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Antiques Roadshow: 40 Years of Great Finds
A collection of the timeless, the priceless and the unforgettable, this beautiful compendium accompanies the beloved BBC One TV series.
Antiques Roadshow has graced our screens for forty years and has become one of the nation’s most beloved television programmes and a national institution. It has featured thousands of unique stories over the years, and introduced many incredible characters and unforgettable moments. In this anniversary celebration, Paul Atterbury and Marc Allum look back at the quintessential moments from the show’s illustrious history, providing a look at the history behind the very best and most intriguing objects that have appeared on the show.
Antiques 40 Years of Great Finds reveals the astonishing stories behind findings such as the discovery of the Lalique vase which had been bought for a pound at a car boot sale and left in the loft, only to be valued and sold for £25,000; the twenty-three original Beatrix Potter drawings; a brooch designed by the great Victorian architect William Burges; a poignant letter written by a doomed passenger on the Titanic, and legendary 1970s glam rocker Marc Bolan’s distinctive Gibson Flying V guitar.
Beautifully illustrated, and featuring a wealth of artifacts from the show, this is a truly revealing book, unearthing moments from history through each of the extraordinary objects discovered on the programme.
Antiques Roadshow has graced our screens for forty years and has become one of the nation’s most beloved television programmes and a national institution. It has featured thousands of unique stories over the years, and introduced many incredible characters and unforgettable moments. In this anniversary celebration, Paul Atterbury and Marc Allum look back at the quintessential moments from the show’s illustrious history, providing a look at the history behind the very best and most intriguing objects that have appeared on the show.
Antiques 40 Years of Great Finds reveals the astonishing stories behind findings such as the discovery of the Lalique vase which had been bought for a pound at a car boot sale and left in the loft, only to be valued and sold for £25,000; the twenty-three original Beatrix Potter drawings; a brooch designed by the great Victorian architect William Burges; a poignant letter written by a doomed passenger on the Titanic, and legendary 1970s glam rocker Marc Bolan’s distinctive Gibson Flying V guitar.
Beautifully illustrated, and featuring a wealth of artifacts from the show, this is a truly revealing book, unearthing moments from history through each of the extraordinary objects discovered on the programme.
- GenresNonfictionHistoryArt
320 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 2, 2017
About the author
Paul Atterbury
114 books4 followersPaul Rowley Atterbury, FRSA is a British antiques expert, known for his many appearances since 1979 on the BBC TV programme Antiques Roadshow. He specialises in the art, architecture, design and decorative arts of the 19th and 20th centuries. - Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 14, 2019
Confession time: I've grown up surrounded by antiques and falling in love with programmes like Antiques Roadshow itself. This is a lovely collection of real-life experiences of items being bought onto the show, being valued and the aftermath (whether the owner kept it or auctioned it off). The use of images and captions made the book very accessible. Although some of the items didn't interest me as much, there were a few stand outs including items owned by Jane Austen and a cigar from Winston Churchill. A fun read with lots of interesting facts to hold my attention!
March 26, 2021
A fun light read.
Unfortunately, given the 40-year range of the book, sometimes the photo quality was poor. And I would've appreciated twice as many photos--sometimes they had 2 photos of the front of an object and none of the back, for example.
The items skewed toward those which have appeared on the show in the past decade--I was surprised by how many I had seen on recent AR episodes (as available on Britbox). I suppose this stands to reason on a few fronts, however--objects from earlier years of the show would have had to stand the test of time to still be considered notable, and the show has now spent decades learning what's truly unusual (as has the British public!).
The objects were presented in no particular order (that I could tell). It might have been nice to have them grouped by period or even just the object categories AR itself uses (Jewellery [sic], Furniture, etc.).
Unfortunately, given the 40-year range of the book, sometimes the photo quality was poor. And I would've appreciated twice as many photos--sometimes they had 2 photos of the front of an object and none of the back, for example.
The items skewed toward those which have appeared on the show in the past decade--I was surprised by how many I had seen on recent AR episodes (as available on Britbox). I suppose this stands to reason on a few fronts, however--objects from earlier years of the show would have had to stand the test of time to still be considered notable, and the show has now spent decades learning what's truly unusual (as has the British public!).
The objects were presented in no particular order (that I could tell). It might have been nice to have them grouped by period or even just the object categories AR itself uses (Jewellery [sic], Furniture, etc.).
May 21, 2026
A beautiful love letter to the original version of Antiques Roadshow, broadcast in the UK starting 1977. As advertised, it features some of the best-known finds from the first 40 years of the show. Because of the vintage start date, some of the older finds do not have the big glossy photos that the later ones do, which is a bit of a pity...but honestly, who knew it would become a cultural icon and would be celebrating a round-number anniversary, much less nearly 5 of them now??
I love the UK version of the show, because I really like the experts and because there isn't a lot of pressure to bring in objects with high monetary value. It happens, obviously, but it seems the US version of the show is more geared towards wowing everyone with $$$s. The Brits are also almost hilariously understated in their reactions, especially compared to their American cousins. I love the quirky items and stories, and that the story is sometimes more important than the actual object itself.
I do wish that we had access to the archives of the show because I'd love to see some of those first series. As it is, even with a 24/7 streaming channel on Roku, the earliest available season to watch in full is like Season 25. The Aspel years are my favorites of what I've seen so far, and can I really pick a favorite expert? David Battie, Christopher Payne, John Bly, Hilary Kay, Penny Britain, Lars Thorp, Geoffrey Munn, Eric Knowles....the list goes on! I was saddened to learn that Graham Lay had passed away (obviously I haven't gotten to see the episode that remembers him yet in my many re-watches).
Leafing through this book is like a big warm hug. I will definitely have to hunt down a copy for myself. I'm lowkey irritated that the tie-ins for the UK version of the show, as well as the experts' books, are not readily available over here.
I love the UK version of the show, because I really like the experts and because there isn't a lot of pressure to bring in objects with high monetary value. It happens, obviously, but it seems the US version of the show is more geared towards wowing everyone with $$$s. The Brits are also almost hilariously understated in their reactions, especially compared to their American cousins. I love the quirky items and stories, and that the story is sometimes more important than the actual object itself.
I do wish that we had access to the archives of the show because I'd love to see some of those first series. As it is, even with a 24/7 streaming channel on Roku, the earliest available season to watch in full is like Season 25. The Aspel years are my favorites of what I've seen so far, and can I really pick a favorite expert? David Battie, Christopher Payne, John Bly, Hilary Kay, Penny Britain, Lars Thorp, Geoffrey Munn, Eric Knowles....the list goes on! I was saddened to learn that Graham Lay had passed away (obviously I haven't gotten to see the episode that remembers him yet in my many re-watches).
Leafing through this book is like a big warm hug. I will definitely have to hunt down a copy for myself. I'm lowkey irritated that the tie-ins for the UK version of the show, as well as the experts' books, are not readily available over here.
January 3, 2024
A coffee table book of over 300 pages, written in the chatty narration style of the TV series. Objects of interest usually have a large title, one page of writing and one photo. No particular order is given, perhaps reflecting the random nature of finds. Nostalgic and very rare objects are given equal treatment. There are double page montages of the roadshow event. The inconsistent photo quality and lack of captions is disappointing. Otherwise an enjoyable read.
January 25, 2022
A basic for lovers of antiques and collections in general. Interesting additional information about the articles (Remember the one with the Crawly Silver or Banksy's Mobile Lovers). If you are connoisseur of the television show then You'll love this Companion.
December 4, 2024
I have been a fan of this show for a long time.
It also has fond memories as Dad and I used to watch this many times together.
Amazing what people have or find. Especially all that jewellery that was in the GARBAGE.
As well as the bowls from Hiroshima that were fused together after the blast.
It also has fond memories as Dad and I used to watch this many times together.
Amazing what people have or find. Especially all that jewellery that was in the GARBAGE.
As well as the bowls from Hiroshima that were fused together after the blast.
January 7, 2021
This is a throughly enjoyable book which immerses you completely into the world of Antiques Roadshow with the most beautiful objects and, of course, their stories.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews