Episode 4 Antiques Road Trip

It's the nation's favourite antiques experts.

-That's cracking!

-With £200 each...

Wonderful!

..a classic car and a goal - to scour Britain for antiques.

That's exactly what I'm talking about.

I'm all over a-shiver.

The aim? To make the biggest profit at auction, but it's no mean feat.

-No-brainer!

-Going, going, gone!

There will be worthy winners and valiant losers.

So, will it be the high road to glory?

-Push!

-Or the slow road to disaster?

How awfully, awfully nice!

This is Antiques Road Trip.

Yeah!

Hurrah!

It's the next instalment of our Road Trip adventure

with Charles Hanson and James Braxton.

Where are we? Fife?

We are north of the Fife of Forfar, is that right?

Forfar 4, East Fife 5.

Yeah! No, we are north of the Firth of Forfar.

I think you will find it's the Firth of FORTH, old bean!

While geography clearly isn't Charles' strong point,

thankfully, sniffing out hidden antique treasures is.

Give me a high five. Thanks a lot.

His rival on this road trip is his old mate, James.

Risks equal rewards, or sometimes abject failure.

Well, taking a risk proved profitable for James on the last leg.

After starting with £200,

some good results at auction saw him finish with £260.34.

Brilliant!

Charles also kicked off with £200 and he, too, pulled in a profit,

pushing him into the lead with £266.40.

Hardly a sheet of Bronco between them.

Hah! On this trip, our boys are travelling

in a forerunner of the modern Audi, a 1964 DKW 1000 Coupe.

It was manufactured before seat belts were mandatory.

After beginning their epic trip in the Highlands,

Charles and James are journeying all over Bonnie Scotland,

taking in the North East and Central Belt

before finishing over the border in Berwick-upon-Tweed.

This leg will kick off in Inverkeithing

before ending up in Dundee for auction.

I can't see any antiques sign, James.

-New beds and...

-antique furniture.

There we are! That's a green light to you, Charles.

Yes, a green light. Go, go, go.

Have a good day!

It's a new day. Bye!

Charles has arrived at the Inverkeithing Bargain Centre.

-Good morning.

-Good morning.

-How are you?

-I'm fine.

-And you?

-I'm Charles Hanson, good to see you.

What an amazingly big antiques centre.

It certainly is, yes. Plenty for you to look at.

And there's some antiques and collectables.

Will Gail have a hidden gem for Charles to uncover?

You live and dream that that piece of Faberge will wink at you.

Or that lost Rembrandt will smile at you.

Dreaming big, eh?

I like it. But what tickles your fancy, then?

I like the old cannon ball down here on the bottom shelf.

When you see these early cannonballs,

you hope on the back of the card,

there might be some indication as to where it was found.

Has this cannonball got some romantic, Scottish history?

Time for a closer look.

I love social history, Gail,

and just on the bottom shelf here is a cannonball. What's its history?

Well, the trader actually bought it from a gentleman at a fair.

He was told that it was found in Stirling.

Whether it could be connected to Bannockburn, we're not too sure.

It might not be that old but it's a lovely find, nonetheless.

It's priced, Gail, at a fairly heavy £25.

-Uh-huh.

-And I would like to offer,

if it met your approval, £15.

Yes, Charles, I would give it to you for £15.

-Would you really?

-Yes, certainly.

I'll take it, Gail. Thanks ever so.

I'll leave it on the settee for the time being.

I'll carry on wandering and I'm delighted.

No messing about here, then.

£15 buys Charles the Scottish cannonball.

Right, anything else catch your beady eye, old boy?

It's quite a pretty little...

little what you might call octagonal fluted dish.

And here's a galleon, beautifully enamelled.

What's nice is you have the original label from the manufacturer

and that's Crown Devon and Crown Devon were renowned in the 1930s

for creating these iridescent oily lustre glazes.

Yeah. Ticket price is £14.

Will Gail be open for another deal?

Give me your biggest and best price. Be as kind as you would like to be.

So, what if we do it for £12.50?

Would you do it for £10?

Oh, well, seeing as it's you!

You smoothie, Charles!

That's two lots bought in his first shop.

Great stuff!

James, meanwhile, has motored ten minutes up the coast to Aberdour.

This picturesque seaside town is home to James' first shop,

Blake's Vintage and Collectables.

It looks nice.

-Hello!

-I'm Debbie.

-Hello, Debbie, James.

-Welcome to my shop.

There are plenty of vintage and antique goodies on offer.

So what takes your fancy, James?

So, I'm after smallish things, probably.

-OK.

-Silvery things. So have you got any silver?

I think I've got silver ashtrays here.

Ooh, looks like you're in luck, James.

-I think that's...

-As in a silver case.

-That's got a good weight to it, hasn't it?

-Yeah.

It's probably about 1920s, I would have thought.

Do you know, I haven't sold a cigarette case for years.

Because, of course, they went out...

and nobody's really found a workable application for them.

But it's quite a nice one. Let's have a think about that.

-OK.

-It's only the first thing I've seen, Debbie, isn't it?

-Yes.

Debbie's silver cigarette case is priced at £38.

One to think about.

Anything else?

These are lovely.

I think I might need this.

I spotted something and as all the best hagglers do,

you do need the fez to get you in the mood. OK?

So I'll wear this - I'll wear this for the big haggle.

Brace yourself, Debbie!

Now this is in preparation for a major haggle.

I like, Debbie, the cigarette case.

-Right.

-What can we do on this?

Go on, make my day. How about 15, Debbie?

So what have we got it for again?

-We've got it for...

-No clues, no clues.

38.

-No clues.

-15.

We'll do 15, we'll do 12.

-12?

-Come on, give me a kiss.

-What happened there?

-Thank you!

That's very kind. Thank you.

Just like that.

Well, that fez worked wonders and

James is off to a flying start with a huge £26 discount.

Well done, that man.

In the meanwhile, Charles has made his way to Falkland.

Charles has arrived at the violin shop, with over £240 in his pocket.

Not, I hope, for a violin, though.

-How are you?

-Bob Beveridge is the name.

I'm Charles Hanson.

Well, welcome to the ancient and historic Royal Burgh of Falkland.

It's so beautiful.

There's such character here.

And Bob, you have character.

-Oh, thank you.

-Full of flamboyance.

-Full of flair.

-Aye, he's trying to get stuff cheap, eh?!

He's on to you, Charles!

Right. Bob's shop is jam-packed with great antiques.

Let the hunt begin.

There's got to be something, Bob, that jumps out at me.

We are going to Dundee.

It's got all these lovely old etchings of Dundee in it.

And I've never handled such a large book.

Aha. It's a lovely, limited edition

on Dundee with a hefty ticket price of £300.

Look at this. Limited edition,

this is number 118

of 357 copies.

We've got a date here of 1895.

Dundee, Its Quaint And Historic Buildings by AC Lamb.

Just out of interest,

what would be your best price on this book on Dundee?

Well, I'm going to tell you what I'd give you it for.

I'd give you it for my purchasing price and I bought it for £200.

-Oh, don't say that.

-And I would let it go at that.

It could do very well.

But it's almost all my money tied up in one investment.

Oh, you've got deep breeches, you people from England.

No, I wish I did.

I think Charles may have met his match, you know

but he isn't giving up yet. Oh, no.

-Best price?

-I bought it with other books.

I've since sold the other books at a profit.

So £150 and that would be the absolute minimum on it.

That's half price. Charles?

I'm tempted to shake your hand and say...I shall learn from this.

Is that a deal, then? It is indeed.

And with that very generous discount, Charles ends the day's shopping,

by bagging himself the book. Bravo.

So ends a busy day for the boys.

Nighty-night.

It's a new day and our experts are up and at 'em early.

This morning, our esteemed auctioneers

have made their way to Abernyte in Perthshire.

They've decided to start the day with a spot of shopping together

at the Scottish Antiques And Arts Centre.

With a huge selection of antiques and collectables,

there's plenty on offer for both our experts.

This is quite nice. This has a real French, rustic feel.

There's nice stuff all over the place.

Even in a shop this size, they're still stumbling over one another.

Why have you been drawn to this stand, Charles?

-I heard your voice!

-LAUGHTER

I just like to follow your lead sometimes!

Enough of that - back to the task in hand, please.

I quite like this object in here, actually.

-What's that, what's that?

-There's a very nice...

-Which object is that?

-I like the little antique toleware candlestick.

-Oh, that's got age, hasn't it?

-On original base, yeah.

-That's got history.

-Can you do me a favour?

-Speak to the lady and get me a key for this cabinet, please, James?

-No.

That's aiding and abetting.

I don't want to improve your chance of success here.

Without the help of James,

Charles manages to get his hands on the toleware candlestick

for a closer inspection.

I think it has had some minor restoration.

You can see some scratching around the almost nozzle of the base.

It just has a wonderful feel of age

and I do believe the base does belong to this section.

It's late 18th, early 19th century

and it just has a favourable look for, I hope,

that rustic Dundee home.

Ticket price is £48 and Charles has just over £91 left in his pocket.

Now, where's James? Up to no good.

I spotted this out of the corner of my eye.

It's rather fun, isn't it? It is exactly what it says on the cover.

It's table billiards.

So this is the transformation of your...

..dining room table, or your kitchen table,

into billiard table.

So what you do is this will be the edge of the table.

You'd attach your pockets like that.

It looks as though it has absolutely everything here, bar the cues.

Ticket price is £49 and "Moneybags" Braxton has almost

£250 to play with.

Time to find dealer Margaret.

What could that be, Margaret? Make my day.

-The best price on that would be 44.

-44?

Margaret, thank you, I'll take it.

-That's very kind. Well done.

-No, delighted.

-Done.

-And just like that, the deal's done.

Top notch.

Charles, meanwhile, is with dealer Martin

checking out more candlesticks, brass ones this time.

What I like about these sticks is you can see how, over the years,

through fairly honest, loving polishing...

..we've got holes in the actual cast stick.

These are probably almost 300 years old.

So with a ticket price of £45

on the brass candlesticks and another 45

for the toleware one, is there a deal to be done?

If they were on their own, you know, I'd be saying...

45, I'd be saying probably best price on that would be 42.

-Yeah.

-Probably the same there, that's 45.

That's 90.

The best price that we would

probably be able to do on that would be...

..80 for the two.

I love them, Martin, and I'm burning inside to buy them,

-so I'm very happy to pay you £80 for them.

-OK, right.

Those two lots mean Charles has almost blown his entire budget

and is all shopped up.

So, he's having the afternoon off and taking the scenic route to the

ancient town of St Andrews on the east coast of Fife.

He's come to the University of St Andrews' Bell Pettigrew Museum

of Natural History - try and say that quickly -

to find out all about its namesake,

Professor James Bell Pettigrew.

He was a renowned surgeon,

anatomist and naturalist

who developed a passion for human-powered flight.

Charles is meeting Pettigrew researcher, Bianca Packer.

Great names.

Bianca, who was this man, James Bell Pettigrew?

He was a medicine man.

But while he was studying at Edinburgh and Glasgow University,

he showed a keen interest in natural history and I think he kind of kept

that interest throughout his life.

So while he was studying the heart in particular,

he was also studying animals and he was watching them move.

In particular, flight, I think

because he was interested in being one of the first men to achieve

controlled flight. It hadn't been achieved by the time we were getting

to the end of the 19th century,

and the race was becoming quite intense.

An expert in animal locomotion,

Pettigrew believed the natural world would reveal the secret to

achieving successful human flight.

He came up with a figure-of-eight theory

that he's largely credited with discovering.

There are a couple of people around the same time who were also

looking at this theory and he was supposedly the first to publish

on it, so he's able to claim ownership over that.

How is the figure of eight, how is that...

-to do with flying?

-Well, I can show you a little illustration here.

-Yes.

-If you have a look here, you can see that birds...

Well, birds do this, don't they?

Not quite. They actually do two shapes.

They do a forward loop and a backward loop.

And together, they make a figure of eight.

So I think the best way to describe it is coming down...

-Yes?

-..and around...

-Yes.

-..and back again.

-So down...

-So down, and that's my eight.

-Round?

-Down and round and back again.

-Wow.

-And the reason why that's very important is because

when their wing goes up, it creates a bit of a current

while it goes up, and the underside of the wing

forms a sort of kite, and when the wing

has the downward stroke, it creates a current again

and the other side of the wing becomes the kite.

So Pettigrew described this as birds flying on a whirlwind

of their own making. Which was quite a nice idea.

So it's a very efficient way of flying.

-Was this his book?

-That's correct.

-Wow!

Published in 1873, this book was supposedly

the book that the Wright brothers read when they

were doing their early research in animal locomotion.

It's believed this book helped inspire Wilbur and Orville Wright,

the famous American brothers who are considered the fathers

of modern aviation.

We do hear in some of the resources that they corresponded,

but it's not quite sure exactly on what,

and I think perhaps during that race for the skies

there was a lot of communication between rivals,

and ultimately, I think he did have an impact

on their early research, and it's really interesting

because almost everybody was looking at birds at that time.

-This was 1873?

-Correct.

How long later did he then come up with maybe a contraption

to fly in or to fly with?

Well, we speculate between 1900 and 1903,

which is just before the Wrights had their successful flight,

that he gave it a shot himself.

He built something that we would call an ornithopter today,

and if we look here, we can see

it's quite an expanse, and the reason why is he was

quite determined that by having such a long wing expanse

it wouldn't need to flap as quickly,

and the reason for this is he had, witnessed how hawks and eagles fly

and they didn't have to flap their wings very often to achieve flight.

So he felt that the larger wing expanse here

would maybe be suitable.

Although there are no official records,

legend has it that Pettigrew flew the machine

down a slope in St Andrews for a distance of 60 feet before crashing,

with the then 70-year-old professor

breaking his hip in the accident.

He felt that having a rigid, fixed plane wingspan

was not the answer for flight, and unfortunately, we know today

with the planes that we have that that IS the most successful way

to achieve human flight.

So, I don't think that he was successful,

but I think his idea was really interesting,

because he was looking for something efficient designed by nature.

Shortly after Pettigrew's unsuccessful and painful flight,

the Wright brothers went on to achieve the first

powered, sustained and controlled flight of an aeroplane in 1903.

James Bell Pettigrew died in 1908,

but his research on animal locomotion

and his passion for flight is not forgotten.

I think he showed us how keen attention to detail

and looking at these animals very closely

could reveal secrets that even today if we look at

aeronautics and how things are developing,

and our race for the skies continues onwards and upwards into space,

that there's still many secrets to behold

in the natural world around us.

Bianca, it's been wonderful to see how this great man, Bell Pettigrew,

achieved what he did.

I've really enjoyed it and thank you for an education.

James still has some serious shopping to do,

so he's made his way to Rait in Perthshire.

He's come to Rait Antiques Centre.

There is an eclectic mix of antiques and vintage items,

and James still has over £200 available to spend.

Dundee - our next stop.

Hang on, hee-hee, it's another copy of Charles' so-called rare book.

Oh, dear!

What does it say here?

Right, James, with dealer David at your side, what can you find?

That's got a good top, hasn't it?

-Hmm, is it a marble top?

-Yeah.

-Chinese.

Got a simplified look about it, hasn't it?

We've got some Chinese character marks on it.

The only problem is it's got a slight crack through it.

The dealer who owns this rosewood table is asking £150. Wow!

That is going out on a limb, isn't it?

150 for that.

If I could get it nearer the hundred, but, you know,

it's worth a call, isn't it?

Yeah, sure is, it's Chinese.

What's he said then?

Tony would accept 100 on it because

-he needs to clear his stock.

-Oh, well done.

-I think I'll buy it.

-Excellent.

-Thank you very much indeed.

-Good.

-Thank you.

Cor, with £50 knocked off,

James has picked up the marble topped Jia Juan Li table.

Right, what's next?

This is quite fun, isn't it?

I remember no home was without a cradle, wasn't it?

Everybody had a cradle on their landing.

What's the best that could be?

The price is on it at the moment.

It's on at 95.

Is that the sort of thing that could be sort of 40 or 50?

50 would be possible.

-50 would be...

-It's certainly possible, yeah.

We've also got this and I don't know if that would make a lot with it?

It's a child's woven cradle,

and the two perhaps would make a lot together.

This one's only on at £18, but...

Are you offering to throw that in then, David?

An extra tenner would be fine.

CHUCKLING: Nice try, Braxton.

Would you do that one for £4?

-So making 54?

-Yes, we would.

-You would?

-Yes, that would...

-OK, go on, I'll buy that.

-Thank you very much.

-For the two.

-That's super.

Another kind discount and another lot bought.

But it doesn't look like James is done just yet.

What are these woods here?

They are beautiful.

They're lignum vitae... bowling balls.

"Geo. Mackay of Edinburgh."

They're beautiful objects, aren't they?

The dealer has a ticket price of £69 on these bowls.

I haven't got £69. I HAVE got 50.

Do you think they might do 50?

I think it's very close to the mark.

Would you like me to contact them and ask?

-My only tolerance is 34p above 50.

-£50.34 is your...

JAMES LAUGHS

Another quick call and David's back.

-What news, David?

-You're in luck. £50.50 will do it.

I haven't got 50p, I've got 34.

-That will do fine.

-Good.

Phew!

I'd hate 16p to be the breaking point!

With every last penny spent, James walks away with the table,

the two rocking cradles, the set of woods,

which he adds to his earlier purchases -

the silver cigarette case and the Victorian table billiards set,

giving him a total of five lots to take to auction.

Charles has also bought five lots.

The Scottish cannonball,

the Crown Devon Maritime dish,

the late 19th-century rare book on Dundee -

well, they say "rare" -

the pair of brass candlesticks and the toleware candlestick.

He's spent a total of £255.

So, what do they think of each other's lots?

Not a lot, I suspect.

I love his Chinese table.

That really has potential Eastern promise to create worldwide news

and could be the headliner at the auction.

Early candlesticks used to make big money, but they're... No more.

I don't know, would I swap or not? I think I'll stick with mine.

There's no time to change.

James has been reunited with Charles and they're now en route

to auction in the city of Dundee.

The place with the rare books.

-James, hold tight. We are going over the River Tay Bridge...

-Tay.

Look at this.

Today's auction will take place at Curr & Dewar Auctioneers

in the heart of the city,

where they know about rare books.

-What a beautiful day.

-What could go wrong?

-Exactly. Exactly.

-What could possibly go wrong?

Sometimes do you feel, James, a city's on your side?

Do you feel Dundee will be right for us?

Hmm, Charles is hopeful. Could be to do with rare books.

But what will the man with the gavel today, auctioneer Stephen Dewar,

think of our experts' lots?

Well, one of the lots today is a Lamb's Dundee,

as they call them locally, a big leatherbound book

of Dundee properties and Dundee as the old city.

They usually sell quite well.

The rocking cradle's quite nice. It's nicely painted.

Value-wise, I would be looking at around 50 to £80 on the cradle.

The room's filling up and the boys are seated and raring to go.

First up are James' two rocking cradles.

-30 is bid.

-Oh, hello!

I have £30, front left, £30.

A bid anywhere? 35. 40. 45. 50.

-Wow.

-£50 front right, at 50 and selling, all done?

Ah, that's a shame, but it's only a little loss.

Doesn't matter. It's...

It's a start.

That it is, Charles.

Up next, your brass candlesticks.

£60 now. Opening bidder, at £60...

-Are you sure?

-Come on!

-On commission at £60.

-On commission!

-Are you sure now?

-There's legs in them, there's legs.

-There's legs, there's legs!

-Last chance, first bidder, first price.

-Thank you.

-Cor, cheap enough.

A maiden bid there sees Charles kick off with a profit.

One small Dundee step.

Right, James, you're playing catch up with your lignum vitae woods.

Commission starts me at £20.

-Oh, God.

-Need to move.

-I have £20, a set of four woods at £20.

Any advance now at £20?

All done then?

Another maiden bid, but this time producing a loss.

You bought with passion, and those balls were cheap,

-and that's life and that's...

-That's life, isn't it?

Charles' next lot is up now.

Will his toleware candlestick attract much attention?

15 bid. £15 it is now.

Oh, £15, I thought 50! Come on! That's too cheap.

At 15, any advance at 15? 25. £25.

-Any advance at £25?

-Surely one more.

-All done then?

Agh, they're certainly proving a tough crowd here today. Bad luck.

-That's what I call a result.

-Hello? Is anyone here?

Don't get too smug, James.

Your pricey purchase it up next.

The Jia Juan Li marble-topped table.

At 75. 80. Five. 90. Five.

100. Five. 110.

-Good man.

-110 with the porter.

-Any advance at 110? Are you all done?

-It's a loss.

-At £110...

-Come on, come on.

Oh, James. After auction house costs,

that will be another small loss.

-£10 loss.

-Doesn't matter, though. It was worth a gamble.

Time now to find out if the Scottish cannonball

-will make Charles a profit.

-I'll open it up at £30 on commission.

-Come on.

-At £30, two commission buyers.

-35. 40.

-Surely one more.

Five. 50. Five.

-Come on!

-Commission buyer's at 55.

-Any more?

-60 anywhere?

-Any more?

-At £55, any advance at 55?

Well done.

Fantastic profit there for Charles, well done.

Thank you, Scotland.

I'll come again.

How will the crowd take to James' table billiard set?

At £25 there, for a lot, at £25.

-Good lad.

-30. Five.

-40.

-40.

-Five.

-40 on my right. At £40, 45.

-50. £50 on my right.

-That's good.

-Well done. Profit.

-£50, all done then at 50.

-Good man.

I'm selling... Thank you.

-That's more like it.

-I got away with it.

That's good. You know, chin down, bit of that.

-Slightly washing the face.

-Bit of that.

Next up, it's Charles's Crown Devon dish. Ooh-arr!.

-10?

-Oh, I say.

-Ten is the wave.

-Come on.

-15, ma'am?

20. Five. 30. Five.

-£35.

-Come on.

-At 35 now, any advance at £35?

-Are you bidding?

-I'm stuck in my chair.

At 35....

Nicely done. Good news for Charles.

-Happy?

-I'm not happy. You may be happy.

Will James' final lot, his silver cigarette case,

put a smile on his face?

At £20. Five. 30. Five.

40. Five. £50 at the bed, at £50.

Any advance at £50?

-That's amazing, James.

-Better, isn't it?

-£50...

Now, you HAVE to be pleased with that.

That gives you a nice big step forward.

Right, time to get serious, Charles. It's the biggie.

Your 19th century limited edition book on Dundee.

At £80 it is for Lamb's Dundee.

-Let's go.

-£80.

-Let's go.

-Come on, let's go!

-110, 120...

-Let's go!

-..130, 140...

-Come on!

-..150, 160...

-Come on!

-Fantastic!

-..170. I'm out now.

170 is there.

-Anybody else in?

-Surely.

£170...

It was a risky punt, and it's paid off. Marvellous.

Shall we hit the road?

Good to go, jacket on?

I think we should go, yeah.

Auction done, it's time to talk figures.

James started this leg with £260.34.

Unfortunately, he made a little loss of £30.74 after auction costs.

But this still leaves him with a healthy £229.60.

Oh, yes.

Charles began with £266.40 and he managed to make a profit,

gaining £27.90 after auction costs, giving him £294.30,

which means he wins again and goes into the next leg in the lead.

So our dapper pair head into a new day

with their newly acquired totals

and are ready to take on the next leg of their trip.

-I'm going to buy really old things.

-Good. Please.

That is what will get my juice...

That is what will get my sap rising. And don't forget...

I'm not after your sap.

Quite right.

This leg will get going in Glasgow and end in Hamilton for auction.

Good egg that he is,

James is dropping off Charles at the first shop.

Isn't that lovely? See that the old boy doesn't get wet, eh?

Have a good day. See you later.

This emporium is bursting with potential buys.

Dealer John is on hand to help. Hi, John.

-Now, what have you got there?

-Isn't that nice?

A little barometer.

Set to fair, at the moment, is our road trip.

It could get stormy.

The reason I like this

is it's almost got this militaria association.

It reads here, "To Sgt Maj Hardy on his marriage

"from his squadron leader Captain the Honourable RH Lindsay,

"Royal Scots Greys."

It's in oak and a good barometer. It's circa 1910.

Could it be a great price? There's no price on it.

The barometer isn't John's to sell,

but luckily the dealer's wife is in the shop today, Julie.

What is your man willing to accept, then, girl?

He says you can have it for 40.

-You've got to fall in love with an object.

-That's true.

I think this object has a real history,

so I think with that price, I shall buy it.

First lot bought - anything else grab you, Charles?

There's this lovely little dish.

Elkington-style charger with an agricultural scene.

It's been described as being on copper.

It's silver-plated, but just very nice quality.

With a ticket price of £70,

is there a deal to be done with John?

What is the best on that if I bought that?

60.

I'll take it for £60 and take a gamble with it,

Thanks a lot, sir.

Good. A second lot secured for £60. But how about a third?

Hang on, this piece of porcelain

looks like it has seen better days, Charles.

This is a lovely little dish.

This is hand-enamelled with a very attractive lady.

What I like about this is the gilding on this rim.

But we talk about condition, condition is so important,

and you will see on the back, it has been plastered.

You've got some quite serious damage,

and the old wire from where it's been held up.

It will date to around 1880, made at Dresden in Germany,

like Staffordshire is to England, a huge epicentre,

but it is completely smashed, isn't it, John?

What's the best price on that?

-For you?

-Yes.

-£1.

£1?

-Yes.

-For 100 pence, I will take her.

-Going, going, gone.

-No problem.

-Thanks a lot, John.

That's another programme, isn't it?

Anyway, three lots bought. Well done.

James, meanwhile, has motored 23 miles south-west

to Kilbirnie in Ayrshire, home of The Stirrup Cup,

a lovely little antique shop that James has visited before.

Look out.

-Hello.

-Hello, James.

-Greta, how are you?

I'm very well. Nice to have you back.

Yeah, lovely to be back, isn't it?

With a selection of antiques and curios,

you're bound to find something old in here.

Look at the condition of that bell.

It's got a bit of history, though.

-That's had a direct hit.

-The Blitz in Glasgow.

-So where did this come from?

-Clydebank.

That is where we had a lot of our problems.

-Isn't that great?

-Isn't it great?

The poor air raid warden wouldn't wear that, would he?

-That would have been on his door.

-That would have been on his door.

Yes. It is all bumped and bashed, isn't it?

It's quite funny that it's an ARP warden... So Air Raid...

-Air Raid Personnel.

-Air Raid Personnel.

..would have had a direct hit.

How much are those two, Greta?

Well, I could do the two for 40 for you.

-40. It's got history, hasn't it?

-Yes.

-That certainly has.

I quite like that. I think I'm going to put that aside, Greta.

Touching history, that's what we need to do.

Looks like James has spotted another bit of history

in the form of an oak table. Oh, yes.

The table is Arts and Crafts,

so you're looking at, what, 1890, 1900?

It has been restored...

Yeah, it looks very clean, doesn't it?

-It is in perfect condition.

-Nice piece, that.

It's good, isn't it?

With a ticket price of £225, the table is set aside for now

because something shiny has caught James's eye.

They are very stylish, aren't they? They're early,

when the Orkney silver first took off,

which would be probably about the '70s.

Ola Gorie, she was one of the main designers for Ortak.

But will Greta be willing to go lower

than the £50 ticket price?

I could do them for 25 for you, James.

What was the best you could do on that table?

I could do the table for 80.

-80.

-Yes.

That is a very generous discount. Right, James, decision time.

I'm going to definitely take the earrings at 25.

Could you take a bit off that one, 70,

and then I will pay you the 40 on that

so it's 135?

-Right, OK.

-Would that be all right?

-Yes, let's agree on that.

-Thank you, that's very kind.

Very kind.

That's three lots bought for £135 in your very first shop!

Charles has been back on the road and made his way to Prestwick,

home to Nae Sae New. That's a shop.

Dealer Gary has plenty of antiques and collectables on offer,

and it doesn't take Charles long to spot something he likes.

I like the spoons. They're nice, aren't they?

How much are those silver spoons, Gary?

Those ones are 35.

-And the best price, Gary, on those could be...to an old mate?

-28.

They're quite sweet.

Right, the spoons are a possibility, and the search continues.

-We always like being able to root.

-Get stuck in.

CHARLES LAUGHS

That's quite nice, isn't it, Gary?

-A little seal.

-Probably Regency in period.

If you were a man of some distinction,

you would certainly be using this at your desk

to rubber-stamp your letters with your wax seal.

I bet, Gary, it is quite good value.

-Very.

-Tell me.

-Fiver.

-Yeah, I thought so.

Not bad at all, isn't it? I might put that on the side there, Gary.

What I also like is that. It's a rule, isn't it?

-Yes.

-How early is that?

-Late 19th, early 20th.

What could that be, best price?

-Eight.

-That's your very best on that?

-See what else you come up with.

-OK.

I will put it over there as well, Gary.

What's Gary got in there, then?

His stash.

Oh, I say! That is quite a sweet pendant,

isn't it, with a footballer?

Yes, it's got a compass on the other side.

Oh, how nice, Gary. How much is that?

I could do that for eight.

I'm going to take him out and put him on your counter

with my little ruler and stamp.

What we've got is a nice drum mustard

that's hallmarked Birmingham, made by Walker & Hall.

You've then got matching salt, with spoons.

They are all silver, which is nice.

How much, Gary, would all that be, there, out of interest?

30.

With a combined ticket price of £58 on the selection of silver

and £21 for the compass, rule and seal,

what's the best Gary will do?

-I would do 50.

-OK.

-I would do...

..15 for those three pieces.

I'm going to, for auction, put those three together.

-Right.

-And pay £15.

-OK.

-Done. OK.

I have now confirmed one lot.

I'm going to buy these spoons for £20.

Job done. Thank you very much.

Then, finally, I'm going to buy my group of metalware,

which is all silver, for £30.

Gary, thank you.

£65 has Charles another two lots for auction. Jolly good stuff.

Thanks for the memories. See you.

James, meanwhile, is still in Ayrshire,

and has made his way down to Ardeer,

which is in the bottom of our garden. Ha!

It was here in the late 19th century

that Swedish scientist and inventor Alfred Nobel

built what was, at the time,

the biggest explosives factory in the world.

After centuries of gunpowder ruling the explosives market,

everything changed when nitroglycerin was invented,

which Nobel then used to manufacture dynamite.

James is meeting local author Dr Eric Graham to find out more.

Boom boom.

Eric, tell me about the man himself, Alfred Nobel.

Well, he was a Swedish chemist, engineer.

He takes this new product called nitroglycerin,

which was very unstable, and he makes it safe by mixing it

with a kind of moss, bog material, quite inert,

which he'll patent, and he'll call it dynamite.

This was no mean feat.

The volatile nature of nitroglycerin had caused many deaths,

including Nobel's youngest brother, Emil,

who was killed while experimenting with the dangerous liquid in 1864.

Crikey. Over the next three years,

Nobel focused on the safety issues with nitroglycerin.

In 1867, dynamite was born.

Although manufacturing was still dangerous,

the finished product was much safer to handle.

He was a very astute businessman.

He was very good at organising the capital.

He knew governments would be very interested,

because it's such a powerful explosive device.

With the British Empire expanding, demand for dynamite quickly grew

as it was ideal for blasting tunnels, cutting canals

and building railways and roads.

Of course, you will have 13,000 people working at this site alone.

-13,000 here?

-Just here in Ardeer.

-Really?

Nobel chose to build his factory on the Ardeer Peninsula

due to its remote location and huge sand dunes,

which provided natural safety features

for the dangerous manufacture of dynamite.

All these earthworks you see all round about you,

excavated out of sand dunes,

provides the unit production with protection.

So if they were to go up, the hut would explode,

but the force would go up the way, not sideways.

I see, so not hitting anything else, just straight up into the air.

So you minimise damage and casualties

and you don't lose the factory.

This is what we're going to prove with the experiment, isn't it?

-This force going up.

-An experiment, yes, that would be excellent.

-Get blowing something up.

-Yes!

This sounds right up James's street!

So we've got the brown box.

And in the blue box, we have the same amount of charge,

but this box will be uncovered, whereas this one will be...

It's sand-bagged.

The experiment will show how the contained one here,

give an example of how these blast walls,

these will be the sand bags to hold the blast and direct it upwards,

away from the other munitions workers and huts.

-You can't wait to press the button, can you?

-I can't.

Get plunging!

We don't have plungers any more. Far more sophisticated.

Boxes prepped and ready to go. James gets to do the honours.

This is where the button is.

KLAXON SOUNDS

All away?

Press one.

Here we go.

So, with both boxes blown, it's time to survey the damage.

The non-sand-bagged blue box first.

It's scattered, isn't it? All over.

Well, there's not a lot left of the blue box, that's a fact.

-No, no.

-It's everywhere. As far as you can see.

-All over.

I can see it over there as well.

How's our brown box fared?

I think it should have been much more contained.

-The damage is localised.

-It is localised, isn't it?

For almost 25 years,

Nobel's explosives were manufactured at Ardeer.

Sadly, 21 people lost their lives here,

but compared to the number of employees,

it was actually a lower death rate

than any cotton mill or shipyard at that time.

Eric has a very close connection with Ardeer

as one of his relatives once worked here.

So this is my wonderful Aunt Maisie. Just engaged to be married.

-She's 22 years old.

-22 years old.

She would be one of four girls in the cartridging huts.

Unfortunately, 66 years ago to this day,

my Aunt Maisie and the other three girls were blown up,

so they all died.

We've never found out what caused the accident,

but the principle that we've been discussing

meant that only that hut went.

-Yeah. Yeah.

-So there was no more casualties.

-It didn't spread.

-It didn't spread.

-Amazing.

Although dynamite revolutionised the mining and construction industries,

it wasn't long before the military began using it in warfare.

In 1888, a French newspaper mistakenly published

Alfred Nobel's obituary,

describing him as a man who made millions

through the death of others.

Reportedly stunned, Nobel was determined to improve his legacy.

A year before he died in 1896,

he signed his last will and testament,

in which he set aside the majority of his vast estate

to establish the Nobel prizes,

including one awarded for the pursuit of peace.

Thank you, Eric. It's been...

Well, you've made this former very busy landscape come alive again.

-I loved doing the blasting.

-Did you?

Let's get into the warm.

-North Ayrshire, it's quite cold, isn't it?

-Yes!

And so ends another explosive day for our experts.

Time for some shuteye. Night-night, you two.

No explosions and it's a new day in Bonnie Scotland,

and our boys are back on the road.

This morning, our likely lads have made their way to the village of

Overtown in North Lanarkshire,

where Charles is dropping James off at his first shop of the day.

Garrion Bridges Garden And Antique Centre.

I've been there.

Bloom like a daffodil!

-Good luck, but not too much, bye.

-Yeah. Flower.

James has almost £95 to spend,

and manager Greg is lending a helping hand this morning.

Nice bit of plain porcelain there. Who's it made by?

We've got Royal Doulton there.

We've got a date, 1936.

Normally with commemorative china,

you don't get the sort of royal cipher there,

so the initials - you normally get something to do with an event.

Say like a coronation.

-That's history. I like that.

-History, yeah.

-It's damaged.

What have we got? We've got 15 on that. Can I make a cheeky offer?

-You can, on you go.

-A fiver.

A quick call to the dealer, and Greg's back.

-Right, bad news, I'm afraid.

-Bad news, Greg?

What is the bad news?

-£12.

-£12? Oh, he's a tough man, isn't he?

-Very tough.

-Tough man.

£12?

I think it's still worth having a go at.

-Why not? In for a penny.

-Thank you.

-Thank you, Greg.

The little Doulton jug secured for £12 - well done, James.

With more shopping still to do,

James has made his way to Newhouse in North Lanarkshire.

He's arrived at Greenside Antique And Decorative Arts Centre

with just over £80 still in his pocket...

and looking very pleased with himself.

I'm looking for an elusive combination - profit and history.

What on earth is that?

Look at that light!

That's cutting-edge design, isn't it?

Looks like a plastic lamp from around the 1970s, I'd say.

Can we just suspend the seeking of history, here?!

Cos this is slightly tempting.

Yeah, you bet. There's no ticket price

so time for a wee chat with dealer Alan.

If it lights, I might buy it.

Look at that!

-Super splendid.

-Haven't even cleaned it!

-Alan, a fiver, chief.

-How about £10, eh?

Fiver... £10?

-How about splitting the difference, chief?

-£8?

-£8, I'll give you the favour. Well done.

-Great, great.

Retro lamp bought -

and just in time, cos here comes Hanson.

Apparently, he's in here now, James is,

and I'm determined just to maybe join the party.

Quick, hide! He's here!

Is he down here?

Now... Look at him go.

Ha, Charles, he's behind you!

This is ridiculous.

He's got the observational skills of a newt.

Charles, you great berk.

LAUGHTER

-How's it going?!

-Very good.

-How's it going?

-How are you?

-Yeah, very well.

-All spent up?

-Well, no.

I'm never spent up, James,

because there's always a chance to keep hunting.

Always a goodie, isn't there?

With James all shopped out, Charles has the place to himself

with just over £128 left.

If I'm going to find something, it's got to be quite big, I feel.

So, he's after big, and he's found...

well, small.

In this cabinet here is a label, which reads,

"A set of three Roman nails, 2,000 years old."

For three old nails - and they're just wonderful to see.

The ticket says £45. Alan! You're needed.

Priced at £45, what could these Inchtuthil Perthshire nails be?

-For you, Charles, 20.

-Not bad at all. Let me give them some thought.

I quite like, also, Alan,

-the very nice Benson pocket watch here.

-Yeah.

Nice quality.

Slightly engine turned, that's worn,

but these beautiful blue enamel dials,

and that's just a beautiful watch,

and Benson really was one of the leading pocket watchmakers.

The Benson family were highly regarded watchmakers

in the middle of the 19th century.

It's priced at only £35. The best on that would be...?

Well, in the condition it is -

-I don't think it's working properly, that one.

-Oh, right.

-£15, as it is.

-I mean, the silver is worth that, I'm sure.

-Yeah, it is.

-It's cheap.

-If I bought the Benson pocket watch and the nails...

-Uh-huh.

-..what's the best price you could do - the very best?

-30.

Those nails at £15, I'm going to say yes to. So, I'll buy the nails.

-Uh-huh.

-Is there any margin on that watch, at all?

-12? Give you a chance.

-Go on, then. Sold.

-There we are.

-Job done.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much, Alan.

That's two more items bought for £27.

-Thanks a lot, Alan. Take care. See you.

-Thank you, bye.

All the best. Bye-bye.

Charles does have a bulging shopping bag.

Along with the rare Roman nails,

he has his selection of assorted silver,

which he's adding the Benson fob watch to.

There is the early 20th-century barometer,

the 19th-century embossed charger, the Dresden porcelain plate,

and his combined lot of the football compass, parallel rule,

and treen seal, giving him a six-lot haul.

Gosh.

Meanwhile, James has bought five lots -

the Arts and Crafts oak table,

the World War II ARP handbell and doorplate,

the Ola Gorie silver earrings

and the Royal Dalton jug - and, of course, his retro lamp.

So, what will they make of each other's lots?

Typical Charles - unexpectedly, he always reaches back into history.

His Roman nails are a class act.

I do like his bell - the great Air Warden bell.

It's in a condition which makes one think, "What's its story?"

After beginning in Glasgow,

our experts are now hurtling on towards the auction in Hamilton.

The boys have arrived at LS Smellie & Sons, Auctioneers.

-Man and machine...

-James, don't you feel...

..in perfect harmony.

-..this place has a pedigree...

-Do you think so?

..to give us a real life?

-Are you feeling lucky?

-Very.

The gentleman holding the gavel today is James Henderson -

so what does he reckon to our lads' lots?

I think the Arts and Crafts table will do OK, it's quite nice,

and, well, I know the silver will probably do the better of the lots,

but it depends who's here.

The boys have battled their way through the crowd

to take their places, and are raring to go.

It's like you're almost like a jockey, you know?

Well, they're under starters orders, and they're off!

First up, ding-ding, is James's ARP handbell and doorplate.

Give it a ring, go on!

10, I'm bid.

10. 12, now.

At 12, at 14. 16...and 18.

And 20, and 22.

At 25, and 28.

At 28, 30.

At 30, I'm bid.

At 30, and fresh bid at 2 - £32.

-Well done.

-At 32, at 32, at 32...

Come on, it's worth this.

At 32 - all done at £32.

A disappointing start could be a dead ringer.

But still, time to make it all up.

-This is your first item...

-Yeah.

-Don't worry about it.

So sweet. Let's see if Charles can fare better with his barometer.

50. 55. 60...

-65.

-Hold tight.

-It's a lovely object.

-80 now.

-£80! It's moving.

-At 80 I'm bid.

And 85. 90.

For Queen and country! Come on!

-100.

-Come on!

-100 for the barometer. At 100.

-Come on!

-At 100, I'm bid.

-Come on!

-At 100, 100, 100, 100.

-That's enough, James.

-All done at £100.

-Don't be greedy.

-Sold! Fantastic.

Fantastic indeed.

The pressure is rising - and a whopping great profit for Charles.

-I'm delighted.

-I bet you're delighted!

James, can redeem yourself with your retro lamp?

20 I'm bid, sir. At 20.

-2, and 5, and 8.

-We're flying.

And 30 and 5. And 40 and 5.

-At £50.

-Well done.

-At 50, bid 50, bid 50...

-A person of taste.

Bid 50. All done at £50.

The retro lamp bags James his first profit of the day.

-Get in, hey?

-Get in there, mate.

Hey, Charles. Leave his pate alone.

Now, what about the table?

Do you feel another profit coming on?

At 20, bid 2.

At 22, bid 4, at 4, bid 28.

Bid 30, bid 5.

-40, and 5.

-Moving.

-And 50.

-At 55, at 60 with the lady.

-Go on.

5 now on the telephone.

-70, at 70 bid.

-Good man.

-Go on.

5, at 75.

80 now. At 85 on the telephone.

-95.

-95, 95 I'm bid.

-At 100 on the telephone.

-Keep going.

-At 105.

-At 105, at 110.

-Go on.

-At 115. At 120 now.

-God.

-At 130 with the lady.

-140, 150. At 150, I'm bid at 150.

-Go on.

-Amazing.

-Get in!

-150, 150, 150, 150...

-That's amazing.

-All done at 150!

-What a marvellous profit. Looks like you're on a roll, James.

-Well done.

Right, it's Andrew Smellie's turn to take the gavel

and Charles's rare Roman nails are coming up next.

£10, 12.

-14, 16...

-They're worth a lot more.

-18.

-Go on, sir. Real history.

-20.

-Hammer it home!

20, I'm bid. £20. All finished?

£20.

Not the result Charles was hoping for, but a profit none the less.

-I'd love, you know, I'd love a Roman nail.

-Wouldn't we all?

James' silver Ola Gorie earrings are next to go under the gavel.

-10 I'm bid. 12, 14...

-What are they worth?

-I don't know.

-16, 18.

-It's out of my comfort zone, this sort of thing.

They sit so well and they have style.

22 I'm at, 24.

He's back in. That man's got style.

30, 2, 34 on the rail.

36? All finished for the earrings?

£36.

James bags himself another pretty profit. Well done.

When I knew you ten years ago, you had a little stud.

I thought you did.

-I had one in the nose, remember.

-That was it.

Now that would be a sight to see.

Charles' turn now - his combined lot of the football compass,

parallel rule and treen seal.

£20, left, I have. 2.

24, 26, 28.

30, 2, 34.

36, 38, 38 left.

38 I'm bid. All finished.

-I'd leave it.

-£38.

Well done, Charles. Great profit there.

-Give us a kiss.

-No.

-Give us a kiss.

-No!

Oh, do behave, you two.

Up next, it's Charles' Dresden porcelain plate

that he bought for £1.

10 for the plate.

I like the Sellotape.

-Oh!

-£5, 6.

-6, 8 I'm bid.

-Stunning.

-10.

-It's stunning. Come on.

14 bid on the right. Sponsored by Super Glue.

-14, 16.

-Over there.

-18, 20.

-Over there.

-20 I'm bid.

-Go on, sir.

-22.

-Beautiful plate.

-24 on the left.

-Make a memory.

£24.

Oh, look at that. An incredible profit from a £1 purchase.

That's 100, up 2,300 pence.

Time for James' final lot. His Royal Doulton jug.

10 on the left. 12.

-14, 14...

-Profit.

-16.

18, 20. New bidder.

22, 24.

26. £26 I'm bid. All finished? £26.

So James finishes with another profit.

It's doubled up. Well done.

What will the room make of Charles' 19th-century embossed charger?

Interest here. Starting at £48.

-I'm happy with that.

-£48?

-I'm happy. I'm out of jail, really.

-50. 52, 54, 56.

-Go on.

-58, 60.

-I'm out of jail. Can't believe it! Come on, one more!

Come on! It's a good thing.

55. I'm bid 60. 5.

70. New bidder.

Sorry, sorry... I've got an ache, sorry.

80, 80 bid 5.

-85, 85.

-Keep going! Sorry.

£85.

-That's amazing.

-That is good.

Charles is pleased and rightly so. Well done.

-Another small profit.

-Another small profit.

Oh, goodness' sake.

Here comes the final lot of the day.

And it's Charles' selection of silver.

-50 I'm bid.

-The whole lot comes with it.

5, 60, 5.

-70, 5. 80, 5...

-Hey, it hasn't stopped yet.

-90. 5, 95.

-And the watch over there.

-It's a good lot.

-100 and 5.

110, 115, 120.

5, 130.

-5, 140.

-It's a good lot.

5, 150.

Still going. 5. 155 on my left.

-155, all finished...

-Put it down.

-155.

-Come on.

Wow, look at that! Brilliant profit for Charles. Well done.

As our experts make a dash for the exit...

-Oh!

-Oh, Charles is down. Dearie me.

..let's find out who's come out on top.

James started this leg with £229.60

and made an impressive profit of £86.08 after auction costs,

leaving him with £315.68 for next time.

Charles began with £294.30

and he too pulled in a profit

gaining a whopping £153.04 less costs,

so he's still in the lead and goes into the next leg

with a huge £447.34.

It's all in the passion for antiques.

It's all in the passion from driving to just buying.

Anyway, the only thing I can take a small amount of comfort from

-is Roman nails.

-Yes, but they still made £5.

Roman nails, that's all I'm going to say to you.

Bon voyage, road trippers.

Next time on the Antiques Road Trip...

-there are thrills...

-Don't look at me like that. I'm not a bad man.

..spills,

and one big bang.

GONG REVERBERATES