Eston Antiques Roadshow


Eston

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A view to thrill any student of British commerce -

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the mouth of the mighty River Tees.

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On its banks stand some of Europe's most important industrial complexes.

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150 years ago, the fortunes of South Teesside were given a colossal boost

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when two entrepreneurs discovered ironstone in the hills of Eston. Their timing was perfect.

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The ironworks in Middlesbrough had run out of accessible material.

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The Eston hills yielded 63 million tons of ore over the next 100 years,

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so industry in the region was able to prosper.

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On the other side of Eston developed the Wilton Chemical Plant.

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This extraordinary place is no slumbering giant.

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Wilton never sleeps. Work goes on day and night -

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and it's just one of the massive industrial sites in the area.

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Now, Middlesbrough is one of the region's biggest commercial centres,

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with an impressive premier football stadium and a startling piece of street sculpture.

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In the Civic Centre is this creation by Claes Oldenburg.

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Its relevance is that it reproduces the handwriting of a local hero -

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the illustrious Captain Cook.

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James Cook, sailor and explorer, was born in a farm-labourer's cottage a few miles from Eston.

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As a boy, he would've seen the tall ships on the Tees -

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inspiring him to join the navy

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and see more of the world than any man before him. North America, New Zealand, the Pacific islands.

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He discovered exotic plants and creatures, and wonderful artefacts.

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In 1779, Cook got on the wrong side of the natives in Hawaii, and died at the age of 51. But what a legacy.

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He changed the map of the world.

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His interest in science and medicine improved the quality of life aboard the ships of the Royal Navy.

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Eston houses the Civic Offices of the Borough of Redcar and Cleveland,

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and, on a suitably grand scale, the new Eston Sports Academy is host to this week's Antiques Roadshow.

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Join the experts and start our voyage of discovery.

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-It belonged to my grandma. She had a shop in Halifax in, probably, the 1920s.

-Right.

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Whether she had it on display there, or bought it then, I don't know.

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Well, I can tell you it dates from a bit earlier, around 1900-1905.

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Stylistically this is Art Nouveau - in every sense.

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You've got this very organic look,

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you've got this sort of tendril... stalk handle

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with a whiplash-type piercing here, and also,

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if you look, piercing on the stopper as well.

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I want to turn it over...

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and look for a tiny, tiny mark.

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Where is it, Eric...? Oh, there it is.

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-Blink and you'd miss it, wouldn't you?

-Yes, I see. On the foot.

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OK, well, in there is a little lozenge, and...

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You can hardly see it. There's a little stork in the middle.

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The initials have worn in the other stamp marks.

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It would've said WMF. WMF being the Wurttembergische Metalwaren Fabrik.

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So, yes, - and I failed German O-level - it's incredible, isn't it?

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This is one of their better sellers of that period.

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Anyway...the actual piece itself is the sort of thing that would have been made in quantity.

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This was a very popular shape. It's nice you've got it in green glass.

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You can sometimes find them in red. Red IS a bit more desirable.

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In terms of desirability, converting that into money, you're looking at a claret jug worth about £800.

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-My word!

-Even £900 on a good day.

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Well, I obtained it in the mid-'70s from a flooring company sales rep,

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-as a means of selling their product literature, in a way. And nobody seemed to like it at the time.

-Right.

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-I quite took a fancy to it and hung on to it.

-So you took it home?

-That's right, took it home eventually.

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-You gave it a new life.

-Right.

-So...

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-did you know what it was, apart from a catalogue?

-Not really. A few years later, my daughter took an interest.

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she's on the arty side, and she said, "Did you know it was by Paolozzi?" I hadn't really gone into it.

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-I couldn't find out much more about it other than what was within it.

-OK.

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Eduardo Paolozzi - now Sir Eduardo Paolozzi - is one of the, I suppose, leading British sculptors today.

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-Despite his name, he's Scottish. You know it's an elephant?

-Yes.

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This elephant was one of the things that he made as a commission.

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Nairn Flooring, manufacturers of floor tiles and things like that, came up with this bizarre idea

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of a Paolozzi sculpture to transmit their catalogue information.

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If we take the top off - a slight struggle - we find, inside,

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there are indeed brochures, so it's a very elaborate brochure holder.

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Here's one which is about Paolozzi and about the making of the object.

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-and here is a - you know - a typical flooring catalogue.

-That's right.

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One imagines they went to architects and building companies all over.

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He's very much an architectural sculptor - cubic form, structure, blocking.

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One thinks of Cubism but, more important, the styles of the '60s -

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Brutalist architecture, the ultimate sort of international modern style, London's South Bank development -

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plain concrete in block-like forms -

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1960s philosophy in architecture. Paolozzi's sculpture often represents that and reflects it.

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He creates forms essentially architectural rather than sculptural.

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I think it is a wonderful object. I'm so delighted to see one. I knew it existed. I've never handled one.

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-Yes.

-It was an edition of 3,000. It's a multiple, a limited edition, all those phrases. You live with it?

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-In my study. The wife doesn't like it.

-No?

-She thinks it collects dust.

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-All the corners?

-Yes.

-It's your job to keep it clean?

-Yes.

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I should say, it's made of a plastic material, deliberately made of a material relating to Nairn Flooring,

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so they had the challenge of casting this complicated shape from a mould, a typical way for Paolozzi to work.

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He works in stone and bronze, but he enjoys using industrial materials.

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People will say "1973? Certainly not an antique, just a second-hand object." Fair enough,

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but we are dealing with the recent past as well as the distant past. We need to look at things like this.

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It is, like it or not, a major work of British 20th century art. £2,000 or £3,000.

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Good grief! I wouldn't have thought that much.

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-I think you will. You'd better start dusting it more carefully. Perhaps your wife will like it now!

-Maybe.

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The early Dandy and Beanos are worth quite a lot of money.

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-The problem with these is they're a bit on the modern side.

-Yes.

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I think you've got them here from 1994, 1997 and these are really just going to be worth 10p.

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-Yeah.

-The thing to do is to look out for the Dandy and Beanos from the 19...

-There's just one old one,

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-Is there? A very old one?

-It's the, er...

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-I did have one.

-Let's have a look. Just flick through here...

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There's one from 1989, one from 1990 but they're still much too modern.

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-They need to be before the Second World War in order to be interesting to collectors.

-Yes.

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Look at that. Wonderful, isn't it?

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Have you actually ever used this radio?

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I've never... Well, I've plugged it in. You can get a sound from it,

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but you can't hear the words properly - it's very crackly.

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It must be 1950s, mustn't it? You've got the Third Programme, the Home,

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the North, the Light Programme. This was probably in use about the time that I did my first radio broadcast.

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-The crackling you heard was probably me.

-Could've been.

-Back in the '50s.

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-Are you familiar with the technique?

-No, I don't know anything about it.

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It's Boulle work, a technique of - rather like cutting out a jigsaw - inlaying brass into tortoiseshell.

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The way they did it was they made a sandwich, a packet,

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which has the tortoiseshell and the brass and the pattern - rather like paper, like marquetry -

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then you saw through both parts and end up with the male and the female.

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Where the hole is cut in one, you can set the other piece in. This is a very late example.

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The technique was invented by Andre Charles Boulle in the 17C,

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remaining popular ever afterwards. In France they made them right up to the beginning of the century.

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A wonderfully decorative clock, but there's probably more interesting information to give about the watch.

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That was my great-grandfather's, but we don't know anything else about it.

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It has a threaded-on back, which is maybe why you never got inside it.

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In fact it's signed with the famous Rolex name.

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"Rolex" is signed on the actual train wheels, the winding wheels...

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And in the back of the case...

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in miniscule writing,

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is not only the hallmark date - because it was imported - which is 1919,

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but also the W&D mark, which is Wilsdorf and Davis.

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Wilsdorf and Davis were the first partners in Rolex before it became Rolex Corporation.

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It's a very rare model, believe it or not.

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The other interesting feature is the black and white dial - a rarity.

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1919 is a perfect date for it

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because, in the war, watches were made with black dials to prevent reflection - in the trenches...

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Light reflecting. The numbers are white, the seconds dial is white, and the face black.

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Originally it was luminous. You can see traces of green, luminous paint,

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-which, by the way, caused a lot of people to die.

-Really?

-The ladies who'd paint the luminous paint on

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used to lick the end of the very, very fine brush on their tongue,

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-pick up what was then radioactive material - it's not now - causing cancer. Nobody understood it.

-Oh!

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If you had to choose, which piece would you think is most valuable?

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-You mentioned Rolex, so I'd assume it's possibly worth something, I don't know.

-Well, you're right.

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This very decorative clock is worth

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perhaps in the order of £1,500 to £2,000 because it is a late example.

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-But I think this is sufficiently rare and early to probably be worth between £2,000 and £3,000.

-Oh!

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-Well, my father was working in Sunderland in the 1950s.

-Right.

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One night, as he came home it was raining. He missed the tram.

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He went into a second-hand shop just to keep dry, and found this. Mother tells me he purchased it for 5/-.

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-Five shillings.

-Yes.

-Goodness me!

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Charming picture, well-produced, by Wilson Hepple.

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-Probably painted in the Newcastle area, around 1910-1920.

-Ah, right.

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He was a founder member of the Bewick Club in Newcastle,

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and exhibited many pictures there, during his lifetime.

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He lived a long life, from the 1850s to, I think, 1937 or thereabouts.

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He's also known for painting not only kitten pictures - for which he's probably most noted -

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but also horse pictures, hunting scenes...

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But here he is. Shown here, he's at his absolute best, I think,

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it's a nice size, compact.

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It says everything.

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-Value today - around £5,000.

-Oh, my God!

-Maybe on a good day, a bit more.

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Sure, right... Good grief.

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I worked for an old gentleman for 20 years as housekeeper.

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-I've dusted them every week for 20 years.

-And now they've come to you?

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-Yes. I think they're foreign.

-Right.

-Heavy.

-A very proud bird, isn't he?

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-Beautiful.

-What we call a fancy bird.

-Oh, yes?

-Very distinctive.

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-Any marks on it?

-There's a crown.

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Right, and some letters underneath - that's what I was hoping to see. You've got little letters - FBB.

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-Flight, Barr and Barr. Not foreign but Worcester.

-Oh!

-A great Worcester factory.

-Yes.

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-So we're looking at 1825.

-Goodness me!

-They're in jolly good shape.

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I thought Worcester stamped a mark on.

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-Often you get clear, printed marks.

-Yes.

-Sometimes just that tiny mark.

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-Hard to see.

-Yes.

-But enough to tell they're Worcester, from a great fruit service,

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painted...possibly by George Davis.

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He specialised in "fancy birds", these incredible colours and lovely backgrounds. The Malvern Hills.

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That's rural Worcestershire, not foreign. But French-influenced.

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The quality - wonderful.

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They're in such good condition they're going to be quite expensive.

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I would have thought we're looking at a nice pair around £800.

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-Very nice!

-Go on dusting and keeping them looking as good as that.

-I will, I won't part with them.

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-It started at a fiver.

-Yeah.

-Went to £10...

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-went to 12.

-Serious competition!

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And 14. I was reminded by the chap in charge I was bidding against myself!

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-It's a common mistake. We've all done it.

-Yes. Bidding like mad! But I got it for £12.

-A local sale?

-Yes.

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Right. We should reveal that it is actually a chair! It's an amazing object, isn't it?

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-Yeah.

-What do you feel about it?

-I don't know - it just has a certain sort of charm, if it's the word.

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-Funky's the word, I suppose.

-It's all those things.

-Yes, got everything.

-It shrieks, literally, '60s at you.

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Incredible colours, so dynamic and vibrant.

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It's part of a whole production idea in the 1960s of making furniture out of other materials.

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-None of this old wood stuff.

-No.

-Cardboard, plastics,

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fibreglass. Anything that was new and dynamic was the thing to do.

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This is fibreglass. It came out of a whole generation of fibreglass furniture at that time,

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starting in the mid-'60s. It suddenly emerges.

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These rounded shapes were naturally what you could cast in fibreglass.

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-1968 is when it was first produced.

-OK.

-It's by a German designer, but of course it was sold very widely.

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-You didn't have to go to Germany. I can tell you his name, but can't pronounce it.

-Right.

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I've seen it written, but never found anybody who can pronounce it.

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-It is Peter G-H-Y-C-Z-Y.

-Ri-ight.

-So I challenge you to say it.

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-No!

-I'm afraid I'm bound to be wrong.

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He's a German of Polish extraction, well-known designer of this period.

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-This is his great work of art, if you like.

-Yeah.

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He called it the "garden egg chair". The idea was that because you can shut it - it's waterproof -

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it can live outdoors or come in.

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It was all to do with bringing the garden into the house, the house in the garden - informal, open living,

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very much part of the 1960s. Value is dependent upon the colour. This is good.

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-The more vibrant and aggressive, the more popular.

-OK.

-Also, condition.

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The original fabric is there but it's a bit snagged.

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A nylon, and obviously wear and tear will affect it.

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£500 probably is about the starting point. A really good immaculate one has been sold for £1,000

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and if ever there was an antique for the future, here it is.

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-Oh, great! Thanks very much.

-Thank you!

-Cheers!

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Kirkleatham Old Hall Museum near Redcar - the local history museum for the area. We've a large collection

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-of ironstone mining material from the Eston area.

-So 63 million tons of ironstone dug from the Eston Hills,

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-over 100 years. This is part of it?

-A tourism use of the stone.

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These were carved as souvenirs for sale to tourists - and local people.

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It spawned a mini-industry. Gentlemen used to get a lump of this ironstone

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and carve books, bibles, memorials, monuments, war memorials and even churches.

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We've even got a selection of models

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of ironstone miners' tools. Pickaxes, shovels, that kind of thing.

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Is it all used up now? Any chance of digging out some for my own carving?

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It's dangerous to go down into the drift entrances. Some are sealed.

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But there's a huge pile of debris at the bottom of one of the inclines.

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You can pick up a bit, yes - free.

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-I've got two watercolours...

-Yes.

-..found in the bottom of a drawer

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which belonged to my mother-in-law.

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She died about six years ago. These were underneath the drawer-lining.

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-You'd never seen them?

-No. Knew nothing of them.

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-I believe they could've been painted in Northumberland.

-Why's that?

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Well, my mother-in-law lived in Newcastle.

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She worked in service, and the lady she worked for, I think, was...

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-lived in Northumberland.

-Right, so she was probably given these as a little present?

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Well, I've no idea actually, none at all.

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Well, you hit the spot, in a way - that's why I said, "Why Northumberland?"

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-Because do they look Northumberland?

-They do, yes.

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-This house...feels Northumbrian to you?

-Yes.

-That's interesting.

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-They are by a man called James Burrell Smith, born in Alnwick.

-Oh.

-"Annick", right?

-Yes.

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And...until 1854 he lived up here.

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After that, he went to London

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and he started a very successful school of watercolour painting

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-in Bond Street in London.

-Oh.

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In fact, when he was up here, he studied under an artist called Thomas Miles Richardson.

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-And, his whole life, he painted in that style.

-They are watercolour?

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-They are original watercolours.

-Yes.

-And this is the GOOD quality watercolour paper.

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Look, "Ingram". They were trying to read it. In pretty good condition.

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There is some staining, but a light clean should bring that out - by a professional watercolour cleaner.

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They are a terrific pair. What a nice pair! Let's pop that up here.

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What a lovely pair of local views.

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-I think sort of £3,000 to £4,000 the pair. Not bad from the bottom of the drawer, really.

-Not bad at all!

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It's a lot more than I thought it'd be.

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We've had them about 16 months. We got them from a small antique shop

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sort of as a joint Christmas present, really.

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For me they suggest a kind of..."Reformed Gothic",

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I suppose, it's often called. There was a Gothic revival in the 18 C, but it's very pretty and frilly.

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These are much more solid and, interestingly, have a slightly Regency feeling to them

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with this broad, yoke back. Even the front legs and the front seat rail

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could be of the sort of William IV period, the 1830s, for instance,

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but you've got this extra detailing, particularly the quatrefoil here,

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-this dark wood set into the splat.

-What type of wood do you think it is?

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-The chairs are oak, are they?

-The chairs are oak. This is probably an ebonised wood. It could be ebony,

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but it's probably an ebonised wood like pearwood, something like that.

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-Have you done anything to the upholstery?

-No. They are as we got them.

-They may have been re-covered.

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-We did wonder whether they had been.

-Yes, I think they may have been at some stage, but almost certainly,

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-this has been kept from the original upholstery.

-Like little studs.

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Like little decorative heads of the nails holding up the upholstery.

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I'm sure they would've been leather or horsehair originally. They almost have the feeling of a town hall,

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a very grand municipal interior, to them - or a dining room.

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Dining rooms were often done in the Gothic style in the 19 C. It was thought to be an appropriate style.

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-Great fun. There's a tiny black bobble on the top of this finial.

-It's the only one that has it.

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-The only one that's left.

-Yes, and the only one when we bought them that had the bobble on.

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-Obviously, they must've been knocked off.

-Well, it's lovely that there's at least one surviving

0:23:280:23:35

-as a pattern for all the rest.

-What date would you...?

-I think 1850-1860,

0:23:350:23:41

so after the building of the new Houses of Parliament by Pugin and Barry,

0:23:410:23:48

in the 1830s and 1840s.

0:23:480:23:50

And in the style of an architect LIKE Waterhouse. I couldn't be sure.

0:23:500:23:55

If we could just track down their specific design or location...

0:23:550:24:00

-Yes.

-..then that would increase the value quite considerably.

0:24:000:24:04

-Can I ask what you paid for them?

-Roughly, was about £500 for the six.

0:24:040:24:10

-£500 the six.

-I'm not sure of the exact amount, no.

-Right.

-Round about there somewhere.

0:24:100:24:17

Um, well, I think you've done extremely well.

0:24:170:24:21

-Right.

-And I think as they stand...

0:24:210:24:25

in the right place, you might be able to get £1,800 to £2,000...

0:24:250:24:30

-Lovely!

-..sale price for the set. If you could attach the designer's name

0:24:300:24:36

-then it could be substantially more.

-Fine.

0:24:360:24:39

-It sits at the top of the landing on a plant stand with artificial flowers coming out.

-Artificial?

0:24:390:24:46

-Yes.

-You're doing the right thing,

0:24:460:24:49

because it IS actually a toad flower pot. Any idea where it originated?

0:24:490:24:54

-No idea at all.

-It's Chinese.

-Is it?

0:24:540:24:58

And Chinese for toad - or frog - is "waa".

0:24:580:25:03

It's the noise they make, "waa".

0:25:030:25:06

And he really is a very fine waa,

0:25:060:25:08

look at that, he's got a beautiful pink chest, sweet little arms,

0:25:080:25:14

but the thing I love is the skin. It's really tactile isn't it?

0:25:140:25:19

-You could grate a carrot on this.

-Yes!

0:25:190:25:22

If you look at it really closely, all of these little bobbles have been put on very carefully indeed.

0:25:220:25:29

-They follow lines, don't they? They're not randomly put on.

-No.

0:25:290:25:35

Beautiful lines.

0:25:350:25:37

There's a lot of care taken - makes a lovely noise - and then round the legs. Beautifully done, up and down.

0:25:370:25:44

Then these beautiful bulging eyes.

0:25:440:25:47

I'm going to try to date it by these.

0:25:470:25:49

Arthur Negus had a thing about porcelain figures - if it had brown eyes it was 18 C,

0:25:490:25:55

blue, later than 18 C. Frogs are not quite the same. Gilding's the clue.

0:25:550:26:01

This colour of gilding takes us to around the 1800-1820 period.

0:26:010:26:06

The Chinese emperor reigning at the time was called Chia Ch'ing,

0:26:060:26:11

and I'm sure this is from the Chia Ch'ing period.

0:26:110:26:15

Chinese frogs go back much further,

0:26:150:26:18

because in China, frogs are lucky. Has he brought you good luck?

0:26:180:26:23

-Well, we haven't been UNlucky.

-Not UNlucky?

-No, not particularly lucky either!

0:26:230:26:29

-So he's biding his time?

-He must be, yes.

0:26:290:26:33

Let's see, is he in good condition?

0:26:330:26:36

-No.

-No, he's got a chip.

-More than a chip - a massive chunk out.

0:26:360:26:41

-Perky for all that. Do you have him insured?

-Just the house insurance.

0:26:410:26:46

-If he vanished, you wouldn't know what to claim.

-No.

-What WOULD you claim?

-I've no idea.

-Anything?

0:26:460:26:53

-£1,000?

-Yes. About that.

-£1,000. Very good! That's what he's worth.

0:26:530:26:59

-£1,000 to £1,500.

-Right. Good!

-£1,000 to £1,500 - a lucky toad!

0:26:590:27:05

-He is, isn't he? Lovely... What is he made of then?

-He's made of porcelain.

0:27:050:27:10

-IS it porcelain?

-It is.

-Oh, I thought it was cementy stuff.

-Cementy stuff?!

0:27:100:27:16

Now this is a box that tells a story. "This belongs to Walter".

0:27:160:27:22

-Are you by any chance Walter?

-I am indeed, yes, yes.

0:27:220:27:26

-You are responsible for this little graffiti.

-I was responsible, yes.

-A very nice submarine here.

0:27:260:27:33

This was purchased when and where?

0:27:330:27:36

Purchased at a toy shop, Nelsons. It was a big toy shop in Middlesbrough.

0:27:360:27:42

It's no longer there, now.

0:27:420:27:45

It probably... Maybe I would be...

0:27:450:27:48

60 years ago probably, when I bought it. But I can't put a precise date on it.

0:27:480:27:54

Not wishing to date you too precisely, that'd be the late '30s?

0:27:540:27:59

-In the late '30s. The late '30s, yes.

-It's in VERY good condition.

0:27:590:28:04

-Yes. It was used extensively as well.

-I can't believe it.

-Oh, it was, yes.

0:28:040:28:09

-And it went back in its box - with the instructions?

-Yes, sure did.

-Do you know, you're my kind of child!

0:28:090:28:17

Why aren't there more children like you around?

0:28:170:28:21

-That's very nice. In this condition, very nearly mint...

-Yes.

0:28:210:28:26

..I would have said we're talking about perhaps £100 - £150.

0:28:260:28:32

-That is a lovely item.

-Yes.

0:28:320:28:35

Now... I like this!

0:28:350:28:38

-This aircraft here. We can just see it in the box.

-Yes.

-It's almost hangared here, isn't it?

0:28:380:28:46

It's got its wings on. They are very flimsy. They're just made of paper.

0:28:460:28:50

-The body's made of aluminium.

-Yeah.

0:28:500:28:53

-It's got a holder for the propeller.

-Yes.

0:28:530:28:57

-And we take that up, wind it up.

-Wind it to the left.

-To the left...

0:28:570:29:02

There, that primes it, and off it goes. Do you know what "FROG" means?

0:29:050:29:09

-Er...

-Flies Right Off the Ground.

-Does it?

0:29:090:29:13

Well, you've taught me something!

0:29:130:29:16

Well, I'm pleased about that.

0:29:160:29:18

-That was their abbreviation for this lovely slogan - Flies Right Off the Ground - a FROG aeroplane.

-Yes.

0:29:180:29:26

-You'd have been older when you got that?

-Oh, yes, I'd think 12, possibly.

0:29:260:29:32

-It's flimsier. It needed a careful hand.

-You have to know a little about the mechanism to operate it.

0:29:320:29:39

-Exactly. Was this bought at Nelsons?

-No. This was bought at another quite famous shop in Middlesbrough,

0:29:390:29:46

R Scupham & Son, which was really the sort of Aladdin's Cave toy shop.

0:29:460:29:52

-Was it?

-They had all the marvellous Hornby trains and Meccano sets and things like this.

0:29:520:29:58

-It was a top-notch shop.

-A boy's delight?

-A boy's Aladdin's Cave.

0:29:580:30:03

-Oh, yes.

-So that's where the pocket money went.

0:30:030:30:07

It did, yes, and that again - I can't tell you how much it was,

0:30:070:30:10

but that would be quite expensive, at the time, relatively speaking.

0:30:100:30:15

-Of course. A lot of work went into this.

-Yeah.

0:30:150:30:19

-They were good flyers but, sadly, they were so fragile.

-Flimsy - indeed!

0:30:190:30:25

-They didn't stand many crashes, I'd have thought.

-No. Those wheels are actually replacements.

0:30:250:30:32

-Oh, it had a bit of a heavy landing?

-The first set did smash.

-Oh, dear.

0:30:320:30:37

-Very fragile.

-Some FROG aircraft are more desirable than others.

-Quite.

-The Hawker Hart and the Hawker Hind

0:30:370:30:44

-are particularly desirable.

-Oh, yes.

0:30:440:30:47

But there are collectors for all, particularly in this good condition.

0:30:470:30:52

-Yes.

-This, we're talking about £300, £400.

-Right, thank you.

0:30:520:30:56

-And another reasonable investment!

-Yes, quite.

0:30:560:31:00

-How many pairs of shoes have you got?

-Only about 20.

-But all old?

0:31:000:31:05

-Good morning.

-No, just...

-Excuse me interrupting.

-Aren't they fabulous?

0:31:050:31:10

-These are lovely.

-Look at these... Well, not emeralds, emerald-like.

0:31:100:31:15

-A most wonderful thing!

-Are they dancing shoes?

0:31:150:31:19

-They COULD be. Do you dance in them?

-No, it might ruin them.

-Yes, the stresses would be on them.

0:31:190:31:25

-I wear them at home if we've friends round.

-I think it's evening shoes.

0:31:250:31:30

Because the combination of greens and golds and sparkly elements you'd need to see in artificial light,

0:31:300:31:36

-glittering in the evening.

-Did you buy these yourself?

-I got them in a sale. It says "Saks of 5th Avenue".

0:31:360:31:44

And I imagined they'd danced across the Atlantic on a ship. Someone went to New York and got them.

0:31:440:31:52

-They're 1950s, we've established.

-Yes.

-You can imagine them on the Normandy or on the Queen Elizabeth -

0:31:520:31:59

-the band playing.

-Absolutely.

-I can imagine them on a film set. They look as if they've been in a movie -

0:31:590:32:06

the Red Shoes, only the wrong colour. A bit like the Wizard of Oz shoes. They've that look about them.

0:32:060:32:14

-Real showbiz.

-Yes. You can't see any stitching on the ribbon.

-They're beautifully made. Value's difficult.

0:32:140:32:21

-You paid £12... You wear and enjoy them.

-Yes.

-Classic shoes in this condition would be £50, £80, £100 -

0:32:210:32:28

to the right collector. But they're not going to want you to wear them.

0:32:280:32:33

-No. I'd rather wear them.

-May as well enjoy them.

-Can you get them in a 9?

-You might.

-Would they suit you?

0:32:330:32:40

-You never know. At home, of course.

-In privacy.

0:32:400:32:44

-He's fairly crude, isn't he?

-Oh, yes.

-There is no question that he's a mechanical man, a robot.

0:32:440:32:51

-We've got on the side, here, a little bit of writing which says "Robot 'Lilliput' ".

-Lilliput, yeah.

0:32:510:32:58

The same on the back.

0:32:580:33:02

And then on the side here,

0:33:020:33:05

where the key is - if we lift that up - we can see that there's a little trademark here. Yes.

0:33:050:33:13

-That's right, yes.

-The remarkable thing is that he's a robot at all.

0:33:160:33:21

-We associate "robot" with sci-fi, with space travel and so on.

-Yes.

0:33:210:33:26

Of course, in the late '30s, early '40s there WAS no space travel.

0:33:260:33:30

-The first Sputnik was what, 1957?

-Yes.

-So...

0:33:300:33:34

-We had not put anything into space.

-No.

-There were influences though.

0:33:340:33:39

-Yes.

-For instance, if you think back to Charlie Chaplin's film...

0:33:390:33:44

-Metropolis, the Fritz Lang film, the poster of that was very futuristic.

-Yes.

-It had mechanical people

0:33:440:33:51

that could look like robots.

0:33:510:33:53

What we're looking at here, in fact, is the first ever commercially-produced robot.

0:33:530:34:00

-Does he work?

-Very much so.

-Ooh, give him a go.

-Shall I?

0:34:000:34:04

Let's get him to strut his stuff!

0:34:040:34:08

LOUD RATCHETING

0:34:080:34:10

-Sounds very strong, the motor!

-Yes, he is.

-There's a start-stop control on the back there...

0:34:100:34:17

So we'll give that...

0:34:170:34:20

Now, how did he fit in with the rest of your toys? Because he must have looked like, you know, an invader!

0:34:260:34:34

I suppose, in those days... Boys had soldiers, forts, things like that.

0:34:340:34:39

-Yes.

-And to build up a fort out of, say, dominoes

0:34:390:34:44

and put soldiers inside, then have this fellow charge the dominoes,

0:34:440:34:50

-which would collapse and knock the soldiers over - that was great.

-So he was the secret weapon?

-Yes.

0:34:500:34:58

-He was the secret weapon, yes, quite!

-He was made in Japan. The Japanese,

0:34:580:35:03

at that time, in the 1920s and '30s, had an infant toy industry,

0:35:030:35:10

which produced fairly idiosyncratic toys, but usually with very good quality lithography on the tin,

0:35:100:35:17

which this has. I wish I could tell you who the trademark represents.

0:35:170:35:23

There is a lot of research, now, going into early Japanese makers, but I can't tell you who that is.

0:35:230:35:30

-Oh. No.

-What I can tell you is that he is a great rarity.

-Yes?

-And I have to ask you where the box is.

0:35:300:35:37

-I'm afraid I can't tell you. It...

-We're surrounded by beautifully boxed toys. Where is it?

0:35:370:35:44

-No, sorry, I don't know.

-Right. It's gone into the ether.

-Into the ether.

0:35:440:35:50

This is a valuable piece. In a specialised auction - it'd have to be to attract international buyers -

0:35:500:35:56

we'd be talking about between £1,500 and £2,000.

0:35:560:36:00

-Oh!

-Which is...

-Right. Very good!

-Now I'm going to make you feel sick as a parrot.

-Yes.

0:36:000:36:08

-Because had you got that box...

-The box.

-One in a box, a couple of years back, sold for £4,500.

0:36:080:36:15

-That box...

-Ah, yes, quite.

-Could have made the difference of £2,000.

0:36:150:36:21

-Mmm, yes.

-Go and have another look in the loft, see if it's there.

-I will, but I don't think it is.

0:36:210:36:27

-Thank you for sharing your childhood memories with us, lovely!

-Thank you!

0:36:270:36:33

-We were given it as a wedding present 17 years ago by an old lady, a friend of the family.

-This is great fun!

0:36:330:36:40

-It is.

-Because what it does is to break up...

0:36:400:36:45

You can have a go as well - I'm not going to have all the pleasure of this.

0:36:450:36:51

..into...

0:36:510:36:53

a complete dinner set.

0:36:530:36:57

-And it's such a clever idea that you can go on...!

-That's right.

0:36:570:37:02

-Is it a nightmare to get together again?

-It is, yes. All the parts are actually numbered discreetly.

0:37:020:37:09

Oh, they are? We've got on here the mark, Villeroy and Boch - very well-known makers,

0:37:090:37:15

founded in the 19th C, still going, still making good-quality wares.

0:37:150:37:21

The market actually loves the really well-designed pieces from the '50s and '60s.

0:37:220:37:29

They're moving up.

0:37:290:37:32

I've been collecting '50s things for a long time. I think they've great potential. And moving into the '70s,

0:37:320:37:39

I'm sure that is to come. But THIS one is already there.

0:37:390:37:44

You'll find this regularly in the major auction houses in their modern design catalogues,

0:37:440:37:50

A really nice thing. It was a very good wedding present, probably the best wedding present you had.

0:37:500:37:57

-We've never used it, by the way.

-Well, it is an "object". It doesn't need to be used. Hang onto it,

0:37:570:38:04

-cos it's going to do THAT in price. Now, we're looking around £300 to £500.

-Really?

0:38:040:38:11

Believe it or not, I help at church choir jumble sales, and while we were clearing up at the end, last autumn,

0:38:110:38:18

a mucky old envelope was going to get thrown out and one of these bits fell out so I rescued it, took it home,

0:38:180:38:26

and was just gobsmacked when I opened all these envelopes and another and another...

0:38:260:38:32

-All in little envelopes...

-So these are the individual envelopes?

-Yes.

0:38:320:38:35

-And each had what, four or five or six pieces in?

-There's an inventory of what there is in each packet.

0:38:350:38:42

-This is a list of the jewellery itself.

-Uh-huh.

-And... Oh, I see.

0:38:420:38:47

It's got package numbers, and then in each package you find each of these little bits of pendants.

0:38:470:38:55

-Isn't it splendid?

-It's absolutely exquisite.

-Isn't it amazing?

-Yes.

0:38:550:39:00

-Because it's all craft jewellery, really.

-Oh.

-And it was moving away to that "Aesthetics" taste

0:39:000:39:08

that was very popular in this country, particularly from around about 1900 to 1910.

0:39:080:39:15

Looking at all these, it's difficult to say who actually made them,

0:39:150:39:20

-but I think it is a workshop group.

-Oh.

-Made by one person,

0:39:200:39:24

because they're very, very similar in design, and they are all brightly coloured enamel-work.

0:39:240:39:32

You can see here... You know the old saying "Blue and green, never seen".

0:39:320:39:37

This shows how beautiful blue and green can be together.

0:39:370:39:41

All these translucent colours. The trouble is the condition.

0:39:410:39:46

So many of these individual pieces are chipped, and once that happens there's nothing you can do about it.

0:39:460:39:54

Once it goes, it goes. You've got two peacocks,

0:39:540:39:58

one with a Mississippi pearl drop suspended off the bottom - these very long, blister pearls -

0:39:580:40:04

Mississippi pearls. This is a piece of Ruskin style pottery, here.

0:40:040:40:09

-All these enamel plaques, the backs of them are quite crude.

-Yes.

0:40:090:40:15

-The counter-colour on the back, you see, is not as pretty as the work on the front.

-Mmm.

-I'd like to sit down

0:40:150:40:23

and work out which sections go together, so we could make up formal necklaces, bracelets and pendants.

0:40:230:40:30

Now we move on to the one I really like,

0:40:300:40:34

this is...this necklace.

0:40:340:40:37

-What was your immediate reaction? Did you think it was rather different?

-It looked enamelled too.

0:40:370:40:45

I assumed it was a bought setting.

0:40:450:40:48

-I thought it rather cheap and tawdry, myself!

-Well, the style of setting -

0:40:480:40:53

a gold frame like that with scrolls - IS very much of the period 1900, 1910.

0:40:530:40:59

But the reason I like this is this very, very...

0:40:590:41:04

almost like a GHOSTLY picture

0:41:040:41:06

of a girl with long, red tresses. Very Pre-Raphaelite looking.

0:41:060:41:11

-Yes.

-Very much like Rossetti. She's mounted up in a gold frame

0:41:110:41:16

with a very pretty, small amethyst drop at the bottom.

0:41:160:41:20

Then again these little blister/Mississippi pearls.

0:41:200:41:25

And then you've got these enamel discs - very much the trademark.

0:41:250:41:30

You'll see all these discs have got the same kind of colours, really.

0:41:300:41:35

I don't know who this is by, but it's very much the manner of Cromar Watt, who used to make jewellery

0:41:350:41:41

in this very fine, wistful look - with these discs.

0:41:410:41:46

The next question is how do you put a value on such a wide-ranging group of pieces? It's quite difficult

0:41:460:41:54

because, until we start to make it up, it's difficult to see what we've got.

0:41:540:42:00

My feeling is this, that I think if you were to mount these peacocks by themselves, on chains,

0:42:000:42:07

they're so decorative and so collectable, they themselves would probably be worth £250 per pendant,

0:42:070:42:14

maybe even £300. That means that if you think about all the rest of them

0:42:140:42:20

made up into mounted-up jewellery,

0:42:200:42:23

you could be talking about - I don't know - £1,000, £1,500.

0:42:230:42:28

But this one, with the enamel face of this girl,

0:42:280:42:34

this nymph in this dreamy setting,

0:42:340:42:36

I think that's lovely!

0:42:360:42:39

I think that, by itself, would make in the region of £700 to £800.

0:42:390:42:44

So from a situation where a jumble sale package... Where a pendant sort of accidentally falls out...

0:42:440:42:52

-Yes.

-I think we must be talking in the region of £2,000, here.

0:42:520:42:57

I think our choirmaster is going to be quite pleasantly surprised!

0:42:570:43:02

We've done a bit of time travel today.

0:43:020:43:06

Among the elegant reminders of the past there's been a strong showing from the 20 C - the cherished toys

0:43:060:43:13

and wireless sets, antiques of the future. It was good to see ironstone sculptures from the hills of Eston,

0:43:130:43:21

where we started. From Eston Sports Academy, until next week, goodbye.

0:43:210:43:26

Subtitles by E Kane BBC Scotland - 2001

0:43:450:43:49

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