Antiques Roadshow guest says 'don't tell the wife' after rare print valuation
An Antiques Roadshow expert was warned "don't tell the wife" by a guest following the valuation of his print collection.
Expert Matthew Haley was tasked with evaluating the guest's collection of rare, printed pages from a collection of different books, dating back to the inception of the printing press in the 15th century. The expert described the collection as "absolute gold dust" during the Antiques Roadshow's visit to Pollok Park in Glasgow, Scotland.
The guest explained he became interested in different type faces from around the world after his wife purchased him one particular rare page. He revealed his collection originated from across Europe – including cities Rome and Paris.
The expert branded the collection 'gold dust' (BBC)He revealed his love for print was due to the fact he had always working in the printing industry. Expert Matthew praised the guest's wife as he revealed the collection included some of the "oldest ever prints" ever seen on the Antiques Roadshow.
"There's a piece of paper here that was printed in 1470, 550 years ago," Matthew continued. "Gutenburg printing the Gutenberg bible in 1455 and that was a seminal change in the history of the human race without printing we wouldn't have had the reformation – it's like the explosion of when the internet came on the scene, this was happening in the 1450s, 1460s and 1470s."
Antiques Roadshow to air special to trace history of nursing amid strike action
The guest explained he started with a piece from the first printing press in Rome as he followed prints that originated in Germany before moving throughout Europe. Looking at one particular page, which was created by Gutenberg's apprentice, the expert noted: "It's amazing, we're touching something that could have been touched by a man who worked with the man who invented printing with movable type."
Antiques Roadshow guest joked he didn't want his wife to know about the valuation (BBC)"For someone who loves books, this is absolute gold dust," he said, before turning his attention to a page that was printed by William Caxton – the first person to print England and in the British Isles. Sharing the value of the collection, Matthew said: "Just as a matter of value, one leaf is from William Caxton in 1482 and this is just a small part of the collection you have formed.
"Just one leaf from this book printed by William Caxton - just one leaf on its own at auction would make something like £600-1000. For just one sheet of a book. Then imagine you've got a leaf from 1470, 1473 and later on and this huge and spectacular collection. I think if you added it all together, the individual values of these leaves, you'd be looking at something between £5-10,000."
"Don't tell the wife," the guest joked as Matthew continued: "It's wonderful and it's amazing to have such early historic material on the Antiques Roadshow. "Thank you so much."
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
