Melksham Antiques Roadshow


Melksham

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This week, the Antiques Roadshow is in Melksham

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in the wide valley of the Wiltshire Avon, to the west of the county.

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Melksham was a hamlet in a forest clearing, a favourite hunting ground of the Plantagenet kings.

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The forest dwindled, but the town grew into a business centre.

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The town's oldest industry was cloth weaving and the round houses used for drying the wool are still here.

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Melksham has been home to an impressive range of industries.

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For Charles Maggs, who came here in 1803, it was money for new rope.

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The business continued for six generations.

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As the attraction for steel cables diminished the demand for rope, they turned to coir fibre matting.

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People all over the world wipe their feet on Maggs's coconut mats.

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The same family were instrumental in creating the great Wiltshire dairy trade.

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They turned surplus milk into butter and cream for selling in London and other major towns.

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It was a bright idea which caught on,

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and led to United Dairies delivering the daily pinta to your door.

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# Ernie

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# And he drove the fastest milkcart in the west

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# You could hear the hoof beats pound As they raced across the ground... #

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There were noble failures too.

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These Regency houses

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are a reminder of Melksham's ambition to become a spa

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to rival Chippenham and Bath.

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Springs rich in iron and saline were discovered

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and the Melksham Spa Company was formed by local landowners.

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The water's healing properties were observed by their effect on cattle.

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As with most medicines, the theory was that the nastier the taste, the greater the benefit.

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But there was no shortage of testimonials.

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A Thomas Joseph Clark certified that after a mere 14 days of taking the Melksham spa waters,

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he was "nearly recovered from a bout of erysipelas and scrofula".

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In spite of this, Melksham's time as a fashionable spa was brief.

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It went into decline when going to the seaside became more popular.

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Our show today comes from the Christie Miller Sports Centre.

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I bought it for my husband as a birthday present.

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He does like boats but he's not over-enamoured with this one.

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I'm more into the sort of modern boats.

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-What, this is too fanciful, too decorative?

-Probably, yes.

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The idea of the glass ship starts at the beginning of the 19th century.

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This is nice because you've got the sailors climbing the rigging.

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You've got the flowing pennants. You've got the sense of a ship.

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What date would you say that ship was, if it was a ship?

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-Armada days, I suppose.

-No, it's much later.

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-Really?

-I think they were looking at contemporary ships. OK, it could be a ship of the line of Nelson's time.

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It's more likely they were looking out of the window - if it was made at Bristol - out of the harbour.

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Coming in and out every day were sail trading vessels, before the age of steam.

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This is what they looked like.

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The other touch that tells us is the pilot boat.

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The pilot boat has sailed off to bring the boat into harbour, or to take it out.

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I have seen paddle steamers.

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So they were still being made into the age of steam.

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The classic is this rigged sailing ship coming into harbour.

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And reasonably accurate. They were made by people looking out of the window.

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-You can see...

-Pieces of damage.

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There's damage there where the glue's been stuck on.

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But I think, apart from that, it's still in amazing condition.

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And this curious sort of stuff was often used for the sea, so that is correct.

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-So apart from the base, it's as it should be.

-Right.

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Date, 1840 thereabouts, 1850, 1860, that sort of mid-Victorian period.

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-Now for an impertinent question.

-How much?

-Yes.

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It was actually £80, but I knew the dealer and he gave me 25% discount, so £60.

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It's a great example. I'll put a big increase on that.

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I think, bearing in mind the repair and the base, £600-£700.

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It came into the family via my great-grandfather.

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He owned a brewery in Trowbridge, and it's been handed down in the family.

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In recent years, it's been up in a bedroom storing papers, and that's as much as I know about it.

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Storing papers is also fine -

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anything that needed to be kept under lock and key,

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because this beautiful box used

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to be used to carry a 17th-century lady's jewellery around with her.

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So it is a lovely little jewellery casket.

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Now if we look at the box itself, it has these lovely oyster-cut veneers on it.

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They are slices of a tree that is cut in such a way as to reveal the graining of the wood,

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which it's done absolutely beautifully here.

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At the front, the veneers have been laid in the shape of a heart.

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You know, such a simple thing to do.

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A heart for a lady, so all the little signs are there.

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-Little touches are there.

-You've got this lovely brass strap work.

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Very bold, very stylish.

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Almost with a fleur-de-lys in the front - slightly continental.

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This dates around 1690. Show me how it opens up.

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-Pull this one down here slightly.

-Yes.

-Which releases that.

-Pop the key in.

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-Turn to the... That way.

-Yeah.

-And then this one is a half turn.

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Marvellous, fantastic device.

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Now if we look in here, what's also nice is you've got this slot...

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-That's meant to be like that?

-Yes, it was a secret compartment.

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-It would have had a little piece of wood over the top.

-Right.

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She could have put in something that she didn't want anybody to know about, like a little love letter.

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In today's market, something like this is extremely popular.

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I think we should be thinking in terms of £3,000 for sale,

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and, therefore, for insurance you've got to double it up, £6,000.

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For a little box. Excellent. Very good indeed, thank you.

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What a wonderful deep-blue sky there is in this watercolour. It really is a sensational picture.

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Is it by William Turner of Oxford?

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-That's right.

-William Turner of Oxford, not the great William Turner.

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-No, no, no.

-Sometimes confused with.

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This is another William Turner who painted largely round Oxford, particularly in watercolour.

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-Yes.

-Do you know where this is?

-Osney Meadows.

-Near Oxford.

-It's all part of Oxford now.

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It's becoming part of Oxford, I'm sorry to say.

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It doesn't look like this now.

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-No.

-But what I wanted to look more carefully at

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is this fantastic detail he manages,

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-the line of harvesting women along here.

-Yeah.

-It's so beautifully handled.

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-Yeah.

-And the whole feeling of recession, through the different fields into the distance.

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The handling of the light is masterful.

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You've got lovely narrative details

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like this basket and the hoes.

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-You wonder what's happened to the people to whom these belonged.

-Yes.

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Incredible that it is a watercolour,

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or rather a body colour, which is this thicker, more opaque watercolour,

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which gives these rather richer effects. Where has it been to retain its colour?

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It's been in my parents' house.

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But it didn't get any direct sun.

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That's an object lesson in how a watercolour can be preserved.

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-I mean, William Turner really was one of the great names of British watercolour painting.

-Was he?

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And I think, you know, you really see him on his day here. It's a late work, but it's absolutely sublime.

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I love the details of the foliage here, this rather feathery touch.

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-I think it really is one of the most beautiful watercolours I've ever seen on the Roadshow.

-Really?

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Strong language.

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-I'm grateful to you for bringing it and I hope it's insured.

-No.

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We'd like to know how much for.

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Well, I think probably one would estimate it, if it came at auction,

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between £7,000 and £10,000, but it's so beautiful, it could make more. Perhaps insure it for £12,000.

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-It's a great English watercolour. Thanks for bringing it.

-Thank you. Thank you for telling us about it.

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This is a very fine piece of Art Deco, very nice bracelet.

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Has it been in your family since the '20s or '30s?

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-No, I bought it at a boot sale.

-A boot sale?

-Yes, I did.

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How much was it?

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-It was for quite a lot of money, I thought.

-And how much is a lot?

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-£10.

-£10 - that's the absolute bargain of the century.

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It's German in manufacture.

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It's made in Pforzheim in Germany, which is a jewellery centre.

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The maker is Theodor Fahrner.

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And you will see on the back here...

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..there's the maker's mark. It says "Sterling, Germany," and it's got "T" and "F" for Theodor Fahrner.

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-Oh, yes.

-It's a beautiful piece of work, lovely arrangement of colours.

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This would need to be checked out, but it's quite possibly onyx, but it could be glass.

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-Yes.

-But this red colour is coral.

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These other elements are marcasite.

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Pieces like this are always popular at auction, and they don't come up so often.

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So a piece like this I would expect now would have no trouble in making at least £600 to £800.

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So your £10 was a bargain, wasn't it?

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An earlier Roadshow paid tribute to Fox Talbot, the photographic pioneer who owned Lacock Abbey here.

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We have a little private memory of the man. What is this?

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This is from his camera.

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It was a plate.

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My husband's grandfather was head gardener.

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Each employee was given a plate and they had it made into individual mementoes.

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-So this lovely box once had been the plate at the back of Fox Talbot's camera?

-That's right.

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-Here is a photograph in a magazine taken by the great man, and that is your husband's grandfather?

-Yes.

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But then this photograph tells us - in the caption underneath - that the greenhouses are being rebuilt,

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-and that Talbot's photographs will be used to help rebuild them. So history goes round in circles.

-Yes.

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-And there's your relation in the middle of it.

-Yes.

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It was given to me by an aunt.

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Well, it's a very nice gift. It's an absolutely beautiful, jewel-like quality cup and saucer.

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Royal Worcester mark on the bottom.

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The date code isn't very clear - it's either an "S" or an "N".

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It's about 1875, but what fantastic quality the jewelling, all the hand-work on here.

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It's a wonderful little object.

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Do you know who the designer was?

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-No.

-It was George Owen who worked at the Royal Worcester factory.

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He was so skilful at what they call reticulated ware.

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You cut the design out. You draw the design on the green clay before it's fired,

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and then you cut it out with a tiny little knife. It would take hours.

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They gave him his own room so he could sit quietly and work.

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And he had so many failures that it was uncommercial to produce.

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So he'd make something, then they'd find a collector to sell it to.

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So if you can imagine Owen working away, drawing this out, then cutting it with a knife.

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And if he broke one, it was thrown away.

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So these things are rare.

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The saucer has been broken in half, but the cup is perfect.

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Any collector of Royal Worcester would be desperate to have it.

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-So in spite of the damage, the value would be about £500.

-Gosh!

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To my knowledge, it's been in the family since the 1920s.

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-And I believe it was owned by a further relative of my grandmother's in the late 1800s.

-Yes.

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So it's been in the family for over a hundred years.

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We've got a London maker - Sibbald.

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-Not much known about him, and sort of 1817-1830, which fits absolutely perfectly with the design.

-Right.

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It's a classic example of the Regency period.

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We're out of the George III and you've a combination of features.

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You've got the lancet shape of the door, which is Gothic Revival.

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You've got the half-turned triple columns here.

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Then you've got Egyptian Revival.

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Following the Napoleonic Wars and the Egyptian campaign, there was a lot of Egyptian works of art.

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And so you've got Egyptian heads, square tapered columns and these wonderful little bronze feet.

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-So that wasn't added later?

-No, it's a strange combination.

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Bit of Gothic Revival and a touch of the Egyptian.

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You've even got a Greek key pattern which you can just see here.

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You've got a quality of wood and mahogany veneer which was dying out.

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You get those red, strong, mahogany woods for the Victorian age, but they're a different type.

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This is beautiful figured timber.

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The door's stunning and so unusual.

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It's not a clock for a clock collector. It's a clock for somebody who loves this period of design.

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So we can't compare the price with a standard long-case clock of the same period.

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I would think it would be a minimum of £5,000, perhaps.

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I'm pleased, but we like the clock, so we wouldn't get rid of it.

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-Much more important.

-That's right.

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Both of these items came from my grandfather, who lived in Liverpool.

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And, obviously, down the family and finally ended up with myself.

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I know very little about them.

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-I thought I'd bring them in here.

-Bring them in to...

-Find out.

-..try to get enlightened.

-Yes.

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Here we have a pin-fire revolver.

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It's Belgian and it's a six-shot.

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And looking at the calibre in the cylinder there, I would think it's about .32.

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Now the pin-fire system didn't last too long.

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One of the reasons for this is because what is happening in the computer world right now,

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was happening in the gun world a hundred-and-odd years ago.

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-Yes.

-So you suddenly got a pin-fire - the hammer was blunted,

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and the little copper pin drove into the side of the cartridge.

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-The next step was a rim-fire, where the hammer hit onto the edge of the cartridge.

-I see.

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The final phase is centre-fire, where the cartridge is struck into the centre of the base.

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We have that today.

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This one would have been made around about 1875, even 1880.

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Well, the value would be something in excess of £100.

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Quite ornate, so it might even be £150.

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I doubt you'd get more than that.

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-I find this interesting. Do you know anything about it?

-I know it's Russian.

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Right. This is called a kindjal.

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Russian, worn by the Cossacks.

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This particular one - all this niello silver, which is very much favoured by Russia,

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looks very pretty - the black against the silver. I'll pull it out.

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So there we are. It's got a fuller on each side.

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The fuller is this trough that goes down each side.

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And it's a very, very pretty thing.

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Now this, in a collector's market, is very desirable,

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because you have something here completely undamaged.

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All the black is there with the silver. It hasn't been taken off.

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-There's no wear and tear and so you're looking at £1,000.

-I see.

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It might be a bit more, but it's certainly £1,000.

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-Thanks for bringing it in.

-Thanks.

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They belonged to my father and I inherited them 25 years ago.

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And he had them 25 years prior to that. Where he got them from, I haven't a clue.

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Absolutely no idea?

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They are extraordinary chairs.

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This X-form chair goes right back to Roman times.

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And there are X-frame forms in the decorations at Pompeii.

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The rest suggests a highly developed interest in mannerism

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in the 16th century in the northern Renaissance.

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This dragon also reminds me of the kind of gargoyles which you get on Gothic cathedrals.

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So there's a mixture of "grotesque", meaning ugly and mis-shapen,

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and the "grotesque" that comes from the mannerist decoration of the 16th century.

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This design in the middle, taking the place of a splat,

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you find very much in the 16th century.

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But they're much thinner and more spindly.

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They've been exaggerated in the fineness of the shapes here.

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They're incredibly delicate.

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This impish sort of gargoyly caricature face, complete with wart...

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..reminds me much more of German carving of the 16th century,

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put together in a way that you would not have found in the 16th century.

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What I think we're probably looking at here is a 19th-century version

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of other styles being put together.

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I suspect that these may have been made on the Flemish-German border.

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They're made out of walnut and I think that they are extraordinary.

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They are bizarre, fascinating,

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extremely high-quality in the carving. Wherever you look there's something to explore.

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-How do you use them?

-They were at either end of the dining table,

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-and they were the most uncomfortable meals we ever endured.

-If you - ooh!

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-Yes, quite.

-I've been sort of prodded by his chin.

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-You've had them in your family for quite some time.

-50 years.

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Have you ever thought about valuation?

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Only once, a long time ago, and they said about £800 for the pair.

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Someone will love these chairs.

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For one now, you could easily be looking at £1,000 to £1,500.

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So for the pair, you could be looking at £3,000 to £4,000.

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-But it could go much more than that because they're so unusual.

-Yes.

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-And this is for the men, is it?

-No, that's a female one.

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-Is it?

-With the flange on the front. That's the men's bottle.

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-Right.

-They come in different shapes.

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If you look on the bottom - in there, it's impressed and you get...

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-It says "medium".

-You get small, medium and large.

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-Depending on the bottoms.

-That one's a small.

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-And that's...

-And that one's a large.

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That would suit me! Do you use them?

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-No.

-But you still bring them home, do you?

-Yes.

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-And what does your husband say about that?

-He goes a bit potty about it.

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-Thanks for bringing them in.

-That's OK.

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Now this could be some kind of weapon, or it could be something from an ancient hairdressers,

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-but obviously I'm guessing, so what is it?

-It's actually an eel spear.

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-An eel spear?

-Yes, for catching eels.

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And it's dated around 1800 to 1850.

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And how did you get this?

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I was given it from my partner for a birthday present.

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-Was it something you'd always wanted?

-It was something I had seen but not in such good condition.

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-So he bought it for me as a surprise.

-And it just took your fancy?

-Yes, it's very unusual.

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But an eel is a very elusive thing. Do you just stab down on it with these five prongs?

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Yes. The eel would be swimming along,

0:23:290:23:33

and you just go down with the spear and the little barbs on the edges stop the eel from passing through.

0:23:330:23:41

-Devilish idea, isn't it?

-Slightly barbaric.

0:23:410:23:45

-And works, presumably.

-Mm.

-Let's go find an eel.

0:23:450:23:49

My mother passed it on to me and it was passed on to her when she was a teenager.

0:23:500:23:56

That's all I know.

0:23:560:23:58

It's a dog collar, as I'm sure you're aware, and a small dog too.

0:23:580:24:03

It's got a catch here and you clasp it round the neck.

0:24:030:24:09

So once it was on, it would stay there for some time.

0:24:090:24:13

It's got a charming inscription on it - "I am my master's dog, JD, pray tell me, sir, whose dog you be?"

0:24:130:24:22

We know it's local because it says "Upton Lovel".

0:24:220:24:25

Upton Lovell is a village about 15 miles from Melksham.

0:24:250:24:30

-Yes.

-And then it says "Wiltshire" and "1784".

0:24:300:24:35

So it's a fantastic example of a late-18th-century dog collar.

0:24:350:24:40

-Have you any idea of its value?

-I haven't, no, not a clue.

0:24:400:24:45

-You can buy a dog collar for a couple of pounds now.

-Yes.

0:24:450:24:50

-The saddest thing about it is the fact that it has a split.

-Yes.

0:24:500:24:56

-And that certainly devalues it. But it's still worth in the region of £150.

-Oh, right.

0:24:560:25:03

Wasn't expecting that.

0:25:030:25:06

This is an absolute joy.

0:25:060:25:09

It's a most wonderful etui. The decoration here is fantastic.

0:25:090:25:15

I'm assuming this is tortoiseshell and this is multicoloured gold inlay.

0:25:150:25:21

And it's absolutely fascinating how this was done.

0:25:210:25:25

They did not carve out the surface and then make the little wires and put them in.

0:25:250:25:33

What they did was heat up the wires,

0:25:330:25:36

lay them on the surface, and then being hot, it melted the tortoiseshell and they sank in.

0:25:360:25:42

I wondered how they did it.

0:25:420:25:46

It also means they're terribly difficult to restore.

0:25:460:25:50

But this one with these flowers, it is so super.

0:25:500:25:55

There's the odd tiny bit missing, but really that's next to nothing.

0:25:550:26:00

But what is so amazing is also what is inside.

0:26:000:26:04

A number of times you find one of these and there's one piece missing.

0:26:040:26:10

And that makes such a difference.

0:26:100:26:12

But there... I mean, that's a joy, that little gold spoon.

0:26:120:26:19

That's so much fun.

0:26:190:26:21

No marks on it, and I wouldn't expect a mark on it.

0:26:220:26:27

All the sort of things you need for travel, so a knife...

0:26:270:26:33

and that wonderful gold inlay.

0:26:330:26:36

And the pistol handle which is so typical of the mid-18th century, are known as a "Dutch slipper blade",

0:26:360:26:43

where it just curves there.

0:26:430:26:47

Then scissors which - flick this - made of polished steel, of course.

0:26:490:26:55

And the gold sections.

0:26:550:26:58

They will cut just about anything. Wonderful 18th-century steel.

0:26:590:27:05

This is a lovely one.

0:27:050:27:08

Little bodkin, so you could use that for threading - a little hole there.

0:27:080:27:14

Put the ribbon through it.

0:27:140:27:17

Then what have we got here?

0:27:170:27:19

There are tweezers at that end...

0:27:190:27:22

I don't know what that little hook bit is at the end there.

0:27:220:27:27

It obviously has a function,

0:27:270:27:30

but I have to say I don't know what you would use that end for.

0:27:300:27:35

-Oh, and that's fun, a toothpick.

-Oh, right.

0:27:350:27:39

Delightful idea of picking your teeth with that, and again those are all gold inlay,

0:27:390:27:46

gold mounts, gold mounts.

0:27:460:27:50

I have to say also that I have never seen this particular design.

0:27:500:27:56

And it's so rarely that you find one with the entire contents.

0:27:560:28:03

So, value - it's a tricky one.

0:28:030:28:05

Any collector of etuis is going to be very excited about that and want to have it in their collection.

0:28:050:28:13

I would suggest an auction estimate

0:28:130:28:18

of £2,000 to £3,000.

0:28:180:28:21

And I would certainly be insuring for at least £5,000.

0:28:210:28:27

-Oh.

-It is such a joy. I am so thrilled to have seen this. Thank you for bringing it in.

0:28:270:28:35

-I know they're maiolica and old.

-Yes.

0:28:370:28:40

I know how I inherited them and where they came from.

0:28:400:28:45

-So if they're made of maiolica, where did they come from?

-Italy.

-Yes. Now, the problem is,

0:28:450:28:51

any pottery covered in a tin glaze made in Italy is called maiolica.

0:28:510:28:57

So you've got maiolica made from the 13th century to the 20th century and where do these come in?

0:28:570:29:04

-That's the next question.

-Yeah.

0:29:040:29:07

And they were made in about 1740

0:29:070:29:09

in a place called Castelli near Bruzi, Castelli da Bruzo,

0:29:090:29:15

by a family called Grue who specialised in making these plaques.

0:29:150:29:20

I think these plaques were painted by Aurelia Grue, who was particularly good at these animals.

0:29:200:29:28

-What about the holes?

-That's where the glaze has retracted. That's not a defect. That's in the manufacture.

0:29:280:29:35

-No-one fired pellets at them and made little holes.

-That's in the manufacture?

-It's not a problem.

0:29:350:29:42

-They're lovely agrestic subjects. I love this chap and his flute.

-Yes.

0:29:420:29:48

The other guy leaning on the barrel and the dogs and animals are always very good in this man's painting.

0:29:480:29:55

If you have them hanging on the wall, just check the wires are in good nick.

0:29:560:30:02

because I wouldn't like one of them to fall off and you to lose...

0:30:020:30:09

I should think half of £8,000 - say £4,000.

0:30:090:30:12

I think the two of them together are worth probably to the order of £8,000.

0:30:120:30:19

Really?

0:30:190:30:21

My father loved antique sales and I happened to be with him when he bought this one at Chippenham,

0:30:210:30:28

at Lady Mary Coventry's, about 50 years ago or so.

0:30:280:30:32

-And it was catalogued as a water clock?

-Yes.

-Dated 1672?

-Yes.

0:30:320:30:37

Well, that's what it appears to be.

0:30:370:30:40

In fact, it's signed, "A Walters fecit Salisbury anno domini 1672. I am thy guide."

0:30:400:30:48

And what we have is an oak plank, some carving,

0:30:480:30:52

basically the dial, which is fairly straightforward with a single hand,

0:30:520:30:57

the water container in which the float runs up and down.

0:30:570:31:01

And the theory is, the water drips out through this tap on the side into the reservoir at the bottom.

0:31:010:31:09

There's even a version of the Royal coat of arms on the bottom.

0:31:090:31:14

In fact, it's actually made about 1900-1920.

0:31:140:31:19

-That doesn't come to you as much of a surprise?

-No.

0:31:190:31:22

They were made by a company in Birmingham called Pearson Page and they didn't just make water clocks.

0:31:220:31:29

Half of the coal buckets and fire irons that we think of as Georgian, are brilliant copies by that firm,

0:31:290:31:35

just to sell commercially. They were not made as any sort of forgeries.

0:31:350:31:41

This is a model I've never seen.

0:31:410:31:43

Oh, right, yes. We have had it going with the water dripping out.

0:31:430:31:49

-And did you get any accuracy?

-Not really.

-No.

0:31:490:31:53

The pressure of the water... But they're great fun.

0:31:530:31:56

-Yes.

-You mustn't polish it so much. It looks wonderful but all it really needs is a rub with a cloth,

0:31:560:32:03

-because eventually it will start to polish off the engraving.

-Oh.

0:32:030:32:07

So despite the fact that it's not a genuine water clock of this period,

0:32:070:32:13

and I don't think they ever existed,

0:32:130:32:16

it's still worth something like £500 or £800.

0:32:160:32:20

Very interesting. Thank you very much.

0:32:200:32:24

-Have these plates been in your family long?

-About four generations.

0:32:240:32:28

Four generations - that takes us back 120 years. Do you have them on display?

0:32:280:32:34

Yes, but on a stand because I've got a little mark on that, this one here.

0:32:340:32:40

And I think it was caused by perhaps some wire earlier on.

0:32:400:32:46

-When you had it on plate hangers?

-Yes, I'm afraid so.

-Well, I can tell you that it's not damaged at all.

0:32:460:32:53

-This was done during manufacture.

-Oh.

0:32:530:32:57

In the kiln, this plate would have sat underneath with a piece of ceramic stilt.

0:32:570:33:02

This one would have been stacked on top so when they pulled them off...

0:33:020:33:07

They pulled it off the glaze and it left a mark. Not damaged at all. Made about 1750 - 250 years ago.

0:33:070:33:15

They are sometimes called Whieldon ware but that's not the right term.

0:33:150:33:20

They imitated tortoiseshell. They're made of a creamware body.

0:33:200:33:24

And they introduced plaster of Paris moulds for the first time, so you could get a good moulded pattern.

0:33:240:33:32

So they're ancient plates, 1750, and they look as though they could have come out of the kiln yesterday.

0:33:320:33:39

-Yes.

-They're so glowing and bright. Look at the brightness!

0:33:390:33:43

-They are nice.

-They're wonderful.

-Yes, yes.

0:33:430:33:46

If you saw these in a smart shop in London, they'd be valued at about £2,500 the pair.

0:33:460:33:53

-£2,500.

-Oh, my goodness!

0:33:530:33:57

-Can I ask you how you came by this?

-I've had it 35, nearly 40 years.

0:34:000:34:05

And it was given to me by a boyfriend of the time.

0:34:050:34:10

And he was in the Army. He'd gone home to Wales on leave.

0:34:100:34:14

And while there, he went for a walk. He kicked a clump of earth

0:34:140:34:20

-and just caught a glint of something and cleaned it off, took it home and gave it to me.

-And that's it.

0:34:200:34:28

-So that was a long time ago.

-Right, that is quite amazing.

0:34:280:34:33

-Do you know anything about the box itself?

-I think it's French.

0:34:330:34:38

-Yes.

-And the reason I thought that was because I went to Versailles.

0:34:380:34:43

In the gilding in Versailles, there was the same design as on the box.

0:34:430:34:48

-Now the box - I've just had a chance to look at the marks there - is Paris.

-Oh.

0:34:480:34:54

-It's 1765.

-Right.

-You've got green gold, red gold, white gold.

-Right.

0:34:540:35:00

-All inlaid on there.

-So all the different colours are gold?

-Yes.

0:35:000:35:06

Very high carat of gold. That's white gold, green gold, red gold and yellow gold in the background.

0:35:060:35:14

-So, have you ever thought about value?

-Not really, no.

0:35:140:35:20

I would say in a sale you'd have to be thinking at least £3,000.

0:35:200:35:26

Ooh! Oh.

0:35:260:35:29

£3,000?

0:35:290:35:31

£3,000 and it could go more.

0:35:310:35:34

-Really?

-Really.

-Do you still see that boyfriend?

0:35:340:35:38

No!

0:35:380:35:40

Mrs Bruce was very famous and well known in the country in the 1920s and early 1930s

0:35:420:35:49

-as a lady racing driver...

-Yes.

0:35:490:35:52

..motor racing and aviatrix.

0:35:520:35:56

-This tray was given to her by Bentley Motors after she did a 24-hour journey.

-That's quite an achievement.

0:35:560:36:03

-It's staggering.

-She must have been driving at 110, 120 most of the time, in a Bentley.

0:36:030:36:10

-Yes, in a Bentley.

-Do we have any pictures of this?

-We do. Here is a picture of the Bentley.

0:36:100:36:16

That is the is the actual Bentley which went on to win Le Mans rally.

0:36:160:36:21

-So it's the winning car?

-It is.

0:36:210:36:24

She described her 24-hour run as "running the engine in" for Bentley, for the Bentley Boys who...

0:36:240:36:30

-Who then...

-..carried out the race.

-So it was a brand-new car then?

-Yes.

0:36:300:36:36

Was that the third year in succession that Bentley had won?

0:36:360:36:41

-Yes, it was.

-But then that was the end of the Bentley story?

0:36:410:36:45

-Yes.

-So there she is. What else have we got?

0:36:450:36:49

-Oh, look, what's that?

-That's it being refuelled.

0:36:490:36:53

-God, look how crude and primitive it is.

-Yes.

-God, he's even smoking!

0:36:530:36:58

He's smoking with the fuel being poured in. A short life expectancy!

0:36:580:37:02

-What a primitive life it was, and yet that was the car she was driving at over 100mph.

-Yes.

0:37:020:37:09

-What's the telegram?

-They are congratulatory telegrams on the journey. This one is from Bentley.

0:37:090:37:16

-"Heartiest congratulations on most wonderful show." This is after the 24-hours?

-Yes.

0:37:160:37:22

-That's from one of the great Bentley drivers.

-What are you to do with her?

0:37:220:37:27

My interest in her was triggered off when I bought her house in Bradford-on-Avon.

0:37:270:37:34

-Did you get things from...?

-There were things I found in the roof space,

0:37:340:37:39

tucked in a painted-up cupboard.

0:37:390:37:42

I began asking about her, and very few people know anything about her.

0:37:420:37:47

I knew her name, but nothing about her life.

0:37:470:37:51

I delved deeper into it and started collecting this memorabilia on her and learning about her other feats.

0:37:510:37:58

-Where did you get it?

-From auction sales, publicity.

0:37:580:38:02

People have offered me things they've had in their own attics or cellars.

0:38:020:38:07

-What is your aim?

-It is to bring her back to public attention.

0:38:070:38:12

-Bring her back to life.

-Great, great sportswoman, great person in her day.

0:38:120:38:18

It's a shame that she seems to have been forgotten.

0:38:180:38:22

-Particularly as a lady driver.

-Yes.

0:38:220:38:25

-Would it be fair to say it's an obsession?

-Sometimes, yes, I admit.

-She's taken over your life?

0:38:250:38:31

-Almost - don't tell my wife.

-So you live with two women?

-Almost.

0:38:310:38:36

-She didn't have a compass in her car.

-No. After her various driving feats she got bored with driving.

0:38:360:38:43

She was walking down Regent Street and saw a plane for sale in a department store...

0:38:430:38:48

-Department stores sold aeroplanes?

-Exactly. The wings folded up.

0:38:480:38:53

She bought it without knowing how to fly, had 8 hours of lessons and decided to set off round the world.

0:38:530:38:59

-Just like that?

-Yes.

-After 8 hours?

-Yes.

0:38:590:39:03

-And she lived to tell the tale?

-She did crash the aeroplane three times, but it was repaired each time.

0:39:030:39:10

And she lived out on a good dinner-party story for the rest of her life?

0:39:100:39:16

-She went on lecture tours after that.

-And what happened to her?

0:39:160:39:20

After that, she retired to Bradford-on-Avon.

0:39:200:39:24

Though she had a career running an airline company during the '30s.

0:39:240:39:28

-What, her own airline?

-It was a company called Air Dispatch.

0:39:280:39:33

She employed the first air stewardess.

0:39:330:39:36

-Yes, because Imperial Airways had stewards very firmly.

-Yes, but this was her airline.

0:39:360:39:42

-So she was a great fighter for female emancipation?

-And she pioneered air-to-air refuelling.

0:39:420:39:50

She had the record for staying in the air for the longest period of time, 55 hours round the Isle of Wight.

0:39:500:39:58

Astonishing. And what are all these?

0:39:580:40:01

-This is a collection of flying goggles. These are her goggles.

-You know these are hers?

0:40:010:40:07

-Yes, because I bought them with the compass.

-So she flew in her aeroplane with these goggles and this compass?

0:40:070:40:13

-As I say, it's a slight obsession. I understand why you do it. Is there more material to get?

-I'm sure.

0:40:130:40:19

-Will you write a book?

-There's a lady in America writing a book. She's a better author than I am.

0:40:190:40:25

-But you have the great collection. You are the Mrs Bruce expert.

-I like to think so.

0:40:250:40:31

She deserves you. She deserves wonderful attention.

0:40:310:40:36

-May you find many more things. I think we should end with a wonderful picture of her.

-Lovely.

0:40:360:40:43

What a wonderful lady! Great, and it brings together that period of excitement, challenge, elegance.

0:40:430:40:50

-Wonderful, lovely.

-Thank you very much.

-Pleasure.

0:40:500:40:54

-My father, when he died, we found it in his stuff.

-So it's a memento. Do you remember it as a child?

0:40:540:41:02

-Never saw it before.

-Never saw it?

0:41:020:41:05

Wonderful to see such a beautiful drawing by one of the great illustrators of the 19th century,

0:41:050:41:12

Edmund Dulac. And he and Arthur Rackham are without doubt the finest illustrators on the market,

0:41:120:41:19

at that time.

0:41:190:41:21

What I love about this picture is it seems to encompass to me all the eccentricities of Dulac.

0:41:210:41:27

Do you know anything about Dulac?

0:41:270:41:30

-I had a book. I just read that he was an illustrator - that's all I know.

-That's all, right.

0:41:300:41:37

Well, he was born, as his name suggests, in Toulouse in France.

0:41:370:41:43

He came to England I think in about 1906 to London,

0:41:430:41:47

and actually became a nationalised citizen in 1912.

0:41:470:41:51

He made his fame and fortune from book illustrations.

0:41:510:41:56

He illustrated some of the most famous children's books at the time, such as Treasure Island in 1927,

0:41:560:42:03

Arabian Nights in 1907, Sinbad The Sailor,

0:42:030:42:07

most of Hans Anderson's fairy tales, those sort of books.

0:42:070:42:12

He is a cultish figure, very eccentric.

0:42:120:42:16

What I like about him is he seems to bring in taste from the Far East.

0:42:160:42:21

We have Middle Eastern taste, we have Art Nouveau, we have almost the detail of Pre-Raphaelitism.

0:42:210:42:28

We have a melting pot of taste and trends here.

0:42:280:42:32

And this wonderful watercolour, you can see how it's been highlighted with silver and gold here as well.

0:42:320:42:40

And look at those slippers - probably quite difficult to wear.

0:42:400:42:45

It says, "To Mr Clarkson, souvenir of the Italian Ball 1920." So is this Mr Clarkson?

0:42:450:42:52

There lies a bit of a mystery, doesn't it?

0:42:520:42:56

-Have you ever had it valued?

-No.

0:42:560:42:59

Well, Dulac is extremely sought after.

0:42:590:43:03

I suppose his most valuable things would be illustrations of well-known fairy tales.

0:43:030:43:10

Something like this should be insured for about £10,000.

0:43:100:43:14

Thank you to the people of Melksham for joining us at the Roadshow.

0:43:180:43:23

We've been engulfed by treasures from exquisite watercolours to sturdy bed pans.

0:43:230:43:29

Items to please the eye and soothe the weary soul.

0:43:290:43:32

So until next week, from Melksham, goodbye.

0:43:320:43:37

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0:44:030:44:06

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