BBC viewers were less than impressed with Antiques Roadshow expert Fuchsia Voremberg after she folded back a page in a guest's rare Victorian scrapbook, sparking outrage among fans.
Scrapbook inspection on Salisbury episode
During the episode, originally aired in 2019 and available on iPlayer, fans were taken to Salisbury Cathedral to see people learn the auction value of their artefacts. When Fuchsia inspected a unique scrapbook, viewers were in uproar over her handling of the item.
Fuchsia branded the book 'unusual' for its interesting collages. The guest explained it had belonged to her great-great uncle, who gave it as a Christmas present to his mother, and it had been passed down through the family.
Victorian phenomenon explained
The book was sent home from India in 1890 when her ancestor, then around 19, was in the army. He died two years later. Fuchsia flicked through the pages and explained the collages were made from printed scraps and ferns.
She commented: "This is an interesting example of a Victorian phenomenon called Fernmania or Pteridomania. They collected them, they painted them, they printed with them, and in this case, they pressed them and put them in this beautiful book."
Viewer backlash
Eagle-eyed fans spotted that one layer had been folded back during the inspection. At the time, one fan fumed: "Anyone else just see her fold a page down when she turned to look at another page?" Another replied: "I gasped!"
One viewer commented: "Yes, very upsetting. Mind you, I thought she should just have closed the book as the wind was blowing everything about." Another said: "Yes, we were screaming at the telly!"
Value revealed
Despite the backlash, the guest seemed unfazed. Fuchsia continued, noting the young man was "a long way from home" and sending "a little piece of the place that he's seeing." She added: "The very poignant aspect of it is that ferns are associated with mourning, so in some way he was creating a mourning album."
She valued the book at around £200. The woman replied: "Oh, wonderful, fantastic! Not that it's for sale." Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
