'Antiques Roadshow' mainstay Judith Miller dies at 71

Known for her many guides, she helped determine what was trash and what was treasure in the BBC series that inspired the show American.

Judith Miller, the author of popular antique price guides and member of the team of appraisers who determined what was trash and what who was a treasure on 'Antiques Roadshow', the long-running beloved BBC program which was inspired by the American series of the same name, died on April 8 in north London. She was 71.

Her husband, John Wainwright, confirmed the death at a hospital. He did not specify the cause, saying only that she died after a short illness.

Mrs. Miller, known to British media as the queen of collectables, was often cornered on the streets by Britons eager to share their stories of Great Aunt So and So trinkets, and at antique fairs, where many attendees grabbed new copies. of the "Miller's Antiques Handbook & Price Guide" or "Miller's Collectibles Handbook", the twin bibles of the world of antiques and collectibles.

Once, Mr. Wainwright remembers , reception for her mother's funeral, a woman approached Mrs Miller and pulled out a plate from under her coat, wondering what it might be worth. (He didn't know the woman, he hastened to add.)

Mrs. Miller's books, updated regularly, are encyclopedic in their range and eclectic in their categories. They describe thousands of objects - the current Antiquities edition lists more than 8,000 - each illustrated with sumptuous color photography. There were the usual suspects, like Royal Doulton Art Deco teacups and saucers, Meissen pottery, Murano glass and Scandinavian ceramic pages.

But Ms. Miller also covered the world of material and popular culture, including a signed photograph of Whoopi Goldberg; a letter from Lyndon B. Johnson on White House stationery; a first edition of the novel “Naked Lunch” by William S. Burroughs; 60s barbies; and 1940s British utilitarian clothing. There was also Inuit art, Swinging Sixties fashion, 1950s Ferragamo shoes, James Bond books, baseball cards, football shirts and whatever was described as the world's smallest pen, 1.5 inches long, made by Waterman in 1914.

Browsing Miller's Collectibles Guide is a delicious social story, an intriguing adventure through the decades. A reader might learn, for example, that a bright and cheerful 1940s plastic handbag took its shape from the telephone cables that were used due to shortages of other materials in the years that followed. followed World War II.

ImageMs. Miller's books are encyclopaedic, describing thousands of objects, each illustrated with lavish color photography. The current edition of his guide to antiquities lists more than 8,000.Credit...Mitchell Beazley

A mild-mannered woman who spoke with sweet Scottish smudge, Ms. Miller was the "miscellaneous and ceramics" expert on "Antiques Roadshow," which began in 1979 and joined in 2007. (The US version first aired on PBS in 1997. ) One of the treasures she was proudest to identify was a collection of British Art Deco transport posters by French artist Jean Dupas, which were brought to the show by a man who paid 50p for them at a garage sale when he was a child in the 1970s. Mrs. Miller estimated their value at over 30,000 pounds (nearly $40,000).

"That was 50p very well spent," she told the man, who replied with British understatement, "Wow. Gosh."

His other favorite discoveries,