0:00:02 > 0:00:05The inspiration for Britain's most famous seaside landmark
0:00:05 > 0:00:08came from the Great Paris Exhibition of 1889 when the Mayor of Blackpool
0:00:08 > 0:00:11decided that Mr Eiffel had had really rather a good idea.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15So welcome to a second helping of the Roadshow from Blackpool Tower.
0:00:51 > 0:00:532,500 tonnes
0:00:53 > 0:00:58of steel, five million bricks and a cost in today's money
0:00:58 > 0:01:00of £21 million.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04That's what it took to build the Blackpool Tower, back in 1894.
0:01:09 > 0:01:14It was considered to be the greatest single piece of British engineering of the time.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17And just in case of disaster, the Manchester architects
0:01:17 > 0:01:22of Tuke and Maxwell designed it to topple into the Irish Sea.
0:01:22 > 0:01:23It does get windy!
0:01:26 > 0:01:30The plan was to build towers as tourist attractions
0:01:30 > 0:01:34up and down the country. It failed in places like Morecambe and the Isle of Man,
0:01:34 > 0:01:38making Blackpool Tower all the more desirable.
0:01:38 > 0:01:43When the public were first admitted to this Victorian entertainment complex, the riff-raff
0:01:43 > 0:01:44were kept at bay by a small
0:01:44 > 0:01:48but significant charge of sixpence for the privilege.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52And what was on offer beside a trip up the tower?
0:01:52 > 0:01:59Tea dances to tunes from the mighty Wurlitzer organ, but there were rules.
0:01:59 > 0:02:04"Gentlemen may not dance unless with a lady." "Disorderly conduct means immediate expulsion."
0:02:04 > 0:02:08and "On Sundays, please remain seated, as no dancing allowed."
0:02:08 > 0:02:13Our palatial venue for the day hosted many a fine tea dance and artiste,
0:02:13 > 0:02:18so today we're hoping for a few more neat steps and performances from our specialists.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21Let's see what they have to offer.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24- Have you said your prayers?- Sorry? - Have you said your prayers?
0:02:24 > 0:02:26Why, what do you mean?
0:02:26 > 0:02:30- Because you've brought a prayer machine.- I have? Oh, right, OK. - This is for saying prayers.
0:02:30 > 0:02:37- Right.- It's an incense burner, and you'll find that throughout the world, all religious communities
0:02:37 > 0:02:45at some stage burn incense and the incense goes up to heaven, and that's the idea of this thing.
0:02:45 > 0:02:51- Right, OK.- It's called a koro, which is the Japanese term for an incense burner, so that clarifies
0:02:51 > 0:02:54where it's from, but how did it get from Japan to here?
0:02:54 > 0:02:58My nan had a friend that worked out in Malaysia, was a banker out there,
0:02:58 > 0:03:04and he gave her this piece as a present and I think it was probably about the 1950s.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08When I was growing up she used to keep it in the hall with the dusters in it.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10Were they Buddhists?
0:03:10 > 0:03:13- No, no, I don't think so. - So it's never been used...
0:03:13 > 0:03:16- I don't think so.- ..in your time.
0:03:16 > 0:03:17No, not as far as I know, no.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21Well, you take the lid off... And it's a pretty chunky old lid.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24Let's just move that off. My goodness, it's heavy!
0:03:24 > 0:03:27..and you put the incense inside here and it's an offering,
0:03:27 > 0:03:33but by putting this on, the incense has to escape
0:03:33 > 0:03:36through the vent holes here.
0:03:36 > 0:03:37The vent is cast
0:03:37 > 0:03:42with this extraordinary frieze. Now, to Western eyes they look like swastikas, well they are swastikas,
0:03:42 > 0:03:44they're Buddhistic swastikas.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48The swastika in Oriental art means "the heart of Buddha"
0:03:48 > 0:03:55so, by allowing your prayers to waft through this symbol, you're getting into the heart of Buddha.
0:03:55 > 0:04:00And on top, he's called the karashishi and he is a guardian,
0:04:00 > 0:04:04Buddhistic guardian, dog and you can see he's looking quite friendly.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08He's playing with this lovely brocade ball which spins around.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12But it's a wonderful piece of workmanship and it would be easy
0:04:12 > 0:04:15to overlook something that is really quite subtle.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19This bronze, smooth bronze, actually contains this beautiful design,
0:04:19 > 0:04:23and then in the centre here, do you know what that is?
0:04:23 > 0:04:24No idea, no.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27Well, it's a badge, we would call it a crest,
0:04:27 > 0:04:29it's armorial, it is actually the crest
0:04:29 > 0:04:34of the Tokugawa clan, so the ruling clan of the 19th century.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38This piece was made probably at about the same time as this ballroom.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41Japanese works of art were finding their way into Europe
0:04:41 > 0:04:47in huge quantities at that time. There was an enormous interest in Europe in things Japanese.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51If you look up at the ceiling, you'll see one Japanese character. I spotted him before,
0:04:51 > 0:04:58he's come straight out of The Mikado, but there was this interest in Japanese works of art
0:04:58 > 0:05:00which brought these things to Europe. I guess this was made
0:05:00 > 0:05:05almost certainly in Kyoto where I've seen them, even to this day,
0:05:05 > 0:05:09- they do this inlay work.- By hand? - By hand, tapping in, so it's a jolly nice object.
0:05:09 > 0:05:16So back to saying prayers, how much do you think it might fetch?
0:05:16 > 0:05:20- I've got no idea, no idea. - It's very difficult to say actually
0:05:20 > 0:05:23because this market goes up and down, up and down
0:05:23 > 0:05:27and with financial uncertainty and Japan being in quite a bad state,
0:05:27 > 0:05:31I reckon that today this is probably worth somewhere in the region
0:05:31 > 0:05:35- of let's say between £3,000 and £4,000.- Really?
0:05:35 > 0:05:38Oh, I'll get that holiday booked!
0:05:38 > 0:05:41So get out the joss sticks.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45That's fantastic, thank you very much.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51I can't tell you a lot about them. They actually belonged to my mother-in-law.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55When I first looked at them, I didn't even realise they were mosaics.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59So it was only because somebody had a magnifying glass that we realised
0:05:59 > 0:06:01they were the mosaics that she kept referring to.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05One or two are quite pretty but I have to say
0:06:05 > 0:06:08- that this one in particular... - You hate it?
0:06:08 > 0:06:11- ..I really don't like it at all. - You would never wear it?
0:06:11 > 0:06:15- No, absolutely not.- No, what exactly do you dislike about it?
0:06:15 > 0:06:18- It's so glittery.- It is glittery, isn't it?- And shiny and sparkly
0:06:18 > 0:06:22- and I don't really like sparkly.- No. It is very sparkly.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26It's sparkly because there are little copper filings
0:06:26 > 0:06:27imprisoned in a glass background.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31They've come a long way to your mother-in-law, in the main from Italy.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35They're the grandest tourist objects you could think of - they're souvenirs.
0:06:35 > 0:06:36If you came to Blackpool
0:06:36 > 0:06:39you might take away a paste brooch with a tower on it,
0:06:39 > 0:06:44- if you went to Rome or Florence, you'd come back with a micro mosaic. - Right.
0:06:44 > 0:06:49Everywhere you went, you'd be shown miraculous mosaics in the ceilings of Santa Maria Maggiore
0:06:49 > 0:06:55in Rome or perhaps in Pompeii, and you wanted a little bit to bring back to smoky, smoggy old London.
0:06:55 > 0:07:00As a souvenir, a very grand souvenir, mounted often in gold.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02The miracle of these is that they're not made of stone,
0:07:02 > 0:07:07but of glass, and glass is an extraordinary material, you can...
0:07:07 > 0:07:12when it's viscous you can stretch it and stretch it, rather like toffee and then snap it,
0:07:12 > 0:07:14and make tiny little tesserae,
0:07:14 > 0:07:20which are a reference to hard stone mosaics but actually in this case, they're made of glass.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22It may have helped to achieve this dazzling effect
0:07:22 > 0:07:26because they could choose the colours, get the grading of the size
0:07:26 > 0:07:29correct for the subject matter,
0:07:29 > 0:07:31but they could also heat the tiny tesserae
0:07:31 > 0:07:36in a furnace and to sort of... viscosity I think is the right word. Good word, isn't it,
0:07:36 > 0:07:40viscosity? And then they fuse together. When they cool,
0:07:40 > 0:07:44they grip one another with an atomic bond within the glass.
0:07:44 > 0:07:49And so they're pretty durable. Here are some sort of bucolic scenes, aren't there?
0:07:49 > 0:07:51There's a goat herd who's stopped,
0:07:51 > 0:07:54perhaps sleeping out under the moon or something like that,
0:07:54 > 0:07:58with his dog, and every nuance of his jacket is represented
0:07:58 > 0:08:02with a different colour of tiny, tiny glass tesserae.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06Those are the doves of Pliny from Hadrian's villa,
0:08:06 > 0:08:09probably sold to somebody who had just seen them...
0:08:09 > 0:08:14a Roman mosaic in a wall in a town covered with dust from Vesuvius
0:08:14 > 0:08:17and then revived again. Terribly exciting stuff,
0:08:17 > 0:08:18still is actually...
0:08:18 > 0:08:22And some are of gold and very sophisticated at the back.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26But anyway, ballpark figures, goodness, doves of Pliny...
0:08:26 > 0:08:30maybe £200, £300, £400. Perhaps a more fully-blown one £600 to £800,
0:08:30 > 0:08:37and an enormous one of gold with granulation making a reference to ancient techniques...?
0:08:37 > 0:08:39Well, if somebody wants it...
0:08:39 > 0:08:42and that's really the essence of it, isn't it? Do they these days?
0:08:42 > 0:08:45I think so because of their quality, perhaps not to wear,
0:08:45 > 0:08:49but for collectability, maybe £1,200.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53Without a mount maybe again only £400 to £600. But I love them.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56I think they're a great statement of the past.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58- Thanks for bringing them.- Thank you.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01Do you know I'm sure, initially as soon as people see this
0:09:01 > 0:09:05on screen, they'll think, "Oh, that's a nice telescope."
0:09:05 > 0:09:07And, of course, it's not a telescope, is it?
0:09:07 > 0:09:11No, I've always had a passing interest in cameras and, of course,
0:09:11 > 0:09:18being a Blackpool boy, I'm interested in anything that's made in Blackpool and a camera dealer approached me
0:09:18 > 0:09:23about 15 years ago and said he'd found a camera made in Blackpool and was I interested?
0:09:23 > 0:09:25- And this is that camera.- Yeah.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28It's a wonderful little item, everything we need to know
0:09:28 > 0:09:31about it is essentially written on a front plate.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34It's made by the British Ferrotype Company.
0:09:34 > 0:09:40- Now I know that it was made between around about 1905 and up to about 1915.- Right.- We've got a number
0:09:40 > 0:09:44of over 2,000 on here but I'm not sure exactly how many were made.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47- I have to say, they don't turn up very, very often.- Yes, yes.
0:09:47 > 0:09:54What we've got is something that takes a magazine of what we call ferrotype plates.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57- Yes.- You know what a ferrotype plate is, I'm sure.- Yes.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01- It's a small metal disc with light-sensitive emulsion on it.- Yes.
0:10:01 > 0:10:07That is inserted via the back section here, into a spring-loaded magazine.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09We can then start to operate the camera.
0:10:09 > 0:10:17We can have our subject in front here, we can essentially line them up through a very simple gun sight
0:10:17 > 0:10:22on top there that you just look through and the person goes in front here and that's it.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26Once you've lined them up, we use a vacuum-operated shutter,
0:10:26 > 0:10:29which you haven't got here, a bulb shutter.
0:10:29 > 0:10:36We take the photograph and as soon as it's taken, we basically push this.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40- Which has jammed. - Which has jammed, unfortunately.
0:10:40 > 0:10:45The ferrotype plate drops down into the developing reservoirs
0:10:45 > 0:10:52- in the bottom here, and within a minute, within a minute, we have a finished product.- Amazing.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54Amazing, absolutely amazing.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57Now, here's a finished product.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00This is a tiny little ferrotype plate,
0:11:00 > 0:11:06portrait of a young boy that may even have been taken on Blackpool sea front.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08- Yes, yes.- Circa 1905-1910.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12Now, of course, you paid for the little ferrotype plates
0:11:12 > 0:11:15and, I suspect, given your little advertising case here,
0:11:15 > 0:11:18you've got to pick the style of the little frame
0:11:18 > 0:11:22that you can put it in, because I see that we've got a selection there
0:11:22 > 0:11:24with some painted enamelled flags.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26- Yes.- And different gilt borders.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30Around the time of the First World War, the young man
0:11:30 > 0:11:35would have had his photograph taken and his wife or his girlfriend
0:11:35 > 0:11:40would put it in a brooch and she would wear it with pride whilst he was away at the war.
0:11:40 > 0:11:41What a lovely story...
0:11:41 > 0:11:44In essence, that is a sweetheart brooch.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48- That's right.- A form of sweetheart brooch, and very poignant.
0:11:48 > 0:11:53These don't come up for sale often, they're not something that turns up that frequently,
0:11:53 > 0:11:57so putting a value on it is difficult, but I think the current auction value is going to be
0:11:57 > 0:11:59around about £700 to £1,000.
0:11:59 > 0:12:04Well, yes, I paid about two hundred quid for it.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07Well, I think you did all right, 15 years ago, didn't you?
0:12:07 > 0:12:12It's a wonderful object and again, it epitomises Blackpool in many ways.
0:12:12 > 0:12:17- When I first saw this, I thought it looked Dutch.- Yeah.
0:12:17 > 0:12:22So I was a bit surprised when, on the top of the drawers here I found
0:12:22 > 0:12:26"Lancaster", absolutely local, and then on this side
0:12:26 > 0:12:28- it says "Gillows".- Yes.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30So it's a very, very locally made piece.
0:12:30 > 0:12:31It is, yes.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34So this is something that you have bought, or inherited?
0:12:34 > 0:12:38Yes, yes. I bought it, 40 or 50 years ago.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40And where did you get it from?
0:12:40 > 0:12:42Harrogate.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44Antique fair in Harrogate.
0:12:44 > 0:12:45Right, and so why did you buy it?
0:12:45 > 0:12:47Because I liked it.
0:12:47 > 0:12:52That's a good answer. Well, what was it you liked about it?
0:12:52 > 0:12:59It was Gillow, and Gillow to me was one of the best northern furniture makers
0:12:59 > 0:13:03we had, without any doubt, he and his brother.
0:13:03 > 0:13:08And the name of Gillows, these days, will really add value
0:13:08 > 0:13:09- to a piece of furniture.- Yeah.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12This is very handsome, it's a demi-lune shape,
0:13:12 > 0:13:14wonderful mahogany, a good colour
0:13:14 > 0:13:17and very smart with these box wood stringing.
0:13:17 > 0:13:23- Yes, stringing, yes.- And I would say this dates to around 1800, about that sort of time.- Yes.
0:13:23 > 0:13:28And Gillows only started to stamp their furniture right at the end of the century so this...
0:13:28 > 0:13:32- perhaps relatively early piece of stamped Gillows furniture. - Yes. Yeah.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36I do have to wonder about these handles which don't seem to me
0:13:36 > 0:13:41- absolutely characteristic of Gillows.- Yes.- Perhaps you can... What do you think about the handles?
0:13:41 > 0:13:44- Yes, I think the same. - You think the same?- Yes.
0:13:44 > 0:13:48But there's also something on the inside which I'm not quite sure about, do you know what
0:13:48 > 0:13:55- happened there or...?- No, I don't. - No? It's curious, I wonder if perhaps there was a...
0:13:55 > 0:14:00- Maybe something spilt.- Something spilt probably, a little bit of repair in there.- Yes.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02But I think it's interesting to see the inside
0:14:02 > 0:14:05because it's two very simple shelves.
0:14:05 > 0:14:07- The top shelf lovely polished mahogany.- Yes, yes.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10The bottom shelf really quite crude.
0:14:10 > 0:14:12Yes, true.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16And a smart piece of furniture which is in fact a bedside piece.
0:14:16 > 0:14:23- Yes.- And I like to think of this as the sort of en suite bathroom of the day.- Yes.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27So that at night, when you couldn't go into the bathroom
0:14:27 > 0:14:30- or you had to trot down the corridor...- That's right. - ..in the freezing cold,
0:14:30 > 0:14:34- you had your potty in the bottom there.- It's a potty cupboard, really, isn't it?
0:14:34 > 0:14:37- It's a potty cupboard, it's a lavatory.- Yes, yes.
0:14:37 > 0:14:44And I think a very, very handsome lavatory and a Gillows lavatory makes it even more worthwhile.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48Now I dread to think what you paid for it 40 years ago.
0:14:48 > 0:14:54- Well, I think about £600. - So it was quite a lot of money then? - Yes, it was, yes.
0:14:54 > 0:15:00I think if you were to sell it now, you would be looking at around £2,000 to £2,500,
0:15:00 > 0:15:04so it's gone up since you bought it,
0:15:04 > 0:15:08but if one looks at inflation and all that kind of thing, it may not have gone up hugely.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10- Yes, yes, no it hasn't, no, no. - But I hope...
0:15:10 > 0:15:14- do you have this by your bedside? - Yes, by my bedside.- Dare I ask?
0:15:14 > 0:15:17- Do you have a...?- No. No I haven't.
0:15:18 > 0:15:22I love seeing pictures by artists I've never come across before.
0:15:22 > 0:15:27- I see this is signed Bannerman down the bottom here.- Yes. - Do you know who he is?
0:15:27 > 0:15:34Yes, I do. He is now dead but I knew him about 30 years ago, and we bought this in the 19...
0:15:34 > 0:15:40in the mid 1970s. He lived in Cromarty in Scotland.
0:15:40 > 0:15:47What I do know, I have one listing for him, living in Aberdeen in 1933 and exhibiting one picture,
0:15:47 > 0:15:52and I also know that he studied in Paris and I think that's what a lot of the artists did in the,
0:15:52 > 0:15:55you know, 20th century, went to Paris because of the Impressionists
0:15:55 > 0:15:58and all the studios where they could study and come back.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02- Do you know where this was painted? - Yes, I believe it was painted
0:16:02 > 0:16:06in about 1950 in the wardrobe of Sadlers Wells Theatre in London,
0:16:06 > 0:16:11because Mr Bannerman, Charles Bannerman, lived in Islington at that time.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15It looks '50's and there are little things in here like the light,
0:16:15 > 0:16:18and they've put material over the top to direct light down here
0:16:18 > 0:16:23so they're not going to strain their eyes sewing on all the sequins. It's a wonderful scene.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25But what I find interesting
0:16:25 > 0:16:28is that I've never come across his work, which makes me think
0:16:28 > 0:16:30he was a teacher, or an illustrator, or did commercial work.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33Do you know how he did make his living full time?
0:16:33 > 0:16:39Well, I believe he was a graphic artist and I believe he designed the original for Rice Krispies.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41What, "Snap, Crackle and Pop"?
0:16:41 > 0:16:43Yes, so I believe.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47Well that's fantastic. Well, we have to put a value on this
0:16:47 > 0:16:50and I think you know really, looking at it... I said he's an artist
0:16:50 > 0:16:54that's really never come up for sale before, but that doesn't matter
0:16:54 > 0:16:59and that's what I love about this business, because you look at it, so what, the quality's there
0:16:59 > 0:17:04and I think it's good enough to make somewhere in the region of £800 to £1,000.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07- That's interesting.- Good.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11My Scottish geography probably isn't brilliant, but Kilmarnock I think
0:17:11 > 0:17:15- is sort of southwest of Glasgow, is that right?- It is indeed, yes.
0:17:15 > 0:17:19- Sounds like you're from that part of the world.- I am originally from there.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22So does that mean you've known this clock a long time?
0:17:22 > 0:17:30I have known it all my life, I have, because it was my father's wedding present to my mother in 1939
0:17:30 > 0:17:34and I was born in 1941 and grew up with this clock.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36My father was very musical.
0:17:36 > 0:17:42He had a lovely, lovely singing voice and he was very keen that I should learn to play the piano,
0:17:42 > 0:17:46and he insisted I practise half an hour every night
0:17:46 > 0:17:50from six o'clock till half past, and I used to practise the piano
0:17:50 > 0:17:54with one eye on the clock and one eye on the music, practising...
0:17:54 > 0:17:58As soon as it was at half past six, the lid went down on the piano and I said, "That's it!"
0:17:58 > 0:18:02- This thing literally watched over you the whole time. - Yeah, it did. It did.
0:18:02 > 0:18:07And does it bring any other memories back, other than those of it watching over you?
0:18:07 > 0:18:10Well, my mother was... she had hidey holes all over the house
0:18:10 > 0:18:15for money and one of her hidey holes was inside the clock.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18- Down in here?- Inside, yes.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20- Incredible.- Have a look.
0:18:20 > 0:18:24I'll tell you something, I bet there's a good few people out there
0:18:24 > 0:18:28- who'd rather have had their money in the bottom of this than in offshore banking!- I would think so.
0:18:28 > 0:18:34So let's talk briefly about the Scottish clock-making industry.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37I actually prefer the items from the east coast -
0:18:37 > 0:18:42from Aberdeen, Montrose, Arbroath down to Edinburgh and Leith.
0:18:42 > 0:18:50They tend to be very elegant clocks, long slender trunk doors to make them look really very handsome.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54We come over to the west coast and they're a little big chunkier and this is...
0:18:54 > 0:19:01- although you've got this lovely tapered case, it's quite a chunky clock, isn't it?- It is. Yes, it is.
0:19:01 > 0:19:06- What sort of date? Had you, had you thought about a date for it?- Well, my father bought it in 1939
0:19:06 > 0:19:11- but I think it's a little bit older than that.- Oh, it is indeed, I think we could say 1850 give or take
0:19:11 > 0:19:13- a few years in all honesty.- Right.
0:19:13 > 0:19:19Quite austere, the plain, circular white-painted dial in this drum-head case.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23As I say, the tapering's good, but we've got very heavy mouldings
0:19:23 > 0:19:29- and a fairly heavy plinth, so very, very different from the east coast clocks.- Yes.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33Clocks lower down the range, mid range and lower,
0:19:33 > 0:19:37has actually not done terribly well over the last year and a bit.
0:19:37 > 0:19:42I hope you're not going to be too disappointed when I tell that if it went to auction, it wouldn't more
0:19:42 > 0:19:45- than about £2,500.- No, I'm very pleasantly surprised.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48I really didn't think it would be as much as that.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51The main thing is, you've got all those memories.
0:19:51 > 0:19:53- Yes.- And it still works.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56- It does.- Just keep living with it and loving it.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59Yes, I do. I love it, I do.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01- Thank you very much.- Thank you.
0:20:01 > 0:20:08You know I've never come across a miniature illuminated manuscript before.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10And this is what this is.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12It is absolutely fantastic.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15It's late 17th, early 18th century,
0:20:15 > 0:20:18and it's red leather
0:20:18 > 0:20:21and it's got little acorns here in the corner
0:20:21 > 0:20:25and these wonderful little flowers and garlands, too.
0:20:25 > 0:20:27It is absolutely delightful.
0:20:27 > 0:20:32And inside, inter folia fructus est, there is the most wonderful
0:20:33 > 0:20:34Lord's Prayer
0:20:34 > 0:20:36illuminated with a coat of arms.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39Now do you know anything about this coat of arms?
0:20:39 > 0:20:43Well, I found out that the motto at the bottom -
0:20:43 > 0:20:44"Foy Pour Debvoir"
0:20:44 > 0:20:48- is apparently the motto of the Duke of Somerset.- Yes.
0:20:48 > 0:20:54And, also, I believe it may be related to the Seymour family, part of the coat of arms appears to be...
0:20:54 > 0:20:57- This is Jane Seymour? - Part of it, I believe.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01Yes, it's lovely. And look at this wonderful... It's all...
0:21:01 > 0:21:06- it's all on vellum.- Yes.- Which is a skin of course, and it looks
0:21:06 > 0:21:08absolutely fantastic.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10And if I turn the page, it changes again,
0:21:10 > 0:21:12but what this page, I think,
0:21:12 > 0:21:14shows better than possibly the page in gilt
0:21:14 > 0:21:20is - "Heavenly Father Immortall God" -
0:21:20 > 0:21:23- how tiny the handwriting is. - It is very, very tiny.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25- It's absolutely amazing. - Wonderful, yes.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28And there are a whole 70 pages of this.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31It is just absolutely incredible.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34Now tell me about it, where did it come from?
0:21:34 > 0:21:39- Well, it's been in the family for a few years now.- Yes.- It belonged to an elderly relation of my wife's
0:21:39 > 0:21:42who died about eight or nine years ago, and her father
0:21:42 > 0:21:46was one Canon Mackintosh, who was for some time vicar of Oldham
0:21:46 > 0:21:49- we believe in the 1920s and 1930s. - Yes.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53We can only assume that somehow he had it in his possession...
0:21:53 > 0:21:57- And here he is.- ..and it came down through the family.- Yes. I wonder where he got it from?- I wish I knew,
0:21:57 > 0:22:00- I do.- Because it's much older than he is, obviously.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03- Oh, yes, it is indeed.- But I mean it really is quite incredible.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06- Now what about value? - Yeah, well, I wouldn't have a clue.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09And you're going to say to me, "How would you know how much
0:22:09 > 0:22:13- "its value is as you've never seen one before."- That's a good point.
0:22:13 > 0:22:15- I'm going to guess, that's what I'll do.- Yes, yes.
0:22:15 > 0:22:20I wouldn't be surprised, if I went to a book fair or something like that,
0:22:20 > 0:22:25I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't marked £2,500.
0:22:25 > 0:22:26Goodness me.
0:22:26 > 0:22:33Shazzam! Kapow! Those are the words that you normally associate with Batman, and here he is.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35Now I have to ask you, is he yours?
0:22:35 > 0:22:39- It's my husband's.- Right, OK, and was your husband a Batman fan?
0:22:39 > 0:22:43I don't think he was. I think that's why he's in such decent condition.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46You're absolutely right, he really can't have been a great Batman fan.
0:22:46 > 0:22:51He is in just such superb condition. He's made out of lithographed tin plate, as you probably know.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55Um, with a celluloid plastic head, but even his cape,
0:22:55 > 0:22:58on the back, which normally gets really very badly damaged over time,
0:22:58 > 0:23:03- is normally worn, so no, clearly not a Batman fan.- No, probably not.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05- He was made by a company called Nomura...- Right.
0:23:05 > 0:23:12- ..in Japan. They released him in 1966 to coincide with the fantastic TV series...- Right.
0:23:12 > 0:23:17..which I think is one of the campest things to air on TV. I used to love watching those repeated.
0:23:17 > 0:23:23- Um, he's battery powered and he walks and, as you probably know, his head lights up.- Yeah.
0:23:23 > 0:23:30You have the box as well which is a really desirable feature. Box and model in mint condition like this...
0:23:30 > 0:23:34He's a little bit worn at the top there, from probably sitting in his box but his condition is fantastic.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37- Mm, yeah, mm.- Prices vary widely.
0:23:37 > 0:23:401997 one sold at auction for £300.
0:23:40 > 0:23:46- In America, they go up and down and fluctuate but they've sold for as much as 5,000.- Oh, gosh, right.
0:23:46 > 0:23:51I'm going to be a little bit more cautious than that, and say I think he's worth about £1,500 to £2,000.
0:23:51 > 0:23:58Golly gosh! I'm absolutely stunned, that was his 7th birthday present.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02This looks exactly the type of box that I would expect to find a nice bit of antique silver in.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06You can imagine my surprise when I opened it and found a farmyard scene.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09Er, do you use this?
0:24:09 > 0:24:11Not recently. We have used it.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14- And what do you use it for? - It's salt, pepper and mustard.
0:24:14 > 0:24:16And any particular occasion you might get it out for?
0:24:16 > 0:24:18- Christmas.- Quails' eggs?
0:24:18 > 0:24:21Not done that yet, but that's a good idea, we might do that one.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24I was trying to work out what kind of birds they were. These are,
0:24:24 > 0:24:30- I've seen before, the little chicks, I think are hens, normal farmyard hens.- Right.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34Your mustard pot, on the other hand, appears to me to be
0:24:34 > 0:24:36a quail or perhaps a partridge.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39I'm no ornithologist but I... It's certainly not a hen
0:24:39 > 0:24:43- and it looks like it might be quite good to eat.- Yes.
0:24:43 > 0:24:48You obviously know that that's a mustard pot, inside there you've got a little spoon,
0:24:48 > 0:24:53a glass liner - which holds the mustard - which is probably the one that's been with it all its life.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55- That is the original. - That's the original one?
0:24:55 > 0:25:00And inside the whole of the body it's been gilded,
0:25:00 > 0:25:04- so that if any mustard should get stuck down the side, it won't do the silver harm.- Oh, right.
0:25:04 > 0:25:10It won't corrode the silver, because mustard's ferociously evil with silver, it eats it away.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13This is all made by the same man.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15The quail
0:25:15 > 0:25:19is in fact marked on the base for London 1897,
0:25:19 > 0:25:21and the maker's Sampson Mordan.
0:25:21 > 0:25:27- He was probably the best of what we call the novelty silver makers... - Oh, right.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31..making animal forms in little snuff boxes and vesta cases,
0:25:31 > 0:25:34though I've never seen this mustard pot before.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36It's a very scarce model.
0:25:36 > 0:25:43The pepper pots and salt shakers in the form of chicks are not uncommon, this is very uncommon.
0:25:43 > 0:25:48I suspect that this was a set that was put together with which to eat quails' eggs.
0:25:48 > 0:25:53The interesting thing about this that you might want to know is that because it's so unusual
0:25:53 > 0:25:58and because there are collectors for mustard pots who would give their right arm for this quail,
0:25:58 > 0:26:01if we can call it a quail, I think the whole set together
0:26:01 > 0:26:08if you went into a retail shop and tried to buy it, would cost you somewhere in the order of £4,500.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10Wow! That's a lot of money.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15Er, yes, mm. That is astonishing.
0:26:15 > 0:26:20Paul, you've been busy looking at other people's items today and giving valuations.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23It's very unusual, you've brought along something of your own.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27- Tell me about it.- I grew up in the 1950s with "Watch With Mother"
0:26:27 > 0:26:31- and of course this is Teddy from "Andy Pandy".- This is Teddy from "Andy Pandy"!
0:26:31 > 0:26:33I used to watch "Andy Pandy".
0:26:33 > 0:26:36- So how did you come to own Ted? - How do I come to have Teddy?
0:26:36 > 0:26:44My mother was a puppeteer who worked for the BBC in the 1950s for the "Watch With Mother" series.
0:26:44 > 0:26:50She did "Andy Pandy", she did "Bill and Ben the Flowerpot Men", "Wooden Tops". That was her life.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53It was also of course my early life, because it started in 1950
0:26:53 > 0:26:58when I was five and there's always been this story that I was the model for Andy Pandy.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02Was there? You've brought some photographs here. Let's have a look. So this...?
0:27:02 > 0:27:05That's the group. I mean that's the famous characters.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07- So, Andy Pandy, Bill and Ben.- Yes.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09Weed, Looby Loo.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12- Loo and of course Teddy.- And Teddy! - And here he is.
0:27:12 > 0:27:17- There was more than one of each puppet for all sorts of purposes. - So Teddy had stunt doubles, did he?
0:27:17 > 0:27:21Or maybe he is the stunt double. The point is all the others
0:27:21 > 0:27:27from that sequence are in museums, this is the only one that ever escaped,
0:27:27 > 0:27:28but it was given to my mother,
0:27:28 > 0:27:32when the programme ended, by the producer.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34- And this is your mother here? - This is my mother here operating.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37Now, in fact she always operated Andy Pandy.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40Her friend, who isn't in the picture,
0:27:40 > 0:27:42Molly Gibson, operated Teddy...
0:27:42 > 0:27:47I think it was a spare Teddy or a Teddy that wasn't going anywhere else that came to her.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49It must have been so exciting for you at five.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52It was very exciting because it was television which was so new,
0:27:52 > 0:27:55and sometimes I went to Alexandra Palace with her.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59It was filmed live in those days, so it was happening in front of you,
0:27:59 > 0:28:02and it was just part of my life, you know the way these things are.
0:28:02 > 0:28:04And can you...? Can you work him?
0:28:04 > 0:28:11I'm not the world's greatest puppeteer, I have to say, but, you know, he-he-he he does walk.
0:28:11 > 0:28:16Oh, he's so sweet. He had a very special way of saying goodbye at the end of the programme didn't he?
0:28:16 > 0:28:19You must forgive my terrible voice, but the programme ended with...
0:28:19 > 0:28:22- HE SINGS:- # Andy is saying goodbye #
0:28:22 > 0:28:26and they all sat there and waved.
0:28:26 > 0:28:27Bye, bear.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29Bye, bear.
0:28:29 > 0:28:34ORIGINAL RECORDING: # Andy is waving goodbye
0:28:34 > 0:28:36# Goodbye
0:28:36 > 0:28:42# Goodbye. #
0:28:42 > 0:28:49For me, a painted portrait is not just about conveying information - a photograph can do that -
0:28:49 > 0:28:54but it's about memorialising a time in life, and I find myself deeply drawn to this.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57I mean I suppose we need to start with who is he?
0:28:57 > 0:29:05Yes, actually me uncle called Michael Snowdon who sadly died six weeks ago. We think it was,
0:29:05 > 0:29:09well, we know it was painted by a friend of his what lived in Stallingborough.
0:29:09 > 0:29:11It's signed in the bottom corner.
0:29:11 > 0:29:16Yes, er, and we think he just did it as a... you know, because they knew each other.
0:29:16 > 0:29:20So this, in a sense, is a remnant
0:29:20 > 0:29:24of a life, a life that was obviously quite close to you.
0:29:24 > 0:29:29Oh, yes, yeah, yeah. Me and Steph are cousins, and he knew us both as our uncle.
0:29:30 > 0:29:32And he actually, when he died he was 67.
0:29:32 > 0:29:36We don't know how long ago this painting was painted
0:29:36 > 0:29:39but we think it'd probably be about 50 years ago.
0:29:39 > 0:29:43I mean rather like Elizabethan portraiture, I always think
0:29:43 > 0:29:48one of the great tests of a very good image is how you can read extra dimensions in it,
0:29:48 > 0:29:52and, of course, in this instance, it's a gift, is it not,
0:29:52 > 0:29:57- because we have behind him all of this porcelain? And we have it here as well.- Mm, yeah.
0:29:57 > 0:30:01I'm no ceramic expert, but I've spoken to colleagues on the show
0:30:01 > 0:30:03and this is jasperware, jasperware, Wedgwood,
0:30:03 > 0:30:07which dates from the 1950s and '60s
0:30:07 > 0:30:10- so pretty well about when this picture was painted.- Yeah, yeah.
0:30:10 > 0:30:15It's not hugely valuable but it is, none the less, a wonderful accompaniment to the image.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18So, I mean it's trying to tell you something, isn't it?
0:30:18 > 0:30:23I mean for me, looking at this, here is a man who, or a young man,
0:30:23 > 0:30:25who's a bit of a connoisseur, who has taste.
0:30:25 > 0:30:30Who has interests beyond the normal, and then I find myself deeply drawn to his hand -
0:30:30 > 0:30:34incidentally his beautifully painted hand -
0:30:34 > 0:30:41and on it a ring, which is rather unusual because this is a portrait of what? The 1960s?
0:30:41 > 0:30:47And he is wearing a ring in that sort of rather unusually flamboyant way.
0:30:47 > 0:30:51It's full of rather sort of curious tricks this painting, isn't it?
0:30:51 > 0:30:55He was a very artistic man, he was actually a flower arranger,
0:30:55 > 0:30:59he had a shop in Howarth and he also was a musician.
0:30:59 > 0:31:06He went to the Royal Academy of Music in London where he was a pianist. So he was very artistic, if you like.
0:31:06 > 0:31:12And what I think is so clever about this painting is yes, sure, it says in a literal way with the ring
0:31:12 > 0:31:15and the odd tricks around, that this is what this man's about,
0:31:15 > 0:31:18but it's the expression as well. There's a feeling of...
0:31:18 > 0:31:23a sensitivity, introspection, fragility.
0:31:23 > 0:31:27We need to value this intriguing object, and...
0:31:27 > 0:31:33Jackson, Ken Jackson, although dead, was a considerable force in portrait painting in the area...
0:31:33 > 0:31:36- Right.- ..and it needs to be taken seriously.
0:31:36 > 0:31:43He's not that prominent, perhaps one day will become so, but I would comfortably value this picture
0:31:43 > 0:31:47at £800, £900, possibly even £1,000.
0:31:47 > 0:31:51- But of course its value is this memorial, is it not?- Oh, it'll never be sold. I'd never sell it, no, no.
0:31:51 > 0:31:57These lovely vintage clothes that a lot of people end up taking to a charity shop.
0:31:57 > 0:31:59- Yes.- Why did you keep them?
0:31:59 > 0:32:04Well, I think it was mother who kept them and then, because I do tend to hoard things,
0:32:04 > 0:32:07I just kept them in the box where they've been all this time.
0:32:07 > 0:32:11Right. And this lovely early one here, lovely chiffon and lace.
0:32:11 > 0:32:14Well, this one was bought
0:32:14 > 0:32:20for her when she was 21 and it was to go to a Founders Day at a school
0:32:20 > 0:32:22in Highgate in London,
0:32:22 > 0:32:28and that's the group of older girls at the Founders Day.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31- That's a very, very high stylish dress.- Yes.
0:32:31 > 0:32:33So this is 19...?
0:32:33 > 0:32:35- 1931.- 1931.
0:32:35 > 0:32:39Absolutely perfect for that period. And then this dress here?
0:32:39 > 0:32:45- That's 1934, that was a wedding dress...- Yeah.
0:32:45 > 0:32:52..for a double wedding. At the time, it had a train and it had a big veil.
0:32:52 > 0:32:57And beautiful simple silk, very highly stylish for the 1930s,
0:32:57 > 0:32:59really beautiful,
0:32:59 > 0:33:04that wonderful colour which was so 1930s to be married in, and she was a very tiny lady.
0:33:04 > 0:33:06She was. Well, I could never fit into it.
0:33:06 > 0:33:12- My sister could never fit into it and I think I got dressed up in it when I was about ten.- Yes.
0:33:12 > 0:33:14And that was when it fitted.
0:33:14 > 0:33:17- Now this is a fascinating one.- Yes.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20Well, this one was a copy
0:33:20 > 0:33:26of the Duchess of Windsor's wedding dress in 1937,
0:33:26 > 0:33:32which had this distinctive high neck, which this has got, and the little buttons.
0:33:32 > 0:33:36What's fascinating to me about this is, when you think about it,
0:33:36 > 0:33:41- Wallis Simpson was so reviled in some ways, wasn't she? - Yes.- I mean, you know she...
0:33:41 > 0:33:44Because for the King to abdicate in those days...
0:33:44 > 0:33:49I mean it was a tremendous thing and Wallis Simpson was really regarded very badly.
0:33:49 > 0:33:55- I know, not popular.- Not pop... except that women secretly really loved her style.
0:33:55 > 0:34:01- The fashion.- Her fashion, you know, and also, in some ways it was like a dream, she managed to get the King.
0:34:01 > 0:34:06- Yes.- You know, she managed it and he gave up everything for love. - Of course.
0:34:06 > 0:34:09So there was something in that, that people felt...
0:34:09 > 0:34:13- And also she said, "Two things in life - you had to be rich and thin".- Yes, well...
0:34:13 > 0:34:19- And this dress here, obviously 1940s.- Yes, well it was about 1943.
0:34:19 > 0:34:23Yes. Obviously they weren't using silk now because we're talking
0:34:23 > 0:34:25about parachutes and everything else and the thing is,
0:34:25 > 0:34:27it's rayon.
0:34:27 > 0:34:32- Yes.- And that was...that was terribly fashionable at the time.- Yes.
0:34:32 > 0:34:37- And do you ever think about values of these?- Not at all. I haven't any idea, no.
0:34:37 > 0:34:43In a specialist vintage auction, you know you're certainly talking this one
0:34:43 > 0:34:47- maybe £200.- Yes.- This one, again this beautiful silk,
0:34:47 > 0:34:50the Wallis Simpson connection, I think again £200.
0:34:50 > 0:34:54You know, in a special sale possibly a bit more.
0:34:54 > 0:34:58And this one, although not the beautiful silk but very much rayon, the 1940s style
0:34:58 > 0:35:03is very "in" at the moment, young people really love the 1940s,
0:35:03 > 0:35:08and I could see somebody paying at least £200 for this. So you have a lovely collection here.
0:35:08 > 0:35:12- Thank you.- And with all the photographs too, marvellous.- Thank you very much.
0:35:12 > 0:35:18The English excelled in the manufacture of duelling pistols and after about...
0:35:18 > 0:35:251770, when gentlemen stopped wearing swords, they then didn't have the means to settle their differences.
0:35:25 > 0:35:31This is a long time before they got lawyers involved to settle things expensively, but less bloodily.
0:35:31 > 0:35:33And so they went for pistols.
0:35:33 > 0:35:38And then you start to see, from about the sort of 1770s onwards,
0:35:38 > 0:35:42this development of these very, very high quality
0:35:42 > 0:35:46flintlock pistols that are completely identical as a pair,
0:35:46 > 0:35:49and they have one purpose and one purpose only.
0:35:49 > 0:35:54I always call that "judicially sanctioned murder" because that's what it is.
0:35:54 > 0:35:58It's amazing that in a country where the common law recognises
0:35:58 > 0:36:02that if you kill somebody with intent, you are guilty of murder -
0:36:02 > 0:36:05and in those days of course it was a capital offence -
0:36:05 > 0:36:07that it allowed this practice.
0:36:07 > 0:36:09Where did you get these from?
0:36:09 > 0:36:13They're very, very interesting because they're very rare.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16Well, I can remember them at home from being a child.
0:36:16 > 0:36:20In fact I shouldn't say it but me and my brother used to play with them when we were about ten year old.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23- Playing pirates I suppose?- Well, yeah.
0:36:23 > 0:36:28Before that it was me father's and I think it was handed down to him from his father.
0:36:28 > 0:36:32They do go back quite, quite a way I believe, yeah, but I've no proof of that though.
0:36:32 > 0:36:39They date from about 1775 to 1780.
0:36:39 > 0:36:43If you were going to buy a pair of duelling pistols to make sure
0:36:43 > 0:36:46that you had the means to settle your differences
0:36:46 > 0:36:51then if you had the money you'd get a Wogdon because he just built the very, very best,
0:36:51 > 0:36:55and he was so famous that there was actually a poem written about him
0:36:55 > 0:36:57and it started off with "Hail Wogdon,
0:36:57 > 0:36:59"patron of that leaden death."
0:36:59 > 0:37:04I can't think of any other gun maker who's actually been immortalised in verse.
0:37:04 > 0:37:08And we can see his name on the top of the barrel there.
0:37:08 > 0:37:10Simply writes "Wogdon, London" -
0:37:10 > 0:37:12you needed no other advert for it.
0:37:12 > 0:37:16They have this lovely ergonomically shaped hockey stick style butt
0:37:16 > 0:37:18that just sits in the hand.
0:37:18 > 0:37:20Yeah, it fits, yeah.
0:37:20 > 0:37:24You really would have difficulty at 30 or so paces, missing with those.
0:37:24 > 0:37:29And yet the statistics show that very few people were ever killed duelling.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32Two, obviously one for each party, they're exactly the same,
0:37:32 > 0:37:38and I think one of the greatest things about this set is the box, which is absolutely original.
0:37:38 > 0:37:44Now it needs a bit of TLC I'm afraid - it's obviously had a hard life - but there's nothing
0:37:44 > 0:37:49that a really good furniture restorer couldn't do to put that right.
0:37:49 > 0:37:53- Have you thought about what they might be worth?- Well...
0:37:53 > 0:37:56with the way you're talking about them, you seem quite pleased about them,
0:37:56 > 0:37:59I'm thinking it might be a bit more than I thought.
0:37:59 > 0:38:01probably, possibly £1,000.
0:38:01 > 0:38:03- How much?- £1,000 possibly?
0:38:03 > 0:38:06Well, I think we need to do a bit of multiplication.
0:38:06 > 0:38:12If these came on the market, in this state, they would make somewhere between £10,000 to £15,000.
0:38:12 > 0:38:16They are an absolutely fantastically pair of pistols
0:38:16 > 0:38:18by the greatest British maker, and they're just wonderful.
0:38:18 > 0:38:23Well, this jewel-like iridescence to me is as good as a signature.
0:38:23 > 0:38:28As we look at a fabulous example of a Royal Lancastrian vase by Pilkingtons.
0:38:28 > 0:38:32How do you get to be such a wonderful, fortunate owner?
0:38:32 > 0:38:34- Well, it's not actually mine.- Ah.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37Sadly. It belongs to my Godmother,
0:38:37 > 0:38:41who inherited it from her mother, who worked
0:38:41 > 0:38:46at the Royal Lancastrian pottery together with her husband.
0:38:46 > 0:38:50And in 1925, or thereabouts,
0:38:50 > 0:38:56the vase was given to her because, sadly, he died
0:38:56 > 0:38:59just before the end of the war, literally days.
0:38:59 > 0:39:01So this is a portrait of him?
0:39:01 > 0:39:05- This is my Godmother's father.- Oh!
0:39:05 > 0:39:08What a wonderful piece and of course done at the factory itself.
0:39:08 > 0:39:13Done at the factory, apparently during lunch break
0:39:13 > 0:39:18and it was sketched, just from, you know, a scrap of paper and then somebody...
0:39:18 > 0:39:21one of the tilers, or one of the painters decided
0:39:21 > 0:39:25to turn it into a tile and fire it, and presented it to them.
0:39:25 > 0:39:30How wonderful to have these two pieces that are so joined together,
0:39:30 > 0:39:33and the face of a worker who was actually at the factory.
0:39:33 > 0:39:39- Absolutely.- And of course the factory was originally created for the manufacture of tiles.- Yes.
0:39:39 > 0:39:45It was pure chance. They were actually excavating and digging around the ground in Manchester
0:39:45 > 0:39:50looking for coal seams when they stumbled upon a bed of clay, and from that arose the factory.
0:39:50 > 0:39:54- Oh, right. - Very quickly the company developed.
0:39:54 > 0:40:02Now in 1906 the firm launched their art wares, their lustre art wares,
0:40:02 > 0:40:09to huge acclaim and there were very, very significant artists there at that time from Gordon Forsyth...
0:40:09 > 0:40:13- Yes.- ..Richard Joyce and of course the artist responsible for this.
0:40:13 > 0:40:15If we look underneath, very clearly.
0:40:15 > 0:40:18William Salter Mycock.
0:40:18 > 0:40:21William Salter Mycock.
0:40:21 > 0:40:23And it's a beautiful signature.
0:40:23 > 0:40:27The signature is as artistically flourishing as the vase itself.
0:40:27 > 0:40:32Yes, they're fascinating, aren't they? I don't know what it's supposed to look like but they're...
0:40:32 > 0:40:35Well, it's just a very ornate and wonderful monogram.
0:40:35 > 0:40:40Now in terms of lustre wares, this is just so typically Mycock's style.
0:40:40 > 0:40:46He was known for flourishing birds and flowers
0:40:46 > 0:40:49- and more scroll work.- Right. - Each artist was basically allowed
0:40:49 > 0:40:54to develop their own style, there were no tight restrictions, but what they did do
0:40:54 > 0:40:56was produce just quality.
0:40:56 > 0:41:02Now if this were to come up for sale today, I think you'd cause quite a stir.
0:41:02 > 0:41:06You have maybe the tile that goes with it as well, maybe it's two separate lots,
0:41:06 > 0:41:10but the history is all interlinked, but I think for just the vase alone,
0:41:10 > 0:41:17I don't think you'd see much change at an auction room out of maybe £800 or £1,000.
0:41:17 > 0:41:19Oh, she'll be very happy to hear that.
0:41:19 > 0:41:25- Well, I can only hope that maybe you are the favoured Goddaughter. - I'm the only one.
0:41:25 > 0:41:33I'm always excited when a group of inanimate objects like this tells a story not only of your relations,
0:41:33 > 0:41:36your grandfather in this case, but this takes us right back into
0:41:36 > 0:41:39- the earliest years of motoring history.- That's correct.
0:41:39 > 0:41:47- When was he born, your grandfather? - In the 1860s in Northampton.
0:41:47 > 0:41:52His father was a labourer but he managed to get
0:41:52 > 0:41:55an apprenticeship, a poor boys apprenticeship.
0:41:55 > 0:41:59They were a manufacturer of gas engines and he stayed there
0:41:59 > 0:42:05until he joined Daimler cars in 1896.
0:42:05 > 0:42:071896, that's a very important date.
0:42:07 > 0:42:10What you've got here is his original indenture.
0:42:10 > 0:42:17- That's correct.- And it says, "here witnesses Alfred Bush at the age of 14, or thereabouts,
0:42:17 > 0:42:20"a poor boy of the Parish"
0:42:20 > 0:42:23blah, blah, blah and he's "apprenticed to Henry"...
0:42:23 > 0:42:28looks like Hobbs or Mobbs, "in the town of Northampton, iron foundry".
0:42:28 > 0:42:31As far as I know, he went to the machine shops and fitting shops
0:42:31 > 0:42:34and learned the full craft, as they did in those days.
0:42:34 > 0:42:35Fantastic.
0:42:35 > 0:42:41In 1896 he then moved to the newly formed motoring company, the first motoring company in the UK.
0:42:41 > 0:42:43Yes, correct, yes.
0:42:43 > 0:42:47- It was called Daimler but previously called "The Horseless Carriage"? - The Horseless Carriage Company
0:42:47 > 0:42:49which evolved into Daimlers.
0:42:49 > 0:42:54He then got his motoring licence and you've still managed to retain that.
0:42:54 > 0:42:57- Yes.- And here's "the motor car act of 1903"
0:42:57 > 0:43:00before 1905 you didn't need a licence, did you?
0:43:00 > 0:43:02No, you just got into a car and that was it.
0:43:02 > 0:43:09- And here is it dated 1st January, 1905, 1906 and 1907 so he had it for three years.- That's it.
0:43:09 > 0:43:13Why it's in a tatty condition is you had to take it with you the whole time.
0:43:13 > 0:43:17You couldn't get into a motor car, or it was illegal, without your licence.
0:43:17 > 0:43:23- And then moving on a few more years, he's now got his licence, 1905, so he can drive the Daimler.- Yes.
0:43:23 > 0:43:28And in that same year, the, I think it was the Prince of Wales bought his first car
0:43:28 > 0:43:32in 1905 and it was a Daimler.
0:43:32 > 0:43:35Yeah, and, well, actually my grandfather
0:43:35 > 0:43:41had something to do with that. He did remember, recalled to my mother
0:43:41 > 0:43:46that the Prince had a ride in the car, and when he got out of it, he said,
0:43:46 > 0:43:48"The days of the horse are limited."
0:43:48 > 0:43:51Now how he could imagine that
0:43:51 > 0:43:56from one of those things, I do not know, but he was obviously a very far-sighted man.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59It's a wonderful story of your granddad's motoring life
0:43:59 > 0:44:04because he was obviously a marvellous driver because we have two trophies he won here.
0:44:04 > 0:44:08- Yes.- This one is for the... I think the Box Hill.
0:44:08 > 0:44:14- Bexhill.- Bexhill, I beg your pardon. - Bexhill Trophy of, um, yes, 1905
0:44:14 > 0:44:17and it was presented by Earl de la Warr.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20And he also went to Brighton
0:44:20 > 0:44:24and when they got down to Brighton they had trials along the front
0:44:24 > 0:44:28and that was one of the races there.
0:44:28 > 0:44:30Lots of history again.
0:44:30 > 0:44:35lots of things to get early motoring enthusiasts over-excited.
0:44:35 > 0:44:37Um, what you must do is write down the story and put it with it.
0:44:37 > 0:44:42The whole archive should never be split up, it should be kept together.
0:44:42 > 0:44:45If something like this ever did go to sale,
0:44:45 > 0:44:49I think it could easily make between £12,000 and £15,000.
0:44:49 > 0:44:54Good Lord! I wouldn't have thought that much, because I wouldn't have thought.
0:44:54 > 0:44:58Well, no, I would have thought a bit more than the scrap value but...
0:44:58 > 0:45:01A lot more than scrap value, you're talking...
0:45:01 > 0:45:04the history of the motor car here.
0:45:04 > 0:45:08Now I'm sure my two sons would not mind me saying
0:45:08 > 0:45:12that when they were small and came to Blackpool, they went to the Pleasure Beach
0:45:12 > 0:45:16and they were convinced that was the place you went to when you died.
0:45:16 > 0:45:18I'm mentioning this more as a way of an introduction,
0:45:18 > 0:45:24because you are a director of that wonderful institution which I'm glad to say is alive and well, yes?
0:45:24 > 0:45:27- Absolutely, Eric. I the finest form, thank you.- Good.
0:45:27 > 0:45:32Now you have brought along a few items today from your archive.
0:45:32 > 0:45:38The archive goes back 113 years since the Pleasure Beach first started at South Shore in Blackpool.
0:45:38 > 0:45:46But these are from our Ice Show of 1938, Dashing Blades. It was the second show in the ice drome.
0:45:46 > 0:45:49The first was called Marina, but during that run
0:45:49 > 0:45:56our managing director then, saw the show Checkmate in the West End, Sadlers Wells.
0:45:56 > 0:45:59He met the designer of the set and the costumes and was so inspired
0:45:59 > 0:46:02by his work that he asked him to come to the Pleasure Beach
0:46:02 > 0:46:07and do our costumes, our sets, and indeed our programme for 1938
0:46:07 > 0:46:10and these are examples of that design work.
0:46:10 > 0:46:12And that designer's name was?
0:46:12 > 0:46:15Edward McKnight Kelfman... Kauffer.
0:46:15 > 0:46:18Exactly, Edward McKnight Kauffer.
0:46:18 > 0:46:21It's interesting because he's a big name.
0:46:21 > 0:46:24He is a big name in poster design, certainly in that period,
0:46:24 > 0:46:28- because he was designing for Shell. - Yeah.- But anyway,
0:46:28 > 0:46:31let's have a look at his work because we'll start off
0:46:31 > 0:46:35with this design, because we've actually got here the end result.
0:46:35 > 0:46:38And these girls, you know, the chorus line if you will.
0:46:38 > 0:46:41I'm full of admiration for these girls, because
0:46:41 > 0:46:45- not only could they dance, but they could dance on ice as well.- Yes.
0:46:45 > 0:46:51Um, so that's, that's one that I particularly like, but I do...
0:46:51 > 0:46:54I do also like this. The fascinating thing,
0:46:54 > 0:46:58there's all sort of influences there and I mean Picasso is one,
0:46:58 > 0:47:04and on top of that, you know, there's sort of elements of sort of Russian constructivism.
0:47:04 > 0:47:09But without making this too much of an art lesson, the overall effect is quite, quite dramatic.
0:47:09 > 0:47:11But he's happy in that idiom,
0:47:11 > 0:47:15but he's also doing this sort of thing as well.
0:47:15 > 0:47:19So he can turn his hands to sort of classical costume.
0:47:19 > 0:47:24- So how many...? How many in the archive? That's what I'd like to know.- We have 18 of these,
0:47:24 > 0:47:27- but the archive of course is enormous.- Well, I mean these things,
0:47:27 > 0:47:31they just do not turn up, you know, on the art scene.
0:47:31 > 0:47:35They don't turn up at auction to the best of my knowledge anyway,
0:47:35 > 0:47:38- so it's a bit of a stab in the dark...- Yes.
0:47:38 > 0:47:45..when it comes to putting a value on what you've got there but I wouldn't hesitate to say between
0:47:45 > 0:47:51- £6,000 maybe £7,000.- Mm.- And, um,
0:47:51 > 0:47:54you know, to be honest with you, the proof of the pudding
0:47:54 > 0:47:57would only be in the selling, but that is a situation
0:47:57 > 0:48:01- that's never going to occur. - I don't think so.
0:48:01 > 0:48:04- Thank you. - Thank you, Eric, very much indeed.
0:48:04 > 0:48:10- So, really a very unusual subject - the Crucifixion on the back of a watch.- Indeed, yes.
0:48:10 > 0:48:14- Are you a very religious man, or not?- Not particularly, no. - So what is it
0:48:14 > 0:48:16that appeals to you about this watch?
0:48:16 > 0:48:19It's been in the family for a number of years.
0:48:19 > 0:48:21It belongs to my son.
0:48:21 > 0:48:23His grandfather left it to him, who...
0:48:23 > 0:48:25it was given to him by his father,
0:48:25 > 0:48:30- so it's been in the family for quite a few generations.- Right.
0:48:30 > 0:48:35Well, as I say, it's a very, very unusual scene on a watch
0:48:35 > 0:48:37and just looking at it, I see we've got
0:48:37 > 0:48:44a very intriguing inscription all around the band here,
0:48:44 > 0:48:47in Latin, and I notice you've got a little translation there.
0:48:47 > 0:48:50- Yes.- What exactly does it say?
0:48:50 > 0:48:54"Stay awake because you do not know
0:48:54 > 0:48:57"the day or the hour".
0:48:57 > 0:48:59- Well, very intriguing, eh?- Mmm.
0:48:59 > 0:49:01And this is even more intriguing.
0:49:01 > 0:49:07Open the back and of course it's a silver watch, we've got the cuvette signed by a maker called Ratel -
0:49:07 > 0:49:11R-A-T-E-L - with an address
0:49:11 > 0:49:16in Paris and underneath it says "horloger" to the Pope.
0:49:16 > 0:49:20Well, I don't know this man and I have never ever
0:49:20 > 0:49:25- seen a watch before signed watchmaker to the Pope.- Right.
0:49:25 > 0:49:26The watch itself is...
0:49:26 > 0:49:28Well, there it is...
0:49:28 > 0:49:34It is a keyless winding Swiss movement,
0:49:34 > 0:49:38- fairly late, the latter part of the 19th century.- Right.
0:49:40 > 0:49:42As I say, very intriguing inscription,
0:49:42 > 0:49:46a very intriguing back and... wow, look at that dial!
0:49:48 > 0:49:51I've never seen anything like that before on a watch.
0:49:51 > 0:49:55I believe all the numerals are the Stations of the Cross.
0:49:55 > 0:49:58- Right.- The hand is the spear,
0:49:58 > 0:50:01I think there's a sponge and nails on the other hand.
0:50:01 > 0:50:03There is. There's a hammer, the nails,
0:50:03 > 0:50:07where Christ was nailed to the Cross.
0:50:07 > 0:50:11It is absolutely incredible.
0:50:11 > 0:50:13The enamel is mint, it's perfect.
0:50:13 > 0:50:16I see we've got two different things. We've got
0:50:16 > 0:50:20sort of things in red around there and then there's an arrow
0:50:20 > 0:50:24in that six o'clock position that drops us down to the outer ring,
0:50:24 > 0:50:27- which you say are the Stations of the Cross.- Yes.- It's all enamelled
0:50:27 > 0:50:33obviously in French, and then we've got the maker's name Ratel
0:50:33 > 0:50:38within that basically Crown of Thorns in the centre.
0:50:38 > 0:50:40Just suffice to say
0:50:40 > 0:50:45it's very, very scarce and a very difficult one to price up.
0:50:45 > 0:50:48I'm going to have a little guess.
0:50:48 > 0:50:52It's so unusual. Those inscriptions on the dial
0:50:52 > 0:50:56- and the hands particularly are just superb quality.- Yes.
0:50:56 > 0:51:01So I'm going to suggest something between £3,000 and £4,000.
0:51:01 > 0:51:06- Oh, very nice.- Are you happy with that?- I am indeed very happy.
0:51:06 > 0:51:09It's a nice thing to be handed down. I think it's great
0:51:09 > 0:51:12- and I'm sure you'll continue to do so.- Oh, yes.
0:51:13 > 0:51:19Well, we've had a lot of things on the Antiques Roadshow and I think we even once had John Lennon's toilet,
0:51:19 > 0:51:26but what made you think of bringing this toilet seat in today?
0:51:26 > 0:51:28Because it came from
0:51:28 > 0:51:32the old Conservative Club on Victoria Street,
0:51:32 > 0:51:36and it's part of Blackpool's history,
0:51:36 > 0:51:38and that was in the Conservative Club
0:51:38 > 0:51:41when the Conservative Party Conferences were here.
0:51:41 > 0:51:47When the conference ended it was like a herd of wildebeests getting to the club first, all the MPs running.
0:51:47 > 0:51:53- To get on this?- To get on that. The Prime Minister had the edge on them.
0:51:53 > 0:51:56- Was he a faster runner? - He would have to have been.
0:51:56 > 0:52:01But the thing is, the nice thing is, it's even got its date here - 1899.
0:52:01 > 0:52:05Now this was a nice early thing, that the Blackpool Conservative Club
0:52:05 > 0:52:08were absolutely right at the forefront...
0:52:08 > 0:52:12- Oh, yes.- ..because flush toilets were quite new, so this was quite...
0:52:12 > 0:52:15That's probably why they ran as well, because to see it,
0:52:15 > 0:52:17you know, it was a very nice thing.
0:52:17 > 0:52:21- Oh, yes.- And the whole thing about this is the lovely piece of,
0:52:21 > 0:52:23- as you say, social history.- Yes.
0:52:23 > 0:52:28And you really do wonder, not to put too fine a point on it, who sat here?
0:52:28 > 0:52:32I wonder. I think they should have had a visitor's book
0:52:32 > 0:52:37- and signed it.- Now, you know, do we think Winston sat on this with his cigar?
0:52:37 > 0:52:39- I think so.- I think so, too.
0:52:39 > 0:52:42Debating whether to put income tax up perhaps.
0:52:44 > 0:52:46Well, it's fantastic and I love it.
0:52:46 > 0:52:51- So when this was knocked down they took...?- They took it to another club
0:52:51 > 0:52:56and it was pushed in the cellar and they didn't sort of value its worth
0:52:56 > 0:52:58and one day the Chairman knocked his ankle on it
0:52:58 > 0:53:02and he said, "Get rid of that so-and-so thing!" I said, "Can I have it?"
0:53:02 > 0:53:04And he said, "Well, yeah, if you want it."
0:53:04 > 0:53:06THEY CHUCKLE
0:53:06 > 0:53:10And I didn't even have a bag, I walked through the streets carrying it home.
0:53:10 > 0:53:16- So you're quite attached to this seat?- Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Yes, I am.
0:53:16 > 0:53:18What's it worth? Do you have any idea what it's worth?
0:53:18 > 0:53:22Monetary value I would think, nothing.
0:53:22 > 0:53:27But novelty, entertainment, certainly historical
0:53:27 > 0:53:30I think it's, I think it's fabulous.
0:53:30 > 0:53:34Isn't it marvellous? I mean, here we are, this wonderful setting
0:53:34 > 0:53:39of the Blackpool Tower, and here we've got the Blackpool Tower.
0:53:40 > 0:53:43So what's your actual connection with this amazing object?
0:53:43 > 0:53:46I'm lucky enough to be the General Manager of the tower.
0:53:46 > 0:53:48I've been here for six years now
0:53:48 > 0:53:51and we're custodians of the model and of the building,
0:53:51 > 0:53:55- hopefully for many years to come. - Wonderful.
0:53:55 > 0:53:57This inscription down here,
0:53:57 > 0:54:01"This was presented to John Bickerstaffe" now who was he?
0:54:01 > 0:54:05John Bickerstaffe was the Mayor of Blackpool in the 1800s
0:54:05 > 0:54:11and he went to Paris and saw the Eiffel Tower and said, "We want one of those for Blackpool."
0:54:11 > 0:54:15In actual fact they built a tower that is 518 feet 9 inches
0:54:15 > 0:54:18to the top of the tower, but at the bottom,
0:54:18 > 0:54:21being very clever Victorians, decided to build an entertainment complex.
0:54:21 > 0:54:26- To make a bit of money.- To make a bit of money.- And so 1898 is actually when the tower was opened?
0:54:26 > 0:54:29It was... We were opened in 1894
0:54:29 > 0:54:32- but this was actually presented to Mr Bickerstaffe in 1898.- Right.
0:54:32 > 0:54:35That's interesting, because the hallmarks there
0:54:35 > 0:54:38are for Sheffield and it's the firm
0:54:38 > 0:54:41of John Round, a very famous Sheffield firm,
0:54:41 > 0:54:43and they're actually 1897,
0:54:43 > 0:54:47so we're that year earlier with the inscription.
0:54:47 > 0:54:51What I think's lovely though, when we look at the fantastic detail
0:54:51 > 0:54:55of this, right down to what was actually happening
0:54:55 > 0:54:58in each section. "Billiards, cafe, restaurant"
0:54:58 > 0:55:03then we've got "the circus, pavilion concerts, dancing,
0:55:04 > 0:55:08and "variety shows". Now there's what appears to be
0:55:08 > 0:55:13tarnish over here. What's actually happened, at some stage, perhaps 20, 30 years ago,
0:55:13 > 0:55:20this was all lacquered and I can perfectly understand, I mean this is a cleaning nightmare,
0:55:20 > 0:55:25- this is the cleaning job from hell. - I realise that.- Right.
0:55:25 > 0:55:28And clearly they decided it was a very good idea
0:55:28 > 0:55:31to have the whole thing, basically a nail varnish type lacquer.
0:55:31 > 0:55:36But after 10, 15 years it begins to deteriorate
0:55:36 > 0:55:40and that's what's happened there. Getting to the stage where it really needs
0:55:40 > 0:55:43looking at again. The detail coming up here though
0:55:43 > 0:55:47is absolutely fantastic, all the mouldings and so on.
0:55:47 > 0:55:50And I love the fact that we've actually got
0:55:50 > 0:55:55lifts going up and down. It looks as though those must have worked at some stage.
0:55:55 > 0:55:57I believe they did.
0:55:57 > 0:55:59- We wouldn't like to try them now. - No.- Wouldn't do it any good.
0:55:59 > 0:56:03And then up to this very famous top.
0:56:03 > 0:56:09It's interesting as well because with this we can actually see how it's constructed
0:56:09 > 0:56:12and we've got all these nuts and bolts underneath
0:56:12 > 0:56:18and all the pins and so on. It's a bit of a Meccano set when you...
0:56:18 > 0:56:20That was my thoughts entirely, yes.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23So, have you ever had it valued?
0:56:23 > 0:56:26It has been appraised by Arthur Negus, believe it or not,
0:56:26 > 0:56:29on Antiques Roadshow many years ago but he didn't put a valuation on it.
0:56:29 > 0:56:33- He refused.- Oh, he chickened out. - I wonder whether you're a little braver?
0:56:33 > 0:56:36I'm going to be brave.
0:56:36 > 0:56:39Now is it known at all what it cost originally?
0:56:39 > 0:56:43- It actually cost £120. - Do we know what it weighs?
0:56:43 > 0:56:45700 ounces of silver.
0:56:45 > 0:56:51700 ounces today, just the raw material's going to cost £7,000...
0:56:51 > 0:56:54that's before you've started doing any work on it at all.
0:56:56 > 0:57:01I would be very surprised, if you asked for it to be made again,
0:57:01 > 0:57:07if you were asked anything less than £100,000 to have it made.
0:57:07 > 0:57:09That's beautiful.
0:57:09 > 0:57:13I mean it is such an amazing thing and one thing you can be certain of, you know,
0:57:13 > 0:57:15- it's unique.- Absolutely.
0:57:17 > 0:57:22You know, coming along to the Roadshow, for some people it can be a life-changing event.
0:57:22 > 0:57:25Dorothy, it's fair to say it was a life-changing event for you,
0:57:25 > 0:57:28because you were on the Roadshow five years ago in Manchester.
0:57:28 > 0:57:30- It was, at Longsight Baths.- Yes.
0:57:30 > 0:57:33- Where I met Ian Pickford. - Ian Pickford, our expert.
0:57:33 > 0:57:36- Yes.- Who valued one of your items.
0:57:36 > 0:57:39- He told you it was worth about £2,000 or something.- Correct, yes.
0:57:39 > 0:57:41And what did you do with it?
0:57:41 > 0:57:46Well, Ian asked what I was going to do with the item and I said "I'm going to sell it
0:57:46 > 0:57:52"and I'm going to donate the money to the St James' University Hospital in Leeds, known as Jimmy's,
0:57:52 > 0:57:55"to the liver transplant unit where I had a transplant."
0:57:55 > 0:57:59- You had a transplant there yourself, didn't you?- Yes. - And ever since then...
0:57:59 > 0:58:04That just came into your head at that moment and since then you've been fund raising for the hospital.
0:58:04 > 0:58:07I have. With good friends behind me, yes.
0:58:07 > 0:58:10Very good to see, lovely to see you on the programme.
0:58:10 > 0:58:13- Lovely to see you too.- And very nice of you to come back.- Thanks.
0:58:13 > 0:58:17Thank you, not just to Dorothy, but to all the people who've come from Blackpool.
0:58:17 > 0:58:20We've had a wonderful day, I hope you've enjoyed it. Until next time, bye-bye.
0:58:38 > 0:58:41Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd.
0:58:41 > 0:58:44E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk