Antiques Roadshow

APPRAISER: You unrolled this, and I was, I was blown away.

What's the story with this?

GUEST: After high school, I, um, hooked up with a carnival and traveled around for a couple of years.

GUEST: And during that time, the owner, Don Moyer... APPRAISER: Right.

GUEST: ...taught me to eat fire.

I added it to my magic show, basically, and then he, then he gave me the banner.

He gave you the banner years later?

Or just at the end of your... GUEST: No, during the carnival.

APPRAISER: Oh, you were still a kid.

GUEST: I actu, I, I used it.

APPRAISER: Wow.

GUEST: Yeah, so I was still a kid.

The... So I've had this for 4, over 40 years.

APPRAISER: Is there a secret that... GUEST: Yeah, well, there's lots of secrets.

I, I really don't share them with too many people, though, 'cause it's kind, it's fairly dangerous.

APPRAISER: I had to ask, but did you ever get burned?

GUEST: (laughs) I did.

APPRAISER: And you were the fire eater, you were... Wait, you were this guy.

GUEST: Yeah, this was me.

APPRAISER: How old were you then?

GUEST: I was probably, uh, 21.

APPRAISER: The wonderful thing is that, as you, you know part of the story, but you brought in a Fred Johnson circus banner, which is great folk art, first of all.

And it's a great document of our, our country's history of having circuses, traveling circuses.

And here I am with the guy that, that ate the fire, right?

That's so cool.

(laughs) Fred Johnson has been called the Picasso of circus banner art-- that's how major he is.

This is an impressive one.

And the great thing is that it's, it is signed down here in the lower right, "Fred Johnson."

And you have "O. Henry Tent & Awning Company, Chicago, Illinois."

He worked with the O. Henry Tent and Awning Company, from 1934 to '74.

It's wonderful folk art, it's very visual.

It's nice to have it added to his resume of work.

And it's survived in incredible condition.

I would say, conservatively, you could put a value of $4,000 to $6,000, an auction estimate.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: And it's... But of course, you're never going to sell it, right?

GUEST: No, never.

APPRAISER: You're never going to sell it.

APPRAISER: Now, could you show me, now, now, now that I've done something for you, I've given you the price, can you do the fire eating?

GUEST (laughs): No, I... APPRAISER: You can't, you can't-- ah, okay, okay.

GUEST: No, I cannot, no, I cannot.

APPRAISER: (grumbling) GUEST: (laughing)