Port Sunlight 1 Antiques Roadshow


Port Sunlight 1

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Today, we've come to a village built on soap,

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or at least the proceeds of a famous soap empire

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which created 900 houses for its workers.

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Welcome to the Antiques Roadshow from Port Sunlight near Liverpool.

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Port Sunlight has a very special place in my heart

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because I used to live here.

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In fact, I used to live there, number 62, when I was four years old

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and that's because my dad used to work for the company

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that owned this village,

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the company that was originally known as Lever Brothers.

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I remember playing here, in the Dell,

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but I was far too young

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to understand the historical significance of my surroundings

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and the name William Hesketh Lever meant nothing to me.

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But without him, neither the factory nor the village,

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named after his favourite brand of laundry soap, would exist.

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In 1889, Lever commissioned the first of over 30 architects

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to create his perfect community,

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transforming 140 acres of marshland into what you see today.

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Up went the Arts And Crafts-style cottages with their own baths,

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loos and cold running water, set against a backdrop of wide,

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French style tree-lined boulevards,

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and all manner of community buildings,

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like the dining room where Lever's workers ate

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under the watchful gaze of his collection

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of Pre-Raphaelite paintings.

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In return, the workforce were expected to follow

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a life of thrift, sobriety and a desire for self-improvement,

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which is no small ask, but then Lever believed

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that if his workers were healthy and removed from the temptations

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of city life, they'd work hard, and remain loyal to his company.

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In the early 1900s, one of Lever's most loyal workers

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was foreman and village photographer Edward Jenkins.

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Here's one of his albums.

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Take a look at this. This is Jenkins

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in the Port Sunlight Literary Society.

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Talk about self-improvement.

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How elegant they are!

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They look like something out of a French Impressionist painting.

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We should let one of our experts see this.

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Our roadshow today is being held in the heart of the village

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on the green, just outside the Lady Lever Art Gallery,

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which we'll visit in a later programme.

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Buckingham Palace has been the focus

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of quite a lot of attention this year.

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And I have to say, not quite as much attention as whoever made this

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because it's made out of matchsticks stuck together.

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-That's right.

-Who made it?

-It was a great-grandfather of mine.

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A passionate hobby of his. I believe he made

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a number of models but this one remained with my nan

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and was passed down to me.

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It's something I remember throughout my childhood.

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Every time I went to visit her in London, it was stuffed on top

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of her wardrobe out of view, unfortunately and not appreciated.

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But I wanted to show it off today and I think it's fabulous.

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Well, it IS fabulous. Was he a great smoker, your great grandad?

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-Must have been.

-Must've been, exactly.

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The Palace, obviously, was redesigned in 1913

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by Sir Aston Webb and of course, this is the frontage

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that we know today.

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You're clasping a whole load of bits. What are they?

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That's a photo of the man who made it,

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William Moyer, and also, here, some letters.

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He was seeking dimensions directly from Buckingham Palace itself.

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Oh, my goodness. Let me hand you back the photograph.

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-So, this is from Buckingham Palace...

-1957.

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1957, it gives you the size... Oh, look!

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And here is actually a hand-drawn map of the palace

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giving the dimensions, the height, the width all the rest of it

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from the Superintendent's Office at Buckingham Palace.

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-So, he had no excuse not to get it right.

-No, exactly.

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Well, it's terrific and I have to say that...

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of all the matchstick models I've seen of all kinds of things,

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this really has to take the biscuit.

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What's it going to be worth?

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Just think of how many boxes of matches for a start.

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39,000 matches, I believe. And two and a half years to make.

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My goodness.

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If only one could put his hourly rate down, at £10 an hour,

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you know, how much would that be worth?

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But, sadly, I'm afraid that these are labours of love

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and the value, even though it's a fabulous model, I don't think

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it would fetch probably more than about £400-£500 at auction.

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But...

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-what a labour of love.

-Absolutely.

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-Thanks for bringing it along.

-Thank you.

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This is one of the most lovely mustard pots

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I have ever come across.

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-I hope you love it.

-I do, I do.

-So, how did you come by it?

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It belonged to my great aunt,

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who passed it to her sister,

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my grandmother, when she died.

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Passed to my mother and my mother gave it to me about a year ago

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because I'd always admired it.

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We definitely have similar tastes.

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So, why is it so special?

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Well, it's not hugely old.

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It was actually made in 1903.

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You've got the London hallmarks

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for that period.

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Now, what we've got there is the mark of the Guild of Handicraft,

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"GofH Ltd."

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Absolutely wonderful organisation,

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founded in the late 19th century, inspired by William Morris.

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And the whole idea was to go back to medieval working,

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small workshops, and Ashby, who was one of Morris's pupils,

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was the leader of the Guild of Handicraft.

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And there are so many things here

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that absolutely shriek Ashby at you.

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Look at what happens there, how that sweeps around into the base.

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That, to my mind, is sheer genius.

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He also loved using these cabochon stones,

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just rounded off, very natural form of the stone.

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And, can you see, if I just turn it slightly like that,

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how you've got that slightly ripply effect on the surface?

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That's very special.

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That's the final planishing, the final hammering

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and that was showing it was actually made by hand

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because at the time they started doing this,

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everything was being churned out by machine

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and had this sort of mirror surface.

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What we've got as well, which you don't often see,

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is the mustard spoon with it.

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What a joy, what a joy. I think for this mustard pot,

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you'd be hard-pressed to buy it

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under £3,500.

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-Oh, goodness me.

-She's shocked.

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Yes. That IS a surprise.

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We have a saying in the art world

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which is the back of the picture

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will often tell you more than the front.

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But you found something beneath the picture, did you not?

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It all starts with you buying, at a house clearance,

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this portrait, this print of Charlotte Bronte.

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Yes. I bought it for the frame cos I liked the frame.

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I thought the frame was really old.

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So, you took the picture of Charlotte Bronte,

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which is a sort of pretty modern print,

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you took that out of the frame,

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which you liked the look of, can we have a look?

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Yes.

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-Goodness me.

-That was underneath.

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And what did you think when you found it?

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I thought it was quite an old picture.

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So, you have here a portrait of another famous author,

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William Shakespeare.

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-Yes.

-Hidden behind Charlotte Bronte. How extraordinary.

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An 18th-century pastel, probably about 1730, 1740,

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based on the portrait in the National Portrait Gallery.

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We call it the Chandos painting.

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It's a little bit rubbed, it's a little bit damaged,

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but you have a drawing, a pastel

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of a very emotive, historical, literary subject.

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Pastel was becoming very popular in England in the 1720s and '30s.

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People like William Hoare, a prominent artist,

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was making it vogue.

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And you can tell that this is early pastel because of the laid paper.

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You can see the lines running through.

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And pastel, like chalk, has a tendency to crumble and deteriorate.

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And you can see that

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this is an early 18th-century application of the medium.

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So, you've got a 1730s portrait of William Shakespeare

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and it's worth probably £600-£800.

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Wow. Amazing.

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And can I ask you how much you paid for the frame? £5.

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-Not bad.

-Good.

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This is only part of your collection.

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-How many have you got?

-Around 300-400.

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Where do you find them?

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I've found most of these in the corner of my brother's field

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where his horses graze and there's a river.

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And the river kind of washes away all the soil

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and it pulled out some crockery,

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so we started digging and kept on finding bottles.

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-These came out and got you hooked on digging them up?

-Yeah.

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-It's addictive.

-How do you find out where to dig for Victorian bottles?

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Actually, it's kind of easy to find where they are because

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they list their dumps on their maps so you just need some old maps.

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-How old are you?

-Ten.

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It takes me back because when I was your age,

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I used to go digging for bottles with my dad.

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Though my father was more interested in digging for pots

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rather than glass bottles but we used to find things like these

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-and it's very exciting, isn't it?

-Yeah, very exciting.

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Just the thrill of when you pull them out the ground, it's amazing.

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Especially with some rare ones like these cods.

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-Right, so what are these? Tell me.

-They're cod bottles.

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They were used, I think, for carbonated water.

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-Right, so these are the ones with the little marbles inside?

-Yeah.

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And some children used to smash the top of them

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to get the marble to play marbles with them when they were quite poor.

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So they're quite hard to find because most of them were smashed.

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-It's hard to find perfect ones, isn't it?

-Yeah.

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Well, they all look beautifully clean. You spent a lot of time

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-washing, I should think.

-Yeah, in our sink, in our kitchen.

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We scrub, scrub, scrub with a toothbrush and cotton buds.

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But you've done so well. Indeed.

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-These are the poison bottles, aren't they?

-Yeah.

-Because of the...

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-Was it the stripes on them?

-Yeah, they've got ribs.

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That's so blind people would know not to drink it otherwise they'd die.

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-So, you've been learning a lot about these by the sound of it.

-Yeah.

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Where do you keep them?

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We have a special bottle room in the back of our house for them.

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-A bottle room?

-Yeah.

-That sounds like a real collector.

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Of course, generally, of course,

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bottles aren't that expensive, individually,

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but it certainly adds up when you get a collection like this.

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Normally, the simple little poison bottles are £5, £10,

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up to £20 for nice coloured ones.

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When you've got local named bottles,

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that's always interesting, isn't it?

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I mean, on a nice...

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A Birkenhead name on a bottle locally always adds interest,

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so, from £3 or £4 up to £10-£20,

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again, if you get an interesting name.

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Those cod bottles are worth 15-20.

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It's not that much but it's expensive for a bottle.

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And it adds up when you've got 360 of them, isn't it?

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Yeah.

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But, no, exciting fun and nothing like it.

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And I think the way you've been learning about them is admirable.

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I envy you greatly. My digging days are over

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but you've got a lot ahead of you

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and thanks for bringing in

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-such great selection to share with us.

-OK.

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Now, I see lots of interesting watches on the roadshow,

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watches that look like they should be worth lots of money,

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and rather disappointingly aren't.

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And what you brought today

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is a rather disappointing looking watch, if I may say so.

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-It is, yeah.

-But, actually, it's not. It's a very interesting watch.

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And I'll say from the outset what it is. It's a German deck watch.

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-Do you know what deck watch is?

-No, I don't.

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Well, before I explain what a deck watch is,

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perhaps you'd like to tell me what you know about it.

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What I know about it is my father brought it back from the war.

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He was with the 43rd Gurkha Lorry Brigade.

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Not exactly sure where he got the watch

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but he said he swapped it for cigarettes.

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At some point, he was guarding some German prisoners,

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as far as I'm aware. That's as much as I know about it.

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We were always fascinated about it as children

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because it's got a swastika on the back.

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Unfortunately, it is broken

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and I unfortunately think it was me who broke it.

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-Did you drop it?

-No, I wound it up too much, I think.

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But I never admitted to that. My two sisters will now know it was me.

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The definition of a deck watch is a watch that is used at sea

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for keeping precise time.

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On a ship, or more likely in this instance a U-boat...

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Oh, right.

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..on a ship, you took the time downstairs

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from the marine chronometer,

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which was the ship's clock, and you went onboard deck

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with your sextant,

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and you took the time from the sun precisely

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to show where you were on your chart in the position at sea.

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Now, a U-boat had the same problem. And they used deck watches.

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And this is a German silver deck watch.

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Technically, on the dial, you've got the hours around the outer edge,

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you've got a seconds ring,

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and you've got this strange subsidiary dial here,

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which is numbered "Auf" and "Ab", up and down.

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And it indicates how many hours it has left to run.

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And when you wind it...

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-Do you see the hand going around

-Oh, yes.

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And that is coming up.

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It goes all the way round to there

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and it has 28 hours to run down.

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So it tells you how many hours it's got left before it runs down.

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Oh right, oh right.

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Silver pocket watch and here's your swastika on the back

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and the other numbers on the watch indicate what it was doing,

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where it was, in the German navy.

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Oh.

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Now further into the watch - we've got to

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take the back cover off because the hinge is broken -

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but you've got the maker's name on the watch, A Lange & Sohne.

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Lange & Sohne were the greatest watch makers in Germany

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at that time.

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The best. They were the Patek Philippe of Switzerland,

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the Rolex of Switzerland.

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They were the best and they're greatly collected today, still.

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-So, actually, it's a rather special watch.

-Oh, OK.

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I think I ought to mention that you can actually go to Lange now,

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or you can write to Lange, send an email to Lange,

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and find out from them exactly what the history of this watch is.

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So it's got to be worth some money.

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From a packet of cigarettes to...

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Well, a collector wouldn't pay top price, because, as we've seen,

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-the hinge has broken...

-Yes.

-..and it's not in great condition.

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-Yeah.

-But we know why. Everybody now knows why.

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Value - between £1,000 and £1,500.

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Really?

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-Thanks very much for bringing it in.

-Thank you.

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This album has already been looked at

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by Fiona at the beginning of the programme.

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It is an album purely to do with Port Sunlight.

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I believe it has over 300 snapshot images of the employees

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-having a good time, one way or another.

-Basically, yeah.

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-This is the photographer.

-Yes.

-And his name?

-Edward Jenkins.

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-Edward Jenkins.

-Edward John Jenkins, yeah.

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Now, Stuart, you're a conservationist here at the museum.

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-Yes.

-And you know all about this album.

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Yeah, the Village Trust bought this album in 2008

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for the Port Sunlight Museum collection.

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And they really give a flavour of

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what was going on, roughly between 1890

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-and just before the First World War.

-Yeah, I'd say so.

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I've been able to date quite a lot of the photos in there

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so I'm pretty confident in saying that, yeah.

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Now Mr Lever, the boss, took very good care of his employees.

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-He did.

-And he paid for all these events to happen.

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-Yes.

-He wasn't actually a philanthropist.

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No, he thought philanthropy was charity and he wasn't

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running a charitable venture here.

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So, he saw it as good business practice

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to keep his employees happy and this is his way of doing it.

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-Yes.

-One of the things that is known to history that went on here -

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Mr Lever took some 1,800 of his employees to Paris.

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Yeah, that was in 1900 to see the Paris Exhibition.

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To see the Paris Exhibition.

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And then, a couple of years later, he took 2,000 of his employees

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to Brussels.

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Well, as I understand, the whole village and works

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were shut down for the weekend.

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Right. And, yeah, it cost a considerable...

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Was that to see the new factory over in Brussels?

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Yes, they were opening a new factory.

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-And I understand they did the whole thing in a weekend.

-Yes.

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They left at 12 noon on Friday.

0:17:380:17:39

And they all left on trains from Bevington Station,

0:17:390:17:42

but they all had different colour-coded badges

0:17:420:17:44

so they could get on the right train, and knew what ticket...

0:17:440:17:47

And this is a good photo of them leaving from Bevington.

0:17:470:17:49

-That's Bevington Station, yeah.

-Excellent stuff.

0:17:490:17:52

Well, what I particularly like

0:17:520:17:53

are elephants in the sea at Blackpool.

0:17:530:17:57

Yeah, I think the Blackpool trip was round about 1909.

0:17:570:17:59

They used to go away every summer.

0:17:590:18:01

Right. You just imagine elephants on the beach,

0:18:010:18:04

-in the sea at Blackpool.

-It's an unusual shot, yeah.

0:18:040:18:06

Well, it's a fabulous album

0:18:060:18:07

-and there's another album to go with it.

-Yes.

0:18:070:18:09

It is very illuminating, it really tells the story,

0:18:090:18:13

and it gives the flavour of Port Sunlight.

0:18:130:18:17

People having a good time, it makes you feel happy,

0:18:170:18:20

-which is rather nice.

-Yes.

0:18:200:18:22

And I think would be very appealing on the open market, I have to say.

0:18:220:18:24

I'm going to suggest, if it came up in auction,

0:18:240:18:27

it would be between £2,000 and £3,000.

0:18:270:18:30

-That sort of level.

-Wow!

0:18:300:18:32

-Thank you very much for letting me see it today.

-No problem at all.

0:18:320:18:35

Port Sunlight - there's a clue in the name.

0:18:420:18:44

But there is precious little sun to be found today.

0:18:440:18:48

It has rained and now the skies are grey and overcast

0:18:480:18:52

and it's pretty chilly. So John Benjamin, our jewellery expert,

0:18:520:18:55

has decided to set up stall inside this marvellous double-decker bus.

0:18:550:18:59

The queue starts upstairs

0:18:590:19:01

and he is receiving visitors down the end there.

0:19:010:19:05

I think he's got the right idea, I think I'll join him.

0:19:050:19:08

That feature is very unusual.

0:19:080:19:10

The tendency is that people always say,

0:19:100:19:13

"If there's a locket compartment, it's poison," but I don't think so.

0:19:130:19:17

Well, it's a large, round piece of glass, as far as I can see!

0:19:240:19:29

Yes, my grandma, it came from her side of the family,

0:19:290:19:32

through her husband and I've always liked it, since I was a child.

0:19:320:19:35

-OK.

-Cos its colours were just really nice, I thought.

0:19:350:19:40

So, when she passed away, it was one of the items I wanted to take

0:19:400:19:43

because I just liked it, along with a few other items.

0:19:430:19:47

Did some research,

0:19:470:19:49

I know it came from my grandfather's side of the family

0:19:490:19:52

and I found out that it's quite old, as far as I can make out,

0:19:520:19:57

-I know nothing other than that.

-You know nothing? Apart from that.

0:19:570:20:00

-OK, well, it's a paperweight.

-Yes.

0:20:000:20:04

To state the obvious. Made in about 1850.

0:20:040:20:07

Right in the mid-part of the 19th century

0:20:070:20:09

and it's made up of all these canes in circular bands.

0:20:090:20:15

For me, most exciting thing about it is that

0:20:150:20:18

the canes aren't all of the same size.

0:20:180:20:22

Have you heard of the great French paperweight manufacturers

0:20:220:20:24

like Clichy and Baccarat, and Saint-Louis?

0:20:240:20:27

I know of, but I wasn't too sure if it was a Birmingham,

0:20:270:20:30

possibly, maker from England cos I knew some of the, they...

0:20:300:20:33

So you know there were some English makers?

0:20:330:20:34

Some English makers

0:20:340:20:35

but other than that I couldn't identify anything on it.

0:20:350:20:38

Well, it's not like the French ones. It doesn't look French to me at all.

0:20:380:20:41

Fair enough.

0:20:410:20:42

-The central cane is much, much bigger.

-Hm-mm.

0:20:420:20:45

I also recognise some of these canes

0:20:450:20:48

and those two factors lead me to come to an attribution.

0:20:480:20:52

-Right?

-You, you said it a moment ago - Birmingham.

0:20:520:20:55

This is a Bacchus weight

0:20:550:20:57

and Bacchus were contemporary with Clichy, Baccarat and Saint-Louis.

0:20:570:21:01

They were really the only British company in the mid-19th century

0:21:010:21:04

making weights of this quality.

0:21:040:21:06

I didn't genuinely know that.

0:21:060:21:08

I mean, cos the reason why, I just like it because it didn't have,

0:21:080:21:11

the colours weren't garish and they weren't too bright...

0:21:110:21:14

-It's very subtle, isn't it?

-So, which is what I prefer.

0:21:140:21:18

Well, the glorious thing is

0:21:180:21:19

because they're contemporary with the French makers,

0:21:190:21:22

mid-19th century, and because they are such good quality

0:21:220:21:24

-the collectors really like them.

-OK.

0:21:240:21:26

HE CHUCKLES

0:21:260:21:28

And I noticed as soon as I saw this, I thought,

0:21:280:21:31

"Oh, one of those sold only a few weeks ago in London, just the same."

0:21:310:21:35

-Yeah?

-Just like that!

0:21:350:21:36

-Do you know what it made?

-No.

0:21:380:21:40

I thought, maybe, it was worth about £350...

0:21:400:21:43

It's worth £2,500-£3,000.

0:21:430:21:48

Ecky thump!

0:21:480:21:49

-How much again?

-£2,500-£3,000.

0:21:510:21:56

Well, bringing a pair of sundials to Port Sunlight is very apt,

0:21:560:22:00

however, the only thing we're missing - not much sun today!

0:22:000:22:04

Sadly, sadly, no. It always happens!

0:22:040:22:07

Now, sundials, in general, are not terribly accurate,

0:22:070:22:10

however, these are the Rolls-Royce of sundials.

0:22:100:22:12

They are actually called heliochronometers, I believe,

0:22:120:22:16

and were accurate up to a minute.

0:22:160:22:19

Why was it so important is that you could use these to tell the time?

0:22:190:22:24

Well, when Greenwich Mean Time was introduced in the 1880s,

0:22:240:22:28

people no longer had a means of setting their clocks right.

0:22:280:22:32

They used to set by sundials but sundials don't tell clock time.

0:22:320:22:36

Surprisingly enough, the sun isn't very accurate,

0:22:360:22:40

it runs about 15 minutes slow

0:22:400:22:42

or 15 minutes fast during the course of the day,

0:22:420:22:45

so we have to make an adjustment to allow for that

0:22:450:22:47

and of course, we're not at Greenwich,

0:22:470:22:49

so we have to make the setting.

0:22:490:22:51

It takes 12 minutes for the sun to get to Greenwich from here.

0:22:510:22:54

So, on these two sundials we've got two slightly different mechanisms.

0:22:540:22:59

This one, introduced in about 1907,

0:22:590:23:02

to make the adjustment for the sun you have to turn this dial round

0:23:020:23:07

to set it to today's date.

0:23:070:23:08

As you turn it round you can see that this moves backwards and forwards.

0:23:080:23:13

And you turn the dial

0:23:130:23:14

so the sun shines through this very small hole, here,

0:23:140:23:18

on to a line on the back.

0:23:180:23:20

So, once you've done that you read the time directly, here.

0:23:200:23:24

Accurate, again, to about a minute.

0:23:240:23:25

Which was so important because one forgets, you know,

0:23:250:23:27

that normal pocket watches in those days wasn't terribly accurate

0:23:270:23:31

-so you had to regularly adjust your watch.

-Yeah.

0:23:310:23:33

So, this was made by a company, here, it says,

0:23:330:23:36

"Pilkington and Gibbs, Preston," just on the road.

0:23:360:23:39

And patented around about 1907

0:23:390:23:40

and they were made up to the beginning of the First World War,

0:23:400:23:44

-1914.

-That's right, yes.

0:23:440:23:45

By the time the world, the First World War had finished,

0:23:450:23:48

the need for the sundial, really, had gone, you know...

0:23:480:23:50

Well, and then the good old BBC,

0:23:500:23:52

-turn on the radio and listen to the pips.

-Yeah, yeah.

0:23:520:23:54

But, this one looks slightly different?

0:23:540:23:56

This one was made right at the end and this one is fairly unusual.

0:23:560:24:00

Mr Gibbs invented this one, Mr Pilkington invented this one

0:24:000:24:04

and this one works on a slightly different principle.

0:24:040:24:07

You've got two date rings

0:24:070:24:09

and what you do is, you can move the outer one backwards and forwards.

0:24:090:24:12

What you do is, you match up the date on the inner one

0:24:120:24:15

to the date on the outer one.

0:24:150:24:17

That's the sun variation one.

0:24:170:24:19

And then, to get the longitude,

0:24:190:24:21

there's a little pointer here which you can offset slightly.

0:24:210:24:24

This box has got two slots in it -

0:24:240:24:26

one slot at the front, one slot at the back

0:24:260:24:29

and you turn it round, put your hand here,

0:24:290:24:31

turn it round until the sun shines through both slots.

0:24:310:24:33

-OK.

-And then you know the whole thing's completely aligned

0:24:330:24:36

-and you read the time directly off here.

-Fabulous.

0:24:360:24:39

Made very late on.

0:24:390:24:42

I only know of, well until ten minutes ago,

0:24:420:24:45

I'd only knew of six of these in the world.

0:24:450:24:48

We think there was about 50 made and I just found a lady in the audience

0:24:480:24:51

who tells me her husband's got one, so we'll have a chat later.

0:24:510:24:54

-The power of the Antiques Roadshow, eh?

-Absolutely so, yes.

0:24:540:24:57

You're obviously extraordinarily knowledgeable

0:24:570:24:59

about all types of sundial.

0:24:590:25:01

I noticed on your sweatshirt here, what's that?

0:25:010:25:03

British Sundial Society, yes.

0:25:030:25:05

-There is a British Sundial Society - you're not a member?

-Not yet.

0:25:050:25:09

Oh, well, I just happened to have an application... No!

0:25:090:25:12

OK, let's talk about rarity and values.

0:25:120:25:15

This model does turn up irregularly at auction.

0:25:150:25:18

And if you look at the auction records, they fetch,

0:25:180:25:21

I don't know, between £800 and maybe £1,000.

0:25:210:25:24

This example is obviously a lot rarer.

0:25:240:25:27

In my whole career I've never seen one turn up, so very, very rare.

0:25:270:25:31

Can I ask much it cost you?

0:25:310:25:33

It cost me 1,000 US dollars, which is what? About £800, I suppose.

0:25:330:25:38

Well, I think it was a very, very good buy.

0:25:380:25:41

To buy one today on the open market,

0:25:410:25:43

you'd be talking about a figure of between £3,000 and £3,500.

0:25:430:25:47

Oh, good!

0:25:470:25:49

LAUGHTER

0:25:490:25:51

I love you. Thank you very much.

0:25:510:25:53

Well, you're the exact person I wanted to meet here

0:25:560:25:59

when I knew I was coming to Port Sunlight

0:25:590:26:01

because I believe you live in one of these wonderful houses?

0:26:010:26:04

Jubilee Crescent, that's right, yeah.

0:26:040:26:05

And why am I not surprised to see

0:26:050:26:08

a little bit of local art pottery in your home?

0:26:080:26:12

So, how did it arrive there?

0:26:120:26:14

It's from my mother's family, the Rutherfords. They were ship-builders

0:26:140:26:18

and I believe that my great-grandfather

0:26:180:26:20

owned the building in Birkenhead where the pottery was produced.

0:26:200:26:23

As you know, it wasn't a particularly successful commercial enterprise

0:26:230:26:27

and they sometimes gave tiles in kind when they couldn't pay the rent.

0:26:270:26:31

Well, I'm not surprised.

0:26:310:26:33

Let's first of all name that pottery as Della Robbia.

0:26:330:26:36

I like to wave a flag for Della Robbia, I think 1893-1906.

0:26:360:26:42

Dear Harold Rathbone at the helm,

0:26:420:26:44

a member of that famous Liverpool family.

0:26:440:26:46

-It's still famous today.

-Absolutely.

0:26:460:26:49

Great financiers, but I don't think he shared the business acumen,

0:26:490:26:52

did he, of the rest of the family? Let's have a look at the subject.

0:26:520:26:55

You've got what, to all intents and purposes,

0:26:550:26:57

are some very industrious gnomes, obviously doing their gardening,

0:26:570:27:01

with a chap in the middle who's obviously the king,

0:27:010:27:05

sat on his throne, who appears to be smoking a pipe.

0:27:050:27:08

So, I'm quite envious of this.

0:27:080:27:11

I think these are quite jolly characters to live with.

0:27:110:27:14

Let me tell you, I know for a fact that

0:27:140:27:16

if I wanted to replace that today,

0:27:160:27:19

the chances are I would be asked to part with the best part of £2,500.

0:27:190:27:23

Oh, that's very reasonable. Thank you.

0:27:230:27:25

Strangely enough, I collect these.

0:27:280:27:30

You know what they are?

0:27:300:27:33

Well, I'm not entirely sure.

0:27:330:27:36

I bought them in Nigeria during the time of the Biafran Civil War

0:27:360:27:40

nearly 50 years ago.

0:27:400:27:41

I bought them from a trader

0:27:410:27:43

who knocked at my flat door in Nigeria

0:27:430:27:46

and I had a fascinating evening bartering with him.

0:27:460:27:50

I can't remember what I paid,

0:27:500:27:52

but I'd be astonished if I paid as much as £5 for the lot

0:27:520:27:56

and I was told that these were slave bands

0:27:560:27:59

but I'm not clear.

0:27:590:28:02

I understand the others, I was told, were cowrie rings,

0:28:020:28:05

which are a sort of currency.

0:28:050:28:08

That's what they are, they are called manilla,

0:28:080:28:11

I think named after Portuguese or Spanish name for bangle.

0:28:110:28:16

They are currency, those ones.

0:28:160:28:18

They were originally called slave money

0:28:180:28:21

because these were manufactured, often in England, I think in Bolton.

0:28:210:28:25

Bolton, where strangely enough, this being Lord Lever territory,

0:28:250:28:30

is where he started manufacturing soap, I think.

0:28:300:28:32

I can see why you think that's a slave bangle,

0:28:320:28:37

because it possibly is based on a slave bangle.

0:28:370:28:39

But if you actually look, these rings aren't strong enough

0:28:390:28:43

to hold the force of a strong man from pulling them apart.

0:28:430:28:46

Also, what makes them not a slave bangle is the design.

0:28:460:28:51

They wouldn't punch and engrave designs on a slave bangle,

0:28:510:28:54

they wouldn't bother.

0:28:540:28:56

They're also currency.

0:28:560:28:58

In various regions of Africa, they had different types of currency.

0:28:580:29:02

You get slabs of metal like this, the size of a shield,

0:29:020:29:06

that could be used as currency.

0:29:060:29:08

They loved metal and it had a value in their society.

0:29:080:29:14

These are the most plentiful type, these small ones.

0:29:140:29:17

They made these in their millions

0:29:170:29:20

and I have seen bags, boxes full of these things.

0:29:200:29:24

They hang, believe it or not, from a lampshade in our dining room,

0:29:240:29:29

but it's a good conversation piece because people say, "What are they?"

0:29:290:29:33

-I see. They must look fantastic hanging there.

-Yes.

0:29:330:29:36

The patina leads me to believe they're 19th century,

0:29:360:29:40

which is good, they're a good age.

0:29:400:29:42

Now, these have quite a reasonable value

0:29:420:29:45

and these have almost no value.

0:29:450:29:47

I would say these are between £2 and £5 each.

0:29:470:29:49

And those, as a pair, would be close on 200.

0:29:510:29:55

I think it's very interesting

0:29:550:29:57

that these were probably shipped from Bolton to Nigeria

0:29:570:30:00

and they've come back here, to this region,

0:30:000:30:02

and they've come full circle.

0:30:020:30:04

This delightful oil painting of Avebury by Alexander Mackenzie

0:30:060:30:10

is just a fantastic example of post-war abstract art.

0:30:100:30:15

Now, I know a little bit about this artist,

0:30:150:30:17

but I'm very interested to know what you know about the artist.

0:30:170:30:21

He was a friend of my husband's and a former partner of my husband's

0:30:210:30:25

who attended Liverpool Art College with him.

0:30:250:30:28

So, my husband knew him quite well through the '60s

0:30:280:30:31

and visited him in Cornwall.

0:30:310:30:33

He was such a lovely man.

0:30:330:30:35

He was really good, and I love his paintings.

0:30:350:30:38

I just like having them around, I can appreciate them after 40-plus years.

0:30:400:30:44

Of course, he was such a major force in the abstract art movement

0:30:440:30:48

and of course, St Ives.

0:30:480:30:50

You really get the sense of Ben Nicholson

0:30:500:30:52

and Barbara Hepworth's influence on this little picture.

0:30:520:30:55

I realise Alexander Mackenzie is a local man from Liverpool,

0:30:550:30:59

but I think it's the 1950s period in St Ives

0:30:590:31:02

that really pushed him forward.

0:31:020:31:04

What I love about this little picture, from 1962,

0:31:040:31:08

is that here he is, fascinated by the landscape

0:31:080:31:11

and the human element of the landscape.

0:31:110:31:14

He's looking right down on Avebury, the stone circles,

0:31:140:31:18

and all the history that's involved.

0:31:180:31:20

He's really worked and rendered this little panel.

0:31:200:31:24

In particular, you can see that he's used relief work,

0:31:240:31:27

he's added pieces, he's dug away - it's rather magic.

0:31:270:31:31

This market has grown and grown and grown in the last few years

0:31:330:31:36

and there's huge demand for little pictures like this.

0:31:360:31:38

And will you be surprised

0:31:380:31:40

if I tell you this could make £10,000 on the present market?

0:31:400:31:44

Um, yes. That is a huge surprise.

0:31:440:31:47

If this rustic scene is what you think it is,

0:31:480:31:53

it made an absolute fortune when it was sold about 100 years ago.

0:31:530:31:57

I mean, I've got the catalogue here, the Beecham sale, at Christie's,

0:31:570:32:01

and this painting that looks like a George Morland

0:32:010:32:04

looks like the same picture here.

0:32:040:32:07

How long have you owned this painting?

0:32:070:32:10

I think I purchased it about 1975, '76.

0:32:100:32:14

Because you're hoping that it's one and the same picture

0:32:140:32:16

as the one in the catalogue?

0:32:160:32:18

I'd like to think it is, yes, indeed. Yes, quite, quite.

0:32:180:32:20

Well, I'm looking at the image here, illustrated in the catalogue.

0:32:200:32:24

This was an extremely important sale of a Mr Beecham.

0:32:240:32:29

He had a number of works by George Morland,

0:32:290:32:31

the late 18th century rustic painter.

0:32:310:32:34

That made over £5,000 in 1917.

0:32:340:32:39

-I mean, that's the price of a London townhouse then.

-Yes.

0:32:390:32:43

So, imagine if this is one and the same picture, how valuable it was.

0:32:430:32:47

True, it's quite a staggering sum of money, yes.

0:32:470:32:50

So, let's treat this like a crime scene and let's try and find out

0:32:500:32:53

whether or not it is old and whether it is the real thing.

0:32:530:32:58

The first thing is to look at the surface.

0:32:580:33:00

Is it discoloured? Does it have an ancient varnish?

0:33:000:33:03

-Well, I have to say it does, doesn't it?

-Certainly.

0:33:030:33:05

I mean, it's almost yellow.

0:33:050:33:07

Varnish ages with time, that's very reassuring.

0:33:070:33:11

Has it got any damages on it, signs of its history?

0:33:110:33:14

Well, it's got a great hole here,

0:33:140:33:17

so this is a picture that has a bit of a past.

0:33:170:33:20

Now, let's get a little bit more forensic.

0:33:200:33:21

Have you measured the painting

0:33:210:33:24

and is it exactly the same size as the picture that was sold in 1917?

0:33:240:33:28

Yes, well, within about an eighth of an inch,

0:33:280:33:32

the sizes for length and width are identical.

0:33:320:33:35

OK. Going deeper still,

0:33:350:33:37

I'd love to find out little bit more about the canvas of this picture,

0:33:370:33:41

see whether that can give us some history.

0:33:410:33:44

Has it at any point been relined,

0:33:440:33:46

which would suggest that the canvas, being very old,

0:33:460:33:50

has gone a bit floppy, has gone a bit decrepit,

0:33:500:33:52

and has gone on to a new canvas.

0:33:520:33:54

Now, with your permission, can I just take it out of its frame?

0:33:540:33:57

With pleasure, with pleasure.

0:33:570:33:59

I think we have two assistants here to help us do so, it's quite a job.

0:33:590:34:03

Incidentally, the frame itself is also quite reassuringly old-looking.

0:34:030:34:07

I wouldn't say it was 18th century, but it looks early 19th century.

0:34:070:34:11

-You think 1820, perhaps?

-Could do.

-Interesting.

0:34:110:34:14

-I don't know, because it's gone now!

-That's in its favour.

0:34:140:34:16

And yes, sure enough, you can see that this is a canvas

0:34:160:34:21

that has been laid onto a new canvas.

0:34:210:34:25

Now, this almost invariably happens with 18th century pictures.

0:34:250:34:29

So, you've got the right dimensions, you've got a relined canvas -

0:34:290:34:34

the sort of things that all add up.

0:34:340:34:37

But let's have a look at the picture itself

0:34:370:34:40

and home in, if you would, on those faces.

0:34:400:34:44

Now, I have to say,

0:34:440:34:45

this is where things begin to sound less optimistic.

0:34:450:34:50

Because if you analyse the quality of, let's say,

0:34:500:34:53

that boy's head there, well,

0:34:530:34:55

it's primitive to the point of implausible

0:34:550:34:59

for the work of George Morland.

0:34:590:35:01

And then if you have a look at the foliage,

0:35:010:35:05

that too, is it just a little bit sticky, a little bit repetitive,

0:35:050:35:11

not quite what it should be?

0:35:110:35:13

I fear that this is

0:35:130:35:16

an early 20th century fake of the real picture.

0:35:160:35:21

What has happened is,

0:35:210:35:23

someone has gone to inordinate trouble to cover their tracks.

0:35:230:35:29

This is a highly sophisticated craftsman

0:35:290:35:32

who understands how to make a picture look old

0:35:320:35:36

and has achieved that in all but one respect - the quality.

0:35:360:35:41

-Does that disappoint you?

-Well, it does, yes, yes indeed.

0:35:430:35:46

But you look as though you can handle it.

0:35:460:35:49

I'll have to handle it, won't I? Fact is fact.

0:35:490:35:51

Do you know what it would be worth if this were real,

0:35:510:35:55

as everything here superficially suggests?

0:35:550:35:58

I believe his pictures, this type of period of picture,

0:35:580:36:01

isn't fetching the peak money it used to fetch,

0:36:010:36:04

but I have no idea of what George Morland's currently worth.

0:36:040:36:07

As a work by George Morland

0:36:070:36:08

it would be worth anything between £60,000, £70,000 and £100,000,

0:36:080:36:14

a work of this scale.

0:36:140:36:16

As the work of a clever faker, I'm afraid it's worth about £1,000.

0:36:160:36:22

Oh, dear me. Can't win them all, then, can we?

0:36:220:36:26

On at cold and dismal Port Sunlight afternoon,

0:36:320:36:35

I was delighted to see this extraordinary collection

0:36:350:36:39

of vibrant, happy textiles.

0:36:390:36:41

What are they and when did you start collecting them?

0:36:410:36:44

This is part of the Afrograph collection.

0:36:440:36:47

We have a wide collection of African textiles,

0:36:470:36:50

and this is part of the commemorative cloths.

0:36:500:36:53

These commemorative cloths were printed and worn for celebrations,

0:36:530:36:57

national celebrations, international celebrations,

0:36:570:37:00

as well as family celebrations.

0:37:000:37:03

The oldest item we have belonged to my great-grandmother,

0:37:030:37:06

who was in her 80s when she died, and I was a little girl then.

0:37:060:37:10

We actually have a photograph of her wearing the Queen Victoria cloth.

0:37:100:37:16

That cloth was printed to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.

0:37:160:37:21

I think it's joyous to see such large samples.

0:37:210:37:24

-These were actually worn?

-Yes, these were worn.

0:37:240:37:26

These are actually skirts, like a wraparound skirt, so people wore them

0:37:260:37:33

and then when the time is passed for the celebration, you put it away

0:37:330:37:37

for your granddaughter or your great-granddaughter

0:37:370:37:40

to discover years after you are dead and gone.

0:37:400:37:43

These three textiles nearer me all relate to English royalty and then,

0:37:430:37:47

the one nearest you celebrates the starting of the Republic of Ghana?

0:37:470:37:52

That's right.

0:37:520:37:53

Ghana was the first black African country in the British Empire

0:37:530:37:56

to become independent and then, in 1960, Ghana became a republic,

0:37:560:38:02

so this cloth was printed to celebrate that

0:38:020:38:04

and it's got the picture of Kwame Nkrumah,

0:38:040:38:07

who was the president at the time.

0:38:070:38:11

This is a very small sample

0:38:110:38:12

of what I understand is a very large collection.

0:38:120:38:15

I think they're joyous, I think they're very decorative

0:38:150:38:17

and I think they're very rare.

0:38:170:38:19

We've got to talk a little bit about value,

0:38:190:38:22

but I'm totally at a loss, because I've never seen them before.

0:38:220:38:25

I've never seen them at auction.

0:38:250:38:27

My gut reaction, certainly for the bigger pieces,

0:38:270:38:30

that they could certainly be worth £300 or £400 for the earlier pieces

0:38:300:38:34

and maybe £100 - £150 for the smaller. But you have many, many?

0:38:340:38:39

Well, yes, and also we have no intention of selling them

0:38:390:38:43

because we can't enjoy them if we sold them to somebody else.

0:38:430:38:47

Wonderful sentiment.

0:38:470:38:48

And thank you so much for cheering up this slightly gloomy day.

0:38:480:38:53

It could be worse, it could be snowing.

0:38:530:38:55

LAUGHTER

0:38:550:38:57

Well, these items bring a new meaning to a visit to the dentist!

0:38:590:39:04

Where did you find these amazing fossilised teeth?

0:39:040:39:08

We had an old auntie who lived in Rowen in North Wales

0:39:080:39:12

and she inherited a cottage and when she died,

0:39:120:39:17

we just split all the things

0:39:170:39:19

between the family and my husband chose these.

0:39:190:39:22

Wow.

0:39:220:39:23

Well, this is a tooth from an extinct giant shark,

0:39:230:39:28

Carcharodon megalodon, which literally means "big tooth."

0:39:280:39:32

Imagine a whole jaw full of those!

0:39:320:39:36

These could be anything from two million to three million years old

0:39:360:39:39

and older and with teeth like this, they were eating giant turtles

0:39:390:39:43

whose carapaces they could just crack with the pressure.

0:39:430:39:49

They say there was a ten ton pressure force on that tip.

0:39:490:39:53

The biggest Great White tooth, three inches. These can grow to seven.

0:39:530:39:57

I mean, it's just absolutely colossal.

0:39:570:40:00

These are very exciting.

0:40:000:40:02

We've got all the teeth, we've got a fossilised eardrum,

0:40:020:40:04

perhaps of a young whale,

0:40:040:40:07

we've got a lovely large vertebra, perhaps from a Megalodon,

0:40:070:40:12

I'm just a little bit unsure.

0:40:120:40:14

The Megalodon shed its teeth regularly,

0:40:140:40:17

so these are found all over the world,

0:40:170:40:19

so they're quite a common one to find

0:40:190:40:22

but everybody loves a big tooth, don't they?

0:40:220:40:25

So, when it comes to value, that one alone is worth £150 - £200.

0:40:250:40:29

-Right, yes.

-And your whole collection should easily fetch

0:40:290:40:33

-between £600 and £900 at auction.

-Wow, brilliant. Yes.

0:40:330:40:38

-There we are.

-Great!

0:40:380:40:40

Well, on an awful rainy day like this,

0:40:420:40:45

it is so wonderful to see a piece that lifts the spirits.

0:40:450:40:49

What a glorious example. What's your relationship to it?

0:40:490:40:52

It was actually left to me by an elderly friend in his will.

0:40:520:40:56

I've had it about 20 years and it's just been in a glass cupboard.

0:40:560:41:00

I take it out every now and then and admire it.

0:41:000:41:03

-And give it a little polish?

-Yes, I do, yes.

0:41:030:41:05

And you have ever wondered where, or did he ever talk about it?

0:41:050:41:08

No, he never did and I'm sorry to say

0:41:080:41:11

that I've never chased it up, really. I know nothing about it.

0:41:110:41:15

I imagine it could have been Italian,

0:41:150:41:17

but that's as far as it goes.

0:41:170:41:19

Well, you've gone to the continent, which is fine, but actually

0:41:190:41:22

we need to go a little bit up and we need to go into what,

0:41:220:41:24

at the time when this was made, was really Bohemia.

0:41:240:41:28

We're actually with the firm of Loetz.

0:41:280:41:30

Now, Loetz at the time were really a tour de force

0:41:300:41:33

in the making of art glass.

0:41:330:41:35

They have their origins in the 19th century, actually,

0:41:350:41:39

starting around the 1830s, 1840s.

0:41:390:41:42

By 1900, they were at their absolute best.

0:41:420:41:46

In fact in 1900, they exhibited in Paris and won the Grand Prix.

0:41:460:41:51

They were deemed the leaders in making beautiful art glass.

0:41:510:41:55

-It is beautiful.

-It IS beautiful.

0:41:550:41:58

-It's beautiful and it's actually quite special.

-Is it?

0:41:580:42:02

In terms of the more technical aspects of it,

0:42:020:42:04

the range is called Papillion, which of course, butterfly.

0:42:040:42:09

This is cobalt Papillion.

0:42:090:42:11

This was first introduced around 1899 and, actually,

0:42:110:42:15

was one of the most popular designs

0:42:150:42:17

and ground decorations that they made.

0:42:170:42:20

But the thing that makes yours slightly more special,

0:42:200:42:23

of course, is this silver,

0:42:230:42:25

this wonderful sinuous Art Nouveau silver, which, funnily enough,

0:42:250:42:28

was predominantly made for the American market -

0:42:280:42:32

the Americans just adored this stuff.

0:42:320:42:35

And this works so beautifully and it sings.

0:42:350:42:38

Well, he must have thought a great deal of you

0:42:390:42:42

because his bequest to you today is worth between £2,000 and £2,500.

0:42:420:42:47

I'm glad it's been behind a cupboard with glass,

0:42:480:42:51

otherwise the cats would have had it!

0:42:510:42:54

You do know that this is

0:42:560:42:57

two separate pieces of jewellery, don't you?

0:42:570:43:01

I do, I do.

0:43:010:43:02

You've got the main centrepiece,

0:43:020:43:04

this rather large confection of pearls and diamonds at the front

0:43:040:43:08

and you've got a matching necklace at the back.

0:43:080:43:12

This necklace part at the back is mounted up in around about 1900

0:43:120:43:17

with pearls and diamonds, probably set in silver and gold.

0:43:170:43:22

And the main fabric of the piece in the front

0:43:230:43:25

is mounted up in platinum

0:43:250:43:28

and that was made in around about 1915 to 1920.

0:43:280:43:31

As far as you know, has it been in that format?

0:43:310:43:36

It was given to me in that format.

0:43:360:43:38

My mother got it for her 45th birthday

0:43:380:43:42

and she has always worn it in that format,

0:43:420:43:45

but I did know that it came in two separate pieces.

0:43:450:43:49

My goodness me, this is what

0:43:490:43:50

we call a formal piece of jewellery, isn't it?

0:43:500:43:52

It is indeed.

0:43:520:43:54

It represents an era which is long gone,

0:43:540:43:57

not many people wear pieces of jewellery like this

0:43:570:44:00

and when we see pieces of jewellery of this form,

0:44:000:44:02

the first thing you ask yourself, "Is it valuable? Is it commercial?"

0:44:020:44:06

Why should it be, if it isn't worn today?

0:44:060:44:09

Well, the answer is that it's got an awful lot going for it.

0:44:090:44:14

First thing, let's have a look at the necklace at the back.

0:44:140:44:18

These are almost certainly real natural saltwater pearls.

0:44:180:44:21

I think that they're not going to be cultured,

0:44:210:44:23

they're going to be the real thing.

0:44:230:44:25

It's natural saltwater pearls which are the valuable ones.

0:44:250:44:29

They're set in a line

0:44:290:44:31

with these little leaves of tiny diamonds in between,

0:44:310:44:34

but the main thing is it is a support system

0:44:340:44:38

for this extraordinary big plaque at the front,

0:44:380:44:44

which is what I would call a corsage piece,

0:44:440:44:47

a formal piece of jewellery.

0:44:470:44:50

These pearls are far more grown-up.

0:44:500:44:54

They are big pearls

0:44:540:44:55

and this is going to be natural saltwater pearls here

0:44:550:44:59

in this group of five.

0:44:590:45:01

They're beautifully matched.

0:45:010:45:03

Look at the colour of them -

0:45:030:45:05

lovely, silver-grey tone that each of the pearls has got.

0:45:050:45:09

Then let's have a look at the diamond frame,

0:45:090:45:11

which is a combination of old cut diamonds -

0:45:110:45:14

what do I mean by old cut? They're are not the modern cuts.

0:45:140:45:17

These are the period cut stones, the pedigree,

0:45:170:45:20

the old goods that people love so much.

0:45:200:45:24

If I take it off the block...

0:45:240:45:26

If we have a look at it here,

0:45:280:45:30

there's a tiny little name engraved on the top.

0:45:300:45:33

-Did you know that?

-No, I didn't know that.

0:45:330:45:36

Well, it's not easy to spot.

0:45:360:45:38

Before we come onto the name,

0:45:380:45:41

I just want to mention also that at the side of the frame, here,

0:45:410:45:46

you have two tiny little French control marks.

0:45:460:45:51

It's French, 1915,

0:45:530:45:57

but the name in the middle

0:45:570:45:58

is one of the great jewellers active in this period,

0:45:580:46:02

one of THE names...

0:46:020:46:06

Boucheron.

0:46:060:46:08

Boucheron Paris is up there with the best of the best.

0:46:080:46:13

Yes.

0:46:150:46:17

This is an overpoweringly commercial piece of jewellery

0:46:170:46:22

because it ticks all the boxes that jewellery buyers demand.

0:46:230:46:29

Platinum. Pearls. Diamonds.

0:46:300:46:36

1915 Boucheron.

0:46:360:46:38

If it didn't have any connection with Boucheron all,

0:46:400:46:45

if it were simply just a piece of jewellery in its own right,

0:46:450:46:50

I think I'd probably quote you £25,000.

0:46:500:46:55

Because of the fact that it has that provenance by Boucheron, Paris,

0:46:570:47:03

I think that your piece of jewellery

0:47:030:47:06

is worth £35,000-£45,000.

0:47:060:47:12

CROWD GASPS AND MURMURS

0:47:120:47:14

I want to make this clear to you,

0:47:140:47:17

I know we come out with grand statements, but for me,

0:47:170:47:21

this is the most wonderful thing that I've seen on the show.

0:47:210:47:26

Wow.

0:47:260:47:27

APPLAUSE

0:47:270:47:29

Port Sunlight may not be very sunny, but my goodness,

0:47:330:47:37

the people of Port Sunlight have been amazing today.

0:47:370:47:40

Look at you all in your blue ponchos in the pouring rain.

0:47:400:47:44

People have been standing here for hours, patiently, with good humour,

0:47:440:47:48

we could not have made the programme without them.

0:47:480:47:51

So, from the Antiques Roadshow,

0:47:510:47:53

thank you to the people of Port Sunlight, not the weather,

0:47:530:47:57

and we will see you next time. Bye-bye.

0:47:570:48:00

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