‘Antiques Roadshow’ conquering space

PASADENA, Calif. — Ever since “Antiques Roadshow” premiered on public television, Grandma’s cracked teapot, that dusty painting in the attic and the wobbly chair in the basement take on a new shine. People realize they might be harboring a real fortune and not even know it.

It’s been 23 years since “Antiques Roadshow” hit the road, and the treasures just keep coming.

Over the years, the show has traveled across the nation, working with 500 appraisers who donate their time to pore over the autographed baseball, the Tiffany lamp, the Civil War uniform.

Since the series began, it has hosted 1.4 million appraisals, and on Monday it will conquer space with its “Out of This World” event. In keeping with PBS’ “Summer of Space,” which commemorates America’s journey into the outer limits, the “Roadshow” will scrutinize space-themed booty collated from shows across the years.

It will include autographed NASA space-program photos, an aviation autograph collection with signatures of Amelia Earhart, John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, etc., a celestial atlas dating to the 1700s as well as artifacts from the world of science fiction, such as “Star Trek” memorabilia.

It’s not so much the value of the item that makes the show interesting, executive producer Marsha Bemko says. It’s the story and the history.

“I think the magic is that it’s smart reality television,” she says. “You’re not going to watch ‘Antiques Roadshow’ and not learn something about our world and our country. You can’t help it.”

Appraiser Leila Dunbar, who’s appeared on the show since it premiered, is an expert on sports memorabilia as well as entertainment, posters, comic books, animation, transportation memorabilia and art.

“The whole premise of the show is an exchange of information,” Dunbar says. “You come in and you tell us your story, and we try to fill in the blanks for you.”