GUEST: I purchased this chair in the late '70s from a store. I saw it, I liked it. I've never seen another one since. The chair has survived moves, kids...
APPRAISER: I could see myself as a kid wanting to climb into this chair.
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: Um...
GUEST: And roll in circles, too, I would imagine.
APPRAISER: There you go, there you go. So, do you have any idea how old the chair is itself?
GUEST: No. I, I thought I was buying it new.
APRPAISER: Uh-huh, uh-huh.
GUEST: In, like, maybe '78, '79? I'm really not sure what year it was.
APPRAISER: Okay. Would it surprise you to know that it was new probably in 1964?
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: And it was designed by an Italian guy. His name is Franco Bettonica. What happened in Italy after World War II is, they took the industrial machine that was making munitions, making war machinery, and they turned it to civilian products. But the other thing to think about is, it's 1964. What was going on in popular culture back in the '60s was the space race.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: It's futuristic. It's contraption-like. It really speaks of the Industrial Age. I think it's really fun to be able to pull all of that off in such earthy materials. So we have a bamboo frame, and then we have a rattan seat and a rattan canopy. Do you have any idea what you paid for it back then?
GUEST: It was around $200.
APPRAISER: And has...
GUEST: No more than that.
APPRAISER: Have people, or have your kids at some point said to you, "Mom, why don't you get rid of that?"
GUEST: (laughing) Uh, yes!
APPRAISER: "Why don't..."
GUEST: Quite a few times.
APPRAISER: That's great. Today, a chair like this in a gallery setting, is probably around $1,500, give or take. (chuckling)
GUEST: That's great.
APPRAISER: They're really rare, so it's hard to really pinpoint an average. And I wonder if you wouldn't consider sitting in it for us.
GUEST: Uh, absolutely. (laughs)
APPRAISER: There you go.
GUEST: Yes! Hey, ANTIQUES ROADSHOW! This is great!
APPRAISER: Comfortable?
GUEST: Very.
