0:00:02 > 0:00:05The Antiques Roadshow travels the length and breadth of Britain
0:00:05 > 0:00:09in search of wonderful objects in stunning locations.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11And today we've arrived in a city that's
0:00:11 > 0:00:15so crammed with historical stories, it's hard to know where to begin.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18Welcome to the Antiques Roadshow from York.
0:00:18 > 0:00:20BELL RINGS
0:01:02 > 0:01:05Our Roadshow experts are always on the lookout for objects
0:01:05 > 0:01:07with a local historical flavour,
0:01:07 > 0:01:11and they should be spoiled for choice here.
0:01:11 > 0:01:12When you're in York,
0:01:12 > 0:01:14it seems you're never far from the city's 2,000-year-old history,
0:01:14 > 0:01:16starting with the station, which,
0:01:16 > 0:01:20when it was built in 1877, was the largest in the world.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24And all those trains allowed York to build itself a reputation
0:01:24 > 0:01:26as a city of chocolate,
0:01:26 > 0:01:29as tons of the stuff was dispatched around the globe.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35But long before railways and chocolate even existed,
0:01:35 > 0:01:37York was a powerful city.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41And as you walk about, you can't help noticing the odd bit
0:01:41 > 0:01:45of old stone, drawing you further and further back in time.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49York is the perfect stronghold,
0:01:49 > 0:01:52placed where the River Ouse meets the River Foss.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56A little further on, and the gigantic Minster,
0:01:56 > 0:01:59begun in the 13th century,
0:01:59 > 0:02:02reflects York's importance as a seat of religious power.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05Even before the Normans brought their churches,
0:02:05 > 0:02:07York was at the centre of things.
0:02:07 > 0:02:09Under the Vikings for 100 years,
0:02:09 > 0:02:13Yorvik was the capital of the Danelaw, and the streets still
0:02:13 > 0:02:17follow the Viking plan, and some of them still have Viking names.
0:02:24 > 0:02:29And before the Vikings, the Romans, who founded Eboracum in 71AD
0:02:29 > 0:02:32and made it one of their foremost cities.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36Sometimes the Roman Empire was even ruled from here.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40This tower was once part of a Roman fortress
0:02:40 > 0:02:44and now it sits in the grounds of the Yorkshire Museum.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48With a backdrop like this, it's hardly surprising our experts are looking forward
0:02:48 > 0:02:52to finding some really terrific finds in the gardens of the museum.
0:02:54 > 0:02:59Card cases of course are just so collectable, and it's wonderful
0:02:59 > 0:03:01to see it with its original case,
0:03:01 > 0:03:04but when did you get it?
0:03:04 > 0:03:061983.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08And what did you pay for it?
0:03:08 > 0:03:11205 plus premium - bought in auction.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13Right. So, at auction.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18Looking at it, as we see here, that's more or less what
0:03:18 > 0:03:21it would be worth today,
0:03:21 > 0:03:25until we look at the other side.
0:03:25 > 0:03:30And this makes it a very rare card case.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33- Thank you.- Because the scene is... - York Minster.
0:03:33 > 0:03:38Yeah, and you see very, very few York Minsters.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40So wonderful to be in York here
0:03:40 > 0:03:44and actually have a York Minster card case.
0:03:44 > 0:03:45So that is super.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49Most of them were made - as I'm sure you know - in Birmingham,
0:03:49 > 0:03:52and this one is no exception.
0:03:52 > 0:03:57We've got the maker's mark of Alfred Taylor there,
0:03:57 > 0:04:01then the Birmingham marks which in fact are for 1857.
0:04:01 > 0:04:02Right.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06- The condition couldn't be better. - No.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10But of course that's not only, I think, because you've looked after it properly.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13Yes, I wouldn't have bought it if it wasn't in good condition.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16Very wise. So what's it worth today?
0:04:16 > 0:04:19I'm hoping you're going to tell me.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23Well, they have come down a little bit, I have to tell you,
0:04:23 > 0:04:27and I think today we're looking at between £1,500 and £2,000.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31Ooh, excellent, thank you. Well, that's a good investment, then.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33Better than money in the bank.
0:04:37 > 0:04:41Such a stylish object, are you a collector of the Arts and Crafts Movement?
0:04:41 > 0:04:44Just generally things that catch my eye.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48- And why did this catch your eye? - Car-boot sale about three weeks ago,
0:04:48 > 0:04:52I was with my mum, walking round, and she just really liked it.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54It was a stall full of brass plates like that,
0:04:54 > 0:04:58but not very nice ones, quite mediocre, but this one she really liked.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01And was this early on? Were you there first, the crack of dawn?
0:05:01 > 0:05:05We were there first thing. This was the first thing we bought and then
0:05:05 > 0:05:08we left it with the man at the stall and then went back for it later.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11- And how much did you pay?- £22.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14I mean it's great. I mean it's Keswick School, as you know,
0:05:14 > 0:05:17it's stamped on the back, and the Keswick School
0:05:17 > 0:05:22of Industrial Arts was started in 1884 and it's so stylish.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26I mean you can see major influences of the day from artists
0:05:26 > 0:05:29like William de Morgan, who was a very famous potter from London,
0:05:29 > 0:05:32Charles Passenger, who decorated.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35I mean, it's so stylish, with its sort of Viking ship.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39You've got this sort of repeating fantastic floral border here,
0:05:39 > 0:05:41almost like stylised tulip heads.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45William Morris, arguably our most famous ever designer,
0:05:45 > 0:05:47who we've all heard of, was a patron.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50It's stamped, which is great, you've got it stamped there
0:05:50 > 0:05:53Keswick and then KI,
0:05:53 > 0:05:56Keswick School Industrial Arts.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59- You say you left it there when you bought it at the- car-boot sale. Yes.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02- That was taking a risk, wasn't it?- Well, we didn't know.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04We just liked it and the sun was beating down
0:06:04 > 0:06:07and we couldn't see it very well, but when we went back for it,
0:06:07 > 0:06:10the man said he could have sold it about five times,
0:06:10 > 0:06:13and he'd been offered like a lot more money, £75, which...
0:06:13 > 0:06:17- 75?- Yeah, at the time we hadn't seen the mark on the back.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20- My mum had turned it over but... - Sure.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24So when you paid 22 for it, who wants a copper charger like that
0:06:24 > 0:06:28- on the wall?- Don't know. - A lot of people, that's the answer.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31I mean, it's easily £800 to £1,200
0:06:31 > 0:06:36Wow, that's amazing. My mum won't believe me.
0:06:36 > 0:06:37It's stunning.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41Of its type, it's the best you'll see and the condition's excellent,
0:06:41 > 0:06:43- Well done.- Oh, thank you.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48Beautiful little bowl. Where did it come from?
0:06:48 > 0:06:53Pretty sure it came from China because the family were in Canton
0:06:53 > 0:06:56- in the 1850s and '60s.- Right, OK.
0:06:56 > 0:07:01There are not many Chinese dragons with three claws like this.
0:07:01 > 0:07:08Most Chinese dragons have five or four claws, so a three-clawed
0:07:08 > 0:07:12dragon actually tells us straight away it's Japanese.
0:07:12 > 0:07:17Um, it's a particularly lovely little bowl, it's very, very,
0:07:17 > 0:07:19very well painted.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22At first sight it doesn't appear to be very special,
0:07:22 > 0:07:26but if you actually think about what's gone into painting this.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29You've got this dragon chasing butterflies,
0:07:29 > 0:07:32and the butterflies are caught in this net,
0:07:32 > 0:07:35intricately painted,
0:07:35 > 0:07:40each one of the hexagons very, very daintily painted
0:07:40 > 0:07:46and you've got a little dot where the threads of the net intersect.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49The butterfly itself is done
0:07:49 > 0:07:52just as Japanese lacquer would be done.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55It's made of a material that we see a lot of on the Roadshow,
0:07:55 > 0:07:59but in this particular instance it's not what we normally see,
0:07:59 > 0:08:02because what we normally see is Japanese export ware, Satsuma.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06This is Satsuma that would almost certainly have been intended for a Japanese client,
0:08:06 > 0:08:09because it is essentially a little tea bowl.
0:08:09 > 0:08:15Now, decoration. Very sparse colours, gold, white etc.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18and the dragon itself, this... well, what colour is that?
0:08:18 > 0:08:22- What colour would you call that? - I suppose lead more than...
0:08:22 > 0:08:23- It's a lead colour.- Yes.
0:08:23 > 0:08:28Incredibly finely worked scales. These are actually silver,
0:08:28 > 0:08:30silver oxide, and when it was new,
0:08:30 > 0:08:35I'm pretty sure that would have been gleaming silver.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39And, as silver does, it's tarnished over the years.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43Now the question is, are you a brave man?
0:08:43 > 0:08:47I don't know. We're going to find out I think.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50Well, only if you permit me. I should say that
0:08:50 > 0:08:53whenever you clean silver, be it on a piece of pot or silver itself,
0:08:53 > 0:08:57you are technically removing one layer of molecules.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00But that is actually quite a thin measure.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04Now I do happen to carry about me a silver cloth for eventualities.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06- We can just give it a try, see what happens.- Right.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10Ooh!
0:09:12 > 0:09:13How about that?
0:09:13 > 0:09:15I'm not going to rub too hard
0:09:15 > 0:09:19because I think we can get the general idea.
0:09:19 > 0:09:24So a really lovely little Japanese tea bowl,
0:09:24 > 0:09:26made at the end of the 19th century
0:09:26 > 0:09:29and painted with this glorious dragon,
0:09:29 > 0:09:32and it looks great, doesn't it, when it's been polished up?
0:09:32 > 0:09:35Yes. It's brilliant, yes. Really see the scales on it.
0:09:35 > 0:09:36It's quite fantastic.
0:09:36 > 0:09:41Value, probably somewhere in the region of, let me say, £300 to £500.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44For a little bowl, that's great.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51So, it's obviously a factory floor. Do you know where?
0:09:51 > 0:09:55I believe it's local. It's in Hull.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57- A factory in Hull. - A factory in Hull,
0:09:57 > 0:10:00and it's on the back that it's Fenners and Co.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03- Fenners and Co. - Yeah, Fenners and Co.
0:10:03 > 0:10:09and I think they used to manufacture some kind of conveyor belts.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12Oh, I see. Conveyor belts for industry or mining or something.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14Yeah, I think so, for industry I think, yes.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17- It's a very busy factory floor, isn't it?- It is, yes.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19So what drew you to the picture?
0:10:19 > 0:10:23I love the movement in it, and the colours,
0:10:23 > 0:10:25and just something when I saw it, I thought,
0:10:25 > 0:10:29"I'd really like to own this."
0:10:29 > 0:10:32It's by James Neal and it's dated 1967.
0:10:32 > 0:10:37- And, you know, it's unusual to see pictures of factories.- It is.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39They're usually done as commissions
0:10:39 > 0:10:41and I suppose this might have been as well.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43Perhaps the factory owner, or the manager,
0:10:43 > 0:10:47wanted to have some record of a busy factory floor in its heyday.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51And I like it too, because I think the colours in it are very, very...
0:10:51 > 0:10:53they chime very, very well
0:10:53 > 0:10:56and I like the way it's all laid out in a completely legible way,
0:10:56 > 0:11:00with this very open roof, lots and lots of light in this building, isn't there?
0:11:00 > 0:11:05You can almost hear the clang and clamour of the manufacturing process.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07- Exactly, yes.- It's really quite fun.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11It doesn't look finished to me. Do you? I thought it was...
0:11:11 > 0:11:15Oh, well, does it matter? I mean it's sort of finished as it needs to be.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17- Right.- Isn't it, in a way?
0:11:17 > 0:11:21- Now, he's a Hull artist, isn't he? - That's right, yes, local artist.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25Yes, I was wondering if he might have known that great Hull poet, Philip Larkin,
0:11:25 > 0:11:27who of course is a great hero to me
0:11:27 > 0:11:30and he wrote a wonderful poem called Going Going,
0:11:30 > 0:11:32about the vanishing English countryside
0:11:32 > 0:11:35and the increasing industrialisation
0:11:35 > 0:11:37and the tarmac and the concrete everywhere.
0:11:37 > 0:11:43And I also thought this might be about the vanishing world,
0:11:43 > 0:11:45you know, and then about, well,
0:11:45 > 0:11:47you could find beauty in anything, couldn't you?
0:11:47 > 0:11:50You could find beauty in the factory floor, as here,
0:11:50 > 0:11:54and it's about mass observation, these people all working.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57So it's Britain at work and at play. Value...
0:11:57 > 0:12:00I paid £100
0:12:00 > 0:12:03and I thought that was a bargain for me,
0:12:03 > 0:12:07and I loved it and I'm hoping it's going to be a little bit more,
0:12:07 > 0:12:10but if not, it doesn't matter.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13- I'm going to put £800 to £1,200 on it.- Wow.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15That is a surprise. Great!
0:12:15 > 0:12:18- I really think that that's what it would do.- That's lovely.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20- Lot of fun.- Thank you very much.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25Well, usually when I see antique cradles,
0:12:25 > 0:12:28they're either filled with logs, next to a fire,
0:12:28 > 0:12:32or with dried flower arrangements in them. How has yours been used?
0:12:32 > 0:12:35Well, all three of us have actually been in it, as babies,
0:12:35 > 0:12:40because our parents bought it.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43I'm the eldest, and they bought it before I was born,
0:12:43 > 0:12:47and then, one after the other, we've been in it as babies,
0:12:47 > 0:12:50so it's been properly used.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52That's absolutely extraordinary.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56So you've actually slept in this. Whether it'd comply with Health and Safety regulations now...
0:12:56 > 0:13:00What year did your parents actually buy this?
0:13:00 > 0:13:04We think in late 1941 or early 1942,
0:13:04 > 0:13:09because they certainly had it by the time I was born in July 1942.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12How absolutely brilliant. Did they just like old items, or...
0:13:12 > 0:13:17Well, they were farmers, had little money, but they liked old things.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21So we know, then, it dates back to at least 1940.
0:13:21 > 0:13:26But the question is, how much further does it go beyond that?
0:13:26 > 0:13:29Well, yes. We think considerably further, but we don't know.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32I would agree with you, I think it's about 100 years earlier.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35I think it dates from around 1840.
0:13:35 > 0:13:39It's got this wonderful painted decoration around it.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42Have you worked out what the scenes relate to?
0:13:42 > 0:13:44Well, we think it's the Prodigal Son.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46I would agree with you, definitely.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49There's the scene here of one of the sons departing,
0:13:49 > 0:13:53here is the son feeding the swine,
0:13:53 > 0:13:56so that's certainly the tale it tells.
0:13:56 > 0:14:01I think it's from a different area, historically known as Transylvania.
0:14:01 > 0:14:05- Oh!- And so more of that, sort of, Central Eastern Europe,
0:14:05 > 0:14:10perhaps what we now know as Slovakia, Hungary, Romania,
0:14:10 > 0:14:13- possibly even going closer to Russia.- Oh.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16But there has been so little research done
0:14:16 > 0:14:19- into furniture from that region.- Yes.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21It's very difficult to pinpoint where.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23And cradles, on the whole,
0:14:23 > 0:14:27don't have a particularly high value, unfortunately.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31They tend to not be used. I mean, your parents bucked the trend.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34- So, three sisters, you're in age order, are you?- Yes.
0:14:34 > 0:14:35Oldest, middle, youngest.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39Do you remember seeing either of your younger sisters sleeping in it?
0:14:39 > 0:14:43Well, Laura came along a number of years after us two,
0:14:43 > 0:14:46so we definitely remember Laura in it,
0:14:46 > 0:14:48because she's 15 years younger than me,
0:14:48 > 0:14:53so she was in that, and, I mean, both of us remember her in it,
0:14:53 > 0:14:56and the occasional cry that woke us up in the night.
0:14:56 > 0:15:01Well, as far as value goes, it's worth in the region of £400.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04That's really not the point of this object, is it?
0:15:04 > 0:15:08No, no, I don't think the value is of any concern.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12Obviously, children have been sleeping in this for 100 years
0:15:12 > 0:15:15before your parents bought it.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18I'm just very pleased to meet the last three people who slept in it.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23Well, I'm standing here with...
0:15:24 > 0:15:27..Mr York, I think he is, isn't he?
0:15:27 > 0:15:31And what a fantastic figure he is. Where does he fit in?
0:15:31 > 0:15:34Well, he advertised Rowntree's chocolates, Plain York, York Milk
0:15:34 > 0:15:38and York Motoring. And Rowntree's is, of course, very big in York,
0:15:38 > 0:15:42this is where we were founded, and he was our advertising mascot.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46Amazing. So York really has this relationship with chocolate.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50It is extraordinary. And one has to say
0:15:50 > 0:15:52that there was Rowntree's here, there's Terry's here
0:15:52 > 0:15:55and there are other companies... There's Cadbury's and Fry's
0:15:55 > 0:15:57but they were all Quakers, weren't they?
0:15:57 > 0:15:59Oh, yes. And because they were all Quakers,
0:15:59 > 0:16:01George Cadbury and Lewis Fry were both sent to York
0:16:01 > 0:16:03to Joseph Rowntree's father's house
0:16:03 > 0:16:06to be apprentices in his grocer's shop.
0:16:06 > 0:16:10So Rowntree's, Fry and Cadbury were all working together as teenagers
0:16:10 > 0:16:11and growing up together.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13That's extraordinary, I didn't know that.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15So we've definitely got the roots here of chocolate city.
0:16:15 > 0:16:20Fantastic. So Mr York was a sort of advertising figure, I presume.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23And what does he do?
0:16:23 > 0:16:27Well, he appeared in poster adverts and cinema adverts,
0:16:27 > 0:16:31but this particular model, built in 1928,
0:16:31 > 0:16:34he used to have a tray of leaflets on his arm
0:16:34 > 0:16:38and he would move his arm to pick up a leaflet and hand it out
0:16:38 > 0:16:39to whoever was passing.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41And where does he reside at the moment?
0:16:41 > 0:16:44He lives in the company archive, with me.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46So he's your co-worker, is he?
0:16:46 > 0:16:48This is my only co-worker!
0:16:48 > 0:16:50Can we get him going?
0:16:50 > 0:16:51Yes, of course.
0:16:51 > 0:16:56And let's see how great, or otherwise, he is.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00Now what's he doing? Whoa! Up go those eyebrows.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03And I love this, this sort of Dicky Bird, "It's a four."
0:17:07 > 0:17:09What we really need is a lip reader.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12I'm sure he's actually saying something quite interesting.
0:17:12 > 0:17:13He's saying,
0:17:13 > 0:17:17"Buy Plain York Motoring."
0:17:17 > 0:17:20Wonderful. He's in great, great working order and you can imagine,
0:17:20 > 0:17:22at a trade fair, he would actually stop the traffic.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26He comes from a tradition of automata.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29If one looks back in France in the 19th century,
0:17:29 > 0:17:34these automated figures were produced for home entertainment,
0:17:34 > 0:17:37and then somebody cottoned onto the idea, "Ah, well, maybe
0:17:37 > 0:17:40"if we make them with a big spring, we can have them in shop windows."
0:17:40 > 0:17:43But I can imagine that having something like
0:17:43 > 0:17:47Mr York at a trade fair... It would stop the traffic,
0:17:47 > 0:17:50it would push the product, and I think he still does it.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54I think he's wonderful. When it comes to value,
0:17:54 > 0:17:56I could easily see him fetching
0:17:56 > 0:17:59between £3,000 and £5,000. I mean, he's a great object
0:17:59 > 0:18:04and I hope he continues to keep you company in your office for many years to come.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06He will.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22Here's a very interesting looking pendant.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25It's decorated with blue enamel and pearls and diamonds
0:18:25 > 0:18:27and the very least of the message here
0:18:27 > 0:18:30is that it's one of very strong affection, one of love.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33These are pearls for Venus, diamonds forever,
0:18:33 > 0:18:37blue ribbons for love. But what's all this love about?
0:18:37 > 0:18:40It belonged to my mother. And she passed it on to my wife.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43It has a history behind it because there are four names -
0:18:43 > 0:18:45well, an inscription on the back,
0:18:45 > 0:18:48and I've often wondered what it was
0:18:48 > 0:18:50and I spent a bit of time last night reading about it.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54Last night! That's not much of a run-up!
0:18:54 > 0:18:55We've had it for years.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59- You've had it for years and you got a bit exited last night.- Yes.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02It is something personal because if you look carefully
0:19:02 > 0:19:04there is an inscription.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06What does it say?
0:19:06 > 0:19:11"To Mary from Alice, Helena, Louise and Beatrice."
0:19:11 > 0:19:16That's the four daughters of Queen Victoria.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18It certainly is their names.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22Princess Victoria is not on it, because there's a date of
0:19:22 > 0:19:251861 where, by that time, she was married
0:19:25 > 0:19:27and I think living in Hanover.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29- Exactly, being Empress of Prussia. - Yes.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33It's a fantastic thing, and I think with that combination of names,
0:19:33 > 0:19:36the balance of probability is you're exactly on the right track here.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39That this is a very personal souvenir,
0:19:39 > 0:19:42a very personal British royal souvenir,
0:19:42 > 0:19:45and not only does it have the inscription, but it has the hair
0:19:45 > 0:19:48- of the four princesses, doesn't it? - We assume it's the hair of the four.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50I don't think there's a shadow of doubt
0:19:50 > 0:19:53about the combination of the names, the presence of the hair,
0:19:53 > 0:19:57the character of the jewel, which is absolutely in keeping for a jewel
0:19:57 > 0:20:00from 1861, and this mania of the British Royal Family
0:20:00 > 0:20:04for engraving the provenances of these small
0:20:04 > 0:20:06intensely personal souvenirs.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08Really, there's no intrinsic value here at all,
0:20:08 > 0:20:12it's all emotional value, and the message there
0:20:12 > 0:20:16- is one of love - it's a family love really.- And it says "To Mary".
0:20:16 > 0:20:17And who do you think Mary is?
0:20:17 > 0:20:19It's not Queen Mary as she wasn't alive in 1861.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22That's a good reason for it not to be her.
0:20:22 > 0:20:26- It's Queen Mary's mother, I think, Mary of Teck.- Absolutely.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28The Princess Mary that you're talking about -
0:20:28 > 0:20:31and it may well be her, I'm not absolutely certain that it is -
0:20:31 > 0:20:34- is a granddaughter of King George III, I think.- Yes.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36Which really is - as they say - pushing it a bit.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38This is a very, very Royal lady indeed.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41but what I can tell you about this jewel
0:20:41 > 0:20:44- is that it's given in April 1861, isn't it?- Yes.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47Six months later, the character of this jewel would have changed
0:20:47 > 0:20:50in colour, and importance, and focus,
0:20:50 > 0:20:53and everything else that you can possibly imagine.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56And the reason is that Prince Albert, their father, died
0:20:56 > 0:20:59just before Christmas in 1861.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02And this is all joy, and all love and all family connections
0:21:02 > 0:21:06and an intensely personal souvenir of family affection, which was
0:21:06 > 0:21:09to be utterly and completely wrecked just before Christmas in 1861.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11- Yes.- Prince Albert died,
0:21:11 > 0:21:15Queen Victoria wrote to King Leopold of Belgium the day after his death.
0:21:15 > 0:21:20She said, "My life as a happy one is ended. The world has gone from me."
0:21:20 > 0:21:23I believe most definitely that these are the four royal princesses.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27They're giving it to a Mary, and we yet have to find out who that is.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30With a bit of work, I think we will.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33An extraordinarily intimate present from
0:21:33 > 0:21:36the four princesses of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
0:21:36 > 0:21:38and Ireland. So how to value it?
0:21:38 > 0:21:40I think this thing is certainly worth -
0:21:40 > 0:21:44I'm going to say £3,000 to £5,000. Closer to five.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46Well, it doesn't matter.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50It doesn't matter to me - at all! I've loved it.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54With temperatures going way over 80
0:21:54 > 0:21:59- today, the thought of going swimming is mega-appealing.- Absolutely.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03And you've very kindly brought us along a collection of swimsuits.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07I have. It's part of my collection. I collect costume and textiles
0:22:07 > 0:22:11and this is just a very tiny part of my costume collection.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15But we rarely ever see bathing costumes. Why is that?
0:22:15 > 0:22:17I think they're more and more difficult to come by.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21I mean, certainly to find something these days is very difficult.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25I've collected this over the last maybe 20 years,
0:22:25 > 0:22:31and it's just part of my passion really for social history
0:22:31 > 0:22:34and why changes happen in fashion.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38Now, one always thinks it's the Victorians who started the fashion
0:22:38 > 0:22:43in bathing and the famous resorts - so when did it all start?
0:22:43 > 0:22:45I think it probably goes back earlier than that,
0:22:45 > 0:22:49certainly to the spa towns of Regency times.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53If you think of Scarborough and Brighton, for example,
0:22:53 > 0:22:57the Prince Regent brought the seaside into fashion,
0:22:57 > 0:23:00so promenade dresses became very prominent,
0:23:00 > 0:23:07and then spa therapies which took on board the benefits of water,
0:23:07 > 0:23:12then that really came to bring spa resorts such as Scarborough
0:23:12 > 0:23:17to the front of fashion. So certainly by the mid 19th century,
0:23:17 > 0:23:21- it was becoming popular.- So, what's the earliest example you have here?
0:23:21 > 0:23:25The earliest pieces I would say are the red one over here
0:23:25 > 0:23:31and this maroon one, which are late Victorian/Edwardian,
0:23:31 > 0:23:37so maybe 1890-1900. And they're quite interesting because they're made of
0:23:37 > 0:23:43very thick cotton, which, to wear a dress like this today
0:23:43 > 0:23:47would be quite difficult - but also there would be bloomers underneath.
0:23:47 > 0:23:53- Fantastic.- And the ladies would also wear stockings and boots - we have
0:23:53 > 0:23:57- some examples here - to go into the sea.- And then
0:23:57 > 0:24:00obviously in the Edwardian times it wasn't quite so conservative,
0:24:00 > 0:24:03- they revealed a little bit more? - That's right. The one down here,
0:24:03 > 0:24:07the striped blue one, I think that's a gentleman's costume.
0:24:07 > 0:24:08Oh, this is what I would have worn.
0:24:08 > 0:24:15Because frequently the gentlemen's costumes would have skirts on them.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18- OK.- Just to protect modesty because
0:24:18 > 0:24:21they're very revealing, being knitted,
0:24:21 > 0:24:24so even the gentlemen would need to wear a skirt.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28What sort of prices do you have to pay for the more important pieces?
0:24:28 > 0:24:31It's difficult to know, because it's such a long time that I bought them,
0:24:31 > 0:24:36but maybe £100 I probably paid for something like this.
0:24:36 > 0:24:41Maybe these were - I don't know - £20, £50.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44I think they're glorious and I think they're fabulous
0:24:44 > 0:24:47for a spa town to have an exhibition of this. I'm sure from
0:24:47 > 0:24:50a museum point of view, they belong in your collection obviously,
0:24:50 > 0:24:53but it would be great to see more of these sort of things in museums,
0:24:53 > 0:24:56- as they are a social history. - They are, yes.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59It's a very popular pastime. Hundreds of thousands of people
0:24:59 > 0:25:03used to go to the seaside to take the waters. This is what they wore.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05MUSIC: "I Do Like To Be Beside the Seaside"
0:25:18 > 0:25:20THEY LAUGH
0:25:25 > 0:25:29This is a really pretty glass, so where does it fall into your life?
0:25:29 > 0:25:34Given to us about 30 years ago by an elderly lady,
0:25:34 > 0:25:36friend of the family, long since deceased.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40So, why have you brought it along today?
0:25:40 > 0:25:44Well, I wasn't sure whether it was what I would call a reproduction,
0:25:44 > 0:25:49being made fairly recently, or whether it was an original.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52And how old do you think it would be, if it were original?
0:25:52 > 0:25:55Oh, I would think about 1790 or thereabouts.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57I think it's just a little bit earlier than that,
0:25:57 > 0:26:00and it's absolutely right.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03It's a facet stem wine glass,
0:26:03 > 0:26:06and isn't it funny that if you were to come round to mine
0:26:06 > 0:26:09for dinner tonight, and I were to offer you wine in this glass,
0:26:09 > 0:26:13you'd think I was a miser, you'd think, "What a stingy portion."
0:26:13 > 0:26:17But, of course, the reason that wine glasses of this period
0:26:17 > 0:26:20- are so small is they were for toasting.- Yes.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24So, you would have it refilled at the sideboard,
0:26:24 > 0:26:27it would be brought to the table by one of your servants -
0:26:27 > 0:26:29one of your many servants, I'm sure, in your case -
0:26:29 > 0:26:34and then you would make the toast and then it would be...
0:26:34 > 0:26:36- Bottom's up.- All in one.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39All in one. It contains a mouthful.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42And that's a way we can date these,
0:26:42 > 0:26:45in that that toasting etiquette
0:26:45 > 0:26:48really died out by about 1780,
0:26:48 > 0:26:51so you're on the right sort of lines, but just a little late.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55I think this is about 1770-1775,
0:26:55 > 0:26:58and it would be a wheel-engraved cipher.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01Now, what we're missing from this cipher
0:27:01 > 0:27:03which would really be helpful is the crown -
0:27:03 > 0:27:08to work out whether it's a baronet's crown, or a ducal
0:27:08 > 0:27:09or a knight.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13So... And these are very difficult to work out.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16If you could lock this in to a particular owner,
0:27:16 > 0:27:18you're going to add -
0:27:18 > 0:27:22its value as it stands is
0:27:22 > 0:27:25- £400.- It's one of a pair.
0:27:25 > 0:27:29They would be worth £800. I think my maths is right.
0:27:29 > 0:27:35- Yeah!- But if you could add a name, if you work out
0:27:35 > 0:27:39who that belonged to, then you've just broken the thousand barrier.
0:27:39 > 0:27:45- Uh-huh.- So I'll leave you with that little job.- Yeah, thank you.
0:27:47 > 0:27:51It's the most glorious summer's day here in York,
0:27:51 > 0:27:55and of course the sun is out, the sky's beautifully blue
0:27:55 > 0:27:58and we've got lots of lovely white clouds, and you've brought in
0:27:58 > 0:28:01an absolute gem, a lovely cloud study which is signed.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03If it wasn't signed, one might think that perhaps
0:28:03 > 0:28:06it was by Constable or perhaps one of his followers.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08But of course it's not -
0:28:08 > 0:28:12- it's by the great 20th century artist, Edward Seago.- That's right.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15- So, where did you find it? - It was on a dealer's website
0:28:15 > 0:28:18about five years ago and I really couldn't afford it
0:28:18 > 0:28:22and I went horrendously overdrawn for it, but I just couldn't resist it.
0:28:22 > 0:28:24I kept looking at it on the website every week
0:28:24 > 0:28:27and in the end I thought, "Go for it". Because I like Constable,
0:28:27 > 0:28:29which you alluded to, and I thought,
0:28:29 > 0:28:32"It might be the next best thing, and I can afford it - just."
0:28:32 > 0:28:36It's a little jewel, this picture by Seago, and of course I think
0:28:36 > 0:28:39probably it was done - well, it was probably just a picture
0:28:39 > 0:28:44that he enjoyed to paint, probably one of those great little studies
0:28:44 > 0:28:48that he would do as a painter enjoying paint rather than
0:28:48 > 0:28:51having to do it as a commission. You can tell that he's actually
0:28:51 > 0:28:55technically very, very good and it gets away from all those wonderful
0:28:55 > 0:28:58but rather prolific Norfolk landscapes that he painted
0:28:58 > 0:29:01and that we all recognise him through. I just love this
0:29:01 > 0:29:04and actually if I'd seen it and had to go overdrawn
0:29:04 > 0:29:06I would have probably done the same thing as you.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09- Have you dated this picture?- No, no.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12I knew he died in 1974, the year I was born,
0:29:12 > 0:29:15but I didn't know when it had been painted.
0:29:15 > 0:29:18I think it's probably quite early because I think
0:29:18 > 0:29:20prior to him doing these great commissions
0:29:20 > 0:29:22and those wonderful landscapes,
0:29:22 > 0:29:24we know that he had quite a weak heart
0:29:24 > 0:29:27so he was there, certainly in his teens,
0:29:27 > 0:29:29painting studies and sketches from his bedroom.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32I suspect this was probably done in his 20s or 30s,
0:29:32 > 0:29:35so we're looking at 1930-1940.
0:29:35 > 0:29:39But it's unusual, it's a total one-off little painting.
0:29:39 > 0:29:45So it is worth not as much as some of those great landscapes
0:29:45 > 0:29:48- that make thousands and thousands of pounds.- No.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51But I certainly could see someone paying at least £3,000 to £5,000
0:29:51 > 0:29:54for it, perhaps even £4,000 to £6,000 for it.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57That's great, that's great. That's a little bit more than I paid
0:29:57 > 0:29:59and I really love it and I'm happy with that.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02- Fantastic.- Thank you.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10Now, this is a very curious looking object, isn't it?
0:30:10 > 0:30:12It looks a bit like a pocket watch, doesn't it?
0:30:12 > 0:30:15The fact is, it looks a bit like a pocket watch
0:30:15 > 0:30:18- but that's a disguise. Do you know what it's a disguise for?- No.
0:30:18 > 0:30:22It's a disguise for a camera.
0:30:22 > 0:30:26Now, what makes you think that a camera might be
0:30:26 > 0:30:29disguised as a pocket watch? Why would they want to do that?
0:30:29 > 0:30:32Because, like, if you thought it was a pocket watch,
0:30:32 > 0:30:34you could have it in your pocket,
0:30:34 > 0:30:38but if you took it out and it was like... took a picture -
0:30:38 > 0:30:41they might not think it was a camera.
0:30:41 > 0:30:44Perfect. You've hit the nail right on the head.
0:30:44 > 0:30:48Because what this is is a kind of detective camera.
0:30:48 > 0:30:53It's a class of camera that's called a subminiature detective camera,
0:30:53 > 0:30:58and it was made very specifically for taking photographs secretly.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01So you can imagine some spy might have used this camera.
0:31:01 > 0:31:05In fact, I'm probably going a little bit too far,
0:31:05 > 0:31:09because really I think these cameras were really a bit of fun as well.
0:31:09 > 0:31:13This particular camera is called a Ticka camera.
0:31:13 > 0:31:16You've probably noticed that it has an inscription on the back
0:31:16 > 0:31:21which says "Ticka", and it's called a Ticka because obviously it looks
0:31:21 > 0:31:25a little bit like a watch, a pocket watch, and hence the name Ticka.
0:31:25 > 0:31:32And this one was made by a company called Houghtons in London.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35Now, Houghtons made this Ticka pocket watch camera
0:31:35 > 0:31:38between 1905 and 1914.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41The person that designed this was a gentleman called Magnus Neill,
0:31:41 > 0:31:43and he was a Swedish gentleman.
0:31:43 > 0:31:47If we look at it, we see here there's a cap on the end
0:31:47 > 0:31:50which looks like the winder for the watch.
0:31:50 > 0:31:52If we take that off, in fact,
0:31:52 > 0:31:56what it reveals is the lens for the camera.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59In fact, if we cock the camera - to get it ready to work - we pull
0:31:59 > 0:32:04this lever back here, and to fire the camera, we point it
0:32:04 > 0:32:07and we push this button and that's the exposure,
0:32:07 > 0:32:09the picture is being taken.
0:32:09 > 0:32:13Now, I want to know if there's any family history.
0:32:13 > 0:32:16- Do you have any spies in your family?- No.
0:32:16 > 0:32:20No spies in your family. OK.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23My nan found this in the drawer
0:32:23 > 0:32:25and she thought it might have been good for an antique.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28Right. Shall we talk about value?
0:32:28 > 0:32:31What do you think, are you interested in how much it's worth?
0:32:31 > 0:32:32Yeah.
0:32:32 > 0:32:33Thought you might be.
0:32:33 > 0:32:36This one is probably going to be worth
0:32:36 > 0:32:38around about £200 in this condition.
0:32:38 > 0:32:40Yeah.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43Quite a lot of money, isn't it? How much pocket money do you get a week?
0:32:43 > 0:32:45- £2.50.- £2.50.
0:32:45 > 0:32:47- That's quite a lot of pocket money, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50- It's going to take a lot of £2.50s to get to £200.- Yes.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53I think you should ask your nan if you can look after this.
0:32:53 > 0:32:55- What do you think?- Yeah.
0:32:55 > 0:33:00Thank you very much for bringing it, it's a really interesting thing.
0:33:00 > 0:33:05Now, when I was a boy - oh, longer ago than I care to remember -
0:33:05 > 0:33:09I used to collect hand grenades, of all things.
0:33:09 > 0:33:13Quite a weird thing to collect, but that got me into militaria
0:33:13 > 0:33:16- and that's why I'm doing the job I'm doing today.- Right.- Right.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19But very interested in Mills bombs in particular,
0:33:19 > 0:33:21the standard sort of pineapple-looking grenade.
0:33:21 > 0:33:22- Oh, yeah, yeah.- Yes.
0:33:22 > 0:33:26And I see here it says "details of production - Mills grenades,
0:33:26 > 0:33:32- "2.2 million Mills bombs made." - Yeah.
0:33:32 > 0:33:33Now, what is this?
0:33:33 > 0:33:35My great-grandfather...?
0:33:35 > 0:33:37Great-grandfather, yeah.
0:33:37 > 0:33:38Yeah, great-grandfather.
0:33:38 > 0:33:41..was the general manager of the Falkirk Iron Company
0:33:41 > 0:33:45and they went into grenade making and things in the...
0:33:45 > 0:33:48- Shells as well.- Shells and things. - And bombs.
0:33:48 > 0:33:50..in the First World War.
0:33:50 > 0:33:55So before the First World War, there were a huge number of factories -
0:33:55 > 0:33:59some large, some small - all over the country,
0:33:59 > 0:34:02manufacturing all sorts of things from tin baths to kettles.
0:34:02 > 0:34:04- Yeah.- Yeah.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07An extraordinary range of metal objects
0:34:07 > 0:34:09and during the First World War,
0:34:09 > 0:34:12because arms were desperately needed,
0:34:12 > 0:34:16a huge number of factories were changed over to armament production,
0:34:16 > 0:34:20and presumably that's what happened to the Falkirk Iron Company.
0:34:20 > 0:34:23Yeah, they were producing baths, I think.
0:34:23 > 0:34:26Baths and ovens and things, stoves, things like that before.
0:34:26 > 0:34:27- Really?- Yeah.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30Well, here we see, if we turn over some of the pages,
0:34:30 > 0:34:34we've got photographs of the manufacturing processes.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37Now, here they're manufacturing... What does this say?
0:34:37 > 0:34:38Two-inch Howitzer bombs,
0:34:38 > 0:34:42and you've got these men working in a factory in the production process.
0:34:42 > 0:34:43Yeah.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46So this must have been fairly early on in the war.
0:34:46 > 0:34:48I would have said so, yeah.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51Because later on, of course, the men were all called up to fight.
0:34:51 > 0:34:54- Yes.- And women started to go into the manufacturing process
0:34:54 > 0:34:56and into the factories.
0:34:56 > 0:35:00Here are two women with Mills bombs, with hand grenades,
0:35:00 > 0:35:03- actually making the hand grenades. - Yeah.
0:35:03 > 0:35:05I mean, this is amazing because, you know,
0:35:05 > 0:35:09these are very, very unusual photographs, they really are.
0:35:09 > 0:35:11And I just can't believe...
0:35:11 > 0:35:14Look at the boxes, look at these crates of empty hand grenades,
0:35:14 > 0:35:16that's the most extraordinary thing.
0:35:16 > 0:35:21- I bet you didn't have that many in your collection!- I certainly didn't, that's quite true.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23I don't have them any more, I sold them.
0:35:23 > 0:35:26Now this photograph is titled "assembling"
0:35:26 > 0:35:29and you see the whole factory floor is full of women,
0:35:29 > 0:35:33- and of course you wouldn't have got that before the First World War.- No.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35So it's a great testament to the power of women
0:35:35 > 0:35:37working in munitions factories.
0:35:37 > 0:35:42If they were filling these grenades, this would have been pretty dangerous work.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45- I should imagine.- Yeah, mm. - Very dangerous work.
0:35:45 > 0:35:48But, you know, another thing is you have to think of the human cost
0:35:48 > 0:35:53of manufacturing these grenades, because many of these munitions
0:35:53 > 0:35:58would have been used in France and Belgium and Germany
0:35:58 > 0:36:01and would have killed countless soldiers,
0:36:01 > 0:36:03so we have to think about the human cost of it.
0:36:03 > 0:36:07But, of course, if these weren't manufactured, many of us wouldn't be here today.
0:36:07 > 0:36:11- That's also true, yeah. - You've got a social document here...
0:36:11 > 0:36:14- Yeah.- ..to show what happened during the First World War.
0:36:14 > 0:36:17A collector would pay you...
0:36:17 > 0:36:21- £300 to £500.- Right. Blimey. - Right, thank you.
0:36:23 > 0:36:27You looked slightly surprised when I opened this
0:36:27 > 0:36:29- and I wanted to talk about it.- Yes.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31Why were you surprised?
0:36:31 > 0:36:34Well, cos when I was given it, I always thought
0:36:34 > 0:36:39it's not the most beautiful piece of jewellery, but it is quite unusual.
0:36:39 > 0:36:41So therefore you don't wear it, I assume.
0:36:41 > 0:36:44No, no, I've never had occasion to wear it.
0:36:44 > 0:36:46- Never had an occasion?- No.
0:36:46 > 0:36:48There's always an occasion to wear jewellery.
0:36:48 > 0:36:53- Well, my mission is for you to start wearing it.- Right.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56After I've explained a little bit about it.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59What is lovely about this is the craftsmanship.
0:36:59 > 0:37:04Now that is the first thing that springs out at me,
0:37:04 > 0:37:07and it is in the shape of a Maltese cross, or a Latin cross,
0:37:07 > 0:37:09they used to use those motifs a lot
0:37:09 > 0:37:13in the late Georgian, early Victorian period.
0:37:13 > 0:37:17- It's quite a bold cross, isn't it? - Yes.- And it's quite a large cross.
0:37:17 > 0:37:22But at the same time, there's that femininity about it,
0:37:22 > 0:37:24and so I think they've done this very cleverly,
0:37:24 > 0:37:26in that they have used chalcedony
0:37:26 > 0:37:30to carve the actual cross,
0:37:30 > 0:37:34and yet, inside, there is this wonderful goldsmithing
0:37:34 > 0:37:36and craftsmanship going on.
0:37:36 > 0:37:38There seems to be different colours of gold -
0:37:38 > 0:37:41there's like a silver and a rose and a yellow gold as well -
0:37:41 > 0:37:42so there's all different colours.
0:37:42 > 0:37:46Exactly, now that is because the goldsmiths at the time,
0:37:46 > 0:37:48they weren't happy with just yellow gold,
0:37:48 > 0:37:52they wanted to have other colours in the gold as well,
0:37:52 > 0:37:55- so they would put copper in with the gold to make it red.- Right, yes.
0:37:55 > 0:37:58They put silver in with the gold to make it of a green tint,
0:37:58 > 0:38:02but that's why you've got what looks like green gold,
0:38:02 > 0:38:05red gold and you've got silver here as well.
0:38:05 > 0:38:09But also they've got this emerald. Now...
0:38:09 > 0:38:11- Is that what it is? - Yes, it's an emerald.
0:38:11 > 0:38:13Oh, right, I didn't know that.
0:38:13 > 0:38:17And emerald was used for... Green is for hope.
0:38:17 > 0:38:20- There was a lot of symbolism during the Victorian period.- Yeah.
0:38:20 > 0:38:24You have the pearls there for purity and honesty,
0:38:24 > 0:38:27so you've got the love of Christ,
0:38:27 > 0:38:30hope of the love of Christ and its purity.
0:38:30 > 0:38:32That emerald...
0:38:32 > 0:38:35Even though this looks like it was probably made in England,
0:38:35 > 0:38:38But that emerald probably would have come from South America.
0:38:38 > 0:38:40Oh, right.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43- I mean we're talking, you know, 1840.- Really?
0:38:43 > 0:38:46We're talking a long time ago. Have I convinced you yet?
0:38:46 > 0:38:48Well, I'm thinking about it, yeah.
0:38:48 > 0:38:50Are you thinking about it? Excellent.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53I must admit, the more I look at it, over the time,
0:38:53 > 0:38:55because it gets put away and gets pulled out.
0:38:55 > 0:38:58The first time I saw it was like, "Oh, God," but now it's actually...
0:38:58 > 0:39:01Yeah, you have to look at it and you have to look at the detail.
0:39:01 > 0:39:03- The appreciation of it.- Yeah.
0:39:03 > 0:39:05When you appreciate it, and you see the craftsmanship,
0:39:05 > 0:39:08- you'll want to wear it.- Yeah.- Value.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11Well, I would say it's going to be in the region
0:39:11 > 0:39:13of around £600 to £800 at auction.
0:39:13 > 0:39:14Really?
0:39:14 > 0:39:16I think it'll look fabulous on you.
0:39:16 > 0:39:19- Brilliant, thank you. - So go and wear it.- I think I will.
0:39:21 > 0:39:24Now this little bell tells two great stories.
0:39:24 > 0:39:27The first one, it's crested to Lancing.
0:39:27 > 0:39:29- This was when people started to go on holidays.- Right.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32Just after all the railways, so people went to the seaside
0:39:32 > 0:39:36- and they picked up a little souvenir like this bell.- OK.
0:39:36 > 0:39:38- But this is a bit unusual. - Yeah, yeah.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41Because it's also about the suffragettes. Yeah.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44What did you think about it? Why did you want it?
0:39:44 > 0:39:47Well, it's actually my mum and dad's bell, but I've always loved it.
0:39:47 > 0:39:50- This is an incredibly important thing for you and I.- Yes, yes.
0:39:50 > 0:39:52You know, women didn't have the vote,
0:39:52 > 0:39:57the Women's National Society For Suffrage started in 1872.
0:39:57 > 0:39:59By the time this little bell was made...
0:39:59 > 0:40:03- I mean, women over 30 got the vote in 1918.- OK.
0:40:03 > 0:40:05But only if they were a householder,
0:40:05 > 0:40:08married to a householder or had a university degree.
0:40:08 > 0:40:10Right. OK, right.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13- So we didn't get the vote, really, until 1928.- No.
0:40:13 > 0:40:15But this was the period where everybody wanted to,
0:40:15 > 0:40:19- you know, support the suffragettes. Certainly women did.- Yes, exactly.
0:40:19 > 0:40:23- So this was bought. It's a very unusual little bell.- Yes.
0:40:23 > 0:40:26- I've seen a lot of crested ware but this is unusual.- Right.
0:40:26 > 0:40:30- But the bad news is that nobody wants crested ware at the moment. - That's fine.
0:40:30 > 0:40:32Completely out of fashion.
0:40:32 > 0:40:36Most bits of crested ware I look at, I'm saying two, three pounds.
0:40:36 > 0:40:38- Yeah.- This piece?- Right.
0:40:38 > 0:40:40- It's about suffragettes.- Yes, yeah.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43It's a lovely bell, it's made by Arcadian Company
0:40:43 > 0:40:46and I'd say you'd easily get at least £100.
0:40:46 > 0:40:52Oh, wow! Oh, fantastic. I wasn't expecting that from that, no.
0:40:52 > 0:40:55But that's... For you and I, this was a very important thing.
0:40:55 > 0:41:00Yes, exactly, yes and we just love that bell anyway, so... Thank you!
0:41:02 > 0:41:05- Motor cycles and mice, a very strange mix.- Yes.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07Who is Harold King?
0:41:07 > 0:41:09Harold King was my great uncle.
0:41:09 > 0:41:11There's a picture of him,
0:41:11 > 0:41:14and he was the president of the Eboracum Motor Cycle Club.
0:41:14 > 0:41:20OK, and there is the enamel badge of Eboracum Motor Club.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23Eboracum being the old Roman name for York.
0:41:23 > 0:41:26Do we know when it was founded?
0:41:26 > 0:41:28I'm not sure, no.
0:41:28 > 0:41:30- No, because it's still going today. - Yes, it is.
0:41:30 > 0:41:33I think it was founded in the early 20th century,
0:41:33 > 0:41:35some time around 1910-1915.
0:41:35 > 0:41:40This is made locally by none other than Robert "Mousey" Thompson.
0:41:40 > 0:41:43Robert Thompson, he was a Victorian by birth
0:41:43 > 0:41:47and he made this in a traditional Arts and Crafts way,
0:41:47 > 0:41:49following the sort of William Morris...
0:41:49 > 0:41:53No fuss, it's air-dried oak, British oak,
0:41:53 > 0:41:56made locally at Kilburn in the Hambleton Hills
0:41:56 > 0:41:59- not, what, 10 or 15 miles from here? - Mm-hm.
0:41:59 > 0:42:02I'm familiar with him because I went to school in York
0:42:02 > 0:42:06and our school had furniture by the Mouseman.
0:42:06 > 0:42:09And of course as a little boy, my eyes were always drawn to the mouse
0:42:09 > 0:42:12and I've learned since there's mice all over York - wooden ones.
0:42:12 > 0:42:16But this is a really interesting family heirloom.
0:42:16 > 0:42:19- Shall we have a look?- Yes.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22Now I know the collective word for a group of mice
0:42:22 > 0:42:24is apparently a mischief.
0:42:24 > 0:42:27- Oh, right.- So we have a mischief of mice in the form of napkin rings.
0:42:27 > 0:42:30Have you ever used them? They look absolutely...
0:42:30 > 0:42:33- They've never been touched. - No? Each one has a mouse.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36Now I know that, today, a mouse costs something like £20 per mouse,
0:42:36 > 0:42:39in man time, to carve,
0:42:39 > 0:42:44so you've got a lot of mice hours built up in this little group.
0:42:44 > 0:42:46Mm-hm.
0:42:46 > 0:42:50It was awarded in 1962, he was then secretary.
0:42:50 > 0:42:52Where's the mouse, then?
0:42:52 > 0:42:56It's on the back, let's have a look, there he is.
0:42:56 > 0:43:00And it's an incuse mouse rather than on the napkin rings being in relief,
0:43:00 > 0:43:05so just in his own little arch, just the ears, the body in silhouette.
0:43:05 > 0:43:07It's absolutely smashing.
0:43:07 > 0:43:11Value? Well, the box is very personal to you and to him,
0:43:11 > 0:43:15but the napkin rings are, you know, lovely.
0:43:15 > 0:43:18I think as a group, £600 to £800
0:43:18 > 0:43:20would be my sort of estimate at auction.
0:43:20 > 0:43:23Gosh, right. It's more than we thought.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31Well, you may know that on this series of the Roadshow,
0:43:31 > 0:43:34we've been playing a bit of an interesting game,
0:43:34 > 0:43:39where we're presenting people with three similar objects.
0:43:39 > 0:43:44One that's basic, one that's better and one that's best,
0:43:44 > 0:43:47and I wonder, you know, looking at this...
0:43:47 > 0:43:51motley crew of objects you've brought along to the show today,
0:43:51 > 0:43:56whether, you know, the viewers would find any one of these pieces
0:43:56 > 0:43:58standing out from any of the others.
0:43:58 > 0:44:02But could you tell me collectively where they come from,
0:44:02 > 0:44:05- what their history is.- From my mum's side of the family.- Right.
0:44:05 > 0:44:09- Grandparents. These two plates are off my dad's side of the family.- OK.
0:44:09 > 0:44:13The paperweight was my mum's cousin's grandma's.
0:44:13 > 0:44:17- Right.- My mum sort of got that when she was about ten, off her cousin.
0:44:17 > 0:44:19But the other one's my grandparents',
0:44:19 > 0:44:21they were always on their fireplace.
0:44:21 > 0:44:23- Yes.- Same with these, really.
0:44:23 > 0:44:27- So they've all played an important part in family history, really.- Yes.
0:44:27 > 0:44:30I think you might suspect that there's one piece on this table
0:44:30 > 0:44:34that's been making my little heart go all of a flutter.
0:44:34 > 0:44:37These are nice decorative objects, these ones,
0:44:37 > 0:44:39but probably if you add them all together,
0:44:39 > 0:44:43they won't make more than a couple of hundred pounds. Modest value.
0:44:43 > 0:44:46This is the kind of thing we see on the Roadshow all the time.
0:44:46 > 0:44:48- And then there's this one.- Right.
0:44:48 > 0:44:52And it's a paperweight and it's made of glass
0:44:52 > 0:44:55and you can see it's got...
0:44:56 > 0:45:00..a little pansy there and a pansy bud,
0:45:00 > 0:45:06- a rose and a rose bud and two thistles, just there.- Yeah.
0:45:06 > 0:45:09And they're tied together with a little pink ribbon
0:45:09 > 0:45:11at the bottom of the stems.
0:45:13 > 0:45:17When I first saw that, I could hardly believe my eyes.
0:45:19 > 0:45:22- Really? - Have you any idea where it's from?
0:45:22 > 0:45:24- No. - The best ones are made in France.
0:45:24 > 0:45:26Right.
0:45:26 > 0:45:28This is a French one.
0:45:28 > 0:45:31And there were three famous makers.
0:45:31 > 0:45:32There was St Louis...
0:45:34 > 0:45:36..there was Baccarat and there was Clichy,
0:45:36 > 0:45:39- and this is a Clichy one, but it's not marked, is it?- No.
0:45:39 > 0:45:41But this rose that I pointed to.
0:45:41 > 0:45:47- Yeah.- It's a Clichy rose and we know this is a weight made by Clichy.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50You might ask, "Why these three flowers?"
0:45:50 > 0:45:54And there are some paperweight collectors
0:45:54 > 0:45:56who think there's a significance with the Crimean War.
0:45:56 > 0:46:00Because in the Crimean War, England and Scotland were -
0:46:00 > 0:46:05- for a change - allied with France, represented by the pansy.- Yeah.
0:46:05 > 0:46:08So there may be that kind of significance.
0:46:08 > 0:46:12And we know the Crimean War was 1853-56,
0:46:12 > 0:46:15so, really, I'm telling you this is mid-19th century.
0:46:15 > 0:46:18There's a huge number of collectors of these paperweights.
0:46:18 > 0:46:22- There are lots and lots of rich collectors in America.- Right.
0:46:22 > 0:46:24And they're selling really well
0:46:24 > 0:46:29and, you know, they make in salerooms all the time
0:46:29 > 0:46:31- £500...- Gosh.
0:46:32 > 0:46:34..or £1,000.
0:46:35 > 0:46:37But this one is different.
0:46:37 > 0:46:39Right. Thanks(!)
0:46:39 > 0:46:43Sorry, I'm being cruel. This one is different.
0:46:43 > 0:46:48There are a very, very small number of these weights around.
0:46:48 > 0:46:53I sold one recently, so I know exactly what it's worth.
0:46:53 > 0:46:56- Right.- It sold...
0:46:56 > 0:47:02for £22,000.
0:47:02 > 0:47:03Never!
0:47:05 > 0:47:07Oh, Mum!
0:47:07 > 0:47:10- 22,000?- 22,000.
0:47:11 > 0:47:14I used to say to my wife, I used to say,
0:47:14 > 0:47:18"That paperweight that's always on the dressing table, shall I move it?
0:47:18 > 0:47:21"I'm sick of seeing it."
0:47:21 > 0:47:23- Well, I think it's wonderful.- Wow.
0:47:23 > 0:47:27It must be one of the best paperweights we've seen on the Roadshow. It's fantastic.
0:47:27 > 0:47:28Thank you.
0:47:28 > 0:47:29THEY LAUGH
0:47:29 > 0:47:31Gosh, go and tell Mum now.
0:47:32 > 0:47:34- Good.- Thank you very much.
0:47:34 > 0:47:36Good. So what's your mother doing today?
0:47:36 > 0:47:39She's at home making piccalilli, actually.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42Making piccalilli, while you're here getting that kind of news.
0:47:42 > 0:47:46Do you think you ought to give her a ring and let her know?
0:47:46 > 0:47:47And do you know what?
0:47:47 > 0:47:50She did just that, phoning her there and then.
0:47:50 > 0:47:51Want to see what happened?
0:47:52 > 0:47:55- Hello? - 'Hello, love. Have you just rung?'
0:47:55 > 0:47:59I have, yeah. I've got some news for you about your paperweight, Mum.
0:47:59 > 0:48:00'What?'
0:48:00 > 0:48:04You're on loud speaker. It's worth £22,000.
0:48:04 > 0:48:07'No, it isn't! Don't be so daft.'
0:48:07 > 0:48:09You're on loud speaker, Mum, it is.
0:48:09 > 0:48:12- 'No, it isn't.'- It is!
0:48:12 > 0:48:13HER MUM LAUGHS
0:48:13 > 0:48:16- Never!- Yes, it is, Mum. Yeah.
0:48:16 > 0:48:17'Good grief.
0:48:17 > 0:48:20'I can't believe that sum, I've had that since I was a little girl.'
0:48:20 > 0:48:22I know, I know. Well. I'll let you go
0:48:22 > 0:48:25and I'll phone you again in a minute. Love you, bye.
0:48:25 > 0:48:27Oh, how lovely.
0:48:27 > 0:48:28THEY LAUGH
0:48:28 > 0:48:31What a terrific way to end our day in York.
0:48:31 > 0:48:34Best go and check your paperweights now. Or better still,
0:48:34 > 0:48:35bring them along to a Roadshow.
0:48:35 > 0:48:39From York and the whole team, bye-bye.