0:00:33 > 0:00:38The River Thames is dotted with historic landmarks.
0:00:38 > 0:00:4218 miles from London is perhaps the most important.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45We're in the borough of Egham and Runnymede.
0:00:45 > 0:00:50It was in this meadow, as every schoolchild knows,
0:00:50 > 0:00:55that on June 15th, 1215, the seeds of modern democracy were sown.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59At a meeting between King John and a group of barons whose possessions
0:00:59 > 0:01:01and patience were taxed to the limit,
0:01:01 > 0:01:07the royal seal was put to the charter which became a symbol of civil liberty and freedom.
0:01:08 > 0:01:14In time, the Magna Carta went far beyond limiting royal authority -
0:01:14 > 0:01:20it became the foundation for the constitutions and legal systems of countries such as India and the US.
0:01:20 > 0:01:25This elegant memorial was erected by a grateful American Bar Association.
0:01:25 > 0:01:32President John F Kennedy included principles from the Magna Carta in his inaugural speech -
0:01:32 > 0:01:39"We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe,
0:01:39 > 0:01:43"in order to assure the survival and success of liberty".
0:01:44 > 0:01:48A less far-reaching event, but historical nevertheless -
0:01:48 > 0:01:53happened on Priest Hill - the last duel fought in Britain.
0:01:53 > 0:01:59It was pistols at dawn for two Frenchmen, who for some reason came here
0:01:59 > 0:02:02to settle political differences.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05It was a fight to the death.
0:02:05 > 0:02:10- GUNSHOT - The man who lost, Frederic Cournet, is buried in Egham churchyard.
0:02:10 > 0:02:17His end must have come as a great surprise to him - he had on him a return train ticket to London.
0:02:22 > 0:02:29Egham also boasts one of the most breathtakingly extravagant examples of Victorian architecture.
0:02:29 > 0:02:35Royal Holloway - built by Thomas Holloway, who made his fortune selling ointments and pills.
0:02:35 > 0:02:42Holloway was keen to spend his money to perpetuate his name and to give something back to society,
0:02:42 > 0:02:48particularly - at his wife's suggestion - to female society, who, she said, suffered most.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51So he built his college for women.
0:02:51 > 0:02:58Today, Royal Holloway is part of the University of London and an honoured seat of learning.
0:02:58 > 0:03:03Next week we'll learn more about the building and its namesake.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07Meanwhile, it's the setting for today's Roadshow.
0:03:07 > 0:03:12- Tell me where you got it from.- It's been in the family for a generation
0:03:12 > 0:03:20- and, about 30 years ago, my father gave it me as a wedding present. - Really?- Yeah.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24- Delightful. What do you think it's made of?- I don't know.
0:03:24 > 0:03:29- I thought that maybe it is ceramic. - Ceramic?- Ceramic, yes.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31Well, you're quite close, really.
0:03:31 > 0:03:38- This is actually made of hundreds of thousands of tiny little pieces of glass.- Really?- Yes.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41- Unbelievable!- It's micromosaic.
0:03:41 > 0:03:48If we look carefully, the size of the pieces of glass varies tremendously.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51Here you've got really quite big bits
0:03:51 > 0:03:55and in her hair, tiny, tiny, tiny little bits.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59- And these are called filati.- Filati.
0:03:59 > 0:04:05This technique was revived in Rome at the beginning of the 18th century,
0:04:05 > 0:04:09where they took long, thin strands of glass
0:04:09 > 0:04:14and cut them into little pieces and then glued them together,
0:04:14 > 0:04:19- making up a picture.- Amazing. - Micromosaic. Very beautifully done.
0:04:19 > 0:04:24And the colour? I mean, how did they manage to do the colouring?
0:04:24 > 0:04:27It was the colour in the glass.
0:04:27 > 0:04:33- And the delight of a sort of ceramic item is that, as the years go by, it doesn't fade.- Yes.
0:04:33 > 0:04:39It may get dirty on the surface, but you can clean that. And you retain the brilliant colours.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43A delightful image - a pretty classical lady.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46- Yes.- Holding a garland of flowers.
0:04:46 > 0:04:54Thoroughly attractive. The very early originals dated from Roman times.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57Then it was a technique which was lost,
0:04:57 > 0:05:04and, as I say, revived in Rome at the beginning of the 18th century and continued into the 20th century.
0:05:04 > 0:05:10One of the ways you can find out what the age is likely to be,
0:05:10 > 0:05:14is to have a squint at the back.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17- May I remove the back cover?- Yes. - See what...
0:05:17 > 0:05:22So the back board is just cheaply made of timber.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26And... Ah-ha! This is where the secret gets revealed.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30That back plate is made of metal -
0:05:30 > 0:05:33japanned iron.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36The japanning is flaking off.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40If we turn it over, you can see that the outer border
0:05:40 > 0:05:43of this back plate, the metal,
0:05:43 > 0:05:45comes all the way round the outside.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49A typical 19th-century technique.
0:05:49 > 0:05:57- It gives you an idea as to how those hundreds of thousands of pieces of glass are held in place.- Yes!
0:05:57 > 0:06:03There's adhesive underneath each piece and then the surface is finished so it's completely flat.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06- Amazing.- A beautiful object.- It is.
0:06:06 > 0:06:11For insurance purposes, you should probably cover it for about £12,000.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14Unbelievable! I didn't know...
0:06:14 > 0:06:20- Miscellaneous for both of them. - Thank you...
0:06:20 > 0:06:25It belonged to my father-in-law, who was always interested in guns.
0:06:25 > 0:06:31- First and foremost, the lock is on the wrong side.- Oh!
0:06:31 > 0:06:36You see, this pistol... All the locks are on the right-hand side.
0:06:36 > 0:06:43- Oh.- When a man fires it, then the lock is slightly to the right, not in front of him.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47- I see.- If a man fired this with the right hand,
0:06:47 > 0:06:51he might get injured through the sparks or whatever. OK?
0:06:51 > 0:06:57- I see.- So it seems to have been made for a left-handed man.- Oh, right!
0:06:57 > 0:07:01- Which is most unusual.- Really? - Yes, most unusual.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05The cock itself is what they call a dog lock -
0:07:05 > 0:07:12because when it's cocked, that little fellow goes in there and makes it safe.
0:07:12 > 0:07:17- So that when the flash pan is closed, it can't misfire.- Mm-hm.
0:07:17 > 0:07:23- Now, the whole shape of this tells me that it's Scandinavian.- Oh, really?
0:07:23 > 0:07:28- That's interesting.- And I would think that it's Danish.- Oh.
0:07:28 > 0:07:34- The pistol is a holster pistol, to be used in a holster.- Mm-hm.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37Could be 1790, a little after 1800.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40But as it's Scandinavian...
0:07:40 > 0:07:45- in demand, left-hand lock - most unusual...- Yes.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48This, if it came into auction today,
0:07:48 > 0:07:55- I would think it would fetch in the region of £1,500 to £2,000. - Good heavens!
0:07:55 > 0:08:01My family had plantations in Jamaica, Barbados, British Guyana and Surinam...
0:08:04 > 0:08:10And my husband, not to be outdone, searched around HIS family, cousins and all...
0:08:10 > 0:08:14and he outdid me with this beautiful, beautiful shield
0:08:14 > 0:08:18of all his family
0:08:18 > 0:08:23that went out to the West Indies after the Battle of Worcester.
0:08:23 > 0:08:28They fled after the battle, having changed sides several times.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30- This is in the 17th century...- Yes.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34..when most of the Jamaican plantocracy started.
0:08:34 > 0:08:39One of George Needham's grandsons, this fellow here...
0:08:39 > 0:08:45And this was obviously collected around his lifetime.
0:08:45 > 0:08:52- The...the whole thing? - The whole thing, with relatives going back through the generations.
0:08:52 > 0:08:59- So it's an assembly of miniatures that was assembled right at the end of the 18th century.- That's right.
0:08:59 > 0:09:06- Just when Jamaica and all the other West Indies were teetering towards abolition of the slave trade.- Right.
0:09:06 > 0:09:11- Delightful - it represents a very interesting period.- Yes.
0:09:11 > 0:09:18To put a name to all of these miniature-painters would take some time, but I can identify three -
0:09:18 > 0:09:23Gervase Spencer, at the top... This is Charles Jagger...
0:09:23 > 0:09:26and Daniels of Bath and Plymouth.
0:09:26 > 0:09:32Those are, if you like, the three best recognisable miniatures.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36Looking at it commercially, there are a few things to take account of.
0:09:36 > 0:09:42- Sometimes if people are slightly less than picturesque... - Yes, she's a bit hook-nosed.
0:09:42 > 0:09:47- That's reflected in value. Likewise if they are very handsome.- Yes.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49And it's a West Indies-related group,
0:09:49 > 0:09:56so it would have interest for a number of quite wealthy West Indians.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00- They all had plantations. - Yeah. For present-day collectors,
0:10:00 > 0:10:05we have to take account of the West Indies link and I'm going to say...
0:10:05 > 0:10:09we should be thinking, in terms of insurance value...
0:10:09 > 0:10:13around £20,000, £25,000.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16Yes... That's, uh...very good.
0:10:16 > 0:10:23- How long did they take you to collect?- About five or six years. - 30 years ago?
0:10:23 > 0:10:30- Yes, about 30 years ago.- And you've never bought a piece since?- Er... No, I haven't.- Why is that?
0:10:30 > 0:10:35- I took on a mortgage. - But you still like it?- Yes.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39The thing about the Doulton factory is that everything is different.
0:10:39 > 0:10:43The individual artists assembled there from 1871,
0:10:43 > 0:10:50doing their OWN thing alongside the drainpipes, the bottles - all the standard stoneware production.
0:10:50 > 0:10:55Girls and boys from art school - suddenly free to decorate pottery in a new way.
0:10:55 > 0:11:00- This presumably is Hannah Barlow? - Yes. With the rabbits.
0:11:00 > 0:11:06It's not marked but it looks a bit like her, probably her early period. Her early pieces aren't marked.
0:11:06 > 0:11:11This is right at the beginning of the Doulton story - 1871, 1872...
0:11:11 > 0:11:17This is the first style. Minimal... Blue not very effectively put in. Straightforward, unsophisticated...
0:11:17 > 0:11:21And a very basic mark on the bottom - just "Doulton".
0:11:21 > 0:11:24No artist. This is where it starts.
0:11:24 > 0:11:29It's a very interesting piece because we are at the beginning.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33I like that one for the same reason, although it's much later.
0:11:33 > 0:11:40- About a hundred I think I paid for it. But I just love...- Not cheap at the time.- No.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43This is an artist called Louisa J Davis.
0:11:43 > 0:11:50I haven't seen her doing this sort of Hannah Barlow-type work, normally it's much more colourful. 1877.
0:11:50 > 0:11:56But harking back to that early style. Similarly, that piece. To me, I suppose...
0:11:56 > 0:12:00- George Tinworth.- Lovely. - With his very clear monogram.
0:12:00 > 0:12:06- He was the only one, I think, that used...- Who signed on the body, yes.
0:12:06 > 0:12:12And you've got these blues and purples and greens... It has this wonderful turbulent life.
0:12:12 > 0:12:19Partly coming from the Rococo, partly from Art Nouveau, partly from William Morris... Different sources.
0:12:19 > 0:12:26- And to me that's the high point. And yet it's still drawn with very, very great freedom.- Yes, yes.
0:12:26 > 0:12:32- I'm less excited by Florence Barlow.- Yes. - I know people rate her work highly.
0:12:32 > 0:12:38To me, the way the birds are painted - although it's very much her thing - is slightly sort of ponderous.
0:12:38 > 0:12:43Very much part of the aesthetic tradition of that period.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46The General Gordon one's interesting.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49They did do commemorative pieces and we forget that.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53Dying at Khartoum in 1884 - a real national hero.
0:12:53 > 0:12:58His death was marked by the Queen, by so many people...
0:12:58 > 0:13:01- And Doulton jumped on the band wagon.- Yes.
0:13:01 > 0:13:09- What did you pay? £100... Less for most pieces?- I didn't pay over £100 for anything, I don't think.
0:13:09 > 0:13:17- Let's start with that. He's such a good artist, he's so popular... £800 to £1,000.- Eh...- Too much?
0:13:17 > 0:13:20- Not too much, but...- Surprising.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22The Barlow...
0:13:22 > 0:13:25- 300 or 400.- Oh, really?
0:13:25 > 0:13:29- If that wasn't cracked - again, high hundreds.- Yes.
0:13:29 > 0:13:34- I would think you're looking at at least £5,000 for the lot.- Really?
0:13:34 > 0:13:36My husband was a great collector.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38You know, boxes... Everything.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42- But- I- was not, until he brought this home.
0:13:42 > 0:13:49I wondered about this - I couldn't think what wood it could be.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51A conundrum. Very decorative outside
0:13:51 > 0:13:54with these brass strap hinges
0:13:54 > 0:14:01and a little pietra dura plaque, which is possibly English or maybe brought from the Continent -
0:14:01 > 0:14:08because it's extremely decorative with delicate little jasmine flowers set into the wood.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10Very dynamic, very strongly figured.
0:14:10 > 0:14:15But when you look closely, you find that it is actually grained.
0:14:15 > 0:14:21This black decoration is PAINTED on to make it look like walnut.
0:14:21 > 0:14:27Very lively walnut! But in fact I've been looking quite closely at what is underneath.
0:14:27 > 0:14:33It looks like a figured beech. Beech was often used for grained and painted furniture.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36- Of course.- To look like walnut.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40- Right.- Fascinating sort of trompe l'oeil effect.- Right.
0:14:40 > 0:14:45But it doesn't detract in any way from the quality of the box itself.
0:14:45 > 0:14:51The style, I think, suggests a date of about 1860.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53I'm going to open the lid
0:14:53 > 0:15:00and immediately the contents become clear. It's a games compendium.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02But the freshness of the inside...!
0:15:02 > 0:15:05Absolutely stunning.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07Beautiful, isn't it?
0:15:07 > 0:15:13- A chess set and a cribbage board, I think...- That's right, yes.
0:15:13 > 0:15:18And dice and these extraordinary little scoring devices of some sort.
0:15:18 > 0:15:23- And yet this little hand moves round. - My husband was a great games man.
0:15:23 > 0:15:30- He played a lot of chess, backgammon... Shall I show you that? - So there's backgammon included?
0:15:32 > 0:15:37It should come out. It should drop out... There we go. Right.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40So you've got chess here, right?
0:15:40 > 0:15:45- Beautiful. Looks like coromandel wood.- That's right.
0:15:45 > 0:15:50- And bone or ivory set into that. - Ivory maybe.- The colours...!
0:15:50 > 0:15:52And then you've got backgammon.
0:15:52 > 0:15:56The fresh colours are what really strike me.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58Tulip wood, I would say.
0:15:58 > 0:16:03Orange tulip wood, coromandel and ivory... Spectacular.
0:16:03 > 0:16:08And inside here - this to me looks like satin birch. Pale, yellowy...
0:16:08 > 0:16:15- Which is the English equivalent, if you like, of satin wood. - That's right.
0:16:15 > 0:16:20Then you've got this little button in the back which you press...
0:16:20 > 0:16:23to open a secret drawer of dice...
0:16:23 > 0:16:28Isn't that wonderful? And the little throwing pots.
0:16:28 > 0:16:34- And dominoes...- And the old cards... They were never marked.- No.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38With symbols but no numbers. This belonged to your husband?
0:16:38 > 0:16:45- It did, yes.- And how did he get it? - Well, he was a great racing man. He travelled all over England
0:16:45 > 0:16:51to all the different race courses, and always brought something back!
0:16:51 > 0:16:54He brought this back at some point,
0:16:54 > 0:16:57but I don't know where he got it.
0:16:57 > 0:17:02Well, to collectors of games, you're certainly looking at...£1,000-£1,500.
0:17:02 > 0:17:09- Really? Really...- A lovely thing, in beautifully fresh condition. - Yes. Amazing...
0:17:09 > 0:17:12Amazing...
0:17:12 > 0:17:17What a splendid pot! With a liner... Made by Minton, of course. Majolica.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19We see a lot of majolica,
0:17:19 > 0:17:24- but this is unusual with these... pigeons at the base.- Pigeons, yes.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28Wonderful, aren't they?
0:17:28 > 0:17:35- How did you come by it? - It was an elderly lady we knew - used to keep an eye on us sometimes.
0:17:35 > 0:17:42And in her will she said that I could have one item of her bits and pieces.
0:17:42 > 0:17:47- And I'd always admired this one, so that was it.- You chose it?- Yes.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51- I've always liked it. - It's jolly good.
0:17:51 > 0:17:57- Such things have risen enormously in value.- Really?- Highly collectable.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01I think the value is somewhere about £4,000.
0:18:01 > 0:18:06- You're joking! Four...?- A very, very nice gift to take.- It was, yes!
0:18:06 > 0:18:09Thank you very much! Thank you!
0:18:09 > 0:18:14It's very short. Nice silver top... See the hallmark? Have we got a name?
0:18:16 > 0:18:20- Enrico Caruso... I don't believe it! - It is.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22London, 1904...
0:18:22 > 0:18:27And some little musical notes! How amazing!
0:18:27 > 0:18:33- Where did you get it?- We were clearing a house for some elderly relatives. It was in the hall stand.
0:18:33 > 0:18:38Completely black, no visible silver...
0:18:38 > 0:18:44and my son noticed this writing here, cleaned it up, and that's what we found.
0:18:44 > 0:18:49- Talk about a genie rubbing the lamp! - Absolutely.- What a nice surprise!
0:18:49 > 0:18:54- That explains why it's so short! - He was very short.- A very short man.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57- I would think getting on for £1,000. - Really?!
0:18:57 > 0:19:00I have here a Bible...
0:19:00 > 0:19:06- Well!- ..which I found 30 years ago in a hedge.- In a hedge?
0:19:06 > 0:19:08I TRIED to bet someone the other day
0:19:08 > 0:19:15that the first book that I saw at a Roadshow would be Brown's Self Interpreting Bible.
0:19:15 > 0:19:22Although it's a fantastic object, it's one of the most commonly found Bibles at the Roadshow.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25it's an absolutely wonderful thing
0:19:25 > 0:19:33with these great metal clasps and beautiful illustrations, but it was produced in huge quantities.
0:19:33 > 0:19:38And actually it's quite appropriate to have it here in Holloway College
0:19:38 > 0:19:45because it's it's all part of this big Victorian ideal of trying to educate people,
0:19:45 > 0:19:49and impart knowledge to a much wider population,
0:19:49 > 0:19:56and the Reverend Brown produced this Bible which was intended to be easier to understand
0:19:56 > 0:19:59with marginal notes and footnotes...
0:19:59 > 0:20:04- to help you to understand the meaning of the text.- How old is it?
0:20:04 > 0:20:12The couple were married in 1880 and I imagine that it was a wedding present to them, so it was brand-new in 1880.
0:20:12 > 0:20:18These kinds of chromolithographs, these colour pictures, are typically late 19th-century,
0:20:18 > 0:20:21so it was probably an expensive wedding present.
0:20:21 > 0:20:27It's worth just a few pounds. Thank you very much for bringing it in.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31- I wish someone had taken me up on my bet!- Many thanks.
0:20:31 > 0:20:38A watch in a rosewood box usually means it's something quite interesting and indeed this is.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40We can tell who the maker is
0:20:40 > 0:20:45without even opening the watch - it's marked Albert Potter and Company.
0:20:45 > 0:20:53He was an interesting man because he was American. Although there were some very good American watchmakers,
0:20:53 > 0:20:58they were not known for making individual technical pieces,
0:20:58 > 0:21:02and Albert Potter, who dates to something like 1836 to 1908,
0:21:02 > 0:21:07was one of the few American makers who's known for individual watches
0:21:07 > 0:21:11unlike, say, Waltham and Elgin, who made very good watches,
0:21:11 > 0:21:14but not the individual craftsmanship.
0:21:14 > 0:21:19It's a strange thing for somebody to have. Can I ask where you...?
0:21:19 > 0:21:23- AMERICAN ACCENT: - Family. My husband's family.
0:21:23 > 0:21:28"Cousin Henry" collected it and so we've had it many years.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31You see the stunning quality -
0:21:31 > 0:21:38myershall plates, beautiful quality balance wheel... AND a pivoted detent escapement -
0:21:38 > 0:21:43these were the final answer, really, to chronometers at sea,
0:21:43 > 0:21:47but they made very high precision pocket watches
0:21:47 > 0:21:50with the same escapement, and this is one of them.
0:21:50 > 0:21:56They are SO rare that it's difficult to know how much it would fetch.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59Have you got a figure in mind?
0:21:59 > 0:22:04Well, it was valued about 11 years ago, for...£15,000.
0:22:04 > 0:22:11It hasn't changed, surprisingly, that much. I would say now it should definitely be 20.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13Wonderful.
0:22:13 > 0:22:17- I rescued them from a dustbin. - You didn't!
0:22:17 > 0:22:21I did, yes! I studied at an art school.
0:22:21 > 0:22:27And when I was working at a studio that did painting for costumes and films,
0:22:27 > 0:22:34they were throwing them out, so I said, "May I have them, please?" I've had them for 40-odd years.
0:22:34 > 0:22:39This is by Roger Furze - a superb draughtsman.
0:22:39 > 0:22:44For Lady Hadley in Woman Hater. Edith Evans.
0:22:44 > 0:22:50Wonderful! It's... For me, it's a drawing in itself with the watercolour on top.
0:22:50 > 0:22:55It's obviously meant to be exactly how they were going to clothe her -
0:22:55 > 0:22:58what she had to wear underneath...
0:22:58 > 0:23:02And her sable... Wonderful. It even looks like her.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06And it's only meant to be for the costume!
0:23:06 > 0:23:13This is another well-known costume designer called Berkley Sutcliffe. Moira Lister...
0:23:13 > 0:23:19- We don't know what this was for? - I think Sweetest and Lowest. - I love the pinched-in waist.
0:23:19 > 0:23:24Wonderful. I think this fashion ought to come back, don't you?
0:23:24 > 0:23:28It's very much a fashion of the '40s, isn't it?
0:23:28 > 0:23:33Very much, very much. And beautifully executed.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37Very fragile, so... Amazing they didn't scrunch it up!
0:23:37 > 0:23:40- I'm glad they didn't.- Yes, so am I!
0:23:40 > 0:23:45- This is a splendid one, look at this. - This is for Hermione Gingold.
0:23:45 > 0:23:50Hermione Gingold, holding what is meant to be a Venetian mask.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54Look at the eyelashes - aren't they wonderful?
0:23:54 > 0:23:58Again by Berkeley Sutcliffe - Sweetest and Lowest.
0:23:58 > 0:24:03Moira Lister and Hermione Gingold in the same production.
0:24:03 > 0:24:08- Absolutely wonderful.- Again, very decorative.- Very decorative.
0:24:08 > 0:24:13And I think, in a way, the value lies in that.
0:24:13 > 0:24:19The Roger Furze was almost more collectable than any of the others. So the Roger Furze one...
0:24:19 > 0:24:22We're talking about maybe £200.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24This one, as it's Hermione Gingold,
0:24:24 > 0:24:28there's a great following of her
0:24:28 > 0:24:34and collectors will probably pay somewhere around 100, 150, possibly 200.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38But you've got a huge collection!
0:24:38 > 0:24:43So if you really work it out on an average of 100 to 250,
0:24:43 > 0:24:49- I think you must have probably £5,000 worth there. - Probably, yes. Thank you.
0:24:49 > 0:24:55- I've got a lot more, actually, at home.- HAVE you?- Yes. - Oh, my goodness!
0:24:55 > 0:25:01- But this one is, I think, one of the nicest.- I think so too. Wonderful.
0:25:01 > 0:25:07- How did you come by these?- Handed down from my great-grandfather. - Your great-grandfather.- Yes.
0:25:07 > 0:25:12- From the First World War, I think. - They're nicknamed Bradburys,
0:25:12 > 0:25:19- as they were signed by John Bradbury. Not individually, of course.- OK. - But the print was signed.
0:25:19 > 0:25:24John Bradbury was the first Permanent Secretary to the Treasury.
0:25:24 > 0:25:30He was Permanent Secretary of the Treasury in 1914 when war was declared.
0:25:30 > 0:25:35And they suddenly decided... Till that time the coinage was gold coins.
0:25:35 > 0:25:40And they suddenly realised that they couldn't keep on using gold,
0:25:40 > 0:25:48so they had to produce notes quickly, pound notes and ten shilling notes, as emergency money.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51They look like this - cheap -
0:25:51 > 0:25:54because they were printed on stamp paper.
0:25:54 > 0:25:59They were printed by the people who printed postage stamps.
0:25:59 > 0:26:05These notes have the same watermarks as the stamps of the period.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08They are quite rare now.
0:26:08 > 0:26:15- This one is not in good condition. - OK.- If you came to sell it, in this condition, you're still looking at...
0:26:15 > 0:26:21- something well over £100, £150. - Ohh! Yeah!- The ten shilling note is not quite as rare.- OK.
0:26:21 > 0:26:26Four million of those were issued and this one is probably worth
0:26:26 > 0:26:30in this condition, £80 to £150.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34- So don't play Monopoly with them! - Thank you!- Lovely story.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39- One piece of jewellery?- That's it.
0:26:39 > 0:26:46- There was a pair, originally.- Yes. Made for a theatre?- I think so.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48A rubber base cast face and hands.
0:26:48 > 0:26:54- 1960s, do you think?- I've no idea. - Judging by the fabric, by the look.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57Could be 1950s. Certainly post-war.
0:26:57 > 0:27:02- Great fun. You'll never see another! - No!- Thank you very much.- Thank you!
0:27:02 > 0:27:08As far as I understand, that was brought back by my great-grandfather from Japan
0:27:08 > 0:27:13- at the turn of the century, as a wedding present. - Do we know the date?
0:27:13 > 0:27:22- Well, he married in 1898 and he died in 1912.- So somewhere in-between. Is this transfer printed?
0:27:22 > 0:27:25I'd always thought so.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27Let's see. The hut...
0:27:27 > 0:27:30Everything on there is done by hand.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33It's a completely hand-painted scene.
0:27:33 > 0:27:38If you look... Every single little line in here is painted by hand.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42Even more miraculously, the whole blue ground, these flowers...
0:27:42 > 0:27:47every single little blob has been put on there by hand
0:27:47 > 0:27:51and then all the gold has been put in by hand.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55Each is a little landscape in its own right
0:27:55 > 0:27:57and then this beautiful little bird.
0:27:57 > 0:28:04If this were a transfer print, you'd just go slap-bang, and that was it.
0:28:04 > 0:28:12THIS would take two or three hours to paint and you've got the complete service! Not least the teapot!
0:28:12 > 0:28:16- It would have been very expensive when it was new.- Mm-hm.
0:28:16 > 0:28:22Now, normally, an eggshell porcelain Japanese service
0:28:22 > 0:28:27- of, say, six settings is worth no more than £60.- Mm-hm.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30but because it's hand-painted,
0:28:30 > 0:28:35I'm going to stick a nought on the end and say £500 to £800.
0:28:37 > 0:28:43- I was offered 40 quid for it four years ago!- Oh, dear, oh, dear!
0:28:43 > 0:28:49This is a very typical North Country or even Scottish feature - this type of oval fan or shell medallion.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52The colour...! A wonderful contrast
0:28:52 > 0:28:55between the original interior colour
0:28:55 > 0:29:01and the colour here where it's been in the sun for a hundred years or so!
0:29:01 > 0:29:06I like that patination. The original colour is too bright nowadays.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09Where did you get this furniture?
0:29:09 > 0:29:16It was made by my grandfather, who, when he married, was listed as a chairmaker,
0:29:16 > 0:29:19a cabinet maker and journeyman.
0:29:19 > 0:29:23They are part of a set, and, er...
0:29:23 > 0:29:31He was born in 1865, married when he was 22, and, uh...
0:29:31 > 0:29:37they had three children - the youngest was my father, John Lambey.
0:29:37 > 0:29:42- Lambey?- Yes.- I must confess I don't know of any cabinet maker...
0:29:42 > 0:29:48- Have you ever found anything about him at all?- No, we've got absolutely no data on him at all.
0:29:48 > 0:29:55But I'm told that the town where he was born and worked, Lochwinnoch, in Renfrewshire,
0:29:55 > 0:30:00was a centre of the trade - a lot of cabinet makers worked there.
0:30:00 > 0:30:05Very much so. The west side of Glasgow generally...
0:30:05 > 0:30:11- A lot of workshops. Sweat shops, some of them.- I'll BET they were. - Second half of the 19th century.
0:30:11 > 0:30:17So, when was this made? I mean, stylistically, looking at it...
0:30:17 > 0:30:24- The way he's put this together, and the table, smacks more of 1890. - Oh, well, yes...
0:30:24 > 0:30:30- He'd only be about 30, so that's a likely date.- In his prime.- Yes.
0:30:30 > 0:30:34I think people forget... These wonderful mahogany planks...
0:30:34 > 0:30:39- The actual physical work - it was hard work.- I imagine so.- No machines.
0:30:39 > 0:30:45They were working probably ten hours a day in Glasgow at that time. Six days a week, certainly.
0:30:45 > 0:30:52- The apprentice came on a Sunday to sweep up... Your grandfather had a hard life.- I imagine so.
0:30:52 > 0:30:57- This sort of thing he'd do by hand? - Well, that's turned on a machine.
0:30:57 > 0:31:05If he could afford it, he probably bought things like this baluster turning-in and the handles.
0:31:05 > 0:31:10- Sure. Yes.- Bought that from a shop in London or Glasgow.
0:31:10 > 0:31:14That could be Arts and Crafts of around 1860 or '70.
0:31:14 > 0:31:19But the marquetry is very individual, as is this ogee shape.
0:31:19 > 0:31:23So within this ogee, you've got this unusual marquetry
0:31:23 > 0:31:28- and I think this is a device he's come up with himself.- I see.
0:31:28 > 0:31:34It does look to me that he's made it for his own use. It's not commercial furniture. It's very individualistic.
0:31:34 > 0:31:38- I think he made it for the proportions of his own house.- Yes.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41What a nice suite of furniture.
0:31:41 > 0:31:47- I can only really value what I see here, but you've got more. - Of course, yes.
0:31:47 > 0:31:53- But a piece like this, I can see this in a shop at about £3,000.- I see.
0:31:53 > 0:31:55A good table, very useful size...
0:31:55 > 0:32:02- Possibly a bit less, but £2,500 up to £3,000.- I see.- So we've got between £5,000 and £6,000 here.
0:32:02 > 0:32:07Well, the furniture's going to my daughter, my older daughter.
0:32:07 > 0:32:11- I'm sure she'll never sell it... - But she should insure it.
0:32:11 > 0:32:18More importantly, she should contact museums or St Andrews University, where they research these people,
0:32:18 > 0:32:23- to see if Mr Lambey is recorded anywhere.- Thank you.
0:32:23 > 0:32:30- I'm told that you know this place better than anyone here.- Could be. - Why's that?- I was the butler here.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33I came in 1936.
0:32:33 > 0:32:37And, uh...I retired in 1977.
0:32:37 > 0:32:43- What have you brought?- A painting. One of Mr Carey's - the curator employed by Tom Holloway.
0:32:43 > 0:32:48And it was given to me on my retirement by Dr Busbridge.
0:32:48 > 0:32:54- So when was this done? - Oh, I should think that must have been done pre-war, I should imagine.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57- This is as it was then, is it?- Yeah.
0:32:57 > 0:33:01That was the south terrace.
0:33:01 > 0:33:09When they had a garden party for 1,500 people, the band of the lifeguards used to play along there.
0:33:09 > 0:33:14Tea was served all round, and it took us a week to wash up.
0:33:14 > 0:33:161,500 people.
0:33:16 > 0:33:23- The gardener would go mad today - these people on his grass!- Yes! - THEY LAUGH
0:33:23 > 0:33:25Can I see what you've brought?
0:33:25 > 0:33:31- This necklace.- Let's have a look. Now, what's the story behind that?
0:33:31 > 0:33:38I only know that it came here from the Far East in the First World War.
0:33:38 > 0:33:41Far East. Someone travelled to China?
0:33:41 > 0:33:44Somebody mentioned Burma.
0:33:44 > 0:33:48- Burma?- Yeah.- Well, that surprises me.
0:33:48 > 0:33:53Looking at the style of the gold and the ring at the back, the bolt ring -
0:33:53 > 0:33:58it's got some little marks on that secondary ring
0:33:58 > 0:34:01- that tell me that it's French.- Oh!
0:34:01 > 0:34:07So someone may have been travelling out there and bought it out there. But it's definitely a French piece.
0:34:07 > 0:34:13And I would date that to, what, around about, say, 1900.
0:34:13 > 0:34:18And this is a wonderfully large and strong-looking lump of turquoise.
0:34:18 > 0:34:21I mean, look at the depth of it.
0:34:21 > 0:34:25Mounted in gold in this rather pretty scallop-type setting.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28- Yes...- These are all real pearls.
0:34:28 > 0:34:34- Right.- And then all these are high-carat gold settings and links
0:34:34 > 0:34:39and then the chain is blue enamel - it's not actually turquoise.
0:34:39 > 0:34:44- Oh, right.- So it's a really rather well-made piece.
0:34:44 > 0:34:51- Very desirable. Turquoise is such a pretty, feminine-looking stone. - It's my birth stone.- Is it?- Yes.
0:34:51 > 0:34:56I would suggest, in auction, we're looking at £800 to £1,000 today.
0:34:56 > 0:35:01- I'm surprised! Lovely.- Thanks for bringing it. An excellent piece.
0:35:01 > 0:35:03You're welcome.
0:35:04 > 0:35:09That's a face you wouldn't want to meet on a dark night!
0:35:09 > 0:35:14And his lady companion over here doesn't really fare much better!
0:35:14 > 0:35:17You sure...? Oh, yes, she IS a lady.
0:35:17 > 0:35:19- The material is stoneware.- Stoneware.
0:35:19 > 0:35:23One's always tempted to pick one up and look for marks.
0:35:25 > 0:35:27There should be a mark...
0:35:27 > 0:35:30and I'm sorry to say there isn't one.
0:35:30 > 0:35:32Nor on that one.
0:35:32 > 0:35:38But I really don't need to see the signature because, um...
0:35:38 > 0:35:44if you know anything about the Martin Brothers and their stoneware that was made in Southall in London
0:35:44 > 0:35:47at the end of the Victorian age,
0:35:47 > 0:35:51these shout, "I was made by the Martin Brothers."
0:35:51 > 0:35:56They're from a series of figures known as imp musicians.
0:35:56 > 0:36:03And I suppose the other term that's often given to them is grotesques.
0:36:05 > 0:36:09There's quite a healthy demand for Martinware,
0:36:09 > 0:36:12not just in this country
0:36:12 > 0:36:18but in the last 20 years or so, the Americans have become very interested in the work of the Martin Brothers.
0:36:19 > 0:36:23These two characters weigh in at
0:36:23 > 0:36:29- about £1,500 for the pair. - Oh, really...?
0:36:29 > 0:36:34- And had they been signed - nearer £2,000 so...- Really?
0:36:34 > 0:36:36That's very interesting. Thank you.
0:36:36 > 0:36:41If you came on the bus, can I recommend you go home in a taxi?
0:36:41 > 0:36:45It came through the family to my mother
0:36:45 > 0:36:50- and I've had it for about 40 years. - What you've got here is...
0:36:50 > 0:36:53very good quality marine painting.
0:36:53 > 0:36:55It's a beautiful handling of paint.
0:36:55 > 0:37:00- It's painted on panel, in oil.- Yeah. - And what is also nice...
0:37:00 > 0:37:03is that you can see the artist's brushstrokes
0:37:03 > 0:37:08in the impasto here - in the thicker paint.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11The way the whole light falls on it
0:37:11 > 0:37:14makes me feel it's by a good artist.
0:37:14 > 0:37:21And from a stylistic point of view, it's definitely a Dutch painter of the 19th century.
0:37:21 > 0:37:28Down here there is a signature. I think it's an artist called Schotel.
0:37:31 > 0:37:37- He was working in the second half of the 19th century and his work is quite sought-after.- Mm.
0:37:37 > 0:37:41I suppose that if this picture were in an auction,
0:37:41 > 0:37:46- it would make somewhere between £1,500 and £2,500.- Mm!
0:37:46 > 0:37:50- So you perhaps should be insuring it for £3,000.- Jolly good.
0:37:50 > 0:37:55It's always been in my mother's family. They were blacksmiths
0:37:55 > 0:37:59- at a village called Much Hadham in Hertfordshire.- Ah!
0:37:59 > 0:38:02And it's believed that these notches
0:38:02 > 0:38:06were for the all different children
0:38:06 > 0:38:11- who were pulled in it when they were small.- Wonderful! Much Hadham...
0:38:11 > 0:38:20- I've traced it to an exhibition that was in one of the auction houses in London.- Oh, right!- In 1988.- Yes.
0:38:20 > 0:38:27- The description said it was made for the grandfather of the present owner, who'd be your mother's cousin.- Right.
0:38:27 > 0:38:33- Made in 1851 by the wheelwright of Much Hadham.- Oh, right!
0:38:33 > 0:38:36- So we must have the right one.- Yes.
0:38:36 > 0:38:42- Beautifully made and obviously a professional maker, not home-made. - Oh, right.
0:38:42 > 0:38:45A wheelwright's the head of his profession.
0:38:45 > 0:38:50It's got painting - red and yellow faded lines round the wheels...
0:38:50 > 0:38:52They'd like that, the children.
0:38:52 > 0:38:57Yes. And the wheels themselves are works of art
0:38:57 > 0:39:03- because although they're wood underneath, there's a steel rim on the outside.- Oh, right.
0:39:03 > 0:39:08- Even the steering wheel, which feels a bit...slack.- Feels wobbly.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11It is a little bit loose, this nail.
0:39:11 > 0:39:15But it's lasted a long time, and should go on lasting.
0:39:15 > 0:39:19- Nothing I need to have done? - I don't think so.
0:39:19 > 0:39:24Children must have had great fun. They'd have put a little cushion in.
0:39:24 > 0:39:28Two at a time with the well for their feet
0:39:28 > 0:39:32- and these elbow rests, which I love. - Are they?
0:39:32 > 0:39:38- I thought it was just decoration. - No, no. I can just imagine them saying "Faster, faster!"
0:39:38 > 0:39:42- What are these metal things? - I think...- For a canopy?
0:39:42 > 0:39:48- A canopy with four uprights - to protect them from the sun.- Yes.
0:39:48 > 0:39:53- Um, you have never had it valued for insurance or...?- No, I haven't.
0:39:53 > 0:39:58It is a wonderful early tumbrel, as they call it, a cart.
0:39:58 > 0:40:03I should insure it for at least £2,000.
0:40:03 > 0:40:05But I guessed £100!
0:40:05 > 0:40:11To get one rare Delft plate is quite something. To get a pair...!
0:40:11 > 0:40:15I'm gobsmacked. Where have they come from?
0:40:15 > 0:40:21Well, they came from my grandfather. I don't know any further history.
0:40:21 > 0:40:28What we have here are Delft plates made to commemorate the battle in 1746 of Culloden.
0:40:28 > 0:40:33We have "Duke William for Ever" and the date 1746.
0:40:33 > 0:40:39Duke William, the son of George II, was the leader of the English
0:40:39 > 0:40:43against the Scottish clans who'd risen up...
0:40:43 > 0:40:47Well, for the English, a glorious defeat -
0:40:47 > 0:40:52but for the Scottish, quite a terrible event, wasn't it?
0:40:52 > 0:40:55They're quite unusual plates.
0:40:55 > 0:40:59Not many were made to commemorate that event.
0:40:59 > 0:41:05The Delftware industry was starting to go into decline by the 1740s -
0:41:05 > 0:41:10porcelain from China was replacing it.
0:41:10 > 0:41:14But the advantage of Delft is that it can be painted and fired very quickly
0:41:14 > 0:41:19so you can do an instant commemorative of an event.
0:41:19 > 0:41:27So the Duke of Cumberland could then be commemorated on plates that would go on sale straight away.
0:41:27 > 0:41:32But not many commemorative plates were done of this event -
0:41:32 > 0:41:41on the whole this is one of the earliest you get of military commemoratives made of Delft.
0:41:41 > 0:41:47The material is covered with a thick glaze and chips really quite easily - I see you've got a few chips.
0:41:47 > 0:41:52I guess they've been there a long time, but really extremely few.
0:41:52 > 0:41:57This one - no actual cracks... They look astonishing, condition-wise.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00The painting very well done.
0:42:00 > 0:42:07It's not easy to paint pictures on Delft because you're painting on to basically unfired glaze, wet glaze.
0:42:07 > 0:42:09It's like painting on blotting paper.
0:42:09 > 0:42:14You can't rub out and start again - you have to quickly paint the design.
0:42:14 > 0:42:19And that gives them a spontaneity which is really rather charming.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22They are extremely rare
0:42:22 > 0:42:27and to find an unrecorded pair of plates is really something.
0:42:27 > 0:42:30They're worth quite a bit of money.
0:42:30 > 0:42:37I'm thinking in terms of... One plate alone to a Delft and military history collector
0:42:37 > 0:42:40£10,000.
0:42:40 > 0:42:47- Goodness me!- That's ONE! Here you've got twice as much.
0:42:47 > 0:42:51£20,000 for... two extraordinary plates.
0:42:52 > 0:42:57- Goodness me!- Er...- Wow...! - Thank you!
0:42:58 > 0:43:01I wonder what Mr Holloway would have thought of our invasion
0:43:01 > 0:43:04of his hallowed premises. I hope he would have been pleased,
0:43:04 > 0:43:07because we're coming back next week for another Roadshow
0:43:07 > 0:43:12and for a look at he buildings and the man behind this whole astonishing enterprise.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15Until then, from Royal Holloway, goodbye.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24Subtitles by Anne Morgan BBC - 2001