Hanbury Hall 2 Antiques Roadshow


Hanbury Hall 2

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Today, we are revisiting Hanbury Hall

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near Droitwich in Worcestershire.

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For more than 300 years,

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home to successive generations of the Vernon family.

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Today, it's looked after by the National Trust.

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It's an elegant country house in the style of William and Mary,

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surrounded by perfectly symmetrical, formal gardens,

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but not everything is it seems, both outside and within.

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Completed in 1708,

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the house was built for Thomas Vernon,

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who made his considerable fortune as a lawyer.

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And he spared no expense when it came to designers and craftsmen.

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Perhaps the most striking feature of the hall is this series of

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wall paintings all up the grand staircase and on the ceiling.

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It really is art on an epic scale.

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Thomas Vernon had amassed a fabulous fortune and then,

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as so often with these grand old houses,

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successive generations did a very good job of spending it all.

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By 1920, Sir George Vernon had to sell off pretty much the

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entire contents of the house, and pockets of the land as well,

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to settle hefty bills and pay rising taxes.

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And this is just one of many of the sale catalogues.

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So, what you see today are not the original furnishings and fittings,

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but an interpretation of how the house would have looked.

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This wallpaper was bought as recently as the 1980s.

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These gardens aren't what they seem either.

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One of Thomas Vernon's descendants, Emma, along with her new husband,

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decided they were terribly out of date,

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so they were unceremoniously dug up and replaced with what was then much

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more fashionable, natural landscaping

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in the style of Capability Brown.

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So what you see today is, again,

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a recreation of what the original gardens looked like,

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based on 18th-century plans.

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The gardens were finally restored as late as the 1990s.

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Let's hope our experts get to see the real thing today

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as they welcome our visitors.

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This is a lovely object. Tell me what it is.

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I haven't the faintest idea what that is!

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-Not a clue.

-Not a clue.

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We don't have a clue.

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It currently sits on a shelf next to a lava lamp, if that's any help.

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OK, well, it's not a lava lamp, so that limits the ideas.

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I'm going to ask you,

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obviously...you live up here now in the, sort of, Birmingham area.

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Where did you live when you got that?

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-Kent.

-That's jolly interesting because what you have,

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it's got a title to it, which is a Sussex something.

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Now, obviously Kent borders Sussex

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and some of these were made in Tunbridge Wells.

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Shall I tell you what it is?

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-Yes.

-Did you live in Tunbridge Wells?

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No, no, no. I worked in Sussex for a long time.

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-No, we lived in Sevenoaks.

-OK.

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This is a Sussex spice tower.

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THEY GASP

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Really?

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LAUGHTER

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A Sussex spice tower?!

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But... And I can see why you don't know what it is, because the clues,

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which were all on these little labels here, have worn off.

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It would have said, cloves, mace, cinnamon, whatever.

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And, look, when you undo each of these...

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..it's a fabulous, sort of, almost like a construction toy.

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It's a beautiful piece of woodcraft.

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Often these were made of Sycamore, and this one,

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probably dating from the early part of the 19th century, so 1820, 1830.

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-Goodness.

-It's getting better and better.

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It is getting better and better. Amazing.

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How much is the lava lamp worth?

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Well, I think we bought the lava lamp for 9.99.

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-OK.

-LAUGHTER

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Is that £9.99?

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£9.99.

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-Not 999?

-No.

-OK, so, it's worth a bit more than a lava lamp.

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In this condition - which is missing its titles,

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slightly knocked about inside,

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but it's obviously been used, which is fab -

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I would put it at around 200 to £300.

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-Oh, my goodness.

-You're joking.

-Wow.

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That's just amazing.

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I wonder, do you think it actually even still smells of spice?

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It might do.

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-It smells of something.

-Oh, it does smell of spice.

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-You're right, yes.

-There's something there.

-Definitely.

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So, there we go.

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We've learned something today -

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if you don't know what it is, take the lid off and smell it.

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LAUGHTER

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And that'll give you a clue.

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So, what have we got here, then?

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It's a travelling decanter case

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that I inherited from my godfather this year.

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The only thing that I know about it is

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-this piece of paper was inside it.

-OK.

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This says that on the 17th of October, 1992 -

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which is what, 23 years ago? -

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this tantalus, which it isn't,

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was estimated at dating between 1850 and 1860

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-and a valuation of 1,400 quid.

-Apparently.

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So, let's examine that.

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It's not a tantalus. A tantalus is a lockable device.

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It's tantalising.

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It comes from Tantalus,

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who was punished by being thrown into a river,

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and he was crazed with thirst,

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and every time he went to drink the water, the waters pulled back.

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So water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink.

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And the tantalus was a locking thing

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-to keep the servants' thieving mitts off your booze.

-OK.

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So, this is a decanter case. You've correctly described it.

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And the date? 1850, I'm sure that's about right.

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If you went to the Great Exhibition in 1851 and you went to one of the

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French stands there, of which there were many,

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this is the sort of thing precisely you would have seen

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at the Great Exhibition in 1851.

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It's really good quality.

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And I'm going to focus on the metal, funnily enough.

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If you look at the casting of that, it is absolutely gorgeous.

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I mean, crisp...

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Er, the gilding on the decanters is super.

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It's completely, apart from some ingrained filth...

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SHE LAUGHS

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-Thank you.

-..it's in really perfect condition.

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There's really nothing wrong with it.

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And there lies the problem, you see.

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Why is it in such good nick? Because nobody ever used it!

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-Nobody used it.

-Cos nobody ever used it.

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I'm looking at a valuation of 1,400 quid in 1992...

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..and I'm going to ask you guys...

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..if this was in your house, ladies and gentlemen, would you use this?

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Would you use this at all? What would you do with it?

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You just wouldn't... You would use it, would you,

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-you cheeky little monkey?

-LAUGHTER

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The only one is seven years old, who's going to...

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I'm not seven years old! I'm five years old!

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I do beg your pardon!

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Well done, guv!

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So, look, the irony is that this is worth, today,

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exactly what it was worth 23 years ago.

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It has not moved at all.

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It is just static.

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Because, whilst some people appreciate the fab quality

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that we're seeing here, it just doesn't fit into modern lives.

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-No.

-That's the issue.

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It's a fabulous object that is wanted by very few people,

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which is the reason that relative to its quality, it's dirt cheap.

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Yeah. Well, it's still beautiful.

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-I agree.

-Yeah.

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We rarely encourage people to bring their whole library

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to the Antiques Roadshow, it's just too much to deal with, but...

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when it's a library like this, we'll make an exception.

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It's so cute.

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It's a miniature library.

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It looks like a glazed bookcase, but it's tiny.

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And we open the door, which I can't resist doing,

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and it's full of tiny, miniature books.

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-How many have we got?

-55.

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55, you've counted them.

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-Yes.

-Fantastic.

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And what sort of books have we got?

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Oh... Well, that's a fairy story, I think, isn't it?

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Fairy stories, that one?

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-Yes, Cinderella and Other Fairy Tales.

-Yes.

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Very nice fairy tale book.

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What about this one? The Thumb Confession Book.

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I don't know about that one.

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I've missed that one out.

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But how lovely. Tiny little books that fit in the palm of the hand.

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Tiny little books for a 13-year-old girl.

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-A 13-year-old girl?

-Well...

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-Who are we talking about?

-We are talking about Beatrice Selfridge,

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daughter of Gordon Selfridge of Selfridges,

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and she was born in 1901,

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and these books were given to her for Christmas in 1914, as it says.

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She's signed every one.

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So, you knew about them as a much younger girl.

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Yes. My grandmother had the...

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She bought the... We have the receipt in here.

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She bought these in...

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..1949.

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And why did she buy them?

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What attracted her to this little library?

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The Selfridges and my grandparents were great friends.

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They had the shops next door to each other in Oxford Street.

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My grandparents had Penberthy's,

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which was basically gloves by royal appointment, and they were great

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friends with the Selfridges,

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and obviously Granny saw this in an antiques shop

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and thought, "I'd rather like it."

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-She couldn't resist?

-She couldn't resist.

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-I can completely understand that.

-Yes, yeah.

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It's wonderful in many, many ways.

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There are collectors of miniature books in my world,

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the world of the book collecting.

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There are people who will want an example of every miniature book

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ever printed, and they love the individual books themselves,

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-although I would say they're not fantastically rare as books.

-No, no.

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These are miniature books that we see occasionally, from time to time,

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and if you'd brought me just a few of the books on their own, I'd say,

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"Well, that's very nice, but probably not terribly valuable."

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But the fact you have a whole collection of them, 55 of them,

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and they're in this gorgeous bookcase, and the Selfridges.

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I mean, everyone knows the Selfridges all over the world.

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-Yes, yes.

-So, if you were a collector of miniature books

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in America and you knew that...

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-These were all signed by...

-Little Beatrice...

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-..little Beatrice...

-..Selfridge in 1914...

-Yes.

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..you'd really want it, wouldn't you?

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Yeah, I suppose you probably would.

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Well, I think it's lovely.

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-It's seen some life, unfortunately, hasn't it?

-Yes.

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Are you responsible for that?

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Probably! As a child, I probably was.

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Yes, exactly. I did use them.

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You know, I really enjoyed it.

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And, in a way, all of that is as nothing.

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It just doesn't matter. What's important here is,

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what we're looking at is just a beautiful object

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and the fact it has this wonderful provenance

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-with the Selfridge family.

-Yes.

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I think I would stick my neck out and say probably 1,500 to £2,000.

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Good. Thank you very much. I'm not going to sell it.

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SHE CHUCKLES

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One of our visitors has brought in an object

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that's got our experts rather foxed.

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So, here it is.

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Any ideas?

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When I look at these, I think of... the spirit of the 1920s.

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-Jazz, energy, Hollywood.

-Yeah.

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What do you think of?

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They are quite theatrical, I think.

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What about now?

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Any clearer?

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It has a really great action, look, if we operate it.

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It mechanically chugs up and down the string...

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and you can vary the speed,

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depending on how fast and how hard you pull it.

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What about if I added this?

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Now what do you think?

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They were made in the 1920s, 1930s...

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-..by Joseph Lorenzl, but, as a group, worth £2,000.

-OK.

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What if I added this?

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Still not sure?

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So, I think this one is going to be more or less £2-300.

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-Fantastic.

-Great little things. Thank you.

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Maybe the final piece tells you all you need to know?

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-Anyone?

-Spices.

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Spices.

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-Church.

-Something to do with the church?

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-Fondue.

-Fondue?!

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LAUGHTER

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Well, the truth is... we don't really know.

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I've shown it to almost all of our experts here.

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Hilary Kay thought maybe sewing accessories.

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Spice is a possibility.

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Salt, pepper and nutmeg.

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And Eric Knowles said it was a TOP.

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A thing of purpose.

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A little birdie has told me

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that you've actually made quite a journey to get here today.

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Absolutely.

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We left home at 4:30 yesterday morning

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from the West Coast of Ireland to come here.

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I'm a huge fan of the show.

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I've been watching it for donkey's years.

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My children do not come near me on Sunday night.

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Yeah, so, we've been travelling since yesterday to get here.

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And why this year particularly?

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Well, it's my 60th birthday this year.

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I don't believe you for one moment!

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-I've never seen such a young 60-year-old.

-Thank you.

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She does not look 60.

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Thank you. The gift is a 60th birthday gift,

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and my son's godfather,

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who lives in Jamaica Plain in Boston,

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gave me this cos he knows that I like unusual jewellery,

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but I don't really know much about it.

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Well, the jewels date from around late 19th century,

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-so about 1880, 1890.

-Oh, really? I didn't know it was that old. Yeah.

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And this is when you had people going off round Europe

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-on the grand tour...

-OK.

-..and they would collect souvenirs,

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and this is a wonderful example of a souvenir from a trip like that

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and this is what's called Roman mosaic.

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-Oh, mosaic.

-Sometimes you also hear micromosaic,

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but it was made in Rome.

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This is quite brash. It's quite colourful.

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Yeah, particularly the wings of the top insect there.

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They're very colourful.

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Also, that's really interesting that you point out the bugs,

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-because, during this period, the Victorians loved bugs.

-Did they?

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LAUGHTER

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-OK!

-Well, they are like a jewel themselves.

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They would wear a lot of beetle wings and... You know,

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so the fact that they were depicting insects and beetles in jewellery

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was, again, sort of, you know, they were inspired by that.

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-It's in silver-gilt, so it's not gold.

-OK.

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This would have been worn as a pendant and, of course,

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these wonderful drop earrings.

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-Fabulous earrings.

-They're gorgeous.

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And in fact, you're going to wear this, I hope?

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I intend to, yeah, I do.

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Because it is silver-gilt,

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it is sort of made for the tourist industry.

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It's not, erm...

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-it's not something that's going to...

-Fabulously wealthy or...

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-But then, that's not what it's about, is it?

-No, it's a gift.

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And the fact that this started off life in 1880 in Italy,

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-it's found its way over to America...

-And back to Ireland.

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..back to Ireland...

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And here in Britain!

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I think that's just a fabulous journey!

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It's wonderful, for my 60th birthday,

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to actually hear what it's about, so thank you so much.

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Oh, well, at auction, if you were to put this in a sale, you know,

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-it might get £3-500, but it's not about that.

-No.

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It's about the journey of the jewel and its continued journey with you.

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Great.

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You like? You don't like?

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-Like.

-Like?

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-Yes.

-OK, how long have you liked it for?

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I've liked it ever since I've known it.

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My parents had it for their wedding in 1936

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and I've absolutely loved it cos I love the feel of it.

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You know, it's just beautiful.

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The colour is right and the feel is lovely.

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I've no idea what it is, but I love it.

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I tell you, I was the first person to take these things seriously

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-as an auctioneer in the early

-'70s. Right.

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Nobody liked this stuff. It was just dismissed.

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But it seemed to me that it was such fantastic quality...

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-Hmm, yes.

-..and there was so much meaning in what was going on,

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and blow me, they were marked on the bottom.

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I know, and I don't know what the marks mean at all.

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OK, well, let's have a look.

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That's the right way up.

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Erm...

0:17:220:17:24

We've got on here a Shimazu mon.

0:17:240:17:28

That's one of the princely families of Japan.

0:17:280:17:32

And in the area was the Satsuma factory.

0:17:320:17:39

I did wonder, because of the...

0:17:390:17:41

Are they chrysanthemums on there?

0:17:420:17:44

-Or not?

-When we turn it up, we'll have a look.

-OK.

0:17:450:17:48

We've got "Dai Ni Hon" - "great Japan".

0:17:480:17:52

Right.

0:17:520:17:53

We've got "Satsuma" -

0:17:530:17:55

Satsuma, they've abbreviated the mark.

0:17:550:17:58

It's a more complicated character than that.

0:17:580:18:00

And then "Niyaki", which is "fired" or "kiln".

0:18:000:18:02

We've got white dragons.

0:18:040:18:06

-Yes.

-Dragons in... in Europe are bad news.

0:18:060:18:11

They come and eat you, we lock the city down.

0:18:110:18:14

In Japan, or in China as well, they are good news.

0:18:140:18:18

-Right.

-And they are always associated with water,

0:18:180:18:21

so this white dragon is over the water.

0:18:210:18:25

Yes.

0:18:250:18:26

-They bring food, they bring harvests...

-Right.

0:18:260:18:30

..because they bring the rains.

0:18:300:18:32

-Hence the water.

-Oh, I see. Hence the water.

0:18:320:18:34

And they often fly about in the sky and bring the rain down.

0:18:340:18:37

We've also got various panels of flowers, as you rightly say,

0:18:370:18:42

chrysanthemums, we've got peony,

0:18:420:18:44

we've got... There's your chrysanthemums.

0:18:440:18:47

And we've got lilies.

0:18:470:18:49

A great pot.

0:18:500:18:51

-I love it.

-Whether it was made in Satsuma as it says on the bottom,

0:18:510:18:54

I don't know. I have my doubts.

0:18:540:18:57

I'm beginning to suspect that these Satsuma pieces

0:18:570:18:59

were actually made in Kyoto.

0:18:590:19:01

I'm trying to prove it, but I'm not getting very far, but we'll see.

0:19:010:19:05

Erm...

0:19:050:19:06

I have found dated pieces of this so-called Satsuma.

0:19:070:19:12

I think if they're anything, this is probably about 1870.

0:19:120:19:17

The interesting thing about these is that in the early '70s,

0:19:170:19:21

I would have got...

0:19:210:19:22

..3,000 for that pot.

0:19:230:19:25

-Not now.

-What's happened to the Japanese market?

0:19:260:19:28

Yeah, afraid you're right, afraid you're right.

0:19:280:19:31

You could buy that today for £800-1,200.

0:19:320:19:36

Right.

0:19:360:19:37

-It will go up.

-Yes.

0:19:370:19:39

When, I can't tell you.

0:19:390:19:42

-Hang on to it, because you love it.

-I would anyway. I love it, yes.

0:19:420:19:45

-Absolutely.

-Thank you very much for bringing it in.

0:19:450:19:47

Thank you very much. I now know what it is.

0:19:470:19:49

-I never did before.

-Good.

0:19:490:19:50

The size is just ridiculous, isn't it?

0:19:550:19:58

-They say size is everything, but...

-SHE LAUGHS

0:19:580:20:00

-Where did you get it from?

-Well, he came into my family in 1957.

0:20:000:20:04

He belonged, originally, to a German lady

0:20:040:20:07

who was a very close friend of my grandmother's.

0:20:070:20:10

When she died, my grandfather went up to the house

0:20:100:20:13

and her adopted son was just about to throw him on a bonfire.

0:20:130:20:19

-Erm, originally, he was one of a pair.

-Oh!

0:20:190:20:22

There was a bear that was a similar size and they stood either side

0:20:220:20:25

of this lady's front door.

0:20:250:20:27

My grandfather managed to rescue the owl but we're pretty sure that the

0:20:280:20:31

-bear succumbed to the flames, I'm afraid.

-Wow.

0:20:310:20:34

And what about the owl?

0:20:340:20:35

Have you found out... Which country would you say?

0:20:350:20:37

-My guess is Black Forest.

-Exactly.

0:20:370:20:40

It's a native softwood to that area, pine or something like that.

0:20:400:20:44

That's what we all associate with Black Forest,

0:20:440:20:46

that sort of souvenirware, for want of a better word.

0:20:460:20:49

I mean, this is great quality.

0:20:490:20:50

You have the hall stands and you have one of this size.

0:20:500:20:53

-And when you say that would have been one of a pair...

-Yes.

0:20:530:20:55

..it's just mind-blowing to think one went on the bonfire.

0:20:560:20:59

-The restoration hasn't been great.

-No.

0:20:590:21:01

You know, there are bits which are dodgy about it. It's got...

0:21:010:21:05

er, worm damage.

0:21:050:21:07

All of that can be, sort of, sorted out.

0:21:070:21:09

I think this dates from 1890s, 1900,

0:21:090:21:12

and whether it was an exhibition piece in the beginning,

0:21:120:21:16

I think that's possible, or a commissioned piece for...

0:21:160:21:19

Literally a house like this, you'd say,

0:21:190:21:21

"I want a piece that big because my house is so impressive."

0:21:210:21:25

And this is as good as it gets.

0:21:250:21:26

The bear, sadly, that went on the bonfire, er...

0:21:280:21:33

You know, it's a shame, it does spoil the value.

0:21:330:21:35

The damage will spoil the value.

0:21:350:21:37

But £3-5,000.

0:21:370:21:40

SHE GASPS

0:21:400:21:41

Oh... Right!

0:21:410:21:43

I know it sounds awful, but they burned the right one!

0:21:430:21:46

LAUGHTER

0:21:460:21:47

Well, we've had many strange glances and some curious guesses

0:21:500:21:54

as to just what this extraordinary contraption is in front of us.

0:21:540:21:58

Now, who did this device and the two cases of stuffed fish

0:21:580:22:02

originally belong to?

0:22:020:22:04

They belonged to a gentleman called John Henry Hirst,

0:22:040:22:08

who was a Yorkshireman who actually patented

0:22:080:22:11

this, er, rather unusual fishing rod in 1928.

0:22:110:22:16

-That's John Henry Hirst.

-OK.

0:22:160:22:19

Now, he's in First World War uniform and I already had a look at the

0:22:190:22:23

carp and there's a reference to him having caught these fish in 1915.

0:22:230:22:30

He caught them at a place called Ypres,

0:22:300:22:33

which was a flash point of the First World War.

0:22:330:22:38

Of course, two famous battles.

0:22:380:22:39

The first Battle of Ypres

0:22:390:22:41

and the second Battle of Ypres,

0:22:410:22:43

-which, indeed, was fought during 1915.

-Yes.

0:22:430:22:45

But what on earth was this man, enjoying himself fishing

0:22:450:22:49

when he should have been at the front with the other lads?

0:22:490:22:52

He was actually at the front

0:22:520:22:54

and because he was such an obsessive and very skilful angler,

0:22:540:22:58

he was excused all other duties, which enabled him...

0:22:580:23:03

-Really?

-It enabled him to catch fish for the men to eat.

0:23:030:23:07

Fantastic. A bit of fresh meat, a bit of protein,

0:23:080:23:12

which would have raised morale.

0:23:120:23:14

-Absolutely.

-And indeed, he was sat there fishing as missiles,

0:23:140:23:19

shells blew over his head, exploding not far away.

0:23:190:23:22

I mean, the guts of the man.

0:23:220:23:24

I mean, this is true British grit and eccentricity, isn't it?

0:23:240:23:30

I think you've hit the nail on the head with "eccentricity"!

0:23:300:23:32

But, yes, he was an obsessive and very, very skilful angler.

0:23:320:23:36

Sure, sure.

0:23:360:23:37

Of course, he sent the two carp back to London from the Western front

0:23:370:23:42

to be actually stuffed.

0:23:420:23:44

And, in fact, they're labelled "John Cooper and Sons",

0:23:440:23:47

who's one of the most famous historical fish taxidermists

0:23:470:23:51

of all time.

0:23:510:23:52

The firm was established in the early part of the 19th century

0:23:520:23:57

and became famous for its fish,

0:23:570:23:58

and to have two provenance carp from the First World War

0:23:580:24:02

is a quite exceptional.

0:24:020:24:04

After the war,

0:24:040:24:06

he obviously took fishing even more seriously and came up with this.

0:24:060:24:10

He did indeed.

0:24:100:24:11

He was a match angler and he had a theory that he needed to

0:24:110:24:15

-be further out from the bank than his competitors...

-OK.

0:24:150:24:19

..so he produced this very long, very sturdy fishing rod

0:24:190:24:24

that wouldn't have been available in the materials of the day,

0:24:240:24:27

so this was to give him an advantage in match fishing.

0:24:270:24:30

1928, he patented this particular rod.

0:24:300:24:33

-We have seen photos of him with a similar, but longer, rod.

-Oh!

0:24:340:24:38

So, somewhere out there, there may be another.

0:24:380:24:42

-Can I have a go?

-You can have a go, by all means.

-OK, have a look.

0:24:420:24:46

Yep, here we are.

0:24:460:24:47

Now, there's a bit of a screw thread there, presumably for tensioning.

0:24:470:24:51

-That tensions the rod, absolutely.

-Here we go.

0:24:510:24:54

Gosh, well, immediately, it's just incredibly light.

0:24:550:24:59

-It is, isn't it?

-Yeah.

0:24:590:25:00

And it's made, interestingly, of bamboo and it's painted,

0:25:000:25:04

it looks like aluminium, but bamboo, look.

0:25:040:25:07

Fantastic, but, er...

0:25:070:25:10

I feel kingpin here with this!

0:25:100:25:12

THEY CHUCKLE

0:25:120:25:13

Incredible. So, he would cast

0:25:130:25:16

and obviously steal a match on his competitors.

0:25:160:25:19

There was an attempt by John Hirst to market them,

0:25:190:25:24

-but his son tells me it wasn't at all successful.

-Right.

0:25:240:25:27

But what was successful, of course,

0:25:270:25:29

was his match fishing exploits with this rod.

0:25:290:25:32

He was thought of as almost unbeatable

0:25:320:25:34

when he had this rod in his hands.

0:25:340:25:35

OK, well, look, the second case of fish

0:25:350:25:38

is four dace caught with this rod on the south River Tyne,

0:25:380:25:43

and, again, a Cooper case.

0:25:430:25:45

The case of carp with the provenance,

0:25:450:25:48

it's a £1,500-2,500 case of fish, as long as it stays with the rod.

0:25:480:25:54

The dace, probably a little bit less.

0:25:540:25:55

Perhaps 1,000-1,500.

0:25:550:25:57

But the rod, goodness me.

0:25:590:26:00

How do you value something that's never been on the market before?

0:26:000:26:03

I think when it comes to it, I'm going to put...

0:26:040:26:07

an auction estimate of maybe £3-5,000.

0:26:070:26:09

Have you ever been to the railway station at Braintree in Essex?

0:26:140:26:17

No, I haven't. Never.

0:26:170:26:20

Never? And did you know that this was Braintree?

0:26:200:26:22

I didn't, actually, no.

0:26:220:26:24

I mean, this is just the most extraordinary, brilliant design.

0:26:240:26:27

You really feel the railway station has just been placed

0:26:280:26:31

in this very simple, green landscape.

0:26:310:26:33

And of course, it's by a real sort of powerhouse, an amazing artist,

0:26:330:26:36

Edward Bawden, who was one of the great designers,

0:26:360:26:39

illustrators and artists from the 20th century.

0:26:390:26:42

Tell me, where did it come from?

0:26:420:26:43

It was actually given to my parents as a wedding present in 1961,

0:26:430:26:48

which is the same date on the actual label

0:26:480:26:52

on the reverse of the painting.

0:26:520:26:55

There is a Zwemmer Galleries label on the back, and what's interesting

0:26:550:26:58

about that is that Zwemmer Galleries had a great relationship with Bawden

0:26:580:27:02

and gave him his first major show in 1934.

0:27:020:27:05

Right.

0:27:050:27:06

So, here we have what seems to be a very simple design but, of course,

0:27:060:27:11

it's actually very, very sophisticated,

0:27:110:27:13

and he's really focused on the architecture of the railway station.

0:27:130:27:17

This is a very modern image from 1961

0:27:170:27:20

and, of course, you're looking at a diesel train.

0:27:200:27:23

Hardly any human element to this print at all,

0:27:230:27:27

apart from the rather humorous driver in the front.

0:27:270:27:30

And the diesel train would be replacing steam, of course,

0:27:300:27:33

so it would be very much a modern statement from Bawden.

0:27:330:27:35

He would have known this railway station

0:27:350:27:39

because when he was a student

0:27:390:27:41

going down to Liverpool Street train station from Braintree as a student,

0:27:410:27:45

he would use the station a great deal.

0:27:450:27:48

So, have you done your own research?

0:27:480:27:49

Do you know anything about Edward Bawden?

0:27:490:27:52

I did actually look it up on the internet,

0:27:520:27:54

where I actually found a picture exactly like this.

0:27:540:27:58

I took the picture down and had a look on the back

0:27:580:28:02

and it actually said number one,

0:28:020:28:04

as though the first purchaser,

0:28:040:28:06

and that's when I found out it was by Edward Bawden.

0:28:060:28:10

So, apart from being a great designer, water-colourist, painter,

0:28:100:28:13

he was also a brilliant printer and this is a linocut print

0:28:130:28:17

and these sorts of prints have become very, very popular,

0:28:170:28:21

and the artists would cut out the design with a sharp implement,

0:28:210:28:25

and on the surfaces that haven't been carved out,

0:28:250:28:28

ink would be applied and then the paper would be pressed against that,

0:28:280:28:31

and in some instances, artists would use several pieces of linoleum

0:28:310:28:36

to make this design.

0:28:360:28:37

Of course, you're only really looking at three or four colours.

0:28:370:28:41

We come to value.

0:28:410:28:42

Now, value's quite complicated with this print

0:28:420:28:45

because a print like this should be signed.

0:28:450:28:48

Now, we're not going to take this print out of its frame,

0:28:480:28:51

purely because the paper is touching the glass,

0:28:510:28:53

-so there's a further journey with this picture.

-Yes.

0:28:530:28:56

Without a signature, it's certainly worth £2-3,000.

0:28:560:29:00

Nice.

0:29:000:29:01

Now, if a conservator can put that right

0:29:010:29:04

and not damage the surface of the print and take it out easily,

0:29:040:29:08

and, on the lower right-hand corner or lower left,

0:29:080:29:11

there is a signature by Bawden,

0:29:110:29:13

then it's worth three or four times that.

0:29:130:29:15

It's worth £6-8,000, possibly even £7-10,000.

0:29:150:29:19

You know, you've got the Zwemmer Galleries provenance,

0:29:200:29:23

you've got a fantastic image by a great British design

0:29:230:29:26

from the 20th century.

0:29:260:29:28

I hope that we can prove that there's a signature under there -

0:29:280:29:31

there should be - and that it's not trimmed,

0:29:310:29:33

and then it can be conserved, and then it will be a perfect story.

0:29:330:29:37

That's nice to know. Thank you very much.

0:29:370:29:40

Now, I imagine that this is going to tell us something.

0:29:400:29:43

-Can you tell us who these people are?

-Yes.

0:29:430:29:46

It's my dad's family.

0:29:460:29:47

The baby with the wondrous bonnet is my dad,

0:29:470:29:50

erm, with his sister, mother and father.

0:29:500:29:54

That was 1905, because my dad was born early 1905.

0:29:540:29:59

The belt has come, I think, from her via mum and dad.

0:29:590:30:03

It's very small, so I think it had probably belonged to her,

0:30:030:30:06

his mother, Harriet.

0:30:060:30:08

And this is Harriet in the photograph with the hat on?

0:30:080:30:10

-Yes.

-And does she had any connection with China,

0:30:100:30:13

-where this belt comes from?

-Not that I'm aware of.

0:30:130:30:15

Where it originated or how she came by it, I have got no idea.

0:30:150:30:20

You've already tried, no doubt, to buckle this belt up.

0:30:200:30:24

No chance!

0:30:240:30:25

HE LAUGHS

0:30:250:30:27

I'm not a fat man, but this is not going to be anywhere close.

0:30:270:30:31

I think if we put it on the average hole on this belt,

0:30:310:30:37

you've got a waist of about, I don't know, 18 inches, maybe 20.

0:30:370:30:40

Which is why I thought of her, because an Edwardian lady

0:30:400:30:44

wouldn't be outside the door without a corset.

0:30:440:30:46

No, she must have pulled her corset pretty tight, I think.

0:30:460:30:50

That's incredibly small.

0:30:500:30:52

This has been made in China in about... Hmm, around about 1900.

0:30:520:30:56

OK, right.

0:30:560:30:57

-It's not something that you can wear these days, clearly.

-No.

0:30:570:31:01

-So it's more of a collector's item than a fashion item.

-Oh, yes.

0:31:010:31:06

-But its Chinese silver, which is always interesting.

-Right.

0:31:060:31:09

It's got a dragon over the front,

0:31:090:31:10

so I think if you went into a shop to go and buy one of those again,

0:31:100:31:15

it's going to cost you about somewhere between £2-250.

0:31:150:31:18

Good gracious! Good heavens above!

0:31:180:31:21

I'm looking at a mini Austin, an Austin J40 pedal car

0:31:240:31:28

and we're within about ten miles of the Longbridge factory

0:31:280:31:31

where the full-size Austins were made.

0:31:310:31:34

I think you worked there, didn't you?

0:31:340:31:36

-Yes, I did.

-But you bought it for your son because of that connection?

0:31:360:31:41

I also bought it because when I was very young, about seven, eight,

0:31:410:31:46

they were introduced and I liked it very much,

0:31:460:31:50

and my parents wouldn't buy it me

0:31:500:31:53

because I was a little bit too big for it

0:31:530:31:55

and I was very upset about that, so when I found one nearby for sale,

0:31:550:32:00

I bought it for my son to make up for me not having one.

0:32:000:32:04

I bet you were the envy of all your mates.

0:32:040:32:07

I was, yeah, and I think my mates had something to do

0:32:070:32:10

with the condition it's in now, unfortunately!

0:32:100:32:13

LAUGHTER

0:32:130:32:14

It had a bit of a rough ride, did it?

0:32:140:32:17

I think it did, yeah, I think it certainly did, yeah.

0:32:170:32:19

Well, let's talk about the car for a moment because it was this

0:32:190:32:23

extraordinary visionary, the chairman of Austin, Leonard Lord,

0:32:230:32:27

who knew of the plight of the miners in Southern Wales,

0:32:270:32:34

who had... A lot of them had a terrible lung disease

0:32:340:32:36

from working in the mines,

0:32:360:32:38

and they were looking for alternative employment for them,

0:32:380:32:42

and he set up this company in South Wales to make the J40,

0:32:420:32:47

the Junior 40, which was loosely based on the Austin A40,

0:32:470:32:51

the Devon, wasn't it?

0:32:510:32:52

And that factory in Wales started producing the J40 in 1949

0:32:530:32:59

and had a 22-year-run and went right the way through until 1971,

0:32:590:33:03

so it was second hand, this, then, when you got it?

0:33:030:33:06

-Yes.

-OK. But look under the bonnet.

0:33:060:33:09

I mean, this is just great, isn't it?

0:33:090:33:11

There's the space there for the battery,

0:33:110:33:13

which would have powered the Lucas headlights and the little horn.

0:33:130:33:18

And then I love this sort of child's version of what they thought an

0:33:180:33:21

engine might look like with the spark plugs.

0:33:210:33:23

Just great.

0:33:230:33:25

It's missing its little Austin motif off the top.

0:33:250:33:29

Coming round to the cockpit here, with the steering wheel,

0:33:290:33:34

you've got all your instruments in the panel,

0:33:340:33:37

the pedals and the handbrake.

0:33:370:33:41

And then, coming down to the boot here, you've actually...

0:33:410:33:47

Oh, a nice bit of carpet in there. That's good.

0:33:470:33:50

But you've actually got the serial number,

0:33:500:33:52

which you probably have seen, which is 31923.

0:33:520:33:57

And that will date it precisely.

0:33:580:34:01

I think just over 30,000 were made in that 22-year-run,

0:34:010:34:08

so there are a lot around, but there's still a huge demand.

0:34:080:34:11

I would put the value at around £2,000 for a car.

0:34:110:34:17

Wow.

0:34:170:34:19

Gosh. Wow.

0:34:190:34:21

Not bad.

0:34:210:34:22

Erm... Because it does need a little bit of work to it.

0:34:220:34:26

I want to know if it still works.

0:34:260:34:29

OK, Oscar, give it a go.

0:34:290:34:30

One, two, three, in you get.

0:34:300:34:32

-Now, Dad, are you going to give it a push?

-I'll give it a push.

0:34:330:34:36

Who are you going to aim for?

0:34:360:34:38

Straight ahead.

0:34:380:34:39

HE LAUGHS

0:34:390:34:41

Cool, kitsch and colourful cats.

0:34:440:34:46

-Exactly, yes.

-I take it you're a cat lover?

0:34:460:34:48

I am, yes.

0:34:480:34:50

He's papier mache and he's china.

0:34:500:34:53

You've spotted the main difference and I'll come to that in a moment.

0:34:530:34:56

Well, I came into the tea tent for a cup of tea and I've immediately been

0:34:580:35:01

distracted because what do I find? I find this fantastic tin-plate toy,

0:35:010:35:04

and I suppose I'm going to have to ask you, does it still work?

0:35:040:35:07

Yes, and I can demonstrate it

0:35:070:35:09

cos I've been running it for the last 24 hours

0:35:090:35:11

-to make sure it's working!

-THEY LAUGH

0:35:110:35:14

They're by a lady called Joan de Bethel,

0:35:140:35:17

who, with her husband, David,

0:35:170:35:19

set up a company in Rye in Sussex in 1960 to produce papier mache cats.

0:35:190:35:23

Now, they might look, sort of, slightly gaudy,

0:35:230:35:26

but, actually, they took up to a day to paint and decorate.

0:35:260:35:28

-OK, so give me a demonstration, then.

-Will do.

0:35:290:35:32

WHIRRING

0:35:340:35:35

-Yes!

-HE LAUGHS

0:35:370:35:39

That is brilliant. I love the way he gets on and off.

0:35:420:35:45

These are really quite sought-after, particularly in papier mache.

0:35:470:35:50

They were only produced for a limited period,

0:35:500:35:52

they were quite expensive and they're quite sought-after.

0:35:520:35:55

There's a good collectors' market for these.

0:35:550:35:56

You're probably looking at around...

0:35:560:35:58

-I suppose around £80-120, maybe, for the ceramic one...

-Hm.

0:35:580:36:02

-..and probably £250-ish for the papier mache one.

-Oh, right.

0:36:030:36:08

I think if you were going to put that into a good toy sale,

0:36:100:36:13

you would get £4-500 for that.

0:36:130:36:17

-Never!

-Absolutely. Absolutely.

0:36:170:36:19

-You're joking. No.

-You're not going to though, are you?

0:36:190:36:22

Oh, no! No, no, absolutely not, no!

0:36:220:36:25

Even my son hasn't played with this!

0:36:250:36:26

-Oh, really?

-I won't let him!

0:36:260:36:28

I know what those things are.

0:36:330:36:35

What I don't know is, why are they cut to different lengths

0:36:370:36:41

and, to be absolutely honest, what is it?

0:36:410:36:43

They are German cartridges, as far as I know,

0:36:440:36:48

which were made by a German soldier in the trenches

0:36:480:36:51

in the First World War.

0:36:510:36:52

When we made one of our pushes to push them out of their trenches,

0:36:520:36:56

he left them behind.

0:36:560:36:57

My grandfather jumped in the trench, saw them there -

0:36:570:37:00

I presume they were hanging on a piece of string along the wall -

0:37:000:37:04

cut them down, put them in his kitbag,

0:37:040:37:06

and bought them home for his son and two daughters. And here they are.

0:37:060:37:10

Do you know what those things are? You say they're shells.

0:37:100:37:13

-No, that's why I'm here.

-OK, those are, technical fact,

0:37:130:37:16

37 millimetre quick firer.

0:37:160:37:19

Fires a one-pound projectile.

0:37:190:37:22

Germans used them. We used a similar thing, a pom-pom.

0:37:220:37:26

But I still want to know why they've been cut to different lengths,

0:37:260:37:30

cos that doesn't seem to make any sense.

0:37:300:37:32

Well, it's entertainment value. He was bored.

0:37:320:37:35

He was sometimes in the trenches for weeks, I'm told,

0:37:360:37:39

and you can play a tune on them.

0:37:390:37:41

You can play a tune on them?

0:37:410:37:42

-I can play a tune on them.

-Go on, then.

0:37:420:37:43

I don't believe a word of this, but go on, play a tune for me.

0:37:440:37:47

HE PLAYS DO-RE-MI

0:37:490:37:52

APPLAUSE

0:38:010:38:03

It's a great thing and I love the story.

0:38:050:38:09

One little interesting thing - those are all German shells,

0:38:090:38:12

but it's held together there and at the other end,

0:38:120:38:15

those two projectiles are British 303 ones.

0:38:150:38:18

Looking at it, I'm desperately racking my mind,

0:38:180:38:21

trying to put a value on it.

0:38:210:38:22

Erm...

0:38:220:38:23

For a musical instrument, it's about 30p.

0:38:230:38:26

Erm...

0:38:260:38:27

I would think something like that, because it's First World War,

0:38:270:38:30

it's trench art, it's got a fantastic story to it.

0:38:300:38:33

It's not a vast amount, I would have thought, perhaps, £200,

0:38:340:38:38

but it's brilliant and your musical skills are just phenomenal.

0:38:380:38:43

Thank you.

0:38:440:38:45

-Well, it's made as a baking dish for cooking on...

-Ah!

0:38:480:38:50

..and it clearly has had a lot of use!

0:38:500:38:52

-WOMAN LAUGHS

-How do you use it at home?

0:38:520:38:55

I just have it on the coffee table full of cones or goods.

0:38:550:38:59

I've been looking at it and trying to work out what way up is it?

0:38:590:39:03

Has it got a top or bottom?

0:39:030:39:05

I don't know. It's like a child's painting, isn't it?

0:39:050:39:08

It's awfully childlike, isn't it?

0:39:080:39:10

And that's what slipware was all about,

0:39:100:39:12

a type of very basic pottery,

0:39:120:39:14

made all over the country, all over Britain.

0:39:140:39:17

Probably, this wasn't made that far away.

0:39:170:39:19

It could be a Midlands piece.

0:39:190:39:21

It could have been made in Worcestershire or in Staffordshire.

0:39:210:39:24

And the design just done by dribbling on

0:39:240:39:27

one colour clay onto another.

0:39:270:39:30

Sometimes, these dishes,

0:39:300:39:31

when they have little, fingered shapes like that,

0:39:310:39:34

are said to be related to glovers or gloving.

0:39:340:39:37

Sometimes you get... It's meant to be a little hand or a glove.

0:39:370:39:41

That seems to be a design you sometimes find on these dishes.

0:39:410:39:44

That would fit with Worcester.

0:39:440:39:46

It's a big area for glove-making, isn't it?

0:39:460:39:49

So maybe it was always used there.

0:39:490:39:51

But, but you're local. Has this always been in the family?

0:39:510:39:54

Yes, I inherited it when my grandmother died.

0:39:540:39:59

She would be about 100 now, if she was still alive, so.

0:39:590:40:03

Dating these is terribly difficult because they are such basic objects,

0:40:030:40:08

but looking at the appearance, we've got to be several hundred years old.

0:40:080:40:12

I think we're going back to perhaps the middle of the 18th century,

0:40:120:40:16

1750 or something like that.

0:40:160:40:19

-Wow.

-It's got a bit bashed and worn around the edges,

0:40:190:40:24

but it's still, inherently, a great object.

0:40:240:40:28

I love it, yeah.

0:40:280:40:29

And slipware is always expensive,

0:40:290:40:32

so even rubbed, even bashed and knocked around, erm,

0:40:320:40:37

it's still going to be £2,000.

0:40:370:40:39

Oh, my goodness!

0:40:390:40:41

SHE LAUGHS

0:40:410:40:42

Oh, wow. Gosh.

0:40:420:40:44

Thank you.

0:40:450:40:46

Whenever I see a little Morocco case like this,

0:40:470:40:49

I know there's going to be something pretty exquisite inside it,

0:40:490:40:52

but I can also see that this is annotated.

0:40:520:40:54

There's a name on the front, there.

0:40:540:40:56

I can't quite read it and it's dated 1906.

0:40:560:40:58

What does the name say?

0:40:580:41:00

That's the name of my great-great grandfather, Ioannis Peridis.

0:41:000:41:03

Right, OK, we'll come back to that in a second,

0:41:030:41:05

but let's open the case up,

0:41:050:41:07

and what we have inside is a really, absolutely exquisite-looking medal.

0:41:070:41:12

Now, I know that that medal pertains to the date on the front of it and

0:41:120:41:15

this is actually a 1906 silver Olympic medal,

0:41:150:41:20

so I'm assuming that your great-great grandfather

0:41:200:41:23

won this medal at the 1906 Greek Olympics?

0:41:230:41:26

-He did, yeah.

-He did? That's absolutely amazing.

0:41:260:41:28

How fabulous is that?

0:41:280:41:30

What event did he win this silver medal for?

0:41:300:41:32

-It was single trap shooting.

-Single trap shooting.

0:41:320:41:35

OK. One of the problems with the Greek Olympic Games in 1906

0:41:350:41:39

is that was what was called an Intercalated Games.

0:41:390:41:41

It was kind of inserted and wasn't strictly official in that sense.

0:41:410:41:47

It then subsequently became unrecognised

0:41:470:41:49

as an official Olympics.

0:41:490:41:51

So, basically, the International Olympics Committee

0:41:510:41:54

doesn't recognise the medals from this Games.

0:41:540:41:56

-Strange, eh?

-Yeah.

0:41:560:41:58

-What did you know about him?

-Not a lot, really.

0:41:580:42:01

I mean, it's been in the family for over 100 years,

0:42:010:42:05

sitting in a cupboard, really,

0:42:050:42:06

and I just thought, since it's passed down to me,

0:42:060:42:09

I really want to, you know, bring it back to this proud state

0:42:090:42:13

that it should be in and I'm very, very proud of him,

0:42:130:42:16

that he did get to compete, let alone win a silver medal.

0:42:160:42:20

Yes, well, I'm glad you feel like that about it

0:42:200:42:23

because it is something to be proud of,

0:42:230:42:25

you know, one of your ancestors obviously competed in one of the

0:42:250:42:28

-greatest Games in history.

-Absolutely.

0:42:280:42:29

I have to say, I would be really chuffed to own something like this.

0:42:290:42:33

You know, in many ways, it's kind of almost... I don't know,

0:42:330:42:36

I don't really want to talk about value in some ways

0:42:360:42:38

cos you can't attach a value to that,

0:42:380:42:40

that kind of sentiment,

0:42:400:42:42

but - I will be honest with you -

0:42:420:42:44

these are very, very sought-after and very, very collectable.

0:42:440:42:48

If this were to come up in a good sporting sale at auction,

0:42:480:42:51

this could make as much as £3,000.

0:42:510:42:53

Wow.

0:42:530:42:54

It's a nice thing. It's a really lovely thing and quite rightly,

0:42:560:43:00

you should be very proud of it.

0:43:000:43:02

I mean, I am. I mean, that's...

0:43:020:43:04

I couldn't put a price on it myself and I was never really thinking

0:43:040:43:08

of selling it at all.

0:43:080:43:10

This is very much, in my mind, priceless to me.

0:43:100:43:13

So, a tusk with a tail.

0:43:150:43:18

-It is indeed.

-This extraordinarily long tusk.

0:43:180:43:21

How on earth did it get to the Roadshow,

0:43:210:43:23

let alone into your possession?

0:43:230:43:25

Well, it came in my old Saab, literally!

0:43:250:43:28

-It belonged to a customer of my husband's...

-Right.

0:43:290:43:32

..who became very ill, retired,

0:43:320:43:34

and he used to go and see him until he died.

0:43:340:43:37

And then his sister gave that to Duncan

0:43:370:43:41

as a thank-you for going to see him.

0:43:410:43:43

So, the gentleman who gifted it,

0:43:450:43:47

was he out in the Arctic waters

0:43:470:43:50

where this tusk would once have belonged

0:43:500:43:53

to a great whale called the narwhal?

0:43:530:43:56

Yes, I was told he was an Arctic explorer in his youth,

0:43:560:44:00

then he became a builder and decorator or whatever.

0:44:000:44:02

So the original explorer would have been out there,

0:44:020:44:05

perhaps in 1910?

0:44:050:44:07

I should think so.

0:44:070:44:08

-Probably around them.

-Yeah.

-But now I understand it belongs to you.

0:44:080:44:12

-It certainly does.

-So you have a passion for natural history?

0:44:120:44:15

I've always loved natural history.

0:44:150:44:17

My stepfather came home one day with this and said,

0:44:170:44:20

"I bet you don't know what that is."

0:44:200:44:22

And I said, "Well, it's in a narwhal tusk", and he was so staggered.

0:44:220:44:25

That's why she's got it now!

0:44:250:44:28

So he's left it to me.

0:44:280:44:30

Well, you lucky thing, because it's a magnificent narwhal tusk.

0:44:300:44:34

I'll be honest, it's the longest narwhal tusk

0:44:340:44:36

I have ever come across.

0:44:360:44:38

And this, indeed, erupted

0:44:380:44:41

from the lips of male narwhals

0:44:410:44:45

and they can grow, really, up to about ten feet long.

0:44:450:44:51

This is nearly ten feet long.

0:44:510:44:54

-And because it's covered in enamel, it's just a huge tooth...

-Mm-hm.

0:44:540:44:58

..it acquires this lovely patina and, of course, the tusk spirals.

0:44:580:45:04

Indeed, back in the 16th century,

0:45:040:45:06

-they thought these were the horns of unicorns...

-Yes.

0:45:060:45:09

..and that had come from centuries before.

0:45:090:45:12

-Looks just like it, doesn't it?

-Well, it does, yeah.

0:45:120:45:14

Now, there are laws governing the sale of narwhal tusks

0:45:140:45:17

because it is a near-threatened whale,

0:45:170:45:20

so it would need a Cites license.

0:45:200:45:23

To prove, basically, that it's before 1975,

0:45:230:45:28

because it's such a good large one,

0:45:280:45:30

I think at auction you could expect between £15-25,000.

0:45:300:45:35

-Goodness me.

-Good lord! That much?!

0:45:350:45:37

LAUGHTER

0:45:370:45:39

So look after your tusk!

0:45:390:45:41

-We will.

-Absolutely, we shall.

-Clean it regularly.

0:45:410:45:43

Two small girls in this photograph.

0:45:480:45:50

Yes.

0:45:500:45:51

Who are they?

0:45:510:45:54

This one on the right is Violette Szabo as a child.

0:45:540:45:58

This one on the left is a lady that was a good friend of mine,

0:45:580:46:02

who was Vera Maidment - that was her maiden name -

0:46:020:46:05

and she... In turn, they were lifelong friends.

0:46:050:46:09

And we know Violette

0:46:090:46:11

because Violette is one of our heroines of this country,

0:46:110:46:15

SOE operative, went to France, fought behind enemy lines...

0:46:150:46:21

That's right.

0:46:210:46:22

..was killed at the very end of World War II

0:46:220:46:25

in one of the infamous concentration camps

0:46:250:46:27

and she won the highest award that, er...not even as a civilian,

0:46:270:46:32

-but a non-combatant can win, the George Cross.

-That's right.

0:46:320:46:37

But this little lady had another job in Violette's life,

0:46:370:46:40

-didn't she?

-She did.

0:46:400:46:42

When Violette went off to do her missions,

0:46:420:46:46

she looked after Violette's little daughter, Tania.

0:46:460:46:48

And she... Violette asked her if, in the event of her death,

0:46:490:46:54

she would become guardian to Tania.

0:46:540:46:56

You see, that's just a dreadful thing to have to do, isn't it?

0:46:560:46:59

To actually set off on a mission and actually know

0:46:590:47:04

-that you're not going to come home.

-That's right.

0:47:040:47:06

But she had the foresight to leave her most treasured possession,

0:47:060:47:10

her little girl, to her best friend.

0:47:100:47:13

And then we have this wonderful photograph

0:47:130:47:15

of the beautiful Violette, signed to Vera

0:47:150:47:19

and dated January 1944.

0:47:190:47:22

One year before she was killed in the concentration camp.

0:47:230:47:27

I would think that...

0:47:280:47:30

..you would have to say, for the two photographs, £500.

0:47:310:47:36

Gosh.

0:47:360:47:37

-Thank you very much.

-It's a pleasure. Wonderful.

0:47:380:47:41

-Thank you. Lovely.

-And what a gorgeous-looking lady.

0:47:410:47:44

-Yes.

-Wasn't she beautiful?

-Very beautiful.

0:47:440:47:47

So how many years has this lady been lodging with your family?

0:47:490:47:54

Er, I can't give you a precise number of years,

0:47:550:47:58

-but it used to belong to my grandparents...

-Mm-hm.

0:47:580:48:01

..maybe my great-grandparents.

0:48:010:48:03

So they would have purchased it back in the what?

0:48:030:48:07

The 1930s, maybe?

0:48:070:48:08

-Yes, I would think so.

-Right, OK.

-Yes.

0:48:080:48:11

We are looking at a woman who represents an age,

0:48:110:48:18

-and that age is the interwar years.

-Right.

0:48:180:48:21

And we're looking at the emancipated woman.

0:48:220:48:26

She's holding a bow and it may well be that she is a friend

0:48:260:48:30

of Diana the Huntress.

0:48:300:48:32

She has got that Amazonian look to her.

0:48:320:48:35

She's stood with a very assertive posture,

0:48:350:48:38

so this is a woman that,

0:48:380:48:41

not only does she go out doing her own archery,

0:48:410:48:43

she probably, you know, is driving her own car.

0:48:430:48:46

She may be even flying a Tiger Moth.

0:48:460:48:48

LAUGHTER

0:48:480:48:49

And she's built for speed.

0:48:490:48:51

She's got this wonderful athletic body and this was the age of...

0:48:520:48:58

"Stay young and beautiful if you want to be loved."

0:48:580:49:02

They were the sort of things that you wouldn't actually buy

0:49:020:49:06

in an art gallery, as such.

0:49:060:49:08

You'd buy them at jewellers' shops or if you were playing golf

0:49:080:49:12

at Gleneagles, you might have bought one in the shop there.

0:49:120:49:15

They were seen as art objects.

0:49:150:49:18

So, what's the family view on this?

0:49:180:49:20

I mean, is this something that's revered

0:49:200:49:24

or is it something that's just there in the corner?

0:49:240:49:27

Well, both, I suppose. Erm...

0:49:270:49:29

I mean, I've had it for the last 15 years.

0:49:290:49:32

It does take pride of place, actually, in the sitting room.

0:49:320:49:35

-She is liked.

-It's by a bay window.

0:49:350:49:37

Well, she is nigh on near as good as the day she was made.

0:49:370:49:40

I'll tell you just a couple of things that are missing.

0:49:400:49:43

-Yeah.

-And that...

0:49:430:49:44

and that is that the cheeks would normally be slightly rouged

0:49:440:49:48

and the eyes would be painted in and sometimes you get the girls

0:49:480:49:52

with dangly earrings as well,

0:49:520:49:53

and it's a bit like a Petrushka-type character.

0:49:530:49:56

You know, you think they're going to talk to you any minute.

0:49:560:49:58

Erm... What about the maker?

0:49:580:50:00

What's the name you've come up with?

0:50:000:50:02

-Preiss is the name that I've seen...

-Yes.

0:50:020:50:05

-..at different antique fairs...

-Right.

0:50:050:50:07

..and I thought she might be similar.

0:50:070:50:10

-Ferdinand Preiss.

-Oh, right.

0:50:100:50:12

Ferdinand Pre...

0:50:120:50:14

Well, I know she is definitely Ferdinand Preiss

0:50:140:50:16

because I've seen the signature on her.

0:50:160:50:19

-Oh!

-Oh, right.

-Right.

0:50:190:50:21

That was, erm, through your monocle?

0:50:210:50:23

You don't know she's signed at all?

0:50:230:50:25

-No!

-Oh, right, so you've been living with her for all these years...

0:50:250:50:28

LAUGHTER

0:50:280:50:29

OK, well, if... I'm going to turn her around very quickly

0:50:290:50:32

because we will see on this plinth, the name F Preiss.

0:50:320:50:38

-It's inscribed...

-I've never seen that before.

0:50:380:50:40

..into the black Belgian slate.

0:50:400:50:42

So, Ferdinand Preiss,

0:50:420:50:44

he's in partnership with a man called Kassler

0:50:440:50:47

and sometimes you get the PK monogram

0:50:470:50:52

on the back of a piece for the foundry mark.

0:50:520:50:54

They're based in Berlin and they produce

0:50:540:50:57

a whole range of subject matter.

0:50:570:50:59

A lot of the figures are quite athletic -

0:50:590:51:03

tennis players, skiers, skaters.

0:51:030:51:07

The thing I like about her is the fact

0:51:070:51:09

that she's on this lovely stepped plinth.

0:51:090:51:12

-It's an architectural plinth. It just raises the game.

-Yes.

0:51:120:51:16

-I think with the way the market is today...

-Yep.

0:51:160:51:20

..bearing in mind she's in such lovely condition, because, you know,

0:51:200:51:24

-just look at the enamelling on her.

-Despite a lack of make-up?

0:51:240:51:27

Despite the lack of rouge, erm,

0:51:270:51:29

if I told you she was worth...

0:51:290:51:32

£7,000, would you be pleased?

0:51:320:51:34

Yes, I would, yes, of course. Yes.

0:51:340:51:36

So, I know that she's worth £10,000, so would you be delighted?

0:51:360:51:41

I would be delighted, but I didn't come here with those expectations!

0:51:410:51:46

-No? No?

-LAUGHTER

0:51:460:51:48

Let me ask you, sir, where did they come from?

0:51:510:51:55

My wife found them in some buttons in a box of sewing things

0:51:560:52:00

that she picked up at a local auction.

0:52:000:52:02

All right, when did this take place?

0:52:020:52:04

Friday night. About eight o'clock.

0:52:040:52:07

LAUGHTER

0:52:070:52:09

-So, we're talking about a day and a half ago, you bought these.

-Yes.

0:52:090:52:14

What was special about the box that made your wife buy these?

0:52:140:52:19

The ribbons, the cotton reels and the price, I think.

0:52:190:52:23

Which was?

0:52:230:52:24

£2 plus commission.

0:52:240:52:26

-So £2 plus the auction house's premium on top.

-Of 26p.

0:52:260:52:31

So, in other words, £2.26.

0:52:310:52:33

-Yes, that's correct.

-LAUGHTER

0:52:330:52:36

-That's not very much, is it?

-Not a lot, no.

0:52:360:52:38

I assume that they didn't even really know

0:52:380:52:40

that this was in this box, did they?

0:52:400:52:42

-No.

-All right.

0:52:420:52:44

First of all, what are they?

0:52:440:52:46

-They are four little buttons.

-Mm-hm.

0:52:460:52:50

Each of the buttons is pretty, it's very well matched.

0:52:500:52:54

You can see it is a set.

0:52:540:52:56

And the surface of each of the disks is covered with enamel decoration.

0:52:560:53:02

-Mm-hm.

-And if I just pick up one of these and turn it over,

0:53:020:53:07

we see that, typically,

0:53:070:53:09

the back of it is mounted in a rose-coloured metal.

0:53:090:53:13

Now, the first thing to say is that this isn't base metal,

0:53:130:53:17

this is gold.

0:53:170:53:19

This is 14-carat rose gold.

0:53:190:53:23

So, right away, we are moving up from your £2.26...

0:53:230:53:27

LAUGHTER

0:53:270:53:28

..to a value which is far, far more dramatic than that,

0:53:280:53:32

maybe in the region of 40 or £50,

0:53:320:53:36

just because of the fact that they're, you know, gold.

0:53:360:53:39

The little loop, which you can see at the back there,

0:53:390:53:43

do you see that there is a little impression

0:53:430:53:46

of what looks like a mark?

0:53:460:53:48

-Yes.

-Right.

0:53:480:53:50

On that mark, I see a stamp of the number 56.

0:53:500:53:57

Big, important feature, that, because if it's stamp 56,

0:53:570:54:01

-it suggests, to me, that it's Russian.

-Mm.

0:54:010:54:06

Gold, and it's Russian.

0:54:060:54:08

Now, on the back as well, there is a little engraved date,

0:54:080:54:15

which is the 5th of December, 1904,

0:54:150:54:20

which means we're talking about something which was Russian,

0:54:200:54:23

made at the start of the 20th century.

0:54:230:54:26

-Are you following me along here?

-Oh, yes.

-Right.

0:54:260:54:29

LAUGHTER

0:54:290:54:30

The little mark on the back, the little pair of letters...

0:54:300:54:35

..is the mark of a goldsmith by the name of August Hollming.

0:54:360:54:42

Mm-hm.

0:54:420:54:43

This man, Hollming, is quite an important man

0:54:430:54:47

because he used to be one of the principal workmasters

0:54:470:54:51

for Peter Carl Faberge.

0:54:510:54:54

-CROWD MURMUR

-Ooh.

0:54:540:54:56

In other words, what you bought for your £2.26...

0:54:570:55:03

-LAUGHTER WOMAN:

-Oh, my Lord!

0:55:030:55:06

-My wife bought.

-Your wife bought.

0:55:060:55:08

Don't know if you'd have bought it, but your wife bought it.

0:55:080:55:10

..was a set of Faberge gold cufflinks.

0:55:100:55:15

I say cufflinks because you could make them into cufflinks...

0:55:150:55:19

Indeed, yes.

0:55:190:55:20

-..although they are ostensibly four little buttons.

-Yes.

0:55:200:55:24

Each of the buttons matching up,

0:55:240:55:26

guilloche, which means the engraving underneath the colour

0:55:260:55:32

gives a reflection of almost like a secular sunburst or whirling effect,

0:55:320:55:37

-which is a delicious feature of Faberge.

-Yes.

0:55:370:55:40

One of them is damaged.

0:55:410:55:43

In other words, yes, they are inconsequential.

0:55:430:55:47

If they were not by Peter Carl Faberge or this man, Hollming,

0:55:470:55:50

they would be worth considerably more than you paid,

0:55:500:55:53

-but probably no more than £50.

-Right.

0:55:530:55:56

But they're not worth £50, are they?

0:55:560:55:58

-I hope not.

-No.

0:55:590:56:00

They're going to be worth £1,000-1,500, aren't they?

0:56:020:56:05

-CROWD GASP

-Oh, wow.

-Gosh.

0:56:050:56:09

-They've been in the family for 40 hours.

-40 hours.

0:56:090:56:11

LAUGHTER

0:56:110:56:13

-APPLAUSE

-Thank you.

0:56:130:56:15

Oh, Lord.

0:56:170:56:19

At £1,500, that's more than 600 times what they paid for them.

0:56:210:56:25

Now, one last surprise for Roadshow veteran, David Battie.

0:56:270:56:30

David, I wonder if we could interrupt you just for a second

0:56:310:56:34

because Christopher Payne's got something

0:56:340:56:37

that he wanted to show you and get your expert opinion on.

0:56:370:56:39

Can you possibly identify the sitter?

0:56:390:56:41

Oh, no!

0:56:440:56:46

No, I can't help you with that.

0:56:470:56:49

Oh!

0:56:490:56:50

No, I'm sorry.

0:56:500:56:51

I've no idea why you brought me that.

0:56:510:56:53

Everyone, who do you think this looks like?

0:56:530:56:55

CROWD: David!

0:56:550:56:56

LAUGHTER AND MURMURING

0:56:560:56:59

Thanks a bunch(!)

0:56:590:57:00

From the Antiques Roadshow, until next time, bye-bye.

0:57:020:57:05

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