Hello again, Chesapeake Collectibles fans. As this blog returns — after the writerly version of a dry January, when everybody’s energy was recharging — our experts are eager to chat about the kind of year emerging for antiques, vintage memorabilia, and popular treasures.
There has been plenty of headline news, spanning everything from current baseball cards to high-end art auctions. Our series appraisers pay close attention as both cultural scholars and businesspeople, and of course as your navigators in the Chesapeake Collectibles world.
When we asked them about their mindsets at year’s start, they ALL intrigued us. We’re starting off with Ross Kelbaugh, a photography, ephemera, and memorabilia authority, and Genice Lee, who takes on the challenge of whatever surprises come her way as one of the show’s generalist appraisers.
“Hot” for sure, noted Kelbaugh, are modern sports cards, as well as Pokémon cards (from the trading card game category.)
Also surging: Material with best-ever status. “Exceptional sports memorabilia for both vintage and modern items connected with the GOATS (greatest of all time), past and present, are in demand,” said Kelbaugh. “I appraised a group of vintage baseball autographs including Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig on the show a few years ago that sold for $125,000 at an auction.
“Anything rare and historically important in most of the major collecting categories can bring major prices as some people still have money,” added Kelbaugh. “Got anything signed by Abraham Lincoln or John F. Kennedy?”
Kelbaugh, whose accomplishments include having a large photography collection acquired from him by the National Gallery of Art, also pointed out how serious some competition becomes: “Rare early African-American material is still a strong market with museums competing with investors to fill holes in their collections after long ignoring it.”
Lee is attuned to a similar wavelength, also about a scramble for material, particularly when steeped in history.
“In a world driven by entertainment and storytelling, historical documents can be valuable resources for filmmakers, TV producers, and documentary creators,” she explained. “Personal papers, letters, or business records can be the foundation of documentaries, television shows and films, turning the seemingly insignificant into a centerpiece of modern media.”
And, of course, that includes programs devoted to discoveries and all the backstories about them. We strive to make Chesapeake Collectibles the first thing that comes to mind that way.
Look for news soon about the series’ season 13 taping weekend taking place later this year. In the meantime, series fans can catch replays of past episodes on Mondays at 7:30 pm on MPT-HD, or watch anytime on the free PBS app, and online at video.mpt.tv/show/chesapeake-collectibles/.
