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THE owner of a photo album with a special image has discovered it is worth thousands of dollars.
Her late grandparents passed the album down, and she brought it to Antiques Roadshow for evaluation.
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She explained to appraiser Gary Piattoni during a recent episode that her grandparents had traveled to Hawaii in the 1920s.
Hawaii was annexed in July 1898 but didn’t earn statehood until August 1959, becoming America’s 50th state.
While there, the couple met and befriended Duke Kahanamoku, a surfing icon and Olympian.
The album included several pictures of the owner’s grandparents and solo images of Duke.
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He could be seen holding a surfboard in some and flying through the air in others, along with a couple of him and the owner’s grandparents side-by-side.
“During that time, they met Duke Kahanamoku and all of his brothers, and they went surfing with him — and my grandmother didn’t want to leave so my grandfather married her there,” she told Piattoni.
Piattoni quickly pointed out a photo in particular that Duke had signed in the bottom right corner.
It was addressed to “Rita” and “Al,” the owner’s grandparents.
CATCHING WAVES
The appraiser explained that Duke originally became known for his swimming abilities, becoming a five-time medalist at the Olympics.
Still, many others knew him from his surfing.
“He’s known thoroughout the world as the father or maybe even grandfather of modern surfing,” Piattoni told the owner.
“He introduced it to America but also New Zealand and Australia.”
“This book is at an early stage of his career and right around this time he moved to California,” he added.
Piattoni praised the “insight” the photo album offered to Duke’s early career, and emphasized that the “candid” photos like the ones with the owner’s grandmother had likely never been seen by collectors.
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WHAT’S IT WORTH?
That alone made the album valuable and rare, along with the pictures of the Duke’s brothers, but with the signature as well, its worth even more.
“If you ever were to sell it, you probably won’t — but conservatively at auction such a book…[would] easily bring $10,000 to $15,000,” Piattoni told the owner.
She was left shocked at the thought, calling the value “unexpected.”
“Wow! That’s excellent,” the owner exclaimed.
“That’s wonderful, my grandmother would be proud.”
Several other items have been brought to Antiques Roadshow recently with values that astonished their owners.
A World War 2 handkerchief that belonged to an owner’s grandfather with a special insignia and signature was worth at least $10,000.
Another discovered their husband’s family horse picture was worth a staggering $75,000.
