PBS: 'History Detectives'

"History Detectives" returned for its third season on PBS in June, and a one-hour episode airs on PBS on Monday, August 15 at 9:00 p.m. ET (TV Schedule). Combining the latest forensic technology with old-fashioned detective work, the series lifts the lid on intriguing artifacts and objects, family legends and local folklore in cities and small towns across America.

"History Detectives" is again hosted by Wes Cowan, independent appraiser and auctioneer; Elyse Luray, an independent appraiser and expert in art history; Gwendolyn Wright, professor of architecture, planning and preservation and professor of history, Columbia University; and Tukufu Zuberi, professor of sociology and the director of the Center for Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.

Host Wesley Cowan was online Wednesday, August 17, at 11 a.m. ET to discuss the 11-part weekly PBS series "History Detectives."

Cowan is an auctioneer specializing in items relating to American history, furniture, folk and decorative arts, and the material culture of Native Americans.

Each one-hour episode of this series comprises three explorations that uncover everything from interesting trivia to revelations about illustrations that might have helped persuade America to fight the Nazis in World War II. Monday's episode includes:

Secrets of the Tape -- "History Detectives" examines how the U.S. gained the industrial upper hand following the Second World War.

Mountain Mail Bag -- Exploring the history of the U.S. Postal Service, "History Detectives" sheds light on the tremendous contributions of this pioneering legend.

Banned Birth Control Box -- How would a family in remote, rural Missouri obtain a birth control device during a time when these items were banned and considered lewd and immoral? "History Detectives" examines a case that just may change the way we think about the history of family planning in America.

A transcript follows.

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Wesley Cowan: Hey History Detectives fans, greetings from Cincinnati....and, it's "Wes" -- only my mother still calls me "Wesley"!

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Ridgewood, N.J.: Hi Wes! What a fascinating show! I look forward to each new episode.

In Episode 5, 2005, "Washington Portrait", the file you presented to George showed a brother he never knew he had by the name of Clifton. Did George ever meet this brother? I am desperate to find out, as a similar occurrence happened within my family, allowing my father to meet his brother after 70 years being apart. Neither man ever knew of the other. It was a wonderful, life enriching event for us all.

All my best,

Nanette

Wesley Cowan: Nanette --- what an episode. its hard to believe that George actually grew up, lived an entirely successful life, and turned out to be such a wonderful guy considering his family history. As far as I know, he did find Clifton -- but that he had died.

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St. Johns, Mich.: Excellent program, Wes! ... We enjoy it very much. Your energy and enthusiasm adds extra flair to the already fascinating content of the show. Keep up the good work!

Darryl and Rose, St. Johns, Mich.

Wesley Cowan: Thanks guys! Really appreciate your comments, and hope we can continue to keep you as viewers!

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Arlington, Va.: How did you get involved with this series?

Wesley Cowan: Good question and probably the one I get asked most frequently. I'm one of the appraisers on the Antiques Roadshow, and when Lion Television (the founding producer of Hist. Det.) began putting the show together, they reviewed a lot of tapes from the roadshow. I was contacted by Lion through an email -- literally out of the blue. My first reaction was "right......". They were serious, however, and came down to Cincinnati for a "test tape"....a couple months later they offered me one of the host positions.

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Orion, Mich.: Does the show accept entries from local historical societies as well as from individuals? What if the suggested place has already been submitted for registration as an historical site? (Our town has a 19th century stone arch bridge that may have been the design of an African-American civil engineer from UM, Fred Pelham.)

I enjoy the show and hope you can continue to delight and amaze us for years to come.

Wesley Cowan: Thanks for your q. The producers of History Detectives are ALWAYS looking for great stories, whether they come from individuals or institutions. If you have a good idea, visit the History Detectives Web site at www.pbs.org (you'll find us through an alphabetical listing). You'll find a link there for submitting stories. PLEASE recognize that the producers of the show get bombarded with emails (I think there were 8000 story ideas after last season!).

AND thanks for your comments. We love to hear from folks!

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Washington, D.C.: What's been your favorite episode so far?

Wesley Cowan: Watch next Monday nite (in most markets HD comes on on Monday nites right after the Antique Roadshow). The story is about a pocket watch supposedly given to the Western gambler and gunslinger, Doc Holliday, by Marshall Wyatt Earp. I loved the story, but most importantly, loved the way the director and producer, Billy Shebar, put the episode together. We had a blast filming, and I really think it shows!

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Philadelphia, Pa.: Hi Wes, I've been a big fan of the show from the beginning. Thanks for doing such great work and presenting such interesting topics or looks into our history. Can you give us some hints for upcoming stories? Does working on the series interfere with your teaching or are you able to incorporate your roles as both professor and history sleuth? Thanks again for a great series. I hope PBS keeps this around for a long time.

Wesley Cowan: Thanks for your kind words. In fact, I am a FORMER college prof. I taught anthropology/archaeology in the early 1980s and then was a museum curator for 11 years. For the past 10 years I've been an auctioneer (www.cowanauctions.com). And YES running a company with 15 employees and being a History Detectives does keep me busy! But I love it....

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Breezewood, Pa.: Hi, Wes,

On the show, have you ever felt badly about dashing peoples' hopes when you and the other detectives have to tell them that their artifacts and family stories are bunk?

Thanks!

Wesley Cowan: Great q. Most of the folks we meet are very pragmatic about their involvement with HD. I get the sense more often than not that most of the people whose stories we investigate are just happy to have an answer. Even if it's not always the one that supports the family "story"... But there have been a couple of cases where you could tell that there was a bit of disappointment.

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Anonymous: What do you think this series teaches children? I'm not familiar with the series and would like to know what you think is the most educational part about it. What ages do you think would be most interested and do you think it's engaging?

Wesley Cowan: First things, first. The show comes on Monday evenings at 9:00 Eastern time in most markets. Take a look, and THEN ask this question in a future chat. The show appeals to families with kids. We get lots of emails from folks who regularly watch -- as a family.

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Richmond, Va.: I see there is an upcoming episode featuring young detectives. What a great idea! Will you be doing more episodes in the future with kids? Great show btw!

Wesley Cowan: Yeah, and I'm jealous! I didn't get to work with any of the kids this year because of scheduling conflicts. I've advanced screened a couple of the episodes with kids, and they're lots of fun. I HOPE the producers of the show do it again next season -- IF there is a fourth season!

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AU Park, Washington, D.C.: Dear Wes,

I watched another PBS show Antiques Roadshow and they sometimes have a segment about lost treasures, or things that the appraiser would most like to find in a flea market. Do you have a lost history treasure you'd be most interesting in finding?

Wesley Cowan: Yeah -- great story about 300 daguerreotype photographs of the California Gold Rush. These were taken by a San Francisco photographer named Robert Vance in 1851-52 and then exhibited in New York City. The images are each 6 x 8" mounted in elaborate rosewood frames. The exhibit was a total bust, Vance ended up selling the collection to a St. Louis photographer, and are last known to exist in 1866 (think this is the date). Today, the collection would be worth about $30-50 MILLION!

LETS GET LOOKING!!!! (seriously, however, the collection probably was destroyed in a fire, or were scrapped in WWI. But no-one knows for certain!)

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Norfolk, Va.: Wes--

What are your thoughts on the digitization of everything? I've seen often on your program you detectives have gotten written letters and othe physical records to help in your searches. What about email? Will the next generation of history detectives be stumped because someone's harddrive fried and they lost 11 years of emails? (I ask because it's a fear of mine!)

Thank you--it's a great show!

Wesley Cowan: You know, as a former academic, I began worrying about this when I was in graduate school (well "worry" is probably not the right word, but I was sure thinking about it). I finished my graduate work just as email was beginning to become available to the general public. I had had the great fortune to work at an institution where the records of the past were recognized as important, and had spent lots of time poring over records from past researchers -- their correspondence with other researchers, their notes, etc. -- you could really get the sense of how these early scientists developed their thoughts.....I don't think we're going to have similar access to the thought processes of similar types of persons today....i worry that all of this stuff will end up lost in cyberspace with no "hard copy" anywhere...

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Las Vegas, Nev.: How did you feel about the "Banned Birth Control Box" segment? I thought it was wonderful, and I certainly enjoyed Professor Horowitz.

Wesley Cowan: I thought it was GREAT!

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Richmond, Va.: Hey Wes!

Great to see the history detectives on a chat--I've got a behind-the-scenes question: have you (or the others in the group) ever gotten so stumped on a quest that you had to abandon it? I've watched a few shows and I don't think I've ever seen you come up empty-handed...

Wesley Cowan: Actually, there are lots of time when we can't answer a question -- or at least provide a DEFINITIVE answer. I've bene involved in a number of investigations that ended with a "Well, it could be, we just don't have enough definitive inforamtion"...

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Fells Point, Md.: Dear Wes,

As a liberal arts major about to go back to school next week, I'm interested in the whole appraisal industry (for when I graduate). Can you talk about how you got into being an appraiser? Is it a hard industry to get into?

Thank you.

Wesley Cowan: You know, if you "google" "professional appraisers" you'll likely find a link to the Society of Professional Appraisers and the Appraisers Institute of America. Both of these organizations provide training classes, and certifaction....In general, however, experience is the best teacher. You might check in your neighborhood yellow pages and see if there are listings for appraisers. Set up an appointment for a visit with one (or more).

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South Carolina: On the most recent episode of Antiques FYI they showed a Tiffany screen that President Roosevelt wanted destroyed. A small PBS mystery solved Showed on the tv screen stating that the answer could be found at PBS.ORG. Am I looking in the right place?

Wesley Cowan: Sure. Go to www.pbs.org. Look under the alphabetical listing of history detectives, click and you'll find a link to the website. You'll find more information there than you can shake a stick at!

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Arlington, Va.: Ok, so going back before the series ... how did you get involved in antique appraisal? What draws you to all of this?

Wesley Cowan: I've always been interested in antiques and history. As a kid I was a collector of antiques, arrowheads, fossils, natural history stuff, etc. Growing up in Kentucky, and having plenty of relatives who were farmers gave me the opportunity to indulge my hobby....I worked with the University of Kentucky Museum of Anthropology on a summer long dig while I was in high school, and by the time I entered college I knew I would be an archaeologist -- and was one for nearly 15 years after getting my PhD in Anthropology....While I was in graduate school became intersted in early photography....began buying and selling while still in school. 19th century photography led me to the history behind the photographs....after that I was hooked.

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Virginia: How long does this series run for? Overall, what's been your favorite part about hosting? Thanks.

Wesley Cowan: Series is a summer show. Began airing the last week of June and will air through September. Then in re-runs beginning in Jan. Favorite part of being a host? Getting to travel to places and see things that most Americans don't have the opportunity to...and meet really great people. It's a real privilege.

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Leesburg, Va.: About the "digitization question":

Wes, do online search engines like Google help the H. Detectives staff and you all find information for your show? Is that the first place you look?

Wesley Cowan: Believe it or not, "google" is a good place start, but we really prefer to use primary resources -- like real books and real archives! But sure, the internet is an incredibly powerful tool and as more and more institutions and libraries digitize their records, it will only become MORE powerful. But, nothing beats going to take a look a primary source matieral!

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kensington, Md.: Question on handling stuff -- I see the Roadshow folks handling old documents, books, fabrics, etc. with their bare hands. And I've taken valuable items (books, prints, etc.) to appraisers who flip through with abandon.

I think I recall your show at least sometimes using cotton gloves (although I'm not certain of that) and other times using bare hands.

How do any of these "professionals" get away with that kind of treatment? And why does Roadshow not follow better practice?

Wesley Cowan: The answer to this question is simply this: "It depends." Traditionally, archivists have felt that the oil from your hands can damage items, but there is no consistent agreement among the profession. We've been to archives where the archivists insist using cotton gloves, and others who don't. Many manuscript archivists feel using cotton gloves is potentially dangerous - they're afraid a cotton fiber might snag the edge of a brittle piece of paper, resulting in a tear, or chip. They're not worried that the oil from your hands will hurt the paper. On the other hand, virtually all archivists insist on using gloves when handling metal items.

Your question about the roadshow is a good one but probably not realistic. Most people who have things in their house that they "treasure" are unlikely to put gloves on when they handle them.

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Munich, Germany: Regarding the "Secrets of the Tape" episode, in your opinion, how much did the Marshall Plan contribute to America's post WWII economic and industrial domination?

Wesley Cowan: I didn't see this episode, unfortunately. But cmon, the q about the Marshall Plan is a loaded one if I ever saw one! Do I think that George Marshall envisioned the plan as anything other than a means of getting Europe "back on it's feet?" Probably. Do I think the US Goverment wanted to reduce the amount of money and loans that we were pouring into Europe? Sure. Were there ulterior motives? Perhaps, but I believe that they were secondary.

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Omaha, Neb.: I loved the story on the Ringling theatre in Baraboo, Wis., but I was disappointed in the resolution of whether or not it was the first real movie palace. The answer all hinged on an arbitary benchmark of how much seating was in the theater. Nobody ever pointed out the obvious flaw in this reasoning--that is look at the population of Baraboo and the number of seats the theatre contained.

Wesley Cowan: Great observation. Still, however, many of the stories end up like this, with an equivocal conclusion.

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Wesley Cowan: Thanks to everyone who submitted a question and participated in the chat. I had a lot of fun and hopefully, you did too. Keep watching History Detectives. Monday nites in most markets, at 9:00 PM eastern time!

Wes

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