Story by: Jamie Browder

Carmichael Library and the history department of UM brought students together on Oct. 23 to celebrate antique items. The event was based on the show called “Antiques Roadshow.”

“This event and the idea behind it is very simple. Let’s bring history majors and anyone interested in history to an event on campus to have fun, talk about rare objects and think about their value,” said John Bawden, an associate professor of history. 

Many of the items that were brought were provided by Carey Heatherly, Archive & Special Collections Librarian/Professor, and the UM archive.

Some of the items that students were asked to assess were statues, comic books, cards, coins, signed baseballs and other items that were pulled from UM’s archive.

Heatherly was able to surface an item that could be traced all the way back to Napoleon. The  item was believed to be a box that Napoleon himself gifted to many, and inside it held what is believed to be a silk rosette from his casket.

Another item of interest was a signed baseball, which tied itself to women’s history in baseball. 

 

It was signed by Jimmie Foxx, a major league star in the early 1900s. He went on to manage one of the real  women’s teams that were featured in the movie “A League of Their Own.”

By the end of the event, students were given the value of the items they were asked to assess.