0:00:32 > 0:00:37Welcome to what was once known as the Metropolis of Mid-Sussex.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39Legend has it that Haywards Heath
0:00:39 > 0:00:43was named after the highwayman, Jack Hayward,
0:00:43 > 0:00:47but the coaches Jack robbed gave way to trains.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51The town of Haywards Heath was created by the railway.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55Engineers wanted to connect London, the "Flower of cities all",
0:00:55 > 0:01:01with Brighton, "Queen of the watering holes" and favourite of the Prince Regent.
0:01:01 > 0:01:06Even before the line opened in 1841, a local businessman had an idea...
0:01:06 > 0:01:12He advertised a house for rent within a ten minute walk of Haywards Heath Station.
0:01:12 > 0:01:17The idea of working in London and living in a rural area caught on.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20It was the birth of the commuter.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32A few miles north of the town, straddling the Ouse Valley,
0:01:32 > 0:01:37is a spectacular example of Victorian railway architecture,
0:01:37 > 0:01:39the Balcombe Viaduct.
0:01:39 > 0:01:45Its eight Italianate miniature pavilions would have been safety shelters for the men working on it.
0:01:45 > 0:01:51During World War II, the viaduct was used as a look-out to warn of air raids. It survived.
0:01:51 > 0:01:58Today's trains rattle safely over the 11 million bricks that were brought from Holland to build it.
0:01:58 > 0:02:05The 36,000 commuters from Sussex who pile out of their trains every morning and into the London tube
0:02:05 > 0:02:12might be interested to know that the typeface used for London Underground nameplates was designed here.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16Edward Johnston was the creator of that lovely lettering.
0:02:16 > 0:02:21In the '20s, Johnston's former pupil Eric Gill formed a group of artists,
0:02:21 > 0:02:28the Guild of St Joseph and St Dominic, and worked here in Ditchling, near Haywards Heath.
0:02:28 > 0:02:35Eric Gill was one of the 20C's finest engravers, known for his wood carvings of religious subjects.
0:02:35 > 0:02:41Such was his standing that he was invited to provide architectural sculptures for the BBC.
0:02:41 > 0:02:46Huge panels representing Ariel and Prospero adorn Broadcasting House,
0:02:46 > 0:02:51where "Nation shall speak peace unto nation".
0:02:51 > 0:02:57Back in Haywards Heath, the Dolphin Leisure Centre is the venue for this week's Antiques Roadshow.
0:02:57 > 0:03:02This is a mechanical wine cradle, a decanting cradle.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05It's called an elutriator.
0:03:05 > 0:03:10- And there we are... There's the mark inside, the label.- Yes, uh-huh.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13And it's patented by Ellis and Adams.
0:03:14 > 0:03:19I happen to know that Joseph Ellis lived not a million miles from here.
0:03:19 > 0:03:25He was in Brighton and he invented this particular device in 1857.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29- Is it something you use?- My father was a wine merchant and wine taster.
0:03:29 > 0:03:34- Was he?- And he was manager of Ellis, Wilson and Bacon.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38Well, of course, the word "elutriate" actually means to decant.
0:03:38 > 0:03:45- Are you secret decanters? - No, not really.- This is only for a very expensive...very old...
0:03:45 > 0:03:50- Special, for special wines?- Vintage, vintage wine, yes, that's right.
0:03:50 > 0:03:55- To me, it's actually almost a piece of sculpture.- Yes, exactly.
0:03:55 > 0:04:02It's very attractive. If one looks at this scrolling metalwork here, the shape of the cradle...
0:04:02 > 0:04:07The cradle is nicely edged here with a piece of leather, it feels like,
0:04:07 > 0:04:11so that the neck of the bottle wouldn't be damaged,
0:04:11 > 0:04:18- and when you're decanting, you want to have a very easy gentle pressure upwards...- ..Because of the lees.
0:04:18 > 0:04:23- Because of the lees. You don't want it to slip back down again.- No, no.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27By turning this screw, the spring would act as resistance,
0:04:27 > 0:04:33so that you could never push it back down, mix the residue of the wine with the lees...
0:04:33 > 0:04:39- I've seen him do it many times.- You remember that?- Yes.- So you'd have this constant gentle upward motion.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43The bottles would have been lying flat in the cellar,
0:04:43 > 0:04:49and there was white paint along the top to show which way up the bottle was.
0:04:49 > 0:04:55- It would be carefully brought up. - Yes.- Kept in that way.- By the old cellar man.- Placed into the cradle.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58- That's right.- And then poured.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02This is an object which dates back to the middle of the 19C,
0:05:02 > 0:05:07- and in a way I feel it should look like it.- Yes.
0:05:07 > 0:05:13- Now, have you ever thought about value?- No.- It's just been sitting at home and there it is.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17- Very good, there it is and uncleaned. - We'd like to know...- YOU would.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21Well, of course the younger generation want to know!
0:05:21 > 0:05:25I would say that we're talking about...
0:05:25 > 0:05:32between perhaps £800 and £1,000, and it would have to be in a very specialised auction.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35- He'd be tickled pink if he knew... - Good.
0:05:35 > 0:05:42We ought to raise a toast to your father and thank him for looking after it and passing it down to you.
0:05:43 > 0:05:48I bought it at a silent charity auction. I think I paid about £4.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52Oh, right. Did you know what you were buying?
0:05:52 > 0:05:57We'd been to an exhibition of the Queen's china at Buckingham Palace.
0:05:57 > 0:06:02And in there was this magnificent Sevres dinner service
0:06:02 > 0:06:06- in this beautiful turquoise blue... - It's that colour.- ..and gold.
0:06:06 > 0:06:12- I know the one, with flowers in the panels.- Beautiful, magnificent.- Yes. Let's see if this is the same.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16- There's the mark of the Sevres factory.- Yes.
0:06:16 > 0:06:23- The great French factory and that's the monogram of - the letter L mirrored, for Louis XV.- Oh, I see.
0:06:23 > 0:06:30And that mark is painted as it should be, in the early part of the Sevres factory, around about 1750-1760.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34- Good gracious. - Now, is it real Sevres porcelain?
0:06:34 > 0:06:37It's got a tiny hole in the foot rim.
0:06:37 > 0:06:43That was the way they hung it in the kiln to stop the glaze spreading and sticking it to the kiln shelf.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47- I see.- That hole is where it should be and it has the black speck inside.
0:06:47 > 0:06:54That tells me it's Sevres porcelain. It was fired in the correct way. This is Sevres porcelain from 1750.
0:06:54 > 0:06:59- Goodness me.- The service which the Queen has in this colour is later...
0:06:59 > 0:07:02- 1780, I think that one was.- Oh.
0:07:02 > 0:07:07And this particular painting doesn't look quite as early as 1750.
0:07:07 > 0:07:13I think something is a little bit up. The colouring looks good, the porcelain is absolutely right,
0:07:13 > 0:07:18- but it didn't leave Sevres looking like this.- Ah.- Someone's changed it.
0:07:18 > 0:07:23Looking very closely at these lovely figures in sort of Watteau style,
0:07:23 > 0:07:28- I can see a hint of green in the background of the panel.- Yes.
0:07:28 > 0:07:33- That's part of a leaf spray. The original decoration was flowers.- Oh!
0:07:33 > 0:07:40- This had little flower sprigs all over it.- Well, I never! - When it left Sevres in the 1750s,
0:07:40 > 0:07:44flowers on a white ground were simple, everyday decoration.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48but in 1830 when George IV was collecting the Sevres,
0:07:48 > 0:07:54- he was paying a fortune for pieces with figure subjects on a bleu-celeste ground.- Goodness.
0:07:54 > 0:08:01There wasn't enough real Sevres to go around, so they bought the tea sets with simple flowers and changed them.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05- Oh, I see.- When you look closely, there are signs.
0:08:05 > 0:08:11Often you can see a little scratch across the middle of the turquoise.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14- Can you just see a little line?- Yes.
0:08:14 > 0:08:19That was a scratch in the glaze on the original cup and saucer.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23- When they put the turquoise over it, it went into that scratch.- Goodness!
0:08:23 > 0:08:30And at the same time it burned. This black speckling is a sign that it was burnt in the kiln and went wrong.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33- Fascinating. - But that affects the value.- Yes.
0:08:33 > 0:08:38- A real one, you're looking at £5,000 for.- Yes.- But even as a wrong 'un,
0:08:38 > 0:08:41even as a copy, it's beautiful.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45The quality of this, when it was made as a fake, was superb
0:08:45 > 0:08:52- and, even as a fake, it's probably worth £600 or £700.- Goodness. Oh, thank you. Well, I love it.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56- She is Amy Sawyer.- She was an artist of some considerable repute.- Yes.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00- Yes, yes. Not just a painter... - No.- ..but an artist in all forms.
0:09:00 > 0:09:05- You mean she carved?- She carved.- I know she carved.- She did embroidery.
0:09:05 > 0:09:10- Yes.- She was an eccentric as well, but she has paintings too.
0:09:10 > 0:09:17- In what way was she eccentric? - She didn't believe in electricity or gas. She cooked in a hay box.
0:09:17 > 0:09:23- She lived in Ditchling?- Yes, in the blue house.- I suspect you know more about the Ditchling artists than I,
0:09:23 > 0:09:27but I've always known it as a great centre for artists,
0:09:27 > 0:09:32not necessarily talking about the commune that Eric Gill started there.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36Artists went to live there because they enjoyed each other's company.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40- It wasn't so much a colony as a place that artists enjoyed living.- Yes.
0:09:40 > 0:09:47- There was her and there were many, many others, weren't there?- Yes, Louis Ginnett who did the portrait.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50Oh, it's clearly signed by him here.
0:09:50 > 0:09:57- This is a very penetrating portrait. - It's very like her.- I feel fixed by the gimlet eyes boring through me.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01- Yes, wherever you stand, they're there.- It's a wonderful portrait.
0:10:01 > 0:10:06I'm not quite sure what it is about it, but it's frank and powerful
0:10:06 > 0:10:12- and it seems to get to the heart of the woman's character.- Yes.- It's perhaps rather thinly painted here,
0:10:12 > 0:10:18- and something has happened to the paint surface.- Damp. - It's probably restorable.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22- Yes.- But, at the moment it's looking a little bit ropey around the edges.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25- Mm.- You want that done.
0:10:25 > 0:10:31But, as a very good portrait, by an artist who is quite well known, a Louis Ginnett,
0:10:31 > 0:10:37- then it's probably worth £1,200 to £1,500.- Goodness me.- As much as that.
0:10:37 > 0:10:42This has been in my husband's family for about 100 years.
0:10:42 > 0:10:48His great-grandparents were great travellers round the world.
0:10:48 > 0:10:54He thinks that this was picked up on the continent and we've been told it may be Flemish.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57Right, but I think it's actually French.
0:10:57 > 0:11:02- What do you use it for?- We haven't used it to put anything in it.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05It's just an ornamental piece.
0:11:05 > 0:11:12If it was meant for bread, we're curious to know why it's got a key for instance.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14Right, they're called "panetiere".
0:11:14 > 0:11:17- Yes.- So, a bread cupboard.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21This looks like an early key. It's certainly an early escutcheon here,
0:11:21 > 0:11:26this lovely asymmetric typical Louis XV shape.
0:11:26 > 0:11:32- The hinge seems quite crude. - The hinge is glorious. I think the lock is later.
0:11:32 > 0:11:38It may not have had a key originally. But this is a typical original long charniere or hinge.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42But this glorious shape... all over central France you see that.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46What about the carving? That's rather interesting.
0:11:46 > 0:11:53You've got this serpentine outline which would have become popular in France around 1770.
0:11:53 > 0:11:58That fits in nicely with this type of carving which is transitional.
0:11:58 > 0:12:04You've got Rococo feeling to the foliage and to the shape, but a Neoclassical urn or vase here.
0:12:04 > 0:12:11So it's this transitional period when Louis XV was starting the discovery of Pompeii in 1754,
0:12:11 > 0:12:16this mad foliate idea of Rococo was giving way to Neoclassical.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20- It's a nicely made, expensively made piece of furniture in walnut.- Walnut.
0:12:20 > 0:12:27That's much more typical of France. Had it been Flemish, which is not quite right for this shape anyway,
0:12:27 > 0:12:34- it would be more likely to be in beech or oak.- Yes.- Valuing it isn't easy. You don't see many of these.
0:12:34 > 0:12:41- I can see it being in a French antique shop, retail, for about £5,000.- Could you?
0:12:41 > 0:12:45- But more if you want to insure it. - Yes.
0:12:45 > 0:12:47Look at that! Isn't it...?
0:12:47 > 0:12:53Cor...! I tell you what, he must have been in there a good few years. He absolutely pongs.
0:12:53 > 0:12:58Well, if you and I had been in a box that long, we'd be that bad as well!
0:12:58 > 0:13:03Crikey, he's really musty. How long has he been in the box?
0:13:03 > 0:13:09- Well, he's getting on for 30 years since he's seen the light of day. - Really?- Yes.
0:13:09 > 0:13:16- He's quite an extraordinary creature. - He is a bit, yes.- I'm not quite sure how old he is. Have you any idea?
0:13:16 > 0:13:20- My father bought him in 1956. - Right.- For me when I was about ten,
0:13:20 > 0:13:27from a theatrical shop in Nottingham and we did shows in old people's homes and that sort of thing.
0:13:27 > 0:13:36My father used to do a magic show with my younger brother and I used to do a ventriloquist's turn.
0:13:36 > 0:13:42He was probably made in the 1920s by an individual maker of ventriloquist's dummies.
0:13:42 > 0:13:49- The eyes are probably real false eyes.- Really?- They're not painted. They are very good eyes.
0:13:49 > 0:13:55That's what really makes the difference between a poorly made dummy and a really well-made dummy,
0:13:55 > 0:14:00so he would have been made for a professional. He'd have a value
0:14:00 > 0:14:04- of £200 to £300 today.- Really?- Yes. He's a very, very nice object.
0:14:04 > 0:14:11It was in the late '60s and we were in Paris. It was the wintertime and we wanted to light a fire,
0:14:11 > 0:14:18so we lit it and smoke was coming back all the time, so we realised something was blocking the chimney,
0:14:18 > 0:14:23so we extinguished the fire and then we pulled out all sorts of things.
0:14:23 > 0:14:28There were old books and china, silver and those two coffee pots.
0:14:28 > 0:14:34- Gosh.- "They're obviously not very valuable," said Mr Pickford,
0:14:34 > 0:14:38but I like them and they remind me of my youth.
0:14:38 > 0:14:45- This was in Paris. Could it have been someone hiding family bits from the Nazis?- We don't know.
0:14:45 > 0:14:53- We thought maybe they were from the French Revolution or something.- No such luck.- But it's a great memory.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57Yes. Perhaps if we rub this, the genie will tell us everything!
0:14:57 > 0:15:01It's a doll book, where you press out the dolls
0:15:01 > 0:15:06- and then dress them in different clothes for different occasions. - Great.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09So this relates to Charles and Diana...
0:15:09 > 0:15:14and being married, and their first baby. Who have we got here?
0:15:14 > 0:15:19- The visitors.- Barbara Cartland, Margaret Thatcher, teddy bears...
0:15:19 > 0:15:22A boomerang... Why's it never been used?
0:15:22 > 0:15:28I bought it for five pence and I've sat and had many hours just browsing through,
0:15:28 > 0:15:31- but never used. - That's the great thing about it,
0:15:31 > 0:15:38because obviously any child this was given to, the first thing they'd want to do
0:15:38 > 0:15:40is tear it up, cut it out and play with it.
0:15:40 > 0:15:46So, for a bit of royal memento, it's fantastic. It must be quite rare. More rare because of its condition.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50- You paid 5p for it.- Five pence.
0:15:50 > 0:15:55- I wouldn't sell it for less than £50. - Really?- But in time it'll be worth a lot more.
0:15:56 > 0:16:01- Looks like a typical mid-18th century English side table.- Right.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05Is it English? I look at this overhang here,
0:16:05 > 0:16:10this very wide overhang. It almost looks like the top has been replaced.
0:16:10 > 0:16:15It does look a different colour, but I believe it's always been like this.
0:16:15 > 0:16:21I love the colour, by the way. But it's the overhang which fascinates me, with this lovely re-entrant...
0:16:21 > 0:16:25and this moulded feature. Cabriole leg is fairly normal,
0:16:25 > 0:16:29leading to this very unusual foot with this little line here.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32I think it could be American.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38Well, that would fit in with the family background.
0:16:38 > 0:16:44My great grandfather lived in Syracuse in New York State. He was actually in music hall.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48He was an acrobat and a juggler. I know they bought quite a few things
0:16:48 > 0:16:51before they settled back into England again.
0:16:51 > 0:16:56That's really fascinating. The drawer, the drawer lining,
0:16:56 > 0:17:02is very like the English drawers of the mid-18th century, very thin in oak with a lovely little rounded top,
0:17:02 > 0:17:08but it's not quite the same. It's got a sort of Dutch thinness and quality to it.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12- Right.- It's more sophisticated almost than the English ones,
0:17:12 > 0:17:16but in the Eastern seaboard, especially Philadelphia, Delaware... they did use oak linings.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20This again... You see this sort of knob here?
0:17:20 > 0:17:24In English William and Mary furniture from the late 17C, circa 1700,
0:17:24 > 0:17:28it's unusual to get this in what is probably 1750 shape.
0:17:28 > 0:17:33Again, I think this slightly drawn-out shape to the brass knob is American.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36This is not an English casting.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40If you just look at the drawers with the frieze,
0:17:40 > 0:17:45you've got a position here of this normal drawer, but a bit short,
0:17:45 > 0:17:49and this funny little thing here and this great, empty space.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52When I first saw it, I thought English mid-18C,
0:17:52 > 0:17:58and then something rang a bell and drew me to it perhaps being American.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01- It's almost like a Shaker feeling. - Yes.
0:18:01 > 0:18:06American furniture's a completely different discipline, I don't know of any experts
0:18:06 > 0:18:09resident in Europe who know about American furniture.
0:18:09 > 0:18:14We'd have to take photographs of it, send it to New York or the Eastern seaboard
0:18:14 > 0:18:18to get an expert to verify what I'm about to say.
0:18:18 > 0:18:22If that's English, mid-18C, it's worth £2,000 to £3,000.
0:18:22 > 0:18:27But if it's American, a minimum of £15,000 to £20,000.
0:18:27 > 0:18:28Right.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31Well, that's wonderful, lovely.
0:18:31 > 0:18:37At first glance, this appears to be an innocent silver-topped walking stick.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39But with a twist of the handle,
0:18:39 > 0:18:46we have nearly two feet of deadly Toledo Spanish steel. Where did you come by this lovely object?
0:18:47 > 0:18:53It's been in the house ever since I can remember. When my father died, I particularly wanted it.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56It was just part of the household.
0:18:56 > 0:19:00I believe he got it from his father before him.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06This would be carried by a Victorian gentleman for self protection.
0:19:08 > 0:19:15- Its blade is made in Spain, in Toledo, which is the great Spanish sword cutlery capital.- Right.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17- They still make them today.- Do they?
0:19:17 > 0:19:23They've been making blades there for hundreds of years. We can see on the blade...
0:19:23 > 0:19:26"Fabricado Para la Casa Sangster & Co Ltd, Londres."
0:19:26 > 0:19:33That means that Sangster's - whoever they were - would have had this made in Spain and then brought over here.
0:19:34 > 0:19:40The top is silver, it's assay-marked and there's a nice little London mark on it...
0:19:40 > 0:19:43- for 1891.- Oh, right.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47So that gives you the sort of time period
0:19:47 > 0:19:51- in which this was in use.- Yes.- Just at the end of Victoria's reign.- Yes.
0:19:51 > 0:19:55It's a very nice object. The body is cane
0:19:55 > 0:19:59- and it's absolutely top quality. - Oh, right.
0:19:59 > 0:20:06And there's also a certain amount of interest in it, from the point of view of its legality.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10- Did that come into your mind when you brought it?- Well, I hesitated
0:20:10 > 0:20:15even before bringing it, because of the legality. I didn't know how I stood on that.
0:20:15 > 0:20:22Although sword sticks are prohibited weapons, there is an exemption for those which are over 100 years old.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25- So you're home and dry at 1891. - I see, yes.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29It still remains an offensive weapon to wander around with.
0:20:29 > 0:20:35- Yes, sure. - And you would have to show that you had reasonable excuse for doing it,
0:20:35 > 0:20:39but no court would say that bringing a beautiful thing like this to the Roadshow
0:20:39 > 0:20:45- wasn't reasonable excuse! Have you thought about what it might be worth? - No idea.- A thing of this quality,
0:20:45 > 0:20:52which has the cache of being over 100 years old, and, consequently, not prohibited, bangs the value up.
0:20:52 > 0:20:58- I think somewhere between £500 to £750.- Right. Thank you very much.
0:20:58 > 0:21:04It's been with us for the last 70 years. I remember it hanging on the wall as a child.
0:21:04 > 0:21:09- I'm told that I used to wave to it as I passed it in the hall. - Every day?- Yes.
0:21:09 > 0:21:15What I love about this soulful portrait, it comes straight out of Landseer,
0:21:15 > 0:21:18who is, without doubt, the champion
0:21:18 > 0:21:22of the almost human-like portrait of a dog.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24It's a sort of 19th century...
0:21:24 > 0:21:27- Disneyfication.- Yes.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31Where the animal becomes totally anthropomorphic, I suppose.
0:21:31 > 0:21:37What makes life really interesting about this object, which is certainly by a pupil of Landseer,
0:21:37 > 0:21:39is the signature on the bottom.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42And for the life of me, I cannot read it!
0:21:42 > 0:21:47- I've never been able to. - A lot of artists could draw,
0:21:47 > 0:21:49but could not write their name.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52It looks like George Irwin, possibly Fred...
0:21:52 > 0:21:56but I can find no record of the artist.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00But whatever it is, it's a picture that you just have to love.
0:22:00 > 0:22:05Its doleful look at you is just so wonderful.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07I think its value...
0:22:07 > 0:22:11because it's always commercial - is around £1,000-£1,200.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14- Good Lord!- I know, it's amazing. - It is indeed.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17You can salute it every day now.
0:22:17 > 0:22:23- Thank you. I wasn't even sure whether to bring it in. - I'm really glad you did.- So am I!
0:22:23 > 0:22:29It's come down through the family from my great-great-uncle, who had a paper mill in Cookham.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34That's really about all I know about it.
0:22:34 > 0:22:40- Also he's actually on the list of subscribers here.- He is indeed. Charles Venables.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42"The Mill, Cookham, near Maidenhead."
0:22:42 > 0:22:45He would probably have paid quite a lot of money
0:22:45 > 0:22:50- to subscribe to a book like this. - Yes.- But it's absolutely fabulous.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54"A Monograph Of The Alcedinidae, Or Family Of Kingfishers, By RB Sharpe"
0:22:54 > 0:22:59It's published by the author between 1868 and 1871.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03Books of this quality with these wonderful plates in
0:23:03 > 0:23:06are incredibly expensive to produce.
0:23:06 > 0:23:11And by the late 19th century, these sort of books were virtually extinct,
0:23:11 > 0:23:14- because they were such high quality.- Yes.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18None of this colouring here could have been done by an amateur.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22It had to be done by a professional. Absolutely beautiful.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26Look at this one. This one's just absolutely glorious.
0:23:26 > 0:23:32But what has happened, what I suspect, with the handling over the years is...
0:23:32 > 0:23:37The reason I've put it on a block is so that I don't have to open it up completely,
0:23:37 > 0:23:41which will put an added strain on the gutta-percha binding.
0:23:41 > 0:23:47This gutta-percha binding was an early form of glue that came from Malaya.
0:23:47 > 0:23:52They thought the idea was that they could actually bind books quicker by using this glue.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56They would thrust the books in - all the single pages.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00And, inevitably, it rotted and they'd fall apart.
0:24:00 > 0:24:04So this book, although it looks in poor condition,
0:24:04 > 0:24:09is, in fact, not in such poor condition. It can be put back together.
0:24:09 > 0:24:14It WILL cost a bit. The binding is holding. It does need refurbishing.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17But a good bookbinder should be able to do that.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20It's worth in the region of £5,000.
0:24:22 > 0:24:27- It was a christening bowl.- Lovely. But what went in it? Punch?
0:24:27 > 0:24:33- Well, no. Apparently it held rum butter.- Rum butter? - Rum butter was handed round...
0:24:33 > 0:24:35at the christening.
0:24:35 > 0:24:40- It contained rum, obviously.- Yes. - Eh, butter...
0:24:40 > 0:24:43for the fats of life, rum for the spirit,
0:24:43 > 0:24:49Sugar for the sweetness and spices for the spice of life.
0:24:49 > 0:24:54Everybody presumably had some and then once the bowl was empty
0:24:54 > 0:25:01- and presumably clean, it was handed round and people put in money for the child.- What a wonderful idea!
0:25:01 > 0:25:06We've got the initials, haven't we? So it's a family piece.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10But it's rather more. We've got, "Nelson's Glory,
0:25:10 > 0:25:14"August 2nd, 1798" which is the Battle of the Nile.
0:25:14 > 0:25:19The great defeat of the French there, all on a bowl.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21It doesn't look Staffordshire to me.
0:25:21 > 0:25:26- Well, it belonged to a north country family.- That makes sense.- Newcastle.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30Fell was a great family of potters in Newcastle,
0:25:30 > 0:25:36and these glorious colours, they're all underglazed and that took a lot of doing.
0:25:36 > 0:25:41They're high-fired colours, but this is one of the finest examples.
0:25:41 > 0:25:45It won't have a mark on, I'm sure. Let's have a look.
0:25:45 > 0:25:50- It's mere earthenware, it's pearlware, but 1798.- Pearlware.
0:25:50 > 0:25:56That would have been about the date, it can't be before, maybe just after.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58But a bowl like that I would have thought
0:25:58 > 0:26:04- is certainly worth £4,000 to £5,000. It's the finest bowl that I've seen in earthenware.- Lovely!
0:26:04 > 0:26:07I'm a porcelain man, but that really turns me on!
0:26:07 > 0:26:10Picture backs - when did you collect these?
0:26:10 > 0:26:14About 20 years ago, and I stopped about 10 years ago,
0:26:14 > 0:26:18because, frankly, I just never saw anything as good as this.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20I go along with that.
0:26:20 > 0:26:27I mean, it's very rarely that one sees such good examples. In this case, what have we got?
0:26:27 > 0:26:32We've got the heron, looking at a date there around the 1750 mark.
0:26:33 > 0:26:37- As old as that?- And herons are rare.
0:26:37 > 0:26:42It is thought actually to be one of the Jacobite spoons.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44- Never knew that. - Of course, to declare...
0:26:44 > 0:26:51that you were a Jacobite in England in the mid-18th century was a hazardous thing,
0:26:51 > 0:26:57so they had secret Jacobite societies and various symbols by which they were known.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59But the teapot...
0:26:59 > 0:27:02I can't remember when I last saw a teapot -
0:27:02 > 0:27:05that is one of the great rarities.
0:27:05 > 0:27:10Little bit later in date - you've gone on to the old English after 1760.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13When did I last see a Masonic?
0:27:13 > 0:27:15I mean that is just so rare.
0:27:15 > 0:27:20Just seeing one of those, I would be quite excited about.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24So, I mean, today, those, I would be thinking certainly
0:27:24 > 0:27:27well in excess of £1,000 for the set.
0:27:30 > 0:27:36The herons at least £600 to £800. The teapots, those have got to be...
0:27:36 > 0:27:41- £200 or £300 each. - Rather sad I haven't got six,
0:27:41 > 0:27:43isn't it?
0:27:44 > 0:27:50- Now how come you've ended up with a little puritan spoon...? - I just bought it
0:27:50 > 0:27:54because I thought it was old. It was incredibly dirty,
0:27:54 > 0:27:56and I thought...
0:27:56 > 0:28:01I had seen that shape before somewhere but I just couldn't remember where.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05- Right.- And I've been trying to find who made it.- Ah, right.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08There's a maker's mark - "AG."
0:28:08 > 0:28:12That actually is one that we haven't tracked down to actual location yet.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16We're about 1650 with this spoon. This particular form...
0:28:16 > 0:28:24is the transition between the early English and the more modern spoon. Lovely condition. How much was it?
0:28:24 > 0:28:28It was next to nothing, you know, £30-£40, probably.
0:28:29 > 0:28:35Yeah, I would say that spoon today, you're looking in excess of £700-£800.
0:28:35 > 0:28:39It's been such a pleasure looking at them.
0:28:39 > 0:28:43I've always fancied using one of these to shave with.
0:28:43 > 0:28:48- I don't think my husband would fancy it.- You've got no family tradition of using them?- No.
0:28:48 > 0:28:50They've only ever been on a wall.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53- Hanging from the holes in the top presumably?- Yes.
0:28:53 > 0:29:01- They go back an awful long way to the end of the 17C. We're looking about 300 years old.- Lovely.
0:29:01 > 0:29:06- These were made in about 1690-1700... - Yes.- ..in Japan.
0:29:06 > 0:29:13- I thought maybe China.- No, these are Japanese ones. That's what makes them more special. The Imari colours...
0:29:13 > 0:29:18which is this red, blue and gold, the typical Imari colours of old Japan.
0:29:18 > 0:29:24So this one is in lovely condition, no cracks, so worth at least £1,000.
0:29:24 > 0:29:27- Nice.- That one's got a little crack,
0:29:27 > 0:29:30so we're going to be £600 there.
0:29:30 > 0:29:35Oh, that's nice though. I just enjoy them, I think they're lovely.
0:29:35 > 0:29:41- Well, actually, I bought these from an auction in New York. - In New York? Right.
0:29:41 > 0:29:43And when you bought them,
0:29:43 > 0:29:49- what did the catalogue say they were? - Just ivory pieces. - Did they give them a country?- No.
0:29:49 > 0:29:54- Right. What did you pay for them? - Just over a thousand dollars.
0:29:54 > 0:29:55£700.
0:29:57 > 0:29:58Well...
0:29:58 > 0:30:02- Well, what they're trying to be is Japanese.- Yes.
0:30:02 > 0:30:07- These are the seven gods of good fortune.- Right. - This one is obviously a fisherman.
0:30:11 > 0:30:15But they are of a type which is being carved in China.
0:30:17 > 0:30:23- And they are absolutely new. They were new when you bought them. - That's OK.
0:30:23 > 0:30:28There is a convention, CITES, against trade in endangered species...
0:30:30 > 0:30:33- ..and one should not be buying ivory at all.- Right.
0:30:33 > 0:30:38Unless you can be absolutely sure that what you're buying is of age - 50 years old or more.
0:30:40 > 0:30:44Now, when you brought them from New York, did you declare them?
0:30:44 > 0:30:46- Yes.- And what did they say?
0:30:46 > 0:30:53Well, when I say I brought them into the country, I paid for the shipping from the States.
0:30:53 > 0:30:57- So they would have had a certificate? - Yes. Well, as far as I'm aware.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01Really? Well, that's really an outrage, because the person...
0:31:01 > 0:31:06that signed this one, allowing its movement across the ocean,
0:31:06 > 0:31:08was breaking the law.
0:31:08 > 0:31:11He could lose his certificate
0:31:11 > 0:31:16by signing these of age when they're clearly not.
0:31:16 > 0:31:23- It's supported by the fact that we liked it.- Yeah.- And you use a reputable firm...- Exactly.
0:31:23 > 0:31:27You are free from blame. You bought them in good faith.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29You are not at fault.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33My daughter was given this object
0:31:33 > 0:31:38- about six or seven years ago, just as a gift. - It's in immaculate condition.
0:31:38 > 0:31:43- Do you know what it's for? - I believe it's for debutantes,
0:31:43 > 0:31:47for writing their partners' names in for the next dance.
0:31:47 > 0:31:49I disagree slightly with that
0:31:49 > 0:31:54because I think it's more likely just an aide memoire which opens up like that...
0:31:54 > 0:32:02and it has these little ivory slips inside on which you can write with a pencil and rub that off.
0:32:02 > 0:32:06But usually at a ball they used to have a little printed paper,
0:32:06 > 0:32:11rather than something of this sort. This was more likely to fit in your reticule
0:32:11 > 0:32:16than be carried on your wrist at a ball, but it's a beautiful thing.
0:32:16 > 0:32:22Made of mother-of-pearl and gold, and these beautiful little. ..
0:32:22 > 0:32:26- It's gold?- Oh yes. Mother of pearl back, lovely lustre on the shell.
0:32:26 > 0:32:31And little turquoises which represent forget-me-nots.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34The period would be around 1840 or thereabouts.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40So it's quite old and it has survived in the most amazing condition.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43There's not a chip or a mark on it...
0:32:43 > 0:32:47which is, I think, really quite extraordinary.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50Probably should be insured for around £1,000.
0:32:52 > 0:32:54- Oh!- Absolutely.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57- Amazing.- You've gone pink!
0:32:58 > 0:33:01Here we have a 20th century antique.
0:33:01 > 0:33:05A Barbie doll - a speaking Barbie doll.
0:33:05 > 0:33:10- Listen carefully and she will say... - "Which new dress shall I wear?"
0:33:11 > 0:33:13- It's my voice.- What's the story?
0:33:13 > 0:33:20The agent called me one day and said they wanted a voice inside a doll and would I go for an interview?
0:33:20 > 0:33:27So I went to a recording studio in Greek Street in 1968, and my voice was chosen for the doll,
0:33:27 > 0:33:33and I had to go back a couple of weeks later and record 15 different sentences, and six were used.
0:33:37 > 0:33:39Here's you in 1968...
0:33:39 > 0:33:42- "Which new dress shall I wear?" - ..saying the same old thing!
0:33:42 > 0:33:45I can't believe...
0:33:45 > 0:33:49how bright and colourful a funeral procession is.
0:33:49 > 0:33:53Here is the carriage of Her Majesty the Queen...
0:33:53 > 0:33:57This is so colourful. The British army, the Highlanders...
0:33:57 > 0:34:02You must have kept this extremely well, out of the way...
0:34:02 > 0:34:07Look at this colour, it's absolutely magnificent for a funeral service.
0:34:07 > 0:34:13And here, chief mourner, the Duke of Wellington. Well, this, of course, is the Duke of Wellington's funeral.
0:34:15 > 0:34:19And here is the man himself. That is the most incredible plate.
0:34:19 > 0:34:23- You know all this is cast iron? - No. Is it really?
0:34:23 > 0:34:29When I was a boy, you could go and see this in St Paul's Cathedral, where he was buried.
0:34:31 > 0:34:36The legend goes that it was so heavy that they couldn't get it up Ludgate Hill.
0:34:36 > 0:34:42He was two hours late for his own funeral, which I think is wonderful.
0:34:42 > 0:34:46- Why not?!- And so it goes on. It really is absolutely magnificent.
0:34:46 > 0:34:55- So, tell me about it.- My... I must get the right number of greats. ..great-great-grandfather,
0:34:55 > 0:35:01through a friend, had a ticket somewhere on Ludgate Hill in order to see this procession.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04I think this was produced a year later.
0:35:04 > 0:35:09It probably took a long time to produce. He bought it. I think the receipt is in the front.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12I find this absolutely fascinating,
0:35:12 > 0:35:18because I've never seen a receipt from Ackerman's before - "One panorama, Duke's funeral".
0:35:18 > 0:35:22- Not Duke of Wellington's. 31/6d.- Expensive.
0:35:22 > 0:35:28Incredible. And this note, "My father James Passmore saw this procession
0:35:29 > 0:35:34"from a window in Ludgate Hill and paid 20 guineas for their seats."
0:35:34 > 0:35:41- That must have been a lot of money in 1852.- Couldn't you buy a house in 1852 for that sort of money?
0:35:41 > 0:35:46I just think it's quite incredible. It does need some repair.
0:35:46 > 0:35:50Inevitably, as time has gone on, it's fallen apart in a few of the folds,
0:35:50 > 0:35:56but it is an absolutely wonderful thing and, of course, stretching out to ten whole feet.
0:35:56 > 0:36:03Well, I suspect that, even in the condition it's in now, it's probably about £1,500 to £2,000.
0:36:03 > 0:36:07- It is magnificent. Thank you so much.- Thank you.
0:36:07 > 0:36:14This picture is by A Mollica who painted in Napoli - Naples - in 1888.
0:36:14 > 0:36:21- So how did this Italian picture get into your house?- My grandmother went to a house sale around 1920.
0:36:21 > 0:36:27I gather that she brought it home by pony and cart, but that's about all I know.
0:36:27 > 0:36:34It is a huge picture and it's got a typical 19th century Victorian frame to make it look grander and bigger.
0:36:34 > 0:36:39What I like about these sort of pictures is they're very honest, beautifully painted.
0:36:39 > 0:36:44Look at the quality of it. It's absolutely beautiful.
0:36:44 > 0:36:50The embroidery on her shoulder here and this wonderful shawl is so beautifully painted,
0:36:50 > 0:36:56for an artist that in most dictionaries gets one line or two lines of information.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59He's actually called Achille Mollica
0:36:59 > 0:37:06and we know that he was from Naples and really didn't move that often outside his native town.
0:37:06 > 0:37:13He exhibited occasionally, sometimes in Turin, sometimes in Rome. He's known to have exhibited in London.
0:37:13 > 0:37:18You would never get this subject matter in the 18th century.
0:37:18 > 0:37:22It's a 19C phenomenon, to see a work which is rather trivial, in a way.
0:37:22 > 0:37:30It's like a sort of snapshot of, um, a passing moment and I think he's captured it beautifully.
0:37:30 > 0:37:37The slightly lecherous expression of the man and the demure expression of the girl are, I think, without fault,
0:37:37 > 0:37:42and for a minor Italian painter, I think we have a superb work.
0:37:42 > 0:37:49Works like this are highly desirable, and although Naples is a particularly poor part of Europe,
0:37:49 > 0:37:56they're very proud of their art and there is a big market for Neapolitan works of art.
0:37:56 > 0:38:04- I think if it came up for auction, it could make between £5,000 and £7,000.- That's lovely, thank you.
0:38:04 > 0:38:11- What does one pay for six monkeys in a Sussex jumble sale?- 50p comes to mind.- I'm never at the right place!
0:38:11 > 0:38:17- How long ago was this? - About 15 years ago. - That makes me feel a bit better.
0:38:17 > 0:38:22Because what you have is a very nice little group of Schuco chimps,
0:38:22 > 0:38:25made by the German company Schuco.
0:38:25 > 0:38:33Made in about 1930, so they're perhaps older than you'd imagine, by looking at their colours, and so on.
0:38:33 > 0:38:39And they've got these very sweet pressed tin faces which gives them all the expression.
0:38:39 > 0:38:44- They're charming. As you can see, they came in different sizes.- Yes.
0:38:44 > 0:38:47That being one of the largest,
0:38:47 > 0:38:51and this tiny one being the smallest chimp they made.
0:38:51 > 0:38:55They're all very collectable these days.
0:38:55 > 0:39:00- The little ones would be worth perhaps £50 to £60 each.- Really?
0:39:00 > 0:39:08And the large one perhaps as much as £75, so your 50p's worth has actually done quite well.
0:39:08 > 0:39:13I got it from my grandmother's flat. She moved into a nursing home...
0:39:13 > 0:39:18I saw a very similar one on your show earlier in the year.
0:39:18 > 0:39:21Right, that is true, yes. In fact, we had Judy as well.
0:39:21 > 0:39:24He is a very nice Mr Punch
0:39:25 > 0:39:29- and the simple answer to your question is, yes, he is the same.- OK.
0:39:29 > 0:39:31In fact, this one is a tad earlier
0:39:31 > 0:39:37than the one we had, and actually in slightly better condition as well.
0:39:37 > 0:39:40It's by Hemmel, it's from the 1850s.
0:39:40 > 0:39:43It's everything you want in a Mr Punch.
0:39:43 > 0:39:47So the one we had before, Punch and Judy together,
0:39:47 > 0:39:50- I put £15,000 on.- Right.
0:39:50 > 0:39:55And Mr Punch is the more valuable of the two.
0:39:55 > 0:40:03So the very good news is... In fact there was one that came on the market very shortly after that one came up,
0:40:03 > 0:40:07and that sold at auction for just over £10,000.
0:40:07 > 0:40:14- Blimey.- And this one, I have no hesitation in saying it's got to be at least that.- Thank you very much.
0:40:16 > 0:40:20- We have it hanging at Christmas. - At Christmas?
0:40:20 > 0:40:25Yes, every Christmas since I can remember, we just bring it out.
0:40:25 > 0:40:29- You treat it like a Xmas decoration? - Yes, it comes out with the decs.
0:40:29 > 0:40:37- Extraordinary. If I owned this, I'd want to look at it all the year round but it's a nice thing to do.- Yes.
0:40:37 > 0:40:41- How long have you had this? - About 20 years, I think.
0:40:41 > 0:40:46My husband actually bought it from a book dealer in Edinburgh,
0:40:46 > 0:40:52and, when he died, his wife wrote to my husband to say how much they loved having it in their family
0:40:52 > 0:40:56and they hoped we'd get as much pleasure.
0:40:56 > 0:41:02- It's obviously a watercolour that charms. It generates that kind of personal interest.- Yes.
0:41:02 > 0:41:07- So do you know about the artist Kate Greenaway?- A little, yes.
0:41:07 > 0:41:13- She was a Victorian watercolour. Didn't she paint a lot of children? - That was her thing.- Yes.
0:41:13 > 0:41:17She grew up in London, in Hoxton, in fact.
0:41:17 > 0:41:21A very urban upbringing, and it made her long for the countryside.
0:41:21 > 0:41:26And a lot of her figures are of children in the countryside.
0:41:26 > 0:41:33She has this very clever way of capturing the homeliness and domesticity of the life of children.
0:41:33 > 0:41:37The comfort and safety and also the dreams of them.
0:41:37 > 0:41:44I love that detail of the child asleep and the way the light is falling on her, presumably moonlight,
0:41:44 > 0:41:50falling on her face, and it's caught the features of her face and lovely eyelashes.
0:41:50 > 0:41:56- It's beautifully done. - Yes, it is.- Really sweet. She has a particular facility of watercolour.
0:41:56 > 0:42:02- Yes. - She's better than most illustrators, in that she was classically trained,
0:42:02 > 0:42:08and, later in her life, she was championed by no less a figure than John Ruskin.
0:42:08 > 0:42:15- Through this, she attained a stature in the world of painters, perhaps denied to other illustrators.- Yes.
0:42:15 > 0:42:23- It's interesting that it was bought from a book dealer. It is possible this was a book illustration.- Right.
0:42:23 > 0:42:27- It might even have been a design for a Christmas card.- Yes.
0:42:27 > 0:42:32- We actually had a Xmas card made. - For yourself?- Yes. And sent it out.
0:42:32 > 0:42:38- Can you recall how much you bought it for? I know it's 20 years ago.- Um...
0:42:38 > 0:42:46- I think a few hundred pounds. It was about £300 or £400, possibly. - Quite a lot of money.- It was.
0:42:46 > 0:42:52- Well, in my opinion, it's worth at least £6,000 to £8,000.- Is it? Right. - Gosh.- Yes.
0:42:52 > 0:42:58- That's amazing. That really is, isn't it, Laura?- Brilliant. - That's wonderful.
0:42:58 > 0:43:01We've enjoyed our day's outing to West Sussex
0:43:01 > 0:43:08and if the local highwayman, Jack Hayward, had been around today, his eyes would have been popping
0:43:08 > 0:43:10especially at those silver spoons!
0:43:10 > 0:43:15Thanks to the law-abiding people of Haywards Heath. Goodbye.