0:00:35 > 0:00:37When you put your mind to it,
0:00:37 > 0:00:39you can come up with a whole list of things
0:00:39 > 0:00:42that have made Bristol the special city that it is,
0:00:42 > 0:00:45apart from being the home of the Antiques Roadshow.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48You could reflect on Brunel's mighty suspension bridge,
0:00:48 > 0:00:51or Cabot's extraordinary voyages to Newfoundland,
0:00:51 > 0:00:54and while you're reflecting, you could have a sip of sherry,
0:00:54 > 0:01:00another of Bristol's claims to fame, or how about a cigarette?
0:01:04 > 0:01:09The tobacco trade made one particular family in Bristol fabulously rich.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13Over two centuries, the Wills dynasty ran huge factories
0:01:13 > 0:01:18that churned out millions of cigarettes from tobacco leaves imported from the Americas.
0:01:18 > 0:01:23By 1883, they'd invented the first cigarette-making machine,
0:01:23 > 0:01:24producing 200 of them a minute.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29Fags rolled out, the cash rolled in.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31In 1915, Harry Wills admitted,
0:01:31 > 0:01:35"The way the business is making money now, is, to me, positively frightening",
0:01:35 > 0:01:37but he knew what to do about it.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41The family felt strongly about philanthropy and social justice,
0:01:41 > 0:01:45and generations of the Wills clan gave back great amounts to the city
0:01:45 > 0:01:48that had helped them make their fortune.
0:01:50 > 0:01:51They treated their workers well,
0:01:51 > 0:01:54with paid holidays, staff canteens,
0:01:54 > 0:01:56and plenty of sports facilities.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59They even provided free medical care,
0:01:59 > 0:02:03although it wasn't until the middle of the 20th century
0:02:03 > 0:02:06that the true dangers of smoking started to be recognised.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10The Wills family also put their money into bricks and mortar,
0:02:10 > 0:02:12not to build palaces for themselves,
0:02:12 > 0:02:16but to endow Bristol with a string of handsome and important buildings,
0:02:16 > 0:02:18like the Victoria Rooms here,
0:02:18 > 0:02:22and the city museum and art gallery just down the road.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28They built churches and homes for the poor and sick,
0:02:28 > 0:02:30even a homeopathic hospital.
0:02:30 > 0:02:36In today's money, the property portfolio would be worth more than 150 million pounds.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41One city institution benefited more than any other,
0:02:41 > 0:02:44in fact, it pretty well owes its existence to the tobacco industry.
0:02:44 > 0:02:49The University Of Bristol's tower dominates the city's skyline.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52It's aptly named The Wills Memorial Building,
0:02:52 > 0:02:55itself another generous gift from the family.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02It's nearly 20 years since the last cigarette was made in Bristol,
0:03:02 > 0:03:06and the factories and the warehouses have long since fallen silent,
0:03:06 > 0:03:07but they still stand,
0:03:07 > 0:03:10and the Wills Memorial Building
0:03:10 > 0:03:13plays host to the graduation ceremonies of today's students.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18But on this particular day, the queues lining the staircase
0:03:18 > 0:03:21are heading for the Antiques Roadshow.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26This is one of my favourite objects, tell me what it is.
0:03:26 > 0:03:27Well, it's a Kinora,
0:03:27 > 0:03:31and it's, like, one of the first things of moving pictures.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33Get it going for me, cos I just love it.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36What can you see?
0:03:36 > 0:03:39You can see some people talking to each other.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43What we ought to have is a lip reader. I wonder what they're saying.
0:03:43 > 0:03:44Do you think they're saying,
0:03:44 > 0:03:47"I wonder if we'll be looked at in 100 years time"?
0:03:47 > 0:03:51OK, great, let me have a look at it if I may.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54Yes, so we've got a lovely old lady,
0:03:54 > 0:03:59who looks a little bit like Queen Victoria,
0:03:59 > 0:04:04and she's chatting to a gentleman. Now, who am I looking at?
0:04:04 > 0:04:10This is Charlotte's great-great great-grandmother and grandfather.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12Yes, and I think, at that time,
0:04:12 > 0:04:16- they were playing around with all sorts of modern technology.- Yes.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18And, er, the thing that to me is staggering
0:04:18 > 0:04:21is the fact that we can still see this after 100 years.
0:04:21 > 0:04:23It is amazing, isn't it?
0:04:23 > 0:04:25Our generation get a lot of pleasure from it.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28How does it compare to, I don't know, PlayStation, or...?
0:04:28 > 0:04:30Is it an interesting thing to look at?
0:04:30 > 0:04:33I think it's interesting, cos it's my family.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35Yeah, absolutely, because, of course,
0:04:35 > 0:04:39they were long gone before you were ever around on the scene,
0:04:39 > 0:04:43- so this is great to see them actually in motion.- Yes.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47Um, just a little bit of history, I mean, the Kinora viewer,
0:04:47 > 0:04:52the actual system, was invented by the Lumiere brothers back in the 1870s,
0:04:52 > 0:04:54and it came through in England,
0:04:54 > 0:04:58re-invigorated by the British Kinora Company,
0:04:58 > 0:05:05in about 1908, so what sort of date do you think, looking at the...?
0:05:05 > 0:05:08I would have thought it's pretty much 1908-1910.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12Er, something like that, and here we are, 100 years later,
0:05:12 > 0:05:14still able to look at the footage,
0:05:14 > 0:05:17and I just wonder how many of the digital photographs
0:05:17 > 0:05:21and video footage that we've got on our computers today
0:05:21 > 0:05:24will still be around for people to look at in 100 years' time.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27Do you know, that's a very good point,
0:05:27 > 0:05:29because with the Kinora viewer,
0:05:29 > 0:05:33you could buy ready-made reels that you could rent,
0:05:33 > 0:05:36a bit like going to the video library,
0:05:36 > 0:05:40or in the case of this, these are home movies.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44There were Kinora cameras that actually took images on paper negatives,
0:05:44 > 0:05:46which were then made into these.
0:05:46 > 0:05:51To me, it's a wonderful sort of peep into the beginnings of technology,
0:05:51 > 0:05:53the beginnings of the moving image,
0:05:53 > 0:05:55and in the right sort of auction,
0:05:55 > 0:05:59I would see this getting between perhaps £700 and £900,
0:05:59 > 0:06:02so it's valuable, not supremely valuable,
0:06:02 > 0:06:05not nearly as valuable as it is to you,
0:06:05 > 0:06:07as a piece of your own family history.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12Two very splendid mugs for cider or beer.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15They're looking very clean, where have they come from?
0:06:15 > 0:06:17The garden shed.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20- These were in a shed?- Yes, I found them in the garden shed.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22Right, then what were they doing there?
0:06:22 > 0:06:26We've been clearing out stuff from my father and they were in a box,
0:06:26 > 0:06:28they've been there for about 18 months.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30- Just been packed away.- Yes.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33Right, well, let's see, what have you found?
0:06:33 > 0:06:37Two rather different mugs, one in the blue and one in the black printing,
0:06:37 > 0:06:41but examples of transfer printing. An exotic mug for everyday use.
0:06:41 > 0:06:48- I suppose we're looking here in date, what, 1820-1830?- Good gracious. Yes.
0:06:48 > 0:06:49- Lovely and clean, isn't it?- Yes.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53This is when printing is becoming commercial in mass production in England,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56a lot of printing was being done in Staffordshire.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59- Yes.- But it was discovered somewhere else,
0:06:59 > 0:07:00it was invented at Worcester,
0:07:00 > 0:07:03and here we have, really, a rather splendid printed mug.
0:07:03 > 0:07:08- You've got a portrait on one side, of the king.- Oh.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10- And that's King George II.- Oh!
0:07:10 > 0:07:13So that takes it back to... Well, we're back in the 1750s.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15Good gracious, yes.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17So really quite an interesting mug,
0:07:17 > 0:07:21turning it round, there's a big man o'war, a great sailing ship,
0:07:21 > 0:07:25because, of course, King George was very much an active king,
0:07:25 > 0:07:27he was involved in the Navy, he sailed on ships.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30- Yes.- And was so much associated with the king
0:07:30 > 0:07:33that they put his likeness on one side, the ships,
0:07:33 > 0:07:39- and here is all the trophies to do with the wars and battles that he was winning, and the victories.- Mmm.
0:07:39 > 0:07:43Actually, looking at it there, it's got a signature,
0:07:43 > 0:07:46and it's got on one side, RH, and that's Robert Hancock,
0:07:46 > 0:07:48who was the great engraver.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52- Oh.- He invented the technique of engraving copper plates
0:07:52 > 0:07:55- to be printed onto the surface of porcelain.- Oh.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57Because what we have here is, really,
0:07:57 > 0:08:01the first royal commemorative mug that was printed.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04- Good gracious.- Really is quite a special piece, and that was...
0:08:04 > 0:08:08Cos before then, people didn't know what the king really looked like,
0:08:08 > 0:08:09apart from on their coinage,
0:08:09 > 0:08:12so only now, when you can get Worcester mugs,
0:08:12 > 0:08:14can people get a really good likeness of the king,
0:08:14 > 0:08:20and this was made in 1757 or 1758.
0:08:20 > 0:08:25- Good gracious.- And this one is just a nice Staffordshire mug of its kind.
0:08:25 > 0:08:30- An example like that, in good condition, £200.- Good gracious!
0:08:30 > 0:08:36Here, a mug with the royal prints, so what is this worth?
0:08:36 > 0:08:39Um, oh, £3,000.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43I can't believe it! Really?
0:08:43 > 0:08:45It's fabulous!
0:08:45 > 0:08:48It had the onion set in it last week!
0:08:48 > 0:08:50- Onions?- The onion sets.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53Fantastic.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57I find Bristol a really exciting place, cos,
0:08:57 > 0:08:59unusually in Britain, in England,
0:08:59 > 0:09:02you can actually see the history of the place in its buildings.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05All the great industries have left their mark,
0:09:05 > 0:09:10and of course, one of the greatest of those industries was tobacco,
0:09:10 > 0:09:15and it is a modern nonsense that we try to pretend this didn't happen,
0:09:15 > 0:09:18we are standing in a building funded by tobacco,
0:09:18 > 0:09:22next door is the art gallery, funded by tobacco.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26Let's celebrate that fact, you know, this was a great Bristol industry,
0:09:26 > 0:09:28- which takes us to this fantastic image.- Yes.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31It's a painting of a sailor on deck.
0:09:31 > 0:09:36I subsequently discovered that the packages, which look a bit odd,
0:09:36 > 0:09:38are actually tobacco packets.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41So this is the art work for an advertisement.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43- It is, yes, absolutely. - How did you get it?
0:09:43 > 0:09:47I bought it in an auction in Bristol about eight years ago,
0:09:47 > 0:09:50when I think Imperial Tobacco were selling off...
0:09:50 > 0:09:53- Oh, the great sale off of all of the history.- Absolutely, yes.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55What date do you think this is?
0:09:55 > 0:09:58I originally thought it was about 1930,
0:09:58 > 0:10:00but in fact, I understand it's about 1916.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04- I was going to say, it looks somehow Edwardian to me.- Mm, yes.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07But just think of all the industries of that period,
0:10:07 > 0:10:11Edwardian, '20s and '30s, the railways, tobacco, Shell,
0:10:11 > 0:10:14all using art to promote their goods.
0:10:14 > 0:10:19It was a time when art has never been better served by commerce,
0:10:19 > 0:10:21but do we know that this was ever used?
0:10:21 > 0:10:27- And the answer is...- We do.- We do, yes, there it is. Isn't that great?
0:10:27 > 0:10:30So here we see him, smartened up, younger,
0:10:30 > 0:10:32and now he's actually carrying...
0:10:32 > 0:10:35The words have come onto the packs.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37- This, of course is Players, not Wills.- True.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41- But they were the same group by then.- Same part of Imperial Tobacco.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44We can tie it together and say this might have been something
0:10:44 > 0:10:47that they had in the board room and never used, but, yes...
0:10:47 > 0:10:50- Absolutely, there it is.- Here it is. - Yes.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54- So what did you pay for this? - This cost, I think, £160 in 1999.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58I mean, that was a fantastic bargain, it's great history.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00I'm going to go £600,
0:11:00 > 0:11:04- £800, possibly £1,000, simply because it's such a great image.- Mm.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06And you know, it is the history of this city,
0:11:06 > 0:11:09it's why you and I are standing here, it's wonderful.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15Well, you don't have the look of a dandy about you, but if you were,
0:11:15 > 0:11:17and if we were in the 18th century,
0:11:17 > 0:11:19then you might have worn one of these.
0:11:19 > 0:11:26This is a small sword, and it's a later type of rapier, in fact.
0:11:26 > 0:11:32Now, I've seen small swords made of steel and brass and silver,
0:11:32 > 0:11:37even gold, but I've never, ever seen one made of glass.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39Tell me a little bit about it.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41Um, when my uncle died two years ago,
0:11:41 > 0:11:45my mother asked me if there was anything that I'd like from him,
0:11:45 > 0:11:48and I remember him having a sword in his cupboard,
0:11:48 > 0:11:50so I asked if the sword was still there,
0:11:50 > 0:11:53and she said yes, so she gave me the sword.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56OK, and what do you think the hilt is made of?
0:11:56 > 0:11:59- I think that's Bristol Blue. - Bristol Blue glass?- Yeah.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01That's exactly what it is.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03Now, I've never seen a hilt on a small sword
0:12:03 > 0:12:07made of Bristol Blue glass before, so I think it's quite rare.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10It would have been carried, I suppose, at the time,
0:12:10 > 0:12:12as an ornament of fashion,
0:12:12 > 0:12:15because this really is quite spectacular, isn't it?
0:12:15 > 0:12:19You can imagine this at the side of this rather dandyish chap,
0:12:19 > 0:12:23wandering around town carrying this sword, and of course,
0:12:23 > 0:12:26if perhaps he was approached by some ne'er do well,
0:12:26 > 0:12:30he could easily draw the sword out, and out would come this rather...
0:12:30 > 0:12:32It's gone now, but there would have been
0:12:32 > 0:12:35an incredibly sharp and dangerous point on the end,
0:12:35 > 0:12:37you've lost probably a couple of inches of this,
0:12:37 > 0:12:39and it's a thrusting weapon,
0:12:39 > 0:12:43not a cutting weapon, and it's a dangerous object, really,
0:12:43 > 0:12:47but I think it's rare, and I think it's late George III,
0:12:47 > 0:12:53and I think that a collector would probably pay a couple of hundred pounds for it.
0:12:53 > 0:12:58- Oh.- It's a nice object. - That's lovely, thank you very much.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00This is my great-uncle.
0:13:00 > 0:13:06He went out to Canada for the Daily Mirror as a reporter and photographer,
0:13:06 > 0:13:08and he stayed.
0:13:08 > 0:13:13He married into the Blackfoot tribe, the chief died,
0:13:13 > 0:13:15and he married his wife.
0:13:15 > 0:13:16- He didn't poison him?- No!
0:13:16 > 0:13:22And adopted the daughter, who was called Mary One Spot.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24- No!- Yes.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27- Did she have a spot?- I've no idea.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30But his wife was called Maggie Big Belly.
0:13:30 > 0:13:36- You're joking!- No, so he fell in love, but he was so interested in...
0:13:36 > 0:13:39What was he covering out there? What date are we talking about?
0:13:39 > 0:13:45Um, about 1913 he would have gone out there, aged about 18 years old.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47He took over 2,000 photographs.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49Of the Sioux tribe?
0:13:49 > 0:13:55Of the Sioux, Blackfoot, Sarsi, Stoney Indians.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58Um, the plains Indians, mainly.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01So this is all in Calgary, isn't it?
0:14:01 > 0:14:02- Yes. Calgary, yes.- Yes.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04And he took over 2,000 photographs,
0:14:04 > 0:14:07and they're now in the Glenbow Museum in Calgary.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11- Have you been out there? - No, I haven't.- You must.- We must.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15So what did he do out there with the tribe? Did he...?
0:14:15 > 0:14:17He became a saddle maker.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19- Oh.- And this, I presume, was some of his work,
0:14:19 > 0:14:21although I'm not 100% certain.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23It's beautiful, kept well, hasn't it?
0:14:23 > 0:14:27Beautifully done, yes. That's beautifully done, tooled leather.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31- Yes,- Because of course those gloves are wonderful, and so soft,
0:14:31 > 0:14:35very bright as well, you've obviously kept them very well,
0:14:35 > 0:14:38out of the light, and tell me about these pipes.
0:14:38 > 0:14:43Um, this is the pipe of peace, it used to have a feather, a white feather hanging from it,
0:14:43 > 0:14:47and this, apparently, would have been his personal pipe,
0:14:47 > 0:14:49although I'm told he never smoke or drank,
0:14:49 > 0:14:52which was why he was accepted into the tribe.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55- Oh, really? - Well, the drinking, certainly.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58And this might have been to wear round a belt,
0:14:58 > 0:15:02and look at the pristine colours and everything,
0:15:02 > 0:15:04the wonderful bead work.
0:15:04 > 0:15:10This is another one, which I think is incredibly vibrant,
0:15:10 > 0:15:14really vibrant, that is just superb.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16What a wonderful story.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20You must make a pilgrimage, and to be honest, in this country,
0:15:20 > 0:15:22if these were to go up for auction,
0:15:22 > 0:15:28I can see the collection making maybe £10,000 to £15,000, but to be honest,
0:15:28 > 0:15:34they need to be in a sale in either New York or in Toronto, Montreal,
0:15:34 > 0:15:36even over in Calgary,
0:15:36 > 0:15:40but I would have thought it's more of an international importance
0:15:40 > 0:15:42to get the high price that it would in America.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46- Well, thank you very much. - Thank you.- Fantastic.
0:15:46 > 0:15:52Well, we've had further proof today that the Roadshow refreshes parts that other programmes cannot reach,
0:15:52 > 0:15:55like putting together the details of family histories,
0:15:55 > 0:15:58but I don't think we've ever helped create a family before.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02Remind us how the Roadshow played Cupid to you.
0:16:02 > 0:16:06Well, Bryony and I met on a chatroom on the Internet,
0:16:06 > 0:16:10and we started, on a Sunday,
0:16:10 > 0:16:14having a competition to see who can get nearest to the prices
0:16:14 > 0:16:18and the ages of various items on Antiques Roadshow,
0:16:18 > 0:16:21and this carried on for some while,
0:16:21 > 0:16:24and eventually we got round to meeting,
0:16:24 > 0:16:28and the rest is antiques, or history, as they might say.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30And the product of your union.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32This is Taliesin, yes, indeed.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35Oh I thought you might be called Henry Sandon Junior.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39Well, we did consider it, but, er, Taliesin got the vote in the end.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42Well, congratulations, and thank you for watching us,
0:16:42 > 0:16:45- and you can thank us for getting you together.- Indeed, indeed.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49Not to everybody's taste, this particular design,
0:16:49 > 0:16:51let's have your thoughts on it, sir.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54No I think, frankly, I think they're hideous.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58They come from my wife's family, and we have an argument about it,
0:16:58 > 0:17:01she likes it very much and I don't like them,
0:17:01 > 0:17:03and I'd be quite happy to sell them,
0:17:03 > 0:17:05so that's one of the reasons why they've come here,
0:17:05 > 0:17:08to see what are they worth. Are they worth anything?
0:17:08 > 0:17:12- Everything's got a value.- Yeah. - Well, everything's got a price.
0:17:12 > 0:17:13Or price, absolutely.
0:17:13 > 0:17:18The name that comes to my mind when you look at these tables is Gillows.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21- Yes. - Um, they're made of rosewood.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24- Yes.- And this is what we call a tray top.- Yes.
0:17:24 > 0:17:30Yes, they are a mixture, when we look at the base here, you've got this.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33- Almost looks like a dolphin's head. - Yes.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37- That's a typical feature of Gillows. - Yeah.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40And then you have these cluster columns,
0:17:40 > 0:17:43you have this piece which is almost cobbled together,
0:17:43 > 0:17:45acanthus leaves here, beautifully carved.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49- That's beautifully carved. - Right.- Very, very nice.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52- That is...- It really is nice. - It's all beautifully carved.- Yes.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56But because I would attribute these to Gillows of Lancaster,
0:17:58 > 0:18:02they're very, very collectable and sought after,
0:18:02 > 0:18:06so you're going to be a happy bunny, you're going to be happy.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10I would actually put a value on these, being a pair,
0:18:10 > 0:18:14- of £5,000.- Wow!
0:18:14 > 0:18:18- Do you like them now? - No, I like the price, though!
0:18:18 > 0:18:20Well, they are very good things,
0:18:20 > 0:18:22they're very collectable, and very saleable.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26- That's a lot more than I would pay for them, but thank you.- Thank you.
0:18:27 > 0:18:32This is the kind of object that epitomises the tradition of amateur model making,
0:18:32 > 0:18:38and it's quite fascinating for me to look at the way that this is constructed.
0:18:38 > 0:18:43If we lift off this rather fragile roof, and look inside there,
0:18:43 > 0:18:46- just look at the work in that. - Quite a lot, yes.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50What's incredible about it is that it's made out of so many scraps
0:18:50 > 0:18:53- and bits and bobs. - Yeah, that's right, it is.
0:18:53 > 0:18:58And I can recognise so many things in that from my own childhood, even,
0:18:58 > 0:19:03bits of Meccano kit, it's just a kind of melange of objects trouves
0:19:03 > 0:19:07- which have ended up being a carousel, in effect.- Yes.
0:19:07 > 0:19:12I think that says a lot about the kind of patience that people have.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16Do you know anything the patience of the person that made this?
0:19:16 > 0:19:19- They must have had a lot. - Did it belong to a relative, or...?
0:19:19 > 0:19:22- No, it was bought in an auction a couple of years ago.- OK.
0:19:22 > 0:19:26Er, I fell in love with it, and I made my dad buy them.
0:19:26 > 0:19:30- Had to buy them.- Buy "them"?- Buy them, because there's another one.
0:19:30 > 0:19:35Oh, right. OK, so what drew you to it, what made you want to own it?
0:19:35 > 0:19:37Look at it, come on, it's amazing,
0:19:37 > 0:19:39the amount of time that went into that.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41I could never do that myself,
0:19:41 > 0:19:45and I couldn't have the real thing, so this is the next best one.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48Let me analyse it a little bit, because I said objects trouves,
0:19:48 > 0:19:52and I can see things here, I mean, the horses, the carousel horses,
0:19:52 > 0:19:54remind me of my childhood,
0:19:54 > 0:19:57when I used to have TinPo plastic cowboys and Indians.
0:19:57 > 0:20:02That's essentially what these horses are. They're salvaged plastic horses.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04- Yeah, re-used.- Exactly.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06I can see bits of moulding here
0:20:06 > 0:20:08that come from the bits of moulding
0:20:08 > 0:20:10that you use to fix onto wardrobe doors,
0:20:10 > 0:20:12and things like that, you know,
0:20:12 > 0:20:15you could buy those down at DIY shops in the '50s and '60s,
0:20:15 > 0:20:19you've got little bits of mirror. If we spin it a bit by hand,
0:20:19 > 0:20:21I can see that it actually even has a mechanism,
0:20:21 > 0:20:25- the horses are bouncing on it.- Yeah, that's right, they go up and down.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29So despite the kind of naive construction,
0:20:29 > 0:20:32there is a lot of skill to make that happen.
0:20:32 > 0:20:37And I think that's what I like about the tradition of this construction.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39Do you want to tell me how much you paid for it?
0:20:39 > 0:20:44- Er, roughly £100 each. - Roughly £100 each.
0:20:44 > 0:20:48- Well, I think you paid probably the right kind of price.- Right.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50I think, looking at this in isolation,
0:20:50 > 0:20:54I feel as a kind of naive interesting object, it's worth £150 to £200.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56- You were on the right side. - Yeah, yeah.
0:20:56 > 0:21:01As a tribute to the person who made it, let's see if we can get it going.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04Why don't you make the connection?
0:21:04 > 0:21:10It's struggling a bit, I think that 1960s Meccano motor,
0:21:10 > 0:21:14possibly just not quite powerful enough for it.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17- Lovely, thank you very much. - Thanks a lot, cheers.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31I have to say this is perhaps the tallest doll I've seen,
0:21:31 > 0:21:32tell me a bit about her.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36It was my mother's, she was given it when she was a girl,
0:21:36 > 0:21:38and I inherited it when she died.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42- But she's a doll with a difference, isn't she?- She's a parasol doll.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46I'm going to start rooting in her undies, which looks a bit weird,
0:21:46 > 0:21:50but anyway, somewhere under there is what I'm looking for, which is this.
0:21:53 > 0:21:59Isn't she wonderful? Um, I love the... How incongruous is this?
0:21:59 > 0:22:03It's very surreal just having those feet on the end there. How lovely.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08The head made out of composition,
0:22:08 > 0:22:11nice inlaid glass eyes there, mohair wig,
0:22:11 > 0:22:15and then you've got the mechanism underneath, and down at the bottom,
0:22:15 > 0:22:17you have the little papier mache feet,
0:22:17 > 0:22:19beautifully decorated in their shoes.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23- Date-wise I'd have thought we're talking about 1910ish.- Yes.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26But it's the sort of thing that dolly collectors just love,
0:22:26 > 0:22:28- anything novel like this.- Yes.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31Um, so although the head isn't a very exciting head,
0:22:31 > 0:22:34it's what's in between that makes her interesting,
0:22:34 > 0:22:36and I would have thought that a collector would pay
0:22:36 > 0:22:39- probably around £250 for her.- Really?
0:22:39 > 0:22:43Yes, she's just great, so, um, don't use her too often, now.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45- I'll try not to.- Try not to.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47Thank you very much indeed.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53If we'd seen the brooch on its own, I probably would have thrown it away
0:22:53 > 0:22:55with the other things that we took out the loft.
0:22:55 > 0:23:00Well, let's talk a little bit about it, because it is,
0:23:00 > 0:23:03from my point of view, quite an exciting find.
0:23:03 > 0:23:08- Oh, really?- And the brooch itself was made in about 1850-1860.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11Now, the design of it, clearly,
0:23:11 > 0:23:16you can see here is in the form of a beautifully carved cherub or putto,
0:23:16 > 0:23:17Cupid, in coral.
0:23:17 > 0:23:24This beautiful pink coral, and then it is embellished with diamonds.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27- Oh, right, OK. - Mm, because when you look at it,
0:23:27 > 0:23:31it is a prime example of a lover's piece of jewellery there,
0:23:31 > 0:23:36I mean, Cupid, you couldn't get something that is more directly connected with love and affection,
0:23:36 > 0:23:38and all these different things,
0:23:38 > 0:23:41which were so potent symbols in the Victorian period.
0:23:41 > 0:23:46The coral itself probably came from Naples, so it's Neapolitan coral.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48When you turn it over, you look at the back,
0:23:48 > 0:23:51and you can see this delightful yellow-gold mount at the back.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54Now, what do you think it might be worth?
0:23:54 > 0:23:59Well, given the box, I thought maybe £100 or so.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02- Mm, you're wrong.- Right.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05I think that such a piece like this,
0:24:05 > 0:24:10with all its connections with love, sentimentality, corals and diamonds,
0:24:10 > 0:24:11that's worth £1,500.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13My God.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16- Really?- Mmm.
0:24:16 > 0:24:17- Blimey.- Yeah.
0:24:18 > 0:24:23So, I don't know about you, but do you think you should go back into the loft,
0:24:23 > 0:24:26- to examine whether there might be further pieces in there? - Maybe I should!
0:24:34 > 0:24:37Now if somebody with a disappointing valuation were to step outside this
0:24:37 > 0:24:43building and hurl their fibreglass Chippendale into the air, it might well land in the forecourt of BBC
0:24:43 > 0:24:48Bristol which would be ironic because that is where the Roadshow was conceived 30 years ago.
0:24:48 > 0:24:53It didn't start with any great ambitions, just hoping to please a few discerning viewers at home, but
0:24:53 > 0:24:59it became a hit all over the world, and Lars, you were with the show when it started to stretch its legs.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02- I was.- But for you, the first trip abroad was going home.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06It was going to home, to my country of birth, Denmark.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09In 1990, we went to Hamlet's castle at Elsinore and then
0:25:09 > 0:25:12after a few herrings, washed down with beer and Schnapps of course,
0:25:12 > 0:25:16we went over the water to Sweden and did an edition from Malmo.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20I remember somebody telling me when I was starting
0:25:20 > 0:25:22that these were carved under water.
0:25:22 > 0:25:27Quite a few of the elderly clients didn't understand or speak English.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31Sometimes you had a translator sitting behind whispering to the Dane...
0:25:31 > 0:25:33THEY SPEAK DANISH
0:25:37 > 0:25:40Or in some cases we actually had an ear piece.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43Are you a collector of watches?
0:25:43 > 0:25:49- TRANSLATION: - No, my husband bought them in auction about 7,8 years ago I think.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51Just by chance? You mean he...?
0:25:51 > 0:25:57Yes, he likes gold-coloured things, they were so nice, he couldn't resist them.
0:25:57 > 0:26:02It was quite an amazing show because we had 3,000 people actually turn up in Denmark,
0:26:02 > 0:26:07in spite of the fact that there was no tradition of Antiques Roadshow in Denmark at all.
0:26:07 > 0:26:13- And where did you go next?- Well, it took us three years to recover... so in '93 we went to Jamaica!
0:26:13 > 0:26:16Now that was a wonderful show.
0:26:19 > 0:26:24We were out of doors in the garden of a fantastic mansion,
0:26:24 > 0:26:27people in their lovely summer frocks.
0:26:27 > 0:26:32I remember Hugo Morley-Fletcher, having told the lady that her little
0:26:32 > 0:26:38brown teapot was worth somewhere around ten Jamaican dollars, she said, "Great, I'll take the money".
0:26:40 > 0:26:44Not antique, I mean in every shop in England that's what everybody drinks
0:26:44 > 0:26:45their tea out of.
0:26:49 > 0:26:54And there have been other trips abroad since then including, in my own time, Australia and Canada
0:26:54 > 0:26:59and now of course lots of countries have their own version of the show.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03The American version started 10 years ago and hit the jackpot at once.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06Here's the way they do it over there.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09Watch as this man discovers
0:27:09 > 0:27:12his family heirloom is a national treasure.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15I don't know an awful lot about it, except that, um,
0:27:15 > 0:27:22it was given by Kit Carson, given to the foster father of my grandmother.
0:27:22 > 0:27:24Are you a wealthy man, Ted?
0:27:24 > 0:27:27- No.- Well, sir, um...
0:27:27 > 0:27:31I'm still a little nervous here, I have to tell you.
0:27:31 > 0:27:36On a really bad day, this textile would be worth three hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
0:27:37 > 0:27:41- On a good day, it's about half a million dollars.- Oh, my God!
0:27:41 > 0:27:43You had no idea?
0:27:43 > 0:27:47I had no idea. Just laying on the back of a chair.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50Well, sir, you have a national treasure.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53- Wow.- A national treasure.
0:27:53 > 0:27:54Gee!
0:27:54 > 0:27:58- Congratulations, congratulations. - I can't believe this.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02Big money, big emotions, what's American for lovely-jubbly?
0:28:02 > 0:28:09Well, it's true, the American angle is very much fixed towards the dollars, they love big bucks.
0:28:09 > 0:28:13In fact they even believe they invented the format
0:28:13 > 0:28:18because I had an American business contact who when he heard that I was in the Antiques Roadshow in Britain,
0:28:18 > 0:28:21he said, "Gee you've got a show in the United Kingdom as well?"
0:28:21 > 0:28:23They think they've invented it.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26Bless them, how sweet.
0:28:31 > 0:28:33How did it come into your possession?
0:28:33 > 0:28:36Well, we go out quite a few times, you know,
0:28:36 > 0:28:41and look round various little shops and junk places, and I spotted this and...
0:28:41 > 0:28:43- You mean I spotted it. - No, I spotted if first.
0:28:43 > 0:28:45Because I actually bought it.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48I was thinking about buying it but she beat me to it, you know.
0:28:48 > 0:28:52We've had it now for some time. We don't really know what it is.
0:28:52 > 0:28:56- You didn't know what it was when you bought it?- No. - Just thought it was interesting.
0:28:56 > 0:29:00- You have it out on display?- Yes. I liked it because it's feminine.
0:29:00 > 0:29:04OK, right, well, if we look at it, it's made of brass
0:29:04 > 0:29:12and obviously it's in the design of a lady's shoe with a bow on the front and a little holder half-way along,
0:29:12 > 0:29:19and then at the end you have this brass disc which is adjustable up and downwards and I think,
0:29:19 > 0:29:26having looked at it carefully, it's a Victorian hair tong curler heater.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29- Right.- Really? All right. - And I'll tell you how it would work.
0:29:29 > 0:29:33The handles of the curler would be here
0:29:33 > 0:29:36and then the column, the body, would be there
0:29:36 > 0:29:39and then the tongs would be at the end, all right?
0:29:39 > 0:29:42A little bit of wick inside there which would be lit.
0:29:42 > 0:29:48- OK.- This adjustable, a disc, as I mentioned, according to the height of the tongs.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51And you would put your tongs down there, light it,
0:29:51 > 0:29:54and then after 5 minutes you'd have them heated up,
0:29:54 > 0:30:00so it's an unusual quirky object and I think it's extremely appealing.
0:30:00 > 0:30:02- Yes, I love it.- We love it, don't we?- Yes, yes.
0:30:02 > 0:30:07People come in and they say, "Oh, what's that?" Polished up, it looks lovely in the room, doesn't it?
0:30:07 > 0:30:12I think it dates from probably the late 19th century, 1890.
0:30:12 > 0:30:17It's difficult to put a value on it because it's not something that we, you know, that I've seen before.
0:30:17 > 0:30:23- You bought it in a shop? - Yes.- One of you anyway.- Yes, me. - Yes, all right, but I spotted it!
0:30:23 > 0:30:25How much did you pay for it?
0:30:25 > 0:30:28The princely sum of £5.
0:30:28 > 0:30:30- And that was when? - About six months ago.
0:30:30 > 0:30:34- Six months ago, yes. - Oh, only as recently as that. - In Chepstow, yeah. Chepstow.
0:30:34 > 0:30:39I think that was a pretty good buy because people like unusual objects.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42At auction today, I'd probably expect it to fetch £100-£150.
0:30:42 > 0:30:49- Oh.- Good lord!- So there you are, Victorian hair tong curler heater.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52- Brilliant.- Lovely.- Lovely. - Thanks very much.- First one I've ever seen on the Roadshow.
0:30:52 > 0:30:55- Thank you for bringing it in. - A pleasure, thank you.- Thank you.
0:30:56 > 0:31:00Your aunt, has she told you very much about the jewellery?
0:31:00 > 0:31:04Nothing, I'd never seen it before until we emptied her drawers.
0:31:04 > 0:31:07So you know nothing about what you've brought.
0:31:07 > 0:31:11Begs the question, what are they worth? Any idea?
0:31:11 > 0:31:14Absolutely no idea.
0:31:14 > 0:31:16- Could be costume jewellery?- Probably.
0:31:17 > 0:31:18OK, this one here,
0:31:18 > 0:31:23do you know of a gemstone that comes from somewhere in Australia?
0:31:23 > 0:31:24It's opal. Is it opals?
0:31:24 > 0:31:26It's opals,
0:31:26 > 0:31:31and that necklace is the sort of piece that probably was made,
0:31:31 > 0:31:37I would think in round about 1900-1910, it has a rather Craft look to it.
0:31:37 > 0:31:41It's mounted in silver and there's the back of it,
0:31:41 > 0:31:45and it's very typical of that sort of Craft look for jewellery
0:31:45 > 0:31:48that would have been made at the start of the 20th century,
0:31:48 > 0:31:51so I'm interested to know where she might have got that from.
0:31:51 > 0:31:53You don't know what the story was?
0:31:53 > 0:31:56- No, sorry.- Um, the...
0:31:56 > 0:31:58I expect she inherited it, or was given it.
0:31:58 > 0:32:01OK, what do you think about that?
0:32:01 > 0:32:02That gold brooch?
0:32:02 > 0:32:04- It's rubbish. - You think it's rubbish?
0:32:04 > 0:32:08Well, I think it's sort of, it looks like cheap stones.
0:32:08 > 0:32:13- OK. Well, in fact it's a natural hard stone in a gold frame.- Really?
0:32:13 > 0:32:17Yeah, and in the middle part of the 19th century they were making a lot
0:32:17 > 0:32:21- of jewellery that ever so slightly recapitulated the past.- Oh, OK.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24So this is a revivalist brooch of the 19th century
0:32:24 > 0:32:27so although you think it's rubbish, it's a gold brooch
0:32:27 > 0:32:31- with a natural hard stone in the centre.- I didn't think it was gold.
0:32:31 > 0:32:35Now we move on to this, tell me what you know about this piece,
0:32:35 > 0:32:37or what do you think it might be?
0:32:37 > 0:32:40Well, I don't know anything, but I'm guessing that they
0:32:40 > 0:32:43might have belonged to my great-grandmother.
0:32:43 > 0:32:45- OK.- Who...
0:32:45 > 0:32:49It would be the 1880s or something,
0:32:49 > 0:32:50I can't quite remember.
0:32:50 > 0:32:54- Well...- I think it's a set, it looks like a set.
0:32:54 > 0:32:55It is a set.
0:32:55 > 0:33:00- I think you're probably going to find it was made before you think.- Oh, OK.
0:33:00 > 0:33:05- I think it was made in the reign of George IV to William IV.- Really?
0:33:05 > 0:33:09Yeah, so I think we're looking at an age of it for round about sort of,
0:33:09 > 0:33:13I suppose, 1825-35, lovely garnets.
0:33:13 > 0:33:16- Garnets.- They're garnets, that's the red stones.- No.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19Yes, they're not paste, they're genuine garnets.
0:33:19 > 0:33:22- Oh, good heavens.- And the frames
0:33:22 > 0:33:27are beautifully wrought, gold filigree frames around the outside.
0:33:27 > 0:33:29OK.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31Now from all this, one can say
0:33:31 > 0:33:34that this is not a box of costume jewellery,
0:33:34 > 0:33:37so shall give you a sense of what the values are?
0:33:37 > 0:33:40OK.
0:33:40 > 0:33:44The necklace there, that Arts and Crafts necklace,
0:33:44 > 0:33:47I would say that's probably worth about £800.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50- Really?- Yeah, so that's that one.
0:33:50 > 0:33:56- OK.- The brooch which you consider is rubbish.- Well, I... yes.
0:33:56 > 0:34:02I would say I would think it's probably worth at least £400 to £500.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05- I'm glad you didn't throw it out. - I nearly didn't bring it.
0:34:05 > 0:34:09The garnet set, the fact that the garnets are all so well matched
0:34:09 > 0:34:14and they're very large, rich red stones, much bigger than you normally find,
0:34:14 > 0:34:20so I think that this set is probably worth £2,000.
0:34:20 > 0:34:22SHE GASPS
0:34:22 > 0:34:27Well, that is a real surprise, that is a real surprise.
0:34:27 > 0:34:31Thank you, well, that's been really helpful.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34- What have we got here? - It's a Chinese snuff bottle.
0:34:36 > 0:34:42OK, now I have to tell you we see dozens of these on the Roadshow,
0:34:42 > 0:34:44where did this one come from?
0:34:44 > 0:34:51I actually won it about 15 years ago from the Sunday Express magazine.
0:34:51 > 0:34:54They had a competition every week where they featured an antique
0:34:54 > 0:34:56and a little write-up about it
0:34:56 > 0:34:59and you just had to send off your answer to the question.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02Do you know, I was involved in that competition,
0:35:02 > 0:35:04- I supplied some of the objects. - Were you? Really?
0:35:04 > 0:35:08How funny. So what was the... what did you have to do?
0:35:08 > 0:35:11Well, you just had to send off the answer
0:35:11 > 0:35:15which was what period this dated from, and it was very easy
0:35:15 > 0:35:20- because the answer was in the text, anyone could have entered. - OK, one of those.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23You didn't have to be an antiques expert to know, and it was 1800,
0:35:23 > 0:35:27so I sent my postcard off with my name and address
0:35:27 > 0:35:31and lo and behold a few weeks later, this came through.
0:35:31 > 0:35:32Do you like it?
0:35:32 > 0:35:36I do, actually, it's unusual, I find it unusual.
0:35:36 > 0:35:39- Did you know it was made of jade? - I thought it was, yes.
0:35:41 > 0:35:45Um, jade to the Chinese is their most precious material
0:35:45 > 0:35:50because it confers incorruptibility on the dead
0:35:50 > 0:35:53and they've carved it,
0:35:53 > 0:35:57in some cases incredibly skilfully and beautifully,
0:35:57 > 0:35:59for thousands of years.
0:35:59 > 0:36:03And when the Chinese took to snuff
0:36:03 > 0:36:08in basically the 18th century, which they did...
0:36:08 > 0:36:11I mean they just went mad for it, snuff was the thing.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14This one is very lightly
0:36:14 > 0:36:18and subtly engraved with dragons,
0:36:18 > 0:36:20and dragons of course are...
0:36:20 > 0:36:22unlike Europe where they're a sign of bad news...
0:36:22 > 0:36:25a sign of good news in China.
0:36:25 > 0:36:27How much did you pay for the postage?
0:36:27 > 0:36:31Well...about 12 pence in those days.
0:36:31 > 0:36:37Well, you've converted your 12 pence into £1,000.
0:36:37 > 0:36:39A thousand pounds?
0:36:39 > 0:36:41My God.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47Well done.
0:36:47 > 0:36:51I have a real passion for folk art and naive paintings
0:36:51 > 0:36:54and this is just about...
0:36:54 > 0:36:59- Ticks all the boxes doesn't it? - It ticks, yes, yes, I was told it was the primitive school.
0:36:59 > 0:37:01Exactly, you're a very lucky girl
0:37:01 > 0:37:05and I guess that it's something that you inherited.
0:37:05 > 0:37:10Yes, it was, I used to live in this house, and my husband...
0:37:10 > 0:37:13before he was my husband... and his parents lived there.
0:37:13 > 0:37:16He used to go down to this pub at the bottom for a pint.
0:37:16 > 0:37:20- Yes.- Where there was an old chap called Ernie who had a room,
0:37:20 > 0:37:23a rented room underneath one of these other houses.
0:37:23 > 0:37:27And he used to get a bit worse for wear every now and then,
0:37:27 > 0:37:30so he needed a bit of help back up to his bedroom
0:37:30 > 0:37:34and one night my husband helped him up and saw this painting,
0:37:34 > 0:37:37and said, "Oh, I like that, where did you get it?"
0:37:37 > 0:37:42so Ernie said, "I got it off a dustbin up in Clifton, I liked it too"
0:37:42 > 0:37:47so he said, "If anything happens to me, you can have it".
0:37:47 > 0:37:51So in due course my husband went into the RAF, Ernie died,
0:37:51 > 0:37:54and the painting was again put on a dustbin.
0:37:54 > 0:37:56- No?- And the landlord from here
0:37:56 > 0:38:01knew that it had been promised to my husband, took it off the dustbin,
0:38:01 > 0:38:05wrapped it in newspaper and took it into my in-laws.
0:38:07 > 0:38:09Now, lots of information to take in there.
0:38:09 > 0:38:13- The first thing is of course we're talking about Bristol.- Yes.
0:38:13 > 0:38:17And when I arrived yesterday in Bristol, I was looking at these houses.
0:38:17 > 0:38:20- Yes.- Am I right in thinking they're now coloured?
0:38:20 > 0:38:23- Yes, these are.- Yes, they're all painted different colours.
0:38:23 > 0:38:26Yes, I think we were the very first ones
0:38:26 > 0:38:28to paint it in a pale yellow
0:38:28 > 0:38:31and then subsequently other people followed and put other paint...
0:38:31 > 0:38:34- It's all your fault.- It's all mine, all my fault because I liked yellow.
0:38:34 > 0:38:39So we've got this, this lovely picture of the mud dock,
0:38:39 > 0:38:43or the mud flat, but lovely detail in all of this, little figures,
0:38:43 > 0:38:45incredibly evocative,
0:38:45 > 0:38:50but obviously done by somebody who was not a great artist.
0:38:50 > 0:38:54We have a signature down here at the bottom. "P. Key" it looks like.
0:38:54 > 0:38:58- I think it's Key, yes. - Um, sadly not a name that anybody...
0:38:58 > 0:39:02- No.- ..can really give a huge history to,
0:39:02 > 0:39:07but that was often the way, they were one up from amateur.
0:39:07 > 0:39:09It's not everybody's cup of tea,
0:39:09 > 0:39:12but I'm pleased to say that there are enough people like me out there,
0:39:12 > 0:39:17and probably like you out there, who really appreciate it for what it is,
0:39:17 > 0:39:20rather than for what it isn't, and I would have thought
0:39:20 > 0:39:22we're certainly talking about £3,000 to £5,000
0:39:22 > 0:39:25and maybe a tiny bit more than that,
0:39:25 > 0:39:29but it's a great picture and I'm sure you're going to treasure it forever.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32I love it, and one of my sons already has his name on it.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35- Very good, so it'll keep in the family.- Yes.
0:39:37 > 0:39:40I have two words to say about this clock.
0:39:40 > 0:39:44Absolutely fabulous, and I've noticed that everyone passing round here
0:39:44 > 0:39:48is looking at it, going, "My goodness, what on earth is that?"
0:39:48 > 0:39:52I gather that there is a certain link
0:39:52 > 0:39:56between this clock and this rather fine standing gentleman.
0:39:56 > 0:39:58What sort of connection is there?
0:39:58 > 0:40:01This gentleman was my great-great-grandfather Joseph Hume
0:40:01 > 0:40:06who was the MP for Montrose and leader of the Radical Party
0:40:06 > 0:40:10- in the 19th century up till his death in 1855.- Right.
0:40:10 > 0:40:17And the received wisdom is that this clock was made for his funeral,
0:40:17 > 0:40:19presumably shortly after 1855.
0:40:19 > 0:40:21my own connection with it
0:40:21 > 0:40:24is that it used to sit in my grandfather's kitchen
0:40:24 > 0:40:28as rather a despised item and he used to, in his Scottish way,
0:40:28 > 0:40:30call it "that damned clock".
0:40:30 > 0:40:31In his kitchen?
0:40:31 > 0:40:35Oh, it lived in the kitchen, it was not considered fit for the hall.
0:40:35 > 0:40:37How interesting.
0:40:37 > 0:40:42It is stylistically the most astonishing clock
0:40:42 > 0:40:45- and he died in 1855.- Yes.
0:40:45 > 0:40:49And we've got these wonderful funereal plumes atop the case,
0:40:49 > 0:40:51but...
0:40:51 > 0:40:54being Scottish, albeit very flamboyant,
0:40:54 > 0:40:57I think it would be extremely unlikely
0:40:57 > 0:41:01that any decoration would have sat on top of this drum head
0:41:01 > 0:41:05when it was originally made, and furthermore,
0:41:05 > 0:41:10this style of the case is very much in the style of a man called Thomas Hope
0:41:10 > 0:41:16who epitomised the very high Regency style which was entwined within
0:41:16 > 0:41:22this Egyptian fever that was sparked off by Napoleon's campaign in Egypt,
0:41:22 > 0:41:26the Nile campaign in 1798, I believe.
0:41:26 > 0:41:31And that style is reflected in this case,
0:41:31 > 0:41:37by the sarcophagus-shaped plinth by these wonderful lion paw feet,
0:41:37 > 0:41:41but that's all entwined within this Gothic architecture
0:41:41 > 0:41:43which is absolutely fantastic and in actual fact,
0:41:43 > 0:41:47it's not only on the front and the sides, but it's just as good quality at the back,
0:41:47 > 0:41:51so it is a fantastic high Regency piece of furniture
0:41:51 > 0:41:53that happens to be a clock.
0:41:53 > 0:41:57Now this style was not prevalent in the 1850s,
0:41:57 > 0:42:00it was prevalent in the 1820s, 1830s,
0:42:00 > 0:42:04and I think it's extremely unlikely that it was made to celebrate his death.
0:42:04 > 0:42:08I think he owned it and then
0:42:08 > 0:42:11on his death, he probably loved the clock,
0:42:11 > 0:42:15it would have been an extremely expensive piece of furniture, he probably loved the clock,
0:42:15 > 0:42:17and the family knew it,
0:42:17 > 0:42:22and they put these wonderful funereal feathers atop the case, absolutely fantastic.
0:42:22 > 0:42:28J&W Howden were Scottish clockmakers of the 1820s-1830s,
0:42:28 > 0:42:31they were not in the 1850s.
0:42:31 > 0:42:34- Ah, ah right.- Um, have you got it insured at the moment?- No.
0:42:34 > 0:42:39- Not at all?- It's despised, I tell you it's a despised item in our family.
0:42:39 > 0:42:43Well, the great thing about this is that it's...
0:42:43 > 0:42:47Clock collectors will love it because it's a well-made clock,
0:42:47 > 0:42:51it's high Regency style, but furniture collectors will love it more.
0:42:51 > 0:42:53And I think that at auction
0:42:53 > 0:42:55it could quite easily
0:42:55 > 0:42:58make between £30,000 and £40,000.
0:42:58 > 0:43:00- Wow.- And you ought to be insuring it
0:43:00 > 0:43:03for at least the upper end of that amount.
0:43:03 > 0:43:05- Wow.- Absolutely fantastic.
0:43:05 > 0:43:09- Gobsmacked.- Thank you very much for bringing it in.- Well... thank you.
0:43:10 > 0:43:13And with that, another Roadshow bites the dust.
0:43:13 > 0:43:16When the Wills family proposed this building so many years ago,
0:43:16 > 0:43:20they said they wanted something that would be here in 400 years' time.
0:43:20 > 0:43:25It opened for business over 80 years ago and it's still looking as fresh as a daisy.
0:43:25 > 0:43:28Perhaps we'll do the next Roadshow from here in 2325,
0:43:28 > 0:43:33but for the moment, from the Wills Memorial Building in Bristol, goodbye.