'Antiques Roadshow' viewers gasp as they point out moment an expert possibly ruined a rare item

Experts on BBC's "Antiques Roadshow" are known for their startling appraisals that leave viewers stunned and often struggling to keep their balance. But sometimes they can go overboard too and the consequences are a lot more serious than just emotional moments for TV. In one such incident featured on an episode, expert Fuchsia Voremberg potentially damaged an antique. While the incident involving a Victorian scrapbook, went unnoticed at first, eagle-eyed viewers pointed it out on social media.

In the special episode from the ground of Salisbury Cathedral, England, an elderly woman brought along a rare scrapbook. The guest shared that the book belonged to her great-great uncle who was in the British army during the colonial era.

You can watch the video from the episode here.

Everything appeared to be normal until the expert started flipping through the pages. Due to the wind, the expert was struggling to keep the pages straight. As the expert flipped the pages, viewers were quick to notice that she accidentally folded one of the protected layers of paper. If it was a normal book, the mistake would have been easy to fix. However, given that it was an antique and its condition directly impacted its value, the mistake could have been costly. 

“He sent it as a Christmas present to his mother and it was passed down to me through the family,” the guest said. Sharing more information, the guest woman told Voremberg that it was sent back home from India when he was in the army. The expert went on to examine the book showing some of the remarkable images in it. The guest stated that the book was sent in 1890, and her great-great uncle would’ve been 19 when he made it, two years before he sadly passed away.

Speaking about the pages inside, the expert shared that the collages were made from printed scraps and ferns of the 1800s. “This is an interesting example of a Victorian phenomenon called Fernmania or Pteridomania. They collected them, they painted them, they printed with them and in this case, they pressed them and put them in this beautiful book," she said.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter) one viewer pointed out the damage that the expert may have done and wrote, "Anyone else just see her fold a page down when she turned to look at another page?" as per the Express. "Yes, very upsetting. Mind you, I thought she should just have closed the book as the wind was blowing everything about," another fan agreed.

At the same time, it appears that the mistake went completely unnoticed on the show. After flipping the page,  the expert went on to highlight the sentimental value of the item. "What's really nice about this example is that it shows this young man, he's a long way from home and he's sending a little piece of the place that he's seeing," she said. 

She further added that the ferns are a " very poignant aspect of it" as they are associated with mourning. "So in some way, he was creating a mourning album," the expert noted. Voremberg labeled the item as a lovely meeting point between India and the owner of the book who was out there at the time. 

Coming to the valuation, the expert estimated that the Victorian scrapbook could be worth £200 (~$255). Thus, it's safe to say the mistake did not impact the value, at least at the time.

Nevertheless, the guest was astonished to see how valuable the item was. “Oh wonderful, fantastic!" she gasped. In the end, she clarified that the item was to stay with her and it was not for sale.