0:00:33 > 0:00:40This week we're in Salford, a busy city alongside Manchester, but with a character and history of its own,
0:00:40 > 0:00:44and evidence of a great pioneering spirit.
0:00:44 > 0:00:50Here at Worsley, the Duke of Bridgewater established the world's first canal independent of a river.
0:00:50 > 0:00:57It carried coal to workplaces five miles to the south-east. The cost - four pence a hundredweight.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01An ambitious enterprise, it reduced the price of coal
0:01:01 > 0:01:05and helped industry flourish in the north-west of England.
0:01:05 > 0:01:11More than a century later came another audacious scheme - the Manchester Ship Canal -
0:01:11 > 0:01:14one of the Victorians' greatest engineering projects.
0:01:14 > 0:01:21It meant that ocean-going vessels could travel 35 miles inland from Merseyside.
0:01:21 > 0:01:27From their opening in 1894, Salford docks were amongst the busiest in Britain.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30But in the 1970s, the patterns of commerce changed,
0:01:30 > 0:01:34containers took over, the docks declined.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38And so the city of Salford turned its face to the future.
0:01:38 > 0:01:44They'd already been the first municipal authority to have a museum and a library, 150 years ago,
0:01:44 > 0:01:49and now they've built the massive and stylish Lowry Arts Centre
0:01:49 > 0:01:52on the apex of one of the old wharves.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55Inside, with its array of theatres and galleries,
0:01:55 > 0:02:00the jewel in the crown - the works of Salford's most famous citizen.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03Lawrence Stephen Lowry was born in 1887.
0:02:03 > 0:02:09He began developing his evocative but controversial style between the two world wars.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12The art establishment was slow to appreciate him.
0:02:13 > 0:02:19Lowry worked as a rent collector and in his spare time created images of an urban life
0:02:19 > 0:02:24that has now disappeared. The public grew to love his unmistakable pictures.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28His matchstick people even inspired a pop song.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31# Now he takes his brush and he waits
0:02:31 > 0:02:33# Outside them factory gates
0:02:33 > 0:02:38# To paint his matchstalk men and matchstalk cats and dogs... #
0:02:38 > 0:02:45These exhibits reaffirm Lowry as one of the most distinctive artists Britain has ever produced.
0:02:45 > 0:02:52You may recall that this example came to light when the Antiques Roadshow visited Oldham a year ago.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54He'd given it to his driver.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00Lowry used Peel Park as a setting for many of his pictures.
0:03:00 > 0:03:06Today, a new generation of the people of Salford are heading to the university
0:03:06 > 0:03:09which is hosting this week's Roadshow.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14These are fun things. They are candle extinguishers,
0:03:14 > 0:03:20for putting out a candle. Made by Royal Worcester round about 1950, 1952,
0:03:20 > 0:03:25- just post Second World War.- Yes. - Yes, have you had them a long time?
0:03:25 > 0:03:29- About 25 years. - Mmm, and what did you pay for them?
0:03:29 > 0:03:36- There was a little black boy as well. - Mmm.- I gave £7.50 for the three. - For the three things?- Mmm.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39- So less than £7.50 for these two? - Yes.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42They're jolly nice. This is a monk.
0:03:42 > 0:03:47He's wearing his brown habit, and he's reading his book. He's great.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50- And the mandarin from China...- Yes.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53He's a wonderful yellow and orange with a black hat.
0:03:53 > 0:03:58- I think he's tremendous. They're very collectable now.- Yes.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00Your £7.50 has gone up a bit.
0:04:00 > 0:04:06I suppose the monk's going to be £150 or £200
0:04:06 > 0:04:11- and the mandarin's going to be around about £250.- Oh...
0:04:11 > 0:04:18- So you've got two jolly nice things there.- Lovely.- Happy about that? - Yes.- Well happy.- A lot more.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21But this is terribly interesting. This is Minton,
0:04:21 > 0:04:25and absolutely marvellous, How did you come by this?
0:04:25 > 0:04:30- My father bought it for my mother 66 years ago.- Yes.
0:04:30 > 0:04:36- And he gave two pound ten shillings out of a second-hand shop. - Two pounds ten shillings?
0:04:36 > 0:04:40- That, back then, was quite a lot of money.- Yes.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43My mother wouldn't buy it because it was too dear,
0:04:43 > 0:04:46and my dad went back and bought it.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49I think it's great. They're Chinese, I suppose,
0:04:49 > 0:04:53- in a kind of a boat.- Yes. - It's almost like a European gondola
0:04:53 > 0:04:56because it's made in England.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59And it is quite an extraordinary little piece.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02The whole structure of it is tremendous fun,
0:05:02 > 0:05:06you know, these little chaps rowing their boat along
0:05:06 > 0:05:10and he's got a fan just like this mandarin.
0:05:10 > 0:05:15Incredible how similar these are, yet this is almost 100 years earlier
0:05:15 > 0:05:20- than these extinguishers. Somewhere about the 1870s - 1875, say.- Yeah.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23I think it's quite extraordinary.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27- Modelled by a man called Henk and they're fairly rare.- Oh.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31- Have you had them insured or valued?- I had it valued,
0:05:31 > 0:05:34er...and he told me £400.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37- £400.- Mmm, about six months ago.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40I think that's probably a little low.
0:05:40 > 0:05:45Because of its rarity, I think you're probably looking at £1,000
0:05:45 > 0:05:51- or £1,200. - Oh, a lot more than I thought. - So that's...- A lot more, yes.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54- From two pounds ten shillings... - Ten shillings.
0:05:54 > 0:06:00- That's a decent price.- A good buy. - Yes.- But more important than that, you like it?
0:06:00 > 0:06:02- Yes.- It's a wonderful model.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04Tremendous.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07Is there Russian blood in the family?
0:06:07 > 0:06:11No, not at all. My grandfather worked in Russia at the turn of the century.
0:06:11 > 0:06:16I think he spent about 4 or 5 years there, he was a mining engineer.
0:06:16 > 0:06:24- And he was an Englishman?- Yes.- And were they GIVEN to him originally? - No, I know that he bought this box,
0:06:24 > 0:06:26which I assume is a cigarette box.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29Yes. When did he leave Russia?
0:06:29 > 0:06:33It will have been at least 90, 92, 93 years ago.
0:06:33 > 0:06:38Yes, I see. That's interesting. And this one is interesting, too.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42It's a vesta case. Before the advent of the lighter,
0:06:42 > 0:06:46everybody had to carry matches. They were called "vestas".
0:06:46 > 0:06:51They were impregnated with wax, and smoking, everybody did.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55This technique is called niello. A black sulphurous alloy
0:06:55 > 0:07:00is laid into the surface of the silver, filling the engraving,
0:07:00 > 0:07:05and then it's polished down to be brought flush with the surface.
0:07:05 > 0:07:10It's a very Russian technique. Lovely family history for you,
0:07:10 > 0:07:13- and £200 to £300 today.- Really?
0:07:13 > 0:07:18These cigarette cases are of a recognised type. It's not complete.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21There's a mysterious sort of hole.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23I wondered what it was. Do tell me.
0:07:23 > 0:07:28It used to contain a tinder which you could light from the matchbox.
0:07:28 > 0:07:33- You could take your matches out of here...- Yes.- ..strike them on there,
0:07:33 > 0:07:38pull up the tinder with a silver pull here, light it,
0:07:38 > 0:07:42and then when the wind from Siberia was blowing hard,
0:07:42 > 0:07:47you'd pass it to your friends who'd light their cigarettes.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51- I see, really? - There was also a fashion
0:07:51 > 0:07:55for covering cigarette boxes with these ciphers.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58They're souvenirs of the original owner.
0:07:58 > 0:08:03He was probably in connection with the imperial family on some level.
0:08:03 > 0:08:08We can tell that from these Romanov eagles that appear twice.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11I believe they're the tops of stick pins
0:08:11 > 0:08:14that have been mounted onto this cigarette case.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17- Really?- And they meant a lot to him.
0:08:17 > 0:08:22- It dates from 1899 to 1908.- Really? - It's a rather good span.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26It would be important to the new Russian collectors.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29- Really?- So it's gone up...- Really?
0:08:29 > 0:08:35- I was afraid it had gone down with the market opening. - No, on the contrary.
0:08:35 > 0:08:36The Russians love to bid
0:08:36 > 0:08:39at auction for their heritage,
0:08:39 > 0:08:41which they scorned at the time.
0:08:41 > 0:08:46I think probably if it turned up somewhere in a European sale
0:08:46 > 0:08:48at which they were in attendance,
0:08:48 > 0:08:52- £800, maybe £1,200, wouldn't be too much.- Really? Good heavens.
0:08:52 > 0:08:57Ralph Herbert Lord was a well-known Victorian photographer.
0:08:57 > 0:09:04- Yes, he was my great-grandfather. - Fascinating. With his wife there? - Yes, in Southport.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07Here we have an album of his photographs.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11Yes, just the ones that he used to submit
0:09:11 > 0:09:15- to exhibitions.- Right, OK, let's have a look at them.
0:09:15 > 0:09:20"An Idle Moment". What a wonderful evocation of late Victorian England.
0:09:20 > 0:09:26- It is, yes. He lived in Cambridge when he was doing photography.- Right.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30- And of course a lot of the scenes are from Cambridge.- Of the fens, yes.
0:09:30 > 0:09:35Here, the farmer is having a brief respite from his ploughing
0:09:35 > 0:09:37and talking to his wife.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40Now... Oh, this is a famous photograph.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43Yes, that's one of the ones
0:09:43 > 0:09:47- that won a gold medal at the Royal Photographic Society.- It's Neddy...
0:09:47 > 0:09:51- "Neddy's New Shoes". - A terrific photograph.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53He was a wonderful artist.
0:09:53 > 0:09:59- Yes, yes.- Yeah. Here we've got one entitled "You Stupid Boy",
0:09:59 > 0:10:01obviously a posed photograph.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04The master is about to clip the boy round the ear
0:10:04 > 0:10:06for not getting his sums correct.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10These are platino-type photographs of large size,
0:10:10 > 0:10:13so he'd have needed to carry a lot of equipment.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16Yes, that is the size of the plate,
0:10:16 > 0:10:20and he had a camera on the back of a cart. He had a horse and cart.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23Oh, another well-known photograph.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25"How's That?". Marvellous condition.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29- You can see the old boy taking snuff.- That's right.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33And the other gentleman with the snuff box in his hand.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36And another one here - "Try Again".
0:10:38 > 0:10:44- Are these superimposed? - They are, yes, and he put a pile of bricks here
0:10:44 > 0:10:49- to make this shadow from the gentleman's leg.- Wonderful.
0:10:50 > 0:10:57His photographs appear at auction from time to time, and he is recognised as a very gifted artist.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59- Nice to know.- Mmm, and I would think
0:10:59 > 0:11:03that the value of this at auction probably lies
0:11:03 > 0:11:08- in the region of £6,000 to £8,000. - Gosh! That's a total surprise.
0:11:09 > 0:11:15Just down the hall, the porcelain queue is over there and jewellery's just behind you.
0:11:15 > 0:11:21- How many tickets do you reckon you have?- About 1,500.- 1,500?!- Yes. - That's an astonishing collection.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25- Yes.- Did it take long to collect? - About 20 years.- Amazing.
0:11:25 > 0:11:30- And when did you start collecting? - 1959, when I started train spotting.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32And where have they all come from?
0:11:32 > 0:11:37Acquaintances swapping railwayana and various items of railway memorabilia.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41- You're fond of railways, obviously. - Yeah.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43Some of them are rather fascinating.
0:11:43 > 0:11:48- "One Dog", for example.- Yes. - Which is your favourite?
0:11:48 > 0:11:53- That one. 19...- That was YOUR ticket? - Yes. That station is closed now.
0:11:53 > 0:11:58- It's Manchester Central which is now the G-Mex Centre.- Really?
0:11:58 > 0:12:00It's a tremendous collection.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03How much have you paid for these tickets?
0:12:03 > 0:12:07Nothing. It's just things I've exchanged.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11- What do you reckon it's all worth? - I haven't a clue.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13There are a huge number of people
0:12:13 > 0:12:19collecting railwayana these days, particularly tickets. There's a huge market.
0:12:19 > 0:12:24I see the prices that they fetch. You'd be astounded by the prices...
0:12:24 > 0:12:29- Really?- ..that some tickets actually fetch. I would think that, um...
0:12:29 > 0:12:32if you bought these through postal auctions today,
0:12:32 > 0:12:38- you'd have to pay around £2,000 to £3,000 for the collection.- Really?- Oh, yes.
0:12:38 > 0:12:46- Well, you've got 1,500 tickets! - Yes.- It's a tremendous collection. I wish it were mine.- I'm gobsmacked.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50- Thanks very much. - SMASH!
0:12:54 > 0:12:59- What happened?- It's just...fell out of my hand.- "Fell out of my hand".
0:12:59 > 0:13:06I have to tell you that, on every Roadshow, there is a crash and a client has dropped something.
0:13:06 > 0:13:12The best packing material, if you can't get that plastic bubble stuff,
0:13:12 > 0:13:17is newspaper. Well...you haven't ruined anything of any great merit.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20This was made in the 1950s
0:13:20 > 0:13:23and it was worth, before you put paid to it,
0:13:23 > 0:13:28- about £10 or £15.- Oh.- So, not quite the disaster it might have been,
0:13:28 > 0:13:31but sorry it happened.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35Well, it used to hang in my father-in-law's office
0:13:35 > 0:13:39and then my husband brought it home some years ago
0:13:39 > 0:13:45and that's all I know about it. I don't know where it came from.
0:13:45 > 0:13:50It's an enjoyable picture, isn't it? It actually breathes quality
0:13:50 > 0:13:52and enthusiasm.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55He's an artist who was born in 1816,
0:13:55 > 0:13:58as it says on the mount, and died in 1869.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01He lived a fascinating life.
0:14:01 > 0:14:06He studied at the age of 23 under the East Anglian artist, James Stark,
0:14:06 > 0:14:09but the quality in depth
0:14:09 > 0:14:11is amazing.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15- So many artists put everything in the front.- Right, yes.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18But this artist put things in depth
0:14:18 > 0:14:22and his sense of depth is absolutely amazing.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25- And the colours are very good. - Indeed.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27It's slightly faded, very slightly,
0:14:27 > 0:14:33- but it hasn't been in direct sunlight, clearly.- It's been moved
0:14:33 > 0:14:38- from the hall to another wall. - Yes.- Away from the sun. - I'm glad to hear that.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42- There is a little bit of staining here...- Yes.
0:14:42 > 0:14:47And also on the other side, and there is slight damage.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51- I noticed that when I was wrapping it up.- Those things
0:14:51 > 0:14:54can be so easily repaired.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56Erm...
0:14:56 > 0:15:00It's truly a tremendous example of a river landscape
0:15:00 > 0:15:05by one of our very best 19th-century watercolourists.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09- Now, value - have you ever had it valued?- No.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14- What would you think it's worth? - I think about £5,000.
0:15:14 > 0:15:20- Oh, no, no.- What would YOU think? - The thousand mark...
0:15:20 > 0:15:23- I don't know. - Well, you're nearer it.
0:15:23 > 0:15:29- It is certainly about £5,000...- Yes. - ..to about £7,000.
0:15:30 > 0:15:35- On a good day, maybe up to ten. - Gosh.- And going up all the time.
0:15:35 > 0:15:40- Yes, as long as you keep it out of the sun and look after it. - Mmm.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44My grandfather was a soldier in the Boer War
0:15:44 > 0:15:49and when he came home in 1902 he brought this collection home,
0:15:49 > 0:15:53and I understand that it was a Zulu wedding dress.
0:15:53 > 0:15:59- Whether it was or not, I don't know. - That is fascinating, but what about the photographs?
0:15:59 > 0:16:04The photographs were never seen by the children or the grandchildren.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06They were kept in a brown envelope.
0:16:06 > 0:16:10It was only these last few years that they came to light.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13- Really? Only just...- Six years ago.
0:16:13 > 0:16:19- And do you think your grandfather took the photographs?- I doubt it. - I doubt it.- No.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23This is absolutely fascinating for me,
0:16:23 > 0:16:26to see... this is how they wore their beads.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29We see beads on the Roadshow,
0:16:29 > 0:16:33but we don't know where they were meant to be put,
0:16:33 > 0:16:38so this is a wonderful record of a Zulu wedding outfit, if you like.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40Now, we've got three of these.
0:16:40 > 0:16:45That's probably the best one. They are fading a little bit.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49They have got a little bit of discolouration.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53But the fact that we've got three here, different girls...
0:16:53 > 0:16:56This one's a bit more faded.
0:16:56 > 0:17:01All wearing this particular wedding dress which they've made themselves
0:17:01 > 0:17:04out of the beads that they would have.
0:17:04 > 0:17:09This one's again a bit faded, got a back view here - bare bottoms.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12This is one of the little fringes
0:17:12 > 0:17:16that was worn by these girls, in the front,
0:17:16 > 0:17:19It goes round the waist
0:17:19 > 0:17:21and hangs in front, very delicately
0:17:21 > 0:17:24and charmingly. It's in fantastic condition.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27- It is absolutely mint...- Yes.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30It might have been worn once and that's it.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37And then you've got what they wore round their necks.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41Again, you'd wear it how she was doing it,
0:17:41 > 0:17:47round there, a lot of work in that to make it round.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51If you've ever done bead-work, it's a labour of love.
0:17:51 > 0:17:56And this one, a bit longer, also to go round the neck,
0:17:56 > 0:18:01and this here, which goes round quite a small waist.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05So although that lovely lady looks buxom, she had a small waist.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09Here we have what the men would have worn.
0:18:10 > 0:18:15- Ah, right.- It's a pity we don't have the men in the photographs.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18What I love about them is...
0:18:18 > 0:18:22they're the same colouring on the one side,
0:18:22 > 0:18:24and on the other side...
0:18:24 > 0:18:27it's completely different.
0:18:27 > 0:18:33So it's double. They could wear them back to front and inside out.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35And superb condition.
0:18:35 > 0:18:39If only we could see the couple wearing these,
0:18:39 > 0:18:42it would be wonderful, wouldn't it?
0:18:42 > 0:18:44Now Zulu bead-work
0:18:44 > 0:18:47from that time, from the 1900s,
0:18:47 > 0:18:50is now very popular.
0:18:50 > 0:18:55It's become a popular collecting field in this country.
0:18:55 > 0:19:00- Have you ever had it valued?- No. - No, it's the first time
0:19:00 > 0:19:04it's been taken out of the cabinet to our knowledge.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06It's difficult to put a price on it,
0:19:06 > 0:19:11but the photographs themselves have a value in their own right.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14Those, I would say, could be worth
0:19:14 > 0:19:20- as much as £80 to £100 each. - The photographs? - They are very special.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24The beads, altogether, I suppose we could be talking about £500.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29- I'm amazed!- It's amazing!
0:19:29 > 0:19:35I thought my uncle brought it back from WWII when he was in Thailand,
0:19:35 > 0:19:39but only recently did I find out from my auntie
0:19:39 > 0:19:44- that it came from Farnworth Co-operative Society.- In England?!
0:19:44 > 0:19:48- He's an ENGLISH dragon.- Yes. - He looks madly Oriental.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51The mark on the back is Charlotte Rhead,
0:19:51 > 0:19:54the great potter in Stoke-on-Trent,
0:19:54 > 0:19:59who developed an incredible system of what's called tube lining.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02That is, out of a tube, you squeeze clay
0:20:02 > 0:20:07to make a pattern, of the dragon and all these decorations here,
0:20:07 > 0:20:10and then the girls in the factory
0:20:10 > 0:20:12would fill it up very carefully.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16So you've got a raised pattern filled up with this...
0:20:16 > 0:20:21He's English, but I can understand somebody thinking he was Chinese!
0:20:21 > 0:20:23But this is purely English style,
0:20:23 > 0:20:27all this decoration. I suppose in date,
0:20:27 > 0:20:291930 would be a good date for that.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33A fine tube-lined Charlotte Rhead dish like this
0:20:33 > 0:20:38is more than something from the Far East at that time.
0:20:38 > 0:20:43- We must be looking at £300 or £400. - Oh, right.- It's a jolly nice piece.
0:20:43 > 0:20:49- Yes.- So enjoy it as an ENGLISH dragon.- Yes, we will.- Thank you.
0:20:49 > 0:20:54- I bought this brooch at an auction room in Melbourne.- In Australia?
0:20:54 > 0:20:56Yes, I think about two years ago.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00How do you come to bring it to us, then, here?
0:21:00 > 0:21:05I'm going to a wedding in Ireland of the son of an Australian friend.
0:21:05 > 0:21:10Alison, my friend, had said she might be coming to the Antiques Roadshow
0:21:10 > 0:21:15in the few days I was spending with her in Manchester.
0:21:15 > 0:21:21Then a friend jokingly said, "Sue, if you get on the Antiques Roadshow while you're in England,
0:21:21 > 0:21:28- "we can watch you on TV in Australia."- And they can.- They can indeed.- What a happy ending,
0:21:28 > 0:21:34except that it has to be looked at by an expert. Geoffrey Munn is the man.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37"Best of luck to you in the future, sincerely...
0:21:37 > 0:21:41- "Elvis Presley".- Yes. - How did you come by this?
0:21:41 > 0:21:46- Back in 1959 when I was young...- Yes. - ..um, I wrote to him.- Yeah.
0:21:46 > 0:21:51When he was in the army in Germany, like you do when you're young...
0:21:51 > 0:21:55- Were you a great fan? - Oh, yeah, loved him,
0:21:55 > 0:21:58and I just pleaded with him for a reply.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01Well, it's dated 1959, so...
0:22:01 > 0:22:06- he would have been about 25, and doing his National Service.- Yes.
0:22:06 > 0:22:11- I was over the moon.- I bet.- That's why it's tatty.- Is this a teardrop?
0:22:11 > 0:22:15Were you so excited that you started crying?
0:22:15 > 0:22:20- No, it was in my drawer for years and perfume spilt on it.- Oh, is it?- Yes.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23But this, it came apart
0:22:23 > 0:22:25from opening it to show people.
0:22:25 > 0:22:31There's a good market in rock'n'roll memorabilia and, after the Beatles,
0:22:31 > 0:22:36Elvis is the most collected. This has a wonderful history,
0:22:36 > 0:22:38and I don't suppose you'd sell it.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41- No.- No, absolutely, hang on to it.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45But, despite its condition, if this came up at auction,
0:22:45 > 0:22:49- it would probably fetch, I suspect, £500 or £600.- Yes.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52- Thank you, and long live the King. - Yes.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55These intrigue me.
0:22:55 > 0:23:00I can't say I've come across any by this particular maker before.
0:23:00 > 0:23:06- Patrick Leonard. As far as I know, he's the only chap who ever worked in Salford in silver.- Yes.
0:23:06 > 0:23:11You're looking at £100 plus, and similar with the dessertspoon.
0:23:11 > 0:23:15I've never come across his work before,
0:23:15 > 0:23:19so I think you've cornered the market in Patrick Leonard.
0:23:19 > 0:23:24- They've been in our family since 1916, so my mother says.- Right.
0:23:24 > 0:23:29And they were bought at Kenwood in Manchester for five guineas,
0:23:29 > 0:23:34and that's as far as I know and what my mother tells me.
0:23:34 > 0:23:39- OK, I know we're talking local.- Yes. - We're talking Lancastrian pottery,
0:23:39 > 0:23:44Pilkingtons Royal Lancastrian pottery. Place of manufacture is...
0:23:44 > 0:23:49- How many miles are we from Swinton? - About four miles.
0:23:49 > 0:23:54- We live about ten minutes' walk away from where these vases were made.- OK.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58Now, I've seen a mark there that's slightly different.
0:23:58 > 0:24:03I know that this mark was brought in about 1914.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05The early mark is a large P
0:24:05 > 0:24:08with two bees climbing around it,
0:24:08 > 0:24:13but the mark that we've got here is the Lancastrian rose.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17What makes it interesting is that it's got the date.
0:24:17 > 0:24:22In this case, I'm reading on this one either 1916 or 1918,
0:24:22 > 0:24:25and you know, I've got to say,
0:24:25 > 0:24:29I've not seen a piece dated like this before.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33- We think it's '16.- 1916? That would make sense.- Yes, yes.
0:24:33 > 0:24:38- Let's face it, five guineas EACH - that's a tidy sum.- Yes, it was.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41Anyway, let's look at the pots.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44Firstly, a nice shape, nice Chinese shape,
0:24:44 > 0:24:48often referred to as a Meiping shape,
0:24:48 > 0:24:50this lovely elegant shoulder form.
0:24:50 > 0:24:55One thing that Pilkingtons really did master was lustre decoration.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58The lustre is...
0:24:58 > 0:25:03is nicely done, but I've got to say that it hasn't fired 100% perfect,
0:25:03 > 0:25:08but the fish - they're quite magic. There's a sense of movement there.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11- Yes.- But again, the lustre...
0:25:11 > 0:25:14- I don't think it's taken 100%. - Oh, right.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17And this is what collectors are looking for.
0:25:17 > 0:25:22I'm happy to say that, from a collectability point of view,
0:25:22 > 0:25:25- they are desirable.- Desirable.
0:25:25 > 0:25:31This fellow, I would suspect, is probably around about £400,
0:25:31 > 0:25:35- whereas the fish, a little bit more desirable.- Yes.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39I think you're looking in the region of about £600,
0:25:39 > 0:25:42but I would stress
0:25:42 > 0:25:46- that had the actual lustre decoration been stronger...- Right.
0:25:46 > 0:25:51- ..you could probably add at least 50% onto those figures.- Oh, right.
0:25:51 > 0:25:56This is a platinum-mounted, Ceylon-sapphire and diamond brooch.
0:25:56 > 0:26:01It's not so much the quality of the stones that's of interest here.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05It's the expression of the Art Deco style.
0:26:05 > 0:26:10There's a whiff of Japanese ornament in here, perhaps Chinese ornament,
0:26:10 > 0:26:13which the Art Deco jewellers took on board,
0:26:13 > 0:26:18- so one's jolly pleased to see it. Do you know Selfridges?- Yes.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22There used to be an Art Deco lift in Selfridges
0:26:22 > 0:26:26and, in a way, the same decorative sources have been used
0:26:26 > 0:26:29in this piece of jewellery.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31They are Ceylon sapphires.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35They're paler than perhaps one might have wanted.
0:26:35 > 0:26:39The pure cornflower blue is the colour that one looks for.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42This is not of the intensity
0:26:42 > 0:26:47to send the value through the roof, but a very beautiful object nonetheless.
0:26:47 > 0:26:52These stones have probably been CUT in Ceylon because, at the back here,
0:26:52 > 0:26:56- there's a sort of asymmetrical point.- Yes.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59It veers to the right in the centre stone
0:26:59 > 0:27:04which is a clue that these stones were cut in the Orient,
0:27:04 > 0:27:09and by a less sophisticated lapidary than one might have found in Europe.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13So, you're at the auction, your heart pounding.
0:27:13 > 0:27:18- So, how far did you go? - 3,800 or 4,000 Australian dollars.
0:27:18 > 0:27:23- So...£1,250? - Something like that, I think, yes.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26Well, I think that was a very good move.
0:27:26 > 0:27:31I think it would be jolly difficult to find this brooch for £1,250.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35I think double that, so very clever to have chosen it
0:27:35 > 0:27:39- and jolly nice of you to bring it over.- Thank you.
0:27:39 > 0:27:44I bought it at an auction three years ago with a small legacy from my aunt
0:27:44 > 0:27:49- and it reminded me of my little boy's face.- How nice.
0:27:49 > 0:27:56Did you, when you got your legacy, think, "I must buy a painting of a mother and child..."?
0:27:56 > 0:28:02Yes, and my aunt was very fond of children and couldn't have any of her own,
0:28:02 > 0:28:06so it seemed very appropriate to remember her by
0:28:06 > 0:28:11- as well as being pertinent to my situation.- Yes. How very nice.
0:28:11 > 0:28:18I think it's a charming painting and it's interesting... It's painted by this artist,
0:28:18 > 0:28:21Eugene Le Roux, in the 19th century.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25But it reminds me of an earlier French artist, Chardin
0:28:25 > 0:28:29and there was an exhibition recently of his work,
0:28:29 > 0:28:34even figures wearing rather similar caps, and these famous still lifes.
0:28:34 > 0:28:39We have a beautiful still life in the background. He's been clever
0:28:39 > 0:28:43in the way that it's beautifully painted
0:28:43 > 0:28:49and exists on its own but doesn't detract from the main figures.
0:28:49 > 0:28:54Returning to the signature, it's interesting because just below it,
0:28:54 > 0:28:59beneath a layer of paint, is his signature again and a date, 1869.
0:28:59 > 0:29:05I think that's probably drawn in with black chalk or a pencil.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08That's a kind of interesting bit of detail,
0:29:08 > 0:29:12and why that happened, I don't really know.
0:29:12 > 0:29:19- Can I ask how much you paid?- I paid £2,000.- That doesn't seem a great price for such a beautiful picture.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22I don't think it's an extraordinary value
0:29:22 > 0:29:27but I think this painting is probably worth £3,000, £4,000.
0:29:27 > 0:29:32I think to be able to get a painting of this quality
0:29:32 > 0:29:40- for that kind of figure is extremely good value.- Terrific, yes.- Thank you for bringing it in.- Thanks.
0:29:40 > 0:29:45They came from my mother's house and my mother died recently
0:29:45 > 0:29:50and we had to dispose of the contents of the house.
0:29:50 > 0:29:54At the last week that we were finishing the removal,
0:29:54 > 0:30:01we had the hospice van come to take the remaining goods away and my friend, Yvonne, said,
0:30:01 > 0:30:08- "How much do you think they're worth? I think you're going to be surprised".- Well done, Yvonne.
0:30:08 > 0:30:14- Do you know what they are at all? - Well...- Did you look? - Yvonne turned them over
0:30:14 > 0:30:19- and said, "There is a signature on the bottom."- OK.
0:30:19 > 0:30:23- Hannah Barlow.- Hannah Barlow. - Hannah B Barlow,
0:30:23 > 0:30:28one of the two Barlow sisters. She had a sister Florence,
0:30:28 > 0:30:32and they worked at the Doulton factory in Lambeth.
0:30:32 > 0:30:37They went to Lambeth Art School and both did this style of decoration,
0:30:37 > 0:30:41that is scraffito, scratching into the glaze
0:30:41 > 0:30:46to produce the design. Eventually they came to an arrangement
0:30:46 > 0:30:51that Florence would do the birds and Hannah would do the animals.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54These are relatively early.
0:30:55 > 0:30:57We've got her monogram here.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01We've got ES. That stands for Eliza Simmons,
0:31:01 > 0:31:04and she was responsible
0:31:04 > 0:31:10for all the rest of the decoration. Then we've got the Doulton rosette mark,
0:31:10 > 0:31:12and the word "England",
0:31:12 > 0:31:16but it doesn't say "Royal Doulton", it says "Doulton",
0:31:16 > 0:31:19so it's before 1901
0:31:19 > 0:31:21and after 1891,
0:31:21 > 0:31:26so we can date it pretty precisely, 1895 there and abouts.
0:31:26 > 0:31:30Cows, she did quite a lot. We see a lot of them,
0:31:30 > 0:31:34but this size of vase is actually quite uncommon.
0:31:34 > 0:31:39They're a splendid pair in really remarkable condition.
0:31:39 > 0:31:41We've just got one small chip there.
0:31:41 > 0:31:46It's made a difference to the price but not an awful lot.
0:31:46 > 0:31:51Yvonne has done you a favour because they're now worth close on £2,000.
0:31:51 > 0:31:58- Oh... Thank you very much. Goodness! - Happy?- Very. Excellent. - Good. Thank you very much.
0:31:59 > 0:32:05- The Rembrandt Hotel?- Yeah, Tony Warren and a lot of these people
0:32:05 > 0:32:12have been drinking in there. This ended up in the cellar and I found it behind rubbish.
0:32:12 > 0:32:17- So you saved it? - Yeah. The bloke who owns it, Peter, wanted to throw it out
0:32:17 > 0:32:20so I said I'd bring it along today.
0:32:20 > 0:32:24Each photo is personally signed, and Elizabeth Dawn
0:32:24 > 0:32:30has signed "The Rembrandt Hotel" so it's a unique set of signatures.
0:32:30 > 0:32:35- I'd have thought to a true fan, it'd be worth £300-£400.- Quite good.
0:32:35 > 0:32:40They might take more care of it and not throw it in the cellar.
0:32:40 > 0:32:41This is a remarkable piece of work -
0:32:41 > 0:32:45an early draft manuscript of Stephen Hawking's A Brief History Of Time.
0:32:45 > 0:32:47Now, how did you get this?
0:32:47 > 0:32:52I got it thanks to a geography teacher from school.
0:32:52 > 0:32:57I had a bad accident whilst I was doing my A levels at school.
0:32:57 > 0:33:02It turned out my geography teacher had gone to school with Prof Hawking
0:33:02 > 0:33:07and so I wrote to him to ask Prof Hawking to write to me...
0:33:07 > 0:33:12to encourage me to perhaps carry on and go to university and things
0:33:12 > 0:33:15and this is what I received back -
0:33:15 > 0:33:23his original sort of script for his famous book, the best bit being that he hadn't quite finished it
0:33:23 > 0:33:25and he wrote his last page...
0:33:25 > 0:33:28handwritten at the end.
0:33:28 > 0:33:32He's saying at the end that he hopes...
0:33:32 > 0:33:36He'd be disappointed if there wasn't an ultimate theory
0:33:36 > 0:33:38to the end of the universe,
0:33:38 > 0:33:43unified theory. He thinks somebody will get there in the end.
0:33:43 > 0:33:45Did you go on and get your degree?
0:33:45 > 0:33:52I did, but not from Cambridge, not quite as smart as him. I got my physics degree at York.
0:33:52 > 0:33:56- Fair enough. This is a treasure. - For a physicist, it's great, yes.
0:33:56 > 0:34:00You've got beautiful illumination here,
0:34:00 > 0:34:05- done, I'd say, turn of the century by Alan Tabor.- That's right.
0:34:05 > 0:34:09- My father-in-law.- Not a name I know and yet this is...
0:34:09 > 0:34:14No, he was fairly local in Manchester and Salford mostly.
0:34:14 > 0:34:20He worked for Manchester Corporation and Salford. He started as a tailor,
0:34:20 > 0:34:25- I believe.- Did he?- Cross-legged, sewing, and didn't like it very much,
0:34:25 > 0:34:30and he'd go to the British Museum and copy the manuscripts.
0:34:30 > 0:34:33- These were done at the practice. - Really?
0:34:33 > 0:34:37Then he set up in business and did scrolls and things
0:34:37 > 0:34:41- for presentations to famous people. - Excellent quality.
0:34:41 > 0:34:46- I'm amazed that this is amateur work.- Yes, he was amazing.
0:34:46 > 0:34:51We have here a Longfellow - The Bridge - in lovely red morocco,
0:34:51 > 0:34:56and Gray's Elegy, done in 1914. How old would he have been then?
0:34:58 > 0:35:02He married in 1912 when he was about 23.
0:35:02 > 0:35:08It's beautiful work, I must say, and executed in vellum
0:35:08 > 0:35:13- with marvellous historiations of birds and roses.- That's right.
0:35:13 > 0:35:18- Absolutely sensational.- Yeah, and the gold leaf too which has lasted.
0:35:18 > 0:35:21Well, I must say I'm most impressed.
0:35:21 > 0:35:26- They are really top-quality objects. - They're beautiful, aren't they?
0:35:26 > 0:35:30They're beautifully bound, especially this Gray's Elegy
0:35:30 > 0:35:36- which is a lovely job. Have you had them valued?- No. I've often wondered
0:35:36 > 0:35:40about the value, not that they'd be sold.
0:35:40 > 0:35:42- They're family heirlooms.- Yes, quite.
0:35:42 > 0:35:48I think at auction today you would have to expect this group
0:35:48 > 0:35:53to command a figure something in the region of £5,000 to £6,000
0:35:53 > 0:35:57- for the four.- For four? The three... - Yes.- Wow. Gosh.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00- Thank you.- Thank you very much.
0:36:00 > 0:36:06My husband bought them. He had a good eye for antiques.
0:36:06 > 0:36:08Yes. They are a cross between...
0:36:08 > 0:36:13- They're wonderfully grotesque shapes here - the head.- Yes, yes.
0:36:13 > 0:36:18It's a cross between a dragon and a fish. They're dragon fish.
0:36:18 > 0:36:22They're leaping from these wonderful frothing waves.
0:36:23 > 0:36:25You get this idea of carp
0:36:25 > 0:36:29jumping up the rapids to get to the other side,
0:36:29 > 0:36:33then they are transformed into a dragon.
0:36:33 > 0:36:37But I think it was in some way linked with passing exams -
0:36:37 > 0:36:41you know, great heroic efforts and succeeding -
0:36:41 > 0:36:46when the Chinese passed their exams in the civil service.
0:36:46 > 0:36:51- These actually are Japanese because the Japanese also made these...- Yes.
0:36:51 > 0:36:54So these are Japanese ivories
0:36:54 > 0:36:58but very much influenced by a Chinese idea.
0:36:58 > 0:37:01I think the eyes... Aren't they fabulous?
0:37:01 > 0:37:06- They are beautiful.- They're made of mother-of-pearl.- Are they really?
0:37:06 > 0:37:12As with all Japanese ivories of that period - the end of the last century -
0:37:12 > 0:37:15the quality of carving is superb.
0:37:15 > 0:37:20If you look at details - the scales, around the mouth here,
0:37:20 > 0:37:22and what I referred to earlier,
0:37:22 > 0:37:25- these wonderful frothing waves.- Yes.
0:37:25 > 0:37:30Typical Japanese work, craftsmanship at its best.
0:37:30 > 0:37:35- You paid £20 for them?- Yes, roughly. - That was about 30 or 40...- 35 years,
0:37:35 > 0:37:40- 40 years ago, yes.- Not so long ago. This was a fantastic find THEN.
0:37:40 > 0:37:45- It's not as though they were bought 100 years ago.- No.- They're now worth
0:37:45 > 0:37:51- £1,000 to £1,500 I should think. - Very nice.- Isn't it? - Yes, very nice surprise.
0:37:52 > 0:37:57I was bequeathed it by a maiden aunt of mine about three years ago
0:37:57 > 0:38:02and she said, "I'm going to leave you this picture."
0:38:02 > 0:38:06She had been left it by her boss in the civil service,
0:38:06 > 0:38:08- and she passed it on to me.- How nice.
0:38:08 > 0:38:13It's The Rebuilding Of Rylands. Tell me about Rylands.
0:38:13 > 0:38:18- Rylands is where Debenhams is now in Piccadilly, Manchester.- Yes.
0:38:18 > 0:38:25- The old building was knocked down and rebuilt. I presume it was about 1929.- Yes, the signature is here
0:38:25 > 0:38:30- and the date - 1929.- And I think that's the work in progress.
0:38:30 > 0:38:35He has done other pictures, which we saw at the Lowry Gallery,
0:38:35 > 0:38:37showing the finished building.
0:38:37 > 0:38:44Talking about the subject of the picture, I think it is a very interesting composition
0:38:44 > 0:38:48with all these girders, this building, the figures,
0:38:48 > 0:38:52and then almost a cliff face here with a train.
0:38:52 > 0:38:54It has lots of detail and activity,
0:38:54 > 0:38:59- and I like the way the whole sheet is full of information.- It is, yes.
0:38:59 > 0:39:02But of course, with many artists,
0:39:02 > 0:39:07- but particularly with Lowry, there are a lot of fakes.- Yes.
0:39:07 > 0:39:13We must be careful, but I would recommend to you that you check with the Lowry Centre
0:39:13 > 0:39:21- to get their final opinion, but I think it's absolutely right.- Yes. - And there are other things,
0:39:21 > 0:39:26supplementary details or bits of evidence which one must consider.
0:39:26 > 0:39:29The nice ordinary oak moulding...
0:39:29 > 0:39:33- That was the original frame. - Yes. And the mount here.
0:39:33 > 0:39:39- It's discoloured by light, all the impurities going into the drawing.- Yes.
0:39:39 > 0:39:44I suppose in a way...it looks right, but it SMELLS right also.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48Now, I don't know if you've had it insured or...
0:39:48 > 0:39:52No, we just have it on the ordinary household insurance.
0:39:52 > 0:39:56You'll have to change your thinking completely.
0:39:56 > 0:40:00It's difficult in a rising market, and still rising,
0:40:00 > 0:40:02but what about £30,000?
0:40:02 > 0:40:09- That's a bit more than we thought. - Thought it was worth £1,500 or something like that.
0:40:09 > 0:40:15Well, earlier in my life, I was connected with the whaling industry.
0:40:15 > 0:40:18I came across it in the early 1960s.
0:40:18 > 0:40:22I acquired it from an old merchant marine sailor.
0:40:24 > 0:40:29He told me that he'd got it from someone many years previously.
0:40:29 > 0:40:31I really can't tell you much more.
0:40:31 > 0:40:34It could have gone from one whaler
0:40:34 > 0:40:37to another sailor and finally to you.
0:40:37 > 0:40:41These engraved whales' teeth are called scrimshaw
0:40:41 > 0:40:45and they were done in the 19th century by whalers,
0:40:45 > 0:40:49probably on days when there were no whales to catch.
0:40:49 > 0:40:53We see many many replicas and reproductions,
0:40:53 > 0:40:58made from a plastic resin. One way to tell a replica from a real one
0:40:58 > 0:41:03is that you can see right up inside the root of the tooth here,
0:41:03 > 0:41:05so this is absolutely genuine.
0:41:05 > 0:41:08What I like is that it's crudely decorated.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11Sometimes they're very detailed.
0:41:11 > 0:41:16This one is very crude and you can see some alterations.
0:41:16 > 0:41:20He must have had something in his hand, this chap,
0:41:20 > 0:41:24whose name is Jim Crow, and somebody's altered it slightly.
0:41:24 > 0:41:29And it's a great colour. The reproductions are very grey.
0:41:29 > 0:41:31This one's orange and yellow
0:41:31 > 0:41:35all the way down to this tobacco colour at the bottom.
0:41:35 > 0:41:38It's a portrait of Jim Crow,
0:41:38 > 0:41:43and if you just turn it around, along here it says "Anne H Dean"
0:41:43 > 0:41:45and the date, 1854.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48- Right.- And on the other side,
0:41:48 > 0:41:53there's this portrait of a merchantman or a man-of-war,
0:41:53 > 0:41:58but what's interesting is it's got the American flag.
0:41:58 > 0:42:01So maybe an American scrimshander did this.
0:42:01 > 0:42:04If it is, it's very desirable.
0:42:04 > 0:42:08Round here, it says, "Jim Crow for New York".
0:42:08 > 0:42:13It could've been about his travels, maybe this was his girlfriend...
0:42:13 > 0:42:17But it's an absolutely genuine, honest scrimshaw.
0:42:17 > 0:42:22- Have you had it valued before? - No, I haven't, actually.
0:42:22 > 0:42:24I did BUY it.
0:42:24 > 0:42:27It was something like £5, I think.
0:42:27 > 0:42:32- Quite honestly, it was... - £5, but a long time ago.- Yes, yes.
0:42:32 > 0:42:36A few years ago, this might've been worth £2,000-£3,000.
0:42:36 > 0:42:41There is a resurgence of interest in English and American folk art
0:42:41 > 0:42:46- and today we'd expect it to fetch £6,000-£8,000.- Good gracious!
0:42:46 > 0:42:49- Not a bad buy for £5.- Wow, that's...
0:42:49 > 0:42:55- You've really astounded me there! - I love it. Thank you for bringing it in.
0:42:55 > 0:42:57Wow.
0:42:58 > 0:43:03Thanks to the University of Salford for opening their doors to us today.
0:43:03 > 0:43:09I spoke to a man earlier who now owns the house where LS Lowry lived with his mother
0:43:09 > 0:43:12and turned out his finest work.
0:43:12 > 0:43:17Sadly, his mother never enjoyed a single thing he ever painted.
0:43:17 > 0:43:20Until next week, from Salford, goodbye.
0:43:38 > 0:43:43Subtitles by Judith Simpson BBC Scotland 2001