0:00:29 > 0:00:33This week, the Roadshow's in Kendal, Cumbria,
0:00:33 > 0:00:38known as "the Gateway to the Lake District" and "the Old Grey Town".
0:00:38 > 0:00:43It's the famous mint cake - energy supplier for weary hill walkers -
0:00:43 > 0:00:46that the town is really famous for.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50Three companies still manufacture it,
0:00:50 > 0:00:53and it's exported all over the world.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59Yeah! Oh, yeah. My goodness, it works!
0:00:59 > 0:01:01One firm supplied Kendal Mint Cake
0:01:01 > 0:01:05to the British expedition to Mount Everest in 1953,
0:01:05 > 0:01:09led by Sir Edmund Hilary and his guide, Sherpa Tensing.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11As the triumphant climber wrote,
0:01:11 > 0:01:16"On the summit, Tensing embraced me. We nibbled Kendal Mint Cake."
0:01:18 > 0:01:23A less heroic clamber brings you to Kendal's circular Norman castle.
0:01:23 > 0:01:28It was the birthplace of Catherine Parr, wife of King Henry VIII.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32She drew the lucky number six, and was the only one to outlive him.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38As ever, dramatic scenery equals artists.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41Turner and Ruskin are among the painters who have committed
0:01:41 > 0:01:43the Lake District to canvas.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47And legendary fell walker and guidebook writer Alfred Wainwright
0:01:47 > 0:01:51can take credit for the generations of walkers whose boot prints
0:01:51 > 0:01:53have been left all over Cumbria.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57Wainwright was honorary curator of Kendal Museum for many years,
0:01:57 > 0:02:01and here you can inspect some of his personal belongings,
0:02:01 > 0:02:04including his trademark pipe and well-darned socks.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11In the centre of town, in a Georgian mansion called Abbot Hall,
0:02:11 > 0:02:14is one of Britain's smallest independent art galleries.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18It contains a large collection of the work of George Romney,
0:02:18 > 0:02:22one of the most sought-after painters of the late 18th century.
0:02:22 > 0:02:27"The Gower Children" is reckoned to be his undisputed masterpiece.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31Tucked away in a side street is Kendal Brown House.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34It's one of the last snuff mills in the country,
0:02:34 > 0:02:36still milling using traditional methods.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41They've been turning the leaf and stalk of the tobacco plant
0:02:41 > 0:02:43into snuff since 1792.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49I don't personally know anybody who takes snuff, but somebody must,
0:02:49 > 0:02:52because more than 60 varieties are produced here,
0:02:52 > 0:02:55and they're fired off all across the world.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59Now this, I believe, is how you take it -
0:02:59 > 0:03:01snap on the top, loosen the snuff,
0:03:01 > 0:03:04a little pinch like that, take it in the nose.
0:03:10 > 0:03:1259 to go.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16We'll be on the look-out for a few snuff boxes on today's Roadshow.
0:03:16 > 0:03:21Our venue has an historical ring to it - the Queen Catherine School.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24- Cleared the house, have you?- Yeah.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27- There's some books. - Beautifully wrapped.
0:03:27 > 0:03:32- Where did it come from? Is it an inherited piece?- No, about...
0:03:32 > 0:03:34I was once in general practice,
0:03:34 > 0:03:39and about 50 years ago I saw a patient and tried to help him,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42didn't think I'd helped him much,
0:03:42 > 0:03:44but one day he gave me this.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48I've slightly neglected it - the sun's bleached the back of it
0:03:48 > 0:03:53- and I haven't dared mend it yet. - Well, let's have a look at it,
0:03:53 > 0:03:56because it really is the most gorgeous object!
0:03:56 > 0:03:59The box itself -
0:03:59 > 0:04:02the wood is a veneer of kingwood,
0:04:02 > 0:04:05which you can see has been quartered
0:04:05 > 0:04:08so that you have this wonderful chevron effect.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11- Kingwood?- Kingwood.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14Now, it wouldn't surprise me... A-ha! There we go.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16Is that called marquetry?
0:04:16 > 0:04:21This is...really it's almost parquetry rather than marquetry,
0:04:21 > 0:04:26because it is this geometric design rather than a more natural design,
0:04:26 > 0:04:29and this is almost certainly tulipwood,
0:04:29 > 0:04:33with perhaps a little piece of satin wood or boxwood
0:04:33 > 0:04:37as the stringing. I particularly like things like
0:04:37 > 0:04:43the decorative engraving here on the hinges -
0:04:43 > 0:04:46beautifully done.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49And the same one can find on the escutcheon here -
0:04:49 > 0:04:52again, a lovely piece of engraving.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56Here, we've got a little bottle,
0:04:56 > 0:05:01would have held medicaments or some sort of curative.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05Silver mounted. I'm not surprised that these aren't hallmarked,
0:05:05 > 0:05:09- because, in fact, this little set is French.- Is it? Oh, gosh!
0:05:09 > 0:05:13And the accessories that go with it...
0:05:13 > 0:05:17we have a little funnel here of cut glass,
0:05:17 > 0:05:19a little beaker,
0:05:19 > 0:05:23which you would have used to down your preparation,
0:05:23 > 0:05:29and a little...salver, really, which would be used for mixing compounds.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33It is charming, and I would date it to about 1740.
0:05:33 > 0:05:38- Then it was pre-1800. I wondered about that.- Yes.- How intriguing!
0:05:38 > 0:05:43When one puts it back to the 1740s, it becomes a more important object,
0:05:43 > 0:05:47and, as such, I think it really needs to have a professional
0:05:47 > 0:05:49- looking at the restoration.- Yes.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53And I don't think it's going to be an inexpensive job,
0:05:53 > 0:05:56because when I tell you that the value, as it is,
0:05:56 > 0:06:00is between perhaps £3,000 and £4,000,
0:06:00 > 0:06:03you can see that it is actually worth it.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07- Thank you for bringing it in. - Thank you. I've learnt a lot.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11I'm sorry to say I'd never heard of J H Cookson,
0:06:11 > 0:06:15and yet here we have this rather beautiful sketchbook.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19- Can you tell me about him?- I know very little about this person
0:06:19 > 0:06:23- except that he was a very distant relation of mine.- Oh, right.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26And what I assume from these wonderful drawings -
0:06:26 > 0:06:28and if we look through...
0:06:28 > 0:06:31he was obviously in the Border Regiment
0:06:31 > 0:06:34- during the First World War.- Yes.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Most of them went to the Somme, but he went to Peshawar in India.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39And this probably saved his life.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43- I would imagine so.- Not on the Somme, he was in a relatively...
0:06:43 > 0:06:46- Peaceful area.- Peaceful area.
0:06:46 > 0:06:51- Kendal has been described as "the town of widows".- Oh, has it?
0:06:51 > 0:06:54Because of the number of soldiers who gave their lives at the Somme
0:06:54 > 0:06:56- in the First World War.- Gosh.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59Well, I love this sketchbook,
0:06:59 > 0:07:02- because I think it shows the amateur at their best.- Yes.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05And this portrait of - I assume a friend,
0:07:05 > 0:07:08a fellow officer in the Regiment - is just magical.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10The detail is beautiful.
0:07:10 > 0:07:15We just thumb through it and we come across a number of nice drawings,
0:07:15 > 0:07:18and here he's attempted
0:07:18 > 0:07:23to make a quick study of one of the women water carriers in Peshawar...
0:07:23 > 0:07:28And what I like also is these colouring notes -
0:07:28 > 0:07:30"light pinkish edge,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33"reddish black with light spots...
0:07:35 > 0:07:38"..pink and white stripes, darker pink, one colour."
0:07:38 > 0:07:43Here...we see this other album...
0:07:43 > 0:07:45Here is the finished study,
0:07:45 > 0:07:49which, obviously when he had more time, he finished,
0:07:49 > 0:07:52and he's been very faithful - look at the pink trousers here
0:07:52 > 0:07:57and the white shroud. It's a wonderful sort of thought process -
0:07:57 > 0:08:00you see the colouring notes, a rough sketch,
0:08:00 > 0:08:04and then he goes back home, back to his tent or wherever,
0:08:04 > 0:08:07and paints these rather detailed watercolours.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10Very beautiful indeed.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13And then we can move to these...
0:08:13 > 0:08:17- Now, that is a beautiful watercolour. - That's one of my favourites.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19For an amateur artist,
0:08:19 > 0:08:23he's really captured the whole sort of flavour of that area.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27- You can feel the heat, can't you? - Yes.- And this also is interesting.
0:08:27 > 0:08:32It doesn't look so Indian, this, but actually if we look on the back
0:08:32 > 0:08:37- it says "near Helm Lodge, Kendal, 1913", so before he went there.- Yes.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40I think this again is extremely charming.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44- How does one value something like that?- I daren't ask.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47I think, um, for the group of the two sketchbooks,
0:08:47 > 0:08:50I would probably say £500 to £700.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53- Really?- Because they're very interesting.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56Wonderful insight into a talented amateur.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59- Thank you.- Thank you. - You've taught me something.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02Well, the story is that I got it from my brother-in-law,
0:09:02 > 0:09:05who died about seven years ago.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07He collected guns of all kinds
0:09:07 > 0:09:11and he was a keen shooter of, you know, rabbits, etc.
0:09:11 > 0:09:15Now, he worked for the Electricity Board - he was a linesman,
0:09:15 > 0:09:18and he came across one house
0:09:18 > 0:09:22and it was just an old lady, a small farmstead, and...
0:09:22 > 0:09:26and he started chatting, he did a few extra jobs for her,
0:09:26 > 0:09:30and he asked her if he could shoot rabbits on her land -
0:09:30 > 0:09:32this is quite a lot of years ago -
0:09:32 > 0:09:35and she said yes, she didn't mind.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39And so he got talking about his guns and she said, "Oh,
0:09:39 > 0:09:42"I've an old one that Dad left.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45"It's no good to me. You can't fire it or anything.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49"If you're interested, you can have it."
0:09:49 > 0:09:53And we found that this didn't need a licence, and so I hung onto it.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57Right. I'm happy to confirm that this doesn't need a licence
0:09:57 > 0:09:59because it's an antique firearm,
0:09:59 > 0:10:03providing that you keep it as a curiosity or an ornament.
0:10:03 > 0:10:09Now, it says on the top of the barrels in this lovely gold script,
0:10:09 > 0:10:12"Invention Pauly Brevetee a Paris"
0:10:12 > 0:10:14and my awful schoolboy French
0:10:14 > 0:10:19tells me that that says "Pauly's invention, patented in Paris".
0:10:19 > 0:10:23Now, Samuel Pauly was a Swiss chap who was an artilleryman.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27He came over to England towards the end of the Napoleonic Wars
0:10:27 > 0:10:30and he was granted a patent in 1816
0:10:30 > 0:10:33for a breech-loading gun that used a separate cartridge
0:10:33 > 0:10:36- which you could stick in the back of it.- OK.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40It was ignited by compressed air that was heated by a piston, and
0:10:40 > 0:10:43that was the basis of his system.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46He'd tried to get the French authorities interested in it,
0:10:46 > 0:10:50- but they were wedded to the muzzle-loading musket...- Yes, yes.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52..and they didn't want to know.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56So he came to England to see if he could do any better over here.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00And this gun is a very late version of his early gun,
0:11:00 > 0:11:02and it's almost the same.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06It relies on this rather elegantly shaped breech lever
0:11:06 > 0:11:09which exposes the two chambers.
0:11:09 > 0:11:14- Yes.- And if I just tip it up, you can see coming out of there
0:11:14 > 0:11:18- is one of the little reloadable cartridges.- Yes, yes.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21That would have had a charge of gunpowder in there
0:11:21 > 0:11:26and either a ball or some shot for shooting birds in a twist of paper,
0:11:26 > 0:11:30- and you would have dropped that into there.- Yes.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33Push that home, close the breech,
0:11:33 > 0:11:37and then put a percussion cap on that nipple. Pull the hammer back.
0:11:37 > 0:11:42And when you pulled the trigger, the hammer fell forward, crushed the cap
0:11:42 > 0:11:46which had fulminate of mercury in it - that flashed and it ran through
0:11:46 > 0:11:48into there, and off went the gun.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52- This was when everybody was standing with a rod...- Rodding.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55..whacking it all down, so it was revolutionary.
0:11:55 > 0:12:02And you can see this design carried on into other French sporting guns
0:12:02 > 0:12:05- well into the 1860s, 1870s...- Right.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09So, whilst it didn't catch on at the time, it was the start,
0:12:09 > 0:12:11and it was really the sort of...
0:12:11 > 0:12:15- The beginning of doing away with rodding.- Yes.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19It would have been a very expensive firearm in its day.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23When you think that a London gun of the period would be 120 guineas,
0:12:23 > 0:12:27this would have been in that sort of parish, a lot of money.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30Today, about £5,000.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32Never!
0:12:32 > 0:12:37- Very, very nice, very rare gun.- I bet the old lady didn't know that!
0:12:37 > 0:12:41- Well, she got the benefit from your brother's kindness...- That's right.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43..and that's worked its way down.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47And he kept going back and helping her out, I think, so...
0:12:47 > 0:12:51- Thank you.- It's a lovely gun. - I've enjoyed that!
0:12:51 > 0:12:55- Is this something you dug up? - We found it in the coal shed.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59- The neighbour had left it in our... - The barrow?- The clock.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02Went out to get coal, and there's a clock.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05I said, "There's a clock in the coal hole. I'll bring it in."
0:13:05 > 0:13:08I put it in the cellar and thought no more of it.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11And our neighbour had found it in a skip.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15- He found it in a skip...- Didn't want it...- So he gave it to us.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17He said, "You like old things."
0:13:17 > 0:13:22- What have you done to the case? - I just polished it with ordinary...
0:13:22 > 0:13:25- You haven't had it restored? - Done nothing to it.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29No, nothing at all. In fact, we nearly had it working.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33- You nearly had it working?- Yes. - Hold onto that.- Shall I hold that?
0:13:33 > 0:13:35Hold that.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42- You nearly had it working, eh?- Yes.
0:13:44 > 0:13:48- Well, we made it tick.- Right. Well, that is the original movement.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52- Yeah.- Um...it's quite interesting, actually.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55You've got what they call shape plates -
0:13:55 > 0:13:58they're A-frame plates, shaped like an A -
0:13:58 > 0:14:01a standard weight-driven timepiece,
0:14:01 > 0:14:06and you should, on the back of the dial - if you can hold that...
0:14:06 > 0:14:09that will fit on the four pins...
0:14:09 > 0:14:12- Yeah.- ..that we've got here.- Right.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16You've also got a name on here which looks like Valentine...
0:14:16 > 0:14:17- Never noticed that.- ..Hitchin...
0:14:17 > 0:14:20I can't read that.
0:14:20 > 0:14:25That could be the name. I'll turn it around. I can't hold all these bits.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28It's quite heavy - that's why we've got it in a wheelbarrow.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32- Fantastic thing to find in a coal hole.- I know.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35Let's put it back down together.
0:14:35 > 0:14:40- Um, do you know the date of it? - No, no idea.- No, no idea at all.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42- Well, I'll tell you.- Pendulum.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46Don't give it any more damage!
0:14:46 > 0:14:49Let me tell you, it's 18th century.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52- Wow! I didn't know that!- That old?
0:14:52 > 0:14:56If you look at the design of the case...very well-figured mahogany.
0:14:56 > 0:15:01That's the sort of quality mahogany you'd see on a good long-case clock.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04These little decorative scroll ears here,
0:15:04 > 0:15:09- that's typical 18th century, and this cast concave bezel.- Yeah.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13And the amount of turning work, circling work...
0:15:13 > 0:15:17- we've got in the actual mahogany.- Right.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20That's a very nice thing. Um...
0:15:20 > 0:15:22getting it restored...
0:15:22 > 0:15:27The best thing I can do is tell you what you'd have to pay for it
0:15:27 > 0:15:32if you went into a shop and it was fully restored and in perfect order.
0:15:32 > 0:15:33Yes.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37I wouldn't think you'd get much change out of...
0:15:37 > 0:15:41- about £4,000.- Goodness!- Right.
0:15:41 > 0:15:46- So you can make up your mind... - How much to spend on it.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49It needs sympathetic restoration.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51- Yes.- I don't think you'll be doing it yourself, then.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53No.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56Just hope the neighbour doesn't want it back now.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00So, when did you buy it?
0:16:00 > 0:16:0220 years ago.
0:16:02 > 0:16:06- What was the occasion? - It was for our silver wedding.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08It was a present for my husband.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11I knew he liked paperweights.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13- And this is it?- That is it.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17Because the great French glass paperweight makers
0:16:17 > 0:16:19are Clichy, Baccarat and St Louis,
0:16:19 > 0:16:23and you can tell this is Baccarat - do you know why?
0:16:23 > 0:16:27- There's a bee in it somewhere. - There's a bee in it. That's right.
0:16:27 > 0:16:32There's a bee or a butterfly right in the centre, and the date 1848.
0:16:32 > 0:16:38And then the rest of the canes - we call these coloured canes -
0:16:38 > 0:16:41many of them are actually little animal silhouettes -
0:16:41 > 0:16:44you've got a dog, cockerel, goat,
0:16:44 > 0:16:47but, rather more interestingly, this one here,
0:16:47 > 0:16:50a little running... Do you know?
0:16:50 > 0:16:54- No.- It's a little devil.- Oh! Is it?
0:16:54 > 0:16:58- Yes, jolly nice. What did you pay for it?- I'm not saying.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00- You're not telling me?- No.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02OK, I won't... OK.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05It's a pretty little thing and Baccarat is a great name,
0:17:05 > 0:17:08and I'm not going to tell you what it's worth.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12Well, I'm not going to tell YOU. ..Somewhere in the region of £200.
0:17:14 > 0:17:16- Is that good?- Yes.- Good.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21- Another signed piece of furniture, this time from Kendal.- Yes.
0:17:21 > 0:17:22What do you know about Simpson?
0:17:22 > 0:17:27Not a great deal, really, only that he was based in Kendal
0:17:27 > 0:17:31and was Arts and Crafts movement. We have one or two bits of furniture
0:17:31 > 0:17:35which we've inherited over the years.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38It's a lovely little oak drop-leaf table.
0:17:38 > 0:17:42As you say, Arts and Crafts, with this wonderful inlay here.
0:17:42 > 0:17:47The way they've done the pegging and jointing, typical Arts and Crafts.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51People seem to sign all their furniture round here.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55I'm delighted, as a historian of furniture - signed pieces!
0:17:55 > 0:17:58Simpson is a good local maker.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01I'm not up to speed on local prices for Simpson.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05- 250, something like that? - Yes, that's excellent.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09I went into what would be the playroom and I kicked this box...
0:18:09 > 0:18:11- On the floor?- On the floor, yeah.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14It was in that same condition, all battered,
0:18:14 > 0:18:18and I had a look inside and the young boy came out of me again.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21It has a handbrake, and the steering linkage works and everything.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25- You can actually wind it up, set the handbrake.- And it holds it.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28- Take the handbrake off... - And it flies away!
0:18:28 > 0:18:32- It's great because it's in such fantastic condition.- Yeah.
0:18:32 > 0:18:37These constructor toys were a feature of the inter-war years.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40We're talking of the '20s, '30s. Meccano did them in Britain.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43- There were cars and planes.- Yes.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46But here we've got an American version.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49It's a model of a rather earlier vehicle -
0:18:49 > 0:18:52by the time this was made, this was an old-fashioned design.
0:18:52 > 0:18:57Well engineered. It's very sturdy. But the appeal to a collector today
0:18:57 > 0:19:02is not just that it works, but that it is absolutely mint - it's as new.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06Because of the condition and because of the rarity,
0:19:06 > 0:19:09a collector's going to pay at least £300 for that.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11Just as well you kicked that box!
0:19:13 > 0:19:17I've heard of multiple personalities but this really takes the biscuit.
0:19:17 > 0:19:19Well, yes...
0:19:19 > 0:19:24They certainly are very unusual and I'm surprised to find one here.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26What's the background on this one?
0:19:26 > 0:19:29Well, it belonged to my aunt
0:19:29 > 0:19:34and she gave them to me when I was a child
0:19:34 > 0:19:37and, um, that's all I know about it, really.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41- When she gave you the - what shall we call it? - the set...- Yeah.
0:19:41 > 0:19:45- ..did you like it or did you find it a bit...?- No, I liked it.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48I was rather fascinated by it
0:19:48 > 0:19:52and I did used to put the different heads on from time to time...
0:19:52 > 0:19:55It was like having four dolls.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58Exactly! It's a very clever system.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00You have the body,
0:20:00 > 0:20:03a very nice jointed body
0:20:03 > 0:20:06with lovely layers and layers of...
0:20:06 > 0:20:12underskirts and petticoats, and then this very pretty overdress on top -
0:20:12 > 0:20:14a nightdress, perhaps.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18We have one here with eyes that open and close
0:20:18 > 0:20:23and then three other heads with different sorts of hairstyles.
0:20:23 > 0:20:27This one could almost be a boy's haircut, couldn't it?
0:20:27 > 0:20:32- I used to think of that as the boy. - And one with golden curly locks
0:20:32 > 0:20:35and the last one... This is great.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38She's got what I call a pair of headsets on,
0:20:38 > 0:20:40a pair of telephone headsets,
0:20:40 > 0:20:45wonderful sort of horns like croissants of plaits either side.
0:20:46 > 0:20:51She is made of bisque, or the heads are made of bisque,
0:20:51 > 0:20:55and hopefully... There we go. On the back of this one,
0:20:55 > 0:20:59we have everything that we want to know about,
0:20:59 > 0:21:04because it says here Germany and the number 174.
0:21:04 > 0:21:09Now, that number actually refers to this particular head -
0:21:09 > 0:21:12- it's known as a number 174 head... - Right.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15..so that's easy to identify.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19Ah, there's a bit more information, here on the box lid itself.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21It actually says Kestner,
0:21:21 > 0:21:26and Kestner will be or is the name of the manufacturer.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29Now, JD Kestner, the makers,
0:21:29 > 0:21:34were based in Waltershausen in Thuringia, in Germany.
0:21:34 > 0:21:39And Thuringia was the great doll-making area of Germany
0:21:39 > 0:21:41in the 19th century
0:21:41 > 0:21:45and, in fact, Germany was the great doll-producing nation.
0:21:45 > 0:21:50And I think that one of the aspects of this that appeals to me so much
0:21:50 > 0:21:55is the fact it is in its original case with the label still there,
0:21:55 > 0:21:59- almost unplayed with. - We did used to play with it.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02I'd almost say that you're fibbing,
0:22:02 > 0:22:05because it is in such great condition.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09You were obviously careful. Date-wise...
0:22:09 > 0:22:13she's going to be dating from between about 1900 and 1910 -
0:22:13 > 0:22:15that sort of period -
0:22:15 > 0:22:19and I would have said that the doll herself,
0:22:19 > 0:22:21just as she comes, would be worth
0:22:21 > 0:22:24- perhaps £300 or £400...- Yes.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27But with the other heads,
0:22:27 > 0:22:30and the fact that she is complete in her original box,
0:22:30 > 0:22:34- we are talking about more like £1,500.- Gosh!
0:22:34 > 0:22:37My great-grandfather, John Shotten Boon,
0:22:37 > 0:22:42- went out to Russia in the 1860s in the cotton industry.- Oh, yes.
0:22:42 > 0:22:46- He went to this mill near Tver, near Moscow.- Right.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50And he finished up being general manager of the mill,
0:22:50 > 0:22:54and this was presented to him at a fire insurance dinner.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57- Oh, yes.- Whether it was to everybody at the dinner
0:22:57 > 0:23:00or whether he was a director, we're not sure,
0:23:00 > 0:23:04but it was given to them then and it's been in the family ever since.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08I can't imagine that this would have been given to everyone,
0:23:08 > 0:23:12because it's of exceptionally good quality
0:23:12 > 0:23:16and it would have been jolly costly if they'd handed out 10 or 20.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20It's obviously all in its original fitted case
0:23:20 > 0:23:22and bears the label of Ovchinikov,
0:23:22 > 0:23:27- who was a very well known Russian silversmith and also retailer.- Yes.
0:23:27 > 0:23:31So, in this case, he is partly the manufacturer
0:23:31 > 0:23:33and partly the retailer.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37Um...the set, as you can see, consists of...
0:23:37 > 0:23:41two vodka cups, I suppose, because they used to give lots of toasts...
0:23:41 > 0:23:44- That's right.- ..a napkin ring,
0:23:44 > 0:23:47a serving spoon, knife and fork,
0:23:47 > 0:23:50and this is a technique that's known as niello.
0:23:50 > 0:23:56Niello is a sort of soft alloy which melts at quite a low temperature.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59You engrave the piece by hand,
0:23:59 > 0:24:02and then you melt the niello onto the surface
0:24:02 > 0:24:06and then you just polish it off and it stays in the grooves.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08- It's really the most super quality.- Yes.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11Looking underneath at the hallmarks...
0:24:11 > 0:24:14Russian hallmarks are very informative,
0:24:14 > 0:24:17so they actually have the date 1877.
0:24:17 > 0:24:24- Right.- And the maker's mark here, which looks like BC, is actually...
0:24:24 > 0:24:29The B is a V in Russian, in Cyrillic, and the C is an S,
0:24:29 > 0:24:32- so this is Vasili Semenov.- Right.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34Not a maker I've come across before,
0:24:34 > 0:24:37but obviously a very high quality one...
0:24:38 > 0:24:42..and he's the maker of the hollow ware.
0:24:42 > 0:24:48- Right.- The knife and fork are actually made by Ovchinikov,
0:24:48 > 0:24:52and there's his name stamped in full in Cyrillic characters
0:24:52 > 0:24:54and the same date, 1877.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58- I can see there's a piece missing. Any idea where it is?- No.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02- There would be another spoon there. - I think people split things up.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04This was away. We had that.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07And then we got this back from a cousin.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10- Maybe another cousin's got the spoon.- That's interesting.
0:25:10 > 0:25:15- That's the plaque off the door in Tver.- In his office?- Yes.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19Office door. And so that says Boon in Russian,
0:25:19 > 0:25:22and Boon in English. Interesting.
0:25:22 > 0:25:27I've been trying to work out what it should be on a piece-by-piece basis,
0:25:27 > 0:25:31- but of course it's worth much more as a set.- Yes.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35And I really think something like this...you'd have to insure
0:25:35 > 0:25:39- for between £4,000 and £5,000. - Right. Thank you.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42Outstanding quality for Russian silver of that period,
0:25:42 > 0:25:44- so thank you for bringing it.- Thank you.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47Here we have a 17th-century subject
0:25:47 > 0:25:51and yet the picture was painted at the end of the 19th century,
0:25:51 > 0:25:56and we can see here that it's signed and dated by an artist called Lewin,
0:25:56 > 0:26:00and I think it says 91, for 1891.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02Do you know anything about Lewin?
0:26:02 > 0:26:05He's not a very prolific painter,
0:26:05 > 0:26:09- as far as I know.- Well, he's one of these interesting artists,
0:26:09 > 0:26:14and it's typical in the 19th century that they are not very well known
0:26:14 > 0:26:18and there isn't much information about them in the record books,
0:26:18 > 0:26:20and yet Stephen Lewin was known
0:26:20 > 0:26:23for painting these sort of historical scenes,
0:26:23 > 0:26:27and here we have a rather intriguing subject, don't we?
0:26:27 > 0:26:30The label says "a visit to the attorney",
0:26:30 > 0:26:33but what do you think's going on?
0:26:33 > 0:26:37Well, I think he's pleading, but he looks as if he's saying,
0:26:37 > 0:26:40"I don't believe a word you're saying."
0:26:40 > 0:26:44Right. That's what I enjoy about these pictures -
0:26:44 > 0:26:47you can add your own interpretation to what's going on.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50I had a different feeling.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53I thought this wonderful swashbuckling,
0:26:53 > 0:26:55Errol Flynn-like character,
0:26:55 > 0:27:00who's spent all his money, no doubt, on women, wine and good clothes,
0:27:00 > 0:27:03perhaps he's having to sell his property,
0:27:03 > 0:27:07and we see certainly perhaps deeds of a house
0:27:07 > 0:27:11or deeds of property, and I think he's in serious debt, this man,
0:27:11 > 0:27:17and, you know, he's lived the life of Riley and now he's paying for it.
0:27:17 > 0:27:22And I love this very sort of rather po-faced gentleman here
0:27:22 > 0:27:26who's just sort of saying, "Well, you silly old fool," really...
0:27:26 > 0:27:30- Has it been in your family for many years?- Since 1926.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32- Right.- Here's the original...
0:27:32 > 0:27:35And you've kept it all that time?
0:27:35 > 0:27:37- Yes.- That's wonderful!
0:27:37 > 0:27:42"Original painting by Stephen Lewin, £85."
0:27:42 > 0:27:45I would have thought something like this...
0:27:45 > 0:27:48In a way, the fashion for these,
0:27:48 > 0:27:51these sort of historical period pieces,
0:27:51 > 0:27:54has perhaps fallen a little bit,
0:27:54 > 0:27:57but I would say £3,000 to £5,000.
0:27:57 > 0:28:02- How much?- Between £3,000 and £5,000, that sort of thing.- Yes.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06- So not bad on your original investment of £85.- No.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09- Thank you for showing it to me. - Thank you.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16I'll make it very simple - it's a universal, equinoxial sundial.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18Right.
0:28:18 > 0:28:22Let me explain how it works simply. This is called the gnomon.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26You've seen a sundial in a garden, and the sun strikes the gnomon.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29The thing about a sundial in a garden -
0:28:29 > 0:28:31if it isn't perfectly set up, perfectly orientated,
0:28:31 > 0:28:33it won't work. That's fine -
0:28:33 > 0:28:38if you've got it on a nice big stone plinth, it will work,
0:28:38 > 0:28:41but when you go out into the countryside
0:28:41 > 0:28:43and you want to tell the time,
0:28:43 > 0:28:48- you need a universal...- Right. - ..and for different levels.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51The way this one works is you have a compass underneath,
0:28:51 > 0:28:53so you can set it where you want it,
0:28:53 > 0:28:56obviously pointing to north,
0:28:56 > 0:29:02and then you can set this, the chapter plate,
0:29:02 > 0:29:05which has the actual chapters on it,
0:29:05 > 0:29:10to the right latitude. Now, we're missing one bit.
0:29:10 > 0:29:12There should be a folding piece...
0:29:12 > 0:29:17- Right.- There should be a piece that folds up and runs in that groove,
0:29:17 > 0:29:21and that would be engraved with the latitude.
0:29:21 > 0:29:23Right.
0:29:23 > 0:29:2645, 50, 55, 59 degrees...
0:29:26 > 0:29:30Where you are between the equator and the North Pole is your latitude.
0:29:30 > 0:29:32So you can set it to the latitude,
0:29:32 > 0:29:37and then it's perfectly orientated and you can get the time anywhere.
0:29:37 > 0:29:39They're not particularly rare.
0:29:39 > 0:29:43It dates from sometime about 1830, 1840,
0:29:43 > 0:29:48but having its original case with the velvet lining is lovely.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51Making that scale is quite a problem,
0:29:51 > 0:29:54so, as it stands, I would say it's probably worth
0:29:54 > 0:29:57a couple of hundred pounds or so.
0:29:57 > 0:30:02It doesn't surprise me that these were originally in Bolton because
0:30:02 > 0:30:06up in the north-west of England, as in much of the country,
0:30:06 > 0:30:10there was a great vogue in and around about 1890,
0:30:10 > 0:30:14through to about 1910, for bisque figures.
0:30:14 > 0:30:16Whoever sold them in the north-west
0:30:16 > 0:30:21must have made a fortune. Biscuit figures were in everybody's home.
0:30:21 > 0:30:25I say biscuit. Biscuit or bisque, it's the same thing.
0:30:25 > 0:30:27What we're looking at is a porcelain
0:30:27 > 0:30:31that's been given a very, very fine glaze.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34- Almost like a matt glaze.- Yes.
0:30:34 > 0:30:36What I like about your two figures
0:30:36 > 0:30:40is that they're in pretty reasonable condition.
0:30:40 > 0:30:43- This type are referred to as piano babies.- Yes.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46People used to stick them on the piano.
0:30:46 > 0:30:48They were certainly made in Germany.
0:30:48 > 0:30:55- Right.- And I would suspect that they were probably made in about 1900.
0:30:55 > 0:30:57When valuing your piano babies,
0:30:57 > 0:31:01I think you would be hard-pressed
0:31:01 > 0:31:03to find a pair like this for less than £1,000.
0:31:05 > 0:31:07Gosh!
0:31:07 > 0:31:12Is it getting harder to tell the real thing from reproduction?
0:31:12 > 0:31:15It's always the same with horrors -
0:31:15 > 0:31:20once you know, it's easy. If you don't know, it's easy to be had.
0:31:20 > 0:31:24I've brought two things which are fooling people at the moment.
0:31:24 > 0:31:30This has been flooding the market over the last 15 years.
0:31:30 > 0:31:32It comes from China,
0:31:32 > 0:31:36it's a porcelain decorated with various subject matters,
0:31:36 > 0:31:39including Japanese subject matter
0:31:39 > 0:31:43and Mason's ironstone - reproducing that.
0:31:43 > 0:31:48If someone saw something like that, what should they look out for?
0:31:48 > 0:31:53In this particular case, very much this smoky black outline here.
0:31:53 > 0:31:56If you've got that,
0:31:56 > 0:32:00you're pretty definitely looking at a reproduction.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03The gold should be real gold,
0:32:03 > 0:32:07but here they've used a sort of metallic orange.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10This is mine, by the way.
0:32:10 > 0:32:14- I bought this from a retail shop for £18.- £18.
0:32:14 > 0:32:17That is with the shop profit -
0:32:17 > 0:32:19High Street price, with the profit -
0:32:19 > 0:32:24shipped all the way from China and they can be economic at £18.
0:32:24 > 0:32:28- But this is all legal trade. - Yes, there's no problem with it,
0:32:28 > 0:32:32unless it's sold as the real thing,
0:32:32 > 0:32:36or it's in an "antiques fair"
0:32:36 > 0:32:40and you're led to believe that it's got some age to it.
0:32:40 > 0:32:42and it really comes down to
0:32:42 > 0:32:46demanding of the person that's selling it to you,
0:32:46 > 0:32:51"What is this object?" and getting a receipt -
0:32:51 > 0:32:55that is absolutely vital.
0:32:55 > 0:33:00This was brought in today by a gentleman, and up until yesterday,
0:33:00 > 0:33:04when I was at a lecture given by a dealer at an antiques fair,
0:33:04 > 0:33:08- I- would have said that that was genuine.
0:33:08 > 0:33:10It's apparently made by Sylvac -
0:33:10 > 0:33:12got a mark on it there -
0:33:12 > 0:33:18and it's the sort of thing that Sylvac made. BUT...
0:33:18 > 0:33:23these are being made in Stoke-on-Trent NOW.
0:33:23 > 0:33:27This company has bought up the rights to Sylvac,
0:33:27 > 0:33:29Charlotte Reed, Shorter,
0:33:29 > 0:33:32Wood and of one or two others,
0:33:32 > 0:33:37and are legally entitled to put those names onto whatever they like.
0:33:37 > 0:33:39And they're reproducing something...
0:33:39 > 0:33:43That's not even a reproduction of a Sylvac piece.
0:33:43 > 0:33:45It's just in the STYLE of Sylvac,
0:33:45 > 0:33:48so it's not any kind of a forgery.
0:33:48 > 0:33:51They're doing nothing illegal,
0:33:51 > 0:33:57but these are in fairs being sold as the real thing,
0:33:57 > 0:34:01and they're jolly difficult to tell.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05And how much was that doggie in the window?
0:34:05 > 0:34:08I didn't ask, but probably not a lot of money.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10It's a jolly nice dog,
0:34:10 > 0:34:15but it probably sold off the shelf in Stoke-on-Trent for £30,
0:34:15 > 0:34:19but if you bought it at a fair, they might charge you £100.
0:34:19 > 0:34:21It's an awful warning.
0:34:23 > 0:34:25The balance of this is perfect.
0:34:25 > 0:34:29I love the shape of it and I'm particularly fond of pendants,
0:34:29 > 0:34:33but is this something you look at and think, "This is very pretty"?
0:34:33 > 0:34:38Yes, it's beautiful. The shape is lovely,
0:34:38 > 0:34:41and just the emerald drop is absolutely beautiful.
0:34:41 > 0:34:47Remembering that it was my mother-in-law's, it's very special.
0:34:47 > 0:34:52- All the right ingredients are there. The principal stone is there.- Yes.
0:34:52 > 0:34:58They're interesting, because they're not always fantastic quality.
0:34:58 > 0:35:03The best of them come from Columbia, and they are characterised
0:35:03 > 0:35:07by this very intense blue-green colour.
0:35:07 > 0:35:11They get very wishy-washy sometimes -
0:35:11 > 0:35:14so pale that, frankly, they look like very pale marked glass.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17But the very best ones come from Columbia,
0:35:17 > 0:35:20and it's got that intense blue-green colour.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23Looking at the diamonds,
0:35:23 > 0:35:28we've got what you might call a sort of stylised palmette-shaped top.
0:35:28 > 0:35:33The diamonds themselves are set in individual little settings,
0:35:33 > 0:35:38where you've almost got a cup that grips the diamonds in place.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41The front of it is all mounted - as you might have thought -
0:35:41 > 0:35:44in this very white finish, in platinum,
0:35:44 > 0:35:46but then when we turn it over,
0:35:46 > 0:35:52look at the back of it, we see that it's actually backed in yellow gold.
0:35:52 > 0:35:56- I've never noticed that. - Yeah, it's unusual.
0:35:56 > 0:36:02That sort of yellow mount means we can date this to about 1905.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05- Right.- After then, jewellery was more or less
0:36:05 > 0:36:09superseded by platinum, so it's quite an early piece.
0:36:09 > 0:36:13On the platinum chain - let me just look at that...
0:36:13 > 0:36:18What an emerald! It is a CRACKING stone, and a deep blue-green colour
0:36:18 > 0:36:23of an intensity and uniformity that is just what people look for.
0:36:24 > 0:36:26So there's the ingredients.
0:36:26 > 0:36:31The value for something like this is far higher than you would expect
0:36:31 > 0:36:33to break the stones out for.
0:36:33 > 0:36:38With a lot of pieces of jewellery that are made in the 1950s and '60s,
0:36:38 > 0:36:41they are "break-up" - you look at the diamonds and think,
0:36:41 > 0:36:44"The mount's not particularly beautiful.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47"All I'd reckon it at is the break-up of the stones."
0:36:47 > 0:36:52No way on that. That'll fetch a price based on its beauty
0:36:52 > 0:36:54and its wearability.
0:36:55 > 0:37:01If this was auctioned, it would make something like £3,000 to £3,500.
0:37:01 > 0:37:05Lovely. It belongs to my daughter, so she'll be very pleased.
0:37:05 > 0:37:10Can you get them out? My hand will get stuck inside. Heavens!
0:37:10 > 0:37:14- This is from the Moorcrofts? - Yes, this is from Walter Moorcroft
0:37:14 > 0:37:18- and this is from his sister Beatrice.- Good Lord!
0:37:18 > 0:37:21So, this is a while ago?
0:37:21 > 0:37:23- Yes.- Because they've both died now.
0:37:23 > 0:37:29- 1997 - both of them.- And it talks about this pot?- Yes.- Heavens!
0:37:29 > 0:37:32So, how did you come to have it?
0:37:32 > 0:37:36My parents both come from Staffordshire,
0:37:36 > 0:37:40and my father's parents were friends with Mr and Mrs Moorcroft.
0:37:40 > 0:37:46- Heavens!- And my mother went to school with Walter and Beatrice.
0:37:46 > 0:37:47Good Lord!
0:37:47 > 0:37:51- That's how it happened.- They were a great family of potters.
0:37:51 > 0:37:56- They were lovely.- Wonderful potters. This is a super vase.
0:37:56 > 0:37:59- I've always loved it.- You do?- Yes.
0:37:59 > 0:38:01It's a pattern which is generally called Berry and Leaf,
0:38:01 > 0:38:03after these berries and the leaves.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06The particularly interesting thing about it
0:38:06 > 0:38:11is that it's got not an ordinary glaze - it's got a flambe glaze,
0:38:11 > 0:38:15which turns it an iridescent red colour, like the Chinese.
0:38:15 > 0:38:18It's exceptionally well done.
0:38:18 > 0:38:23I think I like that more than almost any Moorcroft I have seen.
0:38:23 > 0:38:25It's a super piece.
0:38:25 > 0:38:29This flambe effect - this lustrous glaze on top of it -
0:38:29 > 0:38:31is very difficult to do,
0:38:31 > 0:38:37and, generally, most of it comes around about the 1927-30 period.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39This is probably about that date.
0:38:39 > 0:38:45I think the effect is absolutely splendid and it turns it
0:38:45 > 0:38:49from just an ordinary pot into a special pot,
0:38:49 > 0:38:51so it's rather valuable.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54I don't know whether you've thought about the value,
0:38:54 > 0:38:58but something like this is going to be about £1,500
0:38:58 > 0:39:02and should be insured for £2,000.
0:39:02 > 0:39:06It's gone up considerably then since I last spoke to anybody about it.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09- Has it?- Yes.- I'm pleased about that.
0:39:11 > 0:39:16This battle's going on between the man and his...
0:39:16 > 0:39:22Got him! I love it. When he gets him, he opens his mouth
0:39:22 > 0:39:26in excitement and then starts the sort of teasing bit.
0:39:26 > 0:39:32It was made in...probably in Germany in about 18...
0:39:32 > 0:39:341880, something like that.
0:39:34 > 0:39:37Now, what is it worth?
0:39:37 > 0:39:41It's the sort of PlayStation of its time.
0:39:41 > 0:39:48- I would have said we're talking about £300 to maybe £350.- Oh!- Yes.
0:39:48 > 0:39:51- Do you like it?- Yes.- Yes. - That's great.
0:39:51 > 0:39:54I remember when I was a child, my dad telling me
0:39:54 > 0:39:59- it was to do with cows and turnips. - Where do we go from there?
0:39:59 > 0:40:03I presume the turnip gets stuck in the cow's throat
0:40:03 > 0:40:06and that is pushed in to knock the turnip down.
0:40:06 > 0:40:10- That's what I presume. - I think it's only half the story,
0:40:10 > 0:40:13because it's very long and flexible, it's double-ended,
0:40:13 > 0:40:16and it's much more likely to be for putting a pill
0:40:16 > 0:40:20- or something like that down a cow's throat.- Ah, it could be.
0:40:20 > 0:40:24If you put a pill in the tube and you rammed it through with that,
0:40:24 > 0:40:30- it would fly out the end and down its throat.- Never thought of that.
0:40:30 > 0:40:35This is small and this is bigger, so you've got a choice of ends,
0:40:35 > 0:40:38depending on the size of the throat.
0:40:38 > 0:40:42- Yes.- Or you go to the other end of the cow...- I'd rather not.
0:40:42 > 0:40:47We'd both rather not go! But then you could equally inject something
0:40:47 > 0:40:49into the other end of the cow.
0:40:49 > 0:40:54- Yes...- We look at each other blankly at that point.
0:40:54 > 0:40:58- It's clearly made for farming. Your family were farmers?- Yes.
0:40:58 > 0:41:01- It's professionally-made by a London maker.- Oh?
0:41:01 > 0:41:04It's very finely made in the cased leather.
0:41:04 > 0:41:09- Now, we have to think what it's worth.- Wouldn't have a clue.
0:41:09 > 0:41:14I would say, to someone who is a keen collector of agricultural implements,
0:41:14 > 0:41:17- I can see this fetching... £100 - £150.- Yes.
0:41:19 > 0:41:21It says...
0:41:21 > 0:41:24"fired from the natural fern
0:41:24 > 0:41:28- "by GJ Cox, inventor..."- Yes.
0:41:28 > 0:41:35"..Royal Polytechnic Institute, London, March 4th, 1871."
0:41:35 > 0:41:38This is Minton - Minton bone china plate.
0:41:38 > 0:41:42He's bought a blank, he's got an actual fern
0:41:42 > 0:41:46and he's painted it in enamel colours.
0:41:46 > 0:41:49- Right?- He's painted the fern.
0:41:49 > 0:41:52All the way along the real leaf,
0:41:52 > 0:41:55he's painted it green and then purple at the end,
0:41:55 > 0:41:57touches of yellow.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00He's then laid it onto the porcelain
0:42:00 > 0:42:03and stuck it in a kiln,
0:42:03 > 0:42:08and he's taken the temperature up to 900 degrees centigrade.
0:42:08 > 0:42:10The fern's burned away
0:42:10 > 0:42:15and left its...ghost behind.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18I love it desperately, because I love silliness.
0:42:18 > 0:42:21If I saw this in a shop,
0:42:21 > 0:42:26in an antiques fair, and I read that on the back, I'd happily pay £100.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29- Gosh!- It's such a mad object.
0:42:29 > 0:42:33- Thank you very much for bringing it. - Thank you.- Made my day!
0:42:33 > 0:42:36I know it came from Denmark - probably Copenhagen.
0:42:36 > 0:42:41- It was given to my mother as a token for her 21st birthday.- Yes?
0:42:41 > 0:42:44That would have been around 1945.
0:42:44 > 0:42:48Well, that ties up beautifully with the piece.
0:42:48 > 0:42:54Denmark ties up, because it's made by the George Jensen manufacturers.
0:42:54 > 0:42:57You normally see pieces made in silver,
0:42:57 > 0:43:00but during the war, silver was at a premium.
0:43:00 > 0:43:02Businesses had to continue,
0:43:02 > 0:43:06so this is almost a gun metal of sorts as the basis,
0:43:06 > 0:43:11then made a bit more elaborate by the application of the silver detail
0:43:11 > 0:43:13and the little gold fish.
0:43:13 > 0:43:18This was designed by a Danish sculptor called Arno Malinowski.
0:43:18 > 0:43:21He did several of this type.
0:43:21 > 0:43:25- It looks a bit Japanese because it's a Japanese technique.- Yes.
0:43:25 > 0:43:29His work and Jensen's combined -
0:43:29 > 0:43:33and this short period of time when these pieces were made -
0:43:33 > 0:43:37makes it very desirable at auction. A piece like this
0:43:37 > 0:43:41would make in the region of £500 to £700 - something of that order.
0:43:41 > 0:43:46- Good Lord!- It's lovely to see it, and they are very rare,
0:43:46 > 0:43:49- so thank you for bringing it in. - Thank you.
0:43:49 > 0:43:53I thought that was a spade that's gone wrong,
0:43:53 > 0:43:58- but I'm not right, am I?- No, it is a special spade for cutting peat.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01- Ah.- This one was used in the Lyth Valley.
0:44:01 > 0:44:05- Chop down and square it off with this?- No, it's cut horizontally.
0:44:05 > 0:44:11- The peat is left on here, then lifted off.- Yes.- And dried.
0:44:11 > 0:44:14And that looks like something for Moses.
0:44:14 > 0:44:17Well, yes, it does look like that.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20It's a scoop for handling grain.
0:44:20 > 0:44:24They were peculiar to Cumbria and southern Scotland.
0:44:24 > 0:44:27- And the grain goes into here?- Yes,
0:44:27 > 0:44:29after he'd thrashed his corn with the flail,
0:44:29 > 0:44:32he would put it here and measure it in this bushel measure.
0:44:32 > 0:44:35Bushel measure. But what on earth is that?
0:44:35 > 0:44:40It's a strange item. It's a horse pattern -
0:44:40 > 0:44:43to extend the area of the horse's hoof.
0:44:43 > 0:44:47On the marshlands of south-west and north Lancashire,
0:44:47 > 0:44:51they needed these things after the lands were drained and reclaimed.
0:44:51 > 0:44:57- That's quite old and early.- Sort of horse galoshes?- In a way, yes!
0:44:57 > 0:45:03- How extraordinary. Is this part of a huge collection of yours?- Yes.
0:45:03 > 0:45:07- You're a farmer yourself?- Yes. - So, you know your business.- Try to.
0:45:10 > 0:45:12How on earth do you get hold of this?
0:45:12 > 0:45:16We bought a hotel in the Lake District and it was there.
0:45:16 > 0:45:19It became part of our contents.
0:45:19 > 0:45:24- Part of the fixtures and fittings. - Yes.- What do you know about it?
0:45:24 > 0:45:28I know that it's come from a home in Tuscany.
0:45:28 > 0:45:33It was brought back to England by the previous hotel proprietor,
0:45:33 > 0:45:36and we've tried to piece together the history ever since.
0:45:36 > 0:45:41We've had every kind of person come to the hotel to tell us about this.
0:45:41 > 0:45:45Everything from "I can give you 50 quid for that..."
0:45:45 > 0:45:47Even I'D give you more than 50!
0:45:47 > 0:45:51From people who have tried to research it for us.
0:45:51 > 0:45:56Right. Well, firstly the nationality...
0:45:56 > 0:45:58Have a go at that one.
0:45:58 > 0:46:01- Well, we would think France... - Right.
0:46:01 > 0:46:05..though it was found in Italy. And we think a christening font.
0:46:05 > 0:46:10Ten points for France, nil points for the font.
0:46:10 > 0:46:13- Nil points, right.- No.- Really?
0:46:13 > 0:46:16These didn't have any use at all. They're completely useless.
0:46:16 > 0:46:20It's just a decorative item.
0:46:20 > 0:46:23But it's certainly French, let's start with that.
0:46:23 > 0:46:26Clearly you've got Louis here,
0:46:26 > 0:46:29- and this is Louis XVI.- 16th? - Yeah. And Louis XVI,
0:46:29 > 0:46:34as far as I remember, was a pretty celibate sort of chap,
0:46:34 > 0:46:37so I don't think these are his mistresses.
0:46:37 > 0:46:40If it had been Louis XV or XIV,
0:46:40 > 0:46:44they might have been mistresses, but they were just elegant ladies.
0:46:44 > 0:46:48The bowl is very nice quality -
0:46:48 > 0:46:53some of these are early Sevre plates which are painted later.
0:46:53 > 0:46:57Because the actual Sevre porcelain factory in the late 18th century
0:46:57 > 0:47:02was making white porcelain and it was either painted then,
0:47:02 > 0:47:05or 20, 30, 50 years later.
0:47:05 > 0:47:09And I love this almost incised gilding here. You can feel it,
0:47:09 > 0:47:13it's almost channelled in, and it's gold leaf inlaid into it.
0:47:13 > 0:47:17I want to look underneath because the quality, although quite good,
0:47:17 > 0:47:21is not actually brilliant for French mid-19th century work.
0:47:23 > 0:47:27You've got the typical ram's head, and various motifs from the period.
0:47:27 > 0:47:29This ram's head was very common,
0:47:29 > 0:47:32again, part of the Bacchic revelry scene -
0:47:32 > 0:47:35these little satyrs and cherubs chasing goats around a field.
0:47:37 > 0:47:40If it's in a hotel, I hope it's insured.
0:47:40 > 0:47:45- Well, it's insured in the general inventory...- Right.
0:47:45 > 0:47:49- ..at what was a guestimate amount of about £10,000.- Right, right.
0:47:51 > 0:47:55- It seems a lot for a table you can't do anything with, doesn't it?- Yes.
0:47:55 > 0:48:00But that's what it would make MINIMUM price at auction.
0:48:01 > 0:48:04Possibly up to £15,000 or even £20,000 at auction.
0:48:04 > 0:48:08I think if it was in a top-rate antiques fair,
0:48:08 > 0:48:10I can see this being retailed - it's a very fine one -
0:48:10 > 0:48:13- for £30,000.- Goodness.
0:48:13 > 0:48:16- Right.- Amazing.- That is amazing.
0:48:16 > 0:48:21This picture has been in the wars, I feel.
0:48:21 > 0:48:26It's dirty and has been bashed around a bit. Where's it been hanging?
0:48:26 > 0:48:30- It hasn't been hanging anywhere. - Face downwards in a loft!- A loft?!
0:48:30 > 0:48:35- Is that just because you didn't like it, or...?- No.
0:48:35 > 0:48:40When my mother died in 1977, we cleared her house and we found it.
0:48:40 > 0:48:41Oh, right.
0:48:41 > 0:48:46And because it was not ready for hanging, we just left it in our loft
0:48:46 > 0:48:49and then moved it from loft to loft as we moved.
0:48:49 > 0:48:53And we'd like to know something about it.
0:48:53 > 0:48:57I'm delighted you're here and I hope I can help you a little bit.
0:48:57 > 0:48:59When I first looked at it,
0:48:59 > 0:49:03I thought that it was probably Amsterdam, but it isn't.
0:49:03 > 0:49:09If you look carefully you can see a signature and date in the corner.
0:49:09 > 0:49:15It's by a Danish artist called Christian Molsted, 1890.
0:49:16 > 0:49:20He is actually quite a well-known late-19th-century Danish painter.
0:49:20 > 0:49:25Therefore, I feel very strongly, and looking at the buildings,
0:49:25 > 0:49:27this is definitely a view of Copenhagen.
0:49:28 > 0:49:31I love it! I think it's absolutely wonderful.
0:49:31 > 0:49:35Danish art has rarely been looked at quite seriously,
0:49:35 > 0:49:38especially in the last 20 years.
0:49:39 > 0:49:43The school started in the early part of the 19th century,
0:49:43 > 0:49:46and it was called The Golden Age of Danish Painting.
0:49:46 > 0:49:48Although it was a golden age for art,
0:49:48 > 0:49:52it was certainly not a golden age for the Danish population.
0:49:52 > 0:49:57In the early part of the century they had been bombed by Nelson,
0:49:57 > 0:50:00they had lost the Battle of Copenhagen,
0:50:00 > 0:50:04they were absolutely morally defeated and militarily defeated.
0:50:04 > 0:50:09There was awful hunger and poverty, and it was actually these artists
0:50:09 > 0:50:13that restored confidence in the Danish nationality.
0:50:13 > 0:50:17They painted very local scenes of everyday life,
0:50:17 > 0:50:20and they're very quiet and tranquil.
0:50:20 > 0:50:23It's really due to this little core group of painters
0:50:23 > 0:50:26that you get the later 19th century painters coming through.
0:50:26 > 0:50:29This is a wonderful example.
0:50:29 > 0:50:33I assume that if it's in your loft, it hasn't been insured?
0:50:33 > 0:50:36- Oh, no.- Never.
0:50:36 > 0:50:40- It needs a bit of love and attention.- Yes.- A light clean and...
0:50:40 > 0:50:43The thumbholes and the scratches...
0:50:43 > 0:50:47It's just a little bit battered, and I think all this -
0:50:47 > 0:50:52what we call blooming varnish, when the varnish is rotting -
0:50:52 > 0:50:54will come off with a clean.
0:50:54 > 0:50:59Something like this is worth at least £2,000 - £3,000.
0:50:59 > 0:51:02- Good gracious!- Possibly a bit more.
0:51:02 > 0:51:04Is this a first edition?
0:51:04 > 0:51:06It is, I believe so.
0:51:06 > 0:51:11And it's inscribed? Oh, wonderful! Is it personal, is it a family item?
0:51:11 > 0:51:15It is actually, it belongs to the family, I was an Atkinson,
0:51:15 > 0:51:19and it was inscribed to a Mrs Atkinson.
0:51:19 > 0:51:23It actually says Mrs Heelis, which was Beatrix Potter's married name.
0:51:23 > 0:51:26So Mrs Atkinson - that was your...?
0:51:26 > 0:51:29- Great, great... - Great, great-grandmother.
0:51:29 > 0:51:32"With kind regards from Mrs W Heelis
0:51:32 > 0:51:35"and thanks for the copy of Fireplace and Kitchen."
0:51:35 > 0:51:37Oven fireplace, yes.
0:51:37 > 0:51:41The pictures were actually drawn of the inside at Spout House,
0:51:41 > 0:51:46- which is still my parent's house. - Some pictures in the book?- Yes.
0:51:46 > 0:51:50- Were based on your family house? - Yes.- Really?
0:51:50 > 0:51:55If you look a bit further into the book, you can see...
0:51:55 > 0:51:59- Show me. Where do you think? - All the insides - the fire hearth,
0:51:59 > 0:52:04wood panelling and the beams and some of them...the kettle.
0:52:04 > 0:52:06All these beams,
0:52:06 > 0:52:08This little axe there is actually this.
0:52:08 > 0:52:12It's all there now on the same beams.
0:52:12 > 0:52:15- That's as it is now.- That was last week.- That's wonderful.
0:52:15 > 0:52:19So, there's absolutely no doubt about it -
0:52:19 > 0:52:22Beatrix Potter inscribed the book with thanks for her visit,
0:52:22 > 0:52:26and here's evidence of the two axes still on the beam!
0:52:26 > 0:52:31Well...the condition is reasonable -
0:52:31 > 0:52:33reasonable for this sort of book.
0:52:33 > 0:52:39The inscription is very nice, the contents are in good order,
0:52:39 > 0:52:43and it's true to say that any inscribed Beatrix Potter
0:52:43 > 0:52:47- is worth between £2,000 and £3,000 in auction.- Goodness!- Wow!
0:52:47 > 0:52:51Might hold onto that one!
0:52:51 > 0:52:54- Mine!- Yes, look after that one.
0:52:54 > 0:52:57- Thank you very much indeed for coming in today.- Thank you.
0:52:59 > 0:53:01As I'm sure you'll know, apart from Catherine Parr
0:53:01 > 0:53:05and Kendal Mint Cake, this is Postman Pat country.
0:53:05 > 0:53:09The Post Office that Mrs Goggins used to run was based
0:53:09 > 0:53:11on a real establishment near here.
0:53:11 > 0:53:14Sadly, it's recently closed down,
0:53:14 > 0:53:19and I'm wondering if that means that Postman Pat is now "Pat".
0:53:19 > 0:53:24That's show business! To the people of Kendal, thank you for having us.
0:53:24 > 0:53:27From the lovely Lake District, goodbye.
0:53:31 > 0:53:35Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd