0:00:02 > 0:00:05During the 1930s, when this seaside resort was at its peak,
0:00:05 > 0:00:08half the country's population came to sample the air.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11That was a whopping 19 million visitors a year.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15No prizes for guessing today's destination - Blackpool.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00Let's take a bird's-eye view of our venue today. And what a vantage point!
0:01:01 > 0:01:04Blackpool has always thought big.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07Within 40 years, from 1890 to 1930,
0:01:07 > 0:01:09it built this, the country's tallest tower,
0:01:09 > 0:01:11the world's biggest Ferris wheel,
0:01:11 > 0:01:13three piers, the Winter Gardens,
0:01:13 > 0:01:16and the Blackpool illuminations were fired up.
0:01:21 > 0:01:27At 518 feet, it's the best place to see everything Blackpool has to offer
0:01:27 > 0:01:31and it's an imposing symbol for the home of the British summer holiday.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42When it was built in 1894,
0:01:42 > 0:01:46Blackpool Tower became the ultimate upmarket Victorian theme park,
0:01:46 > 0:01:49with its ballroom, aquarium, circus and museum.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51There was a zoo, too.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02The Tower Circus is famously entertaining,
0:02:02 > 0:02:05and they're just getting ready for the new season here behind me.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08But did you know, the show has never closed,
0:02:08 > 0:02:13not even for war, and that's because three quarters of a million service personnel
0:02:13 > 0:02:17did their basic training close by, during the 1940s.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32And this is the jewel in the Tower's crown,
0:02:32 > 0:02:35the ballroom, where we're just setting up for today.
0:02:35 > 0:02:40And its flamboyance is down to a design dreamed up by top theatre architect Frank Matcham,
0:02:40 > 0:02:43who let his imagination run wild.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53The ballroom's no stranger to hosting glamorous events.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57For years it was home to TV's Come Dancing.
0:02:57 > 0:03:02But time now for us to cue the specialists as they take the floor.
0:03:05 > 0:03:10Now to quote a very famous poem about Blackpool, it is noted for fresh air and fun, is that right?
0:03:10 > 0:03:16- That's correct.- And I have to say that these two ladies are definitely, they're having fun, aren't they?
0:03:16 > 0:03:19I would hope so, yes, I would hope so.
0:03:19 > 0:03:20But the big question is,
0:03:20 > 0:03:22how long have they been having fun in Blackpool,
0:03:22 > 0:03:24and where have they been having fun?
0:03:24 > 0:03:31Well, for many, many years they were in a basement below this very room.
0:03:31 > 0:03:36Below the Tower Ballroom along with a few other bronze trophies.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39I think about ten years ago they were rediscovered,
0:03:39 > 0:03:41put into a local auction house and,
0:03:41 > 0:03:45- because we are interested in all things Blackpool...- Yes?
0:03:45 > 0:03:46..had to have one.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49Right, before we get onto that side of life,
0:03:49 > 0:03:53- let's have a look at the girls themselves, because this is a dancing trophy.- It is.
0:03:53 > 0:03:58And it's very appropriate that we're in this amazing temple of Baroque extravagance,
0:03:58 > 0:04:03this is Frank Matcham at his best, the great theatre designer, isn't it?
0:04:03 > 0:04:07And this is the sort of - if I can use the word out of context -
0:04:07 > 0:04:11- the epicentre of ballroom dancing in the North West of England. - Absolutely.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14They don't look like ballroom dancers, do they?
0:04:14 > 0:04:20- No, they don't, no.- No, I think the inference here is all in the fact that they're...
0:04:20 > 0:04:23well, the inferences can be found on the corners,
0:04:23 > 0:04:28because you've got bunches of grapes. These are Bacchanalian revellers and,
0:04:28 > 0:04:34er, we're going back to Classical Greece, really. So in other words, they're intoxicated.
0:04:34 > 0:04:35Right.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38Um, but the lady responsible for...
0:04:38 > 0:04:40- and this is a lady sculptor.- Yes.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44This is a lady called, Claire Jeanne Roberte Colinet
0:04:44 > 0:04:49and there is a signature at the back C-O-L-I-N-E-T,
0:04:49 > 0:04:52but I've learned enough French to say Colinet and not Colinette.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55This is quite typical of Colinet's work,
0:04:55 > 0:05:00because there's an exuberance in her work and her girls are...
0:05:00 > 0:05:04They're quite... They're not quite as skinny as some Art Deco girls.
0:05:04 > 0:05:09- No.- She gives them sort of slightly more ample proportions. But these girls, they don't...
0:05:09 > 0:05:14Obviously they're dating from the 1920s, maybe the early '30s, but you know,
0:05:14 > 0:05:18you've got the movement there, you've got this fantastic base.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20It's so graceful.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24Dare I ask, when it came to that auction... Your heart must have been in your mouth.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28Auctions are wonderful places to get the adrenaline pumping, aren't they?
0:05:28 > 0:05:30- Oh, yes.- They really are. So the hammer came down...
0:05:30 > 0:05:32The hammer came down and...
0:05:32 > 0:05:36And my husband and I were thinking about this, and I think it was 2,000.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39£2,000, and how long ago was that?
0:05:39 > 0:05:42Might have been ten years, or...
0:05:42 > 0:05:45- Ten years ago. - My memory isn't what it was.
0:05:45 > 0:05:50All right, well, um, if you were to go out and try and replace...
0:05:50 > 0:05:52This is a very rare group.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56You're not going to find these girls for less than £6,000.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58- Good heavens!- So, um...
0:05:58 > 0:06:04Wow, well, they won't be going anywhere, they're staying in Blackpool, at home.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08Which, let's remind everybody, is noted for fresh air and fun.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10Fresh air and fun.
0:06:10 > 0:06:14I'm used to Delft vases in the traditional colouring of blue and white,
0:06:14 > 0:06:19but this one is extraordinary - yellow on blue. Most unusual colour. Is it a family piece?
0:06:19 > 0:06:23No, it isn't, no, I bought it in a charity shop about two years ago.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27- A charity shop, this one?- Yeah, yeah.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29- What did you have to pay?- About 50p.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32- 50p?- Yes, yes. - Well, what did you think you bought?
0:06:32 > 0:06:34I thought it was Chinese at first,
0:06:34 > 0:06:38because of the shape, but I'm not sure now, really.
0:06:38 > 0:06:43Understandable, because, I mean, the whole design looks Chinese, but that was the intention.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46This was made in Holland as a copy of a Chinese vase.
0:06:46 > 0:06:53You've got a figure of a boy there, I think he's meant to be a Chinese boy. What is he holding there?
0:06:53 > 0:06:57Looks like a guitar, is it? A musical instrument or knapsack?
0:06:57 > 0:06:59- I think that's meant to be a fan.- Oh.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03One of those very elaborate, almost butterfly-like fans, um,
0:07:03 > 0:07:07and he's standing in a landscape, here we've got...
0:07:07 > 0:07:11There's a little pavilion in the background, rocks in front,
0:07:11 > 0:07:13there's a pine tree...
0:07:13 > 0:07:17here, further rocks, these are very typical Chinese rocks
0:07:17 > 0:07:20with the strata divided in a very Chinese manner.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24But adapted by someone I don't think had really looked closely
0:07:24 > 0:07:27at real Chinese art and was trying to imagine what it would be like,
0:07:27 > 0:07:31this strange world at the other side of the world, at the time,
0:07:31 > 0:07:34because this was made in Holland at a time
0:07:34 > 0:07:38when the Dutch were keenly collecting old Chinese porcelain
0:07:38 > 0:07:42and they've made an imitation of a classic Chinese shape,
0:07:42 > 0:07:44but done in very strange colours.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48They tried out different colours in Holland, and that was in the...
0:07:48 > 0:07:52- They were still experimenting because this is the end of the 17th century. - Oh, right.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56- We're looking at about 1680, 1690. - Good grief!
0:07:56 > 0:08:01- So I mean, that really is quite early.- Yes. - Not bad condition either, is it?
0:08:01 > 0:08:07And rare. So your 50p has become about £2,000.
0:08:07 > 0:08:12- That'll do very nicely.- Very nice. - That'll do me very nicely.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14This is such an an intriguing item,
0:08:14 > 0:08:16I've just conducted a small crowd survey
0:08:16 > 0:08:20because I was interested to see if anyone in the queue behind would have any idea what it is.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23Now, I've had a few suggestions.
0:08:23 > 0:08:29We've had medieval torture instrument, we've had bent door, Maori shield,
0:08:29 > 0:08:33although I think it would be a little bit hefty on that one, and we've had surfboard.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36All very interesting suggestions in their own way.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39Now, do you have any idea what this is?
0:08:39 > 0:08:43- No idea whatsoever.- So you haven't tried to feed it into the internet?
0:08:43 > 0:08:48Oh, yes, yes, but when you don't know what it is, how can you do a search?
0:08:48 > 0:08:52Good point. Without that inkling, you've made no progress
0:08:52 > 0:08:57and I'm really pleased about that, because for once, I've got a decent job to do.
0:08:57 > 0:08:58Now, it's called a tribulum.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01Does that get you any closer?
0:09:03 > 0:09:07- No, no.- It's a threshing sledge. - Threshing sledge?
0:09:07 > 0:09:12And do you know, this is perhaps one of one of the most archaic
0:09:12 > 0:09:16- and historic farm implements that there is.- Oh, right.
0:09:16 > 0:09:22Because this piece of equipment has its origins in the bronze age.
0:09:22 > 0:09:27- And there are still parts of the world, essentially, where things like this are still used.- Right.
0:09:27 > 0:09:32And in its construction we can see that it has many things in it that are ancient to us.
0:09:32 > 0:09:38Flints, knapped flints, and of course these knapped flints are embedded into this sledge.
0:09:38 > 0:09:43Here you've got some additional re-utilised saw blades,
0:09:43 > 0:09:46- and those point to its age, which I'll come back to in a minute.- Right.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50Now the fact is, what would happen was that a big surface,
0:09:50 > 0:09:53or an area, was prepared for the cut crop to be laid onto.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56This was then put down flat on top of the crop.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00It could then either be hauled by an animal or by people
0:10:00 > 0:10:04and it could be weighted down, perhaps with rocks, even,
0:10:04 > 0:10:08or quite often with an animal, it would have someone standing on top of it.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11And now that's a pretty skilled thing,
0:10:11 > 0:10:17- so the person who said surfboard wasn't a million miles away, in many respects.- Yes.
0:10:17 > 0:10:21And it separates the grain from the ear and then cuts the chaff,
0:10:21 > 0:10:27and it does that by, essentially, dragging it across and breaking it down.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31- Now, this one is a 19th century example.- Right. - It's a 19th century example.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35- What's happened to this is, it's become a decorative item.- Yeah.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38You can see all this fabulous wear in the grain,
0:10:38 > 0:10:42it's been now cleaned up and I suspect it hangs on your wall, doesn't it?
0:10:42 > 0:10:45- Well, in my hallway, yes, yes. - In your hallway, OK.
0:10:45 > 0:10:50- Value as a decorative item it's £200 or £300.- Yeah.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52But it embodies so much.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54- Yeah, thank you very much.- Pleasure.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56Well, we know now.
0:10:59 > 0:11:05Well, my heart sank when you brought this in to me, I thought, "Oh, my goodness,
0:11:05 > 0:11:08"not another Bible in a terrible state," and all that sort of thing.
0:11:08 > 0:11:13- This one is.- But here it is, it's lacking the title page
0:11:13 > 0:11:20and quite a few pages, preliminary leaves, but the most exciting thing are these notes all the way through.
0:11:20 > 0:11:25And it's a particularly good set of notes here for the New Testament,
0:11:25 > 0:11:27which is full of little notes. Tell me about it.
0:11:27 > 0:11:32Well, I don't know a great deal. It has been in the family quite a few years, I believe,
0:11:32 > 0:11:3850 or 60 years, and it's just been passed down through, through three generations, really.
0:11:38 > 0:11:44- So why have they got it? - I was led to believe, my mother's father, er, bought it.
0:11:44 > 0:11:49- So where did your grandfather get it from?- Well, he got it from a reputable dealer, um,
0:11:49 > 0:11:52around about the late '40s, early '50s.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54And what did they say about the notes?
0:11:54 > 0:11:57That it was Charlotte Bronte's Sunday school Bible.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00Those are apparently her notes.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03- And they go throughout the book? - Yes, absolutely, yes, yes.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06How much did it cost when it was bought originally?
0:12:06 > 0:12:08- £50.- £50?- £50, yes.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11My goodness, that was an awful lot of money in those days.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14- Yes.- You could have probably bought a house.- It's quite a bit now.
0:12:14 > 0:12:21Well, I think it is Charlotte Bronte, I seem to recognise the handwriting. She is very rare, autographically.
0:12:21 > 0:12:28And of course, obviously, with a parson for a father, she was obviously quite devout and religious.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32- Right.- The date of the Bible about 1835-1840,
0:12:32 > 0:12:39it seems absolutely consistent with all of this. So tell me, what do you think it's worth now?
0:12:39 > 0:12:43- I've no idea.- It is a fantastic find for the Roadshow,
0:12:43 > 0:12:48- and really, Bronte scholars would very much like to look through this. - Right.
0:12:48 > 0:12:54I would say we're talking about between £15,000 and £20,000.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56Really?
0:12:56 > 0:12:58- Really?!- Yes.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01I think I'll be sitting down shortly. Good heavens. Really?!
0:13:01 > 0:13:05Yes, many Bronte collectors would love to have this
0:13:05 > 0:13:09and to see what she was thinking and see what notes she was making.
0:13:09 > 0:13:14- And the whole Bible is just absolutely full of notes. It is remarkable.- Right.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19Now that is quite something, isn't it?
0:13:19 > 0:13:21It is beautiful, yes.
0:13:21 > 0:13:25- Is this how you have it displayed? - We usually have it displayed like this.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29I think one of the great things about these tilt top tables is their flexibility.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33They allow people to have them as a card table, a breakfast table,
0:13:33 > 0:13:36but I think this was always intended as a show piece, don't you?
0:13:36 > 0:13:40Is this something you've bought, or something that's inherited...?
0:13:40 > 0:13:44We've inherited it from an aunt. We think of her when it's on display sometimes.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47I mean, it's not something you can get away from very easily, is it?
0:13:47 > 0:13:51- No.- How do you use it? I mean, in a big room, small room?
0:13:51 > 0:13:58We keep it in a big room, at the side of the room, hopefully safe from heat and light and moisture.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02Well, that's very, very evident because it has wonderful colours,
0:14:02 > 0:14:04it really clearly has been away from the light,
0:14:04 > 0:14:09it has possibly been re-polished at some stage because the colours are so bright.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11- Yes.- And I have a feeling that perhaps once upon a time
0:14:11 > 0:14:14there would have been more decoration in the middle there.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16Do you ever remember anything?
0:14:16 > 0:14:20We hear that there was a plant pot put on there as a centrepiece
0:14:20 > 0:14:23in the middle of the table, which caused damage.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27- The dreaded plant pot, yes. - Yes, afraid so, yes.
0:14:27 > 0:14:32And the decoration around the edge is such fun, I think, you have a tremendous jolly lion,
0:14:32 > 0:14:36you've got garlands with this little fawn-like creature
0:14:36 > 0:14:40sort of spitting out a garland which is threaded through.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44- Yes.- And beautifully done, and little tiny pieces of mother of pearl, as well.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46- Yes, wonderful, yes. - It really is spectacular.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50Kingwood round the edge, birdseye maple in the middle,
0:14:50 > 0:14:57- dating to that very flamboyant period of around 1860, I think, so middle, middle Victorian period.- Yes.
0:14:57 > 0:15:04It's quite interesting because in fact the base is very Rococo in style,
0:15:04 > 0:15:11like here, whereas the decorations around the table top is more a Renaissance revival.
0:15:11 > 0:15:17- Yes.- So there's lots of things going on here, it's quite an exciting period for design.
0:15:17 > 0:15:22The disappointing thing perhaps is to put a value on it.
0:15:22 > 0:15:23Yes.
0:15:23 > 0:15:31In the current market, I would say that £2,000 to £3,000 is about right.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34- Five years ago you could have doubled that easily.- Yes.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38So in another five years, you never know what might happen.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42Yes, right, thank you. Yes, very nice, thank you.
0:15:44 > 0:15:52It is a very strange fact that these birds are built on a pile of Pyrex.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55Now, you've got no idea what I'm talking about, have you?
0:15:55 > 0:15:59- No.- In 1907, Corning, American glassworks,
0:15:59 > 0:16:04came over to Britain trying to sell the UK and Empire patents for a brand new type of glass,
0:16:04 > 0:16:10and they went round all the glassworks in Britain saying, "Do you want to take these rights?"
0:16:10 > 0:16:13"Do you want to take these rights?" "No, no, no."
0:16:13 > 0:16:16Nobody wanted it. Till they went up to Sunderland
0:16:16 > 0:16:20and they ran into a funny little rinkydink glassworks up in Sunderland called Jobling's
0:16:20 > 0:16:23and said, "Do you want to take this patent?"
0:16:23 > 0:16:26and they said, "We'll give it a go - what is it?"
0:16:26 > 0:16:28And they said, "It's called Pyrex."
0:16:28 > 0:16:36And within 20 years they had three-and-a-half thousand people producing Pyrex in Sunderland.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39It was the most democratic glass there has ever been.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43Every home from Buckingham Palace to 23 Railway Cuttings owned Pyrex.
0:16:43 > 0:16:51And they were making so much money that the governor, Ernest Proctor, began to get delusions of grandeur.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54As well as pots and pans, he wanted to make art glass.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56Lalique told him to go away.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59Sabino, a Laliquesque glass maker, told him to go away,
0:16:59 > 0:17:06so he decided to make it himself. And this is precisely what they made, Opalique made by Jobling.
0:17:06 > 0:17:11And it's quite collected, it's got the patent number, the design patent number there.
0:17:11 > 0:17:13So do you like it? I mean, is it a thing you like?
0:17:13 > 0:17:16Yes, I do quite like it, yes.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18And you came across it, how?
0:17:18 > 0:17:23It was my mother-in-law's, and when she died my husband inherited it.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27It's obviously not in the same realms as Sabino or Lalique,
0:17:27 > 0:17:32but it has a certain home-spun charm, which puts its price at about £150 to £200.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36- Oh!- Not bad for a pair of old birds, is it?- It's not, no.
0:17:38 > 0:17:43Now, even as a Southerner, which I'm afraid I am, I have seen the Blackpool illuminations.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45You know there can be very few people in Britain
0:17:45 > 0:17:49who haven't at some point, been taken to see this great spectacle.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51- Yes.- And of course, even on my one or two visits,
0:17:51 > 0:17:57I was very much aware, as you go through that great procession of lights and ornamentation,
0:17:57 > 0:17:58it's all going to go.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01You know, it's a one-time exercise.
0:18:01 > 0:18:06And it seems an awful lot of effort just to make that spectacle.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08Why did it all come about?
0:18:08 > 0:18:12It originated as a way of extending the season.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15- Blackpool wanted to do something different.- Ah.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17It's always been an innovative town.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20The illuminations started with eight arc lamps
0:18:20 > 0:18:25and at the time that was seen as unbelievable new science, and it's grown from there. Now...
0:18:25 > 0:18:27- New electricity.- New electricity.
0:18:27 > 0:18:32And today we run a season when other resorts are closed for the winter, so that's what it's for.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34Right. So hang on a minute, "We". Who are you?
0:18:34 > 0:18:40I'm Richard Ryan, I'm Illuminations Manager, and part of a team that creates this spectacle every year.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43So you have this dream job of actually inventing all this.
0:18:43 > 0:18:44It's absolutely brilliant.
0:18:44 > 0:18:49- We create this every year, and yes, it's brilliant.- Year after year after year.- Every year.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52So you come up with an idea, build around it, and then it's all gone.
0:18:52 > 0:18:57Every year it's re-invented, but we do save everything and that's what the archive is about.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01How did you get a job like that? Is it something you've always wanted to do?
0:19:01 > 0:19:04I started off making illuminations when I was seven.
0:19:04 > 0:19:09I was born and bred in Sheffield, where they used to have fantastic Christmas lights back then,
0:19:09 > 0:19:12- and I applied to Blackpool for a job, was turned down. - What, aged seven?
0:19:12 > 0:19:14- No, no, no, fourteen.- Fourteen.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17What do I need to do? What qualifications, and all of that.
0:19:17 > 0:19:22I applied to the Council and they said, "Go and get an engineering degree, electrical engineering."
0:19:22 > 0:19:26I did that, I applied again and I got in. So persistence pays off, I suppose.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29But it's also a fulfilment of a dream.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32How many people know what they want to do at seven, and do it?
0:19:32 > 0:19:35- I'm very lucky.- You're so lucky. - I'm lucky and obsessed.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37When did it first begin?
0:19:37 > 0:19:40Oh, 1879 was the initial time.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42- Right.- And then... - And then it goes on.
0:19:42 > 0:19:48And of course, obviously, what these reflect are cultural change, they're events of that moment.
0:19:48 > 0:19:53I mean, this is a great early drawing about the Imperial Power and its links to trade.
0:19:53 > 0:19:59- On the other hand, here we have something which is a wonderful 1930s period piece.- Beautiful, aren't they?
0:19:59 > 0:20:03Just fantastic, the people, the dress, the cars...
0:20:03 > 0:20:09It's of its time. And I just love the way that things we've got here pick up those themes,
0:20:09 > 0:20:16those moments in history. You know, things like that, to me, have a wonderful period charm now,
0:20:16 > 0:20:19as indeed does the sort of Beatles association.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23- It's brilliant, yes. - But there is that great moment of the switch-on, isn't there?
0:20:23 > 0:20:29- Now, here is Jayne Mansfield about to do it.- That's right, 1959.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31Now, what is she actually doing?
0:20:31 > 0:20:34Does she actually switch them on?
0:20:34 > 0:20:36Yes, and no.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39She throws a switch, which switches some of them on.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42- Yeah.- And from that moment it's switched on in sections.
0:20:42 > 0:20:48Back in the day, there was a telephony system, and in the later '70s there was a radio system.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50- Is that what those are? - That's what those are.
0:20:50 > 0:20:55So somebody... she pulls a lever and somebody dials a number and says, "Turn it on Fred."
0:20:55 > 0:20:57"Turn it on," absolutely.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59All the secrets given away.
0:20:59 > 0:21:04So we've got Jayne Mansfield, we've got Ken Dodd,
0:21:04 > 0:21:08Gordon Banks, 1973, redoing his save.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10- Yes.- You know, it's a great history.
0:21:10 > 0:21:16Collectively this is an immensely valuable archive. It is the history of Blackpool.
0:21:16 > 0:21:21So, individually they're worth £100, couple hundred, as wonderful decorative things.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23There are 26,000 pieces in the archive.
0:21:23 > 0:21:28We're talking of tens of thousands of pounds for the collection as a whole
0:21:28 > 0:21:34and, of course, the value to the town is greater than that in both financial terms and cultural terms.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37I'm so glad we kept it, and we'll develop it in future.
0:21:37 > 0:21:42- You must. It must always be there for us, for us all, thank you.- Thank you.
0:21:42 > 0:21:48Looking at this, I would guess that this is some kind of Chinese dresser, is it?
0:21:48 > 0:21:51Well, it's got a Chinese finish to it, hasn't it?
0:21:51 > 0:21:55But it's actually a wind-up gramophone or record player.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58When I was a young boy away at school,
0:21:58 > 0:22:00my father send me a portable gramophone.
0:22:00 > 0:22:04And I used to play it every day and had a great collection of rock 'n' roll records,
0:22:04 > 0:22:06and then I lost interest.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10But about 20 years ago I was given a stack of 78s,
0:22:10 > 0:22:13- you know, the speed at which... - Yeah, I remember 78s.
0:22:13 > 0:22:19And I was given a great stack of these, many by local artists, George Formby, Josef Locke,
0:22:19 > 0:22:23Gracie Fields used to play here, Lonnie Donegan even played here.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27But I had this great pile of records and I needed something to play them on.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30So I asked a friend of mine to find me a gramophone
0:22:30 > 0:22:31that was a nice piece of furniture
0:22:31 > 0:22:35and something that my wife would accept in the house, so we found this.
0:22:35 > 0:22:40- So where is the gramophone player in here then?- It all starts when you open the lid.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43- Ah-ha.- Made by Edison-Bell.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46Has a nice gold finish to the fittings.
0:22:46 > 0:22:51The important part, of course, is the starting handle, or the winding handle on the right here.
0:22:51 > 0:22:56And the volume control are these doors as you open the door.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58Oh, right.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02One of the most famous people in Blackpool, and our hero,
0:23:02 > 0:23:07was Reginald Dixon who played the Wurlitzer organ here in Blackpool Tower, and that was of course...
0:23:07 > 0:23:10- He used to play here in the ballroom?- In this very ballroom.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14And that used to be broadcast on Radio 2, didn't it?
0:23:14 > 0:23:17Yeah, all over the world, and I have here, unusually,
0:23:17 > 0:23:22a three-and-a-half inch diameter 78 of Reginald Dixon playing his theme tune,
0:23:22 > 0:23:24I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside.
0:23:24 > 0:23:29- Well, how appropriate, and can we hear it?- You can, indeed.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00Normally, when we look at Armada chests on the Roadshow,
0:24:00 > 0:24:03we're not standing holding it with one hand.
0:24:03 > 0:24:08And it's not because I am so strong, it is clearly a very tiny one, so tell me about it.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12I think it's probably late 17th, early 18th century,
0:24:12 > 0:24:15it's been in my family since then.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17My family is basically Norwegian.
0:24:17 > 0:24:22- Right.- It would have belonged to my great-great-grandfather, maybe even earlier.
0:24:22 > 0:24:27I think a few more greats than that, because I think your dating is actually fairly correct,
0:24:27 > 0:24:29it is going to be late 17th century.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31Whether it comes from Norway or not, I don't know.
0:24:31 > 0:24:37- I would have said Northern European, possibly German, but you know we're in the right territory.- Yes.
0:24:37 > 0:24:42But it is the most charming example of an object we see on a large scale,
0:24:42 > 0:24:46not frequently, but on occasion on the Roadshow.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50- Yes.- With these wonderful wrought-iron locks, blacksmith-made.
0:24:50 > 0:24:56They look enormously complicated, in this instance, and also when you see the real thing,
0:24:56 > 0:24:59but actually they're much more simple than one thinks.
0:24:59 > 0:25:04Um, there are one or two condition issues - it's the wrong key,
0:25:04 > 0:25:08and obviously it's missing that handle, it should have that,
0:25:08 > 0:25:12- which is delightful, original wrought-iron handles.- Right, yes.
0:25:12 > 0:25:17- Curiously enough, not that relevant to its value.- Right.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21What do you think its value is?
0:25:21 > 0:25:23I thought it would be no more than about £50.
0:25:23 > 0:25:29Miniature versions and small versions of big things always have a premium.
0:25:29 > 0:25:35- Right.- And in this instance, it is so charming and in such wonderful condition,
0:25:35 > 0:25:41with all its original painting and decorating, that this is probably worth as much as the real thing.
0:25:41 > 0:25:45And those things, in slightly poor condition,
0:25:45 > 0:25:51tend to be somewhere around about £1,000 to £1,200, and this is very close approaching it.
0:25:51 > 0:25:53Well, I think that's...
0:25:53 > 0:25:55that's incredible, absolutely incredible.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02So how did you end up with these compelling pieces of paper?
0:26:02 > 0:26:06They were amongst items left by my husband when he passed away.
0:26:06 > 0:26:11I understand they were from my father-in-law, who was in special forces during the Second World War.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13Special forces, what did they get up to?
0:26:13 > 0:26:16As I understand it, he went behind enemy lines in Albania,
0:26:16 > 0:26:19but other than that, I don't know anything about it.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21So he was a mystery man in your life.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24Yes, yes, he is. And these are mystery objects.
0:26:24 > 0:26:28- They are, yes.- But I have to say I think they're utterly compelling.
0:26:28 > 0:26:32And so here you have in this picture, the quality,
0:26:32 > 0:26:38the hideousness, of the real-life battle experience.
0:26:38 > 0:26:43You've got, throughout, water, smoke, flame.
0:26:43 > 0:26:48You can almost hear the battle, you can smell it.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52In my view, there are occasions when art can do it better than film or photography.
0:26:52 > 0:26:57Remember, an artist is there to record, not just the moment
0:26:57 > 0:27:02at times like this, but also feelings, feelings in a way that celluloid can never impart.
0:27:02 > 0:27:07This top image here of two firemen,
0:27:07 > 0:27:10in what looks like the Blitz, has all the drama of film
0:27:10 > 0:27:15and yet it has a sort of, clarity and an energy which moves it on.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19- And do you know anything about this one?- Not at all.- Nothing at all? - No, nothing.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22So all these things are all just totally unknown to you.
0:27:22 > 0:27:24Yes, I found them three weeks ago.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27Well, let's go, let's go below.
0:27:27 > 0:27:31There you have a German plane crashed...
0:27:31 > 0:27:35and I have to say it takes me a moment or two to realise what's going on,
0:27:35 > 0:27:37but in the middle ground is a corpse.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40Do you see it?
0:27:40 > 0:27:44So this, particularly the way the raggedy clouds or done,
0:27:44 > 0:27:51or rather the raggedy smoke and fire, the jagged edge feel of this watercolour
0:27:51 > 0:27:53imparts to me one thing.
0:27:53 > 0:27:58Whoever painted it was there and he's hurrying to get it down.
0:27:58 > 0:28:05You can feel the energy, the smoke, the fire, the threat of where he is.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08And the one at the bottom there,
0:28:08 > 0:28:12of a battleship in the sea,
0:28:12 > 0:28:15I've seen the sea painted thousands of times,
0:28:15 > 0:28:17and yet somehow this sea does it for me.
0:28:17 > 0:28:22I feel its choppiness, you can feel the metal of the ship from,
0:28:22 > 0:28:24from which he must have been looking.
0:28:24 > 0:28:29I mean, these really are portals into the Second World War.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32Now the question is, who painted them?
0:28:32 > 0:28:34Who did them? Have you any idea?
0:28:34 > 0:28:36Not at all. I couldn't read the signature.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39Well, I can see a signature here in the bottom right,
0:28:39 > 0:28:44and to me this is immensely frustrating.
0:28:44 > 0:28:49Why? Because I can't quite read what it says, and after the name
0:28:49 > 0:28:53are the initials RA - Royal Academy.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57So here is someone who has got real form, as we say in the art world,
0:28:57 > 0:29:00and yet I can't tell you who it's by.
0:29:00 > 0:29:02You see, I think these are by an artist
0:29:02 > 0:29:05who's intending to impart information.
0:29:05 > 0:29:10I suspect they may well be designs for posters or for illustrations,
0:29:10 > 0:29:14but what's so different from the posters and illustrations that I know
0:29:14 > 0:29:17is that there is this feeling of actuality.
0:29:17 > 0:29:20You can smell the war in these things.
0:29:20 > 0:29:26As to their value, well, we need to get an artist in order to be able to establish a proper value,
0:29:26 > 0:29:29but I'm delighted to say they're worth at least £500 each,
0:29:29 > 0:29:33and if we can get an artist, possibly considerably more.
0:29:33 > 0:29:40- So, with five or six you're talking about £3,000, perhaps a little bit more.- Gosh.
0:29:42 > 0:29:46A lot of people who know me, know that I'm a dog lover, in fact
0:29:46 > 0:29:52my dog used to come to Roadshows, and here is a really fantastic hound. Do you have a dog yourself?
0:29:52 > 0:29:57- Are you a dog...- We do actually, we have a Border Lakeland cross...- Yes.
0:29:57 > 0:29:59..terrier, which is quite a character.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02And a hunting dog, like this? Or...
0:30:02 > 0:30:07Well, he is a hunting dog, he was bred as a hunting dog, but never has.
0:30:07 > 0:30:10Right, this is very much a hunting dog.
0:30:10 > 0:30:14- It is, yes.- And, um you can see that it's on a chase.
0:30:14 > 0:30:21Those eyes have something about the Gothic horror movie about them, it's certainly after something.
0:30:21 > 0:30:25- It used to keep us away from the fireplace.- Did it?
0:30:25 > 0:30:30Well, I can imagine that, it's so lifelike, it really is fantastic.
0:30:30 > 0:30:37- And if you wanted confirmation of hunting, there is the hunting crop in bronze to back it.- Yeah.
0:30:37 > 0:30:40And if you look at the back, first of all there's an inscription,
0:30:40 > 0:30:45which I must ask you about, but it was clearly fitted to slot onto a wall.
0:30:45 > 0:30:51- Yes.- And it's got a date which I would have thought is 1964,
0:30:51 > 0:30:56rather than 1864 when it would have been made in the Black Forest,
0:30:56 > 0:31:03it probably is pine and stained to look like walnut or a more precious wood,
0:31:03 > 0:31:05but what about this date?
0:31:05 > 0:31:10Well, the date on the back came from my father who wrote it on the back of it in order to...
0:31:10 > 0:31:14in case it was stolen because it was up on the wall of a pub,
0:31:14 > 0:31:17- and actually it was stolen.- Was it?
0:31:17 > 0:31:20A rugby team, who was trophy hunting,
0:31:20 > 0:31:26took it away and because of the address on the back, it actually came back.
0:31:26 > 0:31:29- This is really quite a valuable item. - Right.
0:31:29 > 0:31:36I think it fits a lot of factors which people are looking for in the market today.
0:31:36 > 0:31:41If you're an interior decorator, what a piece of interior decoration.
0:31:41 > 0:31:46A dog lover, you don't need to be just a dog lover to want something like this.
0:31:46 > 0:31:53- Because of all those factors I think it would make between £1,500 and £2,000 at auction.- Phew. Very good..
0:31:53 > 0:31:57- A very much sought-after piece and very lovely piece to have.- Right.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00- Thank you very much for bringing it. - Thank you.
0:32:03 > 0:32:08Well, they do say that you can find a better dressed type of woman in Blackpool, would you agree with that?
0:32:08 > 0:32:11- Totally.- OK, so you're obviously from Blackpool.
0:32:11 > 0:32:14But I have to tell you that I describe myself
0:32:14 > 0:32:16as a potaholic, that's...
0:32:16 > 0:32:22I think it applies to both male and female, but the owner of this pair of shoes
0:32:22 > 0:32:27and this handbag, I think was a kindred spirit. I think she could only have been a potaholic.
0:32:27 > 0:32:30Now, just tell me a little bit about the lady owner.
0:32:30 > 0:32:34Um, she was my aunt and she was wonderful, she treasured these,
0:32:34 > 0:32:38and she gave them to me and I've cherished them ever since, really.
0:32:38 > 0:32:40So did she wear these on a regular basis?
0:32:40 > 0:32:45Er, no, I think only once and that was for, she'd been invited in the '60s,
0:32:45 > 0:32:49early '60s, I think it was, to the Queen's garden party.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52- At Buckingham Palace. - Yes, yes, absolutely.
0:32:52 > 0:32:56Fantastic. Well, let, let's have a look in detail at a pair of shoes
0:32:56 > 0:32:58that say more about you than money ever can,
0:32:58 > 0:33:03- although I think it's fair to say, these would have been expensive. - Oh, yes, I would think so.
0:33:03 > 0:33:07I have never met a woman yet wearing Wedgewood shoes,
0:33:07 > 0:33:11but I think these are absolutely wonderful.
0:33:11 > 0:33:15Let's just turn around, because it's not just these buckles is it?
0:33:15 > 0:33:21- No, no.- It's the heels themselves, these are just breathtaking, absolutely breathtaking.
0:33:21 > 0:33:25She's actually got a matching bag as well.
0:33:25 > 0:33:29And, er, dare I ask, have you ever worn these?
0:33:29 > 0:33:33- Yes, I have once.- Have you?- Yes. - And they are your size, are they?
0:33:33 > 0:33:36Yeah... Don't, please. I thought you were going to ask me try them on.
0:33:36 > 0:33:39No, no, no, all I'm interested in knowing
0:33:39 > 0:33:44is whether or not it's the sort of thing that are being used today, I...
0:33:44 > 0:33:48You see, for me, it's like having a car in the garage and not taking it out for a spin.
0:33:48 > 0:33:53- I've worn them once, but I thought that was quite cavalier, really. - I think it probably was, wasn't it?
0:33:53 > 0:33:56- Yeah, yeah. But it was good. - It was good?
0:33:56 > 0:34:00- It was good, yeah. - Obviously you've got no idea what she had to pay for these way back when,
0:34:00 > 0:34:05- and to be honest with you, I haven't got much of a precedent because this is a first for me.- Right, oh, good.
0:34:05 > 0:34:09- A first for... I've come across a Wedgewood pram before today.- Right.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12But Wedgewood shoes and matching bag, it's all new.
0:34:12 > 0:34:16- Any thoughts. - No ideas, it wouldn't matter, I just think they're precious.
0:34:16 > 0:34:19No, so if I offered you £500 would that be...?
0:34:19 > 0:34:22- No, no.- If I offered you £800? - I'm sure they're not worth that,
0:34:22 > 0:34:24- but to me they're worth everything.- Exactly.
0:34:24 > 0:34:28Ignore the man behind you who said, "Take the money", ignore him, OK?
0:34:28 > 0:34:33Well, I mean I think the proof of the pudding would always be in the selling.
0:34:33 > 0:34:36But if I had to go out and... Let's put an insurance valuation on, um,
0:34:36 > 0:34:41I wouldn't hesitate on this little group, to put the best part of £800.
0:34:41 > 0:34:45- No! Oh, right.- Well, hey, listen, find me another pair.
0:34:45 > 0:34:47I mean, they would have been worth more
0:34:47 > 0:34:49if I could get my feet into them, but I just...
0:34:49 > 0:34:51they're just not my size.
0:34:52 > 0:34:57This is certainly the lightest piece of jewellery I've ever seen on the Antiques Roadshow,
0:34:57 > 0:35:00but it also happens to be possibly one of the rarest pieces of jewellery
0:35:00 > 0:35:02- I've ever seen on the Antiques Roadshow.- Oh.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05- Is that what you thought when you brought it?- No.
0:35:05 > 0:35:10- It's like a whisper, you can hardly feel it on your hand. What did you think it was made of?- I had...
0:35:10 > 0:35:14I think my mother said it might have been bone.
0:35:14 > 0:35:18I thought it was old, that's the only thing I knew about it.
0:35:18 > 0:35:20Well, it is seriously old
0:35:20 > 0:35:23and it's not made of bone, it's made of horse hair.
0:35:23 > 0:35:27- Oh.- And I think that it might well be 17th century,
0:35:27 > 0:35:29that it could be 400 years old.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32- Wow!- And I think it's part of the kit and caboodle
0:35:32 > 0:35:34of somebody who's been widowed,
0:35:34 > 0:35:37and she's sort of shunned her real jewellery
0:35:37 > 0:35:41and traded it in for black and white jewellery, which is highly appropriate for a widow.
0:35:41 > 0:35:46I've talked to our picture people here who recognise it as a type from the 17th century.
0:35:46 > 0:35:50You see it in portraits, and that's desperately important for us in dating these things.
0:35:50 > 0:35:54It's black and white, which is the colours of Jacobean England,
0:35:54 > 0:35:56it's the colours of Jacobean mourning,
0:35:56 > 0:35:58the colour of Jacobean death, it has to be said,
0:35:58 > 0:36:00but I'm completely besotted with it.
0:36:00 > 0:36:04I don't know how it's survived and how it's not been torn to shreds.
0:36:04 > 0:36:07It's very fragile, very light, very papery,
0:36:07 > 0:36:11it's just like a spider's web, or a whisper in your hand.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14And, and is that all startling to you?
0:36:14 > 0:36:17Yes, it's just been kept in a jewellery box
0:36:17 > 0:36:19with a load of other silver jewellery,
0:36:19 > 0:36:22so I'm surprised it's that fragile.
0:36:22 > 0:36:25Well, it's probably been in a jewellery box for 400 years.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28- Wow.- And, and quite why it's survived, I'll never know.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31And, and, and, and I'm very, very excited by it.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34And I don't know how to transfer that excitement to everybody.
0:36:34 > 0:36:38I'm hoping to do it, and it's certainly not about money.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40Money's a completely false barometer.
0:36:40 > 0:36:43If I tell you that it was very valuable, I'd be wrong, I think it isn't.
0:36:43 > 0:36:47I think it's really worth only low hundreds of pounds,
0:36:47 > 0:36:50- maybe no more than £200 or £300.- Oh.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53But as a survival I think it's an astonishingly valuable object
0:36:53 > 0:36:56and I've loved every minute of it, and what will you do now?
0:36:56 > 0:37:00I don't know, go and put it somewhere safe, I think.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03Very good, it's been safe for four centuries,
0:37:03 > 0:37:06and it's your job to keep it safe as long as you can.
0:37:06 > 0:37:09Put your hand out and have a whisper in your hand, a tiny,
0:37:09 > 0:37:13- tiny butterfly on your hand that's four hundred years old. - Thank you very much.
0:37:13 > 0:37:14What more magic could you ask?
0:37:14 > 0:37:17Well, I think every cricketing enthusiast recognises that
0:37:17 > 0:37:21- Don Bradman was the greatest batsman in the history of the game.- Yes.
0:37:21 > 0:37:26And on the Roadshow we see quite a lot of autographs and occasionally his signature comes along.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29But I've never seen 92 Bradman signatures before.
0:37:29 > 0:37:31- They're all there. - How did it all start?
0:37:31 > 0:37:38It started many years ago, 1948, which was Bradman's last tour,
0:37:38 > 0:37:43and a gentleman, who was an old gentleman - I was only five then -
0:37:43 > 0:37:46said he had a Don Bradman autograph and I really wanted to see it
0:37:46 > 0:37:49because I was interested in cricket from a very early age.
0:37:49 > 0:37:55He showed it me and then I always wanted one. And then in the 1970s I wrote a letter to Don Bradman,
0:37:55 > 0:37:59they printed his actual address in the Radio Times, believe it or not,
0:37:59 > 0:38:04and I got a reply and he signed it, Don Bradman, and I thought I must get some more.
0:38:04 > 0:38:06And then he became an obsession, really,
0:38:06 > 0:38:11and I found cuttings and old things to send to him, and photographs,
0:38:11 > 0:38:16the only colour photograph from his last tour, 1948, and he signed every one,
0:38:16 > 0:38:19and always a reply within a week. Wonderful!
0:38:19 > 0:38:22- What a gentleman! - What a gentleman, a true gent!
0:38:22 > 0:38:26Well, if we look here we can see some of the signatures
0:38:26 > 0:38:30on Christmas cards and cigarette cards and indeed that's a match...
0:38:30 > 0:38:32- That's the last match he ever played.- Oh, is it?
0:38:32 > 0:38:35- Is that when he was out for four? - He was out...- No, nought...
0:38:35 > 0:38:39If he'd have got four he'd have had a hundred average.
0:38:39 > 0:38:42I think it was 99.99 his test average, wasn't it?
0:38:42 > 0:38:44- Exactly, yes.- But he did in, what? 35 year career,
0:38:44 > 0:38:47scored a century every three innings he came to the wicket.
0:38:47 > 0:38:53- That's right.- Quite astonishing. - Marvellous.- So how many years have we... Lots of photographs here.
0:38:53 > 0:38:55We're talking 25 years to get all these,
0:38:55 > 0:38:59and he even sent me an actual birthday card on me 40th birthday,
0:38:59 > 0:39:01which was magic, I didn't expect it.
0:39:01 > 0:39:05And I think I can guess, but why 92 Bradman signatures?
0:39:05 > 0:39:0992, well, when I got to about 70, I thought, "This is round about the same age as Don,"
0:39:09 > 0:39:12and I thought "I'll try and get one for every year of his age."
0:39:12 > 0:39:18And when he'd reached 92 I'd only 91, and I sent one last one off and he just signed it,
0:39:18 > 0:39:21- just before he died, sadly died. - Oh, how very poignant.
0:39:21 > 0:39:23So I just, just managed it.
0:39:23 > 0:39:26And his signature's never changed over the years. Wonderful!
0:39:26 > 0:39:29Fantastic! Well, let's talk about values.
0:39:29 > 0:39:33The Bradman album, very difficult to value but I think if that came up at auction,
0:39:33 > 0:39:38a cricket enthusiast would pay maybe £2,000 or £3,000 for it, possibly more, yes.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41- Excellent, right. - Wonderful collection.
0:39:41 > 0:39:43Thank you, Paul, thank you.
0:39:49 > 0:39:54Now, our experts know a thing or two about collecting and they have some wonderful collections,
0:39:54 > 0:39:56but even they have been known to pick a dud.
0:39:56 > 0:40:00Now, Bill Harriman, you know everything there is to know about arms and militaria.
0:40:00 > 0:40:06You've been an expert in criminal cases, but I was astonished to learn that you even bought a fake.
0:40:06 > 0:40:10Well, I'm afraid that I did, even us who are learned in such matters,
0:40:10 > 0:40:13we still very occasionally get stitched up.
0:40:13 > 0:40:15So this, this is the fake, is it?
0:40:15 > 0:40:18- This is a fake, yes. - So tell me the story behind it.
0:40:18 > 0:40:23I, for many years, always wanted one of these, it's an 1862 Colt revolver.
0:40:23 > 0:40:26- I wanted one from the era of the American Civil War.- Can I hold it?
0:40:26 > 0:40:30- Yes.- I've never actually held a gun, or anything like it, so...
0:40:30 > 0:40:33I was desperate to get one from the period of the American Civil War,
0:40:33 > 0:40:36and you can tell their date from the serial numbers, and I saw that.
0:40:36 > 0:40:42It was for sale with a dealer, and I bought it and I was very pleased with it and I got it home,
0:40:42 > 0:40:45had a look at it, I was still very pleased with it.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48I showed it to various other people and, er,
0:40:48 > 0:40:54there was that horrid little seed of doubt planted by a friend of mine who said,
0:40:54 > 0:40:59"Oh, I'm not sure about that", so we took it to bits and did a full forensic examination
0:40:59 > 0:41:03and my heart started to sink through the bottom of my boots,
0:41:03 > 0:41:07as it was very clear that it's a modern-made Italian replica
0:41:07 > 0:41:13- that somebody has aged to make it look like it was from about 1864. - So it could take in even you?
0:41:13 > 0:41:16It did take me in. I paid good money for it.
0:41:16 > 0:41:17So what did you do then?
0:41:17 > 0:41:21Well, I went back to the dealer who'd sold it to me
0:41:21 > 0:41:25and I'd taken the precaution of obtaining an expert report
0:41:25 > 0:41:30and I showed him this and eventually, with bad grace, I have to say, he gave me my money back.
0:41:30 > 0:41:34He said "I'll have the pistol back". I said, "Well, have you got authority to possess it?"
0:41:34 > 0:41:37He said, "No," and I've had it ever since.
0:41:37 > 0:41:40- I suppose it's a salutary lesson. - It is a salutary lesson.
0:41:40 > 0:41:45I pick that up occasionally and it tells me that I'm as fallible as the next man,
0:41:45 > 0:41:53and it tells me to use your eyes and use your brains and connect the two, and don't take anything for granted.
0:41:53 > 0:41:57And what about your best, your best buy, or the thing you love best in your collection?
0:41:57 > 0:42:02It's this. It's that...piece of...
0:42:02 > 0:42:04shattered bone and metal. Do you know what it is?
0:42:04 > 0:42:07- Can you guess what it is? - This was a penknife was it?
0:42:07 > 0:42:12Yes, yeah, cheap old penknife, sort of clasped knife that was carried by all kinds of people,
0:42:12 > 0:42:17farmers, workers, you name it. And it's very special to me because...
0:42:17 > 0:42:20- Why is this so special to you? - It's my grandfather's.
0:42:20 > 0:42:23My maternal grandfather who was Corporal Samuel Robinson
0:42:23 > 0:42:27of the 7th Battalion of the Royal West Kent Regiment,
0:42:27 > 0:42:30and that was about Sam Robinson's person
0:42:30 > 0:42:33when it was hit by either a machine gun bullet,
0:42:33 > 0:42:35or a piece of shell fragment,
0:42:35 > 0:42:40and it clearly took most of the force of the impact and he survived the First World War.
0:42:40 > 0:42:45Oh, so if this had been a little bit to the left, a little bit to the right.
0:42:45 > 0:42:46You and I would not be speaking today.
0:42:46 > 0:42:50- Gosh, that's a slightly sobering thought, isn't it?- It is a very sobering thought.
0:42:50 > 0:42:54- And this is him, is it?- Yes, there he is in his uniform taken in about...
0:42:54 > 0:42:57I'm guessing about 1916.
0:42:57 > 0:43:01That to me, I think, is one of the dearest things that I own.
0:43:01 > 0:43:04I get very emotional about it, as you probably see.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07- It's wonderful to see it Bill, thanks very much.- Thank you.
0:43:10 > 0:43:15This is obviously only the tip of the iceberg. You've got press cuttings, letters from the Prime Minister,
0:43:15 > 0:43:20Lloyd George, and pictures of the great man himself,
0:43:20 > 0:43:23the counsellor, "To Mr H Veno".
0:43:23 > 0:43:25Now tell me, what's it all about?
0:43:25 > 0:43:30I'm related, I'm the great grandson of Sir William Henry Veno.
0:43:30 > 0:43:32Yes.
0:43:32 > 0:43:34Who was born William Reynard Varney.
0:43:34 > 0:43:40- Right.- Moved to America and acquired the formula for Veno's Cough Cure.
0:43:40 > 0:43:43- And this is the patent here? - Yes.- This is the thing.
0:43:43 > 0:43:49He decided to patent the company in 1894, and he patented it Veno's Drugs Company.
0:43:49 > 0:43:53He moved back to Manchester, and started a company in Chester Road, Manchester.
0:43:53 > 0:43:58- And here are all the products here. - They are the products, yes, yes. - But tell me about his life.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01When he moved back to Manchester,
0:44:01 > 0:44:08he carried on with the company, he built the company up, he became Mayor of Altrincham, um...
0:44:08 > 0:44:11And knighted, there's a letter from the Prime Minister.
0:44:11 > 0:44:14There's two letters there, one from Lloyd George, one from Percy Shaw,
0:44:14 > 0:44:18inviting him to Buckingham Palace to be knighted,
0:44:18 > 0:44:24and from thereon the war broke out, the First World War, which is the letter there.
0:44:24 > 0:44:28Yes, let me just read this letter because it's rather sad.
0:44:28 > 0:44:32"My dearest Mary, I arrived here last night and am returning to Manchester
0:44:32 > 0:44:37"tomorrow night and will be with you Friday evening, usual train.
0:44:37 > 0:44:41"Things are looking very black. England has declared war against Germany,"
0:44:41 > 0:44:47- that must be the First World War, "and everybody is upset and business is at a standstill".- Yes.
0:44:47 > 0:44:48Rather sad.
0:44:48 > 0:44:52And I believe after that he did have problems with a bottle making company
0:44:52 > 0:44:58- which made bottles too brittle and he had to pull them all back because of fear of people getting hurt.- Yes.
0:44:58 > 0:45:02So that was another thing that... Probably the demise of the company.
0:45:02 > 0:45:04And in 1925 he then sold the company to Beechams.
0:45:04 > 0:45:08But I mean surely, I mean he would have sold it for an awful lot of money?
0:45:08 > 0:45:11He would have been, he would have been a millionaire.
0:45:11 > 0:45:13- He was, he was. - He was a millionaire.
0:45:13 > 0:45:17- He was a millionaire.- And does any of these riches descend to you?
0:45:17 > 0:45:21Unfortunately not. Only the collection from the family.
0:45:21 > 0:45:27Well, individually these items don't add up to much but when you actually have a whole archive like this,
0:45:27 > 0:45:30and this is only the tip of the archive,
0:45:30 > 0:45:37I would say that it's going to be in excess of £1,000 and you're still collecting.
0:45:37 > 0:45:39I am, I am, yes, it's growing.
0:45:39 > 0:45:41That's tremendous, thanks.
0:45:41 > 0:45:42Thank you very much.
0:45:42 > 0:45:49Now this is what I call a dead swanky cocktail set.
0:45:49 > 0:45:51Wow this is really nice.
0:45:51 > 0:45:55It says 1938 all over it, and that's what it says
0:45:55 > 0:45:57on the silver cocktail shaker
0:45:57 > 0:46:02that forms the centre of this really nice thing.
0:46:02 > 0:46:06The glass is by Walsh, they're cut and engraved.
0:46:06 > 0:46:10The silver is by Boynton who is an extremely nobby silver maker,
0:46:10 > 0:46:13one of the best English silver makers of the period.
0:46:13 > 0:46:19The cocktail sticks are in solid mother of pearl, capped with solid silver cocks,
0:46:19 > 0:46:23and I love it, I think it's a hot thing. Where did you find it?
0:46:23 > 0:46:27Well, basically my dad was doing some work in the loft and he found this...
0:46:27 > 0:46:31Apparently the story goes that my great uncle Billy was an accountant
0:46:31 > 0:46:34and he was doing some accountancy work for somebody.
0:46:34 > 0:46:37Literally rather than getting paid in money, he was paid in lieu.
0:46:37 > 0:46:41Well, I mean, because it's such good quality and it's in very good condition,
0:46:41 > 0:46:45- there are people who would love to have this, cocktails are fashionable again.- Yes, sure.
0:46:45 > 0:46:48So I think for something that stands you in at nothing,
0:46:48 > 0:46:52the four hundred quid at auction that it's worth is quite nice,
0:46:52 > 0:46:56and if you wanted to buy it again then you're in to £500, £600.
0:46:56 > 0:46:57Right, cool.
0:46:57 > 0:47:02Once an antique becomes valuable,
0:47:02 > 0:47:05it becomes copyable.
0:47:05 > 0:47:12And Toby jugs became very, very collectable in the late 19th century.
0:47:12 > 0:47:14How old is this one, do you think?
0:47:15 > 0:47:20Well, I'm not sure. I was hoping it was very old, but...
0:47:20 > 0:47:22What's "very old"?
0:47:22 > 0:47:27- Well, 1785?- That's a very specific date.- Yeah.
0:47:27 > 0:47:29So have you done any research on it?
0:47:29 > 0:47:31I've done a little bit,
0:47:31 > 0:47:38I've tried the internet and I've seen pictures of very similar ones,
0:47:38 > 0:47:41associated with...
0:47:41 > 0:47:43- the Wood family. - The Wood family of Staffordshire?
0:47:43 > 0:47:48- Of Staffordshire, yeah. - Ralph Wood, Enoch Wood, a famous family of potters.
0:47:48 > 0:47:50- Yeah.- Well, those are just the sort of Toby jugs
0:47:50 > 0:47:55- that people were very keen to get their hands on in the late 19th century.- Yeah.
0:47:55 > 0:47:58When there was this great wave of china-mania and for that reason,
0:47:58 > 0:48:04the Staffordshire factories at that time started producing
0:48:04 > 0:48:08very good copies of things that then were 100 years old or so.
0:48:08 > 0:48:12The earliest one I saw that looked like this one was 1785.
0:48:12 > 0:48:17Right, but in view of what I've said about these being essentially copied in the late 19th century...
0:48:17 > 0:48:20- Yeah, yeah.- ..are you sure?
0:48:20 > 0:48:22Not now, no.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25Now, I'm going to look at it in detail.
0:48:25 > 0:48:29Let's look at this fellow, he's beautifully modelled face,
0:48:29 > 0:48:33he's got a wart on the cheek, he's got a gap in his teeth,
0:48:33 > 0:48:38he's holding a foaming jug and then he's sitting on this barrel.
0:48:38 > 0:48:44Let's just actually look at the shirt with those buttons and the creases,
0:48:44 > 0:48:49the creases in his britches, and then at his feet, a dog, a spaniel, I think.
0:48:49 > 0:48:53The colours are what we call onglaze colours,
0:48:53 > 0:49:00- these are metallic oxides that are put onto the piece and actually are sealed into the glaze.- Right.
0:49:00 > 0:49:04And you get this incredibly lustrous glaze.
0:49:04 > 0:49:09Very, very bright green with this lovely bunch of reeds forming the handle.
0:49:09 > 0:49:13And it's only when we actually look underneath,
0:49:13 > 0:49:15we can see the colour of the clay,
0:49:15 > 0:49:20it's a very white clay, the clay has come from materials quarried down in,
0:49:20 > 0:49:24in Cornwall and shipped all the way up to Staffordshire,
0:49:24 > 0:49:30and then it's covered in this glaze which has a bluey tinge to it, which we therefore call pearlware.
0:49:30 > 0:49:34In other words, there's a lot of work has gone into this,
0:49:34 > 0:49:38and that's the clue as to whether it's right or wrong.
0:49:38 > 0:49:40Which way are you inclining yourself?
0:49:42 > 0:49:44Er, I think he's right.
0:49:44 > 0:49:46You're right, he is right.
0:49:46 > 0:49:49He is known as the Lord Howe Sailor.
0:49:49 > 0:49:54Many of these Toby jugs take names from famous Admirals...
0:49:54 > 0:50:00there's a Rodney Sailor as well, but this is known as the Howe Sailor.
0:50:00 > 0:50:02And it does date exactly to the 1780s
0:50:02 > 0:50:05and it is almost certainly from the stable of Ralph Wood.
0:50:05 > 0:50:11Well, a 19th century copy would probably be worth
0:50:11 > 0:50:15somewhere in the region of £50.
0:50:15 > 0:50:20A 1785-1790 piece like this
0:50:20 > 0:50:23is worth £5,000.
0:50:23 > 0:50:255,000?
0:50:25 > 0:50:30Very good, must get him insured.
0:50:30 > 0:50:32I owe you a very big thank you.
0:50:32 > 0:50:35The Beatles played eight times here in Blackpool
0:50:35 > 0:50:38so I was expecting to see programmes, tickets, signatures all day.
0:50:38 > 0:50:40It's nearly the end of the day
0:50:40 > 0:50:44and you're my first person to come in with some Beatles memorabilia.
0:50:44 > 0:50:45Did you get these yourself?
0:50:45 > 0:50:49I did. I was a very young girl, I lived in Middlesex,
0:50:49 > 0:50:54my Dad was the PRO at Heathrow Airport and it was my hobby,
0:50:54 > 0:50:57I was mad on collecting autographs of famous people.
0:50:57 > 0:51:00- How old were you then? - About 12, it was early '60s,
0:51:00 > 0:51:03so that's given me age away but, er, yeah,
0:51:03 > 0:51:05I actually got these myself.
0:51:05 > 0:51:10So he worked in Heathrow and obviously had access to all the VIPs going backwards and forwards.
0:51:10 > 0:51:11He did, yeah, yes, yes.
0:51:11 > 0:51:16And he would go along and just ask for their autographs and say, "It's for my daughter"?
0:51:16 > 0:51:21- Well, for the Beatles he actually took me with him, he said, "Come on, you can..."- You met them?
0:51:21 > 0:51:23Yes, I sat on Paul McCartney's knee.
0:51:23 > 0:51:26- Wow!- I was very embarrassed. I had very sensible sandals on
0:51:26 > 0:51:30and I was trying to hide my feet, but it was, it was wonderful, it was wonderful.
0:51:33 > 0:51:37And apart from the Beatles, who else did he meet, or did you meet?
0:51:37 > 0:51:40The Rolling Stones, I got their autographs as well.
0:51:40 > 0:51:44- You said that they terrified you. - They did terrify me, yeah. They were very...
0:51:44 > 0:51:49heavy-looking, even then. Although when you look back on photographs they look quite sweet now,
0:51:49 > 0:51:51but at the time they looked quite heavy to me.
0:51:51 > 0:51:54And you kept these and then you stopped collecting...
0:51:54 > 0:51:58Well, there's loads in there, loads and loads and loads, Margot Fonteyn
0:51:58 > 0:52:04and Muhammad Ali and absolutely loads. But, yeah, for the last few years they've been in a drawer,
0:52:04 > 0:52:06won't tell you what drawer,
0:52:06 > 0:52:09- been in a drawer. - I can guess, I can guess.
0:52:09 > 0:52:11Yes, yes.
0:52:11 > 0:52:14And as far as value's concerned, the Beatles,
0:52:14 > 0:52:19the Rolling Stones with Brian Jones, Muhammad Ali, they go on and on and I start adding it all up.
0:52:19 > 0:52:21Barbara Streisand, Lisa Minnelli.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24There's about 80 in total in the books.
0:52:24 > 0:52:30- So, exceptional books. Have you thought about value? - No, no, we've never...
0:52:30 > 0:52:32Because today this represents,
0:52:32 > 0:52:36you know, an important autograph collection.
0:52:36 > 0:52:42They are worth in the region of £3,000 to £4,000 each album.
0:52:42 > 0:52:47- So we're talking about £6,000 to £8,000 for the collection.- Wow.
0:52:47 > 0:52:53- Wow! Ooh!- How many children are they going to be shared between? - Well, maybe I won't now!
0:52:53 > 0:52:56So a ballroom jewel in a ballroom,
0:52:56 > 0:53:00tell me about it, come on, where did you find it?
0:53:00 > 0:53:02At a car boot sale.
0:53:02 > 0:53:05- And? - And, with some other bits and bobs,
0:53:05 > 0:53:10so I gave about £5 for that with a few other little trinket things.
0:53:10 > 0:53:14Obviously I didn't know until a later time it was diamonds,
0:53:14 > 0:53:18but it's different, unusual, and things like that, I thought, you know...
0:53:18 > 0:53:22Why not? And so you were attracted to the way it returned the light,
0:53:22 > 0:53:24it sort of scintillated away there. Goodness me.
0:53:24 > 0:53:29It is the most remarkable thing and it's one of the most glamorous pieces of jewellery
0:53:29 > 0:53:31- I've seen for a long time, actually.- Really?
0:53:31 > 0:53:34Yeah, definitely. Because it's not a brooch at all.
0:53:34 > 0:53:35- It's not?- No.
0:53:35 > 0:53:39- I thought it was a brooch.- I thought it was a brooch for a while.
0:53:39 > 0:53:41- Oh, really? - But actually it's half a tiara.
0:53:41 > 0:53:44- Tiara?- Yes, and it would have sat opposite another wing
0:53:44 > 0:53:49of exactly the same form on the forehead of a girl, who would have come to a ballroom like this,
0:53:49 > 0:53:55dressed to the nines, dressed to the highest possible level that she could afford, wearing her diamonds
0:53:55 > 0:54:00and wearing that on the front of her forehead that turned her into a Greek goddess, frankly.
0:54:00 > 0:54:01Really? I'm amazed.
0:54:01 > 0:54:06Yeah, and, and I'm amazed too, because I love it and I think it's highly figurative.
0:54:06 > 0:54:12And I think the anatomy of the bird's wing is beautifully suggested by the undulation of the metalwork
0:54:12 > 0:54:16and it's set in silver and gold, which is perfect for the period.
0:54:16 > 0:54:22Every setting has been pierced out by hand from the gold sheet and you can see the engraver's mark.
0:54:22 > 0:54:24- Yeah.- And, and then he pierces it with a file
0:54:24 > 0:54:27and then builds up the settings beyond that
0:54:27 > 0:54:31to make what is one of the most poetic forms of jewellery I've ever seen.
0:54:31 > 0:54:34In a way we're slightly out of tune with it,
0:54:34 > 0:54:36because we do see it as a bird's wing,
0:54:36 > 0:54:39but it's not a bird's wing, it's the wings of a God.
0:54:39 > 0:54:42I mean, it's a sort of Hermes wing,
0:54:42 > 0:54:46it's an Amorini's wing and it stands for eternal love.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49And it does evoke a period long gone.
0:54:49 > 0:54:53It evokes a time when entertainments were hard to find,
0:54:53 > 0:55:00there was no television, no radio, no cinema, no telephone, no computer and what do you do?
0:55:00 > 0:55:02You go out to what was called an entertainment.
0:55:02 > 0:55:05You'd have an invitation, a very smart invitation
0:55:05 > 0:55:11lined with gold, and it would say somebody would receive you for a dance, even a small dance, sometimes,
0:55:11 > 0:55:15which would be a clue to you as to how to dress, but whatever happened,
0:55:15 > 0:55:18you were dressed to the highest possible pitch that you could afford,
0:55:18 > 0:55:22and the highest that this woman could afford was quite high indeed,
0:55:22 > 0:55:26because as you now know, they are diamonds, and they're not marcasites, are they?
0:55:26 > 0:55:30And we have to understand what the other parts of her arrangements would have been,
0:55:30 > 0:55:32if she was wearing diamond feathers in her hair,
0:55:32 > 0:55:36what her dress would have been like, what her carriage would have been like.
0:55:36 > 0:55:40It could have been in this ballroom, it is of the same period as this ballroom.
0:55:40 > 0:55:45- Really?- It dates from about 1900 and she's dressing as a Greek goddess.
0:55:45 > 0:55:49Heaven only knows, I don't think one could find a more exciting thing.
0:55:49 > 0:55:50What do you feel about all of that?
0:55:50 > 0:55:53Speechless.
0:55:53 > 0:55:55Good.
0:55:55 > 0:55:58Marvellous, I almost am. I've sort of run out now, I've hit home.
0:55:58 > 0:56:00I think it's fantastic...
0:56:00 > 0:56:02I'm like, "How does he do this?"
0:56:02 > 0:56:09Well, I've seen them before and they were made by the greatest jewellers, by Boucheron and Cartier, Guiliano...
0:56:09 > 0:56:13superb names involved themselves in this style and it's not a unique thing.
0:56:13 > 0:56:16What we do slightly ache to see is the other brooch,
0:56:16 > 0:56:18maybe it will come forward somehow or another.
0:56:18 > 0:56:22But they do exist in pairs, they were mounted on a tiara frame
0:56:22 > 0:56:24and they could be taken on and off and worn as brooches
0:56:24 > 0:56:28and they're very desirable and they're still very poetic.
0:56:28 > 0:56:34And with, with all of that comes some high value, so £5 investment from you...
0:56:34 > 0:56:40If it were a tiara with both wings it would return £12,000 to £15,000.
0:56:40 > 0:56:42Oh, my God. Are you serious?
0:56:42 > 0:56:46Oh, my God, oh, I nearly screamed then, I'm not going to scream.
0:56:46 > 0:56:49Why wouldn't you scream?
0:56:49 > 0:56:51Oh, my God! Really?
0:56:51 > 0:56:54And half of it is worth less than half,
0:56:54 > 0:56:59but it's still worth £5,000 or £6,000 of anybody's money.
0:56:59 > 0:57:00Oh, my God,
0:57:00 > 0:57:04I can't... I'm so giddy!
0:57:04 > 0:57:06- Fantastic.- Oh, that is amazing.
0:57:06 > 0:57:09No, I'm thrilled, I love it.
0:57:09 > 0:57:15In this splendid ballroom it's easy to imagine the dances that have taken place here,
0:57:15 > 0:57:19the bands that have played on this stage and of course the organists,
0:57:19 > 0:57:24I mentioned Reginald Dixon earlier on and this organ, he designed it himself and played on it.
0:57:24 > 0:57:27And Phil, our organist for the day, is going to play us out
0:57:27 > 0:57:30with a little number you might just recognise. But first,
0:57:30 > 0:57:36thank you to the people of Blackpool for bringing along such a wonderful array and variety of objects.
0:57:36 > 0:57:38And Phil, now, over to you, would you kindly take it away.
0:57:38 > 0:57:41MUSIC: Antiques Roadshow Theme
0:58:28 > 0:58:31Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
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