An Antiques Roadshow guest was interrupted by an expert who urged him to take stock of the significant value of his rare item.
Expert Jon Baddeley rushed to advise the contestant how he could make a ‘small fortune’ from the latest episode of the BBC show.
The art auctioneer went to Clissold Park in North London, where he met a guest who owned a beautiful collection of vibrant music posters from the 1960s.
Jon looked at the vintage items and said, “So you’re kind enough to bring us a collection of psychedelic rock ‘n’ roll posters today. What immediately struck me is that they are all signed by the same artist, why?’
“Because I am that artist,” the guest replied.
An Antiques Roadshow guest was interrupted by an expert, who urged him to reconsider the significant value of his rare item
Expert Jon Baddeley rushed to tell the contestant he could make a ‘small fortune’ – although he wasn’t aware of its value (pictured)
“So I grew up just north of San Francisco and I was about 19 when I started working for the Fillmore Auditorium, and some of these posters were for them.”
Jon looked interested as he asked: ‘What was it like out there? I mean, it must have been very exciting. That was the center of hippiedom flower power.’
He replied, ‘Yes, it was. I remember, and I’m afraid I gave in a little too much.’
But the collectibles expert wasn’t done investigating yet and continued: ‘The two posters in your area, they look similar, but are slightly different. How come?’
The guest explained, “Well, it was a blues show. I made this artwork from a complete – Blues musicians at top, a street scene with people dancing (bottom).
“But Bill Graham, who ran the Fillmore Auditorium, had had a lot of trouble with the police, and he thought that would be provocative,” he added, pointing to an image of a police officer on the original poster.
He revealed that the poster was ultimately altered by the printer, meaning the item was unique.
Roadshow veteran Jon (pictured left at the 2019 show) has been on the show since 1993 and he is the director of international auctioneer Bonhams Knightsbridge
“Then that went into production and into town?” Jon asked, to which the guest joked, “And it’s still on t-shirts to this day.”
“If you’re talking about value… individually these are all in incredibly good condition, they are owned by the artist and they are very rare,” the expert claimed.
‘So they’ll be worth £200, £300, £400, £500 – maybe even £1,000. But the biggest value is at the end because that’s one of one, it’s the only one known in the world, so that could be worth £2,000 or £3,000.’
Surprised by the unexpected revelation, Jon urged him to ‘go home’ and look for the original artwork.
‘But more interestingly, you also own the original works of art, so please go home and see if you can find them, as they could be worth many thousands each!’ he concluded.
Jon is an Antiques Roadshow veteran and has been appearing on the much-loved BBC show for 20 years.
He is an authority on scientific instruments and collectibles, a broadcaster and an author, as well as a fine arts auctioneer.
Jon trained as an engineer and is director of international auctioneer Bonhams Knightsbridge.
The TV star joined Antiques Roadshow in 1993 and one of his most memorable moments was when the show headed to Australia, where he was iconically presented with a replica of the Wimbledon Championship Cup.
Another guest was recently left speechless on the show after discovering the enormous value of his ‘hugely important’ memorabilia from the iconic sci-fi film Blade Runner
One man brought back a huge collection of memorabilia from the Harris Ford (pictured) starring the 1982 film collected by his father, along with costumes and scripts.
He explained that his father first started collecting posters, but as his “passion grew,” he became “hardcore” by seeking out larger items from the film crew.
Another one guest was recently left speechless on the show after discovering the enormous value of his ‘hugely important’ memorabilia from the iconic sci-fi film Blade Runner.
One man brought along a huge collection of items from the 1982 Harris Ford film collected by his father, along with costumes and scripts.
He explained that his father first started collecting posters, but as his “passion grew,” he became “hardcore” by seeking out larger items from the film crew.
Expert Jon was stunned to see the extraordinary items, including director Ridley Scott’s own paperwork from the production, and concluded that ‘thousands of people’ would see it in a museum.