A GUEST on Antiques Roadshow was left beaming with excitement after their family heirloom was valued at a hefty price.
Presenter Fiona Bruce and the team headed to the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh for a recent episode – and a book soon caught the eye of expert Justin Croft.
As a specialist in antiquarian books and manuscripts, Justin got his hands on a “rare” dictionary and phrasebook – one he had “never seen before”.
The family heirloom brought with it a remarkable story that Justin was able to shed some light on.
The book was published in 1900 in Shanghai and the specialist soon asked if the author or book had any significance to her.
She said: “He was my great uncle, who went out to China when he was quite young, and I think he spent most of his life in China as a missionary.”
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Examining the book closer, Justin discovered two photos of what appeared to be two different men.
Justine said: “My great uncle would have gone from Scotland to China as a young man.
“Presumably by 1900, he became sufficiently fluent in Mandarin, which is a very difficult language to learn and write a dictionary and phrasebook in.”
Studying the two photos, he added: “This is the more extraordinary photograph – it’s the same man.”
“This is so interesting because one of their policies was that all missionaries should adopt local customs and live as far as possible as locals.”
Stating this must be a “very precious piece” the owner joked and said: “It is. Though I don’t speak a word of Mandarin.”
As Justin flicked through its pages, he got a feel for just how rare the item was.
The specialist concluded: “It does have a commercial value. It’s quite a rare book. I’ve never seen one before.
“If this was to come for sale, I think it would probably fetch between £600-£800 with the photographs.”
Taken back, the owner smiled from ear to ear as she replied: “That’s more than I thought, actually.”
Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on the BBC iPlayer.
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