0:00:44 > 0:00:47'For this week's Antiques Roadshow we've come to deepest south-west Wales,
0:00:47 > 0:00:52'to the small town of Pembroke, dominated by an ancient castle,
0:00:52 > 0:00:54'best known as the birthplace of Henry VII.'
0:00:55 > 0:00:59'So I've got on my bike - a special Roadshow one, no less -
0:00:59 > 0:01:00'to tell everyone to get their treasures out,
0:01:00 > 0:01:02'because we are coming to town.'
0:01:07 > 0:01:09The town of Pembroke in South Pembrokeshire has a distinctive
0:01:09 > 0:01:11English and Welsh identity,
0:01:11 > 0:01:15and when you begin to look into its past, it's clear why.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30When the Normans invaded Pembroke almost 1,000 years ago,
0:01:30 > 0:01:34what's known now as the Mill Pond was then open to the sea.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37And boats from the seafaring nations of Europe could sail right up into
0:01:37 > 0:01:40the town to sell their goods or to invade.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44'The Normans liked the town's location,
0:01:44 > 0:01:47'so close to Ireland and to trade links.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51'Unsurprisingly, they also wanted to control the people of Pembrokeshire,
0:01:51 > 0:01:53'and keep hold of this strategically important outpost
0:01:53 > 0:01:56'for their English throne.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58'The Welsh language became almost extinct.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00'It's easy to see why it became known as
0:02:00 > 0:02:02'Little England Beyond Wales.'
0:02:05 > 0:02:09These days, there is a strong Welsh identity here, even a local dialect,
0:02:09 > 0:02:13so let's hope our experts don't get in a caffle or talk any cabswabble
0:02:13 > 0:02:14when they hear it.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26Let's see what treasures our visitors have brought us here today
0:02:26 > 0:02:28for the Antiques Roadshow at Pembroke Castle.
0:02:39 > 0:02:40This is awe-inspiring,
0:02:40 > 0:02:45to be sitting at the walls of this fabulous castle
0:02:45 > 0:02:49and Henry VII was born just there.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51- That's right.- In 1457.
0:02:51 > 0:02:56And you have brought me the most wonderful, wonderful leather box,
0:02:56 > 0:02:58with this royal crown on the top.
0:02:59 > 0:03:05And then, open it to reveal this fabulous stick pin.
0:03:07 > 0:03:08Tell me the story.
0:03:09 > 0:03:14Well, I believe that the cipher is Franz Ferdinand, and the crown.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16It originally was owned
0:03:16 > 0:03:20by marriage to an ancestor of mine.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24And he worked for George V.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27- So I assume...- Really? What did he do for George V?
0:03:27 > 0:03:32Well, something quite lowly, but I think he must have worked very hard,
0:03:32 > 0:03:36because he was Page of the Backstairs.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38Page of the Backstairs?
0:03:38 > 0:03:40That is a brilliant title!
0:03:40 > 0:03:42He was given this?
0:03:42 > 0:03:48Yes. I don't know if it's true but I'm told that when visiting dignitaries
0:03:48 > 0:03:52came along and they did errands for the visitor, whoever he was...
0:03:54 > 0:03:57..very often they'd give them a little present at the end
0:03:57 > 0:04:00- if they were nice.- My goodness me.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02That is... That's fabulous!
0:04:02 > 0:04:07That is fabulous. And, of course, he got assassinated in 1914,
0:04:07 > 0:04:12with his wife, and this was the start of World War I.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15And it has his crown and his cipher, the two Fs
0:04:15 > 0:04:17in this beautiful enamel.
0:04:18 > 0:04:23It is in a box by F Holder.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25They were jewellers in Vienna.
0:04:25 > 0:04:30And in fact, the Archduke would go there quite often to get stick pins
0:04:30 > 0:04:32made by this jewellers
0:04:32 > 0:04:38to obviously give as presents to people he admired and loved.
0:04:38 > 0:04:43And this date that this was made is around about 1910,
0:04:43 > 0:04:45that sort of period.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48- Thank you.- These are lovely little diamonds here, too.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53I just think the Page of the Backstairs was given
0:04:53 > 0:04:55a most incredible jewel.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58The value, of course, is...
0:04:58 > 0:05:01It is in the story, it's what it represents.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03And, you know,
0:05:03 > 0:05:09the price would be, at auction, in the region of around £800.
0:05:09 > 0:05:10Really? Good heavens.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13It's only small.
0:05:14 > 0:05:15Thank you very much.
0:05:17 > 0:05:22It's so lovely to see such a big bit of furniture on the Roadshow,
0:05:22 > 0:05:26and you could be forgiven, like within this setting of the castle,
0:05:26 > 0:05:28for imagining the Knights of the Round Table,
0:05:28 > 0:05:30with King Arthur at one end...
0:05:30 > 0:05:32And this feast going on.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34But it looks like it's had that kind of a life.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36What do you know about it?
0:05:36 > 0:05:38I know that my great-great-grandfather,
0:05:38 > 0:05:42or possibly my great-great-great-grandfather, brought it back from India.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45And that is pretty much all I know about it.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47It's been in the family for ever.
0:05:47 > 0:05:48So...
0:05:48 > 0:05:51Your great-great-grandfather brought it back, do you know what he did?
0:05:51 > 0:05:53I think he might have been...
0:05:53 > 0:05:57He was a Macintosh, they were involved in the rubber industry,
0:05:57 > 0:05:59in India, in the Far East.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03I was hoping you were going to say that he was something to do with
0:06:03 > 0:06:06the sea, because with this base here,
0:06:06 > 0:06:12- what's lovely is you've got these beautiful stylised sea beasts.- Yes.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15You could go to one of these manufacturers or makers and say,
0:06:15 > 0:06:18I want this table with the sample wood top, I'm a merchant
0:06:18 > 0:06:22of some sort, I'm bringing back rubber - maybe that's the thing -
0:06:22 > 0:06:25can I have sea beasts? Can I have dolphins?
0:06:25 > 0:06:27Can I have a single column?
0:06:27 > 0:06:31There's a million ways in which you can interpret it.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33That's what I love about it.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36Those beasts on the front are beautifully carved.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38- You must love it.- Love it, absolutely love it.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41My parents used it as a kitchen table.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43I use it as a writing desk.
0:06:43 > 0:06:44It's had a lot of use.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48We've never kept it in pristine state.
0:06:48 > 0:06:53Because the thing is, it doesn't look like it's been polished in years.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56It hasn't been polished in many years but my mother used to use
0:06:56 > 0:07:02an electric floor polisher that she brought up and rotated round
0:07:02 > 0:07:03- on the surface...- One of the...?
0:07:03 > 0:07:06With those old felt pads.
0:07:06 > 0:07:11I'm building up an image of your mother, her hair tied up,
0:07:11 > 0:07:13- standing on top of the table... - I'm not sure about the hair.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15She didn't stand on the table, she heaved it up.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17It was a huge big machine.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20It polished... It's probably done the most appalling damage.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24No, actually not. I tease you a little bit because
0:07:24 > 0:07:28this is how we all love to see furniture like this. Yes,
0:07:28 > 0:07:31it's had a hard life. All of this is doable.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35And you've got beautiful black calamander, which would have been
0:07:35 > 0:07:39jet black when it was new, with a blonde streak in it.
0:07:39 > 0:07:40You've got a mahogany in there.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44You've got this beautiful, almost like a fiddle-back satinwood,
0:07:44 > 0:07:46which again, would have been bright blonde.
0:07:46 > 0:07:51We can't imagine how bright this table would have shone when it was new.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55This is what was unbelievably fashionable in about 1860,
0:07:55 > 0:07:57and that is what you ordered.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01There were terrible craftsmen, medium and unbelievable.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03Where do you think this falls?
0:08:03 > 0:08:04Well, it's very neat at the middle,
0:08:04 > 0:08:06so I would imagine it's quite a good craftsmen.
0:08:06 > 0:08:11I think this is, of its type, pretty much unbelievable.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14The downside is the condition.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16It does need quite a bit of work.
0:08:16 > 0:08:21I generally never value things in their restored state but in this
0:08:21 > 0:08:23instance, because I know you love it so much, I'm going to say, yes,
0:08:23 > 0:08:27- it is worth putting £1,000 or so into it.- OK.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29And when you do, at auction,
0:08:29 > 0:08:35I think this table would be easily £8,000 to £12,000.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37Wow. That's amazing. I'm so pleased, thank you.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44In the 30 years that I've been recording on the Antiques Roadshow,
0:08:44 > 0:08:48I have never ever seen a gun as long as this.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52Do you know what it's for, and where did you find it, more to the point?
0:08:52 > 0:08:56As far as I'm aware, it's called a musket loading punt gun.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58That's only what I've been told by my colleagues.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00We keep it in the hotel in Pembroke.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02It's mounted on the wall.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04- As you can see, it's not easy to keep.- No!
0:09:04 > 0:09:08And I've brought it on behalf of my boss today.
0:09:08 > 0:09:14You're largely right, although it is a muzzle-loader.
0:09:14 > 0:09:19Musket is a name for a military small-bore arm,
0:09:19 > 0:09:21so it is a muzzle-loader.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23It is not a punt gun,
0:09:23 > 0:09:27it is what we call in the collecting fraternity a bank gun
0:09:27 > 0:09:32because the way you used it, you found a nice convenient bank
0:09:32 > 0:09:36upon which to rest it, where there were waterfowl over the other side,
0:09:36 > 0:09:38then sneaked up,
0:09:38 > 0:09:42rested it on the bank, waited until you'd lined it up and then
0:09:42 > 0:09:45you would be able to shoot ducks or geese with it.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50When you think that there were huge flocks of wildfowl just there
0:09:50 > 0:09:54for the taking, you could shoot enough to feed your family but also
0:09:54 > 0:09:58any spare, send them to market, get hard ready cash,
0:09:58 > 0:10:00with which you could buy other provisions.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04The nice thing about it is that this barrel has never ever been shortened.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08- Right, OK.- You can see there is still a little flare at the end,
0:10:08 > 0:10:11there is the original foresight on that.
0:10:11 > 0:10:12The thing you lined up...
0:10:12 > 0:10:14You would load it, not with a single ball,
0:10:14 > 0:10:18but with a big charge of pellets,
0:10:18 > 0:10:21so that you might get two or three with a shot, if you were really lucky.
0:10:21 > 0:10:28And I think it was probably made by a local gunsmith,
0:10:28 > 0:10:31who probably had the barrel made in Birmingham because it's a very
0:10:31 > 0:10:34complicated thing to make - a thing as big as that.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37It's got old musket furniture on it
0:10:37 > 0:10:40- so he was obviously recycling things.- Yeah.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42He had a root around in his workshop and there was perhaps
0:10:42 > 0:10:46an old musket, an old scrapper, and they thought, "I won't have to make
0:10:46 > 0:10:49"those bits", or "I won't have to buy them in from Birmingham,
0:10:49 > 0:10:53"I will just pick them out of the box and they will look absolutely perfect".
0:10:53 > 0:10:56You can tell they are old musket parts, because...
0:10:58 > 0:11:02..this piece here, known as the side plate, that is very distinctive,
0:11:02 > 0:11:06from muskets from about the 1760s,
0:11:06 > 0:11:09and this lock is an old musket lock, as well.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11The thing that fires it.
0:11:11 > 0:11:12It's got a flintlock.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16It has Tower on the back, which means Tower of London,
0:11:16 > 0:11:18which was a big Royal armoury.
0:11:18 > 0:11:24And really the nice thing here is a crown and GR underneath it,
0:11:24 > 0:11:29the GR is Georgius Rex or George III.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31I'm guessing that this gun is...
0:11:33 > 0:11:36..about 1770, 1780.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38- Something like that.- Oh, OK.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40It's just fantastic
0:11:40 > 0:11:42that it's in its original state.
0:11:42 > 0:11:43That nobody's got at it.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45Have you thought what it might be worth?
0:11:45 > 0:11:48I wouldn't like to make a guess myself, to be honest.
0:11:48 > 0:11:53Thinking about how few of these that are complete I've ever seen,
0:11:53 > 0:11:56I think you'd have to pay about £3,000 for it.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58It really is nice.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00Thanks for bringing it, great fun.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05If I had a time machine,
0:12:05 > 0:12:09my first stop would probably be a London hotel in the 1930s,
0:12:09 > 0:12:13so I could hear one of those great British dance bands.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17And here we are, with Carroll Gibbons.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19So tell me about Carroll Gibbons.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23Well, Carroll Gibbons was an American-born pianist,
0:12:23 > 0:12:26and he came to England and he decided to stay in England.
0:12:26 > 0:12:31And he married my husband's sister, who was Joan Alexis.
0:12:31 > 0:12:35He was mostly known for his band at the Savoy -
0:12:35 > 0:12:38the Savoy Orpheans Orchestra.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41- Did you ever know him? - Unfortunately, I didn't.
0:12:41 > 0:12:46I think he was born in 1903, in America. In London in the 1920s.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49Goes to the Royal Academy of Music.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53All that sort of thing. I think he launches himself as a band leader in
0:12:53 > 0:12:55- about 1927.- Yes.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59And of course in those days, there were very close connections between
0:12:59 > 0:13:02hotels and particular bands, and great rivalry.
0:13:02 > 0:13:07- Each hotel had to have a better band than the one down the road.- Yes.
0:13:07 > 0:13:12We've got images of him here. There is an image of the band.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14It was so elegant, so stylish.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16- It was.- Must have been wonderful.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18The dinner dances at the Savoy,
0:13:18 > 0:13:21especially, they were really so elegant.
0:13:21 > 0:13:22You know, even during the war years,
0:13:22 > 0:13:24when London was being blitzed,
0:13:24 > 0:13:30they would move the actual dinner dance room to various areas of the hotel
0:13:30 > 0:13:34and sometimes, even some of the ceilings would be scaffolded up
0:13:34 > 0:13:38because of bomb damage, and Carroll would still play and the dancers
0:13:38 > 0:13:40would still dance.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42The war was a very important chapter,
0:13:42 > 0:13:47because morale was all about keeping normal life going.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50And of course, dancing - it's the perfect escape.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53- Of course.- These are, I don't know what you call them.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57I think they're folders that have been on the bandstands,
0:13:57 > 0:13:59actually at the Savoy.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03This is the one that says conductor. We open with "Goodnight Sweetheart",
0:14:03 > 0:14:07which is actually a Ray Noble one, but never mind, it is still...
0:14:07 > 0:14:09It is one of the classic tunes of the period.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11# Goodnight sweetheart... #
0:14:11 > 0:14:13You can sing it, I'm not going to(!)
0:14:13 > 0:14:15And then the Twelfth Street Rag.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18We've also got a ring and I'm going to be very naughty,
0:14:18 > 0:14:21I want to wear...
0:14:21 > 0:14:22..Carroll Gibbons' ring.
0:14:22 > 0:14:23Do you? OK.
0:14:23 > 0:14:24But the sad thing is...
0:14:24 > 0:14:27- Oh, it doesn't fit. - ..he must have had very small hands.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30He must have done. All that exercise on the keyboards.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32Yes, because he was a great pianist.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34There it is, I've touched it.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37And here is a piece of sheet music...
0:14:37 > 0:14:39- This is...- ..written by him, for... - Yes.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42This was a classic - Garden In The Rain.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46- If the band is known for anything, it's known for that.- It is, yes.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50Valuation is quite tricky because we're dealing with memory
0:14:50 > 0:14:52and what's the value of memory?
0:14:52 > 0:14:56There are concrete things - the salver is £800 to £1,000.
0:14:56 > 0:15:02A piece of manuscript, sheet music for his best tune,
0:15:02 > 0:15:04- must be a couple of hundred pounds. - Wow.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07The ring is not particularly important in value terms
0:15:07 > 0:15:09except that it's his.
0:15:09 > 0:15:14- Therefore, a £100 ring becomes a £500 ring...- Wow!
0:15:14 > 0:15:17..because of its connections. We are looking at what I can see here,
0:15:17 > 0:15:20and of course the band sheets, likewise.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23- £2,000, £3,000, probably.- Really?
0:15:23 > 0:15:28Because it is him. But of course what we should really go out to
0:15:28 > 0:15:33is a classic piece of Carroll Gibbons and the Savoy Orpheans.
0:15:33 > 0:15:34Lovely!
0:15:34 > 0:15:37MUSIC: A Garden In The Rain by Carroll Gibbons Orchestra
0:15:37 > 0:15:39# 'Twas just a garden in the rain
0:15:39 > 0:15:43# Close to a little leafy lane
0:15:43 > 0:15:47# A touch of colour 'neath skies of grey
0:15:51 > 0:15:55# The raindrops kissed the flower beds... #
0:15:55 > 0:15:56Well, coming to Wales,
0:15:56 > 0:16:00the one thing I'd really hoped for was that we would see anything by
0:16:00 > 0:16:03the most quintessential of Welsh painters, in this case,
0:16:03 > 0:16:04Sir Kyffin Williams,
0:16:04 > 0:16:10and here is a very typical one, done with his very broad palette knife,
0:16:10 > 0:16:14spreading it like butter, as he said, of a Welsh farmhouse.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16In these very, very muted colours.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20You've got the Welsh slate, this particular sort of dun green
0:16:20 > 0:16:24- and frankly, overcast skies. - THEY LAUGH
0:16:24 > 0:16:25Rather like today.
0:16:25 > 0:16:26Much like today.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30Here's a less typical one, isn't it?
0:16:30 > 0:16:34This portrait which I find very telling, it must be early.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37The sitter was Gwilym Owen and it came from his family,
0:16:37 > 0:16:38and from what I understand,
0:16:38 > 0:16:43it won Kyffin the portrait prize competition in his last year at the Slade.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46- '40s, then?- In the '40s, yes.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48It's got that amazing sort of '40s colouring.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51The same colouring almost that he takes over into his Welsh landscapes
0:16:51 > 0:16:55later. These browns and these greens are very typical of that sort of
0:16:55 > 0:16:57Slade School look at the time.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00I like him but why are you so interested in him?
0:17:00 > 0:17:05I think it all started when we saw a picture of a horse that he'd done in
0:17:05 > 0:17:09an antiques magazine and I said, who is this artist?
0:17:09 > 0:17:11I really liked this free-flowing movement that he'd got,
0:17:11 > 0:17:15and of course the more you see him, the more you get him,
0:17:15 > 0:17:18the greater the love for his work.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21Exactly. You come to this drawing and you see exactly why
0:17:21 > 0:17:23he is adored in Wales.
0:17:23 > 0:17:24THEY LAUGH
0:17:24 > 0:17:28This one was actually rescued from a bonfire,
0:17:28 > 0:17:32because we bought it from the daughter of Kyffin Williams'
0:17:32 > 0:17:36gardener and apparently she said that her father and Sir Kyffin
0:17:36 > 0:17:39used to put all of the pieces of art that he decided weren't fit for sale
0:17:39 > 0:17:42or that he didn't like and burned them. And this was a piece
0:17:42 > 0:17:47that apparently he asked if he could buy, and he rescued it.
0:17:47 > 0:17:52What really interested me was when you brought this one
0:17:52 > 0:17:54was what's on the back of it.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58Tell me about that.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02Well, I presume it's a self-portrait of the artist himself.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04I can only assume he didn't like it,
0:18:04 > 0:18:08turned it over and painted something else fittingly on the canvas
0:18:08 > 0:18:11- rather than wasting it. - That's got to be the answer.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13When you're broke, you know, and starting out as an artist,
0:18:13 > 0:18:17you might paint yourself as a model because you couldn't afford one,
0:18:17 > 0:18:18And then, having done so,
0:18:18 > 0:18:21you might want to paint another picture on the other side of it
0:18:21 > 0:18:24cos you couldn't afford to buy a new canvas.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27- Although that, I suppose is the valuable side...- Yes.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31- It's worth about £20,000.- Wow.
0:18:31 > 0:18:32Right, gosh.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35Because, of course, it's what he known for.
0:18:35 > 0:18:40It seems to me that the better picture, without a doubt, is that side.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43It's difficult to know which way to display it, I have to be honest.
0:18:43 > 0:18:48Exactly. This portrait, it's worth less than that,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51I personally think, because it's very specific.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55I would have thought that is probably about £3,000 or £4,000, even so.
0:18:55 > 0:19:00- And this, being so emblematic of the artist, £2,000 to £3,000.- Gosh.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03Good job that was rescued from the bonfire.
0:19:03 > 0:19:04Absolutely.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06- Brilliant, thank you very much. - Not at all.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13Well, what a lovely little clockwork Mickey Mouse you've brought in.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15What do you know about it?
0:19:15 > 0:19:19Aye, it was a gift about five years ago from friends of the family.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21- Didn't like it.- They didn't like it?
0:19:21 > 0:19:24No, no, no, no, so they gave it to me.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27And I've loved it, I think it's amazing.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31It's German, and it's probably by a company called Schuco,
0:19:31 > 0:19:34and they specialised in making felt-covered toys,
0:19:34 > 0:19:38and they made some animals and little figures and things.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42Date-wise, he'd be late '20s, about 1930, thereabouts.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46And we know he's quite an early one because he's got this very pointed
0:19:46 > 0:19:49nose. I think the early Mickeys had a pointed nose.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53But what is really nice about him is that he still works.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56We've got a key. It's not the original key, but it's a key that does work.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58So let's give him a little wind-up.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01- We will. - Let's just see what he does.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03- He goes a lot.- There we go.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05There he goes.
0:20:05 > 0:20:06Yeah, he knows no bounds.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09He knows... Isn't that lovely?
0:20:09 > 0:20:12I absolutely love him and you obviously love him, too,
0:20:12 > 0:20:14which is fantastic.
0:20:14 > 0:20:20- Yes.- Price-wise, would be around £100, £120, something like that.
0:20:20 > 0:20:21My goodness. Well, I am shocked.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23I really am shocked by that.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25I never thought he'd be anywhere near that sort of price.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29- I love him.- I'm not going to sell him, by the way.- Good, good.
0:20:33 > 0:20:34We went to Balmoral last year,
0:20:34 > 0:20:37and I must say I don't remember a hole in the carpet.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40How on earth have you got a bit of carpet from Balmoral?
0:20:40 > 0:20:44Well, by the shape of it I think it must have come from a fireplace,
0:20:44 > 0:20:46when they were laying new carpets,
0:20:46 > 0:20:51cos my great aunt was the superintendent in the dairy at Balmoral.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53She was appointed there when she was 25.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56So do you know what her role was, or...?
0:20:56 > 0:21:00Yes, she was a butter maker and she used to sculpt butter into Prince of
0:21:00 > 0:21:04Wales feathers, swans, squirrels, holding little messages,
0:21:04 > 0:21:08and she used to make 180 pats of butter for breakfast,
0:21:08 > 0:21:10when they had royal visitors.
0:21:10 > 0:21:14- So what was her name?- Her name was Mary Mae Griffiths and she was born
0:21:14 > 0:21:16in Penally Court, near Tenby.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19- That's quite local to here. - Yes, yes, just a few miles away.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22So how do you think she came to be working at Balmoral?
0:21:22 > 0:21:23I think her fame had spread,
0:21:23 > 0:21:27because of what she'd done at that age and the fact that her butter
0:21:27 > 0:21:28had gone all over the country.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31So the butter from Penally was sold everywhere?
0:21:31 > 0:21:32- Yes.- Really?
0:21:32 > 0:21:36- Yes.- She was clearly a well-educated woman and was published as well.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38I mean, we're talking sort of 1890s here.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41- Yes.- It's really, really quite avant-garde.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44Yes, I think she may have been one of the first women to get
0:21:44 > 0:21:46an agriculture degree.
0:21:46 > 0:21:47She went to Reading University.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50Gosh. So when she goes to Balmoral,
0:21:50 > 0:21:53what do you think her social position was?
0:21:53 > 0:21:57Well, she had her own house next to the dairy and she had a maid
0:21:57 > 0:21:59and she had staff in the dairy.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02So she wouldn't have been considered...
0:22:02 > 0:22:03..as a below stairs kind of person?
0:22:03 > 0:22:06I don't think so, because she had quite a lot of royal visitors
0:22:06 > 0:22:07to the dairy, including the Queen.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11- Really?- Queen Victoria, I think, went to the dairy 11 times.
0:22:11 > 0:22:12- Really?- Yes.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14Wow. And did the Queen like her butter?
0:22:14 > 0:22:16- Oh, yes.- Actually, looking at the pictures,
0:22:16 > 0:22:19- she probably did like her butter.- I think she ate quite a lot of it,
0:22:19 > 0:22:22- yes, yeah.- Do you know whether there is exactly this carpet still down?
0:22:22 > 0:22:24- There are very similar carpets - I've looked.- I don't know,
0:22:24 > 0:22:27I'm hanging onto it in case the Queen wants a patch at any time.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29Well, what's it worth?
0:22:29 > 0:22:33I think that the piece of carpet that you've got is probably the most
0:22:33 > 0:22:38valuable piece amongst it and it's going to be worth a few hundred pounds.
0:22:38 > 0:22:39- Not thousands.- No.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42But you've got a nice photo of Queen Victoria,
0:22:42 > 0:22:45you've got this wonderful connection here,
0:22:45 > 0:22:48so as a package, I wouldn't be at all surprised if it didn't make sort
0:22:48 > 0:22:52- of £1,500 to £2,000, that sort of level.- Good heavens, yes, yes.
0:22:52 > 0:22:53Not that it's going to be sold.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55It's family history.
0:22:55 > 0:22:56It's certainly that.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12It's time for this week's Enigma and, as ever, our experts have been
0:23:12 > 0:23:14scouring the local museums to see what they can find.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16Eric, it's your turn this week.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19- Mm.- And I would have thought you would bring along something ceramic,
0:23:19 > 0:23:21but you've brought along a glass contraption that wouldn't look
0:23:21 > 0:23:24out of place in a '60s sci-fi film.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26So what was it used for?
0:23:26 > 0:23:31Well, it was used for the distillation of Welsh whisky.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34- Right.- Have you ever come across Welsh whisky before?
0:23:34 > 0:23:39- No.- No, OK, well some of these good people around here will know.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42- Have you?- Yes, yes, and they will know that Welsh whisky
0:23:42 > 0:23:44is that little bit different,
0:23:44 > 0:23:47because it contains molasses and rosehip syrup.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49Is that right, everybody?
0:23:49 > 0:23:51Oh, just say yes. Thank you.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54- That's why.- This is looking doubtful already.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57- Yes.- But it's got no holes in to hold liquid.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59No, no.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03Don't ask me the actual process, I'm not a technician,
0:24:03 > 0:24:07but it's all to do with evaporation and there may have been other bits
0:24:07 > 0:24:09that were attached to that.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12Right, so this was used in some weird and wonderful way for
0:24:12 > 0:24:15- distilling Welsh whisky.- Let's settle for that.- All right.- OK.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17OK, do better with the second one.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21Um, the second one is all about ceremonial,
0:24:21 > 0:24:24specific to this part of the world.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27Because we're talking about weddings.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29We're talking about Welsh weddings,
0:24:29 > 0:24:33we're talking about this being passed around at the wedding feast, OK?
0:24:33 > 0:24:36You would then be in a situation where you could actually
0:24:36 > 0:24:39suck the liquid out. The reason being, you can see here...
0:24:40 > 0:24:44..that this vessel has now been actually covered.
0:24:44 > 0:24:49Initially this was open and it was only after the wedding feast
0:24:49 > 0:24:53that that was then taken to the glass-maker,
0:24:53 > 0:24:56who then put the stopper on the top of it,
0:24:56 > 0:24:59so you know that it's been used at a Welsh wedding.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02Mm. Does this ring a bell with any of you?
0:25:02 > 0:25:03Welsh weddings?
0:25:04 > 0:25:07See, if you're going to play the Welsh card, Eric,
0:25:07 > 0:25:10we've got a Welsh audience here, it makes it a little bit easier.
0:25:10 > 0:25:11But what you don't know, Fiona,
0:25:11 > 0:25:14is that I've bussed most of these people in from Burnley today.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16THEY LAUGH OK.
0:25:16 > 0:25:17OK. Your fan club.
0:25:17 > 0:25:22- Well...!- OK, so ceremonial at a traditional Welsh wedding.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25- Yeah.- And what's our last option?
0:25:25 > 0:25:26Oh, it's pretty obvious, isn't it?
0:25:26 > 0:25:33It's a barometer, because you've got the liquid filled and the changing
0:25:33 > 0:25:37atmospheric pressure pushes the actual liquid up and down
0:25:37 > 0:25:40that almost graduated slender spout.
0:25:42 > 0:25:43Gosh, I don't know.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45I mean, what do any of you think?
0:25:45 > 0:25:46Barometer.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49- Barometer?- Wedding.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51Hang on, you just said wedding.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54Oh, Eric. The only thing, Eric is a very good poker player,
0:25:54 > 0:25:58so the fact that explanation was a little shaky could be deliberate.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02It's obviously made to be like that...
0:26:03 > 0:26:05..and not to stand upright,
0:26:05 > 0:26:07so I can't see how that could work as a barometer.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09For that reason I'm going for wedding.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11I'm going with the majority view...
0:26:11 > 0:26:12- Are you?- ..which is wedding.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15- OK.- I'm not convinced about any of them, actually.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17No, no, neither am I. OK.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20- Wedding?- Wedding?
0:26:20 > 0:26:21No.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25- Don't say it's whisky.- Whisky?
0:26:25 > 0:26:27No.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29Barometer, yes.
0:26:29 > 0:26:30Oh!
0:26:34 > 0:26:35Looking very smug now.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38- Yeah.- So it would be, what, propped up or something?
0:26:38 > 0:26:42Well, it would be... In some respects you could just put a cord
0:26:42 > 0:26:44around that and you could suspend it.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46So...
0:26:46 > 0:26:49But it is a very basic form of barometer.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51How old is it?
0:26:51 > 0:26:56I am informed by the Narberth Museum, who very generously lent us
0:26:56 > 0:27:00this today, that it is Victorian.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03So anywhere between, let's say, 1837 and 1901.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05And have you come across one like this before?
0:27:05 > 0:27:10I've only ever had one ever had one ever and that's in 40-something years.
0:27:10 > 0:27:12Wow. Well, it's a beautiful thing, that's for sure.
0:27:12 > 0:27:14Even if it is a barometer.
0:27:14 > 0:27:15- Mmm.- Thanks.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21I've always been a keen Francophile. I love all things French,
0:27:21 > 0:27:24but this little jug here is a piece of anti-French propaganda.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27- Yeah.- It's charming, absolutely charming.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31- It's English Regency pottery... - Mmm-hmm.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35..made of pearlware, and it's commemorating, as you can see,
0:27:35 > 0:27:36the Marquis Wellington,
0:27:36 > 0:27:41who later became the Duke of Wellington's, battle at Salamanca
0:27:41 > 0:27:44in the Peninsular War. Where did you get it?
0:27:44 > 0:27:50We lived in Devon and all the country houses were being sold up,
0:27:50 > 0:27:52and my mum used to go to these sales and just...
0:27:52 > 0:27:55I've got jugs and plates and things everywhere.
0:27:55 > 0:27:57And this was just one she brought home from somewhere.
0:27:57 > 0:27:59- I don't know where.- So you inherited this from your mum?- Yes.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03It has been sitting on my table for about 20 years.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05Well, it's... It really is a lovely piece,
0:28:05 > 0:28:09and it's such a wonderful piece of British history.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14As I said, it's commemorating the Battle of Salamanca, which was in...
0:28:14 > 0:28:16I think it was around 1812.
0:28:18 > 0:28:19And if we turn it round...
0:28:21 > 0:28:25..it's got the greatest general of the age, and then it lists
0:28:25 > 0:28:28the battles, all the battles from the Peninsular War,
0:28:28 > 0:28:33and then it goes on to say, "He drove the French out of Portugal
0:28:33 > 0:28:36"and successful in rescuing Spain
0:28:36 > 0:28:38"out of the usurpers' hands."
0:28:38 > 0:28:40So it was all about commemorating the war,
0:28:40 > 0:28:42but also about British jingoism.
0:28:42 > 0:28:44And what age would that be, about?
0:28:44 > 0:28:47Well, he's a Marquis there and he was made a Marquis after the Battle
0:28:47 > 0:28:49of Salamanca in 1812,
0:28:49 > 0:28:52and he became the Duke of Wellington after Waterloo in 1815,
0:28:52 > 0:28:54so it's going to be 1813...
0:28:55 > 0:28:57Probably in the year after the Battle of Salamanca.
0:28:57 > 0:28:59- Right.- It's a lovely thing.
0:28:59 > 0:29:03Thank you, sir. I'll take it home and put it on my table again.
0:29:03 > 0:29:05Well... And you should want to know what it's worth.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08- Oh, yes, I suppose so.- I think today at auction this is in the region of
0:29:08 > 0:29:10£1,000.
0:29:10 > 0:29:11Right.
0:29:11 > 0:29:13That's...
0:29:13 > 0:29:15I will dust it, look after it.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22It's quite refreshing for me, perhaps,
0:29:22 > 0:29:24not to be talking about a piece of jewellery.
0:29:24 > 0:29:27I mean, it's nice to look at diamonds glinting in the sun,
0:29:27 > 0:29:31but here we've got two pieces that are decidedly not jewellery and very
0:29:31 > 0:29:35much for the gentleman, I would have thought, yes.
0:29:35 > 0:29:41So, it's a box and it's a long pedestal-shaped piece.
0:29:41 > 0:29:43Give me a little bit of information about where it came from.
0:29:43 > 0:29:47When my mother died, we found she had a safe deposit box up in
0:29:47 > 0:29:51London, went up and opened it and these were in there.
0:29:51 > 0:29:54It's a deposit box that was passed on to my mother by my grandfather,
0:29:54 > 0:29:57and before that we lose the trail, really.
0:29:57 > 0:30:01So it's been in the family for at least three generations.
0:30:01 > 0:30:02Right, OK. So...
0:30:03 > 0:30:05..it is a blank canvas, as far as you're concerned.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07A blank canvas, I know nothing.
0:30:07 > 0:30:10The box, first of all, the important thing is to say what it is.
0:30:10 > 0:30:12- Yes.- It is a Vesta box.
0:30:12 > 0:30:14- Right.- This is a gentleman's piece.
0:30:14 > 0:30:19You lift up the rather nicely-hinged lid.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23- You have an edge, a lip.- Yeah.
0:30:23 > 0:30:24There you can read the hallmark.
0:30:24 > 0:30:26- It's nine carat gold.- Yep.
0:30:26 > 0:30:28This was made just at the end of the First World War.
0:30:28 > 0:30:30Right.
0:30:30 > 0:30:32And it's made by a firm in London...
0:30:32 > 0:30:33- Oh.- ..called Vickery.
0:30:33 > 0:30:36And you can imagine... You know all those gentlemen that went
0:30:36 > 0:30:38to their clubs in Pall Mall?
0:30:38 > 0:30:42- Yes.- They would go to Vickery's and Vickery's would provide them
0:30:42 > 0:30:46with the essential things that you would need as a smoking gentleman.
0:30:46 > 0:30:50- Right.- At the bottom, the striker.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53And don't forget, these were the old-fashioned matches.
0:30:53 > 0:30:56So you got your match, you strike it on the bottom...
0:30:58 > 0:31:00..and then you would light your cigar, I would suggest,
0:31:00 > 0:31:02- rather more than a cigarette.- Right.
0:31:02 > 0:31:06Who knows? The little monogram on the front...
0:31:06 > 0:31:10And here's where your pieces get a little bit interesting,
0:31:10 > 0:31:15it's a diamond monogram with a coronet and a letter T.
0:31:15 > 0:31:17So your family, sir...
0:31:18 > 0:31:22..have got some connections going back to nobility.
0:31:22 > 0:31:24- Right, OK. - Just to let you know that.
0:31:25 > 0:31:28- That's interesting.- So now we move on to this odd thing.
0:31:28 > 0:31:30Right, OK.
0:31:30 > 0:31:31I'm going to be careful with it,
0:31:31 > 0:31:33because you know the problem with it
0:31:33 > 0:31:36and that in the history of this item,
0:31:36 > 0:31:40- the bottom has become detached from the pedestal, hasn't it?- Yep.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43So I'm going to put that back and hold it like that.
0:31:45 > 0:31:48Now, the first question is what is it?
0:31:48 > 0:31:50We thought it was a seal of some sort.
0:31:50 > 0:31:51I think it's a seal.
0:31:51 > 0:31:53- OK.- Right, OK.
0:31:53 > 0:31:56There are seals and there are seals.
0:31:56 > 0:32:01This is a seriously important seal.
0:32:02 > 0:32:03OK.
0:32:05 > 0:32:08Now, there she stands, right?
0:32:08 > 0:32:11- You-you know that it's very colourful.- Yeah.
0:32:11 > 0:32:14So, first question - what's it made of?
0:32:14 > 0:32:17High carat gold, firstly.
0:32:17 > 0:32:22Second thing - what is the green material at the bottom?
0:32:22 > 0:32:24- Bloodstone.- Bloodstone, yeah.
0:32:24 > 0:32:30The gold is covered with a series of individual panels,
0:32:30 > 0:32:32and they depict what?
0:32:32 > 0:32:36The theatre, music, art,
0:32:36 > 0:32:39literature, travel.
0:32:39 > 0:32:42- The finer things of life.- Mmm-hmm.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45I think this was made for someone who really wanted something to
0:32:45 > 0:32:52reflect his life, his quality and the pursuits he followed himself.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55Could you tell us where it was made or in what year?
0:32:55 > 0:32:57Well, there's no hallmarks that would help me along and,
0:32:57 > 0:33:00believe you me, I was looking at it quite carefully to see if there was
0:33:00 > 0:33:03- anything...- We've looked for hallmarks.- You know, I almost think
0:33:03 > 0:33:06- it was made in this country.- Right, OK.- And when - tricky again -
0:33:06 > 0:33:08I don't think it's Georgian but I don't think it's much later
0:33:08 > 0:33:11than Georgian, so shall I put a date on it of around about
0:33:11 > 0:33:13sort of 1835-45?
0:33:13 > 0:33:16- Oh, OK.- Now we move on to the fun bit, don't we?
0:33:16 > 0:33:18- Yes.- If we do this...
0:33:20 > 0:33:22- Isn't that nice?- Lovely.
0:33:22 > 0:33:24And you've got all the detail inside as well.
0:33:24 > 0:33:29And then inside you have the decorated scrolling within.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31So it's a bit difficult to catch,
0:33:31 > 0:33:38but you've got the claws that encircle a pedestal within,
0:33:38 > 0:33:41with a mother of pearl top.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46I really don't think I've seen as good a seal on the Antiques Roadshow
0:33:46 > 0:33:48in all the years I've been doing this show.
0:33:48 > 0:33:50- Wow.- I really don't.
0:33:50 > 0:33:54I know I'm waxing lyrical, but I have to be honest with you,
0:33:54 > 0:33:58I think this is a really seriously important seal.
0:33:58 > 0:34:02Now, unlike a piece of jewellery, you can't wear it,
0:34:02 > 0:34:04you can only keep it and stick it in a cupboard or whatever it is
0:34:04 > 0:34:07that you want to do with it. So it begs the question,
0:34:07 > 0:34:10what would a collector like this pay?
0:34:11 > 0:34:16OK. The nine carat gold Vesta box with the diamond monogram on it,
0:34:16 > 0:34:18I think, is probably worth
0:34:18 > 0:34:19£500.
0:34:19 > 0:34:22- Yeah.- Now we move on to this chap here.
0:34:23 > 0:34:24Hmm.
0:34:26 > 0:34:28Right.
0:34:28 > 0:34:30£8,000 to £10,000.
0:34:30 > 0:34:31Ooh.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37- OK.- £8,000 to £10,000.
0:34:37 > 0:34:40- Wow.- Why? Because it is magnificent.
0:34:40 > 0:34:42It is a museum collection piece...
0:34:42 > 0:34:45- Really? - This is a piece de resistance.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48- Thank you very much.- Thank you. - Thank you.- Thank you.
0:34:54 > 0:34:56When we think of automaton pieces,
0:34:56 > 0:34:59we often go back to the Victorian period.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02Pirouetting dolls, dancing monkeys, this sort of thing.
0:35:02 > 0:35:07But here we have a late 20th-century automaton of a woodworker.
0:35:07 > 0:35:11And if I just turn the handle, you'll see him there at his bench,
0:35:11 > 0:35:12planing away.
0:35:18 > 0:35:22Now, he was made by Eric Williamson in his studio in mid Wales in 1988,
0:35:22 > 0:35:25so it's of no great age, but wonderful quality.
0:35:25 > 0:35:27Is that what attracted you to this piece?
0:35:27 > 0:35:31Well, immediately I saw it, I thought, "I must have one of those".
0:35:38 > 0:35:40- You paid?- £300.
0:35:40 > 0:35:43£300. I think you could safely double that now.
0:35:43 > 0:35:47I think you could safely double it. I think it's £500 to £600 at least.
0:35:47 > 0:35:49I think somebody would absolutely adore it.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00When I was a little boy, I used to go on holiday in south Wales,
0:36:00 > 0:36:02staying just outside Ammanford with my best friend.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05And sort of after a day, I don't know, fossil hunting
0:36:05 > 0:36:07or beachcombing on Tenby beach,
0:36:07 > 0:36:10we'd probably go home and we might pass a local shop
0:36:10 > 0:36:12and my parents or my friend's parents would probably say,
0:36:12 > 0:36:14"Ooh, look! Look at that piece of pottery in there.
0:36:14 > 0:36:16"I'd quite like a piece of that to take home
0:36:16 > 0:36:18"and remember our holiday by."
0:36:18 > 0:36:20Is that how you came about this collection?
0:36:20 > 0:36:25Yeah, sort of. I have a restaurant in Tenby and we have a couple of
0:36:25 > 0:36:27regulars, a couple called Boo and Tony,
0:36:27 > 0:36:32and they were the pottery in Tenby - the Tenby Pottery.
0:36:32 > 0:36:36For Christmas one year, they gave my partner and I this little pot,
0:36:36 > 0:36:38and I loved this pot so much I thought,
0:36:38 > 0:36:41"I'll just keep my eyes open and see if I find any more bits."
0:36:41 > 0:36:44And when they come in and I say, "Oh, I've got a new little something
0:36:44 > 0:36:47"that's just been posted," they get really excited,
0:36:47 > 0:36:49and I open it up and they can tell me little bits about, "Oh,
0:36:49 > 0:36:51"we think that's a particularly early piece" or, "Yes,
0:36:51 > 0:36:54"I think that was made in such and such a year."
0:36:54 > 0:36:56It's funny you mention that, that sort of personal interaction
0:36:56 > 0:36:59as well, because when we were setting this up just before you came
0:36:59 > 0:37:03to join us here, this lady was taking very close attention
0:37:03 > 0:37:05to some of the pieces here because I'm right in saying
0:37:05 > 0:37:07that you decorated some of these pieces?
0:37:07 > 0:37:09I've decorated a couple of pieces at the front,
0:37:09 > 0:37:13and I started work for them at 14 as a Saturday girl.
0:37:13 > 0:37:15You two need to talk when we're done with this.
0:37:15 > 0:37:17I feel there's stories to be told here.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19- Yeah.- They seem to have used two main techniques.
0:37:19 > 0:37:21You've got slipware, or sliplining,
0:37:21 > 0:37:25here where it's been sort of trailed on and then combed to give the fins
0:37:25 > 0:37:28here, and then there's a resist technique used.
0:37:28 > 0:37:33And they've got that sort of very strong, earthy, 1970s retro feel,
0:37:33 > 0:37:36- haven't they?- Yeah. And Tony always says...
0:37:36 > 0:37:39Cos I feel like now I can spot a piece of Tenby pottery from, like,
0:37:39 > 0:37:4120 paces at a car-boot sale,
0:37:41 > 0:37:45and he says that that's because of the colour of the pot is really red
0:37:45 > 0:37:47compared to some others of the time,
0:37:47 > 0:37:51and also that on the bases of a lot of the pots, the glaze doesn't go
0:37:51 > 0:37:53all the way to the bottom, and Boo says that's because they used
0:37:53 > 0:37:56the wax resist around the bottom and they weren't on stilts,
0:37:56 > 0:37:59like many, many studio potteries would have their pots on stilts
0:37:59 > 0:38:01and they didn't do that, so I guess that's two sort of
0:38:01 > 0:38:04distinguishing marks that I look out for if I spot something.
0:38:04 > 0:38:07How does it feel to be THE world expert on Tenby pottery?
0:38:07 > 0:38:08Oh, it's quite a responsibility!
0:38:08 > 0:38:10Yeah. Just don't ask me too many detailed questions,
0:38:10 > 0:38:12cos my knowledge is about that deep.
0:38:12 > 0:38:15Well, it's probably that much bigger than most people, I should think.
0:38:15 > 0:38:17I mean, it would be nice to share that passion.
0:38:17 > 0:38:19Certainly when you're looking at values for pieces like these,
0:38:19 > 0:38:23I mean, with resist pieces the vases may be, at the moment,
0:38:23 > 0:38:26sold online for sort of £10 to £20 or so,
0:38:26 > 0:38:29some of the little dishes literally a couple of pounds.
0:38:29 > 0:38:31I mean, looking at the collection as a whole,
0:38:31 > 0:38:34it probably just tips over maybe £200 in today's value.
0:38:34 > 0:38:38But, you know, we collectors kind of like to know information
0:38:38 > 0:38:41and sharing the colour and the life of the pottery and stories
0:38:41 > 0:38:43that you might learn after this,
0:38:43 > 0:38:46I think that really starts to sort of help the market build.
0:38:46 > 0:38:50I mean, could I say, perhaps it might be taking it a bit far,
0:38:50 > 0:38:54but could Tenby Pottery be the next big thing in studio pottery?
0:38:54 > 0:38:57Maybe. Hopefully not because secretly I quite like the fact
0:38:57 > 0:39:01I can pick bits up for 50p, but perhaps that won't happen now.
0:39:01 > 0:39:03- Thank you.- Thank you.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08I think our coffee is due any minute.
0:39:08 > 0:39:09This is your coffee table?
0:39:09 > 0:39:10It is, yes.
0:39:10 > 0:39:14- Is it?- It was left to me by my grandmother,
0:39:14 > 0:39:17because I always admired the patterns on it and the little frogs
0:39:17 > 0:39:18all round the side. So...
0:39:18 > 0:39:21Do you ever use it as a coffee table?
0:39:21 > 0:39:23- We keep our phone on it at the minute.- Phones?!
0:39:25 > 0:39:26Do you know what it actually is?
0:39:26 > 0:39:30I believe it's a Chinese drum, that's all I really know about it.
0:39:30 > 0:39:32I think it's made of bronze, but...
0:39:34 > 0:39:37- You're getting on quite well. - Oh, there we are!
0:39:38 > 0:39:40The Chinese is not correct.
0:39:40 > 0:39:44- OK.- But there is a certain amount of Chinese influence there.
0:39:44 > 0:39:51They're reputed to come from Burma, Malaysia, that kind of area.
0:39:51 > 0:39:53And they're called rain drums,
0:39:53 > 0:39:55- because that's exactly what they are.- OK.
0:39:55 > 0:40:01The rain comes down and it hits the drum, making a note like...
0:40:01 > 0:40:02THE DRUM RINGS
0:40:05 > 0:40:08And if you get a whole village full it would be fantastic,
0:40:08 > 0:40:11- absolutely fantastic, yeah. - Amazing sound, yeah.
0:40:11 > 0:40:15And although these just look like lines with patterns on,
0:40:15 > 0:40:17they're very symbolic.
0:40:17 > 0:40:19OK.
0:40:19 > 0:40:24You've got here a pattern of little, sort of, dots.
0:40:24 > 0:40:27- Rice.- Rice, of course.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30We've got birds, I think they're probably ducks.
0:40:30 > 0:40:34- They do look like ducks, don't they? - They do, don't they?- Yes.- Yeah.
0:40:34 > 0:40:40Mandarin ducks in Chinese mythology mate for life,
0:40:40 > 0:40:43so they're symbolic of marital fidelity.
0:40:43 > 0:40:50- OK.- I remember putting these on view at a London saleroom in the '60s.
0:40:50 > 0:40:55- Right.- And they would sell then for several thousand pounds.
0:40:55 > 0:40:57Crikey.
0:40:57 > 0:40:59And do you know what? They're about the same today.
0:40:59 > 0:41:02- Are they? - They're about the same today.
0:41:02 > 0:41:04This one, which is actually quite late,
0:41:04 > 0:41:08we're probably looking at the late 18th-century...
0:41:08 > 0:41:11- Right.- ..would probably make £2,500 to £3,500.
0:41:11 > 0:41:12SHE WHISTLES
0:41:14 > 0:41:18My grandmother... I think she bought it for £1 in a house auction.
0:41:18 > 0:41:20- Really? £1?- Yes, because nobody else bid on it.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23And that was in the... I think in the '60s, so...
0:41:23 > 0:41:26- Well done, Granny!- Yes, lovely.
0:41:26 > 0:41:28- Thank you very much.- Thank you. Thank you for your knowledge.
0:41:34 > 0:41:36Now, please don't think I'm being rude,
0:41:36 > 0:41:41but it's slightly scruffy and clearly hasn't gone for many years.
0:41:41 > 0:41:43- No.- Why's that?
0:41:43 > 0:41:46I don't like clocks, really, so...
0:41:46 > 0:41:48Where does that leave me?!
0:41:49 > 0:41:52- So why don't you like...? - I don't like ticking clocks.
0:41:52 > 0:41:53- No ticking at all?- No.
0:41:53 > 0:41:59No. A few years ago we had somebody to stay with us and that evening,
0:41:59 > 0:42:02after I'd given them dinner, I was sitting in the kitchen
0:42:02 > 0:42:05and we had a big schoolroom clock on the wall that had never worked
0:42:05 > 0:42:09for years, and it was about ten past 11 and it suddenly started ticking.
0:42:10 > 0:42:15And so I went to bed, and the next morning he'd been found dead in bed.
0:42:17 > 0:42:19And presumably roughly at that time.
0:42:19 > 0:42:21That's rather unfortunate, isn't it?
0:42:21 > 0:42:23That sort of generated a further hate for clocks.
0:42:23 > 0:42:25Yes, yes.
0:42:25 > 0:42:26Why do you have this?
0:42:26 > 0:42:28- Is it inherited or...?- Yes, yes.
0:42:28 > 0:42:30It used to be my father-in-law's and I always hated it,
0:42:30 > 0:42:33and I used to pray that he wouldn't leave it to us.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36- And he did.- How long ago was that?
0:42:36 > 0:42:39- 30 years.- And it's just sat idle for 30 years cos you hate the ticking?
0:42:39 > 0:42:42Yeah, and I don't like cleaning brass. No.
0:42:42 > 0:42:45Well, I'm going to try and tempt you round, because it's French,
0:42:45 > 0:42:48and it's what we call a compendium carriage clock.
0:42:48 > 0:42:52Because you've got the ticking clock, that's the timepiece,
0:42:52 > 0:42:53cos it doesn't strike.
0:42:53 > 0:42:56You've got the aneroid barometer,
0:42:56 > 0:42:58you've got the thermometer in between and then you've got
0:42:58 > 0:43:02the two viewing windows on the top, one to see the escapement
0:43:02 > 0:43:06- of the carriage clock and the other a little compass.- Yeah.
0:43:06 > 0:43:07But far more importantly,
0:43:07 > 0:43:11the whole thing is in this wonderful blue Champleve enamel.
0:43:11 > 0:43:16The date is absolutely typical, sort of 1885, 1890,
0:43:16 > 0:43:18towards the end of Victorian era.
0:43:18 > 0:43:22Fairly, fairly heavy from the point of view of decoration.
0:43:22 > 0:43:25But very commercial.
0:43:25 > 0:43:30So do you think it would ever be pretty or will you always hate it?
0:43:30 > 0:43:33I don't know. I don't particularly like that sort of Victorian...
0:43:34 > 0:43:37- ..decoration.- Yeah, it's pretty ornate, isn't it?- Yes.- OK.
0:43:37 > 0:43:40So if I sort of tried to gee you up with the price a little,
0:43:40 > 0:43:44- might that help?- It might make it really very attractive.
0:43:44 > 0:43:46- Right. Just so you could sell it? - Yes!
0:43:48 > 0:43:50OK. If you put it to auction like this...
0:43:51 > 0:43:55..it will fetch £1,500 to £1,800.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01And you're nodding, but you still don't love it, do you?
0:44:01 > 0:44:05We had a guess this afternoon about two hours ago,
0:44:05 > 0:44:07we both came up with 1,400.
0:44:07 > 0:44:09Listen, I'm out of a job.
0:44:13 > 0:44:16Seeing this banner takes me back to a very interesting time in my life,
0:44:16 > 0:44:20and in yours, which was the protest against cruise missiles
0:44:20 > 0:44:22at Greenham Common back in the '80s.
0:44:22 > 0:44:25And you made this, it says "Say no to nuclear weapons" in Welsh
0:44:25 > 0:44:28at the top, in English at the bottom, and it was women like you,
0:44:28 > 0:44:30the Welsh women, that kicked it all off?
0:44:30 > 0:44:35Yes, we were inspired by the threat to dump nuclear waste in Wales.
0:44:35 > 0:44:38And when we won that, most women went home,
0:44:38 > 0:44:40but some stayed around and thought "What else can we do?"
0:44:40 > 0:44:41Victory was heady.
0:44:41 > 0:44:45So Anne Pettitt and a few others found out that cruise missiles
0:44:45 > 0:44:48were coming to Greenham, and she organised a march,
0:44:48 > 0:44:51125 miles from Cardiff to Greenham.
0:44:51 > 0:44:53- And you were on that march?- I was on that march and my daughter,
0:44:53 > 0:44:5415-year-old daughter, yeah.
0:44:54 > 0:44:56How long did you end up staying at Greenham Common?
0:44:56 > 0:45:00Because the camp there went on for 19 years.
0:45:00 > 0:45:01I stayed there fairly regularly,
0:45:01 > 0:45:05but I had a job at the University of Aberystwyth,
0:45:05 > 0:45:08so I went up there, sat around the fire, listened to the stories.
0:45:08 > 0:45:10I thought, "Well, I'm an art teacher, I've done sewing,
0:45:10 > 0:45:13"I'm very political, I'm a feminist. I'll do some PR."
0:45:13 > 0:45:15And there was no internet then,
0:45:15 > 0:45:17so I made banner after banner after banner.
0:45:17 > 0:45:20Then I made posters of the banners, then postcards,
0:45:20 > 0:45:22and they went all round the world.
0:45:22 > 0:45:24And they were all made in that little house there.
0:45:24 > 0:45:25- This is your house here?- Yes!
0:45:25 > 0:45:29How remarkable. I remember I went when I was a student,
0:45:29 > 0:45:34and we arrived, stayed in a... In an old marquee, slept on a bin bag,
0:45:34 > 0:45:37and the next morning we were shown how to resist peacefully
0:45:37 > 0:45:41by sitting and locking arms, and then a woman came round and asked
0:45:41 > 0:45:44for a show of hands for those who'd be prepared to be arrested.
0:45:44 > 0:45:46I remember thinking "I've only just got to university,
0:45:46 > 0:45:48"I don't want to get a criminal record!"
0:45:48 > 0:45:50So I'm afraid I did not put my hand up.
0:45:50 > 0:45:51But... You know,
0:45:51 > 0:45:55it was a remarkable time and an extraordinary collection of women
0:45:55 > 0:45:57from all different walks of life.
0:45:57 > 0:46:00And then you had this statue made.
0:46:00 > 0:46:01- Yes.- You met the artist?
0:46:01 > 0:46:05- I did.- And this represents peace, does it?
0:46:05 > 0:46:09- The Greenham marcher, yes.- And this lady's got her CND logo here,
0:46:09 > 0:46:12- a little child. This is a dove of peace, I assume?- Yeah.
0:46:12 > 0:46:15- How do you look back on those days? - The happiest days of my life.
0:46:15 > 0:46:18- Really?- Of course there were some difficulties, you know?
0:46:18 > 0:46:20- SHE LAUGHS - But mostly really happy.
0:46:25 > 0:46:27Well, this looks like a little money pouch,
0:46:27 > 0:46:30so let's open it up and see what's inside.
0:46:30 > 0:46:36Well, there we go. Lo and behold, it's a gold £5 piece.
0:46:39 > 0:46:41What can you tell me about the coin?
0:46:41 > 0:46:44I can't tell you a lot about it, it was just an uncle gave it to me.
0:46:44 > 0:46:47And he had quite a few, and he passed them around the family.
0:46:47 > 0:46:52Well, if we turn it around we can see on the back it's dated for us -
0:46:52 > 0:46:541893.
0:46:54 > 0:46:59And then no surprise, the monarch's head at that time is Queen Victoria.
0:47:03 > 0:47:05Any idea what it might be worth?
0:47:05 > 0:47:07No idea at all.
0:47:07 > 0:47:10Would you be surprised if I told you it was worth £500?
0:47:10 > 0:47:12- Yes.- Well, it's not.
0:47:12 > 0:47:14- Oh.- It's worth £1,500.
0:47:14 > 0:47:16- Oh, gosh! - SHE LAUGHS
0:47:18 > 0:47:21- Oh, I'd better take good care of it, then.- I would.
0:47:30 > 0:47:35This is quite a monochrome-looking cabinet until you open the doors.
0:47:35 > 0:47:37Slightly more impressive and colourful.
0:47:37 > 0:47:38What's your connection with it?
0:47:38 > 0:47:43It was owned by my grandfather Ralph and his second wife Bertha.
0:47:43 > 0:47:46So you saw it as a child, presumably, and...
0:47:46 > 0:47:50Well, I've seen it over the last 30 or so years, yeah.
0:47:50 > 0:47:51When I see a cabinet like this,
0:47:51 > 0:47:55I always think of it as a piece of furniture that is really showing off.
0:47:55 > 0:47:58The whole point of a cabinet like this is to show off.
0:47:58 > 0:48:02You know how people show their holiday snapshots to their friends
0:48:02 > 0:48:06and family, well, in the late 17th century when this was made,
0:48:06 > 0:48:09somebody would've brought this back and they would've invited
0:48:09 > 0:48:13their friends to come and have a look at it and the whole idea
0:48:13 > 0:48:16would be that you would be impressed by what you saw
0:48:16 > 0:48:19and it is indeed very, very impressive, isn't it?
0:48:19 > 0:48:20I love it, yeah.
0:48:20 > 0:48:22All of these are just plain rectangular drawers
0:48:22 > 0:48:25but the highlight, you're meant to have your very best work of art
0:48:25 > 0:48:28from your grand tour travels in here.
0:48:28 > 0:48:34Now, that looks like a slightly strange thing to see
0:48:34 > 0:48:38when you open it up. It's lined with bone and ebony parquetry
0:48:38 > 0:48:41but what's the story with the ballerinas?
0:48:41 > 0:48:45The story with the ballerinas is Bertha, in the '30s,
0:48:45 > 0:48:49manufactured and made these sort of interior boxes with mirrors
0:48:49 > 0:48:50and wax figures inside them.
0:48:50 > 0:48:53And she was a completely different character.
0:48:53 > 0:48:58Ralph, quite damaged from the First World War, Bertha, full of life,
0:48:58 > 0:49:01Communist, whisky drinker.
0:49:03 > 0:49:08For example, in her garden she decided to dig a swimming pool
0:49:08 > 0:49:11with somebody from the village. It took her almost a year.
0:49:11 > 0:49:17She lined it with concrete and chassis of eight cars
0:49:17 > 0:49:20and then when they filled it with water it leaked.
0:49:20 > 0:49:23I'm getting a picture of quite an eccentric stepgrandmother here.
0:49:23 > 0:49:24- Definitely, definitely.- So,
0:49:24 > 0:49:27in the 30 years that you've known this cabinet,
0:49:27 > 0:49:32do you have any sort of opinion on it and on its authenticity?
0:49:32 > 0:49:34- No, not really.- Well,
0:49:34 > 0:49:39it's Flemish and it dates from the late 17th century
0:49:39 > 0:49:41and it's made of ebony but...
0:49:43 > 0:49:45..the paintings - oil on panel -
0:49:45 > 0:49:48don't actually fit the drawer fronts.
0:49:48 > 0:49:53They sort of predate the cabinet in style...
0:49:53 > 0:49:56- In style.- ..but I think that they have been done at a later date.
0:49:56 > 0:50:02- Right.- So what you have is a slightly sort of humble
0:50:02 > 0:50:04and monochrome-looking cabinet
0:50:04 > 0:50:09that's had a little bit of value added to it at some point,
0:50:09 > 0:50:13probably in the late 19th century.
0:50:13 > 0:50:14As to a value...
0:50:15 > 0:50:17..at auction it would fetch between
0:50:17 > 0:50:20£3,000 to £4,000.
0:50:23 > 0:50:24Fantastic.
0:50:28 > 0:50:33Well, what you've brought in is a stained-glass panel, effectively.
0:50:33 > 0:50:39We have a man where sophistication is suggested holding a violin
0:50:39 > 0:50:43and he's drinking from a wine glass, a rummer, which is bonhomie,
0:50:43 > 0:50:47"I am a goodtime guy but I also now know how to play the violin."
0:50:47 > 0:50:50So that's the kind of chap that's being presented.
0:50:50 > 0:50:52So, how does it fit in with you?
0:50:54 > 0:50:59It's been on the wall of my parents' house ever since I can remember,
0:50:59 > 0:51:0060 plus years.
0:51:00 > 0:51:03My father always thought it was worth something
0:51:03 > 0:51:04and my mother didn't.
0:51:04 > 0:51:06I'd like to know which one was right.
0:51:06 > 0:51:10OK. Well, I think that at the moment we're looking at half an object,
0:51:10 > 0:51:14you see, because the essence of glass and stained glass
0:51:14 > 0:51:18more particularly is the fact that light can pass through it.
0:51:18 > 0:51:22And it's the passing of light that gives it dynamism and colour
0:51:22 > 0:51:25and as it is, you've got a backing on here that prevents that
0:51:25 > 0:51:29from happening and I can't help but think this is going to look
0:51:29 > 0:51:33a whole lot better if we improve it by removing the backing,
0:51:33 > 0:51:35but to do so, I need your permission.
0:51:35 > 0:51:37So, are you OK about that?
0:51:37 > 0:51:39I'm fine about that.
0:51:39 > 0:51:43So, the tool I need is a scalpel.
0:51:43 > 0:51:45- Sir.- Thank you very much indeed.
0:51:45 > 0:51:50So, what we're going to do is we're going to run
0:51:50 > 0:51:53around the back here with the knife...
0:51:55 > 0:51:58Out with the nails or two.
0:52:00 > 0:52:01- Drumroll.- Drumroll!
0:52:10 > 0:52:11And there...
0:52:13 > 0:52:14..is your piece.
0:52:14 > 0:52:17And from my way of thinking, the colours have just come alive.
0:52:17 > 0:52:21What we have is a painting on glass, stained-glass panel,
0:52:21 > 0:52:23that harks back to the past.
0:52:23 > 0:52:24As I mentioned, Frans Hals,
0:52:24 > 0:52:28it reminds me of the Laughing Cavalier by Frans Hals.
0:52:28 > 0:52:31And I think that this is probably Dutch,
0:52:31 > 0:52:37made in about 1880 and it's in a style called the Historismus.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40And Historismus was harking back to the past.
0:52:40 > 0:52:45When it comes to a valuation, we've doubled it from 50 quid to 100,
0:52:45 > 0:52:49which 50 quid for ten minutes' work is pretty good going, I reckon.
0:52:50 > 0:52:53So, what are you going to do, are you going to keep it like this?
0:52:53 > 0:52:55- Of course, yes.- Absolutely. - Find a window now.
0:52:55 > 0:52:58And replace that with fishing wire so you can't see,
0:52:58 > 0:53:01so it has no visible means of support, bit like me, really!
0:53:01 > 0:53:02CROWD LAUGHS
0:53:07 > 0:53:09Well, I can hardly believe this.
0:53:09 > 0:53:13What I appear to have in front of me is a private album
0:53:13 > 0:53:17of the last of the Romanovs, the Russian royal family,
0:53:17 > 0:53:22who were wiped out in 1917 by the Bolsheviks.
0:53:22 > 0:53:24- Tell me about it. - Very interesting story.
0:53:24 > 0:53:28My stepdad's uncle, William Linton,
0:53:28 > 0:53:31who was known to the family as Uncle Bill, was in Russia,
0:53:31 > 0:53:34initially in Yuzovka - now Donetsk -
0:53:34 > 0:53:37and then latterly then in Yekaterinburg.
0:53:37 > 0:53:39So why was he, why does he get to Yekaterinburg?
0:53:39 > 0:53:43He was a chief engineer in Yuzovka in the steelworks
0:53:43 > 0:53:46and then became an agent for Bekos,
0:53:46 > 0:53:49which was a British company but based in Siberia.
0:53:49 > 0:53:51Their office was in Yekaterinburg.
0:53:51 > 0:53:53And this is where they were all taken to,
0:53:53 > 0:53:55from St Petersburg, from Moscow?
0:53:55 > 0:53:58- Originally they went to a town called Tobolsk...- Yes.
0:53:58 > 0:54:01..and they were basically under house arrest
0:54:01 > 0:54:03- in the Governor's Palace there... - Yes.
0:54:03 > 0:54:05..and had quite a good lifestyle.
0:54:05 > 0:54:08But as the White Russians, Czech Army,
0:54:08 > 0:54:10- were pushing forward... - Right, right.
0:54:10 > 0:54:15..they got moved to Yekaterinburg into a house called Ipatiev House.
0:54:15 > 0:54:17How did he get the photographs?
0:54:18 > 0:54:20The photographs were given to him
0:54:20 > 0:54:23by one of the Russian royal family maids. Now, I understand
0:54:23 > 0:54:25there were only three maids that were allowed to come.
0:54:25 > 0:54:28Yes, because they weren't allowed, they weren't allowed very many...
0:54:28 > 0:54:30No, in fact the conditions in the last house
0:54:30 > 0:54:32- were pretty abysmal for them.- Yes.
0:54:32 > 0:54:36Here's a wonderful picture of the Tsarevich
0:54:36 > 0:54:41and his mother, Alexandra, there, and she seems so happy.
0:54:41 > 0:54:42But these all came through the maid?
0:54:42 > 0:54:44They came from the maid and then the story goes,
0:54:44 > 0:54:46and I've no reason to doubt it,
0:54:46 > 0:54:49the maid gave these to Uncle Bill for safekeeping
0:54:49 > 0:54:52with the words, "Please look after these, because if I'm found
0:54:52 > 0:54:53"with them, I'll be shot."
0:54:53 > 0:54:57So she was aware that they were all about to be shot and all the
0:54:57 > 0:55:00- Russians...- Certainly and the Czechs were advancing and, you know,
0:55:00 > 0:55:03Yekaterinburg, at that time, was a pretty lawless city
0:55:03 > 0:55:05and the Bolsheviks were certainly in power there.
0:55:05 > 0:55:08We've got wonderful pictures here of them playing in the garden
0:55:08 > 0:55:11and one here I think... Is this Nikolai?
0:55:11 > 0:55:13That's Alexei, I think...
0:55:13 > 0:55:15- Alexei.- ..with his dog Joy.
0:55:15 > 0:55:19Lovely picture of the Tsarevich on his own there as well.
0:55:19 > 0:55:20But what about the letters?
0:55:20 > 0:55:23I see you've got a load of letters here as well.
0:55:23 > 0:55:25Uncle Bill was a good letter writer
0:55:25 > 0:55:27and there's a whole series of letters
0:55:27 > 0:55:32back and forward to the UK and to, obviously to his company bosses.
0:55:32 > 0:55:34But this letter, this letter here, I have to read this last,
0:55:34 > 0:55:36this little bit, this paragraph here.
0:55:36 > 0:55:37"For the last two days,
0:55:37 > 0:55:40"they have been pumping the water out of the old shaft in the forest."
0:55:40 > 0:55:42This is at Yekaterinburg.
0:55:42 > 0:55:46"Around which they found traces of the ex-royal family
0:55:46 > 0:55:48"and I think there is no doubt that their bodies will be found
0:55:48 > 0:55:52"at the bottom weighted down with stones." It's all rather sad.
0:55:52 > 0:55:53It's very sad, very sad.
0:55:53 > 0:55:55And these are all letters about that?
0:55:55 > 0:56:00- Indeed.- About his time at the end of the lives of the Romanov family?
0:56:00 > 0:56:01- Exactly, exactly.- Yes.
0:56:01 > 0:56:04They're very moving, actually, when you get into them and read them.
0:56:04 > 0:56:06Well, I just think this is incredible, I mean,
0:56:06 > 0:56:09we come to Wales, you don't expect to find this.
0:56:09 > 0:56:13I mean, presumably these have never been seen before?
0:56:13 > 0:56:15They've never seen the light of day other than in the family,
0:56:15 > 0:56:18they've been locked up in a safe for the best part of 100 years.
0:56:18 > 0:56:22This is a collection that is fresh to the market and don't forget the
0:56:22 > 0:56:26Russian royal family are very highly collected, signed photographs,
0:56:26 > 0:56:30even postcards of the Russian royal family are exceedingly valuable
0:56:30 > 0:56:33these days. So, I'm going to have to value them -
0:56:33 > 0:56:36which is a particularly difficult thing...
0:56:37 > 0:56:40I think £65,000...
0:56:41 > 0:56:46..would be not unreasonable for the whole of this,
0:56:46 > 0:56:49- for the 70 photographs, for the letters...- Sure.
0:56:49 > 0:56:55A publisher would pay that easily for them for a writer to put them
0:56:55 > 0:56:59into context, to make a wonderful book about them.
0:56:59 > 0:57:02There is a good book in this and many, many articles.
0:57:03 > 0:57:07- Thank you for bringing them in. - Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
0:57:07 > 0:57:09What a remarkable family archive.
0:57:09 > 0:57:13We're delighted it was brought out of the safe and shared with us
0:57:13 > 0:57:15during our visit to Pembroke.
0:57:15 > 0:57:18In previous centuries, Pembrokeshire had its own currency
0:57:18 > 0:57:24and this banknote dating from 1847 is worth £5.
0:57:24 > 0:57:26Or it was then. Imagine what it would buy now.
0:57:26 > 0:57:27A king's ransom.
0:57:29 > 0:57:31We're nearly finished here at the Antique's Roadshow.
0:57:31 > 0:57:34I'm going to take this, nip off into Pembroke, see what I can get.
0:57:34 > 0:57:35Bye-bye.