Series features memorabilia from collectors across the Chesapeake Bay region
Maryland Public Television’s popular original series Chesapeake Collectibles returns for its 10th season beginning on Monday, January 6, 2020. The new season, with Rhea Feikin returning as series host, features 13 new episodes airing Mondays at 7:30 p.m. on MPT-HD.
One of Maryland Public Television’s most successful flagship series, Chesapeake Collectibles showcases antiques from around the world brought to MPT’s team of appraisers by collectors from across the Chesapeake region. Season 10 episodes were shot on location at the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center on the College Park campus of the University of Maryland.
During its new season, Chesapeake Collectibles marks a decade of celebrating stories and mementos of heroic sacrifice, quiet contentment, and restless wanderlust with a lineup of interesting artifacts rescued from the shadows of the past. Items featured during the season premiere episode include:
- A collection of photographs and memorabilia – possibly the largest outside of a major museum – from the personal archives of the U.S. space program’s first official photographer, Bill Taub.
- A Japanese Buddhist family altar, believed to be carved in the 18th century, given to Christian missionaries at the conclusion of a several-year tour.
- An original Howard Mehring painting, picked out of a trash heap, with a valuation estimated to be in the thousands of dollars.
- A large collection of jazz memorabilia including programs, tickets, posters, photos, and even handwritten receipts salvaged from the home of Benny Kearse, who founded the Left Bank Jazz Society of Baltimore alongside fellow artist Vernon L. Welsh in 1964.
Also featured during the season premiere are elements of a ball gown worn during a dance with George Washington at Tryon Palace in North Carolina. The gown was worn by Ferebe Guion, wife of North Carolina representative Dr. Isaac Guion – the man who delivered welcoming remarks for George Washington during the president’s 1791 “Southern Tour.” Whereas Ferebe and her gown were initially thought to have simply entered the same ballroom as President Washington, thanks to research by the curatorial staff at Tryon Palace it’s now believed that she was the first to dance with the president during the evening’s ceremonies. The historic ball gown is evaluated by C. Robert Harrison, president and senior appraiser of Harrison Appraisals, LLC. in Westminster.
Chesapeake Collectibles airs at 7:30 p.m. on Mondays on MPT-HD, immediately preceding the acclaimed PBS series Antiques Roadshow. Each episode of Chesapeake Collectibles is rebroadcast on Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. on MPT2. Viewers can also find full episodes of the series at video.mpt.tv and the MPT app.
For more information, visit chesapeakecollectibles.com or view the series’ Facebook page.
Major funding for season 10 of Chesapeake Collectibles is provided by Alex Cooper Auctioneers, Inc. and the generous members of Maryland Public Television.
About MPT
Launched in 1969 and headquartered in Owings Mills, MD, Maryland Public Television is a nonprofit, state-licensed public television network and member of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). MPT’s six transmitters cover Maryland plus portions of contiguous states and the District of Columbia. Frequent winner of regional Emmy® awards, MPT creates local, regional, and national television shows. Beyond broadcast, MPT’s commitment to professional educators, parents, caregivers, and learners of all ages is delivered through year-round instructional events and the super-website Thinkport, which garners in excess of five million pageviews annually. MPT’s community engagement connects viewers with local resources on significant health, education, and public interest topics through year-round outreach events, viewer forums, program screenings, and phone bank call-in opportunities. For more information visit mpt.org.
