Sherborne 1 Antiques Roadshow


Sherborne 1

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This is Sherborne, an ancient town, an abbey town,

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a town of castles and schools,

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a place of gothic shapes and haunted cloisters.

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Harry Potter would be happy here - in the Dorset branch of Hogwarts.

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Above the town stands the old estate of Sherborne,

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gifted by Elizabeth I in 1592

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to one of her favourites - the dashing Sir Walter Raleigh.

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That was before she realised that Raleigh had secretly married one of her ladies-in-waiting.

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When she found out, the Queen was not amused.

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The Raleighs were banished from court

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and retired to Sherborne, where Sir Walter built the new castle.

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This was one of his favourite spots.

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From here, he could admire his garden.

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And keep an eye on the busy traffic on the road to Dorchester.

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One evening, apparently,

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Raleigh was sitting here, puffing contentedly at his pipe,

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when a servant who didn't know about tobacco, spotted the smoke,

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thought his master was on fire and put him out with a flagon of ale.

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Aaargh!

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It made him a bitter man.

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Cut off from high society,

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Raleigh surrounded himself with family and friends.

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A collection of astronomers, scientists and explorers,

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they'd sit till the early hours - sorting out the world's problems.

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They were known as the "School of the Night".

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Fine education was established in Sherborne

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in the 8th century by St Aldheim.

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Sherborne School was later linked with the Benedictine Order,

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and in the grounds are the remains of the original abbey cloister.

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This is the birthplace of the Sherborne Missal -

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the finest example of medieval book painting

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to have survived the Reformation intact.

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Its 694 pages contain lavish images

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of kings, bishops, saints and angels in a celestial throng,

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accompanied by a choir of the native birds of the British Isles.

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Today, we are in the school's sports hall.

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As an old Sherburnian,

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our pictures expert, Rupert Maas, takes pride of place.

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On with the show.

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"An accompaniment to Mr G Pocock's Patent Terrestrial Globe,"

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which I presume is that object. "Directions for inflating the globe.

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"First, holding it with one hand by the hoop, wave it...

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"and have the air rushing inside." Oh, heavens!

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"Then raise it vertically by the stud." I'm going too fast for you.

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There's the stud.

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"The orifice must rise a foot or two above the carpet.

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-"Raise it, drop it..." You've done this before.

-I've done it before.

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"Raise it in a perpendicular direction." ..Oh, my goodness!

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-What a wonderful party piece.

-It is, isn't it?

-And there it is.

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-There we are, the world as it was in 1830.

-Well done!

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Now, what do you do as an encore?

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Well, I'm not sure there is one!

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So we've got here the patent globe

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and a great book giving all sorts of information about it.

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And this was something that was read out during the demonstration.

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Is this something that you have bought in order to entertain people

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-or is it a family piece?

-A family piece. I got it from my mother,

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and I suspect it was in the family for two generations before that.

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When one looks at the opening page here, it gives a date of 1830...

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-Of 1830, yes.

-..which goes well before grandparents.

-Yes, yes.

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-Now, the material that it's made out of is a paper.

-It's paper.

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It seems extraordinary that this has survived fairly violent action

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for well, you know, 170 years. It's quite...quite bizarre, really.

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-Yes.

-That something so light and airy

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and, in theory, fragile has survived.

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Have you done any repairs to it?

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Er, yes, my middle daughter repaired it some years ago,

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-and removed little bits of brown paper which were stuck over holes.

-Right.

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-It's printed and then hand-coloured.

-Hand-coloured.

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So the bright colours that you see are applied by hand,

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with watercolours or with inks,

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but the actual detail is all printed ink from an engraving.

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I think it's a wonderful object.

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-It's fun, isn't it?

-It's great fun.

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I would have thought, price-wise, it's going to be in the...

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£500 to £700 bracket. I think it's absolutely wonderful,

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so thank you very much for bringing it in and for demonstrating it.

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Now, anyone who goes to antique shops

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will know there is a lot of 1920s and '30s reproduction furniture,

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without knowing where it comes from. It was so popular in Britain in that period.

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What these seem to be are designs for exactly that furniture.

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Here we've got a late-17th-century bedroom suite -

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wardrobe, tallboy, bedstead -

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in walnut, looking vaguely like the late 17th, early 18th century,

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but, in fact, completely of the 1920s and '30s.

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And if you lift this, there's an alternative design,

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so you can have A or B.

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Here - some elaborate gilded chairs

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of the same period - 17th century - to go with the settee.

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What have we got here? Oh, look now, that's the classic

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oak reproduction, Tudor-bethan, whatever you like.

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Wonderful complete set. What's the story?

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Well, back in the '70s, I suppose,

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there was an auction in Bath, and I went along

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-as I'm interested in woodworking machinery.

-Right.

-And in the corner

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-was a pile of old timber.

-Seasoned, ancient timber?

-Yes.

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-There was mahogany, walnut.

-Gosh.

-Oak. Old jobs that had gone wrong.

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-I think I paid about £30 for it.

-For a lot of timber?

-Oh, yeah. There was about three tons of it.

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-Fantastic.

-There was a box-van full.

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-That's a great bargain.

-Yes, it was.

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-Yes, so this tin came by chance with the wood?

-Yeah, that's right.

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Let's have another look. Another batch. There's hundreds of them.

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-There are, yes.

-They're all designs?

-Yeah.

-Let's see.

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Oh, look - again, there's a wonderful piece.

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It's a sort of 17th-century chinoiserie lacquer commode

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on a stand, or lacquer chest on a stand,

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and, look, a cocktail cabinet! What could be more of that period?

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-Do we know who this is?

-I've no idea.

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-Have you been through the box?

-Yes.

-Any clues?

-None that I can find.

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-So, nothing is signed.

-No, nothing, no.

-What it reveals, of course,

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is that in the 1920s, 1930s, we were passionate about antique furniture -

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there wasn't enough of the real stuff,

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so, manufacturers like Norris and famous names like Whiteleys,

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you know, big department stores - Maples,

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commissioned all this type of stuff so you could buy Tudor, Elizabethan,

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Jacobean,

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Sheraton, Chippendale, whatever you wanted, it was there.

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-There's hundreds of things in here.

-There are, yes.

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-Have you ever counted?

-No, no. No idea.

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Well, you bought a load of old timber which was already worth more than the £30 you paid.

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-Yes.

-Now, its greatest value is as a total archive. One's got to find out

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who the artist is, who the designer is.

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Piece by piece, a design like that in an antique shop today

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would be framed up, cleaned and would sell for between...

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£50 and £100. So if there's 100 of those, at an average of £50 -

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-Well, that's £5,000 for a start. I haven't counted, I haven't been right through it...

-No.

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but if you just take that as an average,

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-imagine what you've got. Fantastically lucky day when you got it!

-Wasn't it just?!

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My father was in the Royal Navy,

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and when he was a midshipman in 1949,

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he went to Switzerland for a holiday.

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And he met this retired gentleman and his partner,

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and they got on very well during the holiday, and after the holiday,

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they went their separate ways, but they kept in contact by letter

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and when Monsieur Biederman passed away,

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in his will he then left to my father

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the Patek Philippe pocket watch

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-and a Rolex watch as well.

-Oh, right.

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And when my father passed away 21 years ago,

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this was passed over to me.

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A fantastic story and a very generous man, too.

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-A Patek Philippe is one of the best watch-making companies in the world...

-Yes.

-..was then,

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particularly so for pocket watches. Another little detail of this bill -

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Chronometrie Beyer, BahnhofStrasse, in Zurich, is still there -

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they're the oldest distributor of Patek Philippe and still do business with a handshake, no papers.

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Teddy Beyer is still alive. His father would have sold this watch to Mr Biederman.

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The first thing about it is the dial - good colour, unusual hands -

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lot of extra little details of workmanship.

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If we open the movement - what we're all about -

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you've got the Patek Philippe mark in the back, Patek Philippe numbers,

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the same thing written in here - Patek Philippe.

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Always fully signed.

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If you find a watch like this without the case signed, be careful.

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And there we are - yeah, that's the best quality.

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Jewelled throughout, beautiful finishing on the movement,

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you've got ruby jewels, ruby stones set in there, gold chatons,

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and somewhere is the word "extra".

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-Right.

-And that's the sign of extra quality, extra special.

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-So that is about as good a lever chronometer as they made.

-Right.

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-And we've got a date of 1922.

-Yeah.

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I mean...

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I mean, I imagine you may have had something like this valued,

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-but I'm going to tell you what

-I

-think.

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Ah, just a minute, let's look under here...

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I've just spotted that.

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-If you open it... I shan't open it.

-I've never noticed that before.

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That'll be a spare mains spring in there.

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So from the valuation point of view, a normal Patek Philippe like this,

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not the extra, but the standard -

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perhaps £1,500. Because it's the extra quality,

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we're looking at a value,

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a real value, not insurance value, of somewhere probably in excess of

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-£5,000.

-Right.

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I inherited it from a great aunt

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and it lived in North Coker House, East Coker, for years and years

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until it went to my aunt and mother and then it came to me.

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Oh, wonderful.

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So many times a piece of furniture made in the late 17th, early 18th century,

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would be a heavy chest of drawers on a comparatively flimsy stand,

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and over the years these little legs got rickety and the toes rotted -

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either woodworm or being on a stone floor -

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and they were replaced.

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And the other story is

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that such pieces of furniture in the middle of the 18th century

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were sold off, at auction perhaps,

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but they never took a rise upwards in their social surroundings,

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not like today when lords and ladies go to farm sales.

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In those days, farmers went to the lord and lady's sale.

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So the farmer would take this home, and when he got home,

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he couldn't fit it all in - he hadn't the room,

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so he would put some feet on this bit, put a top on here

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-and he'd get TWO bits of furniture.

-Yes.

-And so they were separated.

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Let us just have a look here.

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We have original handles, which is terribly rare now,

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-and that mark is where that handle...

-I thought that was...

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-Where a big handle had been?

-Yes.

-A big Victorian knob?

-Yes.

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No, that's where that's swung round and round for EVER.

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A bit lighter round here where the cleaning has edged away the patina.

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When we look inside - look at this lovely lock - a sort of fan shape.

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-Yes.

-Wedge shape,

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fixed with handmade clout nails -

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1710 at the latest.

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And then the beautifully veneered top -

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quarter veneering here and a broad band of cross banding put on,

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just tall enough to see -

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any taller, of course, it wouldn't have any veneer on at all -

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so totally genuine here.

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All the mouldings are put on cross-grained. Notice by 1740,

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the grain runs that way.

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-Yes.

-Until then, they were across the grain - lovely little sections.

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And then a large cock beading here -

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a slip of damp wood applied with big handmade nails when wet,

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and then it kept that beautiful bow shape.

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And, look, just that little curl...

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oh, just lifts it up!

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And a little tiny pointed pad foot.

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Oh, wonderful!

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Now, we have to talk about the value, commercial value.

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Because of its total genuineness,

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I do feel that, um, this could make in the region of...

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-probably £40,000.

-Really? Mmm.

-£40,000.

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-Thank you, it's been a joy.

-Thank you.

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CUCK-OO!

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CUCK-OO! CUCK-OO!

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CUCK-OO! < Isn't he a lovely sound?

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-A cuckoo on the nest.

-Yes.

-And all these little birds all around,

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-they're absolutely wonderful. What's its history?

-I remember it

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from the middle '20s. I'm fairly ancient now.

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It was in my grandfather's breakfast room in a cupboard.

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-He's my teddy bear, I suppose.

-Really?

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-He's had a bit of knocking about - there's a bit missing.

-Yes, unfortunately, when he died,

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his brother next door put it in the tree for a joke

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-and children threw stones at it.

-Oh, no! The cuckoo in the nest.

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It's, of course, slipware -

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different coloured clays put on this red clay body.

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-Yes.

-And he's gorgeous.

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I love the little tiny birds hiding in the branches. In date,

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it could be as early as about 1800, it may even be late 17th century

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running into the 18th century. I've got several myself - absolute fun.

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-Yes.

-Usually speaking, they come from the north-east of England...

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or else in Lancashire.

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There were several places in Lancashire that made these,

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-so I expect it was up there and it's flown a long way down here!

-Yes.

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And I think it's tremendous fun,

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-and it's in the region of about £400 or £500.

-Fine.

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It was my father's great aunt's.

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-Right.

-Then to the aunt, to my father and he left it to me.

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Lovely. Did you play it as a child?

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-Yes, we did. We played it in Dublin on the table.

-Right, how lovely.

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Bussey's were makers of full-sized billiards and snooker tables, and made them in miniature too.

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-It's in good condition...

-Yes.

-..considering you played with it.

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-These hoops fit on the little pins. Did you put them on the table?

-Underneath the tablecloth.

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-Didn't that damage the tablecloth?

-Well, we got away with it!

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-Endless hours of enjoyment.

-Yes. We could only play it on a Sunday.

-Oh, only on the Sabbath?

-Yes.

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-After you'd been to church?

-Yes.

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-The mallets and, indeed, the hoops are made of celluloid.

-Yes.

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And, as I say, it's in wonderful condition,

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dating from around 1900-1910. So it's lovely,

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and you've got all the rules here and everything else. If this was in a specialist shop,

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-you'd probably have to pay £200 or £300 for it, and have hours of endless enjoyment.

-Yes, yes.

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-Thanks for bringing it.

-Thank you.

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Well, we've seen some large items on this show,

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but this is the other end of the scale,

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something that's fallen from a pigeon. Can you tell us what it is?

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This is a pigeon post from the First World War.

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My father was born in 1881,

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so he was just the right age for the First World War, about 30-ish.

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And he wasn't in communications himself,

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but his pal gave him this,

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and this is the way they used to... communicate in the First World War,

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or one of the ways and, um... by pigeon...

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And the message about forthcoming battles and things

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is on that paper.

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-And is that an original message?

-Oh, it's an original message,

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but I can't tell you... I have seen it as a tiny child -

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I was very small because I was born in 1912, 1913,

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and I have seen it, but I can't remember what's on it.

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-It's too fragile now to open up?

-You can do it if you can get it back, but I wouldn't dare.

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It's very tantalising. That bears instructions of great importance?

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Yes, a forthcoming battle, so my father told me.

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-May I?

-Yes, you can do what you like. If you can get it back!

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-Here it is, unseen for many years.

-Unseen for about... I'm 90,

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so unseen for about... I don't know how many years.

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-It's all there.

-Yes.

-I can see...

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-Oh, look, the message is coming through.

-Oh, it's in English.

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I can see the word "this".

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Oh... I'm trying not to...harm it.

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I don't mind what you do.

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-What does it say?

-This is an application for a war bond of £200.

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-Oh, nothing to do with a battle!

-HM Merriman, Ashtead, Surrey.

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That's my father, that's my father.

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But it's pigeon service. He was using this for his OWN messages.

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I suppose he was. Well!

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My father was an amateur yachtsman at the outbreak of war

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and he volunteered to go into submarines because he fancied it,

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and he went through the various tests and they found he had some varicose veins,

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which meant that it was impossible for him to go in a submarine,

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so they said, "Would you like to volunteer for something else?"

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And the something else was bomb disposal, and he rather got into it with a whole lot of other guys

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who were from the RNVR, and he trained and went to work on parachute mines.

0:20:520:20:58

The Germans were dropping some huge parachute mines on London, every night I think,

0:20:580:21:05

and he got the George Cross for a parachute mine that came down

0:21:050:21:10

on Hungerford Bridge at Charing Cross and it fused itself to the live rail,

0:21:100:21:15

and the only way to defuse it was for someone to climb out onto the bridge with a hammer and chisel

0:21:150:21:22

and try and get the fuse out, and they had to evacuate the War Office

0:21:220:21:28

and most of Charing Cross

0:21:280:21:30

because the mine was so big that it would have blown everything apart.

0:21:300:21:34

I think he worked for over four hours with a hammer and chisel.

0:21:340:21:38

He didn't know what he was going to find in the fuse,

0:21:380:21:42

because the Germans were very clever

0:21:420:21:44

and they had acoustic devices, they had photo-electric devices,

0:21:440:21:48

and so there was always the chance that the next tap would set it off.

0:21:480:21:53

That's what he got the Cross for.

0:21:530:21:56

Then he did another mine on a gas holder in Twickenham,

0:21:560:22:00

which again threatened to blow up a whole neighbourhood,

0:22:000:22:04

for which he got the George Medal.

0:22:040:22:06

It's a fascinating group, but to see these two together in one group

0:22:060:22:11

is most unusual, most unusual.

0:22:110:22:13

On its own, as an award...

0:22:150:22:18

this George Cross...

0:22:180:22:21

is £10,000 to £12,000.

0:22:210:22:24

The George Medal is £2,000,

0:22:250:22:28

but because it's in a group, I think you can add to it,

0:22:280:22:33

so I would assess this group at something around about...

0:22:330:22:37

£16,000.

0:22:370:22:40

My 96-year-old mother tells me that it was her mother's aunt's,

0:22:400:22:46

and she was a Miss Helen Hill, and she died in childbirth,

0:22:460:22:51

-and her husband had this made from her hair...

-Yes.

0:22:510:22:55

..as a cameo mourning set.

0:22:550:22:58

-And these were Helen's hands...

-Right.

0:22:580:23:03

I don't know the married name, but it is written there, and the date.

0:23:030:23:07

People would now recoil at using dead people's hair in jewellery,

0:23:070:23:12

but it was popular and fashionable

0:23:120:23:15

in the 19th century, and she must have had jolly long hair.

0:23:150:23:19

-Yes.

-This was considered a very suitable hobby for young ladies...

0:23:190:23:24

and, er...although there were professional hair weavers,

0:23:240:23:29

a lot were done at home as well, and it's really extraordinary work.

0:23:290:23:33

-That's her hair as well, isn't it?

-Yes.

-Unless that's the baby's hair.

0:23:330:23:37

-No, I think it was hers.

-It's hers.

-It's beautifully done.

0:23:370:23:42

-It is.

-And you've got the black enamel for mourning.

-Yes.

0:23:420:23:46

-The interesting thing is that both of these...

-Fit on.

-..independently fit on.

-Yes, that's a choker.

0:23:460:23:52

You'd probably have to have a small neck, but it is flexible, isn't it?

0:23:520:23:57

-It does stretch a bit.

-Yes.

-And then...

0:23:570:24:01

-My mother still wears that.

-That one is a lovely shell cameo.

0:24:010:24:06

-And again it's got these alternative fittings...

-Yes.

0:24:080:24:12

..so you can wear this or this as a brooch,

0:24:120:24:16

-or this as a centre of a choker.

-Yes.

-It's really fascinating.

0:24:160:24:20

What's interesting about Victorian jewellery is the history with it,

0:24:200:24:25

-which often gets lost because these things change hands so often.

-Yes.

0:24:250:24:29

And this is a very nice idea as well.

0:24:290:24:32

What would that have been used for?

0:24:320:24:35

It'd have been either a hand seal -

0:24:350:24:37

-you'd have a nice gold finish here with a seal underneath.

-Oh, I see.

0:24:370:24:42

-Or it could have been a parasol handle.

-Oh, right.

0:24:420:24:46

-We wondered about that.

-Beautifully carved.

0:24:460:24:49

The hands are different sizes,

0:24:490:24:51

-so you've got, presumably, his hand and her hand.

-His and hers, yes.

0:24:510:24:55

-Queen Victoria used to do this with her children.

-That's right, yes.

0:24:550:25:00

-Their hands and feet sculpted in marble.

-I've seen this at Osborne.

0:25:000:25:04

So you have a nice gold-mounted cameo there

0:25:040:25:08

and you have a nice gold mourning brooch there,

0:25:080:25:12

so those would really have to be insured -

0:25:120:25:15

the two together - for about £1,200,

0:25:150:25:19

-and this, I suppose, I'd add another £200 on.

-Thank you.

-So if one put...

0:25:190:25:24

-£1,500-£1,800 on it for insurance, although it is irreplaceable.

-It is.

0:25:240:25:28

And this beautifully carved little objet, I suppose...

0:25:280:25:32

-£500.

-Thank you very much.

0:25:320:25:34

It's 1919 - it appears to be dated that -

0:25:340:25:37

so it's just after the First War,

0:25:370:25:40

and Greenwich Naval College there, and a lot of shipping going through.

0:25:400:25:45

It's by Charles Dixon.

0:25:450:25:48

-What do you know of the artist?

-He was a sailor, um...

0:25:480:25:51

and he sailed with Sir Thomas Lipton

0:25:510:25:54

and sailed on his Shamrocks - he had five Shamrocks -

0:25:540:25:59

and watched the America's Cup.

0:25:590:26:01

-Were those those wonderful J-class yachts?

-Yes, they were beautiful.

0:26:010:26:06

Yes, so as you say, truly a good sailor, Dixon, wasn't he?

0:26:060:26:11

A friend of mine has a wonderful expression for the way he painted -

0:26:110:26:15

"He combines great freedom with great accuracy." How did you get it?

0:26:150:26:19

My sister-in-law bought it

0:26:190:26:22

about 30 years ago, and she left it to my husband and I when she died,

0:26:220:26:27

-so we love it very much.

-So it's inherited.

0:26:270:26:30

It's in cracking good condition.

0:26:300:26:33

This kind of Dixon really captures a slice of river life

0:26:330:26:37

that has largely gone by now.

0:26:370:26:39

Today, the Thames is a desert compared to this busy thoroughfare.

0:26:390:26:44

I think we're on the Isle of Dogs here, looking across to Greenwich.

0:26:440:26:49

It's a wide stretch of river, and it must have teemed with ships then.

0:26:490:26:55

There's merchantmen here and... Royal Naval training ships.

0:26:550:26:59

-And the barges.

-And the busy barges plying their trade up and down.

0:26:590:27:04

What I particularly admire, I've always loved most particularly,

0:27:040:27:09

is just his painting of rust on hulls.

0:27:090:27:13

-Don't you think that's good?

-Yes.

0:27:130:27:16

-I think he's used a crayon over the brown paper...

-Yes, yes.

0:27:160:27:20

..and just left some of the paper to give a little texture.

0:27:200:27:23

Then he's got brown paint, with body colour to thicken it,

0:27:230:27:27

and he's just splodged it on there to represent patches of rust, and it's completely convincing.

0:27:270:27:34

-A lovely picture, really nice. Um, any idea of value at all?

-Um...

0:27:340:27:40

-I think we've got it insured for £3,000.

-£3,000?

0:27:400:27:43

-Mmm.

-As of when?

-Two years ago.

-Two years ago, yes.

0:27:430:27:47

Well, I think that's a bit modest. I really think

0:27:470:27:51

you ought to double it for insurance.

0:27:510:27:53

-Right.

-£6,000 would be much more accurate for a work of this size

0:27:530:27:58

-and quality for Dixon. So collectable.

-Thank you.

-A pleasure.

0:27:580:28:02

It was given to my parents-in-law for a wedding present

0:28:020:28:06

in...1912. I think they were married...

0:28:060:28:11

-Right.

-..by Sir Moses Montefiori. That's all I know, really.

-Right.

0:28:110:28:16

So they've come from the family of the Jewish philanthropist.

0:28:160:28:20

-Yes, yes, yes.

-The plates are individually painted

0:28:200:28:24

-with different specimens of orchids. Look at those colours.

-Yes.

-Lovely.

0:28:240:28:30

-Each one entirely hand-painted.

-Yes. Where?

0:28:310:28:34

-Made at the Minton factory.

-Yes.

0:28:340:28:37

The pattern tells us Minton - but they're usually marked clearly,

0:28:370:28:43

and there it says the word "Minton".

0:28:430:28:45

We've got a year code, a little date code system,

0:28:450:28:48

-which is the year for 1875.

-Oh, well, that's interesting.

0:28:480:28:53

At that time, few painters at Minton and the factories signed their work,

0:28:530:28:58

but I think I know who this is by

0:28:580:29:00

because orchids were a speciality of one man at Minton - William Mussill.

0:29:000:29:05

How do you spell Mussill?

0:29:050:29:07

-M-U-S-S-I-L-L.

-Oh. Good thing I asked you!

0:29:070:29:12

He was a spectacular painter -

0:29:120:29:15

he really brought flower painting into a new dimension on porcelain,

0:29:150:29:19

-and he was very highly regarded.

-Oh, I'm glad you told me

0:29:190:29:23

-because we thought that they were Chinese painted.

-Inspired by that.

0:29:230:29:28

He may have copied Chinese painting. His influence was from the East.

0:29:280:29:34

In the 1870s, Britain went Japanese-mad.

0:29:340:29:37

Japanese art was first being seen,

0:29:370:29:40

-and the influence of the asymmetry here, each one being different, is very Japanese.

-Yes, yes.

0:29:400:29:46

So William Mussill and other Minton painters were influenced by Japan,

0:29:460:29:50

but they mixed it in a Victorian way. The border

0:29:500:29:54

is a Chinese key-fret pattern cut out -

0:29:540:29:57

-very Chinese.

-I love that.

0:29:570:29:59

-That bit there.

-How many of these have you got?

-Two.

0:29:590:30:04

-Two big ones.

-Yes, two big ones and five little ones.

0:30:040:30:09

A very full set.

0:30:090:30:11

Individual pieces like this - quality plates by Minton-

0:30:110:30:16

you could expect one plate to sell

0:30:160:30:19

for at least £300. You've got plenty of those.

0:30:190:30:23

-Yes, yes.

-And then the... That's what, £6,000.

0:30:230:30:28

And then you've got the comports alone -

0:30:280:30:33

-a further...?

-Five of these and two of those.

-They're going to be...

0:30:330:30:38

£400 or £500 each, even more for the big one.

0:30:380:30:42

-Oh, six...

-It all adds up to a lovely set.

0:30:420:30:45

-My goodness me.

-But the nice thing is

0:30:450:30:49

it's altogether, and as a suite altogether, what a joy to look at.

0:30:490:30:54

Well, thank you very much.

0:30:540:30:56

TINNY TUNE PLAYS

0:30:590:31:02

What energy, what dynamism!

0:31:040:31:06

-Yes!

-What style, what music!

0:31:060:31:09

I mean we've got the whole of Hollywood here on the table top!

0:31:090:31:15

And what we have is Mickey Mouse,

0:31:150:31:18

organ grinder. Here is the lid of the original box.

0:31:180:31:22

Now, tell me where Mickey Mouse, organ grinder, came from.

0:31:220:31:26

He came from a relative who died 20 years ago and we inherited it.

0:31:260:31:30

She's had it in her family since it was made. She had it as a child.

0:31:300:31:34

-Wonderful. Were you allowed to play with it when you were a child?

-No.

0:31:340:31:39

-Were you allowed to look at it?

-Yes, when we went on holiday.

0:31:390:31:43

It is Mickey Mouse, but not Mickey as we know and love him today,

0:31:430:31:48

-because he's rat-like, isn't he?

-He is.

-He's sharp-nosed and toothy

0:31:480:31:52

and his eyes are what are known as pie-crust eyes,

0:31:520:31:56

-so it's like a pie with just one slice taken out of it.

-Yes.

0:31:560:32:01

Very good description - a pie-crust eye.

0:32:010:32:05

Now, I'm absolutely certain there will not be a trademark on it.

0:32:050:32:09

TINKLE Shush!

0:32:090:32:13

No, there is no trademark on it,

0:32:130:32:16

but there is a giveaway on the box lid,

0:32:160:32:19

which says down here in these tiny, tiny letters -

0:32:190:32:24

"Made in Germany".

0:32:240:32:27

And I happen to know that it was made

0:32:270:32:30

by one of the collectable makers of novelty toys -

0:32:300:32:34

a company called Johann Distler of Nuremburg.

0:32:340:32:37

It will probably be 1929, 1930, that this particular toy was made,

0:32:370:32:44

and what's great for me

0:32:440:32:47

is that it is in very good condition apart from just...

0:32:470:32:50

Mickey has got - not quite feet of clay -

0:32:500:32:53

-but feet of steel or tin which have rusted.

-Yes.

0:32:530:32:58

But the thing which is always missing on these toys is Minnie.

0:32:580:33:03

And here Minnie is, leaping up and down with glee, wiggling her legs,

0:33:030:33:09

and being a happy little mouse, so it's great to have her on the top.

0:33:090:33:13

It's a lovely toy. It's not a toy of any quality, whatsoever.

0:33:130:33:20

It's really

0:33:200:33:21

thrown together as far as a toy's concerned,

0:33:210:33:25

which is what happened in the '20s. They were put together with tabs,

0:33:250:33:30

and if we look down here,

0:33:300:33:32

we can see the way the tabs just fold the tin into the shape,

0:33:320:33:37

so it's not a quality toy.

0:33:370:33:40

But it's interesting to collectors because it's Mickey

0:33:400:33:44

and it's Mickey in his early manifestation.

0:33:440:33:49

The value is...surprising, perhaps,

0:33:490:33:52

for something that is a mass-produced,

0:33:520:33:55

rather thrown-together printed piece of tin.

0:33:550:33:58

We're going to be talking about...

0:33:580:34:01

between £7,000 and £10,000.

0:34:010:34:03

'It's my father's.'

0:34:080:34:09

My great-grandfather took it to work and used it for his cider.

0:34:090:34:14

-So he worked on the fields?

-Mm.

-Yes, it's a 19th-century cider jar,

0:34:140:34:18

very classic country design, country pottery.

0:34:180:34:22

You'd wear it on a string round you, and working away all day,

0:34:220:34:26

-cider was what you drank to refresh yourself.

-Yes.

0:34:260:34:29

What you were like at the end of the day, heaven knows!

0:34:290:34:32

It could be locally made -

0:34:320:34:34

every country pottery made them, so it could be a Dorset piece,

0:34:340:34:38

made in huge quantities in the 19th century, but very nice surviving,

0:34:380:34:43

-good story, about £80 to £100.

-Oh, thank you.

0:34:430:34:47

-Do you collect copper?

-No, it belongs to my grandmother.

-Does it?

0:34:470:34:51

-She's got quite a few bits and pieces.

-She collects them?

-Yeah,

0:34:510:34:56

-she has got quite a lot...

-What can you tell me about it?

0:34:560:35:00

She was given it for her birthday by her sister Molly,

0:35:020:35:06

and was told it was made by the same guy who'd something to do with the roof of St Paul's Cathedral,

0:35:060:35:12

-On the top of St Paul's Cathedral?

-Whether that's true, I don't know.

0:35:120:35:16

Well, no, it's made by a company rather than an individual,

0:35:160:35:20

and she's nearly on the right track. You see there's a mark here -

0:35:200:35:24

and it is the orb on the top of St Paul's.

0:35:240:35:27

A company called Benham and Froud had workshops in that vicinity,

0:35:270:35:31

and because they're close to St Paul's Cathedral,

0:35:310:35:35

took the orb as their maker's mark,

0:35:350:35:37

so she isn't a million miles from it, but it's a very nice object.

0:35:370:35:42

-It's architectural in itself, isn't it?

-She has made jelly in it.

0:35:420:35:46

What did the jelly taste like?

0:35:460:35:49

-I don't know, I wasn't around!

-To a jelly-mould collector,

0:35:490:35:53

-I'd have thought perhaps £150 to £200.

-She'll be pleased with that.

0:35:530:35:57

-And she'll make a celebratory jelly with it I expect.

-Hopefully!

0:35:570:36:01

Thanks very much for bringing it in.

0:36:010:36:03

-What we've got here is a Japanese vase.

-Yes.

0:36:030:36:06

-The body is ivory.

-Yes.

0:36:060:36:09

It's been inlaid in mother-of-pearl, stained ivory, horn,

0:36:090:36:14

coconut shell.

0:36:140:36:17

-Goodness me!

-All this has been carefully chiselled out

0:36:170:36:22

and then the little pieces let in.

0:36:220:36:25

-Yes.

-Staggering amount of work has gone on here.

0:36:250:36:29

It's been mounted in silver

0:36:290:36:31

which has been enamelled.

0:36:310:36:35

Now, the enamel is effectively cloisonne,

0:36:350:36:38

in that it's in little cloisons, little wire holes,

0:36:380:36:43

but they stick up from the body

0:36:430:36:46

and they're just a little bit on the fragile side.

0:36:460:36:50

One has this slight fear when people are putting the final polish on,

0:36:500:36:54

that they're going to catch the hairs on the cloth

0:36:540:36:58

and pull a wire off, and then you're in real trouble.

0:36:580:37:02

Some of the little pins are loose.

0:37:020:37:04

That's probably what's happened there.

0:37:040:37:08

This technique is known as shibayama.

0:37:080:37:11

Originally a Mr Shibayama, then his family,

0:37:130:37:17

and then a generic name for any of this technique.

0:37:170:37:21

But in this particular case, it's actually signed "Shibayama".

0:37:210:37:25

-Is it?

-It's one of the family.

-Right.

-Which is very nice.

-Right.

0:37:250:37:31

Um, it's a wonderful thing.

0:37:310:37:33

I would easily see that making at auction...

0:37:330:37:39

-£3,000 to £5,000, maybe even more.

-Really?

0:37:390:37:44

-Yeah. It's lovely.

-Goodness me!

0:37:440:37:47

It's quite a trip down Memory Lane for me being back at my old school.

0:37:470:37:52

Every stone of the buildings round here is redolent with memory for me,

0:37:520:37:57

but these take me even further back

0:37:570:38:00

into my childhood - Winnie the Pooh, EH Shepard, AA Milne...

0:38:000:38:04

What's your connection with, er... with EH Shepard?

0:38:040:38:09

My father was in World War I,

0:38:090:38:12

and EH Shepard was my father's major,

0:38:120:38:16

and he always sent me books for Christmas

0:38:160:38:20

-and chocolates for my birthday.

-Oh?

0:38:200:38:22

-Yes.

-So he kind of looked out for you?

-Yes, he looked after my father

0:38:220:38:27

-because he was the youngest in the section, yes.

-In the section?

-Yes.

0:38:270:38:33

And I love these. We're looking here

0:38:330:38:35

at what seems to be the first annual reunion dinner

0:38:350:38:39

for the 24th Brigade of the Heavy Battery and Columns.

0:38:390:38:44

-It seems that Shepard did the design for it as well.

-That's right.

0:38:450:38:49

-He always did the menu. I think there's only one he didn't do.

-Yes.

0:38:490:38:54

And on the back, everyone who was at the supper,

0:38:540:38:56

-including Shepard, has signed it.

-Yes, that's right.

0:38:560:39:00

-You've got scores of them here, look at them all.

-It was always on...

0:39:000:39:05

on Cup Final night because there were cheap fares on the train,

0:39:050:39:09

and everybody used to come from everywhere, down for the dinner.

0:39:090:39:13

How marvellous.

0:39:130:39:15

-OK, so he sent you Christmas cards each year?

-To my parents, yes.

0:39:150:39:20

Yes, OK... That's nice.

0:39:200:39:23

We've got four books, not first editions, but Winnie the Pooh,

0:39:230:39:28

and they seem to have been signed by the artist.

0:39:280:39:31

-It's very well worn.

-Because you had children yourself?

0:39:310:39:35

-Three children, and they were read to every night.

-Properly used.

-Yes.

0:39:350:39:40

But the thing that really gave me a bit of a thrill was this.

0:39:400:39:46

-Absolutely marvellous. An original EH Shepard, isn't it?

-Yes.

0:39:460:39:50

It's from my autograph book. I cut the page out and had it framed.

0:39:500:39:56

I'm not surprised. I absolutely love Winnie The Pooh.

0:39:560:39:59

But then if we look in the book,

0:39:590:40:02

which is House At Pooh Corner,

0:40:020:40:04

we can find the illustration from which that is taken. There it is.

0:40:040:40:11

-Yes.

-Wonderful. "Tiggers don't like honey."

0:40:110:40:15

Now, the interesting thing is, if you compare that book -

0:40:160:40:19

the original illustration - with this,

0:40:190:40:23

which is his...idea of that drawing again,

0:40:230:40:27

but I think some seven years later,

0:40:270:40:29

after having first published the book, which was in 1928,

0:40:290:40:33

-Oh, was it?

-Yes. This drawing is dated 1935,

0:40:330:40:36

so what he's done is, he's kind of revisited the idea,

0:40:360:40:40

-he's redrawn it, hasn't he?

-Yes.

0:40:400:40:43

-So it's not an original illustration for the book.

-Oh, no, no, no.

0:40:430:40:47

-It's kind of from it instead.

-Yes.

0:40:470:40:49

-It's delightful. Have you any idea what they're all worth?

-None at all.

0:40:490:40:54

Right, let's do the books first. Not first editions,

0:40:540:40:56

but very clearly signed and with a lovely provenance.

0:40:560:41:01

-About £100 each.

-Oh!

-£400.

-£400, good, for the set.

-Now these,

0:41:010:41:07

these annual dinner things, these invitations and the menus,

0:41:070:41:12

-you've probably got about...15 or 20 of those.

-Something like that, yes.

0:41:120:41:18

I think they're worth about, um... £300 each.

0:41:180:41:23

-Good heavens! No! Good heavens, worth more than the books!

-They probably are.

-Good gracious!

0:41:230:41:29

15 of them at £300 - £4,500.

0:41:290:41:33

Good heavens!

0:41:330:41:35

That IS a surprise!

0:41:350:41:37

Now the Christmas cards.

0:41:370:41:41

-I think you've probably got about... ten or 12 of those?

-Yes.

0:41:410:41:45

-Probably about £200 each - the ones that are signed by Shepard.

-Good gracious! Gosh!

0:41:450:41:51

-It adds up, doesn't it?

-It does.

0:41:510:41:54

-So we're at nearly £5,000 for the books and those.

-Yes.

0:41:540:41:58

And these...12...

0:41:580:42:00

Is about, er...about £7,500 so far.

0:42:000:42:04

-Good God!

-I know. It's an insurance burden, really.

-Good gracious!

0:42:040:42:08

-This drawing - what do you think?

-No idea.

0:42:080:42:12

-He must have done a lot of pictures for children.

-I suppose so.

0:42:120:42:17

-His original illustrations are very seriously sought after.

-Yes.

0:42:170:42:21

-So prepare yourself for a shock.

-I hope you've got the brandy bottle!

0:42:210:42:26

-I don't think the BBC runs to brandy.

-Oh, it's brandy I need.

0:42:260:42:30

-£20,000 to £30,000.

-Good God, no!

0:42:300:42:36

Good heavens! £20,000 to £30,000?!

0:42:360:42:39

So something like getting on for £30,000 here?

0:42:390:42:42

Oh, and the rest. And I think that I was being rather cautious.

0:42:420:42:47

Good heavens! I had no idea. Thank you very much.

0:42:470:42:52

-Thank you!

-Pleasure.

0:42:520:42:55

How touching that Rupert Maas should be reunited with his favourite bear at his old school.

0:42:570:43:01

I wonder if young Maas had a nickname?

0:43:010:43:04

You'll find all the items you've seen on the BBC Antiques website.

0:43:040:43:09

In fact, we found so many interesting items that we have enough for two programmes -

0:43:090:43:14

so a nice excuse to browse around this part of Dorset once again.

0:43:140:43:19

So until the next time, from Sherborne, good night.

0:43:190:43:22

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0:43:470:43:50

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