An Antiques Roadshow guest refused to sell a worn-out decoy duck for generations even when an expert offered him £5,000.
The man and his wife brought a wooden duck, an old photograph and a “funeral card” to be valued on the BBC One show on Sunday’s programme (May 10).
Expert Eric Knowles was stunned by the items and asked the guests for the story behind the collection.
The guest said the wooden duck was about 120 years old and was used by his grandfather for duck shooting in Lake Windermere.
He pointed at the photograph and said the young boy on the left was his father and the right was his grandfather.
(Image: BBC)
“They would go out duck shooting,” the man explained. “So they would go out to one of the islands where the ducks were and took his decoy duck with him and planted him with the ducks.”
Eric noticed the pellet holes on the ornament and replied: “So they’d be out there shooting at this? Thinking it was the real thing? They did strike it.”
Picking up the “funeral card” on the table, Eric read it out: “In memory of a wooden duck, brutally done to death on Lake Wind on the 28th day of February 1908 by three cold-blooded poachers, namely The Major, The Parson and Joe.
(Image: BBC)
Like what you see? Then fill your boots…
There’s MUCH more where that came from! Want all the jaw-dropping stories from the world of showbiz and up to the minute news from TV and soaps?
Well, we’ve got you covered with our showbiz, TV and soaps newsletters – they’ll drop straight into your inbox and you can unsubscribe whenever you like.
We’ll bring you the inside track from telly expert Ed Gleave and soap specialist Sasha Morris. Oh, and your daily fix of Piers, Katie Price, Demi Rose and all your other Daily Star favs.
You can sign up here – you won’t regret it…
“May their sins damn them to eternal hellfire.”
He also noticed the decoy duck could only bob its head up and down and asked the couple: “Do you want to tell me a little bit about the contraction of this thing?”
The woman answered: “Well it was done with a whale bone out of a woman’s corset to put it on a spring.
“Later, it had to be replaced by a more modern substitution shall we say.”
Eric asked: “Which came from?” The owner replied: “From somebody’s bra.”
(Image: BBC)
“Okay,” Eric replied. “Alright, well it does the job, doesn’t it?
The expert loved the story behind the collection and said it was priceless but he decided to give it a price tag to test if the owner would consider selling it.
He asked: “If I offered you £50 for him, would you sell it?” The owner quickly replied: “No.”
Eric went on: “If I offered you £1,000 would you sell it?” He was again told “no.”
He asked: “If I offered you £5,000 would you sell it?”
“No,” the dedicated guest responded. “It wouldn’t go to anybody other than the family and I’d make sure that it was looked after.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
