Beamish Antiques Roadshow


Beamish

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Every day, 90,000 drivers rush past Anthony Gormley's dramatic "Angel of the North" statue,

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near the A1 at Gateshead.

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But just a few miles away, those same drivers

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could leave the 21st century behind and discover an era when traffic -

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in fact life itself - was a little more easy going.

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We've come to Beamish, the North of England Open Air Museum

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in County Durham,

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and we're in for something of an adventure, a spot of time travel...

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to the days when people around these parts looked less like this...

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..and more like this.

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The year is 1913.

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Britain still boasts an empire on which the sun never sets.

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Nobody knows that the Great War is looming or that economic depression lies ahead, in fact,

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it's a boom time for industry and the coal fields

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of the north-east are helping to fuel the nation's prosperity.

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Most people are better off than they've ever been.

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Thank you.

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It's still considered a virtue to be thrifty though, after all,

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look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves.

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Hands up who knows the exchange rate.

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12 pennies, one shilling.

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12 pennies, one shilling.

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-20 shillings, one pound.

-20 shillings, one pound.

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Education is compulsory to the age of 12 and most children leave school

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and join the workforce.

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If a boy becomes a miner, he's joining the elite of the working class.

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A miner can earn 30 shillings a week - more than a teacher -

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but to earn that 30 bob he'll have to spend 44 hours down

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a dark and dangerous hole digging 24 tonnes of coal a week and he'll have to provide his own pick and shovel.

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Can I have some Zebo grease, please?

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Bar codes and sell-by dates are far in the future.

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A mangle is a new fangled gadget,

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there are no electric irons and people mince their own meat by hand.

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There's not much in the way of packaging, biscuits are sold loose,

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and fresh butter is scooped into individual portions.

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Much of the family budget goes on food,

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so a new blouse or a fancy hat are things people save up for.

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This superbly detailed snapshot of the northern past at Beamish

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is our back-drop for today's Roadshow.

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To make life easier, all valuations will be in today's money.

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What a lovely happy cat, isn't he great? Have you got a name for him?

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Well, actually, I didn't have a name for him until today, till I met you so I think I'll call him Henry.

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Oh, Henry, I like that, I think that's lovely, I love fat, happy cats. How did you come by him?

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Well, it was about, I believe, three or four year ago, I purchased him in an antique auction at a local...

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-Charity auction, yes.

-Just a few mile down the road.

-Yes.

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And, I purchased... I believe it was about £24 or £28 at the time.

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-£24 to £28?

-Yeah, that's right.

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Just a little bit of damage, little bits of chippings out of there, it's a very soft glaze.

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-Right.

-Soft pottery and soft glaze,

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and, um, probably almost certainly made up in Yorkshire.

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-Right, yes.

-I think he's a Yorkshire cat, the style of colouring is called a Rockingham glaze.

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-Right.

-Not that necessarily this is Rockingham, I don't think it's Rockingham but it's made

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in the style of the Rockingham glazes and made around about 1820,

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so it's a nice early cat, isn't he? I think he's absolutely great, so don't worry too much

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about the damage, damage is, is fair enough, so you paid what, 20?

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About £24, yes.

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£24, well, you did very well,

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I reckon, because of the good size and very good condition basically, I think he's worth £1,000.

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-That's nice, isn't it?

-I didn't believe it was worth that much.

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So look after him, give him a good feed and call him Henry.

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Right, I will do, without a doubt, thanks very much, thank you.

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It's an orgy of decoration which is everything from a celebration

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of love with these cooing doves at the top and these...

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Hymen's torch and the trophies, through an architectural capriccio

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here and then you have martial trophies on either side.

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Now how does it survive in this condition?

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I'd like to know, careful, careful attention I think, yeah.

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But it's obviously been somewhere for a very long time.

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Yes, I think so, um...

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-Scottish provenance.

-Scottish provenance.

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-That's it, the only thing I know in terms of the past history of it.

-Right.

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This is known as a coiffeuse or a poudreuse, now in the 18th century

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with the sheer quantity of make-up and wigs that were used, both male

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and female members of the court sat at their poudreuse for many hours a day in order to make themselves look

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absolutely perfect for the ball in the evening. It was a sort of all-encompassing piece of furniture

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because here, surviving in extraordinarily original condition you have these wonderful

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bits and pieces, you've got this solid tulip wood, places for storing small sort of dressing utensils,

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you've got these very, very beautiful early bits of porcelain with their naturalistic finials.

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These I think could be quite specifically dated to somewhere

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in the early-to-mid 1750s,

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which stylistically ties in exactly

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with the piece of furniture itself.

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But this is not the only one,

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because not only have you got those original fittings to help you

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with getting dressed, the powders and everything else, but on the other side, when we open it up,

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we have yet more marquetry and then this extraordinary original Vernis Martin box,

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and I think these are one of the great rarities, because although

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one sees these sort of dressing sets

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around separately, they very rarely survive with their original,

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within the poudreuse or the coiffeuse, you've got the brushes...

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these are presumably... Maybe there's even talcum powder inside.

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-There is, actually.

-Oh, there is! In that particular one, yes. And a wonderful pin cushion with...again,

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you've got the same watered silk and the same silver thread which is wound

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around as a border, consistent with all of the lining, so it's in this fantastic state of preservation

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but it's not just for dressing,

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because it also had a very practical way where you could also use it

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as an extraordinary writing desk, and there's even this wonderful fitted drawer down here.

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It's a fantastic thing.

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How did you lay your hands on it?

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I purchased it about, um, oh,

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-April last year.

-April... Oh, recently?

-Yes.

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-And did you have to pay the earth for it?

-No, I paid £4,500 for it.

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£4,500. Well, I think what's really interesting is that the constituent parts...

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if you look at it in a sort of rather separate way...

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these very rare Vernis Martin mid-18th boxes with the two powder boxes, the brushes, the pin cushion,

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that is a set on its own,

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without the piece of furniture, and probably would be worth £2,500 - £3,500.

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The porcelain, the Mennecy porcelain group, which is a rare group, is probably worth perhaps £1,500,

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£2,000, for the three pieces, the glass itself is probably worth,

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um, you know, £500-£800 as well,

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so in the small separate elements, within all of these, you've already made a particularly good purchase

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and that is before we even get involved

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with the coiffeuse itself. Now as an ensemble, with everything together,

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with this quality of marquetry, I think you are looking at something that's worth

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certainly £15,000 to £20,000, maybe even a little bit more.

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-It's a fantastic thing.

-Right, right, thank you very much.

-Thank you very much indeed.

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This 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,

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although she looks very familiar to me.

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Can you tell me something about this wonderful lady?

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Well, I always believed her to be Virginia Woolf.

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-Virginia Woolf, absolutely.

-When I bought her in a shop in Kensington,

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Chelsea, it was an antiquarian book shop, they said it was Mrs Woolf

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and this meant absolutely nothing to me, but my late husband,

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who was a writer and critic, said "Oh, she looks like Virginia Woolf",

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and so he bought me a book on the Bloomsbury Set

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which very much shocked me because I'd been brought up very strictly.

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-Right, it's quite shocking, isn't it?

-Yes. And so I hung her in the spare room.

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-Ah, she was banished, was she?

-Yes.

-Right, right, can you remember when you bought it?

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1958 or 1959, I'm not quite sure.

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-Ah, really? And how much did it cost then?

-£15.

-£15.

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-But it was without a frame.

-Right.

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It had a hole and it was dirty.

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A bit unloved. Well, it looks very much like Virginia Woolf

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and photographs of this period, say what, about 1910, 1915.

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1908 to 1910 by the clothing.

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Right, right, by the clothing, exactly, that's interesting.

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And I think it's got a very good chance. Have you done any research?

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Have you written to the National Portrait Gallery?

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I have, but as they haven't seen the picture, only poor photographs...

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-Right.

-At the time, they couldn't say anything.

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People are always careful and doubtful when it's someone famous,

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but when I had bought it she wasn't famous then, the Bloomsbury Set was out of favour.

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-Out of fashion, absolutely.

-Out of... so I just thought when she said it's a Mrs Woolf,

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I thought, "She doesn't look Jewish!"

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-That's about all I was thinking.

-Oh, really? Oh, how fascinating.

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It looks like it's been taken from a photograph, because I like the face, I think it's beautifully done,

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but interestingly enough, although we've got a very distinct style,

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that sort of almost pointille style here...

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-Right, yes.

-..it's not quite as good, this area, the arms I think are quite weak, obviously

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-you know, it's very important we get the National Portrait Gallery to see this picture.

-Yes.

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But isn't it frustrating, this is someone and yet we haven't got 100% proof that it is Virginia Woolf

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and one should always write on the back, shouldn't one, who these people are.

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Look, I'm going to give you three valuations because

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if the National Portrait Gallery say "Look, I'm sorry, we just don't think it's of Virginia Woolf

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"and it's just a portrait of a pretty lady, of the date, 1910,"

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it's going to be worth not a huge amount, portraits are difficult

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to sell, but she's a good-looking woman so if you're just...

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Mrs Bloggs... we're looking at about £300-£500.

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If it's Virginia Woolf, on the other hand, and we can prove that,

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we're probably talking about £1,500, £2,000.

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If we can find out who the artist is, we're probably talking about

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-£10,000 so we've still got a lot of work to do, I'm afraid.

-Yes, yes.

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So I'm sorry I can't answer the mystery.

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That's all right, I don't actually want to sell her.

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-Quite right, enjoy, enjoy her and thank you so much for bringing it in.

-Thank you so much.

-Pleasure.

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Thank you.

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-So you've brought me your dining room table but presumably you didn't have to come far?

-No.

-Living here?

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-Further than that.

-Further than that.

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This is a dining room table with a difference, isn't it?

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-Yes.

-It's got all this crack.

-Yes.

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So I suspect that something happens.

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-So if I push this...

-That's correct.

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Ah, look,

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there is revealed there...

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-Fantastic, isn't it?

-Yeah.

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A table that converts into a sofa, a sofa that converts into a table.

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-Yes.

-It looks to me 1930s or thereabouts. Do you know where it came from?

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Around that. It was... My mother's aunt bought it in Newcastle

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at an exhibition park - there was a trade fair.

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Oh, I remember the one... I don't remember it, but...

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Yes, vaguely yes, it was about 1928-29, I think.

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-It was a big industrial domestic show.

-Yes.

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-It put Newcastle on the map.

-Yes.

-So she bought it from the exhibition.

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-She bought it then.

-It must have then been the latest thing.

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It also, of course, is to do with people living in smaller houses.

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-Yes.

-You know, in fact a little terrace house like that would have been

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perfect for this, because you've got two pieces of furniture in one.

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-Yes, in one.

-The other thing I love about it is this fabric,

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what it reminds me of is the seats of buses and trains, you know...

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Yes, it does, yes!

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..exactly that same sort of fabric.

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-So when you got onto an LNER train in 1929 I bet you sat on seats that looked like that.

-Yes.

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And I suppose the manufacturer probably had the same very hard-wearing cloth,

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a lot of which, of course, was made in the North, so they probably used a local supplier for the cloth.

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-Oh, I see, yes.

-So it's got that lovely Art Deco look about it, um, is it comfortable?

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-Yes, we use it, yes.

-Can we try it?

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-Yes.

-So we sit on it, and what do we do?

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-Look at the television - of course you couldn't... TV wasn't there then.

-No.

-Very nice, isn't it?

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-Yes, it's, it's reasonably comfortable, when you think it's 80 odd years old.

-I think it's great,

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I think very comfortable, and the great thing is, if we decide now it's tea time and get up...

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Yes...

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And we do that,

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-and that, get the tea out.

-Yeah.

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-I love it and I wonder what it cost in the exhibition.

-I have no idea.

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-I think a collector would pay £300... £400 for it.

-Uh-huh.

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-Much more than an ordinary sofa of that period.

-Yes, uh-huh.

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So, every time you sit on it, you've got a real treasure of that time.

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-Yes.

-Thank you very much.

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All right, thank you.

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It belongs to my son, who's only 16, and it's been passed down the family through all the male members of the

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family so as far as I know it's about 200 years old but that's all we know about it, it could be even...

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older, I don't know.

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I think it's wonderful, let's have a look - he's not a tippler yet is he, your son?

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-Because this is going to encourage him.

-I know.

-You know what this is?

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It's a drinking man's walking stick.

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-Yes.

-I think it could be a drinking woman's walking stick too, don't you?

-Could be, could be.

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And look at this, look at that, now do you think that holds half a pint?

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Anyway whatever it is, it would have held something really nice

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and alcoholic, perhaps something to keep you warm, and then...

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what have we here? I think it's really special this, look at this, what do we see, but...

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now that is fantastic, do you know why?

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Because the ones I've seen before are either missing the glass,

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or the glasses have been tumblers, not a stemmed goblet,

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this is so lovely and do you know this dates right back,

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-including the glass, to the early part of the 19th century.

-Really?

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They've kept it really well, all your male folk.

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Now the stick itself is probably...

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it's probably fruit wood, it's not very easy to tell.

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it's beautifully polished, it's the most lovely thing. Have you any idea what it's worth?

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No idea, just sentimental value really, we don't know.

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-I think it's going to be between £150 and £200.

-Right, right.

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Is he going to be pleased?

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-Yes, never sell it anyway.

-Oh, no.

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It'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.

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How wonderful that here we are at Beamish Museum in the heart

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of the north-east of England and you've brought a wonderful collection of north-eastern pottery.

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How did this all come into your possession?

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Well, been collecting it for a number of years, I like anything to do with

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the north-east, especially the contemporary pieces from the ordinary working man, sort of.

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Things that speak about the times, and the people who made them and I think it's interesting,

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we've got a collection of what's called Sunderland Lustre Ware.

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That was made in Sunderland and that, but all the other pieces were made on Tyneside.

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So did you buy this from auctions and antique shops or...?

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Some of it, some of it from the internet, it's a very good media now for people like meself who...

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I wouldn't have had all this if it hadn't had been for the internet.

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Presumably, do you know most of what the potteries are?

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Is there something particular you want to find out?

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-I've tried to get as much as I can on the subject.

-Where would you say that one was made, for instance?

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-I'll challenge you.

-I would say that was, I would say that was Newcastle, maybe North Shields.

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It is, it's the Northumberland pottery of North Shields, probably made by Carr and Patton.

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-Oh, right.

-Although they also had a pottery in Newcastle.

-Yeah.

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So it's very difficult to say. This one's Thomas Fell with a print of the high-level bridge at the moment,

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this one is the Skinnerburn Pottery in Newcastle.

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-Never, is it?

-Yes.

-Oh.

-Which is Addison, Falconer and Company and then became Tyler and Company.

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This one is marked Dixon and Co, Sunderland so that's fairly easy to tell and this one Dixon Austin.

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This one here isn't marked, it's a tobacco jar, typical with its candle on the top and presumably...

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did you know it was damaged? You didn't buy this off the internet?

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-Yes, no, I didn't.

-So you knew about the damage.

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And this little hole here - it's been glazed so it's obviously been made from the start - I think this

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is for when you had candles burning down, it's for pushing the wax out.

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-Oh, aye.

-I dare say when somebody's had a go at pushing some rather hard wax out, they've broken the rest.

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-Yeah, they've broke it.

-Well, for me that, that's part of it as well.

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And we've got inside, we've got the tamper which keeps the tobacco down

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but what I really love about this piece is the inscription here, "Persival Spoor Seaham Harbour",

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and the verse "No handicraft can with ours art compare, we make our pots of what we potters are"

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so that's a verse about pottery and Persival Spoor was a potter

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-and he worked at the Seaham Harbour Pottery, so this is a piece of Seaham Pottery.

-Marvellous.

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Which is perfect, it's like a link back into the past and do you feel the same for them?

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I mean I've collected pottery all my life, what is it appealed to you to collect local pottery -

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you could have gone for Staffordshire, Royal Doulton, or...

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Yeah, well, I didn't realise there was so many potteries in this area,

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and once, I'd found out that there were, that was it, I was hooked,

0:19:300:19:35

and these pieces were in people's homes, they didn't have a lot of money, they had a hard time

0:19:350:19:41

and it really fetches you back to their times and the appreciation

0:19:410:19:46

that they've left us something that is really, you know, a part of their history.

0:19:460:19:50

I suppose really we need to look at some values.

0:19:500:19:53

A big jug like this in very good condition, it seems to be absolutely perfect, you're going to be paying,

0:19:530:19:59

you know, £500 to £600 for a jug like this in this good condition.

0:19:590:20:03

Something like this, probably about £350,

0:20:030:20:05

this one a little bit more because it's a more interesting print,

0:20:050:20:10

probably about £400 for that one,

0:20:100:20:12

the Maling bowl probably £400...

0:20:120:20:16

£450, and this one here, it's so complete and although it is damaged which would put a collector off,

0:20:160:20:23

I think you're going to be looking at £600 to £700 so overall,

0:20:230:20:27

we've got a collection worth well over £2,000-£2,500, so I'd say keep on collecting and keep it local.

0:20:270:20:33

-I will do. I will do.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

0:20:330:20:36

This rapier, as I understand it, was smuggled out of Russia in the props of the Bolshoi Ballet

0:20:380:20:44

in the days of the Iron Curtain, and it was sold to a dealer

0:20:440:20:48

at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and he sold it to a dealer

0:20:480:20:54

in England and I bought it from him.

0:20:540:20:57

-Really?

-And I've had it for a number of years.

0:20:570:21:01

I can actually see that being in the sort of properties

0:21:010:21:04

-of a ballet company like that, I mean absolutely ideal for Romeo and Juliet, wouldn't it?

-Yeah.

0:21:040:21:09

I was interested that down there that there are some markings...

0:21:090:21:13

take the scabbard... and unusually a date on it,

0:21:130:21:16

1624, you don't see those...

0:21:160:21:18

other than Victorian ones where they're all spurious.

0:21:180:21:21

-That's right.

-I was interested in the bowl of the guard because that's been hammered and rehammered by this

0:21:210:21:27

-technique that we call repousse work.

-Yes, yes.

0:21:270:21:30

-You said that you bought this when, was it ten years or so ago?

-About that, yes.

0:21:300:21:34

What did you pay for it then, if I may sort of use a poker term and say "I'll see you".

0:21:340:21:40

Right, I paid just over £2,000.

0:21:400:21:43

Oh, that's very interesting because in the intervening period there's been a tremendous amount of interest

0:21:430:21:47

in fine swords like this, I think largely because there've been so many fakes about,

0:21:470:21:53

fairly recent ones and also you have the Victorians producing these for decorative things.

0:21:530:21:57

-Yes, that's right.

-And something that we can be absolutely certain of, the quality and the date

0:21:570:22:02

on this, I think that your £2,000 today, you might times it by five,

0:22:020:22:07

so we're looking at about £10,000 for a sword like this.

0:22:070:22:11

I think it's exceptional, thanks very much for bringing it.

0:22:110:22:14

Looking at what you're wearing, I think it really should be, you wearing this belt, shouldn't it?

0:22:140:22:19

Yes, the belt actually belonged to my father, Bob Arthur, and he was

0:22:190:22:23

a London North Eastern policeman and he was stationed at Sunderland

0:22:230:22:27

and Newcastle Central Stations.

0:22:270:22:29

Well, this obviously was something that was very special

0:22:290:22:32

to your father, he must have had some quite interesting incidences just wearing something like this.

0:22:320:22:36

Well, yes, he had a sense of humour and one day he had a porter who put his hand into a cage

0:22:360:22:41

where there was an emperor penguin and the penguin bit his hand,

0:22:410:22:45

so my father took him to the infirmary and the doctor said, "How'd you cut your finger?"

0:22:450:22:50

and he said, "A penguin bit me" he says, "Where were you?"

0:22:500:22:53

he says, "On Newcastle Central Station" so the doctor was a bit wary of the gentleman, you know.

0:22:530:23:00

OK, so that's a story I've got to remember to tell next time I'm stopped on the railways.

0:23:000:23:04

It's an interesting item in the sense that it slightly pre-dates

0:23:040:23:08

his service on the railways, before amalgamation in 1923.

0:23:080:23:12

-Yes.

-So I guess he might have swapped it or something like that?

0:23:120:23:15

Yes, knowing my father he would have swapped it, yes.

0:23:150:23:17

Well, as an item that collectors would want, it is something that

0:23:170:23:22

has a certain amount of value, really based on, on the social history attached to it.

0:23:220:23:26

As a sought-after collectable, I think you'd really look at perhaps this changing hands for £100,

0:23:260:23:30

a little bit more than that even,

0:23:300:23:33

-which is a surprisingly large amount for something that on the face of it looks quite humble really.

-Yes.

0:23:330:23:38

A nice piece of family history.

0:23:380:23:43

In our throw-away society, it's interesting to hark back to a time when it seemed nothing was wasted

0:23:430:23:48

and Julie Sunter's collection is what looks like ordinary items,

0:23:480:23:52

but there is an angle... Judy, explain.

0:23:520:23:55

Well, these are all made from what I would describe as the debris of war,

0:23:550:23:59

um, shell cases that have been rejected after firing and scrap aluminium from crashed aeroplanes

0:23:590:24:07

and copper driving bands,

0:24:070:24:08

animal bones, anything they could lay their hands on.

0:24:080:24:13

-So it's "trench art" is what we call it.

-It is, yes.

0:24:130:24:15

And how many wars does your collection cover?

0:24:150:24:18

Ranges from the Boer War through the First World War, the Second World War, the Falklands.

0:24:180:24:24

Do you think they had more skilled workmen in those days?

0:24:240:24:28

Say the First World War, the men seem to use their hands a lot more.

0:24:280:24:32

I think, um, a lot of people that were called up had been agricultural labourers

0:24:320:24:36

and they were used to making their own tools and repairing tools

0:24:360:24:41

and there were a huge number of horses involved, so there would be a lot of blacksmiths

0:24:410:24:46

and they'd have mobile blacksmiths shops, so maybe if they had a free moment, they'd manufacture something.

0:24:460:24:52

-Knock out a little souvenir. What is the appeal for you?

-Partly the recycling aspect of it.

0:24:520:24:58

And partly the idea that things that were sent out to kill people, basically, were picked up

0:24:580:25:04

and made into nice items to bring back home as presents or souvenirs,

0:25:040:25:08

reminders of where people had been.

0:25:080:25:11

Have you ever found out anything about any particular soldier from what you've collected?

0:25:110:25:16

Um, not many, because very few actually have names on, they were actually still Government Property

0:25:160:25:23

so they were reluctant to put their names on pieces,

0:25:230:25:27

but these two I know were brought back by a great uncle of mine, so these have always been in the family,

0:25:270:25:33

so I know who brought these back, and this particular piece has a gentleman's name on.

0:25:330:25:38

I presume it was given to him when he left the army as a sort of memento from his colleagues.

0:25:380:25:45

"Thomas Alfred Jones VC".

0:25:450:25:48

VC and DCM.

0:25:480:25:50

DCM... First Battalion the Cheshire Regiment, now that, that must be...

0:25:500:25:56

-Round the bottom it'll tell you what he got the...

-This is what he did,

0:25:560:26:00

he got his VC for his capture of 102 prisoners at Morval 25th of the ninth, 1916...

0:26:000:26:07

You would think that would be a very valuable piece of...

0:26:070:26:10

I don't know how valuable it would be but it's extremely interesting.

0:26:100:26:14

Now this set here, I mean I think our silver experts would be quite keen to have a look

0:26:140:26:19

at this, because it oozes quality, I mean these are made of shells, these little pots, aren't they?

0:26:190:26:24

Yes, they are,

0:26:240:26:26

I don't know how they've been plated, whether it's chrome or...

0:26:260:26:29

I wouldn't have thought it would be silver...

0:26:290:26:30

but they've obviously been manufactured but they're from different calibre shells.

0:26:300:26:34

-And the tray.

-And the tray I believe is the footplate off a tank.

0:26:340:26:39

-Astonishing, isn't it?

-Mm, yes.

0:26:390:26:41

-My attention was caught by this extraordinary piece of work up the top here.

-Yes.

0:26:410:26:45

This skyscraper of an item... What's the story behind that?

0:26:450:26:48

I haven't got much of a story, but it's American, I got it sent over from America.

0:26:480:26:54

From the First World War time?

0:26:540:26:55

I believe it's the First World War and certainly at that time not many

0:26:550:26:59

English people had electricity in their houses anyway, so they probably wouldn't think to make a lamp.

0:26:590:27:04

So the switches are made of bullets.

0:27:040:27:07

And written across the middle is "mother" - how sentimental!

0:27:070:27:11

Lovely. It's so hideous, it's beautiful.

0:27:110:27:13

As far as I can know and remember is they're from my grandmother.

0:27:170:27:22

In her younger days, she went into service and I can only surmise

0:27:220:27:26

she met this other person while she was in service.

0:27:260:27:30

She came out and this other woman, person, must have actually gone into the royal household,

0:27:300:27:36

as either a lady-in-waiting or a servant. They kept a correspondence over the years and this came down...

0:27:360:27:43

-Has this letter then got anything to do with that?

-This came with the photographs.

-Right.

0:27:430:27:48

Single page letter on Windsor Castle headed notepaper,

0:27:480:27:52

-"Dear Lily" is that?

-That's right.

0:27:520:27:55

-Lily, that's your grandmother's name?

-That's me grandmother, yes.

0:27:550:27:57

"Dear Lily, herewith the snaps I have just received from Balmoral,

0:27:570:28:01

"they are very great treasure

0:28:010:28:04

"now that the dear King is gone",

0:28:040:28:07

-so this is 1952 - this would be George VI just having died.

-That's it, yeah.

0:28:070:28:13

Right, so "I have just been looking through at the Queen Mother on them

0:28:130:28:18

"and wonder after seeing her dear sad face last Friday at the funeral,

0:28:180:28:23

-"if she will ever smile again." That's very poignant, isn't it?

-Yes.

-It goes on a little bit more.

0:28:230:28:28

-So this letter accompanied these photographs.

-Yes.

0:28:280:28:31

And these photographs are of the Royal Family,

0:28:310:28:34

the old King George VI and his wife, the Queen Mother,

0:28:340:28:37

-I'm not quite sure which one is our present Queen, this is Elizabeth?

-That's Margaret, that's the Queen.

0:28:370:28:42

-That's Elizabeth, that's Margaret.

-That's Elizabeth, that's Margaret.

0:28:420:28:44

-They do look very similar, don't they?

-They do.

0:28:440:28:46

Right, that's rather fun, and then there's the whole of the family, if I can get this one out,

0:28:460:28:51

the whole family - this is Charles with his hand in the water and this is Anne in the pram -

0:28:510:28:57

how fantastic, full head of hair there, oh, so this will be Anne

0:28:570:29:02

coming out of the pram with her mother.

0:29:020:29:05

What's remarkable is that these are obviously private snapshots.

0:29:050:29:09

-I don't know whether they're in the public domain or not.

-I've never seen any of them.

0:29:090:29:13

Never seen them reproduced anywhere and that's what makes them remarkable and valuable,

0:29:130:29:18

that they're nowhere else to be seen - how many have you got?

0:29:180:29:21

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven photographs in total,

0:29:210:29:27

difficult to know for sure how much they might fetch in auction but I would, I'd go for about £50

0:29:270:29:33

a picture, so that's £350 or thereabouts in auction,

0:29:330:29:38

-that would be my sort of guess as to how much they might fetch.

-I thought about £70 for the lot.

0:29:380:29:43

No, I think they're delightful and the fact that you've got a letter confirming their arrival,

0:29:430:29:47

confirming that they're snapshots is just the sort of information you need to confirm the value.

0:29:470:29:52

I used to love old shops like this,

0:29:520:29:56

particularly this wonderful contraption which carries your money in a ball to the cashier's office.

0:29:560:30:01

And here, all transactions

0:30:120:30:14

were recorded so that the quarterly dividend could be paid

0:30:140:30:18

to each customer who was a co-op member.

0:30:180:30:21

It's now quite a long way from Walsall - any reason why that might be?

0:30:210:30:24

Well, I've no idea why it should have come from Walsall in the first place.

0:30:240:30:28

And here we are in County Durham.

0:30:280:30:29

-Yes.

-What more can one say?

-It's a lovely thing.

0:30:290:30:32

It's actually rather fun that we should see something as technical and as, if you like,

0:30:320:30:37

-as exposed as this, here in this garage setting here at Beamish.

-Yes.

0:30:370:30:41

-Let me just explain one or two things.

-Thank you.

0:30:410:30:44

The cheaper skeleton clocks had wheels of four spokes

0:30:440:30:48

and then they went up to five spokes, but this has six spokes throughout.

0:30:480:30:53

-Yes.

-Absolutely top of the range.

-Gosh, yeah.

0:30:530:30:55

Now you might, or might not, know how these chain fusees work

0:30:550:31:00

but basically instead of winding up the spring, you wind up the fusee and this is a constant speed drive.

0:31:000:31:05

-Yes.

-That compensates for the running down of the spring

0:31:050:31:08

and the nicest features, that really are some of the nicest features

0:31:080:31:13

up here - a strike silent.

0:31:130:31:16

Do you find it offensive at night or not?

0:31:160:31:19

-We're not accustomed to striking clocks and we have in fact turned the chime off, but, er...

-Right.

0:31:190:31:24

OK. I'm going to put it back on.

0:31:240:31:26

Please do, it's a very nice ring!

0:31:260:31:29

I'd like to hear it, and look at the twin subsidiaries. We've days of the week here and date on that side,

0:31:290:31:36

lovely features.

0:31:360:31:38

Yes, we were impressed to find when I actually set it running, it was keeping perfect time.

0:31:380:31:44

-Until you brought it in today.

-Until I brought it in today.

0:31:440:31:46

Sadly, you've broken the suspension which is still on here, but that's hardly expensive, so here we are,

0:31:460:31:51

a fantastic clock, the only thing

0:31:510:31:53

I criticise is that whoever touched it before you did,

0:31:530:31:56

just dumped the whole thing into some sort of proprietary cleaner

0:31:560:32:00

and it looks flat and boring.

0:32:000:32:02

Yes. I can see what you mean.

0:32:020:32:04

It can be properly done and at that stage,

0:32:040:32:08

you would be unlikely to replace it for less than about £5,500 to £6,000.

0:32:080:32:14

Now that does surprise me.

0:32:140:32:18

-So for a man who doesn't really like to hear it strike, I'd love to hear it myself.

-Oh, go ahead.

0:32:180:32:24

-All the way, at 12.

-IT CHIMES TWELVE

0:32:240:32:29

Pretty girls have been used to selling commodities for over 100 years and here we are

0:32:300:32:36

in a grocery shop with lots of female figures about us

0:32:360:32:40

selling this and that and various commodities, but one particularly

0:32:400:32:44

pretty young lady here - tell me about her.

0:32:440:32:47

Well, she was found by my sister in France in an antique shop

0:32:470:32:52

in France I suppose 20, 25 years ago,

0:32:520:32:55

she lived with my sister up until my sister died two or three years back, at which time,

0:32:550:33:02

she was passed over to me.

0:33:020:33:05

-So it's a family inheritance?

-A family inheritance.

0:33:050:33:07

-What do you think of her?

-I think she's absolutely beautiful.

-Why?

0:33:070:33:11

It's just the, it's the colour,

0:33:110:33:14

but it's the serene look on her face

0:33:140:33:17

I think, which is the attraction to me,

0:33:170:33:21

and to everyone who seems to see her and comes into contact with her.

0:33:210:33:26

Yeah, well, ceramics, the history of pottery and porcelain is always regarded as one of the minor crafts,

0:33:260:33:32

it's not regarded as high art - I don't take that line at all,

0:33:320:33:36

there are good ceramics and bad ceramics, and a piece like this is certainly a sculptural work of art.

0:33:360:33:43

It just so happens that it's not a one-off, it's a piece which originally would have

0:33:430:33:48

been done as a single clay model, it would have been approved by the head of the workshop,

0:33:480:33:52

someone called Friedrich Goldscheider and he would have said, "Let's put this into production",

0:33:520:33:56

they would have made moulds, and from the moulds, plaster-of-Paris moulds, they would then

0:33:560:34:01

have made, in this case, what is actually a terracotta figure - this is an earthenware figure,

0:34:010:34:09

and they would have been able to make many, so it's art for the masses, if you like.

0:34:090:34:15

And the piece actually dates to pretty closely, say within 15 years of this shop.

0:34:150:34:22

Goldscheider, Friedrich Goldscheider, died in 1897 and he was one of the great exponents,

0:34:220:34:29

or his workshops were,

0:34:290:34:31

of the Art Nouveau period and here we have a typical rather sultry looking maiden,

0:34:310:34:37

a very beautiful statuesque girl looking rather demure and sure enough,

0:34:370:34:43

her title "Purite", "purity" tells us all.

0:34:430:34:47

This is not a glazed piece, this is what we call cold painted, these are cold pigments painted on top

0:34:470:34:53

of the earthenware - there is the tablet which tells us this is a piece of fine art.

0:34:530:35:01

It's not your ordinary common or garden little figurine.

0:35:010:35:06

If you were to buy something like this from a smart London shop that specialised

0:35:060:35:10

in this Art Nouveau style, you would probably have to pay at the top end of somewhere getting on for £2,000.

0:35:100:35:18

She's a very, very fine lady.

0:35:180:35:20

Thank you very much indeed.

0:35:200:35:21

Usually in pendants you have little gems suspended at the bottom such as little diamonds or pearls or rubies

0:35:240:35:31

and sapphires but this is unusual because at the end of this pendant there's a milk tooth.

0:35:310:35:35

-That's right.

-Why has it got a milk tooth at the end of it?

0:35:350:35:38

It's my eldest son's milk tooth,

0:35:380:35:40

and grandmother's first grandson and she had it put in.

0:35:400:35:45

Now, it's mounted up in a drop shaped setting with four white stones above.

0:35:450:35:51

What do you think those are?

0:35:510:35:53

-A kind of diamond.

-What do you think it's worth?

0:35:530:35:56

-Ten quid.

-About £10?

-Yes.

0:35:560:35:59

Well, they are diamonds, they're not a kind of diamonds, they are

0:35:590:36:02

diamonds, they are diamonds and what's interesting about this piece

0:36:020:36:05

is that it was made in, I would think by the style of it,

0:36:050:36:09

in around about 1925 so that suggests that originally

0:36:090:36:13

-there was something else suspended at the bottom that was removed to put the milk tooth.

-Right.

0:36:130:36:19

And, in fact, when I look at it through my lens,

0:36:190:36:22

I see that the cap at the top here

0:36:220:36:25

was suitable for mounting with something like a drop-shaped pearl.

0:36:250:36:28

-OK.

-So they've taken the pearl off and they've stuck the milk tooth on instead. Now, if they're diamonds,

0:36:280:36:35

-it's got to be worth more than £10, hasn't it really?

-OK, yes.

0:36:350:36:38

As it stands at the moment, if you were to sell it, it would probably make about £300.

0:36:380:36:43

-Flabbergasted.

-Yeah.

0:36:430:36:44

This doesn't excite me at all, this is a piece of child's needlework of no great merit

0:36:480:36:57

but that...does.

0:36:570:37:00

You see a case like that and you think, "there's got to be something good in there".

0:37:010:37:07

This is shagreen, ray skin.

0:37:070:37:11

-Right.

-Properly called shark skin but that's actually a much bigger grain,

0:37:110:37:15

this is ray skin and characteristic of the 18th century,

0:37:150:37:20

so what have we got in there?

0:37:200:37:23

Now that's really rather special.

0:37:230:37:27

Does it turn you on?

0:37:270:37:29

It does in a way, yes.

0:37:290:37:30

What is it?

0:37:300:37:32

I believe it's a perfume bottle but I could be wrong.

0:37:320:37:35

Yes, you're absolutely right, is it yours?

0:37:350:37:37

-No, it belongs to me daughter.

-And where did she get it from?

0:37:370:37:41

She was given it from my mother.

0:37:410:37:43

-And where did your mother get it from?

-I've no idea, this is a mystery to me.

0:37:430:37:47

She, she had an eye, didn't she?

0:37:470:37:49

-She must have done, yes.

-Yeah...

0:37:490:37:51

-that's a delicious little thing and at first sight it appears to be made of porcelain.

-Right.

0:37:510:37:58

-Do you know what it's made of?

-I've no idea, no.

0:37:580:38:00

Well, it's sort of imitating Chelsea porcelain

0:38:000:38:04

and it was made actually not that far away, it was made in Battersea.

0:38:040:38:09

-Right.

-It's the Battersea enamel factory,

0:38:090:38:12

and it would date about 1755-1765, somewhere around there.

0:38:120:38:19

We've got a stem from a tree with leaves

0:38:190:38:24

which have been very carefully delineated

0:38:240:38:27

with their veins and cherries, which are slightly sort of chocolaty colour, aren't they?

0:38:270:38:33

-They are.

-But I suppose they're meant to be black cherries rather then red cherries.

-Ah, right.

0:38:330:38:38

And round here the word "delicieux"...

0:38:380:38:43

-delicious.

-Now I've never noticed that.

-You hadn't noticed it?

-No.

0:38:430:38:45

Ah, that again is copying Chelsea, that's exactly the sort of thing

0:38:450:38:50

they would have done in one of their scent bottles,

0:38:500:38:53

and the stopper

0:38:530:38:55

is a leaf and stem again,

0:38:550:38:58

held by a gilt chain.

0:38:580:39:01

-Now this would have been given by a beau to his lady love.

-Oh, right.

0:39:010:39:08

And there is probably some play going on here,

0:39:080:39:12

delicieux, she is delicious...

0:39:120:39:16

This is delicious but you are delicious...

0:39:160:39:20

and you've got to remember, you know we're here in the middle of the 18th century, George III's reign,

0:39:200:39:24

and people didn't wash, you know, people stank.

0:39:240:39:28

-Right.

-I wouldn't have been sitting as close to you as you are at the moment.

-Right.

0:39:280:39:31

I'd have been kind of doing this. And a lady would have certainly perfumed herself to try and disguise

0:39:310:39:38

-some of the pong, maybe not of herself but of somebody she was coming into contact with.

-Yes.

0:39:380:39:43

Well, I think your daughter's an extremely lucky little lady, really,

0:39:430:39:48

it's amazing it's survived in absolutely perfect condition.

0:39:480:39:52

-You wouldn't have any trouble getting £3,000 to £5,000 for that.

-Now I'm starting to shake. Dear.

0:39:520:40:00

She's a lucky girl, isn't she?

0:40:020:40:04

-She is, right, yeah.

-Thank you very much for bringing it in.

-Thank you.

0:40:040:40:08

This is the Rolls-Royce of musical boxes. I suppose we have,

0:40:160:40:21

in our whole 28 years, we certainly haven't seen anything as grand and wonderful as this Symphonion.

0:40:210:40:29

It's particularly rare because of its two discs.

0:40:290:40:31

-Yes.

-Which were after the cylinder musical boxes.

-Oh, yes, yes.

0:40:310:40:36

Which were made by the Swiss.

0:40:360:40:37

-Yes.

-And in the late 19th century these discs would overtake

0:40:370:40:43

-the cylinder ones and they were mainly used by, and made by, the Germans.

-That's right.

0:40:430:40:48

But what brings me to this is here we are, we've got all these houses here with different themes in them.

0:40:480:40:54

Where would this have been played?

0:40:540:40:56

Well, musical boxes, in that time, were a very expensive item,

0:40:560:41:00

and I don't think we'd have seen one being played in the sort of terraced houses we see behind us.

0:41:000:41:05

Absolutely, absolutely.

0:41:050:41:06

-Much more large halls, grand houses and places like that.

-Stately homes.

0:41:060:41:10

Because otherwise they'd be far too expensive for the working class.

0:41:100:41:14

-Which is the same way as saying it's the aristocrat of musical boxes.

-Yes, yes.

0:41:140:41:19

-And stately homes probably would have been very lucky to even have this one.

-Yes.

0:41:190:41:25

How many pairs of discs do you have?

0:41:250:41:27

With this machine I've got about 15 pairs of discs now.

0:41:270:41:30

-Have you really?

-Yes, there was only one pair when I bought it, but I've managed to accumulate others since.

0:41:300:41:35

What is so splendid about this is that the fact that it's a double disc has added to the tonality.

0:41:350:41:41

-It does, yes.

-Of the noise, so you get this wonderful combination.

0:41:410:41:45

It also, the fact that the discs came along instead of the cylinder

0:41:450:41:50

-was a way of using the latest tunes of the day, which you couldn't do with the cylinder.

-No.

0:41:500:41:56

So have you got it insured?

0:41:560:41:59

Um, yes, I have.

0:41:590:42:01

May I ask how much?

0:42:010:42:04

Probably about £1,000, something like that.

0:42:040:42:06

What! Don't believe it.

0:42:060:42:09

I haven't seen, I haven't seen another one for sale so I've got no comparison.

0:42:090:42:14

I have to say that one came up for auction recently

0:42:140:42:18

but it was a 26-inch disc, double disc, and these are, I think 11, 11½.

0:42:180:42:23

-11½, yes.

-And that made at auction, 20,000.

0:42:230:42:28

Ow!

0:42:280:42:30

And I'm telling you that you should insure this for at least £20,000.

0:42:300:42:34

20,000?

0:42:340:42:35

Because the 26-inch discs were much more unmanageable

0:42:350:42:41

to have in a house, much larger, this is, you could sit it on a table.

0:42:410:42:45

-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?

0:42:450:42:50

Yes, indeed.

0:42:500:42:53

About half a dozen winds should do it.

0:42:530:42:55

-Don't want to over-wind it, do we?

-No, I think you're fairly safe.

0:42:550:42:57

-Right.

-And away it goes.

0:43:000:43:03

LILTING TUNE PLAYS

0:43:030:43:06

The time capsule that is Beamish

0:43:150:43:18

has been perfect for the Antiques Roadshow - after all, we both deal in the past, but Beamish

0:43:180:43:23

also looks to the future - as one of the directors here said, "We're only in year 31 of a 200-year project."

0:43:230:43:28

I wish I could say the same. Until the next time then, from County Durham, goodbye.

0:43:280:43:34

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