Dumfries Antiques Roadshow

This is the Old Blacksmith's shop at Gretna Green, and a mecca for runaway romantics since 1754,

when English law decreed that you had to be 21 years old to tie the nuptial knot.

The law has changed,

but 1,500 couples still get married here each year

and they could do worse than linger awhile among the delights of Dumfries and Galloway.

# When rosy May comes in wi' flowers

# To deck Her gay, green-spreading bowers

# Then busy, busy are his hours The gard'ner wi' his paidle

# The crystal waters gently fa'

# The merry bards are lovers a'... #

That song was one of hundreds written by Robert Burns,

the bard of Caledonia.

# Should auld acquaintance be forgot... #

Many of his songs and poems came to him while he was on horseback.

He began as a ploughman and became a tenant farmer here at Ellisland,

just north of Dumfries.

A statue of the poet has pride of place in Dumfries town centre,

and there's a heritage trail linking sites associated with him.

This is where he lived and died.

Here is where his bones were laid.

Robert Burns was one of the founders of Dumfries Theatre Royal,

which, 100 years later, influenced a pupil from Dumfries Academy.

James Matthew Barrie became, in a word, hooked,

and he went on to write over 30 plays of his own.

The inspiration for JM Barrie's most famous creation

came while he was playing pirates with two friends in this garden overlooking the River Nith.

WOMAN: Boys! Tea time!

And so was born perhaps the most famous character in children's literature -

Peter Pan.

Now there are plans for the house to be made into a hotel and museum

to keep the origins of Neverland alive. Wooden swords on request.

Today's Roadshow comes from the Dumfries Ice Bowl,

usually the setting for ice-skating and bowls championships.

Clive Farahar and his fellow judges will be giving maximum points

to anyone turning up with relics of local heroes.

What a lovely dish! How long have you had it?

Oh, all my lifetime.

My mother bought it after the Second World War, about 1946,

and, um...she paid £4 10s for it.

-What, from a shop?

-Yes, from an antique shop.

-Heavens! £4 10s?

-Yes, he wanted £5,

-but she only had £4 10s on her.

-Oh-ho, that's crafty!

-Yes.

-So £4 10s all those years ago?

-Yes.

It's, of course, Chinese and extremely beautiful.

Made in the reign of Emperor Yung Cheng,

which is around about 1735, 1740,

so that's 200 and... Ooh, my maths aren't very good... 260 years old?

Which is a long time to remain in this absolutely perfect condition.

One hopes it's perfect. If you ring it, it should - if perfect - sound like a little bell.

TINGS LIKE A BELL

Lovely, isn't it? Absolutely mint.

Mint as the day it was made.

Beautifully decorated in the style of Imari.

And her £4 10s has now increased to around about...

-£400 to £500.

-Very good. Thank you.

They are massive stones. They make an absolute punch, don't they?

The size of them! Scottish pebble jewellery was extremely popular

from around about the 1860s right the way through to around about 1900

and there was a temptation for a blend of stones that brought to mind the heath and the heather,

these sort of greens and browns

and russets. And you've got a sort of a jasper stone here,

this lovely round-cut jasper,

grey chalcedony,

smoky quartz. That is transparent, this dark brown smoky quartz.

Bloodstone

and yellow jasper.

Mounted up in gold,

with these sort of entwined hoop-like settings between,

in the original fitted case.

I'd date this to about 1845,1850, so it's early - tip-top condition.

I think if you were selling it today that's going to make something in the region of £1,000 to £1,500.

This brooch doesn't look inspiring, does it?

-You've got this blue stone in a surround of diamonds.

-We were told it was a Burmese sapphire.

I don't know much about it. The gentleman that gave it to my aunt

did say a story along the lines that it had come from India -

whether that is true or not, we don't know - and that his wife had worked for royalty.

India rather more than Burma, I would agree with that.

It's a cushion-shaped native-cut sapphire

in a diamond-star cluster frame, date it to about 1885, 1895.

Um, it's actually really rather a good sapphire.

It's this very collectable blue colour, a medium milky-blue colour.

Now, I think it weighs in the region of about four-and-a-half carats,

and these are what people are after, so this piece,

if you were selling it, we're looking at £2,000 to £3,000 for it.

-OK.

-So, although that's got the punch, that's got the value.

-OK, thank you.

-Terrific. Thank you.

MUSIC: "I Love A Lassie" by Harry Lauder

MUSIC DROWNS SPEECH

-I think we've got the gist of it.

-Yes.

-That was his most famous song.

-And here - this is the piano on which he actually composed this song...

-And many other songs on it.

I notice that it says here "Acquired...

-"..by Jimmy Logan.

-By Jimmy Logan."

-Who was the comedian.

-The famous Scottish comedian.

-"From Lauder Ha'"...

-In 1966.

-"1966. "

Lauder Ha' was Sir Harry's last home, just outside of Strathaven.

-Yes.

-He had several homes during his lifetime, but he retired to Strathaven with his niece Greta.

And Greta was a great friend of my grandmother's,

and that, and the fact that my grandfather used to sing Keep Right On To The End Of The Road,

when I was 6 or 7 years old, gave me an initial interest in Lauder.

I see you've got a couple of photographs of the old man himself.

Yes. This was at Lauder Ha'. These were items that were in Lauder Ha' and sold from his estate.

-Right. What I noticed was in the collection...

-Yes.

-..you've got books and all sorts, but you haven't got a stick.

-Ah, funny you should mention that.

Last year I was at an auction in Edinburgh and there was a stick and it got to about £1,500

and I bid one more time and then I thought, "There is this bush called the Lauder bush,"

-and being a Scot I thought I would just grow one rather than buy one.

-Oh, very Scottish of you! Splendid!

-Well, it's a difficult thing to value. The piano itself is not a particularly valuable piano.

-No.

But the Lauder connection absolutely makes it,

-and it would be wonderful if you put it on display.

-That's what we want.

-"To Sir Harry Lauder..." He was knighted after the war.

-For his work with the war service.

-Of course.

Well, you've got over £10,000 worth of stuff here

-and it's been a pleasure looking through it.

-Thank you.

I can see the name of the sitter - David Anderson. Who is he?

He's my four times great-grandfather.

-Lovely pearls, with his initials.

-Don't know how they did that then.

Absolutely stunning, very nice. And he looks like he was quite important.

He was Warren Hastings' right-hand man in India.

Oh, right. About when?

1790s. Well, probably earlier because there was a portrait of him in 1797.

Right, right, right. So he's obviously a very important man

because this is a very beautiful miniature indeed. Really quite an important thing.

-I'll take your word for it!

-Well, this inscription goes on...

and it says over here "Cosway". Now, is that who you think the artist is?

Supposedly, yes, um... It's in the family book of pictures is that as well, and it's on the frame.

Well, the thing is that it's not actually signed by Cosway.

-Signed by "E".

-Exactly, there's a large "E" in it.

-It's a very cursive "E", slightly tilted over.

-Right.

And I have no doubt that it is the signature of another artist, called Englehart.

-Oh, right, yeah.

-Englehart was very prolific

but he was also very good, and he didn't really drop his standards.

I think it's about 1800,

so that would post-date your great, great, great, grandfather's tour of duty.

-It's worth about £5,000, £6,000, £7,000.

-Right.

And yet it's such a good one, so rich, so strong, that it could well reach five figures.

Crazy.

-That is lovely.

-Good.

-I wonder if there's a family resemblance?

-It's not the nose!

Well, this takes me back to my early teens, I have to say, when much to my mother's horror...

-Yes.

-..I used to go on the back of a bike, clutching my boyfriend -

not one of these, I have to say - something a bit more modern.

Obviously it's too old to be yours, so where did it come from?

My father bought it in London in 1919.

He went to London to visit his brother

who was studying to become an income-tax inspector and he...

There was a rail strike and my father couldn't get home

so they bought this bike from Maude's Motor Market.

-He bought the bike simply because he couldn't get home?

-Yes.

-OK. And how much do you think he paid for it?

-He paid... 100 guineas for it.

-You're fiddling with a piece of paper.

-Yes, this paper shows this...

-This is the evidence, is it?

-£105 13s 6d, with all the little bits and pieces.

£105... I mean, that was a fortune.

-In 1919, you could have bought a house for that amount of money.

-A flat or something like that, yes.

An extraordinary amount of money.

-Was your dad a seasoned motorcycle rider?

-No, he hadn't ridden one before.

Hold on. So he goes to London, he gets stuck in the strike, he buys a bike, drives it off,

having never set foot on a bike before, and heads off to Dumfries?

-How long did it take him, do you think?

-Two days.

-He slept overnight somewhere in South Yorkshire.

-Yes.

And he put the bicycle on its stand, took his raincoat off

and made the raincoat into a tent and lay there till daybreak.

Amazing!

-He picked up a hitchhiker on the back of the bike.

-On this?

And while they were going along he thought he felt the hitchhiker feeling for his wallet.

-Oh, when he had his arms round him?

-Yes. So they stopped at a pub for a bite to eat,

but as soon as the guy got off, Father just drove off and left him.

Well, that's an incredible story, the history of it.

But then - let's have a look at the machine because the machine is no less extraordinary.

It's made by a company called Phelon and Moore

and what is very special about all the Phelon and Moore bikes is this.

It's the cylinder casing, the single cylinder here, which forms part of the frame,

and that's completely unique to this particular company.

So because of this slope, they called it the sloper.

If it was made before the end of the year 1914,

it can take part in the pioneering race from London to Brighton,

which immediately puts a sort of collector's premium onto the bike.

Is there any way that you think we could say that it was made before 1914?

-'14? No. I'm in touch with the club at Cleckheaton.

-Oh?

-And they're going to try and establish

-from the serial numbers when the bike was made, because it wasn't new when my father bought it.

-Ah.

Assuming that it is made after 1914,

-which would fit in with the family story, it would have a value of around £4,000.

-Yes.

If by any chance it can be pinpointed to that magic golden period before the end of 1914,

it would shoot the value up to perhaps £6,000,

-so it's certainly worth continuing with your investigations.

-Yes.

-It's been great to have it and it's brought back lots of memories for me.

-For us as well.

-Thank you.

It's an unusual combination - a case that apparently is for the Turkish market, retailed in Northern Ireland

-with an American movement.

-Yes.

-Have a guess as to what it might be worth.

-I have no idea. Might it go to four figures or not?

-Absolutely.

I'd be terribly disappointed if it didn't. It's very, very commercial.

-I think, at auction at the moment, between £1,200 and £1,500.

-Good!

Very pretty item.

-Bunny, what can I do for you?

-I thought you'd be interested in this elephant. Underneath it's got that.

-Very intriguing.

-I don't know that it's got anything to do with clocks

but... This is broken. It's French.

I wondered if you'd seen one.

I have never seen anything like it before.

"Dites electronique." And then it's got various patents.

Patent Paris.

I would suggest that it's the equivalent of a table bell.

Yes. What fun! How would it go off?

You'd press the top.

-Early 19th century.

-Quimper - somewhere like that.

-Thanks.

Now, what's in this box?

-A child's tea set.

-Now, that's very different. Very unexpected.

-You say it's enamel.

-Yes.

I think so.

When I got it, it was totally black.

It had either been in a fire or left in a loft for years and years.

-Where did you buy it?

-In Edinburgh, in auction, in 1991.

We've got these lovely illustrations, all different,

of childhood scenes with animals, in farmyards. It is delightful.

Have you heard of a toy manufacturer called Bing?

Gebruder Bing Nuremburg, Bavaria.

Bing are very, very famous as manufacturers of tin toys,

model railways, models, ships - everything to do with model-making...

-Right.

-..and toys in the metal area. I've never seen them making a tea set.

-How much did you pay?

-£41.

I think you did very well.

-I would say £300, £400.

-Oh, lovely! Thank you!

-Thank YOU!

-Right!

-It's known as Mum's Queen Anne bureau.

-Mum's Queen Anne bureau.

Well, it's actually quite correct.

Oh.

It's an escritoire in two pieces,

not much after 1710. One or two things to look at straightaway.

Obviously, these are 1760-type handles,

and we're looking at something made 1710, 1715, perhaps.

You've got three marks there which is where the original handles went.

Hello - and the feet.

-One of the feet has been a brick for some years.

-Lovely!

When you look inside, there you can see three holes.

That was probably the original, and then they put something on later.

-A lock has been taken out and patched there.

-Yes.

But that's quite healthy. I don't mind that at all.

Much better that than all disguised and camouflaged.

A good thing to look at on an early piece of quality - a little domed top to the side of the drawer,

rather than a flat surface.

That came in and stayed in until the 1740s.

Always a mark of quality.

So...

This is also good.

Signs of wear, where the underneath has rubbed.

There you can see compatible signs of wear.

We're building up a picture of authenticity.

Two-part furniture was always suspect

because, in the 18th century, when these were second-hand,

they were sold by auction. It never went up in its social surroundings.

The farmer went to the lord's sale, the lord never went to a farm sale.

The farmer couldn't get it in his home. He put a top on here for a chest of drawers, and feet on that,

-and two pieces of furniture.

-Fascinating.

Let's have a look at the top,

which has this wonderful cushion-moulding drawer.

-Now, inside, I imagine will be... Shall I give you that key?

-Yes.

..a host of secret drawers.

We can't go into all of them,

but that's typical. There were secret drawers everywhere, in a decent piece.

-These come out. Little ones at the back.

-This comes out.

That slides forward. Great quality.

Let's see if we can get our friends here to put the two together

and we can see it in its former glory.

I shall come over here.

Chaps, if we can prop up... Put some feet on it.

And then you start to see it. These mouldings are wonderful.

-Do come in.

-Right.

-These are wonderful.

Applied with the grain going from top to bottom.

-By the 1730s, the grain of the wood went this way.

-Yes.

It's a lovely colour, isn't it?

OK.

Fingers!

Now...

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Look at that.

It's just lovely.

Walnut furniture of this type has gone up in value considerably -

particularly when it's of this quality. Big mouldings... It's a person.

-Erm...

-And restoration?

Restoration - I would do very, very little.

I've always felt guilty about not doing something to it.

-It's smiling at you. It's saying, "I'm quite happy."

-I love it!

-Good.

-And, for insurance, between £25,000, £30,000.

-Really?!

It's just on the house insurance.

-I wouldn't sell it if it was worth a million.

-I'm sure.

-Thank you.

-You've got them all.

-Yes.

-OK.

That's volume one. They were too heavy to fetch them all with me.

Yeah. Bear in mind we're all creatures of habit,

-and when this sort of thing comes out, we all buy it.

-Aye.

It's usually when somebody dies, out of the attic it comes.

What I'm saying is there are a lot of these around.

They don't fetch a great deal of money in auction.

-If you had the whole set, they'd fetch about £40.

-Yeah.

I've been collecting what might be termed Scottish provincial silver

-for well nigh 40 years.

-You started at the right time

because 40 years ago there were very, very few people

collecting Scottish provincial silver.

What we have here, what I'm really excited to see,

is a piece of Dumfries silver,

which is denoted by the fouled anchor sign.

This mark here. And it has the maker's mark - DG for David Gray.

Fairly prolific maker - mainly of flatware.

This is a fish slice, with a basic decoration.

-Can you remember where and when you bought that?

-Vividly,

because it was one of the first pieces that I bought

and I believe that the vendor really didn't know of the maker's origin.

-You knew what it was at that time?

-I had pretty good idea.

-Can you remember what you paid for it?

-Memory's not what it was,

-but I think it was £28.

-£28?

-Yes.

That's not bad, because if you came to sell it now,

you're looking at about £700.

-Well!

-That's not a bad start.

-Much better than in the bank.

The thing about Dumfries silver

is it's much more common to see flatware like this

than it is hollow-ware.

And this little box, as plain as plain could be,

but open it up and inside here we've got the mark "MH",

for Mark Hinchliffe, another well-known Dumfries silversmith.

I'm glad to tell you that a box like this, if you came to sell it,

you've got to think of at least £3,000, possibly more.

Extremely good news!

Now, the rarest of all

is this wine funnel.

And it's got the mark "IP", which is for Joseph Pearson.

Again, another Dumfries maker.

I've never seen a Dumfries wine funnel.

I would confidently expect it to be worth between £4,500 to £5,000.

Thank you very much for bringing them in.

-You get crystal bowls on stems for drinking out of.

-Right.

You'd have a job cleaning it out. It wouldn't be that healthy

-but it's rather nice to hold.

-Yes.

I wouldn't mind drinking a dram of whiskey out of that.

I've taken this around to various experts. Some say they don't know,

but those who are sure they know, say it's to do with picture-framing. Are we right?

You're wrong. You're way out.

Give us a clue.

-I'm in the music business.

-Music.

I'm in the music business.

Would this do something to the piano?

N... No, not to the piano.

-I give up.

-Do you?

-Yes.

Have a little look at it now.

-There's felt down two sides. Is that significant?

-Yes.

-I give up.

-Well...

It stretches your fingers. It stretches the width between them.

-It's an instrument of torture!

-Call it what you like, but it has been put to use.

-Were these mass-produced?

-No, it's a one-off.

-Hello?

-Can you sign this?

-Is this for your mum or for you?

-Me.

-What's your name?

-Nadia.

-Nadia. Lovely. What do you think it is, Nadia? Is it a toy?

-No.

-What's it for?

-Putting on the window ledge.

-For what?

-Putting on the window ledge.

She's got it. Putting on your window ledge.

Well done! Thank you.

This is by a potter called Sobei Kinkozan.

He was the most prolific of the top three makers.

Kinkozan had this vast factory churning out pots,

and a studio making really good ones.

-And this is one of the good ones.

-Oh!

I like the shape. At first sight it's just a square, but it isn't.

It's very subtle the way these shoulders lead down.

In fact, these panels aren't quite flat.

They curve inwards, and it gives it a really strong shape.

The panels are beautifully painted.

This is quality painting.

It dates from about 1885, 1895 - somewhere around there.

This is generically called Satsuma-ware,

but the majority wasn't made in Satsuma, it was made in Kyoto.

That's where Kinkozan's studio was.

-How did the damage happen?

-They had a fire and it was damaged in it.

That is amongst the worst bits of restoration I've ever seen in my life!

Probably, they done it theirself.

It's what I call chewing-gum repair.

It could be broken down by a skilled restorer, and it should.

This pot deserves money spent on it

to restore it to its previous condition.

To get that restored would cost you £300, £400.

-Sounds like a lot of money for a chip.

-Yeah.

But you've got a pot which at the moment is worth £2,000.

-Oh, right.

-And if you spent the 300 on it, it would be worth £3,000.

-Very good. Thank you.

-So I'd recommend you did that.

-Thank you for bringing it.

-Thanks.

That bit was missing and it was completely red-rusted.

-You've redone it completely.

-I stripped it completely

and it still works.

-Have you done the washing in it?

-No.

-Why not?

I don't think my wife would be very pleased with the result.

It could be brilliant!

This type, which has the dolly, which moves to and fro,

was developed in the 19th century, mechanically, but done by hand.

You've probably seen the earliest version - a pole with spikes -

and you go up and down like that.

-That then became mechanised, with a handle on the top.

-Oh, yes!

Electricity makes the whole thing, in a sense, modern.

The first electric versions of this were made in America between 1906 and 1908.

-We weren't sure of the date.

-This may be later

because the technique

of making that process mechanical was developed about 1908.

So, you've got that, and then that does it in there.

Then you take the clothes out and you feed them through the mangle,

-which would've been by hand.

-And you can either wash or wring it.

-That's right.

-Now, this is made by Beatty's, isn't it?

-Yes.

-What do you know about them?

-Nothing.

-We've got the manual.

-That came with it.

-The White Cap machine.

Here is a wonderful lady demonstrating how it works.

Looking at her dress and her shoes, I think we're about 1915,

which gives us roughly the date of the machine.

We can't be more certain than that.

What I like best is this lovely quotation.

"Put the clothes in, touch the button, close the lid, the washer does the rest." Just like today.

"You can tend to something else while it washes the clothes.

"Come back in 8 or 10 minutes and every garment is snowy white."

-8 or 10 minutes only. Better than a modern one.

-Now it takes an hour.

-Technology's gone backwards.

-Yes.

Very collectable. Great fun.

Very rare to find an early one like this,

-and, therefore, I should think the value's £300 to £400.

-Very good.

Thank you very much.

It's from the Black Forest

and it's a typical, top-of-the-range trumpeter clock.

Most people would initially think, "Maybe it's a cuckoo clock."

But you've probably peeked inside. I'll do the doors manually.

You've got these two men who should be blowing trumpets. What happened?

The trumpets were nicked, really. They were stolen in a flitting.

-What a shame!

-Yes. I don't know what happened.

-What a shame!

These nice doors, which we've got at the sides, show the movement.

And a series of pipes, a fantastically large spring barrel.

When did you last have this thing working at home?

-I would say about 25 years ago.

-That long ago!

Yes. The bellows seem to have perished.

We've got a series of horns.

Most of these trumpeters,

it's just a two or three tone - # Doo-doo. #

But you've got a full music barrel that is both pinned and bridged.

You've got an enormous amount of levers here.

It's a shame that it's not working. It's completely jammed up.

If you haven't seen it working for years, I won't try to get it going.

You've got these massive bellows here which would have driven air through all these pipes.

Those figures would have come whistling out of that door,

played a marvellous tune and then popped back in again.

I only took the back off for the first time yesterday.

-You've never seen inside before.

-Never seen inside it.

We've got a series of pipes.

It's on a par with an organ clock. This is top of the range.

I'm going to suggest a date, probably 1870s, 1880s.

I love it.

These novelty clocks are very commercial.

Up and running, and bearing in mind it has a great movement, with a full range of pipes,

when those figures are done,

that is going to be an absolute minimum of £3,500 to £4,000.

So, it's going to be worth spending a bit of money having it cleaned and overhauled.

-The bellows are easy to do.

-Yes.

-That's...

-It'd drive you mad when it was running!

-I could stand the noise.

Good.

This is so detailed.

A mouse reading a newspaper, on a stool, with its lovely tail.

That is absolutely incredible.

And I notice it's signed "HBP" - Helen Beatrix Potter. And "1890".

Well, 1890 was 12 years before she wrote Peter Rabbit.

But she was doing these drawings then. These are very early.

I particularly like this one.

Again signed. Again, really detailed.

She's doing really fine brushwork.

Those two are probably worth between £5,000 and £10,000 each.

Where did you get them?

-They belong to my daughter-in-law's mother.

-Goodness!

They came from Beatrix Potter to her aunt

who was a personal friend of the Potter family. So they came...

The Borders are not far from the Lake District, which is how the connection is made, is it?

-I think Beatrix Potter's brother farmed in the Borders.

-Really?

-And so this is the connection.

-Yes.

This one of a sinister fox, rather like Mr Todd,

but I don't think it's Mr Todd.

This one's worth about £5,000.

And then these wonderful ones of squirrels.

These must've been a design for a Christmas card

because we have stages of this.

There's that one, this one -

and the date 1894 here on the side.

Not so well finished.

But then we go to this, which is beautifully finished.

That is stunning. Those two - £5,000, £6,000, £7,000 each.

-Were these working drawings?

-Some of them.

This one - we'll go to another pile here... I can hardly believe this!

This is beautiful, and very delicate - again unfinished -

but in the corner, we have all the farm implements,

everything that Beatrix Potter would've known - forks and spades -

and two rabbits, again black and white, working.

That one probably about £10,000.

Another one here - I love this one, actually.

I think this is my favourite.

"Squintena Tabby. Licensed dealer in tea."

And there she is, looking very cross, squinting at these cats,

who are obviously kittens, looking through the window.

That is absolutely fantastic.

-That would be worth £12,000, probably.

-Good gracious!

-Or more.

And this one. This is fantastic.

I'm sure I know this drawing. I'm sure it's from a book.

-I think so.

-A little robin actually looking at a tiny little shoe,

possibly left by Peter Rabbit's father or Peter Rabbit himself.

£15,000. Probably more for that.

One with a rabbit in. It's only a little drawing, but it's superb.

-I'd say £10,000. She's signed it.

-Yes.

Then, uncharacteristic - possibly an early study for Peter Rabbit - is this one.

It's very much like Durer, the Durer picture of the rabbit.

It's meticulously finished. Beautifully done.

I'd say £12,000 for that one.

Last, but not least, are the ones you've had framed.

And these are absolutely stunning.

This lovely one of rabbits going through the snow,

I can't remember what that comes from, but it's one of her books.

This one I don't recognise at all.

-It's some rabbits round a bag of buns.

-Yes.

The keys are there, and on the label is "HBP" -

her initials once again.

Those are fantastic! Absolutely!

I would say £50,000 for those...each.

-Gosh!

-So you've got 23.

You've got the best part of £250,000 worth of goods.

-It's incredible. Thank you for bringing them in.

-Thank you very much.

My late father was a farmer in Dumfriesshire, who played many musical instruments -

Jew's harp, banjo, mandolin, bagpipes,

-bones, spoons, tin whistles... I think that was all.

-Fantastic!

In a village concert party, between the 1950s and 1970s, which raised a lot of money for charity.

-So that was all there was in your lives - music, music, music?

-Music and dogs.

-Sheepdog trials and concerts in local halls.

-Well, there he is.

He's obviously sitting in front of the object here.

So, I'll ask you to hang on to that whilst we open up...the coffin.

-And now you tell me about this.

-He called it his musical glasses.

-I think he paid between £40 and £60 for them...

-Ooh!

..which for a canny Scot and farmer 30 to 35 years ago was quite a lot.

I've never seen one of these. I'm absolutely fascinated to see one.

There are two ways in which glasses are tuneable. One's the actual size,

the diameter of the glass itself - and that determines the note -

or if you put water into a glass, you can change the pitch.

-Is this a replacement glass?

-Yes.

-And if you put water in at the right level,

it'll reach the pitch. Even though it seems to be out of sync in terms of sizes, it will achieve that note.

This lovely board tells us what the notes are.

I'll take this out because it looks as if it may rub on the glasses.

It almost has the look of a homemade musical glasses set, and actually that's what it is.

We're not going to see another one of these for a very, very long time.

And for a collector of quirky musical instruments...

this would be a must. I mean, you could also keep your drinks on those, drink OUT of it!

I think that, um...you would have to pay £2,000 EASILY

to find an equivalent in a London shop.

-The secret is not to have the glasses wet, but to have your fingers wet.

-Yes, it is, yes.

OK, we've got what looks like two octaves, so if I start halfway through the register...

GLASSES "SING" IN DIFFERENT NOTES

PLAYS "Auld Lang Syne"

Wrong note!

Oh, they recognise it, they recognise it!

I first knew her in a drawer in my mother's house, just the head and the limbs and body all in pieces.

And, um...it used to belong to her mother, then one day she decided...

There was a doll's exhibition, so she got it put together again

and had its wig made, made clothes for it

-and then we were allowed to hold her carefully sometimes.

-How lovely!

My grandmother's father went to Paris - he was a jeweller -

-and she used to leave her dolls by the fire, and they were wax ones and melted.

-Oh, my God!

-So...

-Don't believe it!

-So he came back one day with this doll, apparently.

-To make up for all the wax.

-To make up for all the wax ones.

Ah, what a lovely story. Well, you're quite right,

she was made in Paris, um...

She's probably made of bisque, which is unglazed porcelain.

-That's the face?

-That's the head.

Her eyes are made of wonderful glass known as "paperweight eyes"

because it's the same process as making glass paperweights in Paris.

Um, you say she had a new wig made for her?

Now, this is human hair, and so often they made...

-The original wigs would have been made of mohair, which is from the mountain goat.

-Yes.

The eyes would have been stuck in with wax,

so if you ever cleaned her, you should avoid the eyes.

And I'll just show you underneath...

I always look at a Jumeau body, which I'm sure she has,

and it should have a stamp on the behind, as it does.

"Jumeau medaille d'or Paris."

Now, that means that probably in either the 1870 exhibition

or even maybe a bit later in Paris,

the Jumeau factory won a gold medal for making Jumeau dolls.

I always think the head looks really quite sort of small

-compared with these rather hefty limbs.

-Yes.

She's not an ordinary dolly face.

She's known as a "Jumeau triste"

because she looks rather wan and sad.

Well, I think you should go home and tomorrow ring your insurers

and insure her for £10,000.

That's, um... Heavens!

Bit of a worry, suddenly.

Yes, it puts her in a different sort of category.

We'd better give you some special wrapping to take her home.

Yes, I don't know that she should go in that old bag again!

Well, the show may have come to you from the Dumfries Ice Bowl but it's been as warm as toast here all day.

We found some Dumfries silver and there was that amazing collection of pieces by Beatrix Potter,

but the only sign of the great Rabbie Burns so far has been this -

a miniature loving cup made in Germany for the souvenir market

in about 1900. Small but perfectly formed.

And now it's time for us Sassenachs to head for the border, which is less than 30 miles away.

So to the people of Dumfries and Galloway, thank you. And from this lovely part of the world, goodbye.

Subtitles by BBC Broadcast