Hornsea Antiques Roadshow


Hornsea

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Transcript


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This is the east coast of Yorkshire, where between the white chalk arms of Flamborough Head

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and the lowland spit at Spurn, we find the seaside town of Hornsea.

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Well, I knew it was small...

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they said it was sleepy, but this is rather...

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spooky.

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Where is everyone?

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Normally people flock here for the beach or for the wildlife on the freshwater lake, The Mere...

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..or to admire the famous collection of Hornsea Pottery.

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But not it seems today.

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There used to be a spot of smuggling round here once...

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you don't think they've all...? No.

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Wait a minute...

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I wonder.

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Of course, I should have guessed, the word's gone round the Antiques Roadshow's in town,

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and they've all headed for the Leisure Centre. Let's meet the population.

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-These girls are obviously Art Deco dancers.

-Yes, yes. Lovely.

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So are you an Art Deco collector?

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Um, a little bit. I bought this one in auction, um,

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it was a household auction and I don't think this should have been in it,

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so I dragged my husband in and the auctioneer at one point was saying,

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"The bid is with the gentleman with the very excited lady on the bed",

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because I was nudging him, "Keep bidding, keep bidding!"

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So we got this and then we had a shop,

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and somebody came in with this one and I loved them and then we went to another auction, I got this one

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-from under the nose of a local dealer, which is even better.

-Let's start with the one nearest you.

-Yes.

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The great thing about Deco figures is, for some reason best known to the modellers, the sculptors of the day,

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they always show them standing on one leg, don't they?

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That's how we always stand, us women.

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-Is that? Is that right?

-Oh, God, yes.

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When we're excited we always go on one leg, yes. Have you not noticed?

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-You obviously haven't got a woman excited, Eric.

-No.

-No, well, there you go.

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-Well, I'll pay more attention in future.

-Exactly, yes.

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-I've always thought it rude to look down when I'm talking to somebody.

-Yes, well.

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Anyway...well, this particular one, the minute I see a piece like this, I want to do this.

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-I mean, it could be on the head, I want to tap it.

-Yes, yes.

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-And if I was to do the same with the twins over here.

-Yes, yes.

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Give them a quick tap because it gives a sort of a dull sound when you tap.

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I've got no doubt, without actually scratching them underneath,

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to say that these are actually spelter.

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-Yes.

-Which, without being unkind, is often referred to as a poor man's bronze.

-Yeah, yeah.

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In terms of alloy, it's primarily zinc.

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-Yes.

-And you can cast with it, but heaven forbid it breaks because it's a nightmare to repair.

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-Yes.

-Because it fractures rather jaggedly.

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-Brittle, yeah.

-This particular figure date-wise...

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-I would say we're looking around about 1925, 1930.

-Really?

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-As early as that?

-And I think that these two here are also 1925, 1930.

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As for the shades, it's difficult to know whether that's original because there are lots of repros being made.

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-Yes.

-In fact there are lots of repros of this type of figure.

-Yes.

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Um, but what I find interesting is THIS shape,

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for the simple reason that it's emulating, or simulating veined alabaster.

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-Oh, right.

-I mean, that definitely adds to the value of that figure.

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Yeah, yeah. It is a lovely shape. I like that one, yes.

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When it comes to price, if I wanted to go and buy one of these today,

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-I would probably be asked somewhere in the region of around about £200.

-Right.

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And for the twins, I would probably expect to have to pay

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-around about £400 or £500.

-Yes.

-Which brings us to this particular figure.

-Right, yes.

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So, once again I need to give it a bit of a tap.

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It's got slightly more resonance to it, that particular figure,

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-which is good news because that suggests that we are dealing with bronze as opposed to spelter.

-Wow.

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And if I can just give her a quick, a quick twirl,

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the first thing that springs to mind is the condition -

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she's in lovely condition.

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-The way that she's been given this lovely green, little, almost like a kimono-type gown, isn't it?

-Yes, yes.

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And, you know, we're talking in terms of...

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in an age when a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking.

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-Shocking, yes.

-That amount of leg...

-Ooh!

-I mean, that predates Mary Quant, doesn't it?

-Yes, exactly.

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I can see the name here, Teleska.

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-Yes.

-And I can tell you now, I've not come across his name before.

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-Oh, right.

-But it's so true of so many East European sculptors in the '20s and '30s -

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you see the piece and you see the name...

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you wait ten years before you find another piece by that person.

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-What did you pay at auction for it?

-We're talking about 20 years ago,

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so we thought we were really daring to pay about perhaps £75 for it maybe, something like that.

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-Daring?

-Mmm.

-OK. Well, if I was going to be daring today,

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I wouldn't hesitate to spend the better part of £1,000 to put her on my mantel shelf.

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Good grief!

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I really thought that this would be less than these two.

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-Well, there you are...

-That just shows you.

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-Is it Columbo who says, "It's always the one you least suspect."

-Exactly.

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You either love it or you hate it, which is it?

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-Love it.

-Why?

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Just pure intriguement - the way it's made, the textures,

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the thought of somebody sitting there and actually making the bits and all the shapes.

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Well, how it was made is actually quite interesting.

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Let's go back to the mid-1500s and to a French potter called Bernard Palissy.

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If you were a piece of wildlife running around the country you'd be in severe danger

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because he liked the look of reptiles, snakes, frogs, newts -

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he would take them into his studio and he would actually make casts of them,

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so this piece was made in the Bernard Palissy style.

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These animals were probably hopping around the French countryside

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when some French potter said, "Ah, we could make one of these into a nice big dish."

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So this comes out of the Bernard Palissy tradition,

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and again it was made in France, but in the 19th century.

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So how long have you had it?

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Er, it's been in my family for about 100 years that I know of.

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And where did it come from?

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It was a gift to a great-aunt when she retired from service.

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She was housekeeper, cook for one of the big families in London or on the outskirts of London.

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-So you think it could have come from quite a large house?

-Yes.

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Because objects like this are very imposing. You stand back when you see this,

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you think "Oh, my goodness!"

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You need a big space to show this in. Where does it live at home?

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At the moment it's in storage but for most of its life

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it's hung above the fireplace in what used to be the family home

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for at least 70 years, but I put claim to it.

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You need a sturdy wall. It's massively heavy.

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It used to have a very large Victorian six-inch nail that went with it to hang it from.

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Well, looking on the back, we can see it always was intended to be hung, those holes are glazed through,

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and here's the mark of the maker.

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Now, sadly this is not by Bernard Palissy. It is not getting on for 500 years old, I'm afraid.

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It's a 19th-century piece and we have a wonderful toad, my goodness even when you stroke him he...

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-..he makes a noise, doesn't he?

-He's hollow.

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He's lovely.

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Broadly speaking, it belongs to the tradition we call majolica ware.

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It's lead-glazed earthenware and sadly...

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Well, if it were 16th-century it would be worth thousands of pounds, but it ain't, it ain't 16th-century.

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It's probably worth somewhere in the region of £2,000 to £3,500.

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Me husband, he dug it up.

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-He was doing a job for the farmer, you know, where he worked, near a duck pond.

-Was he?

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And he dug this up.

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At first he thought it was just an old... Then when he cleaned it up and saw what it was,

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he showed his boss and his boss says, "Well, keep it".

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Well, that was jolly nice. Do you wear it?

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Er, well, I did, and then somebody said it might be valuable so I put in me jewellery box.

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Very sensible, and I think they were right.

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I do think it is quite valuable, but more than valuable, it's a very interesting thing.

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-Shall I tell you why?

-Yes.

-Let's have a little look inside here.

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In a little script that tells me

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that this ring is made in the 17th or early 18th century.

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Goodness me!

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In the 17th or early 18th century this was engraved with the following...

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-It says "Love pure will endure".

-Yes.

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And that's what we call a posy.

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The word "posy" is a corruption of the word poesy which is an old term for poetry.

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-Yes.

-So this is a poetry ring, and this is the most lovely message, a covert message...

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It's lovely. I think so, yes.

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..of love, absolutely, and it's hidden inside the ring like this.

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-So nobody else can see it.

-I think almost certainly, yeah.

-Yes.

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And, um, no, a brilliant thing, but very collectable.

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I think probably about £600, £700.

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Lovely. Smashing.

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-I thought maybe it was snake skin.

-That's not a bad guess. It's actually fish skin.

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-Oh, right.

-But it's treated in a certain way,

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it's probably the skin of one of the shark or ray families.

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-Right.

-And if you take the skin - it's knobbly.

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-Yes, right.

-And if you dye it and then you polish it, or vice versa,

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you polish the tops off the knobbles and you end up with this almost pepper and salt effect.

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This case, which is more difficult to see,

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this is actually very, very fine fish skin and they haven't polished it.

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It's the finer part of a...

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of a smaller version of the ray fin.

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They're very popular in the end of the 18th century as a decorative technique.

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And in fact, this is exactly the date of these two pieces.

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Now, if I open them up, they are actually fascinating

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because what we've got is a small set of travelling instruments.

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-Lay out the bits and they're basically a simple geometry set.

-Mmm.

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This I've never seen, this little protective piece on the end.

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That's the first time I've seen it. And here you have a pair of dividers

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with steel points, adjustable,

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-which would have been used for taking dimensions off a map.

-Yes.

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And there's a neat little touch on them, if you turn that one round,

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-put it back in the end, and you've actually got a compass.

-Right, fine.

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Now, it's not finished there

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-because you can pull apart these. I don't think these have ever been used.

-No, no, no,

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-well, I wondered about that, yes, yes.

-I was going to ask you that.

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And then you can dismantle them again and you can place...

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these pieces inside, that goes in there.

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-I didn't actually know that.

-That goes in...there, like that,

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-and they're even bigger.

-Oh, amazing, I didn't know that they did that.

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They've got an ivory rule

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which is graduated with various scales.

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And the best bit about it is on this side...

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we have a name.

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-Oh, really?

-Have you seen that?

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-Adams - London.

-Oh, yeah, right.

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Now, there were a big family of Adams and I would date this instrument

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at around about, say 1765, 1770.

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Really?! I really didn't think it was that old.

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But hang on, we haven't finished.

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This one, which is undoubtedly later, probably in the 1790s I think, late '80s or '90s,

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you can see from the design, the leather, it has a later feeling, doesn't it?

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It is, in my opinion,

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by the second generation of the family.

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It's unsigned, but you've got very similar detail and very similar features.

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So it looks as if we have a set by let's say the father, and a further set by the son.

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Anything on the history in the family?

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Um, all I really know about them is that I believe they belonged

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to my great-grandfather and then to my grandfather on my father's side,

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and came down to my dad, and really that's all I know about them. I really don't know anything else.

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No great, sort of, nautical history or anything?

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Not as far as I know.

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Usually these instruments are not... not that rare...

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but by Adams who was one of the best instrument makers of the period...

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..and being absolutely complete, and that is quite rare,

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I suppose I'd say £1,500 to £2,000 for that one.

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But probably only half for this set.

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Oh, that's amazing, that really is.

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I'm really surprised.

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I didn't think, although I can see that that was stylish, I really didn't think it was that valuable.

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These are the biggest pair of blunderbuss pistols I've ever seen.

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Can you tell me where you got them from?

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They were bought by my father, about 40 years ago at a house sale not far from the Humber.

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Because these are the sort of things

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that would have been used by anybody who needed firearms like this for personal protection,

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and because they're all brass, or perhaps gun metal I'm not quite sure of what the alloy is,

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but it's a copper rich alloy, they would be very, very resistant to corrosion,

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and that really does shout to me, for on board ship.

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And one of these in close quarters, you'd probably shoot two or three people with them,

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and that would give you a hell of an advantage in a situation where you were faced with several attackers.

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They date from about 1820 and they have on the bottom these little marks there,

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those are from the Birmingham proof house and that was consumer safety -

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one of the earliest ones. And every gun had to go there and be test fired with a whopping great load,

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double the charge, full of powder.

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Whack a whole load of shot on the top of it and if it stood that then it would stand a normal load.

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At the moment because things like this are so unusual

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and the market's very, very strong, I think about £3,000.

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-Fantastic.

-Yeah, they are fantastic. Thanks for bringing them.

-Excellent.

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As you'll know by now, this is a series with a mission.

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We are scouring the country for champion collectors,

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the men, women and children who've worked hardest putting a collection together,

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and we're finding that there's a fisherman with over 3,000 flies, a woman with 200 egg timers.

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They're a passionate lot out there.

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But we're moving up a gear today, literally.

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The owner of this collection can't come to us, so I'm leaving the Roadshow just for a little while.

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-The owner and driver of this magnificent machine is Alan Marshall. Morning, Alan.

-Morning.

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We'll be back at the Roadshow very soon.

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Well, I'd love to be asked to pass the toast in this,

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I think that's great fun.

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Tell me what you know about it and where it came from.

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It belongs to my daughter-in-law Sarah and it was given to her by her grandma,

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she got it as a wedding present in the 1930s,

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and all my daughter-in-law knows it's a toast rack

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and it's based on the replica of Amy Johnson's plane.

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Of course, these aeronautical things are very sought-after,

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but I slightly query the date of it,

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because, in fact, I think it's much earlier. You see, here you've got a design registry mark,

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but this design registry mark comes within a range that finished in 1919.

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-Oh.

-So this was probably actually made during the First World War,

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but I could see this being worth anything between £500 on a bad day to about £1,500 on a really good day.

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-Well, that'll cheer her up no end.

-Yeah.

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You're going to take these home and take these horrible wires off. They are very bad for the plate.

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They were on... Always been on.

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That is no excuse.

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Our contender for most devoted collector this week, Alan Marshall,

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has a passion for Humber vintage motor cars.

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He's rescued 40 of them from going on the scrap heap.

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They were once the monarch's favourite mode of transport.

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George VI once owned 47 of them.

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This is Humber heaven.

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# Heaven I'm in heaven

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# And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak... #

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So this is what started your love affair with Humber?

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This was the first car my father bought for the princely sum of £90 in 1960.

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After that, he learned me how to drive in this car.

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It became my own personal wedding car for me and my wife,

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and I brought my children up from the maternity home in it and took them to the christening,

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so she really was a family car.

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They were always known as the poor man's Rolls Royce in some respects,

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and never really got to the esteem of Rolls Royce,

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but certainly the gentry loved the cars. Every prime minister of the day would have a Humber Pullman.

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Grand cars for grand people.

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Certainly. 50 years ago, ladies went out every evening with large gowns and hats, and high hairstyles.

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This sort of coachwork really suited the fashions of the day.

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If you were looking for privacy in 1932, you'd buy yourself a Snipe 80.

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This one belonged to Edward VIII and Mrs Simpson.

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Humbers have got the lowest survival rate of any make of car.

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Whereas perhaps 80% of Rolls Royces survived, only 1% of Humbers survived,

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so I've built up the collection. People have actually almost donated cars to me

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because they know I have a passion for them,

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and they know I'll never sell them or give them up to anybody else.

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This looks almost unrecognisable as a Humber - it's a bit flash, a bit American.

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Well, certainly, by... This is a 1967 Humber Imperial,

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and at this time the American Chrysler Corporation had taken over shares in the company.

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They do have that American look to them on the outside but I think you'll agree it's a very...

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It's like an English boardroom, the interior of the car.

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We have Connolly hide, mahogany cappings, West of England cloth-roof linings.

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Room for a bowler hat?

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Certainly room for a bowler hat.

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And what exactly is this?

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Oh, this was the latest innovation in 1967

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which was a Phillips radio cassette with fitted Dictaphone.

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You were perhaps stuck in a traffic jam, you could still put your cassette into the radio

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and dictate messages for your secretary to type at a later time.

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Who'd have thought it!

0:20:390:20:41

Michael Aspel in a Humber Imperial, and now back to the Antiques Roadshow.

0:20:410:20:46

I have to say, the first inkling that I got that this was something other than it appears

0:20:500:20:55

-was when it was lifted from there down to here.

-Right.

0:20:550:20:58

-And it took three people.

-Very heavy.

0:20:580:21:00

-Very heavy and unusual for what really looks like a bedside cupboard.

-Yes.

0:21:000:21:05

So...

0:21:050:21:06

inside you've got this extraordinary mirror...

0:21:060:21:10

-Yeah.

-..with a lock in the middle.

0:21:100:21:12

When you pull it open...

0:21:120:21:15

it's a safe.

0:21:150:21:16

And the interior's absolutely gorgeous.

0:21:160:21:19

The most wonderful purple silk velvet interior.

0:21:190:21:22

And really because it's been protected from the light, it's as rich and as strong as it was...

0:21:220:21:28

And the drawers themselves are made of metal - they're very heavy.

0:21:280:21:31

-They are heavy.

-And this would have been a domestic safe -

0:21:310:21:34

something somebody would have had in their bedroom with jewellery in it.

0:21:340:21:38

It's not an industrial-looking piece. It's meant to blend in with the household.

0:21:380:21:43

-Do you use it yourself?

-I do.

0:21:430:21:45

-For its proper purpose?

-I do, yes.

0:21:450:21:47

That's very good. That's excellent. How did you come by it?

0:21:470:21:50

-Um, it was a wedding present from my parents to my husband and I about 12 years ago.

-Right.

0:21:500:21:56

-I've always loved it. Dad bought it a while ago, in about the 1960s, I think.

-Yes.

0:21:560:22:02

It's just always been there and...

0:22:020:22:04

So you know of no earlier history? It was acquired in the '60s...

0:22:040:22:07

None at all, no, nothing other than that and because it has the initials on the inside door,

0:22:070:22:13

that's something I've always wondered about as well.

0:22:130:22:16

I noticed this - very interesting.

0:22:160:22:18

It's got the initials here which look to me to be an "I" probably a "G",

0:22:180:22:23

-and the main initial...

-I couldn't make it out.

0:22:230:22:25

..is an "A" so I think it's "IGA".

0:22:250:22:27

-Right.

-Or something like that.

0:22:270:22:29

And done in enamel and that would undoubtedly have been for the person it was made for,

0:22:290:22:34

and this here is not mirror glass but it's actually polished steel.

0:22:340:22:38

And then it's been etched,

0:22:380:22:40

so it gets a very high shine.

0:22:400:22:42

But the piece itself dates from the 1860s.

0:22:420:22:46

There was a man called Henry Lawford

0:22:460:22:49

who published designs of marquetry furniture and boulle furniture at around that date,

0:22:490:22:54

and it's typical of the sort of thing that was seen in the 1862 exhibition in London.

0:22:540:22:59

-And it's clearly French influenced, but made in England.

-Right.

0:22:590:23:04

-Um, you've got these very pretty mounts going down the side here.

-Yes.

0:23:040:23:08

This inlay and then here a Sevres, or an imitation probably Sevres plaque -

0:23:080:23:14

so a French plaque of two lovers,

0:23:140:23:17

but imported and then incorporated into the piece of furniture.

0:23:170:23:20

-And underneath here, interestingly, can you see it says "IG Appleby".

-Oh.

0:23:200:23:28

And those are the initials on the inside.

0:23:280:23:30

Oh, gosh! I didn't even realise.

0:23:300:23:33

-So I think that whoever Mr Appleby was...

-Yes.

0:23:330:23:37

..is the person for whom the piece of furniture was made.

0:23:370:23:40

-Right.

-And I think also whilst we have this off,

0:23:400:23:43

there's a label here from a depository in Kingston-on-Thames.

0:23:430:23:47

So it's the sort of thing one could probably find out if there was a family called Appleby in that area.

0:23:470:23:52

And this is dated 1924,

0:23:520:23:54

-so at some stage maybe a big house was broken up and the things went into storage.

-Yes.

0:23:540:23:58

-Oh, gosh.

-But it's an exceptionally fine piece of furniture,

0:23:580:24:03

but it's obviously something to treasure for ever.

0:24:030:24:05

It's just something that I've loved and I've been fascinated by.

0:24:050:24:09

Well, as an indication, from an insurance point of view,

0:24:090:24:12

it's something you should insure because it's so unusual.

0:24:120:24:16

I have never seen an elaborate safe like this,

0:24:160:24:18

-and it's a dual purpose thing because it's a very useful cabinet which I'm sure you use.

-Yeah, I do use it.

0:24:180:24:24

-But from an insurance point of view I would say a figure of something like £6,000 would be sensible.

-Gosh.

0:24:240:24:32

This is a lovely rarity for the Roadshow,

0:24:320:24:34

we've got someone who was at a pottery factory at the beginning,

0:24:340:24:37

or more or less, and someone who was there when it finished.

0:24:370:24:41

-You were both at the Hornsea.

-Yes. Yes.

-Did you work together?

-No.

-No.

0:24:410:24:44

Tell me how it started for you.

0:24:440:24:47

I left school, had to get a job, Hornsea pottery was the main thing in those days.

0:24:470:24:53

It was late '50s so I went there when I was 15.

0:24:530:24:57

-Because the pottery itself started in 1949.

-Yes.

0:24:570:25:01

Two brothers starting painting plaster-of-Paris souvenirs,

0:25:010:25:06

and then somebody had the bright idea that they could do it in pottery instead.

0:25:060:25:10

And then you joined at a time... just when it was all...

0:25:100:25:14

-When it was all coming together.

-Now, what did you do?

0:25:140:25:17

Most jobs in the factory, but I started at sponge and fettling.

0:25:170:25:21

Now, you're going to have to explain that.

0:25:210:25:23

-When the items come out of the mould, after they've been cast...

-Like this?

0:25:230:25:27

-Like that one, for instance.

-Yes, OK.

-Where the moulds are joined, they have a ridge,

0:25:270:25:32

and that has to be gently lifted off with a knife and sponged with an actual sponge.

0:25:320:25:36

Where were the mould lines? Can we see them?

0:25:360:25:38

-I hope not! If I've done my job properly you won't be able to see them!

-Absolutely.

0:25:380:25:43

-There, you can't see them.

-You've got the good job.

-They were stuck on with slip afterwards.

0:25:430:25:48

-No, so probably there, but you can't see those.

-No, you've done a good job.

0:25:480:25:52

-I must have done, yes.

-So that was made in the late 1950s.

-Yes, 1950s-60s.

0:25:520:25:57

-And the rest of these pieces on this side of the table belong to you?

-Well, yes.

0:25:570:26:01

-Do you have any fond feelings for any of them in particular?

-This one, called a doe jug.

-A doe jug?

0:26:010:26:07

-A doe jug.

-And there's the doe in the bottom.

-Yes,

0:26:070:26:10

and I bought that with my first week's wages - it cost me seven and six, and that was with a discount.

0:26:100:26:15

And these pieces on this side of the table were made under your period there?

0:26:150:26:20

Under my dad's period, actually. I mean, which was in the '70s,

0:26:200:26:25

-and that mug especially, there isn't many of them.

-This mug here?

0:26:250:26:28

-Yes, they were made for the Jubilee.

-Yes.

-But they were...

0:26:280:26:32

If I remember right, they only had one handle, whereas that one was actually made for my brother.

0:26:320:26:37

-But it didn't go into production?

-No, not the double-handed one, no. I think they only made five or six.

0:26:370:26:43

-This is a real rarity.

-Yes.

0:26:430:26:45

But I think something that's even rarer is these... I've never seen these boxes.

0:26:450:26:49

Yes, they were never released for sale, as far as I know.

0:26:490:26:54

-And why was that, do you suppose?

-I think it was too modern for its time.

0:26:540:26:57

I'm going to disagree with you there,

0:26:570:27:00

I think that Hornsea at its really best, was absolutely at the cutting edge of modern design.

0:27:000:27:05

They made a lot of things which would fall into the sentimental souvenir bracket,

0:27:050:27:09

-let's be honest about it.

-Yes.

-Yes.

0:27:090:27:12

But they did, when they were really good, they came top-notch designers.

0:27:120:27:17

I think the reason they didn't make this is it is incredibly difficult to do.

0:27:170:27:21

-Yes.

-This is basically like making a stick of rock, isn't it?

0:27:210:27:25

Um, and that would have been a very expensive process,

0:27:250:27:28

so I suspect these are really probably quite expensive objects to a Hornsea collector

0:27:280:27:35

-because they never came on the market.

-Yes.

-Mm-hmm.

0:27:350:27:38

Um, I have a particular soft spot for the period that YOU were there,

0:27:380:27:43

because I don't know if you knew him... Did you know John Clappison?

0:27:430:27:46

-John Clappison. Yes, I did.

-Well, John Clappison was one of the leading lights.

0:27:460:27:50

-He was, definitely, yes.

-And I fished out of the queue something that really did appeal to me.

0:27:500:27:55

-Oh, yes.

-And here it is.

0:27:550:27:57

-And this was actually designed by John Clappison.

-Yes, yes.

0:27:570:28:01

-Now, isn't that fantastic?

-Lovely.

-Yes.

0:28:010:28:04

Now, some people say, "What?! I wouldn't give that house room!"

0:28:040:28:08

But it's... One of the questions we really get asked on the Roadshow is,

0:28:080:28:12

"What do you recommend that we buy for a future investment?"

0:28:120:28:17

I say, "Buy something that speaks of its period".

0:28:170:28:22

Now, we know that Clappison designed this in 1959, it went into production in...

0:28:220:28:27

Yes, I remember, I've fettled a few of those.

0:28:270:28:29

-You might even have fettled these?

-Yes.

0:28:290:28:31

-Good heavens, isn't that wonderful?

-Yes.

0:28:310:28:34

And they are typical of the early '60s when they were in production.

0:28:340:28:38

They were in production for about three years.

0:28:380:28:40

That conical shape, that sort of abstracted tree design,

0:28:400:28:44

alpine and spruce are the two patterns, and I think that's a really glorious design.

0:28:440:28:49

-Yes.

-I think that's where the money should go.

-Yes.

0:28:490:28:52

-Do you remember what this retailed for? Early '60s.

-Now you're asking.

0:28:520:28:56

-Give it a guess.

-No, I can't. Well, if that was seven and six...

0:28:560:29:00

-That would be...

-A bit more.

-£1 10 shillings or something?

0:29:000:29:04

£1, something like that, yes.

0:29:040:29:06

£1 10 shillings. That would be £1.50...

0:29:060:29:09

in 1960-63.

0:29:090:29:11

Stick two noughts on the end and today you'd have £150.

0:29:120:29:17

But it shows you what a tremendous variety Hornsea was responsible for producing.

0:29:170:29:23

My son had stored quite a bit of stuff in his loft in the house he'd lived in for what, 10-15 years.

0:29:230:29:30

-They found another house, they were moving.

-Yes.

0:29:300:29:32

And as they went to empty the loft they saw a black bag.

0:29:320:29:36

"What's that?" "I don't know." And there we are.

0:29:360:29:39

And there it was, voila, as they say. But it never belonged to your family?

0:29:390:29:43

-No.

-How brilliant! Well, let me tell you a little bit about this picture.

0:29:430:29:47

Now, have you noticed that it's signed or anything?

0:29:470:29:49

-No, I've looked for a signature. I can't see anything.

-It's just here.

0:29:490:29:54

It's Edmund Gill.

0:29:560:29:57

-1879, it looks like there.

-Oh.

0:29:570:30:00

Now, Edmund Gill was called Waterfall Gill because he only...

0:30:000:30:04

by and large...painted waterfalls

0:30:040:30:06

and he painted mainly in Wales and Yorkshire.

0:30:060:30:10

But, funnily enough, according to an old label on the back,

0:30:100:30:13

this is in fact North Wales, it says.

0:30:130:30:15

So we have a wonderfully typical work

0:30:170:30:19

by this Victorian artist, Edmund "Waterfall" Gill.

0:30:190:30:23

But it has been a bit battered, hasn't it?

0:30:230:30:26

Oh, yes, forgotten.

0:30:260:30:28

-Forgotten.

-Mice?

0:30:280:30:30

Mice, scratches, we don't know what it was.

0:30:300:30:33

I think you're going to get a bit of a windfall from a waterfall,

0:30:330:30:36

-if you...if you excuse the pun.

-Yes.

0:30:360:30:39

-But I would say something like this was worth between £1,500 and £2,000.

-Good heavens!

0:30:390:30:46

-So, not bad.

-Not bad.

0:30:460:30:48

-So you'd do, like, a handkerchief or...?

-Yeah. And dusters.

0:30:480:30:51

-Dusters?

-Yes.

-Dusters?! This is just fantastic.

0:30:510:30:56

So this is a sewing machine... We can tell the age of it.

0:30:560:31:00

-It's got the patent details on the side here.

-Yes.

0:31:000:31:03

-So, 18... "Patented in 1875."

-Was it?

-Yes.

0:31:030:31:08

So you are using a sewing machine from 1875,

0:31:080:31:11

over 100 years ago, to do your hemming on your dusters.

0:31:110:31:15

-Yes.

-Right.

0:31:150:31:17

Most people who have these are avid collectors of sewing machines.

0:31:170:31:21

-They don't necessarily still use them.

-No.

0:31:210:31:24

-It's actually got the maker's name on it.

-Yes.

0:31:240:31:26

-Taylor's of Driffield, which is near here, isn't it?

-Yes, not far.

0:31:260:31:31

Only about 10 mile up the road.

0:31:310:31:33

And then, of course, it was... also made for a Cheapside firm.

0:31:330:31:37

That was a big centre for tailoring.

0:31:370:31:40

-We need to see the sewing in action.

-Well, I'll try.

0:31:400:31:42

-Can you give us a demonstration?

-I'll try.

0:31:420:31:45

-Here goes.

-Here goes.

0:31:450:31:48

That's it.

0:31:500:31:52

That's tremendous.

0:31:520:31:54

Look at that long stitch, that's wonderful.

0:31:540:31:58

I'm not sure how straight you're going there.

0:31:580:32:00

Oh, no, just left of the mark.

0:32:000:32:03

That's brilliant. So, still in use today.

0:32:030:32:06

Value-wise to a collector of sewing machines,

0:32:060:32:09

I expect they'd be happy to part with as much as £100 for it.

0:32:090:32:14

Ah! Oh, I like that.

0:32:140:32:16

But I think they'd pay more if it came with one of your pre-sewn dusters.

0:32:160:32:20

Maybe!

0:32:200:32:22

Bill, if someone inherits an old firearm and it's been lying around for ages,

0:32:250:32:30

how do they know that it's safe to handle?

0:32:300:32:32

Well, the first thing that you should do whenever you pick up any firearm

0:32:320:32:36

is to assume that it's loaded.

0:32:360:32:39

It's not very easy to tell with a muzzle-loading firearm.

0:32:390:32:43

A sure-fire way of doing it is to use the ramrod,

0:32:430:32:48

or another rod if it hasn't got one, and to drop it down the barrel.

0:32:480:32:52

If it goes in a good, long way

0:32:520:32:54

and you then pull it out and measure it off against the barrel,

0:32:540:32:57

you can see that's gone right down to the bottom,

0:32:570:33:00

so there's nothing in there.

0:33:000:33:02

Now, if I take this one and drop it in, you see it sticks out.

0:33:020:33:08

-Are you telling me that's loaded?

-Yes, it is.

0:33:080:33:11

I loaded it with lavatory paper

0:33:110:33:13

to give the impression that there was a charge in there.

0:33:130:33:16

That sticking out the top should ring some alarm bells.

0:33:160:33:20

If you have a firearm that you think is loaded,

0:33:200:33:23

you must always keep your fingers away from the trigger and the mechanism

0:33:230:33:28

until you can find some way of unloading it or getting someone to unload it.

0:33:280:33:33

As a general principle, guns don't go off until you pull the triggers.

0:33:330:33:37

If I was suspicious about this,

0:33:370:33:39

I would make sure this was put somewhere it wouldn't do any harm,

0:33:390:33:43

locked away. And, you see, I'm always pointing it

0:33:430:33:46

in a way where the worst that's going to suffer is a light if it goes off.

0:33:460:33:50

But suppose, after all these reassurances, they simply are too worried to keep it,

0:33:500:33:55

-how do they get rid of it?

-You can own antique firearms legitimately

0:33:550:33:59

and there are plenty of ways of disposing it, through auctions, through the local gunsmith.

0:33:590:34:05

Local gunsmiths are very useful for working out whether things are loaded,

0:34:050:34:09

because they do it on a daily basis.

0:34:090:34:12

If you have any doubts, look in the telephone directory, find the local gunsmith.

0:34:120:34:17

You could also try and get in touch with a local shooting club

0:34:170:34:21

or phone the police firearms licensing department.

0:34:210:34:24

When I was doing my National Service, I always kept the musket clean, no spiders down the barrel.

0:34:240:34:29

What's the feeling about cleaning weapons? I mean swords and guns?

0:34:290:34:33

I have very mixed views about cleaning it.

0:34:330:34:35

If we look at this rather nice Prussian bayonet.

0:34:350:34:39

It's got a brass hilt and I haven't cleaned that deliberately

0:34:390:34:42

and it's got what is very clearly the sort of patina of ages on it,

0:34:420:34:46

and I've left that because I like that colour.

0:34:460:34:49

Rather than that shiny brass on this modern replica.

0:34:490:34:52

And I don't intend to clean that. The best, I think, that you can do

0:34:520:34:57

if you are uncertain as to whether to clean something is don't clean it.

0:34:570:35:01

We get people bringing Grandad's medals and they say, "We cleaned them specially last night."

0:35:010:35:06

And I say, "Oh, I wish you hadn't."

0:35:060:35:08

Every time you clean metal, you actually take some of it away.

0:35:080:35:11

Modern pastes and polishes are highly abrasive.

0:35:110:35:15

The only thing that I would consider using on metalwork like this

0:35:150:35:20

is this very fine chalk paste.

0:35:200:35:23

It takes it off very, very slowly and you can control the process.

0:35:230:35:27

That's about as abrasive as talcum powder.

0:35:270:35:30

That's conservation-grade paste that's used in museums.

0:35:300:35:33

-You're going to make someone a wonderful housewife.

-Thank you!

0:35:330:35:37

Kind of you to say so. I have been known to hoover on one occasion.

0:35:370:35:41

Very rare. But I do enjoy a bit of dusting.

0:35:410:35:45

My grandfather bought a raffle ticket

0:35:450:35:49

at a church garden party in about...

0:35:490:35:53

-..1880, I would think.

-No!

0:35:540:35:57

I wasn't there but I think it would be about 1880.

0:35:570:36:01

And...it...was a prize...

0:36:030:36:05

that had been donated to the garden party

0:36:050:36:09

by a missionary from Japan who was home on leave.

0:36:090:36:14

What puzzles me slightly

0:36:150:36:17

is that these prints are not on Japanese paper, as you would expect,

0:36:170:36:23

they are on crepe paper.

0:36:230:36:26

-Mm.

-Now, the crepe paper was generally for export.

0:36:260:36:32

Yes.

0:36:320:36:33

Now, I would suspect one of two things -

0:36:330:36:36

either they got hold of, in Japan, some crepe-paper prints

0:36:360:36:42

and that this lacework was done by Japanese in the mission,

0:36:420:36:49

and being taught to do lace in the mission,

0:36:490:36:54

or that the prints came back with the missionary

0:36:540:36:58

-and the whole thing was put together in England.

-Oh.

0:36:580:37:02

I wonder whether we've got anything on the...?

0:37:020:37:05

Now, you see, this IS Japanese.

0:37:060:37:09

-This whole thing was put together in Japan.

-Ah, yes?

-Undoubtedly, yeah.

0:37:090:37:13

Right. Now, that's fascinating.

0:37:130:37:15

-1880, we can go back to.

-Well, round about 1880...

0:37:150:37:19

Well, that's as early as it could be.

0:37:190:37:21

You don't get these crepe paper much earlier than that.

0:37:210:37:25

This would have appealed enormously to somebody in England in 1880.

0:37:250:37:31

We are in the Aesthetic Movement period

0:37:310:37:34

when the whole country is Japanese mad.

0:37:340:37:39

Anything Japanese...BIG time.

0:37:390:37:42

The prints are of a late date, as you would expect.

0:37:420:37:47

The only ones I know here are by Kunisada,

0:37:470:37:52

who was a well-known print-maker.

0:37:520:37:55

But they're all of a high standard

0:37:550:37:58

and illustrate scenes of Japanese life

0:37:580:38:01

or from stories, mythology, that sort of thing.

0:38:010:38:06

If I were putting an exhibition on

0:38:060:38:09

at a major London museum

0:38:090:38:14

and I wanted to illustrate

0:38:140:38:17

this period...

0:38:170:38:20

-I'd put this in it.

-I see, yes.

-This would be in it.

0:38:200:38:23

Putting a value on it is actually jolly difficult because it doesn't fit into any category.

0:38:230:38:28

It's just a novelty.

0:38:280:38:31

But I think it's a novelty which, if it did come up for sale and it were written up properly,

0:38:310:38:37

would make between £2,000 and £3,000.

0:38:370:38:40

Oh.

0:38:400:38:42

-A quite expensive novelty, eh?

-Yes.

0:38:420:38:45

"With love and kisses for a happy Geburtstag to Val, (34 today) from Mike".

0:38:450:38:50

Who Val, who Mike?

0:38:500:38:53

I'm Val, Mike McCartney.

0:38:530:38:55

-Brother of Paul.

-Yes.

0:38:550:38:57

-This is something that he made for you on your 34th birthday...?! I don't think so.

-19th.

0:38:570:39:02

That sounds more like it. And when was that? What year?

0:39:020:39:06

1961.

0:39:060:39:08

Amazing! So, you and Mike were what, girlfriend/boyfriend, friends?

0:39:080:39:12

Well, friends really. We were both students in Liverpool at the same time.

0:39:120:39:16

Fantastic. And this reads through a kind of who's who and what's what

0:39:160:39:21

-in Liverpool in '61 in the Jacaranda Coffee Bar.

-Yes.

0:39:210:39:25

Everybody knows about the Cavern probably. But the Jacaranda was a great venue.

0:39:250:39:29

-Bit scruffy, I've been told.

-Yes.

-And the Cavern.

-Yes.

0:39:290:39:33

I mean, one can't look at a Cavern Club membership card

0:39:330:39:37

-without sort of feeling a sort of thrill of excitement.

-Yes.

0:39:370:39:42

-And did you go often?

-Yes, quite a lot.

0:39:420:39:45

On Mike McCartney's arm?

0:39:450:39:46

-Yes.

-Very good.

-Sometimes.

-You were sort of waved through probably.

0:39:460:39:51

-Yes, yes, absolutely, yes.

-And how good were they?

-Excellent, wonderful.

0:39:510:39:56

I've spoken to a lot of people who went to those early concerts

0:39:560:40:00

and they've said that, you know, the sort of sexiness of it, the sort of rawness of it

0:40:000:40:05

was something that they kind of lost when they went to bigger venues and were more...

0:40:050:40:10

Because this was originally a jazz club.

0:40:100:40:13

Acker Bilk and Kenny Ball and all those sort of bands played there.

0:40:130:40:18

And did you feel that you were at the sort of start of something big?

0:40:180:40:22

-Yes, definitely.

-And how...?

-Absolutely, yes.

0:40:220:40:25

-So they were definitely a cut above everybody else.

-Yes.

0:40:250:40:28

Wonderful. And in those early days, of course, they had a completely different line-up.

0:40:280:40:35

This shows you that early line-up.

0:40:350:40:37

You had George Harrison, John Lennon,

0:40:370:40:39

-Paul McCartney and Pete Best, who was the drummer.

-Pete Best.

0:40:390:40:43

-How did you get that?

-Well, there's a story attached to that.

0:40:430:40:47

I was down in the Cavern with them, with Mike, and they weren't really very famous at the time,

0:40:470:40:53

so for a joke actually

0:40:530:40:56

I picked this old Senior Service packet up from the Cavern floor

0:40:560:41:00

-and said, "Right, boys, sign that for me."

-"One day you'll be famous."

0:41:000:41:04

-And...

-A true story.

0:41:060:41:09

And it's so sweet the way they've written "The Beatles",

0:41:090:41:12

-just in case you forgot which band it was.

-Yes.

0:41:120:41:15

But I like the look of some of these letters here.

0:41:150:41:18

It says here "In the Cavern the other day,

0:41:180:41:20

"660 came to see them in the lunch break..." The Beatles.

0:41:200:41:25

"..while the Shadows got approximately 700 and the Temperance Seven about 800, both at night."

0:41:250:41:31

So suddenly it was a lunch-time venue.

0:41:310:41:35

-Lunch time.

-How interesting!

0:41:350:41:37

This is a nice little bit of history. What date's that? July '61. And what else have we got in here?

0:41:370:41:43

I'm waiting... This is like the Holy Grail here, handling these.

0:41:430:41:48

Oh, how sweet!

0:41:490:41:50

"Dad has just found your letter in a bunch of fan mail.

0:41:500:41:54

"You see, Paul gets between 40 and 70 letters a day now and some of it hasn't been sorted."

0:41:540:41:59

I think that's great. From the really early days again, 1961.

0:41:590:42:03

-Yes.

-I mean this is just wonderful.

0:42:030:42:06

-And the fact that you were right in there, right at the sort of... in the middle of it all.

-Yes.

0:42:060:42:12

This is going to stack up really nicely.

0:42:120:42:14

Let's do a little bit of adding here.

0:42:140:42:16

Well, the poster itself, even though it's got a little bit of damage,

0:42:160:42:21

-that's probably around £250.

-Really?

-Yes.

0:42:210:42:24

And then these...

0:42:250:42:27

little pieces of printed memorabilia,

0:42:270:42:30

well, these are probably going...

0:42:300:42:32

A ticket like that is probably going to be £250.

0:42:340:42:38

And another £250. Jacaranda Club...

0:42:380:42:41

You very seldom see the Jacaranda, that's probably another £250.

0:42:410:42:45

The Cavern for the 1963 season, THE ultimate season!

0:42:450:42:50

-£400, £500 maybe.

-Really?

0:42:510:42:53

-Letters... I mean, not that you could ever think about selling these.

-Oh, no.

-These are...

0:42:550:43:01

-Hundreds a-piece.

-Really?

-Hundreds a-piece,

0:43:010:43:03

-because they relate to The Beatles.

-Yes.

0:43:030:43:05

And as for this little joke from the floor of the Cavern,

0:43:050:43:10

I would have thought we're talking about probably £3,000...£4,000.

0:43:100:43:15

Gosh, wonderful.

0:43:150:43:17

-So it's a very nice little group of memories really.

-Yes.

0:43:170:43:22

-But more than memories.

-Absolutely.

-Because they actually tell the story of the early days

0:43:220:43:27

-of probably the most important band of the 20th century.

-Yes, wonderful.

-Good for you.

0:43:270:43:32

Thank you very much. That was really interesting.

0:43:320:43:35

No wonder the streets of Hornsea were empty earlier,

0:43:350:43:38

I think everyone was eager to get out of the cold into the embrace of a nice, warm expert.

0:43:380:43:44

Folk here are very used to fighting the elements.

0:43:440:43:47

This town used to be 14 miles from the sea

0:43:470:43:50

and now it's just a quarter of a mile away. Fingers crossed!

0:43:500:43:53

Until the next time, from the coast of Yorkshire, goodbye.

0:43:530:43:57

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0:44:070:44:11

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