0:00:36 > 0:00:42Every day, 90,000 drivers rush past Anthony Gormley's dramatic "Angel of the North" statue,
0:00:42 > 0:00:45near the A1 at Gateshead.
0:00:45 > 0:00:47But just a few miles away, those same drivers
0:00:47 > 0:00:52could leave the 21st century behind and discover an era when traffic -
0:00:52 > 0:00:55in fact life itself - was a little more easy going.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09We've come to Beamish, the North of England Open Air Museum
0:01:09 > 0:01:10in County Durham,
0:01:10 > 0:01:14and we're in for something of an adventure, a spot of time travel...
0:01:14 > 0:01:18to the days when people around these parts looked less like this...
0:01:21 > 0:01:24..and more like this.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30The year is 1913.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34Britain still boasts an empire on which the sun never sets.
0:01:34 > 0:01:40Nobody knows that the Great War is looming or that economic depression lies ahead, in fact,
0:01:40 > 0:01:44it's a boom time for industry and the coal fields
0:01:44 > 0:01:48of the north-east are helping to fuel the nation's prosperity.
0:01:48 > 0:01:53Most people are better off than they've ever been.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58Thank you.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03It's still considered a virtue to be thrifty though, after all,
0:02:03 > 0:02:06look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09Hands up who knows the exchange rate.
0:02:09 > 0:02:1112 pennies, one shilling.
0:02:11 > 0:02:1512 pennies, one shilling.
0:02:15 > 0:02:20- 20 shillings, one pound. - 20 shillings, one pound.
0:02:20 > 0:02:26Education is compulsory to the age of 12 and most children leave school
0:02:26 > 0:02:28and join the workforce.
0:02:28 > 0:02:34If a boy becomes a miner, he's joining the elite of the working class.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38A miner can earn 30 shillings a week - more than a teacher -
0:02:38 > 0:02:42but to earn that 30 bob he'll have to spend 44 hours down
0:02:42 > 0:02:49a dark and dangerous hole digging 24 tonnes of coal a week and he'll have to provide his own pick and shovel.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52Can I have some Zebo grease, please?
0:02:54 > 0:02:59Bar codes and sell-by dates are far in the future.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02A mangle is a new fangled gadget,
0:03:02 > 0:03:07there are no electric irons and people mince their own meat by hand.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11There's not much in the way of packaging, biscuits are sold loose,
0:03:11 > 0:03:15and fresh butter is scooped into individual portions.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18Much of the family budget goes on food,
0:03:18 > 0:03:22so a new blouse or a fancy hat are things people save up for.
0:03:26 > 0:03:31This superbly detailed snapshot of the northern past at Beamish
0:03:31 > 0:03:34is our back-drop for today's Roadshow.
0:03:34 > 0:03:40To make life easier, all valuations will be in today's money.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44What a lovely happy cat, isn't he great? Have you got a name for him?
0:03:44 > 0:03:49Well, actually, I didn't have a name for him until today, till I met you so I think I'll call him Henry.
0:03:49 > 0:03:54Oh, Henry, I like that, I think that's lovely, I love fat, happy cats. How did you come by him?
0:03:54 > 0:04:00Well, it was about, I believe, three or four year ago, I purchased him in an antique auction at a local...
0:04:00 > 0:04:03- Charity auction, yes. - Just a few mile down the road.- Yes.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07And, I purchased... I believe it was about £24 or £28 at the time.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09- £24 to £28?- Yeah, that's right.
0:04:09 > 0:04:15Just a little bit of damage, little bits of chippings out of there, it's a very soft glaze.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17- Right.- Soft pottery and soft glaze,
0:04:17 > 0:04:21and, um, probably almost certainly made up in Yorkshire.
0:04:21 > 0:04:27- Right, yes.- I think he's a Yorkshire cat, the style of colouring is called a Rockingham glaze.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31- Right.- Not that necessarily this is Rockingham, I don't think it's Rockingham but it's made
0:04:31 > 0:04:35in the style of the Rockingham glazes and made around about 1820,
0:04:35 > 0:04:41so it's a nice early cat, isn't he? I think he's absolutely great, so don't worry too much
0:04:41 > 0:04:47about the damage, damage is, is fair enough, so you paid what, 20?
0:04:47 > 0:04:49About £24, yes.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51£24, well, you did very well,
0:04:51 > 0:04:58I reckon, because of the good size and very good condition basically, I think he's worth £1,000.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02- That's nice, isn't it?- I didn't believe it was worth that much.
0:05:02 > 0:05:06So look after him, give him a good feed and call him Henry.
0:05:06 > 0:05:11Right, I will do, without a doubt, thanks very much, thank you.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13It's an orgy of decoration which is everything from a celebration
0:05:13 > 0:05:17of love with these cooing doves at the top and these...
0:05:17 > 0:05:21Hymen's torch and the trophies, through an architectural capriccio
0:05:21 > 0:05:25here and then you have martial trophies on either side.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28Now how does it survive in this condition?
0:05:28 > 0:05:31I'd like to know, careful, careful attention I think, yeah.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33But it's obviously been somewhere for a very long time.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35Yes, I think so, um...
0:05:35 > 0:05:39- Scottish provenance. - Scottish provenance.
0:05:39 > 0:05:44- That's it, the only thing I know in terms of the past history of it. - Right.
0:05:44 > 0:05:49This is known as a coiffeuse or a poudreuse, now in the 18th century
0:05:49 > 0:05:54with the sheer quantity of make-up and wigs that were used, both male
0:05:54 > 0:06:00and female members of the court sat at their poudreuse for many hours a day in order to make themselves look
0:06:00 > 0:06:05absolutely perfect for the ball in the evening. It was a sort of all-encompassing piece of furniture
0:06:05 > 0:06:13because here, surviving in extraordinarily original condition you have these wonderful
0:06:13 > 0:06:19bits and pieces, you've got this solid tulip wood, places for storing small sort of dressing utensils,
0:06:19 > 0:06:26you've got these very, very beautiful early bits of porcelain with their naturalistic finials.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29These I think could be quite specifically dated to somewhere
0:06:29 > 0:06:31in the early-to-mid 1750s,
0:06:31 > 0:06:34which stylistically ties in exactly
0:06:34 > 0:06:38with the piece of furniture itself.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41But this is not the only one,
0:06:41 > 0:06:45because not only have you got those original fittings to help you
0:06:45 > 0:06:51with getting dressed, the powders and everything else, but on the other side, when we open it up,
0:06:51 > 0:06:55we have yet more marquetry and then this extraordinary original Vernis Martin box,
0:06:55 > 0:06:59and I think these are one of the great rarities, because although
0:06:59 > 0:07:02one sees these sort of dressing sets
0:07:02 > 0:07:06around separately, they very rarely survive with their original,
0:07:06 > 0:07:10within the poudreuse or the coiffeuse, you've got the brushes...
0:07:10 > 0:07:13these are presumably... Maybe there's even talcum powder inside.
0:07:13 > 0:07:18- There is, actually.- Oh, there is! In that particular one, yes. And a wonderful pin cushion with...again,
0:07:18 > 0:07:21you've got the same watered silk and the same silver thread which is wound
0:07:21 > 0:07:28around as a border, consistent with all of the lining, so it's in this fantastic state of preservation
0:07:28 > 0:07:29but it's not just for dressing,
0:07:29 > 0:07:35because it also had a very practical way where you could also use it
0:07:35 > 0:07:41as an extraordinary writing desk, and there's even this wonderful fitted drawer down here.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43It's a fantastic thing.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45How did you lay your hands on it?
0:07:45 > 0:07:48I purchased it about, um, oh,
0:07:48 > 0:07:51- April last year. - April... Oh, recently?- Yes.
0:07:51 > 0:07:57- And did you have to pay the earth for it?- No, I paid £4,500 for it.
0:07:57 > 0:08:03£4,500. Well, I think what's really interesting is that the constituent parts...
0:08:03 > 0:08:07if you look at it in a sort of rather separate way...
0:08:07 > 0:08:14these very rare Vernis Martin mid-18th boxes with the two powder boxes, the brushes, the pin cushion,
0:08:14 > 0:08:17that is a set on its own,
0:08:17 > 0:08:23without the piece of furniture, and probably would be worth £2,500 - £3,500.
0:08:23 > 0:08:31The porcelain, the Mennecy porcelain group, which is a rare group, is probably worth perhaps £1,500,
0:08:31 > 0:08:37£2,000, for the three pieces, the glass itself is probably worth,
0:08:37 > 0:08:40um, you know, £500-£800 as well,
0:08:40 > 0:08:46so in the small separate elements, within all of these, you've already made a particularly good purchase
0:08:46 > 0:08:49and that is before we even get involved
0:08:49 > 0:08:53with the coiffeuse itself. Now as an ensemble, with everything together,
0:08:53 > 0:08:58with this quality of marquetry, I think you are looking at something that's worth
0:08:58 > 0:09:03certainly £15,000 to £20,000, maybe even a little bit more.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07- It's a fantastic thing. - Right, right, thank you very much. - Thank you very much indeed.
0:09:07 > 0:09:14This is a mystery picture, it's not signed, I'm not sure who it's by and I don't know who the sitter is,
0:09:14 > 0:09:15although she looks very familiar to me.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18Can you tell me something about this wonderful lady?
0:09:18 > 0:09:24Well, I always believed her to be Virginia Woolf.
0:09:24 > 0:09:29- Virginia Woolf, absolutely.- When I bought her in a shop in Kensington,
0:09:29 > 0:09:35Chelsea, it was an antiquarian book shop, they said it was Mrs Woolf
0:09:35 > 0:09:40and this meant absolutely nothing to me, but my late husband,
0:09:40 > 0:09:45who was a writer and critic, said "Oh, she looks like Virginia Woolf",
0:09:45 > 0:09:50and so he bought me a book on the Bloomsbury Set
0:09:50 > 0:09:56which very much shocked me because I'd been brought up very strictly.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00- Right, it's quite shocking, isn't it?- Yes. And so I hung her in the spare room.
0:10:00 > 0:10:06- Ah, she was banished, was she?- Yes. - Right, right, can you remember when you bought it?
0:10:06 > 0:10:101958 or 1959, I'm not quite sure.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14- Ah, really? And how much did it cost then?- £15.- £15.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16- But it was without a frame.- Right.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19It had a hole and it was dirty.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22A bit unloved. Well, it looks very much like Virginia Woolf
0:10:22 > 0:10:27and photographs of this period, say what, about 1910, 1915.
0:10:27 > 0:10:301908 to 1910 by the clothing.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33Right, right, by the clothing, exactly, that's interesting.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35And I think it's got a very good chance. Have you done any research?
0:10:35 > 0:10:38Have you written to the National Portrait Gallery?
0:10:38 > 0:10:43I have, but as they haven't seen the picture, only poor photographs...
0:10:43 > 0:10:47- Right.- At the time, they couldn't say anything.
0:10:47 > 0:10:52People are always careful and doubtful when it's someone famous,
0:10:52 > 0:10:58but when I had bought it she wasn't famous then, the Bloomsbury Set was out of favour.
0:10:58 > 0:11:03- Out of fashion, absolutely. - Out of... so I just thought when she said it's a Mrs Woolf,
0:11:03 > 0:11:05I thought, "She doesn't look Jewish!"
0:11:05 > 0:11:09- That's about all I was thinking. - Oh, really? Oh, how fascinating.
0:11:09 > 0:11:16It looks like it's been taken from a photograph, because I like the face, I think it's beautifully done,
0:11:16 > 0:11:19but interestingly enough, although we've got a very distinct style,
0:11:19 > 0:11:21that sort of almost pointille style here...
0:11:21 > 0:11:27- Right, yes.- ..it's not quite as good, this area, the arms I think are quite weak, obviously
0:11:27 > 0:11:30- you know, it's very important we get the National Portrait Gallery to see this picture.- Yes.
0:11:30 > 0:11:38But isn't it frustrating, this is someone and yet we haven't got 100% proof that it is Virginia Woolf
0:11:38 > 0:11:42and one should always write on the back, shouldn't one, who these people are.
0:11:42 > 0:11:47Look, I'm going to give you three valuations because
0:11:47 > 0:11:51if the National Portrait Gallery say "Look, I'm sorry, we just don't think it's of Virginia Woolf
0:11:51 > 0:11:56"and it's just a portrait of a pretty lady, of the date, 1910,"
0:11:56 > 0:11:58it's going to be worth not a huge amount, portraits are difficult
0:11:58 > 0:12:04to sell, but she's a good-looking woman so if you're just...
0:12:04 > 0:12:07Mrs Bloggs... we're looking at about £300-£500.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10If it's Virginia Woolf, on the other hand, and we can prove that,
0:12:10 > 0:12:14we're probably talking about £1,500, £2,000.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16If we can find out who the artist is, we're probably talking about
0:12:16 > 0:12:19- £10,000 so we've still got a lot of work to do, I'm afraid.- Yes, yes.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23So I'm sorry I can't answer the mystery.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25That's all right, I don't actually want to sell her.
0:12:25 > 0:12:30- Quite right, enjoy, enjoy her and thank you so much for bringing it in.- Thank you so much.- Pleasure.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32Thank you.
0:12:32 > 0:12:38- So you've brought me your dining room table but presumably you didn't have to come far?- No.- Living here?
0:12:38 > 0:12:40- Further than that.- Further than that.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43This is a dining room table with a difference, isn't it?
0:12:43 > 0:12:45- Yes.- It's got all this crack.- Yes.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48So I suspect that something happens.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51- So if I push this...- That's correct.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53Ah, look,
0:12:53 > 0:12:55there is revealed there...
0:12:55 > 0:12:57- Fantastic, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00A table that converts into a sofa, a sofa that converts into a table.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04- Yes. - It looks to me 1930s or thereabouts. Do you know where it came from?
0:13:04 > 0:13:10Around that. It was... My mother's aunt bought it in Newcastle
0:13:10 > 0:13:14at an exhibition park - there was a trade fair.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17Oh, I remember the one... I don't remember it, but...
0:13:17 > 0:13:21Yes, vaguely yes, it was about 1928-29, I think.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24- It was a big industrial domestic show.- Yes.
0:13:24 > 0:13:29- It put Newcastle on the map.- Yes.- So she bought it from the exhibition.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32- She bought it then.- It must have then been the latest thing.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35It also, of course, is to do with people living in smaller houses.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38- Yes. - You know, in fact a little terrace house like that would have been
0:13:38 > 0:13:41perfect for this, because you've got two pieces of furniture in one.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44- Yes, in one.- The other thing I love about it is this fabric,
0:13:44 > 0:13:49what it reminds me of is the seats of buses and trains, you know...
0:13:49 > 0:13:51Yes, it does, yes!
0:13:51 > 0:13:53..exactly that same sort of fabric.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57- So when you got onto an LNER train in 1929 I bet you sat on seats that looked like that.- Yes.
0:13:57 > 0:14:02And I suppose the manufacturer probably had the same very hard-wearing cloth,
0:14:02 > 0:14:07a lot of which, of course, was made in the North, so they probably used a local supplier for the cloth.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11- Oh, I see, yes.- So it's got that lovely Art Deco look about it, um, is it comfortable?
0:14:11 > 0:14:14- Yes, we use it, yes.- Can we try it?
0:14:14 > 0:14:16- Yes. - So we sit on it, and what do we do?
0:14:16 > 0:14:21- Look at the television - of course you couldn't... TV wasn't there then.- No.- Very nice, isn't it?
0:14:21 > 0:14:27- Yes, it's, it's reasonably comfortable, when you think it's 80 odd years old.- I think it's great,
0:14:27 > 0:14:33I think very comfortable, and the great thing is, if we decide now it's tea time and get up...
0:14:33 > 0:14:35Yes...
0:14:35 > 0:14:37And we do that,
0:14:37 > 0:14:40- and that, get the tea out.- Yeah.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43- I love it and I wonder what it cost in the exhibition.- I have no idea.
0:14:43 > 0:14:49- I think a collector would pay £300... £400 for it.- Uh-huh.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52- Much more than an ordinary sofa of that period.- Yes, uh-huh.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56So, every time you sit on it, you've got a real treasure of that time.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58- Yes.- Thank you very much.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00All right, thank you.
0:15:00 > 0:15:07It belongs to my son, who's only 16, and it's been passed down the family through all the male members of the
0:15:07 > 0:15:13family so as far as I know it's about 200 years old but that's all we know about it, it could be even...
0:15:13 > 0:15:14older, I don't know.
0:15:14 > 0:15:20I think it's wonderful, let's have a look - he's not a tippler yet is he, your son?
0:15:20 > 0:15:24- Because this is going to encourage him.- I know.- You know what this is?
0:15:24 > 0:15:27It's a drinking man's walking stick.
0:15:27 > 0:15:32- Yes.- I think it could be a drinking woman's walking stick too, don't you?- Could be, could be.
0:15:32 > 0:15:37And look at this, look at that, now do you think that holds half a pint?
0:15:37 > 0:15:42Anyway whatever it is, it would have held something really nice
0:15:42 > 0:15:48and alcoholic, perhaps something to keep you warm, and then...
0:15:48 > 0:15:55what have we here? I think it's really special this, look at this, what do we see, but...
0:15:55 > 0:15:57now that is fantastic, do you know why?
0:15:57 > 0:16:01Because the ones I've seen before are either missing the glass,
0:16:01 > 0:16:05or the glasses have been tumblers, not a stemmed goblet,
0:16:05 > 0:16:08this is so lovely and do you know this dates right back,
0:16:08 > 0:16:13- including the glass, to the early part of the 19th century.- Really?
0:16:13 > 0:16:15They've kept it really well, all your male folk.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18Now the stick itself is probably...
0:16:18 > 0:16:23it's probably fruit wood, it's not very easy to tell.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27it's beautifully polished, it's the most lovely thing. Have you any idea what it's worth?
0:16:27 > 0:16:32No idea, just sentimental value really, we don't know.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36- I think it's going to be between £150 and £200.- Right, right.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38Is he going to be pleased?
0:16:38 > 0:16:41- Yes, never sell it anyway.- Oh, no.
0:16:41 > 0:16:46It's been in the family so long it's just going to stay there now, hoping he'll have sons to pass it down to.
0:16:46 > 0:16:51How wonderful that here we are at Beamish Museum in the heart
0:16:51 > 0:16:55of the north-east of England and you've brought a wonderful collection of north-eastern pottery.
0:16:55 > 0:16:57How did this all come into your possession?
0:16:57 > 0:17:00Well, been collecting it for a number of years, I like anything to do with
0:17:00 > 0:17:05the north-east, especially the contemporary pieces from the ordinary working man, sort of.
0:17:05 > 0:17:12Things that speak about the times, and the people who made them and I think it's interesting,
0:17:12 > 0:17:16we've got a collection of what's called Sunderland Lustre Ware.
0:17:16 > 0:17:22That was made in Sunderland and that, but all the other pieces were made on Tyneside.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25So did you buy this from auctions and antique shops or...?
0:17:25 > 0:17:31Some of it, some of it from the internet, it's a very good media now for people like meself who...
0:17:31 > 0:17:33I wouldn't have had all this if it hadn't had been for the internet.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36Presumably, do you know most of what the potteries are?
0:17:36 > 0:17:39Is there something particular you want to find out?
0:17:39 > 0:17:43- I've tried to get as much as I can on the subject.- Where would you say that one was made, for instance?
0:17:43 > 0:17:49- I'll challenge you.- I would say that was, I would say that was Newcastle, maybe North Shields.
0:17:49 > 0:17:54It is, it's the Northumberland pottery of North Shields, probably made by Carr and Patton.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56- Oh, right.- Although they also had a pottery in Newcastle.- Yeah.
0:17:56 > 0:18:02So it's very difficult to say. This one's Thomas Fell with a print of the high-level bridge at the moment,
0:18:02 > 0:18:06this one is the Skinnerburn Pottery in Newcastle.
0:18:06 > 0:18:11- Never, is it?- Yes.- Oh.- Which is Addison, Falconer and Company and then became Tyler and Company.
0:18:11 > 0:18:17This one is marked Dixon and Co, Sunderland so that's fairly easy to tell and this one Dixon Austin.
0:18:17 > 0:18:23This one here isn't marked, it's a tobacco jar, typical with its candle on the top and presumably...
0:18:23 > 0:18:26did you know it was damaged? You didn't buy this off the internet?
0:18:26 > 0:18:28- Yes, no, I didn't. - So you knew about the damage.
0:18:28 > 0:18:34And this little hole here - it's been glazed so it's obviously been made from the start - I think this
0:18:34 > 0:18:38is for when you had candles burning down, it's for pushing the wax out.
0:18:38 > 0:18:43- Oh, aye.- I dare say when somebody's had a go at pushing some rather hard wax out, they've broken the rest.
0:18:43 > 0:18:45- Yeah, they've broke it.- Well, for me that, that's part of it as well.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49And we've got inside, we've got the tamper which keeps the tobacco down
0:18:49 > 0:18:55but what I really love about this piece is the inscription here, "Persival Spoor Seaham Harbour",
0:18:55 > 0:19:03and the verse "No handicraft can with ours art compare, we make our pots of what we potters are"
0:19:03 > 0:19:07so that's a verse about pottery and Persival Spoor was a potter
0:19:07 > 0:19:11- and he worked at the Seaham Harbour Pottery, so this is a piece of Seaham Pottery.- Marvellous.
0:19:11 > 0:19:16Which is perfect, it's like a link back into the past and do you feel the same for them?
0:19:16 > 0:19:21I mean I've collected pottery all my life, what is it appealed to you to collect local pottery -
0:19:21 > 0:19:24you could have gone for Staffordshire, Royal Doulton, or...
0:19:24 > 0:19:30Yeah, well, I didn't realise there was so many potteries in this area,
0:19:30 > 0:19:35and once, I'd found out that there were, that was it, I was hooked,
0:19:35 > 0:19:41and these pieces were in people's homes, they didn't have a lot of money, they had a hard time
0:19:41 > 0:19:46and it really fetches you back to their times and the appreciation
0:19:46 > 0:19:50that they've left us something that is really, you know, a part of their history.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53I suppose really we need to look at some values.
0:19:53 > 0:19:59A big jug like this in very good condition, it seems to be absolutely perfect, you're going to be paying,
0:19:59 > 0:20:03you know, £500 to £600 for a jug like this in this good condition.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05Something like this, probably about £350,
0:20:05 > 0:20:10this one a little bit more because it's a more interesting print,
0:20:10 > 0:20:12probably about £400 for that one,
0:20:12 > 0:20:16the Maling bowl probably £400...
0:20:16 > 0:20:23£450, and this one here, it's so complete and although it is damaged which would put a collector off,
0:20:23 > 0:20:27I think you're going to be looking at £600 to £700 so overall,
0:20:27 > 0:20:33we've got a collection worth well over £2,000-£2,500, so I'd say keep on collecting and keep it local.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36- I will do. I will do. - Thank you very much.- Thank you.
0:20:38 > 0:20:44This rapier, as I understand it, was smuggled out of Russia in the props of the Bolshoi Ballet
0:20:44 > 0:20:48in the days of the Iron Curtain, and it was sold to a dealer
0:20:48 > 0:20:54at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and he sold it to a dealer
0:20:54 > 0:20:57in England and I bought it from him.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01- Really?- And I've had it for a number of years.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04I can actually see that being in the sort of properties
0:21:04 > 0:21:09- of a ballet company like that, I mean absolutely ideal for Romeo and Juliet, wouldn't it?- Yeah.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13I was interested that down there that there are some markings...
0:21:13 > 0:21:16take the scabbard... and unusually a date on it,
0:21:16 > 0:21:181624, you don't see those...
0:21:18 > 0:21:21other than Victorian ones where they're all spurious.
0:21:21 > 0:21:27- That's right.- I was interested in the bowl of the guard because that's been hammered and rehammered by this
0:21:27 > 0:21:30- technique that we call repousse work.- Yes, yes.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34- You said that you bought this when, was it ten years or so ago? - About that, yes.
0:21:34 > 0:21:40What did you pay for it then, if I may sort of use a poker term and say "I'll see you".
0:21:40 > 0:21:43Right, I paid just over £2,000.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47Oh, that's very interesting because in the intervening period there's been a tremendous amount of interest
0:21:47 > 0:21:53in fine swords like this, I think largely because there've been so many fakes about,
0:21:53 > 0:21:57fairly recent ones and also you have the Victorians producing these for decorative things.
0:21:57 > 0:22:02- Yes, that's right.- And something that we can be absolutely certain of, the quality and the date
0:22:02 > 0:22:07on this, I think that your £2,000 today, you might times it by five,
0:22:07 > 0:22:11so we're looking at about £10,000 for a sword like this.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14I think it's exceptional, thanks very much for bringing it.
0:22:14 > 0:22:19Looking at what you're wearing, I think it really should be, you wearing this belt, shouldn't it?
0:22:19 > 0:22:23Yes, the belt actually belonged to my father, Bob Arthur, and he was
0:22:23 > 0:22:27a London North Eastern policeman and he was stationed at Sunderland
0:22:27 > 0:22:29and Newcastle Central Stations.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32Well, this obviously was something that was very special
0:22:32 > 0:22:36to your father, he must have had some quite interesting incidences just wearing something like this.
0:22:36 > 0:22:41Well, yes, he had a sense of humour and one day he had a porter who put his hand into a cage
0:22:41 > 0:22:45where there was an emperor penguin and the penguin bit his hand,
0:22:45 > 0:22:50so my father took him to the infirmary and the doctor said, "How'd you cut your finger?"
0:22:50 > 0:22:53and he said, "A penguin bit me" he says, "Where were you?"
0:22:53 > 0:23:00he says, "On Newcastle Central Station" so the doctor was a bit wary of the gentleman, you know.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04OK, so that's a story I've got to remember to tell next time I'm stopped on the railways.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08It's an interesting item in the sense that it slightly pre-dates
0:23:08 > 0:23:12his service on the railways, before amalgamation in 1923.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15- Yes.- So I guess he might have swapped it or something like that?
0:23:15 > 0:23:17Yes, knowing my father he would have swapped it, yes.
0:23:17 > 0:23:22Well, as an item that collectors would want, it is something that
0:23:22 > 0:23:26has a certain amount of value, really based on, on the social history attached to it.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30As a sought-after collectable, I think you'd really look at perhaps this changing hands for £100,
0:23:30 > 0:23:33a little bit more than that even,
0:23:33 > 0:23:38- which is a surprisingly large amount for something that on the face of it looks quite humble really.- Yes.
0:23:38 > 0:23:43A nice piece of family history.
0:23:43 > 0:23:48In our throw-away society, it's interesting to hark back to a time when it seemed nothing was wasted
0:23:48 > 0:23:52and Julie Sunter's collection is what looks like ordinary items,
0:23:52 > 0:23:55but there is an angle... Judy, explain.
0:23:55 > 0:23:59Well, these are all made from what I would describe as the debris of war,
0:23:59 > 0:24:07um, shell cases that have been rejected after firing and scrap aluminium from crashed aeroplanes
0:24:07 > 0:24:08and copper driving bands,
0:24:08 > 0:24:13animal bones, anything they could lay their hands on.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15- So it's "trench art" is what we call it.- It is, yes.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18And how many wars does your collection cover?
0:24:18 > 0:24:24Ranges from the Boer War through the First World War, the Second World War, the Falklands.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28Do you think they had more skilled workmen in those days?
0:24:28 > 0:24:32Say the First World War, the men seem to use their hands a lot more.
0:24:32 > 0:24:36I think, um, a lot of people that were called up had been agricultural labourers
0:24:36 > 0:24:41and they were used to making their own tools and repairing tools
0:24:41 > 0:24:46and there were a huge number of horses involved, so there would be a lot of blacksmiths
0:24:46 > 0:24:52and they'd have mobile blacksmiths shops, so maybe if they had a free moment, they'd manufacture something.
0:24:52 > 0:24:58- Knock out a little souvenir. What is the appeal for you?- Partly the recycling aspect of it.
0:24:58 > 0:25:04And partly the idea that things that were sent out to kill people, basically, were picked up
0:25:04 > 0:25:08and made into nice items to bring back home as presents or souvenirs,
0:25:08 > 0:25:11reminders of where people had been.
0:25:11 > 0:25:16Have you ever found out anything about any particular soldier from what you've collected?
0:25:16 > 0:25:23Um, not many, because very few actually have names on, they were actually still Government Property
0:25:23 > 0:25:27so they were reluctant to put their names on pieces,
0:25:27 > 0:25:33but these two I know were brought back by a great uncle of mine, so these have always been in the family,
0:25:33 > 0:25:38so I know who brought these back, and this particular piece has a gentleman's name on.
0:25:38 > 0:25:45I presume it was given to him when he left the army as a sort of memento from his colleagues.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48"Thomas Alfred Jones VC".
0:25:48 > 0:25:50VC and DCM.
0:25:50 > 0:25:56DCM... First Battalion the Cheshire Regiment, now that, that must be...
0:25:56 > 0:26:00- Round the bottom it'll tell you what he got the...- This is what he did,
0:26:00 > 0:26:07he got his VC for his capture of 102 prisoners at Morval 25th of the ninth, 1916...
0:26:07 > 0:26:10You would think that would be a very valuable piece of...
0:26:10 > 0:26:14I don't know how valuable it would be but it's extremely interesting.
0:26:14 > 0:26:19Now this set here, I mean I think our silver experts would be quite keen to have a look
0:26:19 > 0:26:24at this, because it oozes quality, I mean these are made of shells, these little pots, aren't they?
0:26:24 > 0:26:26Yes, they are,
0:26:26 > 0:26:29I don't know how they've been plated, whether it's chrome or...
0:26:29 > 0:26:30I wouldn't have thought it would be silver...
0:26:30 > 0:26:34but they've obviously been manufactured but they're from different calibre shells.
0:26:34 > 0:26:39- And the tray.- And the tray I believe is the footplate off a tank.
0:26:39 > 0:26:41- Astonishing, isn't it?- Mm, yes.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45- My attention was caught by this extraordinary piece of work up the top here.- Yes.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48This skyscraper of an item... What's the story behind that?
0:26:48 > 0:26:54I haven't got much of a story, but it's American, I got it sent over from America.
0:26:54 > 0:26:55From the First World War time?
0:26:55 > 0:26:59I believe it's the First World War and certainly at that time not many
0:26:59 > 0:27:04English people had electricity in their houses anyway, so they probably wouldn't think to make a lamp.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07So the switches are made of bullets.
0:27:07 > 0:27:11And written across the middle is "mother" - how sentimental!
0:27:11 > 0:27:13Lovely. It's so hideous, it's beautiful.
0:27:17 > 0:27:22As far as I can know and remember is they're from my grandmother.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26In her younger days, she went into service and I can only surmise
0:27:26 > 0:27:30she met this other person while she was in service.
0:27:30 > 0:27:36She came out and this other woman, person, must have actually gone into the royal household,
0:27:36 > 0:27:43as either a lady-in-waiting or a servant. They kept a correspondence over the years and this came down...
0:27:43 > 0:27:48- Has this letter then got anything to do with that?- This came with the photographs.- Right.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52Single page letter on Windsor Castle headed notepaper,
0:27:52 > 0:27:55- "Dear Lily" is that?- That's right.
0:27:55 > 0:27:57- Lily, that's your grandmother's name?- That's me grandmother, yes.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01"Dear Lily, herewith the snaps I have just received from Balmoral,
0:28:01 > 0:28:04"they are very great treasure
0:28:04 > 0:28:07"now that the dear King is gone",
0:28:07 > 0:28:13- so this is 1952 - this would be George VI just having died. - That's it, yeah.
0:28:13 > 0:28:18Right, so "I have just been looking through at the Queen Mother on them
0:28:18 > 0:28:23"and wonder after seeing her dear sad face last Friday at the funeral,
0:28:23 > 0:28:28- "if she will ever smile again." That's very poignant, isn't it?- Yes. - It goes on a little bit more.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31- So this letter accompanied these photographs.- Yes.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34And these photographs are of the Royal Family,
0:28:34 > 0:28:37the old King George VI and his wife, the Queen Mother,
0:28:37 > 0:28:42- I'm not quite sure which one is our present Queen, this is Elizabeth? - That's Margaret, that's the Queen.
0:28:42 > 0:28:44- That's Elizabeth, that's Margaret. - That's Elizabeth, that's Margaret.
0:28:44 > 0:28:46- They do look very similar, don't they?- They do.
0:28:46 > 0:28:51Right, that's rather fun, and then there's the whole of the family, if I can get this one out,
0:28:51 > 0:28:57the whole family - this is Charles with his hand in the water and this is Anne in the pram -
0:28:57 > 0:29:02how fantastic, full head of hair there, oh, so this will be Anne
0:29:02 > 0:29:05coming out of the pram with her mother.
0:29:05 > 0:29:09What's remarkable is that these are obviously private snapshots.
0:29:09 > 0:29:13- I don't know whether they're in the public domain or not. - I've never seen any of them.
0:29:13 > 0:29:18Never seen them reproduced anywhere and that's what makes them remarkable and valuable,
0:29:18 > 0:29:21that they're nowhere else to be seen - how many have you got?
0:29:21 > 0:29:27One, two, three, four, five, six, seven photographs in total,
0:29:27 > 0:29:33difficult to know for sure how much they might fetch in auction but I would, I'd go for about £50
0:29:33 > 0:29:38a picture, so that's £350 or thereabouts in auction,
0:29:38 > 0:29:43- that would be my sort of guess as to how much they might fetch. - I thought about £70 for the lot.
0:29:43 > 0:29:47No, I think they're delightful and the fact that you've got a letter confirming their arrival,
0:29:47 > 0:29:52confirming that they're snapshots is just the sort of information you need to confirm the value.
0:29:52 > 0:29:56I used to love old shops like this,
0:29:56 > 0:30:01particularly this wonderful contraption which carries your money in a ball to the cashier's office.
0:30:12 > 0:30:14And here, all transactions
0:30:14 > 0:30:18were recorded so that the quarterly dividend could be paid
0:30:18 > 0:30:21to each customer who was a co-op member.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24It's now quite a long way from Walsall - any reason why that might be?
0:30:24 > 0:30:28Well, I've no idea why it should have come from Walsall in the first place.
0:30:28 > 0:30:29And here we are in County Durham.
0:30:29 > 0:30:32- Yes.- What more can one say? - It's a lovely thing.
0:30:32 > 0:30:37It's actually rather fun that we should see something as technical and as, if you like,
0:30:37 > 0:30:41- as exposed as this, here in this garage setting here at Beamish.- Yes.
0:30:41 > 0:30:44- Let me just explain one or two things.- Thank you.
0:30:44 > 0:30:48The cheaper skeleton clocks had wheels of four spokes
0:30:48 > 0:30:53and then they went up to five spokes, but this has six spokes throughout.
0:30:53 > 0:30:55- Yes.- Absolutely top of the range. - Gosh, yeah.
0:30:55 > 0:31:00Now you might, or might not, know how these chain fusees work
0:31:00 > 0:31:05but basically instead of winding up the spring, you wind up the fusee and this is a constant speed drive.
0:31:05 > 0:31:08- Yes.- That compensates for the running down of the spring
0:31:08 > 0:31:13and the nicest features, that really are some of the nicest features
0:31:13 > 0:31:16up here - a strike silent.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19Do you find it offensive at night or not?
0:31:19 > 0:31:24- We're not accustomed to striking clocks and we have in fact turned the chime off, but, er...- Right.
0:31:24 > 0:31:26OK. I'm going to put it back on.
0:31:26 > 0:31:29Please do, it's a very nice ring!
0:31:29 > 0:31:36I'd like to hear it, and look at the twin subsidiaries. We've days of the week here and date on that side,
0:31:36 > 0:31:38lovely features.
0:31:38 > 0:31:44Yes, we were impressed to find when I actually set it running, it was keeping perfect time.
0:31:44 > 0:31:46- Until you brought it in today. - Until I brought it in today.
0:31:46 > 0:31:51Sadly, you've broken the suspension which is still on here, but that's hardly expensive, so here we are,
0:31:51 > 0:31:53a fantastic clock, the only thing
0:31:53 > 0:31:56I criticise is that whoever touched it before you did,
0:31:56 > 0:32:00just dumped the whole thing into some sort of proprietary cleaner
0:32:00 > 0:32:02and it looks flat and boring.
0:32:02 > 0:32:04Yes. I can see what you mean.
0:32:04 > 0:32:08It can be properly done and at that stage,
0:32:08 > 0:32:14you would be unlikely to replace it for less than about £5,500 to £6,000.
0:32:14 > 0:32:18Now that does surprise me.
0:32:18 > 0:32:24- So for a man who doesn't really like to hear it strike, I'd love to hear it myself.- Oh, go ahead.
0:32:24 > 0:32:29- All the way, at 12. - IT CHIMES TWELVE
0:32:30 > 0:32:36Pretty girls have been used to selling commodities for over 100 years and here we are
0:32:36 > 0:32:40in a grocery shop with lots of female figures about us
0:32:40 > 0:32:44selling this and that and various commodities, but one particularly
0:32:44 > 0:32:47pretty young lady here - tell me about her.
0:32:47 > 0:32:52Well, she was found by my sister in France in an antique shop
0:32:52 > 0:32:55in France I suppose 20, 25 years ago,
0:32:55 > 0:33:02she lived with my sister up until my sister died two or three years back, at which time,
0:33:02 > 0:33:05she was passed over to me.
0:33:05 > 0:33:07- So it's a family inheritance? - A family inheritance.
0:33:07 > 0:33:11- What do you think of her?- I think she's absolutely beautiful.- Why?
0:33:11 > 0:33:14It's just the, it's the colour,
0:33:14 > 0:33:17but it's the serene look on her face
0:33:17 > 0:33:21I think, which is the attraction to me,
0:33:21 > 0:33:26and to everyone who seems to see her and comes into contact with her.
0:33:26 > 0:33:32Yeah, well, ceramics, the history of pottery and porcelain is always regarded as one of the minor crafts,
0:33:32 > 0:33:36it's not regarded as high art - I don't take that line at all,
0:33:36 > 0:33:43there are good ceramics and bad ceramics, and a piece like this is certainly a sculptural work of art.
0:33:43 > 0:33:48It just so happens that it's not a one-off, it's a piece which originally would have
0:33:48 > 0:33:52been done as a single clay model, it would have been approved by the head of the workshop,
0:33:52 > 0:33:56someone called Friedrich Goldscheider and he would have said, "Let's put this into production",
0:33:56 > 0:34:01they would have made moulds, and from the moulds, plaster-of-Paris moulds, they would then
0:34:01 > 0:34:09have made, in this case, what is actually a terracotta figure - this is an earthenware figure,
0:34:09 > 0:34:15and they would have been able to make many, so it's art for the masses, if you like.
0:34:15 > 0:34:22And the piece actually dates to pretty closely, say within 15 years of this shop.
0:34:22 > 0:34:29Goldscheider, Friedrich Goldscheider, died in 1897 and he was one of the great exponents,
0:34:29 > 0:34:31or his workshops were,
0:34:31 > 0:34:37of the Art Nouveau period and here we have a typical rather sultry looking maiden,
0:34:37 > 0:34:43a very beautiful statuesque girl looking rather demure and sure enough,
0:34:43 > 0:34:47her title "Purite", "purity" tells us all.
0:34:47 > 0:34:53This is not a glazed piece, this is what we call cold painted, these are cold pigments painted on top
0:34:53 > 0:35:01of the earthenware - there is the tablet which tells us this is a piece of fine art.
0:35:01 > 0:35:06It's not your ordinary common or garden little figurine.
0:35:06 > 0:35:10If you were to buy something like this from a smart London shop that specialised
0:35:10 > 0:35:18in this Art Nouveau style, you would probably have to pay at the top end of somewhere getting on for £2,000.
0:35:18 > 0:35:20She's a very, very fine lady.
0:35:20 > 0:35:21Thank you very much indeed.
0:35:24 > 0:35:31Usually in pendants you have little gems suspended at the bottom such as little diamonds or pearls or rubies
0:35:31 > 0:35:35and sapphires but this is unusual because at the end of this pendant there's a milk tooth.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38- That's right.- Why has it got a milk tooth at the end of it?
0:35:38 > 0:35:40It's my eldest son's milk tooth,
0:35:40 > 0:35:45and grandmother's first grandson and she had it put in.
0:35:45 > 0:35:51Now, it's mounted up in a drop shaped setting with four white stones above.
0:35:51 > 0:35:53What do you think those are?
0:35:53 > 0:35:56- A kind of diamond. - What do you think it's worth?
0:35:56 > 0:35:59- Ten quid.- About £10?- Yes.
0:35:59 > 0:36:02Well, they are diamonds, they're not a kind of diamonds, they are
0:36:02 > 0:36:05diamonds, they are diamonds and what's interesting about this piece
0:36:05 > 0:36:09is that it was made in, I would think by the style of it,
0:36:09 > 0:36:13in around about 1925 so that suggests that originally
0:36:13 > 0:36:19- there was something else suspended at the bottom that was removed to put the milk tooth.- Right.
0:36:19 > 0:36:22And, in fact, when I look at it through my lens,
0:36:22 > 0:36:25I see that the cap at the top here
0:36:25 > 0:36:28was suitable for mounting with something like a drop-shaped pearl.
0:36:28 > 0:36:35- OK.- So they've taken the pearl off and they've stuck the milk tooth on instead. Now, if they're diamonds,
0:36:35 > 0:36:38- it's got to be worth more than £10, hasn't it really?- OK, yes.
0:36:38 > 0:36:43As it stands at the moment, if you were to sell it, it would probably make about £300.
0:36:43 > 0:36:44- Flabbergasted.- Yeah.
0:36:48 > 0:36:57This doesn't excite me at all, this is a piece of child's needlework of no great merit
0:36:57 > 0:37:00but that...does.
0:37:01 > 0:37:07You see a case like that and you think, "there's got to be something good in there".
0:37:07 > 0:37:11This is shagreen, ray skin.
0:37:11 > 0:37:15- Right.- Properly called shark skin but that's actually a much bigger grain,
0:37:15 > 0:37:20this is ray skin and characteristic of the 18th century,
0:37:20 > 0:37:23so what have we got in there?
0:37:23 > 0:37:27Now that's really rather special.
0:37:27 > 0:37:29Does it turn you on?
0:37:29 > 0:37:30It does in a way, yes.
0:37:30 > 0:37:32What is it?
0:37:32 > 0:37:35I believe it's a perfume bottle but I could be wrong.
0:37:35 > 0:37:37Yes, you're absolutely right, is it yours?
0:37:37 > 0:37:41- No, it belongs to me daughter. - And where did she get it from?
0:37:41 > 0:37:43She was given it from my mother.
0:37:43 > 0:37:47- And where did your mother get it from?- I've no idea, this is a mystery to me.
0:37:47 > 0:37:49She, she had an eye, didn't she?
0:37:49 > 0:37:51- She must have done, yes.- Yeah...
0:37:51 > 0:37:58- that's a delicious little thing and at first sight it appears to be made of porcelain.- Right.
0:37:58 > 0:38:00- Do you know what it's made of? - I've no idea, no.
0:38:00 > 0:38:04Well, it's sort of imitating Chelsea porcelain
0:38:04 > 0:38:09and it was made actually not that far away, it was made in Battersea.
0:38:09 > 0:38:12- Right. - It's the Battersea enamel factory,
0:38:12 > 0:38:19and it would date about 1755-1765, somewhere around there.
0:38:19 > 0:38:24We've got a stem from a tree with leaves
0:38:24 > 0:38:27which have been very carefully delineated
0:38:27 > 0:38:33with their veins and cherries, which are slightly sort of chocolaty colour, aren't they?
0:38:33 > 0:38:38- They are.- But I suppose they're meant to be black cherries rather then red cherries.- Ah, right.
0:38:38 > 0:38:43And round here the word "delicieux"...
0:38:43 > 0:38:45- delicious.- Now I've never noticed that.- You hadn't noticed it?- No.
0:38:45 > 0:38:50Ah, that again is copying Chelsea, that's exactly the sort of thing
0:38:50 > 0:38:53they would have done in one of their scent bottles,
0:38:53 > 0:38:55and the stopper
0:38:55 > 0:38:58is a leaf and stem again,
0:38:58 > 0:39:01held by a gilt chain.
0:39:01 > 0:39:08- Now this would have been given by a beau to his lady love.- Oh, right.
0:39:08 > 0:39:12And there is probably some play going on here,
0:39:12 > 0:39:16delicieux, she is delicious...
0:39:16 > 0:39:20This is delicious but you are delicious...
0:39:20 > 0:39:24and you've got to remember, you know we're here in the middle of the 18th century, George III's reign,
0:39:24 > 0:39:28and people didn't wash, you know, people stank.
0:39:28 > 0:39:31- Right.- I wouldn't have been sitting as close to you as you are at the moment.- Right.
0:39:31 > 0:39:38I'd have been kind of doing this. And a lady would have certainly perfumed herself to try and disguise
0:39:38 > 0:39:43- some of the pong, maybe not of herself but of somebody she was coming into contact with.- Yes.
0:39:43 > 0:39:48Well, I think your daughter's an extremely lucky little lady, really,
0:39:48 > 0:39:52it's amazing it's survived in absolutely perfect condition.
0:39:52 > 0:40:00- You wouldn't have any trouble getting £3,000 to £5,000 for that. - Now I'm starting to shake. Dear.
0:40:02 > 0:40:04She's a lucky girl, isn't she?
0:40:04 > 0:40:08- She is, right, yeah.- Thank you very much for bringing it in.- Thank you.
0:40:16 > 0:40:21This is the Rolls-Royce of musical boxes. I suppose we have,
0:40:21 > 0:40:29in our whole 28 years, we certainly haven't seen anything as grand and wonderful as this Symphonion.
0:40:29 > 0:40:31It's particularly rare because of its two discs.
0:40:31 > 0:40:36- Yes.- Which were after the cylinder musical boxes.- Oh, yes, yes.
0:40:36 > 0:40:37Which were made by the Swiss.
0:40:37 > 0:40:43- Yes.- And in the late 19th century these discs would overtake
0:40:43 > 0:40:48- the cylinder ones and they were mainly used by, and made by, the Germans.- That's right.
0:40:48 > 0:40:54But what brings me to this is here we are, we've got all these houses here with different themes in them.
0:40:54 > 0:40:56Where would this have been played?
0:40:56 > 0:41:00Well, musical boxes, in that time, were a very expensive item,
0:41:00 > 0:41:05and I don't think we'd have seen one being played in the sort of terraced houses we see behind us.
0:41:05 > 0:41:06Absolutely, absolutely.
0:41:06 > 0:41:10- Much more large halls, grand houses and places like that.- Stately homes.
0:41:10 > 0:41:14Because otherwise they'd be far too expensive for the working class.
0:41:14 > 0:41:19- Which is the same way as saying it's the aristocrat of musical boxes.- Yes, yes.
0:41:19 > 0:41:25- And stately homes probably would have been very lucky to even have this one.- Yes.
0:41:25 > 0:41:27How many pairs of discs do you have?
0:41:27 > 0:41:30With this machine I've got about 15 pairs of discs now.
0:41:30 > 0:41:35- Have you really?- Yes, there was only one pair when I bought it, but I've managed to accumulate others since.
0:41:35 > 0:41:41What is so splendid about this is that the fact that it's a double disc has added to the tonality.
0:41:41 > 0:41:45- It does, yes.- Of the noise, so you get this wonderful combination.
0:41:45 > 0:41:50It also, the fact that the discs came along instead of the cylinder
0:41:50 > 0:41:56- was a way of using the latest tunes of the day, which you couldn't do with the cylinder.- No.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59So have you got it insured?
0:41:59 > 0:42:01Um, yes, I have.
0:42:01 > 0:42:04May I ask how much?
0:42:04 > 0:42:06Probably about £1,000, something like that.
0:42:06 > 0:42:09What! Don't believe it.
0:42:09 > 0:42:14I haven't seen, I haven't seen another one for sale so I've got no comparison.
0:42:14 > 0:42:18I have to say that one came up for auction recently
0:42:18 > 0:42:23but it was a 26-inch disc, double disc, and these are, I think 11, 11½.
0:42:23 > 0:42:28- 11½, yes. - And that made at auction, 20,000.
0:42:28 > 0:42:30Ow!
0:42:30 > 0:42:34And I'm telling you that you should insure this for at least £20,000.
0:42:34 > 0:42:3520,000?
0:42:35 > 0:42:41Because the 26-inch discs were much more unmanageable
0:42:41 > 0:42:45to have in a house, much larger, this is, you could sit it on a table.
0:42:45 > 0:42:50- Yes.- You can enjoy it. Shall we hear what it does?- Yes, if you'd like to wind it up.- May I wind it up?
0:42:50 > 0:42:53Yes, indeed.
0:42:53 > 0:42:55About half a dozen winds should do it.
0:42:55 > 0:42:57- Don't want to over-wind it, do we? - No, I think you're fairly safe.
0:43:00 > 0:43:03- Right.- And away it goes.
0:43:03 > 0:43:06LILTING TUNE PLAYS
0:43:15 > 0:43:18The time capsule that is Beamish
0:43:18 > 0:43:23has been perfect for the Antiques Roadshow - after all, we both deal in the past, but Beamish
0:43:23 > 0:43:28also looks to the future - as one of the directors here said, "We're only in year 31 of a 200-year project."
0:43:28 > 0:43:34I wish I could say the same. Until the next time then, from County Durham, goodbye.