My “Antiques Roadshow” Moment
MY “ANTIQUES ROADSHOW” MOMENT
This is a tale of serendipity perseverance and self-confidence. In 1988 while rummaging around a second-hand furniture shop in Canton I came across a copy of “South”, Sir Earnest Shackleton’s account of his fateful 1914 Trans Antarctica Expedition. It had a very attractive cover and having read bookshelves full of books on Travel and Exploration in my 
teens I knew a little about the expedition. I bought the book for the princely sum of 50p. Although the Trans Polar expedition failed it became one of the greatest tales of heroism and survival in the history of Polar exploration. The Endurance became trapped in the ice, was crushed and eventually sank. The tale of how Shackleton managed the rescue of the whole crew without loss is a great read especially the account of the incredible 800-mile voyage across the Southern Ocean in a small boat.
I hadn’t noticed at the time, but the book turned out to be a First Edition albeit a second impression. I was intrigued by the inscription on the flyleaf which read
“To Vince from those who appreciate his worth and villanies” (sic)
And signed J G McIlroy and F Wild
Research showed that Frank Wild was second in command to Shackleton and McIlroy was the expedition surgeon. Further detective work revealed that “Vince” referred to crew member John Vincent. Vincent had been recruited as Bosun but because of his aggressive behaviour Shackleton had demoted him to Able Seaman. He was one of only a few members of the expedition that was not awarded the Polar Medal. This explained the reference to his “villanies”. I deduced that this volume must have belonged to him. Because of this provenance it occurred to me that this book might be of value to a collector of Polar memorabilia but for me it became part of my small collection of first editions.
Some years later I faced up to the fact my book collection would likely end up back on the shelves of some charity shop or even the skip. It was time to cash them in. Cue The Antique’s Roadshow coming to Cardiff. After queuing for an age, the specialist book expert declared that my book was not a first edition because it was a second impression. It was quite interesting because of the inscription but he didn’t think it was worth much. I was convinced that he was wrong, but he was the expert. So, disappointed, the book went back to my bookshelves.
Fast forward to this year, 2022, the centenary of the Shackleton Expedition. There was a massive amount of interest in the press and media which peaked when the wreck of the Endurance was found largely intact on the floor of the Weddell Sea. Much was written about the expedition and especially about the epic 800-mile rescue voyage of the small boat, “The James Caird”. By this time, I knew that John Vincent the original owner of my book, had been one of the five members of Shackleton’s crew on this voyage. I figured that there would never be a better opportunity to find a buyer for the book.
This time I emailed a few auction houses specialising in rare books. Most resulted in lukewarm interest, but one responded quite excitedly and suggested that I include it in their July auction. They put in an estimate of £1000 to £1500. Bingo. I was right. It was quite a valuable find.
Came the day of the sale we watched online. Lot 66. It seemed to take ages to get to it, but too excited to risk missing it we had to watch from the beginning. The bidding opened with a commission bid of £2600. Wow! then, £2800, £3000, amazing. … and finally, as the hammer came down, £4000. Take a breath. Time to break out the Prosecco. I just knew that a book with such a provenance had to be worth a lot to someone and I was proved right. There are so many societies and Polar organisations, one of them surely would have valued it. Success!
I don’t know who bought my 50p find. I like to think that it went to somewhere like the “Scott Polar Research Institute” and that someday I would be able to see it again. In truth, it’s a bit sad. Of course, the £4000 was exciting and was very welcome but it just vanishes anonymously into a bank account and is forgotten whereas figuratively speaking, the gap on my bookshelf remains. I miss it.
But now the blood is up. Next to go will be my first edition of Bruce Chatwin’s “In Patagonia”. I know this is worth a couple of bob. Then my major project is to convince some art gallery that my original but unsigned Fauve oil painting of Collioure is genuine and worth in my estimate upwards of £2,000,000. I was right last time. I’ve got a lot of work to do.
Alan Williams
References:
The John Caird https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyage_of_the_James_Caird
The Scott Polar Research Institute
Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge » Our present
Original film of the expedition
In cinemas: South: Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Glorious Epic of the Antarctic (1919) | BFI
Re-enactment of the Boat Journey
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3742938/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0