0:00:29 > 0:00:34As promised, we return to Sherborne in Dorset
0:00:34 > 0:00:38for a second helping of the delights laid before us last time.
0:00:38 > 0:00:44We might have anticipated such riches from a town with a history
0:00:44 > 0:00:47and tradition of antique shops.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51The museum is home to this splendid Victorian doll's house.
0:00:51 > 0:00:57It's furnished in the style of the 1830s and '40s, though the dolls are thought to be a little earlier.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01It once featured in a sister programme of ours called
0:01:01 > 0:01:05The Antiques Inspectors - does that ring a bell?
0:01:16 > 0:01:21I can't hear a word I'm saying now, so I hope this makes sense.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25That is the world's heaviest peal of eight bells.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29They average a ton apiece and they hang out here at Sherborne Abbey.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33The abbey was consecrated nearly 1,300 years ago.
0:01:33 > 0:01:39Beneath the oldest fan-vaulted ceiling in England, there's a beautiful medieval church interior,
0:01:39 > 0:01:45that was the final resting place of two Saxon kings - Ethelbald and Ethelbert.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49There can't be many places with two famous Ethels!
0:01:49 > 0:01:55From Norman times until the Reformation, the abbey was a Benedictine monastery,
0:01:55 > 0:01:59and part of that great building is now the heart of Sherborne School.
0:01:59 > 0:02:05St Benedict's life was saved by a raven who took the poisoned loaf.
0:02:05 > 0:02:11Oddly enough the collective term for that species is "an unkindness of".
0:02:11 > 0:02:15There was a famous raven here at the school in the early 1900s,
0:02:15 > 0:02:18who was kept as a pet by the boys,
0:02:18 > 0:02:23and he used to destroy hymn books and dive-bomb the headmaster's dog!
0:02:23 > 0:02:27Let's find out what more treasures the magpies of Sherborne have got.
0:02:29 > 0:02:34A lovely "automaton" picture, it's called.
0:02:34 > 0:02:39And we have lots of movement on it. The train going along the back,
0:02:39 > 0:02:43the windmill with the turning sails, and the water wheel down here.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47The essence of this really is amusement and fun.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49Does it amuse you and give you fun?
0:02:49 > 0:02:55It does. And the children who come to my house are fascinated by it.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57I'm sure they're enchanted.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01Well, now, let's just have a look at this in detail.
0:03:01 > 0:03:06Um, there's the - at the back here,
0:03:06 > 0:03:11there's a lovely painted background of a castle and a romantic view.
0:03:11 > 0:03:19The buildings, and so on, are made out of papier-mache and cardboard that has then been painted.
0:03:19 > 0:03:25- If I open this - how's your hand, holding this?- OK.- If I open this up,
0:03:25 > 0:03:28I can see there's a maker's mark -
0:03:28 > 0:03:33H Marc. Henri Marc of Paris, who was the maker of the clock movement.
0:03:33 > 0:03:38- And I know that he was working in Paris from 1800.- Mm.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42Er, there's a nice little musical box down here,
0:03:42 > 0:03:45which is a cylinder musical box.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48That's quite a lot later in date.
0:03:48 > 0:03:55So I think I'm going to put the lid down and we can talk about date and other points.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58The frame is in original condition.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02If we look at the bottom of the frame down here,
0:04:02 > 0:04:06- it's got a lovely sort of distressed look to it.- Yes, it has.
0:04:06 > 0:04:12And I mean that in a positive way. So many owners would say...
0:04:12 > 0:04:16"It's beginning to look tatty, let's get it re-gilded" or whatever.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19You've held back - thank goodness.
0:04:19 > 0:04:27And what we have is a lovely plaster-gilt frame in good, original condition.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30- So congratulations on not having it restored.- Thank you.
0:04:30 > 0:04:37- As far as the working mechanism is concerned, these are notoriously temperamental.- Temperamental, yes.
0:04:37 > 0:04:43It's not surprising when we consider the date, which I'd put at 1860.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47And I'm basing that, um, on the style of the musical box,
0:04:47 > 0:04:53- which was popular in the 1860s-70s. - Yes.- So that's where the date...
0:04:53 > 0:04:56That's right, because my mother and aunt played with it
0:04:56 > 0:05:01- and my mother was born in 1891, so it's about...- Oh, good...
0:05:01 > 0:05:07- so this is a family piece.- Yes, I inherited it when they died.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11- And did you play with it as a child, too?- Yes, mm, loved it.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15It is a valuable piece. They're popular with collectors,
0:05:15 > 0:05:20not really in England, but in Europe and the States - they love these.
0:05:20 > 0:05:26So I would have said a value of around £4,000 to, perhaps, £5,000.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30- And, please, keep it as it is.- Oh, yes...- Don't be tempted...- I won't.
0:05:30 > 0:05:35..to restore it because it is in truly good, original condition,
0:05:35 > 0:05:39- and it's just how it ought to be... - Yes.- ..being 140-odd years old.
0:05:39 > 0:05:46- How long have you been interested in blue and white?- I suppose the last 40 years.- Yes.- 40 years.
0:05:46 > 0:05:51- Yes, this is a cider mug.- Yes. - It's great. Cider is, they say -
0:05:51 > 0:05:55the great experts say - cider is better from a pottery vessel.
0:05:55 > 0:06:00- So they say.- You drink a lot of cider?- Yes, I like my little tipple.
0:06:00 > 0:06:05Oh, jolly nice Staffordshire. Now this is not a cider pot,
0:06:05 > 0:06:08it's a little cream boat or milk boat,
0:06:08 > 0:06:13and transfer printed with a pattern called "fisherman and cormorant".
0:06:13 > 0:06:19- It looks like the Caughley factory, common in Caughley, Shropshire.- Yes.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22- This one is a Worcester one.- Is it?
0:06:22 > 0:06:26- At one time this was thought to be the Caughley factory.- Yeah.
0:06:26 > 0:06:32But I found it in great numbers on the Worcester site, so it's a disguised numeral mark,
0:06:32 > 0:06:34but Worcester through and through.
0:06:34 > 0:06:40- Yeah.- The handle's been damaged here - have you re-stuck...?
0:06:40 > 0:06:44- No, this is how we've always known it.- It's been repaired here.
0:06:44 > 0:06:52- It's changing its colour.- I see. - So the white is a yellowish colour there, from the repair.- Yeah.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56So the value wouldn't be very great. I mean, perfect we're looking at...
0:06:56 > 0:07:00- quite a lot of money for a Worcester cream boat.- Yeah.
0:07:00 > 0:07:06- But with the repair, and damage, it's around about £100.- Yeah. - Which is reasonable...- For that.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10..for a piece of 18th-century blue and white.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14I think it's lovely, but this is the... This, to me, is the...
0:07:14 > 0:07:21- is the super pot - I love it. It's decorated in the Chinese style or the chinoiserie style...- Right.
0:07:21 > 0:07:27- ..with funny little Chinamen doing all sorts of things around it. Right. And masks on the side.- Yes.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31Which looks like a piece of porcelain, but it isn't.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35One realises instantly, when you see this chip here which shows
0:07:35 > 0:07:40the earthenware body underneath, that it's actually pearlware,
0:07:40 > 0:07:45and made somewhere around about the 1780s - 1785 perhaps.
0:07:45 > 0:07:52In fact, not far removed from the date of the little cream jug, but totally different.
0:07:52 > 0:07:57This is porcelain, this is pearlware, earthenware.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01And the problem is to know quite where it was made.
0:08:01 > 0:08:08- The shape of this is very like a piece of Bristol delftware. - Delftware, yes.
0:08:08 > 0:08:13- There's a pot in the Bristol Museum which is Bristol delft.- Yes.
0:08:13 > 0:08:20- Which has got very similar masks on the side, and also decorated in this Chinese-like style.- Yes.
0:08:20 > 0:08:26- It looks almost brand new.- Yeah. - Lovely. How long have you had it?
0:08:26 > 0:08:32Oh, it's just been handed down through the family. A good few years I can remember it, anyway.
0:08:32 > 0:08:37- Yes, where were the family from? - Um, Somerset.- Somerset.- Somerset.
0:08:37 > 0:08:43- Yes, so that's likely that it comes down from Bristol down to the family there.- Yes, yes.
0:08:43 > 0:08:50- And passed on down the generations to you.- That's right.- 1785 is a long time to be in one family.
0:08:50 > 0:08:56- Yes.- It's absolutely beautiful. It's such an important piece
0:08:56 > 0:09:00- that you ought to insure it for £1,500.- Really? As much as that?
0:09:00 > 0:09:05- I love it very much.- Lovely.- Thanks for bringing it in.- Thank you.
0:09:07 > 0:09:12This is a standard World War II Japanese officer's sword,
0:09:12 > 0:09:14but I want to take this peg out...
0:09:16 > 0:09:19..and have a look at the tang of the sword.
0:09:22 > 0:09:27- Now this is good news.- Right. - You see these three holes?- Yes.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31Now this signifies that it's been mounted possibly two to three times,
0:09:31 > 0:09:35- so that suggests that the blade is very old.- Right.
0:09:35 > 0:09:42- Could be 2-300 years old.- As old as that?- Oh, yes. In World War II mount, so I find this very exciting.
0:09:42 > 0:09:46Now what you must do, you must get some white chalk,
0:09:46 > 0:09:50- and go in all the crevices of this signature.- Yes.
0:09:50 > 0:09:57- And then clean it off nicely and you put it onto a copying machine - the blade.- Yes.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59And you have this sort of result.
0:09:59 > 0:10:04Send it to the Metal Department, Victoria & Albert Museum.
0:10:04 > 0:10:10- Yes.- And they will send you, possibly, this man's working dates. - Will they really?- Yes.
0:10:10 > 0:10:15So once you have his working dates, you're halfway there, you know,
0:10:15 > 0:10:17to understand your sword.
0:10:17 > 0:10:24- Now, supposing it was a World War II officer's sword, right?- Right. - So you're looking at £2-300.- Right.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28- But if this turns out to be a winner - a nice early blade...- Yes.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32- ..you could be looking at £2-3,000.- Really?- Oh, yes.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35- There you are.- Thank you very much.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37Can I ask you where you got it?
0:10:37 > 0:10:44Yes, I bought it in 1961, from a well-known antique dealer at that time, called Wolsey.
0:10:44 > 0:10:48- Yes, Bert or Sam Wolsey?- Sam. - Absolutely.- Yes, SW Wolsey.- Yes.
0:10:48 > 0:10:54Their word on a piece of oak furniture meant total authenticity, and they were right, of course.
0:10:54 > 0:10:59I'm just going to have a look at this because if we tip it back,
0:10:59 > 0:11:01I mean, that is stunning.
0:11:03 > 0:11:09When you see the 19th century put together, it's covered with dirt, and bruising in the wrong places.
0:11:09 > 0:11:14- And here you've got this wonderful, clean patina.- Yes.
0:11:14 > 0:11:21And almost a crisp look to these edges. And yet you've got these marvellous old iron hinges,
0:11:21 > 0:11:28- but it is a curious thing that the older something looks, the more you have to be careful about it.- Yes.
0:11:28 > 0:11:35- Because it's done for effect of age. Oak or any timber doesn't go dirty and bashed about like that.- No, no.
0:11:35 > 0:11:40It remains clean and sharp, and look at the colour on this, this top -
0:11:40 > 0:11:43this wonderful pale goldy colour.
0:11:44 > 0:11:49And then you've got this lovely moulded edge here,
0:11:49 > 0:11:53which gives a date with all the features that we've mentioned -
0:11:53 > 0:11:56late 16th century, sort of 1580-1600.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59Well now...
0:12:00 > 0:12:05..a plain box-type, totally genuine monk's bench -
0:12:05 > 0:12:12- I wonder how much you paid for it? - I haven't got the receipt, but I paid £175 for it in 1961.
0:12:12 > 0:12:18- 1961. We're certainly in the region today of between £10-12,000.- Really?
0:12:18 > 0:12:22- So just add a few noughts. - That's fantastic.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25Well, this is gorgeous. Have you had it a long time?
0:12:25 > 0:12:31Yes, quite a long time, since I was 25, which was a long time ago.
0:12:31 > 0:12:38- Well, we shan't ask how long. - It came from, really a grandmother, great-grandmother,
0:12:38 > 0:12:44- I'm not totally sure before that. - Right.- But I think it, it's always been in the family.
0:12:44 > 0:12:46- It's...- How old do you think it is?
0:12:46 > 0:12:52- That's a very good question and it's actually 18th century.- Oh, really.
0:12:52 > 0:12:59At the front, it's all set with these old cut diamonds in the way they cut them in the 18th century.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03- Yes.- But what is the real giveaway, is the back.- Yes.
0:13:03 > 0:13:09If you look at modern jewellery, you see the stone through the setting.
0:13:09 > 0:13:15Whereas, this is all set in silver with clay settings, and this really stopped being done around 1780.
0:13:15 > 0:13:20- Yes, so that dates it.- And apart from which, this is very much...
0:13:20 > 0:13:24a style that was very popular - these so-called Maltese crosses
0:13:24 > 0:13:29were very fashionable and probably this originally hung
0:13:29 > 0:13:33on a diamond necklace composed of stones this size.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36Goodness me, I wish I had that.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39Yes, because I don't think this loop is original.
0:13:39 > 0:13:46The setting is a little different and the technique which is a little different. It's a fabulous piece.
0:13:46 > 0:13:53I've been running over what it's worth, because you've got five quite big diamonds here on the ends,
0:13:53 > 0:13:55and the centre, five which I think -
0:13:55 > 0:14:01probably weigh about four carats and there's extra weight in it and it's not directly related,
0:14:01 > 0:14:05but you should insure this for around...
0:14:05 > 0:14:08- £8,000.- Good heavens!
0:14:08 > 0:14:10- It's lovely.- How terrifying!
0:14:10 > 0:14:16Simon, you're the headmaster of Sherborne. This must be valuable.
0:14:16 > 0:14:22Well, it is to us, not inherently valuable, but certainly as far as the school's history is concerned.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25Because Edward VI, who you see on his throne up here,
0:14:25 > 0:14:32gave to the school the means by which it could develop into what it is today.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35This document dates from 1550,
0:14:35 > 0:14:42and is, therefore, over 450 years old and it's absolutely as it was at the time -
0:14:42 > 0:14:44with the illuminations up here,
0:14:44 > 0:14:49the original silks and this wonderful wax seal at the bottom.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53And what did this document commit the authors to?
0:14:53 > 0:14:59It set up a structure by which there were to be 20 governors,
0:14:59 > 0:15:02there was to be a headmaster appointed,
0:15:02 > 0:15:07and some lands which had come from the dissolution of the monasteries
0:15:07 > 0:15:13were handed over to the school and the rent helped set it up.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16Did it dictate the subjects to be taught?
0:15:16 > 0:15:20No, it's a practical document of the setting up of the school.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24- What a wonderful document. - It certainly is.
0:15:24 > 0:15:29- He's a very handsome bear.- He is.- In good condition. Does he have a name?
0:15:29 > 0:15:33- Bruno.- Good, well, every bear deserves a name.
0:15:33 > 0:15:38He's got a fair amount of age, but he is in fantastic condition,
0:15:38 > 0:15:41so can you explain that for me?
0:15:41 > 0:15:43Well, I just look after him.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47- I mean, I haven't had him long - I bought him in auction.- Did you?
0:15:47 > 0:15:49- What, locally?- Yeah. In Sherborne.
0:15:49 > 0:15:56- And I give him a good clean up because he smelt.- They do smell!- I was told he'd come from an attic...
0:15:56 > 0:16:01- Yes.- So I cleaned him up and sat him in the sitting room.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05- What did you use to clean him? You didn't wet him, did you?- Not really.
0:16:05 > 0:16:10I got a damp cloth and give him a rub because he looked a bit black.
0:16:10 > 0:16:15- Doing that takes a lot of the dust out.- It made him look shiny.- Yes.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18This mohair, which is what the plush is made of,
0:16:18 > 0:16:22does have a sheen to it when it is shiny. And he really does look new.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26- He's lovely, yeah. - So where do you think he was made?
0:16:26 > 0:16:32- I thought he was English.- What made you think that?- I don't know.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36He does have that English look. You're dead right - well done, you.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38I fell in love with him.
0:16:38 > 0:16:43- The maker of this bear, which is almost certainly Farnell...- Farnell.
0:16:43 > 0:16:50..Is not so widely known, but you can see by looking at him that the quality is as good as German bears.
0:16:50 > 0:16:57- Good.- And perhaps what is little known, and it's Farnell's great claim to fame,
0:16:57 > 0:17:00is that Winnie the Pooh is a Farnell bear.
0:17:00 > 0:17:05- Is he? Oh.- He is, from this period. This bear is dating from the 1920s.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09Now is the question - putting you on the spot - what did you pay for him?
0:17:09 > 0:17:13I paid £210 plus commission.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17- So that came up to, 250-ish? - Something like that, yes.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21- You had a very good buy.- Did I? - I think you did.
0:17:21 > 0:17:29- In the right auction today, you'd be looking at between £700 and £900. - Really? But I would never sell him.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32This is part of the R100 airship,
0:17:32 > 0:17:35which...my grandfather was a member of the crew.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39- Really?- Yes, yes.- So he flew on this?- Yeah, he flew on this, yeah,
0:17:39 > 0:17:45from Bedford across to Canada and back again in 1930.
0:17:45 > 0:17:51- So this is part of the structure of that airship?- Yes. - Incredibly light, isn't it?- Yes.
0:17:51 > 0:17:57- There were Meccano-like extensions that made up the frame?- Yes.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01After the accident of the R101,
0:18:01 > 0:18:04they decided to dismantle the R100,
0:18:04 > 0:18:10and obviously because he was a crew member and he was taking part in dismantling it, he kept a piece.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13- They could have souvenirs?- Yes.
0:18:13 > 0:18:18It's a wonderful story, but there was a straight competition
0:18:18 > 0:18:22between private constructors and the government-sponsored construction.
0:18:22 > 0:18:29- The R101 was the government airship. - Yes.- The R100 was built by Vickers, but designed by Barnes Wallis -
0:18:29 > 0:18:36- of the bouncing bomb fame.- Yes.- One of the people who worked with him was the novelist Nevil Shute.- Yes.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40Who was at that point Nevil Shute Norway - an engineer.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43The problem was that the R100,
0:18:43 > 0:18:47was so much a better ship. As you say, it flew across the Atlantic...
0:18:47 > 0:18:53- Yes.- ..Perfectly safely.- Yes.- This was the great era when the airship
0:18:53 > 0:18:57was seen to be the luxury flying conveyance of the future.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01We had the German ships developing out of the Zeppelin line,
0:19:01 > 0:19:07but the R100 actually cracked it - Barnes Wallis was a good designer, he got the weight ratios right.
0:19:07 > 0:19:13It was correctly engineered. The R101 was a disaster from day one.
0:19:13 > 0:19:18It didn't fly properly, they chose diesel engines which were too heavy.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22It was unstable, so they extended it and put a new section in the middle.
0:19:22 > 0:19:29And under pressure from the government, its first flight was the proving flight to India,
0:19:29 > 0:19:36with the ministers and politicians on board, because the government had to prove they'd got it right.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38And in October, 1930, in a storm,
0:19:38 > 0:19:42it drove into a field in Beauvais, in Northern France.
0:19:42 > 0:19:48Not only was it the end of the R101, but the end of airships in Britain.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51- So what was he? A crew member. - He was a rigger.
0:19:51 > 0:19:59A rigger. So he would have known how to twist that to tortion the wires, he would have been adapting it.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02It was very lightweight,
0:20:02 > 0:20:06- but structurally strong and it had to be flexible.- Yes.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09It would bend and twist in the winds.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13- Yes.- And, of course, the gasbags were inside,
0:20:13 > 0:20:18held in place by the rigid but very light framework.
0:20:18 > 0:20:23- You've got this as a souvenir.- Yes. - You knew him when you were a child?
0:20:23 > 0:20:30- I knew my grandfather, yeah, but not for many years.- Did he talk about this?- No, because I was young,
0:20:30 > 0:20:34but my father did. He was very proud that his father flew...
0:20:34 > 0:20:38- With that connection. - And he flew across to Canada.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42Yes, well that must have been an extraordinary experience.
0:20:42 > 0:20:48- It was a pioneering voyage.- Yes. - They must have thought they were mapping out the future.- Yes.
0:20:48 > 0:20:56- You went in great comfort. It was a wonderful way to travel.- Yes.- It was also very dangerous.- Yes, it was.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00It's a pity because that and the later crash of the Hindenburg
0:21:00 > 0:21:03brought it all to an end,
0:21:03 > 0:21:09although it had potential to be an immensely popular and effective means of transport.
0:21:09 > 0:21:14Now, airship memorabilia is rare, simply because nothing survived.
0:21:14 > 0:21:19As a piece of airship memorabilia, I think it has a considerable value.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21A piece like this...
0:21:21 > 0:21:25- might be £500 to an enthusiast, maybe more.- Crikey!
0:21:25 > 0:21:28George Hodgson was my great uncle,
0:21:28 > 0:21:32and he was the eldest son of William Hodgson,
0:21:32 > 0:21:36who was a Nottingham lace manufacturer.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40- Ah, yes, Nottingham lace. - He was to take over the business.
0:21:40 > 0:21:48He became the manager, then gave up and became a painter, so my grandfather took over the business.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50There was two sides of the family,
0:21:50 > 0:21:53so this is just half a collection.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57I don't know what happened to the other half, but this was our half.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01And George Hodgson is well-known in Nottingham.
0:22:01 > 0:22:06- Yes.- He exhibited in Nottingham Art Society. What about the museum?
0:22:06 > 0:22:13He was a president of the Society Of The Artists. He exhibited twice at the Royal Academy in London.
0:22:13 > 0:22:18- And what about the museum?- They have got some at the Castle Museum.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22He painted all over the British Isles. Here's these two of Chepstow,
0:22:22 > 0:22:27- and then we've got another one here of Cornwall.- Cornwall.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30This is Mevagissey inscribed here.
0:22:30 > 0:22:36Big, bold, strong landscapes, they're really good. I must say, I'm impressed with George Hodgson,
0:22:36 > 0:22:41but he's not an artist that really I have known about before.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45You've got an enormous collection here, you've got an archive.
0:22:45 > 0:22:50These, a whole lot more, there's a box full, and here's another one.
0:22:50 > 0:22:58Again, rather different sort of Hodgson this. This is a figurative subject
0:22:58 > 0:23:02with the classical-looking girl, the tiger and the peacock.
0:23:02 > 0:23:08And I particularly like this little one of Brighton - Brighton Beach.
0:23:08 > 0:23:12I think that's really charming. It's very bright and crisp and clear.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16How many things do you think there are here?
0:23:16 > 0:23:20- Oh, on our side of the family there must be...- 200.- 200.
0:23:20 > 0:23:28Although, individually, these may not be very valuable, I mean a big watercolour like that,
0:23:28 > 0:23:34might be worth £1,000, and the other ones £500 to £1,000.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37The little Brighton Beach about £4-500 maybe,
0:23:37 > 0:23:39but cumulatively we're looking at...
0:23:39 > 0:23:4210 or £20,000.
0:23:42 > 0:23:48- So, a very fascinating archive. Thank you very much for bringing the whole lot along.- Thank you.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52My father was an avid collector, he was also a dealer.
0:23:52 > 0:23:57When he died, I shared with my two brothers, part of the collection.
0:23:57 > 0:24:02- So your brothers have more snuff boxes?- Yes.- Let's have a look.
0:24:02 > 0:24:09This one particularly caught my eye. It's just the quality of it is absolutely wonderful.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11- The wood is burr maple.- Right.
0:24:11 > 0:24:16Which is nice wood and this wonderful decoration on the top -
0:24:16 > 0:24:21a carved flower within a cartouche with a banding round the edge.
0:24:21 > 0:24:28Just a nice quality snuff box, probably dating, I would think, from early 19th century, 1800-1810.
0:24:28 > 0:24:33- Is that English?- Yes, that would be English, certainly, yes.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37This a brass one with a figure on the front,
0:24:37 > 0:24:41and it's titled "Old Q". Now, who is Old Q?
0:24:41 > 0:24:45This one fascinates me. Apart from the fact, it's brass...
0:24:45 > 0:24:47- Yes.- ..it's terribly finely made.
0:24:47 > 0:24:52Old Q - I've always wondered who he was, and who the character is.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55Looks rather Roland-ish.
0:24:55 > 0:25:00- Yes, the only Old Q I can recall is the Marquess of Queensberry.- Ah.
0:25:00 > 0:25:06And he was the one whose son, Lord Alfred Douglas, had an affair with Oscar Wilde.
0:25:06 > 0:25:11He sued Oscar Wilde. That's why he left the country and died in France.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14But I think this is too early for him
0:25:14 > 0:25:18because this dates from late 18th - early 19th century.
0:25:18 > 0:25:23- Really?- Absolutely terrific, so we don't know exactly who Old Q was,
0:25:23 > 0:25:26and if you look at the costume,
0:25:26 > 0:25:29- that is of the Regency period, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32So perhaps early 19th century.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34Is that also a snuff box?
0:25:34 > 0:25:41- Yes, that would have been, yes, yes. - It seems to me it would fall out a bit.- Yes.- It's a tight-fitting lid.
0:25:41 > 0:25:47They were carried around or found on the table, to take after a meal.
0:25:47 > 0:25:54- This is a lovely little scene of Sherborne church, called "church", now it's the abbey, isn't it?- Yes.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58But super building, wonderful. And on the other side,
0:25:58 > 0:26:02I suppose the china shop from which the little pot was bought,
0:26:02 > 0:26:08- Belben's of glass, china and furniture - perhaps bought from there.- Yes.- How does it come to you?
0:26:08 > 0:26:13It came through my grandparents' family down to my parents.
0:26:13 > 0:26:18- Yes.- And then they passed on and I've now got it.- It's left to you.
0:26:18 > 0:26:24I suppose in date, 1860-1870, so 130-odd years old.
0:26:24 > 0:26:29- Marvellous to see a representation of the place as it was then.- Yes.
0:26:29 > 0:26:36- So look after that, won't you? - Yes.- Not of enormous value. Something like £100.- That's nice.
0:26:36 > 0:26:41There's a couple more which we might look at, which are not snuff boxes.
0:26:41 > 0:26:43Were they also your father's?
0:26:43 > 0:26:49- No, these came from my godfather. - Right.- I think they represent his unusual taste.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51Oh, right, I see, well, yes.
0:26:51 > 0:26:57Here we have a meerschaum pipe - meerschaum is a very porous mineral
0:26:57 > 0:26:59found in the Black Sea.
0:26:59 > 0:27:04And pipes were made - mainly it was exported to Germany and Austria -
0:27:04 > 0:27:07and they were very popular in this country.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10And this one has Leda and the swan.
0:27:10 > 0:27:16- Yes.- In an amorous embrace, shall we put it that way?- Yes.
0:27:16 > 0:27:22It's got its original leather case, which is nice. Super quality, so...
0:27:22 > 0:27:25yes, probably about 1880-1890.
0:27:26 > 0:27:30- Been well used, not by me. - Was your godfather a pipe smoker?
0:27:30 > 0:27:35He smoked a bit. There's little room for tobacco, it wouldn't last!
0:27:35 > 0:27:40No, absolutely not. Perhaps you got tired of looking at Leda!
0:27:40 > 0:27:43An interesting thing is it's got a white dot.
0:27:43 > 0:27:50- Oh, yes.- Which is similar to a dot which is used by a proprietary pipemaker even today. I don't...
0:27:50 > 0:27:55That particular tobacco manufacturer was going at the time this was made,
0:27:55 > 0:27:57so it could well be
0:27:57 > 0:28:02that it was made and retailed by a particular manufacturer in London.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06- Yes, what date was that, did you say?- Er, 1880-1890.
0:28:06 > 0:28:12Well, here we have a William IV sea service pistol.
0:28:12 > 0:28:17- Flintlock, but a belt pistol - see the belt clip on the side?- Yes.
0:28:17 > 0:28:21So this is to thrust into the top of their trousers or their belt.
0:28:21 > 0:28:26- Right.- And there you go, but this is the last of the flintlock types.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30- Right.- In no time at all, after William's reign,
0:28:30 > 0:28:36- they started having percussion weapons.- Right.- So this is the last pick of flintlock weapons.
0:28:36 > 0:28:42- Did they have balls?- Oh, yes, balls straight down there and then you've got a captive ramrod,
0:28:42 > 0:28:47- with which you rammed it down.- Yeah. - The action, there's the action,
0:28:47 > 0:28:51and there's the pan where you put the powder in.
0:28:51 > 0:28:56And you close the pan, it's nicely sealed, the powder won't come out.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59And then, when you pull the trigger,
0:28:59 > 0:29:03- away she goes, sparks go into the pan.- And you fire.- There you are.
0:29:03 > 0:29:07- Were they dangerous? - Oh, yes, nasty.- Right.
0:29:07 > 0:29:12- But the whole point is that this is in remarkable condition.- Good.
0:29:12 > 0:29:17- There's the Board Of Ordinance mark. - Yeah, I wondered what that was.
0:29:17 > 0:29:21Today, a pistol like this in auction would fetch something like
0:29:21 > 0:29:24£1,200 - £1,250.
0:29:24 > 0:29:28- Good Lord!- It's in such lovely condition.- Brilliant.
0:29:28 > 0:29:34- I can't find any hallmarks. It comes up well with polish.- Right. - It might be Britannia metal.
0:29:34 > 0:29:39It's definitely silver. No hallmarks indicates it's probably Continental.
0:29:39 > 0:29:43- Right.- And not English, so it was probably made in Germany or Austria,
0:29:43 > 0:29:47and then I see it has another little lever here and I think I know...
0:29:47 > 0:29:51- Ah, that's right, yes. - Well, there we have it.
0:29:51 > 0:29:57Well, that's very interesting because that confirms that it is a Continental cigarette case -
0:29:57 > 0:30:02English women of the period would not be depicted with underarm hair.
0:30:04 > 0:30:06So probably German or Austrian.
0:30:06 > 0:30:11Um, under normal circumstances, that cigarette box, without the enamel,
0:30:11 > 0:30:17would not be of great value. We have to talk about values, and if we go back
0:30:17 > 0:30:20to this snuff box, the first one...
0:30:20 > 0:30:26- In a shop you would probably pay £500, £600, £700. - Really? As much as that?
0:30:26 > 0:30:33Yes, lovely quality. The brass one with Old Q - it might add to the value if you could find out
0:30:33 > 0:30:37who Old Q was, but that's a few hundred pounds.
0:30:37 > 0:30:40The Meerschaum pipe with Leda and the swan,
0:30:40 > 0:30:43that would probably be worth...
0:30:44 > 0:30:49- £600 to £800, maybe £1,000 on a good day.- As high as that?
0:30:49 > 0:30:52And, lastly, the cigarette box,
0:30:52 > 0:30:56without the enamel - that would probably be worth £10 or £20 -
0:30:56 > 0:31:00with the enamel, it turns it into a cigarette box probably worth...
0:31:00 > 0:31:03£1,500 - £2,000.
0:31:03 > 0:31:07- I can't believe it! Fascinating. - There are a number of collectors
0:31:07 > 0:31:11- for a charming cigarette box, and a charming lady.- I'm sure she was.
0:31:11 > 0:31:17- It belongs to a friend of mine. - Right.- And it was inherited by her late husband in the 1940s
0:31:17 > 0:31:21and I presume it had been in the family for quite a long time.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24- A long time.- That's all I know.
0:31:24 > 0:31:31Be interesting to see how far back in that family... It has that look of something
0:31:31 > 0:31:37- that's been in a home for a long time.- Yes.- An aura about it.- Yes.
0:31:37 > 0:31:42It's a cupboard with - some oval panels in the door,
0:31:42 > 0:31:44a fairly shallow bow front,
0:31:44 > 0:31:48and you could walk past it. It doesn't stand
0:31:48 > 0:31:53and say something until you DO stop and look -
0:31:53 > 0:32:00and then one starts to realise that these oval panels are in the centre of a rectangle,
0:32:00 > 0:32:03which has this lovely mitred corner of veneer.
0:32:03 > 0:32:10When you look at that, you realise that it's not just any veneer - this is satinwood,
0:32:10 > 0:32:17which was an extremely expensive exotic veneer from the last quarter of the 18th century
0:32:17 > 0:32:22when we first started to import it, but it is the most expensive sort,
0:32:22 > 0:32:28which, ironically, was unstable, so a man was using this, almost in the knowledge
0:32:28 > 0:32:33- that with time it would crinkle. - Really?- And crack.
0:32:33 > 0:32:36Here he had to put a piece in. At the top
0:32:36 > 0:32:43you will see these wonderful, almost as dark as a conker look to this.
0:32:43 > 0:32:48Almost a chestnutty colour, and yet it's this rippling deep satinwood effect.
0:32:48 > 0:32:50Deep satin effect.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53Damage to the top with a watermark, but that's cosmetic.
0:32:53 > 0:33:01You then come to the oval panels themselves and they are bordered and delineated with rosewood,
0:33:01 > 0:33:08a thin piece of ebony and a piece of boxwood to give it a black-white line. It's repeated on there.
0:33:08 > 0:33:11There's a good example that goes all the way round.
0:33:11 > 0:33:18When this was new, the satinwood was bright yellow, pale yellow and dark,
0:33:18 > 0:33:23then black, white and this grained satinwood forming cross-banding.
0:33:23 > 0:33:29At the end of the 18th century, there were two designers of furniture in the classic style,
0:33:29 > 0:33:34both Hepplewhite, George Hepplewhite and Thomas Sheraton.
0:33:34 > 0:33:37Sheraton comes to mind
0:33:37 > 0:33:40because of the use of the satinwood.
0:33:40 > 0:33:45You have what could be straight out of Hepplewhite's drawing book,
0:33:45 > 0:33:49rather than Sheraton. The use of mahogany inside here
0:33:49 > 0:33:52with two drawers,
0:33:52 > 0:33:56which are 1775-1795 in period,
0:33:56 > 0:34:00in shape, with a cock-bead original handle,
0:34:00 > 0:34:04and then for ultimate use - you have adjustable slides,
0:34:04 > 0:34:08faced up with mahogany, the back of which is pine,
0:34:08 > 0:34:11absolutely traditional.
0:34:12 > 0:34:16And there it is, simplicity itself, but total use.
0:34:16 > 0:34:22So what, at first, looks like just a nice well-designed cabinet,
0:34:22 > 0:34:27is, in fact, an exceptional piece of furniture, so goodness knows -
0:34:27 > 0:34:30this was made by an important maker,
0:34:30 > 0:34:34it could be someone like Ince and Mayhew - it's as good as that.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37It's really quite remarkable.
0:34:37 > 0:34:44If one went into a good gallery, where you'd have to go to buy such a piece as this today,
0:34:44 > 0:34:46you'd have to give between
0:34:46 > 0:34:52- £25,000 and £30,000.- She'll be stunned. I hope she'll be pleased.
0:34:52 > 0:34:56We have here a collection of letters by CL Dodgson,
0:34:56 > 0:35:00better known as Lewis Carroll - can you tell me anything about them?
0:35:00 > 0:35:05Well, only that my aunt received them as a little girl.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09- Um, now Gladys Bailey - that was your aunt?- Yes.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12Right, well let's have a look.
0:35:13 > 0:35:18We've got some rather nice embossed crabs, and it says here...
0:35:18 > 0:35:24"Some day you'll be a great artist, and when you have a picture exhibited in London
0:35:24 > 0:35:30"about 15 yards long and full of the loveliest people and hoards,
0:35:30 > 0:35:32"I shall proudly say to the people,
0:35:32 > 0:35:37"as they stand round it, with their eyes and their mouths wide open,
0:35:37 > 0:35:42"Do you know, I knew the lady who did that picture
0:35:42 > 0:35:44"when she was quite a little girl,
0:35:44 > 0:35:49"and I've got some of the very first pictures that she ever did."
0:35:49 > 0:35:53But if I move very quickly to this letter over here...
0:35:53 > 0:35:55"I do most earnestly hope
0:35:55 > 0:36:01"she will be kept from spoiling it by conceit and hunger for praise.
0:36:01 > 0:36:07"A beautiful child when conceited is disagreeable to all around her".
0:36:07 > 0:36:10He, at the same time while encouraging the little girl,
0:36:10 > 0:36:16was cautioning the parents against the little girl becoming conceited.
0:36:16 > 0:36:21Well, Lewis Carroll is an attractive figure - very, very collectable.
0:36:21 > 0:36:25In auction these letters might well fetch about...
0:36:25 > 0:36:30£5,000 or so. If you insure them, you've got to put that up somewhat.
0:36:30 > 0:36:34- Thank you for bringing them in. I've enjoyed them.- Thank you.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39..Two, three, four, right?
0:36:39 > 0:36:42- Right, yeah. - Now those four are 18th century,
0:36:42 > 0:36:45everything else is 19-20th century.
0:36:45 > 0:36:49And the interesting thing - this collection's fascinating -
0:36:49 > 0:36:53is three of them are all tortoiseshell.
0:36:53 > 0:36:57- Veneer, very anti-whatever, I'm afraid, these days.- Yes.
0:36:57 > 0:37:00But they're either tortoiseshell or possibly under-painted horn.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03This final one is plain horn,
0:37:03 > 0:37:06almost like a translucent plastic, grubby plastic.
0:37:06 > 0:37:11And they've used a decoration underneath, of a village scene.
0:37:12 > 0:37:14What's unusual about them is
0:37:14 > 0:37:18that you can imagine with contraction and expansion of metal,
0:37:18 > 0:37:23they usually split, and these have survived in excellent condition.
0:37:23 > 0:37:26They've been locked away for about four years.
0:37:26 > 0:37:30- They haven't seen the light of day. - They've survived well.
0:37:30 > 0:37:34Me father was a blacksmith and welder and loved mechanical things.
0:37:34 > 0:37:41He had big hands, and how he could play with these things in the evenings totally surprised me.
0:37:41 > 0:37:46Some of the best watchmakers had hands like butchers.
0:37:46 > 0:37:50It's true that very large hands tend to have a very delicate touch.
0:37:50 > 0:37:52So what are we saying for these?
0:37:52 > 0:37:57250, 350, 250.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00- Right.- 250.
0:38:01 > 0:38:05- So that's... Well, that's a grand there about.- Really?
0:38:06 > 0:38:09- Oh.- Right.
0:38:09 > 0:38:13- WG, so, Wilfred de Glen, I think. Is that right?- Yes.
0:38:13 > 0:38:20- How did you get it?- My husband bought it for me about 10 years ago as a Christmas present and...
0:38:20 > 0:38:23- He chose it for you?- Yes, for me,
0:38:23 > 0:38:29but I think he really wanted it for himself - she has pride of place in our home so...
0:38:29 > 0:38:31I'm not surprised. She's lovely.
0:38:31 > 0:38:35He's interesting. He's a German, but born in England,
0:38:35 > 0:38:39so that makes him English, but his father was German.
0:38:39 > 0:38:44- Right.- He was born Wilfred von Glen, in about 1870,
0:38:44 > 0:38:49so by the war, one could forgive him for changing his name to de Glen.
0:38:49 > 0:38:53- A lot of people did at that time.- I think it was a sensible thing to do.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56I think she's got such a lovely face.
0:38:56 > 0:38:59Very pretty.
0:38:59 > 0:39:03She's got an Italianate hill town in the background.
0:39:03 > 0:39:07- It's lovely. Did you know that he also designed stained glass?- Yes.
0:39:07 > 0:39:11That may account for that luminous quality in this picture.
0:39:11 > 0:39:14Yes, yes, yes, I suppose it could.
0:39:14 > 0:39:20In our dark hall, it's luminous, and I'm always caught by the light.
0:39:20 > 0:39:24- It's almost back-lit, isn't it? It's almost radiant.- Mm, yes.
0:39:24 > 0:39:27It's so powerful. It does have a drawback...
0:39:27 > 0:39:32It's painted quickly and thickly, and there's been some cracking in the paint.
0:39:32 > 0:39:37Which has been covered up with some really quite crude overpainting.
0:39:37 > 0:39:43If you hold it up in a raking light, you can see that overpainting and it's rather spoiling the picture.
0:39:43 > 0:39:48It should be cleaned off. It would benefit from a clean and a re-varnish
0:39:48 > 0:39:51with a matter varnish, so it wasn't so shiny.
0:39:51 > 0:39:57Then you would see how beautiful it is. It'd go "ping" off the wall.
0:39:57 > 0:40:01- What do you think it's worth, any ideas?- I don't know.
0:40:01 > 0:40:05- I know what my husband paid for it. - Which was?- £350.- And, when, again?
0:40:05 > 0:40:08About ten years, we can't be sure.
0:40:08 > 0:40:13- Yes, it's probably worth about £6,000 now.- Heavens, how wonderful.
0:40:13 > 0:40:19Emerald green shagreen case containing...
0:40:21 > 0:40:23..a miniature writing set.
0:40:23 > 0:40:26And in incredible condition.
0:40:28 > 0:40:32How - when I tell you the date, which I think -
0:40:32 > 0:40:35looking at this serpentine shape,
0:40:35 > 0:40:38it's really rococo in a way,
0:40:38 > 0:40:40it's sort of mid-18th century.
0:40:40 > 0:40:45And these are very typical mid-18th century
0:40:45 > 0:40:51sort of rococo styled or influenced little tops to the pounce pot and the ink pot,
0:40:51 > 0:40:54but I think it's later than that.
0:40:54 > 0:40:59My feeling is it would be between about 1775-1790, that period.
0:41:00 > 0:41:05- Is this a family thing? - My mother-in-law gave it to me
0:41:05 > 0:41:10and told me that it came from her mother-in-law, who was American.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13- Right.- She was a Logan.
0:41:13 > 0:41:17- A Logan?- Yes.- Now that's a name that sounds familiar.
0:41:17 > 0:41:21Yes, well, Corey might be able to tell you more...
0:41:21 > 0:41:25My five times grandfather was James Logan of Philadelphia,
0:41:25 > 0:41:30who was William Penn's agent, secretary, et al.
0:41:31 > 0:41:36How interesting. And that would fit in with the date, wouldn't it?
0:41:36 > 0:41:41- Well, he went there in 1699. - The family were there.- Oh, yes.
0:41:41 > 0:41:45- Almost certainly this was made in London.- Oh?- Not American.
0:41:45 > 0:41:50So let's just.. Oh, I love things like this - let's just investigate.
0:41:51 > 0:41:53Here there is a little pen...
0:41:53 > 0:41:57or a pen holder, I should say.
0:41:58 > 0:42:00Onto it...
0:42:00 > 0:42:02you can screw various nibs.
0:42:02 > 0:42:06So that's a great bit of engineering, really.
0:42:06 > 0:42:09Engineering and ingenuity.
0:42:09 > 0:42:13And this is for ink, this is for pounce.
0:42:13 > 0:42:18Um, so, yes, it's a lovely example of not only the silversmith's art,
0:42:18 > 0:42:23but also of the boxmaker's art. This box is absolutely delicious.
0:42:23 > 0:42:28- What is the skin, do you think? - It's fish skin.- Fish?- Fish skin.
0:42:29 > 0:42:33- Shagreen, it's fish skin.- I thought it was lizard, I don't know why.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36No, it's much too hard-wearing for that.
0:42:36 > 0:42:41If you wanted to replace this, you'd have to pay a great deal for it.
0:42:41 > 0:42:45I think this needs to be insured for £4,500.
0:42:45 > 0:42:48Wonderful, thank you so much.
0:42:49 > 0:42:55We've learned a lot today, but that's a tradition which goes back centuries in Sherborne.
0:42:55 > 0:43:01Some famous faces have chewed on their pencils here - difficult to imagine John Le Mesurier
0:43:01 > 0:43:04and Jeremy Irons in a school cap - so I won't try!
0:43:04 > 0:43:10Many thanks to today's Sherbornians for letting us have our work-out in their sports centre.
0:43:10 > 0:43:14From Dorset, until the next time, goodbye.
0:43:40 > 0:43:43Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd