BBC Antiques Roadshow guest gasps after shock valuation | UK News
A guest took Victorian Christmas playing cards to Antiques Roadshow (Image: BBC screengrab)
An Antiques Roadshow guest gasped as she was told the Christmas playing cards she’d taken on the show may very well be price hundreds.
The girl took the gathering of playing cards, which belonged to her great grandfather, onto the BBC programme to be valued by knowledgeable Justin Croft. She said they had been “the very first Christmas and New Year cards ever produced”, but seemed shocked when Justin told her they may fetch as a lot as £2,000.
In a clip from the programme, which is hosted by Fiona Bruce, the girl presents the playing cards to Justin, who notes that they “look to be Victorian”.
“So yes, these are the very first Christmas and New Year cards ever produced,” she replied, saying they belonged to her great grandfather.
“OK, well, that’s a bold claim,” Justin replied. “These are the first Christmas cards ever produced.”
“So I was told, so I believe,” she said.
The playing cards belonged to the guest’s great grandfather (Image: BBC screengrab)
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The knowledgeable explained: “When I think of Christmas cards, I definitely think of the Victorian era. And it’s usually thought that the first Christmas cards came about in London in 1843. They came about, a man called Henry Cole, who was an inventor. Very, very bright man. Had a lot to do with the early postal system. And seems as though he created the first Christmas cards. So we’re told.
“And Queen Victoria despatched the first official Christmas card in 1843.
“So I’m really keen and interested to know, firstly, where these came from and what date you think they were printed.”
The girl then told him that her playing cards had been printed in 1841 – two years before Queen Victoria had despatched her card.
She continued: “My great grandfather was a doctor and surgeon to a bookseller, Charles Drummond. He was also a printer. And he produced these in 1841 and put them in his shop window.”
The girl was shocked by the worth of the playing cards (Image: BBC screengrab)
Justin said they had been in “really brilliant condition” and that given the documentation the lady had with her, he felt that the earliest ones in her collecttion had been from 1841.
“So that’s very significant,” he said. “So there’s probably some commercial value here. I think you’ve got eight which I would consider to be genuinely Christmas cards. The others are more general greetings, notepaper. So I think we’re looking at definitely £1,500 to £2,000 on this table.”
“Wow!” gasped the proprietor. “Wow. I wasn’t expecting that.”
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The Antiques Roadshow airs on the BBC
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