0:00:31 > 0:00:35This week, the Antiques Roadshow has come to the Fens, in Cambridgeshire
0:00:35 > 0:00:40and to the busy market town of Wisbech, on the River Nene.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44And in the local museum, a special treasure...
0:00:44 > 0:00:50The unique atmosphere of the Fenlands is captured in the original manuscript
0:00:50 > 0:00:53of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.
0:00:53 > 0:00:58"The marshes were just a long, black horizontal line then, as I stopped to look after him,
0:00:58 > 0:01:04"and the river was just another horizontal line, not nearly so broad nor yet so black,
0:01:04 > 0:01:12"and the sky was just a row of long angry red lines and dense black lines, intermixed.
0:01:13 > 0:01:19"But except for these things and the shudder of the dying day in every blade of grass,
0:01:19 > 0:01:24"there was no break in the bleak stillness of the marshes."
0:01:25 > 0:01:30Wisbech rose from the Fenlands to become a flourishing community -
0:01:30 > 0:01:36its South and North Brink making two of the finest Georgian streets in England.
0:01:36 > 0:01:41And this is Peckover House, the finest property in Wisbech.
0:01:41 > 0:01:46Peckover has a Dickensian ring to it, but the house was built in 1722.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49The Peckovers were a Quaker banking family.
0:01:49 > 0:01:55The piece de resistance in the drawing room is this carved pine Rococo decoration over the mirror.
0:01:55 > 0:02:00One lady of the house, anticipating the craze for makeovers,
0:02:00 > 0:02:04told her husband that she wanted the whole room redecorated.
0:02:04 > 0:02:11He, being a cautious banker, said no, so she got the money from her daddy - interest free.
0:02:12 > 0:02:17In 1948, Peckover House was presented to the National Trust,
0:02:17 > 0:02:24and the garden was the scene of a poignant event, as many contents of the house were put up for sale.
0:02:24 > 0:02:30Some items were bought by local people. Will any of those pieces re-emerge at today's Roadshow?
0:02:30 > 0:02:36Only one way to find out... Let's join our experts at the Hudson Leisure Centre.
0:02:36 > 0:02:41- His nickname is Cue Come.- Cue Come? - Cue Come.- Why Cue Come?- Well...
0:02:41 > 0:02:48my grandfather used to sing a little song that ended "look who's coming", and he was called Cue Come from that.
0:02:48 > 0:02:53- Oh, I see.- But I can't remember the song.- How old was your grandfather?
0:02:53 > 0:03:00Quite old, about 80, 90. It's been in the family for 53 years, because when my mother met her husband,
0:03:00 > 0:03:02he used to sit on the television.
0:03:02 > 0:03:07- So he's been on television already? - Exactly!- Right.
0:03:07 > 0:03:14- He's in reasonably good condition. - He's not too bad and he's been to the States and back.- He's got a chip.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18- Oh, yes. You don't know where he's made?- I don't.- Any marks?
0:03:18 > 0:03:23No, but I wondered whether his painting was a Satsuma
0:03:23 > 0:03:29- because of the gold and the density of the painting. - Let's see. You're right,
0:03:29 > 0:03:32there's a very strong Oriental feel.
0:03:32 > 0:03:37You've got pearls, scattered flowers, treasure objects -
0:03:37 > 0:03:41all the things that you find in Chinese and Japanese art -
0:03:41 > 0:03:47denoting plenty, happiness, joy, abundance. Has he brought you those things?
0:03:47 > 0:03:53- Absolutely.- You look as though he has.- I look at him every day and I feel happy.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56- Oh, that's great, wonderful.- Yes.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00- Well, I'm afraid we aren't going to find the mark.- No.
0:04:00 > 0:04:05These are all firing problems. There's no potter's mark anywhere,
0:04:05 > 0:04:11and I have looked quite closely on his coat, and there are no marks there, so how do we go about it?
0:04:11 > 0:04:14Well, we look at the raw material.
0:04:14 > 0:04:20The raw material is this chalky-coloured, slightly straw-coloured pottery.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24It's an earthenware. And that's what it looks like without the glaze.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27- Right.- They then put the glaze on.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31If you look very, very closely at that glaze, what do you see?
0:04:31 > 0:04:37- Lots of tiny cracks. - That's right, like a sort of crazy-paving effect, isn't it?- Yes.
0:04:37 > 0:04:42Well, that is the characteristic of what we call Satsuma-ware.
0:04:42 > 0:04:47So you're right, it's Japanese. Satsuma-ware is a generic term.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51There are lots of kilns, not just in the Satsuma area but all over Japan.
0:04:51 > 0:04:56Made some time around the year 1900-1910, maybe,
0:04:56 > 0:04:59and beautifully modelled. His toes -
0:04:59 > 0:05:02beautiful, aren't they? Little wrinkles.
0:05:02 > 0:05:07- And the little podgy fists.- Yes. - He's well fed, and chubby cheeks...
0:05:07 > 0:05:11I love the way his coconut hairdo is actually modelled in the clay -
0:05:11 > 0:05:17they allowed for that, so you got the sense of the bulk of his hairdo.
0:05:17 > 0:05:24The whole idea of a little boy is something which, not only in Japanese, but in Chinese culture,
0:05:24 > 0:05:31- denotes happiness and abundance. - Right.- So he is a good-luck token in his own right.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35I haven't ever seen a Satsuma figure of this size,
0:05:35 > 0:05:38or of this particular model, so he is unusual.
0:05:38 > 0:05:43If you had to replace him, you'd probably have to pay somewhere
0:05:43 > 0:05:45in the region of £3,000 to £5,000.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50Have to get him insured!
0:05:50 > 0:05:52He IS a good-luck charm.
0:05:55 > 0:06:00I've recently been given them by my aunt, only about two weeks ago.
0:06:00 > 0:06:07- Quite a gift!- She said she would never wear them again. She said, "I think you ought to have those, dear."
0:06:07 > 0:06:11Lovely. When she gave it to you, did you think this was a bracelet?
0:06:11 > 0:06:19- Yes.- And would you be surprised if I told you that it wasn't? - I would, yes.- Well, it isn't,
0:06:19 > 0:06:23It's a necklace. If you think about the word "necklace",
0:06:23 > 0:06:26it's neck lace, quite literally.
0:06:26 > 0:06:34- It was a choker necklace? - Yes, but all neck laces were attached to a lace, a bootlace,
0:06:34 > 0:06:38- or a piece of ribbon.- Yes.- Now this object is really seriously old -
0:06:38 > 0:06:42- 1740 to 1760.- Goodness. - Good heavens.
0:06:42 > 0:06:47This is English work, it's distinctive because it's very flat
0:06:47 > 0:06:53and the garnets have been foiled at the back in closed settings. It really comes off the neck
0:06:53 > 0:06:57- of a lady who might have been painted by Gainsborough.- Wonderful.
0:06:57 > 0:07:02You can find such jewellery in those paintings. A miracle it's survived.
0:07:02 > 0:07:08It has survived because it's been shortened and that's a shame, I have to say.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10Yes, I did think that as a bracelet
0:07:10 > 0:07:16- it didn't fit snugly on your wrist because it was a little bit stiff. - That's right.
0:07:16 > 0:07:23These were made by designers who wanted them to work in a specific way. When jewellery is altered,
0:07:23 > 0:07:28it's always a mistake. It's a bit like old buildings with extensions -
0:07:28 > 0:07:32it just ruins them. Most jewellery has been interfered with
0:07:32 > 0:07:38at some stage, and this has. One wouldn't expect much else from 1750.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40Fascinating. What about this one?
0:07:40 > 0:07:44- Here is a neck lace in more conventional form.- Yes.
0:07:44 > 0:07:51The lace has fallen away and we're relying on a box-and-tongue fitting because it's early 19th century.
0:07:51 > 0:07:56This is the type of jewellery I think of as Jane Austen jewellery -
0:07:56 > 0:08:00it's contemporary with her. Interestingly enough,
0:08:00 > 0:08:05this necklace is not only complete, but it's been added to. Which piece?
0:08:05 > 0:08:10- This little piece on the end? - Yeah, yeah, that is an earring...
0:08:10 > 0:08:16- Oh!- Oh, an earring.- And it's better removed, to be perfectly honest.
0:08:16 > 0:08:21Had this necklace been in its original condition, it would probably have been worth...
0:08:21 > 0:08:28- between £5,000 and £7,500. - Good heavens!- But it isn't,
0:08:28 > 0:08:34so that's a bit of a blow. With this garnet replaced, which is very easy, you've got to reckon...
0:08:34 > 0:08:39£2,000, just because it's a wonderful, wonderful survival.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43This one here - you'd say less garnets, so it must be worth less.
0:08:43 > 0:08:49But it is worth the same because it is in its original condition
0:08:49 > 0:08:53when you've taken off the earring. And this is not.
0:08:53 > 0:08:58- Will you get to wear them too? - I don't think so!- You don't know!
0:08:58 > 0:09:01I think you will, I do, honestly.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04- It was a legacy to me from my maternal grandmother.- Right.
0:09:04 > 0:09:11- How old were you when you got it? - Very young.- Very, very young? - Yes, and I wasn't impressed then
0:09:11 > 0:09:16- because I thought what use is a mirror when you can't see in it? - Exactly,
0:09:16 > 0:09:20but I think that's what's nice about it.
0:09:20 > 0:09:27- It's not a great mirror, but it is a nice old plate.- Yes.- It's not just the fact that it's very foxed,
0:09:27 > 0:09:32so that the foiling on the back is coming off, making it look spotted,
0:09:32 > 0:09:35but if you put a point on it...
0:09:35 > 0:09:39you can measure the distance between the point and its reflection...
0:09:39 > 0:09:43- Oh, yes.- ..you halve that visually, and that's how thick the glass is.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47- It's a thin glass, so this is almost certainly the original plate.- Yes.
0:09:47 > 0:09:53That's important because not only is it nice to have the original plate,
0:09:53 > 0:09:55with a soft, albeit spotted image,
0:09:55 > 0:10:02but modern plates are much thicker, and if you put a thicker plate into this, it adds to the weight,
0:10:02 > 0:10:07which gives you problems, as these mirrors are very weak here and here.
0:10:07 > 0:10:14- Yes, it looks as if it's been repaired there.- Yes, you've had a break there and there.- Yes.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18Serpentine shape and this lovely shield-shape mirror -
0:10:18 > 0:10:23absolutely typical of the 1780s, possibly 1790s. So late 18th C.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27The wood is mahogany, but the cross-banding
0:10:27 > 0:10:30looks as though it should be tulip wood,
0:10:30 > 0:10:34which, when new, would have been a variegated pink, yellow and red,
0:10:34 > 0:10:36like a variegated tulip.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40So the colouring would have been rather different.
0:10:40 > 0:10:48One thing about all these pieces is that I've never yet seen one where the drawers fit properly.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52The drawers are all slightly proud. The reason is that, over time,
0:10:52 > 0:10:56- the carcass has shrunk.- Oh, I see. - The grain of the wood runs this way
0:10:56 > 0:11:02and it's shrunk this way, but the drawers have not shrunk in the same direction and so they stand proud.
0:11:02 > 0:11:07- Oh!- Put that back in, and it doesn't go in all the way.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11- No.- Now, when that was new, they would have been flush.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14So it's a nice sign of age, that.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18It might benefit from a bit of cleaning up,
0:11:18 > 0:11:23but it's in pretty original condition. The feet, drawers and knobs are original,
0:11:23 > 0:11:30- the ivory discs here, the roundels here...- Would those clean up? - Those would clean up perfectly well.
0:11:30 > 0:11:36- I rather like them as they are, though.- Yes, yes.- All in all, it's a very pretty piece.
0:11:36 > 0:11:41I would have expected, with a bit of work, a bit of cleaning up,
0:11:41 > 0:11:45perhaps one or two of these replaced veneers repaired better,
0:11:45 > 0:11:50I would expect this to be...selling for about £1,800, maybe £2,000.
0:11:50 > 0:11:56- I think that's the sort of insurance value you should put on it.- Yes. - Very nice.- Thank you.- Thank YOU.
0:11:56 > 0:12:02- It's been in the family certainly since the 1930s.- It's been well used.
0:12:02 > 0:12:07- It's been beside the fire ever since I can remember. Been a log box. - Oh, right.
0:12:07 > 0:12:14Originally, it would have been made to hold papers in, certainly not logs, but that's a good use for it.
0:12:14 > 0:12:19- It's made of hide.- Yes. - I think, possibly, cow or pony hide.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23It's decorated with these squares of fabled beasts
0:12:23 > 0:12:27- and also the double-headed eagle. - A double-headed eagle, is it? Ah.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31So I think it's definitely Continental,
0:12:31 > 0:12:37- possibly German or Austrian.- Oh... - And if we look at the mounts at the back here, the iron mounts,
0:12:37 > 0:12:41that is one indication of age - it probably dates from the late 18th C.
0:12:41 > 0:12:47- So I'd think, perhaps, 1780, 1790. - Wow!- I think this piece is probably a later replacement.
0:12:47 > 0:12:54- Yes.- Value - as a novelty fun item it might fetch perhaps £500 to £700.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57It will stay by the fire! Thank you very much.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04That is just after I went into the army, training at Warminster.
0:13:04 > 0:13:11- How long were you in the army before you were captured?- I went out in about late 1940 and then we went up,
0:13:11 > 0:13:17and then we went up the desert to Sidi Barani in the early part of the war and then we were withdrawn
0:13:17 > 0:13:23and sent over to Greece in the April, and I was captured about the end of April
0:13:23 > 0:13:29along with the rest of... There were 120 taken prisoner
0:13:29 > 0:13:33and the balance of the 600 men in the 3rd Battalion Tanks
0:13:33 > 0:13:41were all killed or drowned in the sinking of the boats as they were leaving for Crete.
0:13:41 > 0:13:46- How long were you a prisoner?- I was a prisoner for four and a half years.
0:13:46 > 0:13:53So here we have a copy of Hitler's Mein Kampf - My Struggle - because it's in English. How did you get it?
0:13:53 > 0:13:57It was when I went into the men's stalag. I think I bought it
0:13:57 > 0:14:04with some money off somebody in the stalag, and I've kept it ever since, up to the present day.
0:14:04 > 0:14:11- Yes, POW number...?- 1250. - 1250, just checking. And what was your army number?
0:14:11 > 0:14:17My army number was 7909120, Royal Tank Regiment.
0:14:17 > 0:14:23- A short number because you were an old soldier. You were a good-looking bloke.- Thank you!
0:14:27 > 0:14:33- This really is the most unspeakably smart dress. Isn't it wonderful? - It is.- Who wore it?- My wife,
0:14:33 > 0:14:38- and before her, her mother-in-law. - What a family treasure.- Yes, indeed.
0:14:38 > 0:14:43- Looks like the Odeon Cinema, doesn't it?- Yes. That's what dates it.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46Yes. Very Deco, very chic.
0:14:46 > 0:14:51- I think you ought to insure it for somewhere round about £300.- Really?
0:14:51 > 0:14:56Goodness me, I would never have thought that much, but nice to know.
0:14:56 > 0:15:01- I don't think it will go out of the family, though.- No, I wouldn't let it go if it was mine.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03Well, let's have a look.
0:15:03 > 0:15:07I don't believe it! It was painted white?
0:15:07 > 0:15:13- It was emulsioned. - Did you know what you were buying? - Not until I saw it in the distance.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17- Yes.- And the size of the vase is what I liked.
0:15:17 > 0:15:23- Can I ask you the princely sum that you paid for this?- A pound.- A pound.
0:15:23 > 0:15:30And he lifted it and gave it to me, and I turned it up, like that, to have a look...
0:15:30 > 0:15:34- And you saw the name.- Clarice Cliff. - And you saw the name Clarice Cliff.
0:15:34 > 0:15:39- So what did you strip it with?- Soap and water. It was just emulsion.
0:15:39 > 0:15:45You did all right for a pound because this is called a lotus jug.
0:15:45 > 0:15:50Gay Day is the pattern, in case you wondered. If I was to say the value...
0:15:50 > 0:15:54is somewhere between £600 to £800...
0:15:54 > 0:15:58You couldn't tell me where this car boot sale is, could you?
0:15:59 > 0:16:02I think we'll hazard a guess...
0:16:02 > 0:16:07a terrier, possibly a wire fox terrier?
0:16:07 > 0:16:14- What do you think?- I'm not very good on dogs, I'm afraid. We call him Arthur at home because...
0:16:14 > 0:16:18Arthur Wardle - the signature here - is one of the best artists
0:16:18 > 0:16:22working at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26He painted dogs with such vitality and personality
0:16:26 > 0:16:30that he's almost ready to spring right out of the painting,
0:16:30 > 0:16:33and I'm sure that's why people love his work.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37If you look at the quite detailed and rather heavy impasto -
0:16:37 > 0:16:42the build-up of paint on the dog, in contrast with the background -
0:16:42 > 0:16:50what it actually does is, it throws the head and the portrait of the dog forward,
0:16:50 > 0:16:56- giving him that extra kind of personality and the poignancy. - He looks like he's just jumped up,
0:16:56 > 0:17:01like someone has called to him. He looks so real,
0:17:01 > 0:17:04the way he stands forward there.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08- Now, we must consider the value for Arthur - is that his name?- Yes.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11- Why Arthur? - Because of the artist's name.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15Oh, I see! I'm sorry I didn't get that!
0:17:15 > 0:17:19- I thought there was some other family connection.- No, no.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22But coming back to the price,
0:17:22 > 0:17:27I think, probably, the value is in the region of £4,000 to £6,000.
0:17:27 > 0:17:31- Thank you. He's always been one of the family, really.- Yes.
0:17:31 > 0:17:36- Where is it from?- I bought it from a fete.- How much did you pay?
0:17:36 > 0:17:41- Two shillings.- Two shillings!- Yes. - Very good! Do you know anything about it?
0:17:41 > 0:17:45- I just know that it's a piece of Martin ware.- Right.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48I was told that it was a tobacco jar.
0:17:48 > 0:17:52This is a popular misconception that they're tobacco jars.
0:17:52 > 0:17:57They have this detachable head which revolves,
0:17:57 > 0:18:02and you can change the expression. But can you imagine a man
0:18:02 > 0:18:04trying to get tobacco out?
0:18:04 > 0:18:08It wouldn't fulfil that function at all.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12And tobacco must be kept pressed,
0:18:12 > 0:18:16so you need a weight and it must be airtight.
0:18:16 > 0:18:20Well, no way is that airtight. So they were never tobacco jars,
0:18:20 > 0:18:25they were just amusing figures whose expression you could change.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29They were made by a man called Robert Wallace Martin,
0:18:29 > 0:18:33who was the elder of four brothers and they had a kiln.
0:18:33 > 0:18:40The three brothers worked there. Robert Wallace modelled these, Robert Fraser threw the pots,
0:18:40 > 0:18:44Edwin did the small pots and the decoration,
0:18:44 > 0:18:47and then Charles ran the shop in the city.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50They were the first true studio potters
0:18:50 > 0:18:57who were enjoying clay just for the fun of it, really.
0:18:57 > 0:19:03I joined one of the major auction houses as a porter in the mid-60s,
0:19:03 > 0:19:07and I hated it, I couldn't STAND ceramics.
0:19:07 > 0:19:13Why would anybody spend £10 on a boring dinner plate? To me it didn't make any sense at all.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15Then, one day, one of these came in,
0:19:15 > 0:19:22a Martin Brothers owl, and I thought, "Yeah, I can see the fun the person had out of making this,
0:19:22 > 0:19:24"it's a joy."
0:19:24 > 0:19:31- And suddenly I was converted, and I've been hooked on Martin ware ever since.- Ah.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33And, indeed, ceramics generally.
0:19:33 > 0:19:39The Martins always fully mark their pieces, and here we've got
0:19:39 > 0:19:41RW Martin and Brothers...
0:19:41 > 0:19:48London - that's where they had the shop - and Southall. The date we've got on here is 29.3.1911,
0:19:48 > 0:19:52and because the head was separate,
0:19:52 > 0:19:58they should match up with the same mark and date on the base there,
0:19:58 > 0:20:00and yours does marry up.
0:20:00 > 0:20:05Sometimes the dates are different and people aren't so keen on them.
0:20:05 > 0:20:10This one's got a bit of damage to it, a little chip, not too serious,
0:20:10 > 0:20:14but even so, we're looking at your 10p
0:20:14 > 0:20:20- turning into about £3,000 to £5,000. - Gosh, I can't believe it!- Well done!
0:20:20 > 0:20:23Oh, that's marvellous, isn't it?
0:20:23 > 0:20:29I was hoping to find a map of Cambridgeshire. What happened to it?
0:20:29 > 0:20:36Originally, we understood there to be 3 rolls of maps, but when my father moved from Kent to Lincolnshire,
0:20:36 > 0:20:40- about 13 years ago, one disappeared in transit.- That's a shame.
0:20:40 > 0:20:45- But they were in scruffy condition? - Yes, they're in terrible condition.
0:20:45 > 0:20:51It's a a worry opening it up. But the great thing about these Greenwood maps
0:20:51 > 0:20:57is that it's all there. Greenwood did a wonderful atlas which he surveyed here,
0:20:57 > 0:21:00made in the years 1818 and 1819,
0:21:00 > 0:21:04and then subsequently corrected to the present period
0:21:04 > 0:21:09and published in 1830, so this is the 1830 edition.
0:21:09 > 0:21:15Each county was done in fantastic detail with hand-coloured plates,
0:21:15 > 0:21:19and each with a lovely vignette, as you can see. This is Staffordshire,
0:21:19 > 0:21:24which is nowhere near here, but it's just a nice example, this.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28This particular one is in really nice condition.
0:21:28 > 0:21:30Of course, the real problem
0:21:30 > 0:21:35- is that you've lost half or a third of the counties.- Yes.
0:21:35 > 0:21:42Try and stop them being rolled up like this, because each time you unroll it, they're falling apart.
0:21:42 > 0:21:48Oh, this is my father - he kept them like that, rolled up in the bottom of the wardrobe.
0:21:48 > 0:21:53Well, that's no bad thing because it keeps them out of the light,
0:21:53 > 0:21:59so they haven't faded at all, they're still as bright as the day they were painted, which is nice.
0:21:59 > 0:22:06- They've got some rather dog-eared maps amongst them.- Yes.- But a single good county like this,
0:22:06 > 0:22:12in this sort of condition, is worth, perhaps, £200-£250 for a single county.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15Now, I'm not very good at sums,
0:22:15 > 0:22:19but you've got about £2,500-£3,000 worth of county maps here,
0:22:19 > 0:22:25- even in this scruffy condition. - Good gracious! - Now please look after them.
0:22:25 > 0:22:31It's as light as a feather, this ring. Made of hair, you knew that?
0:22:31 > 0:22:36- Yes.- It's interesting to me because it's an extraordinary survival.
0:22:36 > 0:22:41Hair is one of the things that can be taken from a human being
0:22:41 > 0:22:46that never perishes, so since ancient times, it's been used in jewellery.
0:22:46 > 0:22:51This is jewellery without a piece of gold or a gemstone in sight,
0:22:51 > 0:22:59and we can see that there are two types of hair, if not three, at work here, showing the design,
0:22:59 > 0:23:03- and the name "Charles" is clearly visible.- Yes.
0:23:03 > 0:23:08As we turn the ring round, we'll see that Charles' hair appears here,
0:23:08 > 0:23:12but it's kept safe by the use of black horsehair.
0:23:12 > 0:23:18- Oh.- Now this helps me date this ring, it's very old indeed, 1760. We have to consider the possibility
0:23:18 > 0:23:22that Charles had died and this is a mourning ring.
0:23:22 > 0:23:28They're astonishingly rare. They survive in some museum collections,
0:23:28 > 0:23:32but the temptation by children to wear them and ruin them, is so great
0:23:32 > 0:23:36they simply don't come down to us, so it's rather exciting.
0:23:36 > 0:23:42- And to be excited by a ring without any precious material is rather odd. - It is, yes.- Where did you find it?
0:23:42 > 0:23:48- I bought it at auction. Nobody else was interested - I bid £1 and got it. - Wonderful.
0:23:48 > 0:23:54- I think, possibly it's worth 300 times the price you paid.- Wow!
0:23:55 > 0:24:00- £300.- I knew it was worth more than £1, but £300 I didn't expect.- No.
0:24:00 > 0:24:06It's wonderful. I rarely see them - great joy to see it. Thank you.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09How long have you been collecting?
0:24:09 > 0:24:12Since 1992, after a holiday in Egypt.
0:24:12 > 0:24:18- How many pieces have you collected? - 12 pieces I've managed to find. - Twelve, right.
0:24:18 > 0:24:24- So we've got almost your entire collection on the table.- It's difficult finding the pots.- I bet.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28I've gone to antique fairs, auctions, and I've bought every one I've seen.
0:24:28 > 0:24:33- It's a one-man market.- Well...- And you're it! But it's not Egyptian.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37- No.- It's Doulton, good old English factory.
0:24:37 > 0:24:44You've got an earthenware Doulton plate which shows a god receiving the Pharaoh with his attendants.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47That would have been done, just before World War I,
0:24:47 > 0:24:54but then Carnarvon went into the tomb of Tutankhamen in the 1920s - '21 or '22?
0:24:54 > 0:24:56November 1922.
0:24:56 > 0:25:04'22, brilliant. And Doulton carried on using a pattern that they'd used before World War I,
0:25:04 > 0:25:08but they just added Tutankhamen's treasures, Luxor.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12So it was a piece of thrifty work by the Doulton factory.
0:25:12 > 0:25:19But my favourite piece of all is this one. It looks like a sort of Egyptian Antiques Roadshow,
0:25:19 > 0:25:24with these characters walking along with their little pottery pieces,
0:25:24 > 0:25:29and there he is, sitting there, Henry Sandon examining the pot.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32That's my favourite, it's gorgeous.
0:25:32 > 0:25:39- So value... My guess is, the average price you'll have paid for these is about £50, £60.- Yes.
0:25:39 > 0:25:44Here, you've got about, what, £500, £600, it's cost you?
0:25:44 > 0:25:48But to insure it, well, you can add another 100% on that
0:25:48 > 0:25:54in terms of trying to put a collection like this together again today.
0:25:59 > 0:26:05- We found two of these helmets in the attic of our house.- Two?- Yes.
0:26:05 > 0:26:12My son is very interested in militaria and he asked me to bring them today to find out,
0:26:12 > 0:26:16- you know, what we could, about them. - This is a very rare helmet.
0:26:16 > 0:26:22If it was in perfect condition, it would be so terribly desirable,
0:26:22 > 0:26:28that I can't begin to tell you, you know, just how desirable it would be to collectors.
0:26:28 > 0:26:33The date is around 1793 to 1796.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36It's called a Tarlatan helmet.
0:26:36 > 0:26:43It's named after Bannister Tarlatan, who was a British officer in the American Revolutionary War.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47He designed the helmet for himself, adopted by the British Light Cavalry
0:26:47 > 0:26:52and worn throughout the Napoleonic wars.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56It should have a beautiful bearskin crest over the top.
0:26:56 > 0:27:00This is leopard skin. Now, if you know what a leopard looks like,
0:27:00 > 0:27:05it's a very nice ginger, with black spots, you can see a bit here,
0:27:05 > 0:27:11but it must have looked magnificent when it was as it should be.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14They call this part the turban,
0:27:14 > 0:27:18and this is the name of the regiment - the Louth Yeomanry.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22This helmet, although it's in such relic condition,
0:27:22 > 0:27:26- is worth £2,000.- Really?
0:27:26 > 0:27:33Really. If it was as it should be, it's worth £8,000.
0:27:34 > 0:27:40So Lilian Ream was the town photographer, and this is an archive of her pictures. What's this one?
0:27:40 > 0:27:45Well, this is a photograph of Lilian Ream and her staff taken in 1929.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49Her studio started in 1909 and ran on to 1971.
0:27:49 > 0:27:56- Was she unique then, a woman doing this kind of work?- I wouldn't say unique, but certainly unusual,
0:27:56 > 0:28:00outside big cities, to set up her own studio.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03- And who's this? - This is Peter Scott.- So it is.
0:28:03 > 0:28:07He lived in the lighthouse at Sutton Bridge.
0:28:07 > 0:28:12- And who's this couple?- They are a well-known family in the area.
0:28:12 > 0:28:17- Certainly local characters. - Wonderful faces.
0:28:17 > 0:28:21When I look at the marks underneath it,
0:28:21 > 0:28:25they are the marks of Henry Chawner who made it in 1788.
0:28:25 > 0:28:31Henry Chawner was quite a famous family who specialised in teapots and teawares and so on.
0:28:31 > 0:28:37- Now, in 1788, that would have been absolutely plain.- Oh, right.
0:28:37 > 0:28:41- So my first thoughts, when I saw it, it's Victorian, which it is.- Right.
0:28:41 > 0:28:45- But underneath it tells me it's Georgian.- Oh, right.
0:28:45 > 0:28:50This after-chasing and embellishment was done in the 19th century,
0:28:50 > 0:28:55- but it's halved its value.- Right. - That's the bad news.- Right.
0:28:55 > 0:29:01So if I said to you, today you'd possibly get about £600 for it, is that good news or not?
0:29:01 > 0:29:04Oh, yes, I thought it was only worth about £100, so...
0:29:04 > 0:29:07Oh, well, at least you've got that.
0:29:07 > 0:29:13- It's always been called the lantern clock.- That's the correct term.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17So many people call them Cromwellian clocks or sheep's-head clocks,
0:29:17 > 0:29:20but this is a proper lantern clock.
0:29:20 > 0:29:26- It's not quite what it seems to be. - Oh.- No, don't worry about it, I'm not running it down at all.
0:29:26 > 0:29:31One would have expected, if this had been original,
0:29:31 > 0:29:38to have basically hung on a wall bracket, or hung on the wall with a hoop and spurs
0:29:38 > 0:29:43- with probably a long pendulum... - Yes.- ..and a weight.
0:29:43 > 0:29:48And it doesn't have that because it winds up here through the dial -
0:29:48 > 0:29:53- two winding squares. I see you've brought this key.- Yes. - Do you wind it regularly?
0:29:53 > 0:29:56- Every morning.- Every morning?- Yes.
0:29:56 > 0:30:03- But not fully because we don't know how far we dare turn the key.- Right.
0:30:03 > 0:30:07So, to be on the safe side, we do it a little bit every morning.
0:30:07 > 0:30:09Well, that's very interesting too!
0:30:09 > 0:30:15Let's open the clock and see what we can actually tell you about it.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18It's got side doors as all lantern clocks have,
0:30:18 > 0:30:23and there is a nice-quality Victorian two-train fusee movement.
0:30:23 > 0:30:28- That tells you it's a much longer duration than 30 hours.- Ah.
0:30:28 > 0:30:35You can quite happily wind this clock up - both the striking and the going trains - for 8-day duration.
0:30:35 > 0:30:40With this sort of mechanism there is a physical lock, a fusee stop,
0:30:40 > 0:30:45- and you cannot overwind it.- Right, thank you.- OK, a clock like this,
0:30:45 > 0:30:49you should be able to get to within a few seconds a week
0:30:49 > 0:30:52if it's kept in a constant temperature.
0:30:52 > 0:30:58The original, of course, would not perhaps have been quite as accurate, depending on the sort of escapement.
0:30:58 > 0:31:04A nice-quality movement and absolutely typically Victorian.
0:31:04 > 0:31:09- I would suggest 1860 to 1870 on this movement.- Oh.
0:31:09 > 0:31:14Now, stylistically, the case is significantly earlier,
0:31:14 > 0:31:17- it's 200 years earlier in style. - Really?
0:31:17 > 0:31:25This is where we come to the funny bit, because so many lantern clocks were butchered in Victorian times.
0:31:25 > 0:31:31They put in these movements because it was much easier to have it sitting on a table or on a shelf
0:31:31 > 0:31:37than to have it hanging on a wall where children would have disturbed the pendulum and the weights.
0:31:37 > 0:31:44And you often see evidence of where they've been altered, because underneath you still have the holes
0:31:44 > 0:31:48- where the chains or the ropes came through.- Right, right.- But not here.
0:31:48 > 0:31:55Neither this bottom plate or the top plate have any evidence that they've been messed around with,
0:31:55 > 0:31:59so I tend to think that it is a Victorian copy.
0:31:59 > 0:32:06The only thing that slightly changes my mind is that the dial is... Oops.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09..the dial is so very well engraved
0:32:09 > 0:32:13and the winding squares have been cut into the engraving,
0:32:13 > 0:32:17- so maybe they used this dial plate off an earlier clock.- Mmm.
0:32:17 > 0:32:22So, in my opinion, we have a Victorian copy of a period clock.
0:32:22 > 0:32:26Because it's a Victorian copy, we're not talking enormous sums of money,
0:32:26 > 0:32:29but it would fetch, at auction...
0:32:29 > 0:32:32- about £1,500.- Ooh.
0:32:32 > 0:32:38If it was cleaned and overhauled, it would certainly be over £2,000.
0:32:38 > 0:32:42That's very nice. Thank you very much.
0:32:42 > 0:32:47I haven't seen many sofas which look as good from the back,
0:32:47 > 0:32:49and this is really stunning.
0:32:49 > 0:32:54The back has this wonderful matched veneered panels of walnut,
0:32:54 > 0:32:58and the walnut veneers are carried round the ends, with the bookcases,
0:32:58 > 0:33:04which have shelves on all sides, and on this side, too. It's a really remarkable thing,
0:33:04 > 0:33:10and the whole piece is designed to be seen from any angle. So where did you find it?
0:33:10 > 0:33:14Well, I was a young technician in the air force in '64,
0:33:14 > 0:33:21and we lived near Fakenham and we saw it in an antique shop in Fakenham and the antique dealer
0:33:21 > 0:33:27told us that it was made by Gillows of Lancaster...for one of the houses at Sandringham.
0:33:27 > 0:33:34- And you know it's a Gillows piece? - Well, there's actually a plate fixed underneath the edge here.
0:33:34 > 0:33:38- We shan't argue with that, then. Made in the 30s?- Mm.
0:33:38 > 0:33:41It's very much in the Deco style.
0:33:41 > 0:33:47- Unfortunately, we had to put our furniture into storage when we went to North Africa for two years.- Yes.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50And the storage deteriorated the cover.
0:33:50 > 0:33:55It was in a real jazzy Art-Deco fabric, like streaks of lightning,
0:33:55 > 0:34:01and it smelt a bit when we took it out of storage so we had it recovered and, unfortunately, we picked Dralon.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04You've got to use the thing,
0:34:04 > 0:34:10- and nobody wants to live with a smelly sofa.- No.- But certainly a more appropriate fabric...
0:34:10 > 0:34:16- Do you think it would be worth recovering?- I think it would look sensational if it was well chosen.
0:34:16 > 0:34:23- But what intrigues me is that it was in an antique shop in 1964. It's only 30 years old.- That's right.
0:34:23 > 0:34:29- And I imagine that in the mid-60s, Deco furniture wasn't terribly fashionable.- No, no.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32I mean, are you a far-sighted man?
0:34:32 > 0:34:37- It looked almost modern as well as old, you know.- I like it very much.
0:34:37 > 0:34:43It's very, very stylish and, as you say, it IS modern, it's definitely '30s.
0:34:43 > 0:34:48- Yeah.- Very typical, but it really could stand being put anywhere,
0:34:48 > 0:34:52at any age. Now, in 1964, how much did you pay for it?
0:34:52 > 0:34:59- Well, people will ridicule us, we only paid £18 for it.- £18.- But remember that £18 was two weeks' pay
0:34:59 > 0:35:03for a technician, and that's equivalent to maybe £400 now.
0:35:03 > 0:35:08- This type of furniture is becoming more and more sought after.- Really?
0:35:08 > 0:35:11Yeah. I mean, it's not yet 100 years old,
0:35:11 > 0:35:17but it's already, in many people's view, an antique, and there is a strong collector's market
0:35:17 > 0:35:22for 30s and Deco-style furniture. If you add to that
0:35:22 > 0:35:27the glorious name of Waring and Gillow, in the right market,
0:35:27 > 0:35:32this is going to be worth at least...
0:35:32 > 0:35:36- £3,500.- Good Lord. - So it's not a bad investment.
0:35:36 > 0:35:42- It's an artefact that you keep because you like the look of it. - Certainly comfortable.
0:35:42 > 0:35:48As far as we know, Great-grandfather bought it. He used to live in London.
0:35:48 > 0:35:54It would have been early part of the century that he moved here, in about 1918, into the Wisbech area.
0:35:54 > 0:35:59Well, it's by Alexander Johnston - we can tell that from the signature.
0:35:59 > 0:36:03- Oh, right.- And it's also got a date,
0:36:03 > 0:36:07which you can just read - of 1863.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10And on the back it's got a label,
0:36:10 > 0:36:16- and the title of the picture is "The Cotter's Saturday Night".- Yes. - Now, a cotter, as I understand it,
0:36:16 > 0:36:23- is a tied peasant, tied to a larger estate.- Yeah.- And he has to pay for the cottage he lives in,
0:36:23 > 0:36:26with either labour or money.
0:36:26 > 0:36:30So you might call this man rich in that respect, because you can see,
0:36:30 > 0:36:35- he's got his wife and, it looks like, six strapping children.- Yes.
0:36:35 > 0:36:39It's wonderful luminous quality about it.
0:36:39 > 0:36:44All...or most of the light is coming from this oil lamp here.
0:36:44 > 0:36:49It reminds me of Continental artists who painted in a luminous way
0:36:49 > 0:36:53because their faces are lit up in this wonderful warm
0:36:53 > 0:36:58and very sensual colouring of reds and yellows.
0:36:58 > 0:37:03It's very important with Victorian paintings to read them like a book,
0:37:03 > 0:37:09- because you can, all the clues are there.- Yes.- He's either reading out his accounts,
0:37:09 > 0:37:13which doesn't sound very likely to me - with his wife and children?
0:37:13 > 0:37:18More likely, I think, he's reading the family Bible to them,
0:37:18 > 0:37:23and they're all listening with varying degrees of attention,
0:37:23 > 0:37:28according to their age and inclination. Um...
0:37:28 > 0:37:31it's a very poor environment, the cottage has little in it.
0:37:31 > 0:37:37There's just a single piece of china on the mantelpiece up here.
0:37:37 > 0:37:41The light, and maybe there's another light up here...
0:37:41 > 0:37:45They can't afford light because oil is too expensive.
0:37:45 > 0:37:51The youngest child is much more interested in the moth that is approaching the flame of the lamp,
0:37:51 > 0:37:57but then with that analogy we come back to the father and the Bible.
0:37:57 > 0:38:03The moth is tempted by the flame, so the child is more interested in temptation than the Good Word,
0:38:03 > 0:38:09so you've got moralistic themes here. Very Victorian in that way,
0:38:09 > 0:38:11but also beautifully painted.
0:38:11 > 0:38:15The figure grouping is complex, but works wonderfully
0:38:15 > 0:38:21with these great lines of composition that come back and round to the focus - the father.
0:38:21 > 0:38:26This kind of genre painting is becoming more understood as history,
0:38:26 > 0:38:29rather than something Victorian - yuk!
0:38:29 > 0:38:34- We can look at it with more balanced judgement.- Yes.
0:38:34 > 0:38:39Now, a value on such a thing. Alexander Johnston was a Scotsman -
0:38:39 > 0:38:43Scottish paintings are quite the vogue at the moment.
0:38:43 > 0:38:48- Um...possibly £20,000 to £30,000. - Right, yeah.
0:38:48 > 0:38:50And it could well do more.
0:38:51 > 0:38:58We seem to have a full house of all the royal residences. Curiously, locally, we don't have Sandringham.
0:38:58 > 0:39:03- How did you come by this collection? - It was handed down...
0:39:03 > 0:39:08to my step-grandfather by the chief librarian of Windsor Castle.
0:39:08 > 0:39:13- Was he Mr Woodward?- That's correct. He was appointed there in 1860,
0:39:13 > 0:39:19and this scrapbook and the invitations were handed down by a member of his family,
0:39:19 > 0:39:24- through down to my family.- He seems to have been invited to all these,
0:39:24 > 0:39:29so he obviously had a nice life. It's a wonderful picture of life in Victorian England,
0:39:29 > 0:39:34with these grand invitations. But although those are interesting,
0:39:34 > 0:39:39really the main thing is this fantastic album here...
0:39:39 > 0:39:44and, perhaps, it's worth starting almost right at the beginning.
0:39:44 > 0:39:49- This is full of absolutely riveting things, isn't it?- Yes.
0:39:49 > 0:39:54And while he was at Windsor Castle, he obviously received letters
0:39:54 > 0:40:00and wrote letters on behalf of the Queen and the Royal Family, and rather than chucking them away,
0:40:00 > 0:40:04he obviously kept them, nicely mounted in this album.
0:40:04 > 0:40:08I think one of the nicest things, right at the beginning,
0:40:08 > 0:40:13are these two scribbled notes from Queen Victoria to him in pencil,
0:40:13 > 0:40:18just asking him to... It says "Dear Mr Woodward,
0:40:18 > 0:40:24"send over those drawings," and then it's rather difficult to read which drawings, which is maddening.
0:40:24 > 0:40:31But you can imagine her imperiously saying, "Send over those drawings!" Here it is, "November 17th 1864."
0:40:31 > 0:40:36Here she's asking for a volume of somebody's English history.
0:40:36 > 0:40:41It conjures up a wonderful picture of Queen Victoria sitting in her ivory tower,
0:40:41 > 0:40:48sending for Woodward and all his books. He was obviously a friend of the Royal Family,
0:40:48 > 0:40:53because here you've got this delightful sketch where it says,
0:40:53 > 0:40:56"Princess Louise and Miss Bowyer.
0:40:56 > 0:41:01"In the distance, BB Woodward and Mr Roland Roland."
0:41:01 > 0:41:05- So this is actually Woodward in one of the drawings.- Yes.
0:41:05 > 0:41:09The album is full of the most extraordinary things
0:41:09 > 0:41:13and, you know, it would take weeks to go through it all.
0:41:13 > 0:41:16You've got a cheque signed by the Duke of Wellington.
0:41:16 > 0:41:19Here you've got...
0:41:19 > 0:41:23a letter from John Ruskin,
0:41:23 > 0:41:29the great man of letters and the arbiter of taste in Victorian times about art.
0:41:29 > 0:41:33Sadly, the contents of the letters isn't wildly exciting,
0:41:33 > 0:41:38but nevertheless, it's still very interesting.
0:41:38 > 0:41:43- There's a limit to what you can say to a librarian, though, isn't there? - Yes,
0:41:43 > 0:41:48the relationship with these people was a professional relationship,
0:41:48 > 0:41:52in other words, he wasn't writing as a friend,
0:41:52 > 0:41:59- you're quite right, he was probably more instructive or demanding, rather like Queen Victoria.- Yes.
0:41:59 > 0:42:03And this is extremely rare - Florence Nightingale.
0:42:03 > 0:42:09You don't get Nightingale autographs like this. And so it goes on.
0:42:09 > 0:42:15The whole thing is wonderful. Once again, there's another of the great Victorian figures - Darwin.
0:42:15 > 0:42:19Fantastic. And it would take weeks to go through them all,
0:42:19 > 0:42:23but it's a real treat to see them. It's very difficult -
0:42:23 > 0:42:27until one has a chance to go right through the whole lot - to value it,
0:42:27 > 0:42:34and because they're clipped out and pasted in, the value of some letters has diminished a bit,
0:42:34 > 0:42:36but, with a bit of research,
0:42:36 > 0:42:43it would be worth somewhere between £5,000 and £10,000 for the collection.
0:42:43 > 0:42:47The drawing alone is worth probably £700 or £800.
0:42:50 > 0:42:53So a jolly nice thing to have.
0:42:55 > 0:43:00If every picture tells a story, we've come to the right place today.
0:43:00 > 0:43:07Lilian Ream's photographs of life in Wisbech leave a strong impression of the way it was in the early 1900s.
0:43:07 > 0:43:13What with that and the documents and books of all kinds to pore over, it's been quite an education.
0:43:13 > 0:43:17From Wisbech, until next week, goodbye.
0:43:35 > 0:43:39Subtitles by Gillian Frazer BBC Scotland 2000
0:43:39 > 0:43:42E-mail us at subtitling@bbc.co.uk