Antiques Roadshow expert John Foster was left amazed by one guest’s Arctic expedition memorabilia, looking back through his family’s history – but when issuing the staggering valuation, the guest was lost for words.
In an old episode which will air on BBC Two tonight, items that were brought to the auction included a rare Victorian automaton, a work by LS Lowry and medals won by Britain’s first black Olympian.
Ronnie Morgan discovers a gift from a Russian tsar, but it was John Foster who marvelled at a briefcase full of artefacts from Ernest Shackleton’s 1909 Antarctic expedition.
Taking a look at the briefcase full of history, Foster began: “So when I saw you earlier, and you handed me this card which said ‘Farewell Dinner’, and to be honest it looks like someone has eaten their dinner off of it.
“Then two things caught my attention. ‘British Antarctic Expedition, 1907’ and more importantly to me ‘Nimrod’. What is your connection?.”
The guest explained: “My grandfather actually served on the Nimrod, on Shackleton’s expedition to the pole, if you turn the menu over, you will find it is signed on the back by the crew and just around there you have Shackleton’s signature as well.”
John Foster was wowed by the menu from Shackleton’s crew
BBC
Delving deeper into the history, Foster continued: “Now, that is the great name of Shackleton, one of the best explorers out there, served with Captain Scott, discovered the Antarctic.
“What I love about this menu card is that is how they raised a huge amount of money to fund these trips. For a lot of his career, he was forgotten because he wanted to get to the South Pole first, he missed it by roughly 100 odd miles, then Amundsen got there and then Scott there.
“It was a bit of a tragic figure really, he died broke, and lots of his business ventures failed. But then you get into this collection of your grandfathers, which frankly is staggering.
“You can see here, the crew of the Nimrod. You can see the extent of this album which goes through just brilliant details,” leaving the guest to agree: “Yes, they are absolutely staggering.”
The menu has the adventurer’s signature on the back
BBC
The Antiques Roadshow expert added: “They really are, it just shows life and how hard it is. And they would have spent a lot of their time de-icing the ship. They just go on and on, each one of these is just staggering to see.
“This one here, Professor David, snapping an Emperor Penguin. It is so iconic, it is poster quality. So you have got a photograph album there which is amazing but then you have got all of these other bits like this little souvenir here, is that something he made out there or?”
“I believe so,” the guest revealed. “I don’t know whether it is seal skin, it could be dog hair or anything. I do know that the black stone that it is mounted on is actually magnetic. I take it that is probably a meteorite that landed on the ice and had been spotted there.”
John Foster was intrigued by the case full of history
BBC
Getting down the valuation, Foster said: “Yeah, so when it comes to a valuation of something like this, I think £1,000 to £2,000 for that… (the menu). Combined, £10,000 to £20,000.”
The guest was left gobsmacked and replied: “Yes… that is history for you! Thank you very much. Pleasantly surprised at the valuation. It is my family history, really it should be in a museum rather than draws, cardboard boxes and attics.”
