pitch for filming, they do not tell the guest an appraisal price ahead of time so the guest provides an authentic reaction during filming.
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After getting ready in the green room, David met with two appraisers on a balcony at the museum for filming. The appraisers told David that the bottle that holds the pickle, which was likely manufactured around 1830-1840, is worth between $100 and $200 on its own. For the pickle and its corresponding genealogical paperwork, they said between $700 and $800, if David found the right collector.
"I said, 'Well, it's not for sale anyway,'" David recalled with a laugh on the phone Wednesday. "It's priceless and going to stay in our family." David said the next in line to receive the pickle is his daughter Re Baker-Dietz.
If David and the pickle make the final cut, Sandi told the News-Leader that the family is going to host a watch party at their home near Ozark. The party will include a pickle bar, of course.
Some artwork couldn't be accurately appraised
Not every item brought to the museum could be worth several hundred or thousand dollars, and not every item could even be accurately appraised.
Sandi brought two paintings to be appraised. One was a religious-themed painting that she bought for $250 at the Slotin Folkart Auction in Georgia. Sandi told the News-Leader on Wednesday that the painting has the year 1948 written on it, along with the name, "Issac Santiago." Unfortunately, an appraiser at "Antiques Roadshow" was not able to find further information about Santiago.
The other painting was one that depicted dancing African American figures that she purchased at the now-defunct Red Velvet antique store on Commercial Street. Sandi said she felt confident that the painting was completed by Aaron Douglas, known for his contributions to the Harlem Renaissance. However, the painting did not have a signature, so an appraiser was unable to provide Sandi with an accurate appraisal.
"I was a little disappointed," Sandi told the News-Leader. Nonetheless, she said both paintings hold significance to her, even if she didn't receive clear appraisals.
Why Crystal Bridges?
"Antiques Roadshow" has been on air since 1997, with season one featuring 13 different cities, including Kansas City. At the time, admission was offered on a first-come, first-served basis rather than through sweepstakes. And traditionally, the show was filmed inside large convention centers. This restricted "Antiques Roadshow" to larger cities — many of which were revisited year after year.
The production has scaled back in recent years, featuring five cities each season. Season 29 will feature Las Vegas; Bentonville; Littleton, Colorado; Urbandale, Iowa; and Baltimore. Additionally, the production team is more interested in indoor-outdoor venues, allowing for a more natural sense of place. Executive producer Marsha Bemko said this is one of the reasons she liked Crystal Bridges.
"We've shot at other museums, very often in the city," Bemko told the News-Leader on Tuesday. "This is really a park. With the water that enchants us all ... to be able to walk (outside) ... it's amazing."
Cape Girardeau appraiser donates time, knowledge to 'Roadshow'
Arkansas PBS Director of Communications Julie Thomas said "Antiques Roadshow" works with about 150 appraisers, though not all of them work each location. All "Antiques Roadshow" appraisers are unpaid volunteers.
Jeff Shrader of Burfordville, Missouri, which is about 30 minutes west of Cape Girardeau, was one of several appraisers at Crystal Bridges on Tuesday. He has been touring with the production since season 14, which aired in 2010. His specialty, at least for "Antiques Roadshow," is arms and militaria. Outside of touring, Shrader co-owns Advance Guard Militaria in Burfordville.
"I feel privileged to be a part of this. It's not just hoping you get something that you can sell later on if people call you ... these are wonderful people," Shrader said. "I'm being selfish being here. I should be at home working on the next catalog, but I'm not. I'm here because I want to be. The contacts and the friendships that we make among the other appraisers are worth their weight in gold."
Speaking to the News-Leader between guests on Tuesday, Shrader said one of the most interesting pieces he appraised was a flag that may have been used on the USS Wahoo, a World War II U.S. Navy submarine. The guests who brought the flag claimed they were related to Marvin G. Kennedy, who commanded the submarine, and that the flag was his.
When he saw the flag and heard its backstory, Shrader said he "nearly melted into a puddle." He decided, however, not to pitch the flag for television because there was no concrete evidence that the flag had been on the submarine. He said it's often items like these, that don't have a high financial value but are interesting, that are his favorite.
Another "Antiques Roadshow" appraiser from Missouri is Nan Chisholm, who has been volunteering her time since season one. A Kansas City native, Chisholm wasn't appraising at Crystal Bridges. Rather, she was freelancing for KC Studio, an arts and culture magazine. Chisholm told the News-Leader that her favorite parts of being an appraiser are meeting new people, traveling around the country and hearing interesting item backstories.
Traveling far and wide
The two-hour drive from Springfield to Bentonville was one of the shorter trips made for the production at Crystal Bridges. A woman named Nancy, who has been entering the show's sweepstakes for 13 years, was from Florida. Per the "Antiques Roadshow" privacy policy, the News-Leader was unable to inquire about Nancy's last name or hometown.
Nancy brought a diamond bracelet and jade Buddha-shaped necklace to be appraised.
Nancy said the jade Buddha, which she wore around her neck, was given to her late father in China during World War II.
"One of the Chinese officers' sons was choking and my dad performed a tracheostomy on him," Nancy told the News-Leader on Tuesday before meeting with an appraiser. As a thank-you gift, the officer gave the jade Buddha to Nancy's father. Years later, Nancy's mother had the Buddha made into a necklace.
Where is 'Antiques Roadshow' going next?
Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms in Littleton, Colorado, on May 29
Living History Farms in Urbandale, Iowa, on June 10
Maryland Zoo in Baltimore on June 18
Greta Cross is the trending topics reporter for the Springfield News-Leader. She has more than five years of journalism experience covering everything from Ozarks history to Springfield’s LGBTQIA+ community. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretacrossphoto. Story idea? Email her at gcross@news-leader.com.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Springfield pickle appraised at Arkansas 'Antiques Roadshow' filming
