Extraordinary Find: Pete Seeger-autographed Sign
HOST: We know that after a visit to ROADSHOW, most guests simply take their treasures home and put them away. Not so in the story of a small, rusty metal sign from a significant 1949 concert and its connection to folk legend and civil rights activist Pete Seeger.
GUEST (voiceover): It was 2014, and I came to Charleston, West Virginia, and brought along with me my, uh, my sign. I went to an antique store in Rosendale, New York. Not far from Peekskill, on the other side of the river, and I, uh, happened to see it in there and didn't think much of it when I first saw it.
APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.
GUEST: It wasn't until...
APPRAISER: Mm.
GUEST: a couple months later, after reading Pete's book...
APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.
GUEST: And realizing that the Peekskill riots had happened, and I said, "Why does that ring a bell?"
APPRAISER: (chuckles)
GUEST: Peekskill Drive-In. I was friends with Pete most of my adult life. He recently passed. I was at his bedside when he passed…
APPRAISER: Uh-huh.
GUEST: And, uh, spent many fun times with him, sailing, singing. I probably got this signed in... 2008?
APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.
GUEST: Something like that.
APPRAISER: The Hollowbrook Drive-In incident with Pete Seeger and Paul Robeson is kind of an infamous segment in American history. Both he and Pete Seeger were politically interested, and they were for the rights of, of the unions, rights of freedom in America.
GUEST: The concert was originally scheduled a few days earlier, and protest rallies caused it to be shut down, but they weren't gonna be moved, so they reorganized it for September 4, 1949.
APPRAISER: And that was held in a drive-in theater. This drive-in theater here.
APPRAISER: An organizer put together this show with the legendary performer Paul Robeson and Pete Seeger and others. While the literal event was held for the support of the unions, it really was in support of, what would be called leftist at that time, ideas, and-and goals for justice, for all people. And Peekskill at the time was a pretty conservative town. It was... basically putting on this event in the lion's den, and those people who were not in favor of that were not having this. Pete Seeger and Paul Robeson and others were basically attacked by an angry mob. It got physical.
APPRAISER: At the end of the show, the motorcades started to leave, and I believe that Paul had gone ahead of Pete, that his car had.
GUEST: They were each in separate cars. What the people who were against it did is they basically channeled everyone to leave down this gauntlet. And there were literally...Piles of rocks the size of grapefruits, on both sides of the road, and people just stoned every car that went outa there. I do know what happened to Pete's car– Every window in his car was busted out by rocks. One of the rocks came through the window and missed his son's head by inches.
APPRAISER: One of the men in the motorcade lost his eye.
GUEST: It was really a violent time.
APPRAISER: To look at this sign-- there's condition issues, but it's an icon from American history. The value on it at auction is $2,000 to $3,000.
GUEST: Holy cannoli. (laughing). Really?
APPRAISER: Good-good find, good signature.
GUEST: Shortly after the show aired, I was contacted by a woman named Deana McCloud, who I knew sort of in the world of folk music.
DEANA: When I was the founding executive director of the Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa, I was preparing to curate an exhibit about Pete Seeger.
GUEST: And she called me, and said, "Hey, Tom, I saw you on TV."
DEANA: I was watching it, and saw this "holy cannoli" guy, and thought, "that is a perfect addition to this exhibit." Fast forward to this new iteration of curating exhibits for the Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame. And of course, we wanted to include things from the founders of this music. So, I contacted my friend Tom again. He has loaned this to us on a long-term basis so that it can be a permanent exhibit here at the Hall of Fame in Boston. It may be just a tin sign, but it's not just a tin sign, right?
GUEST: That's true.
DEANA: Uh, it represents something so much deeper, and we have to share the history of where we come from to the new generation. Otherwise, how will they ever know the importance of this, "just a sign?”
GUEST: To think that the sign is here with other important artifacts. I get a smile on my face knowing that, cause what good is it hanging in my, my office?
Featured In
episode
Extraordinary Finds 3
Revisit remarkable ROADSHOW finds whose stories didn’t stop even after we yelled "Cut!"
Understanding Our Appraisals
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."
Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.
Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.
Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.
Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.
Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.
