Botting Cash in the Attic

Welcome to Cash In The Attic.

This is the show that finds the hidden treasures in your home,

and then we sell them at auction.

Today, I've come to Emsworth, which is in Hampshire.

The harbour here was once famous for its oyster fishing fleets.

Over the centuries, flour, timber and coal were traded through here.

Nowadays most of the sailing here is just for pleasure.

Emsworth has had some illustrious residents,

including PG Wodehouse, who created the quintessentially English characters Jeeves and Wooster.

There's no time to stop for tea. We need the wind in our sails

so we can find plenty of items that will excite the bidders when they go under the hammer at auction.

Coming up on Cash In The Attic...

A couple whose house is clogged up with amazing Dutch heirlooms.

But are they worth anything?

It's fantastic, isn't it?

It's almost a work of art.

Will this rare silver treasure-trove be a glittering success?

At auction, these tend to get a lot of interest.

That's very good.

And at auction time, will we be really cheesed off with the final sale price?

You have to take what you can get on the day.

I'm on my way to meet Pippa and Michael Botting.

They've called in the Cash In The Attic team

to help raise money for a rather special celebration.

Engineering manager Michael and his wife, Pippa,

recently downsized to their Hampshire bungalow

to be closer to their children and grandchildren.

But they didn't downsize the clutter,

so they've called us in to help give them a fresh start.

-Morning, Paul.

-How are you?

I'm fine. Did you manage to get some sea air?

There's nothing like it. I feel alive today. It's fantastic.

Good. Our family have got lots of stuff that can be sold.

They want to raise money for some celebrations.

I don't know exactly what, so I'm going to find out.

Do you want to look around, see if we can find any hidden treasures?

Of course, yes. They might be celebrating we're here!

Good morning, Lorne.

This is lovely. What a fantastic garden!

-Thank you.

-You're keen gardeners then?

-Yes.

Good for you. I appreciate a good garden, but I have to say, haven't got green fingers.

You called us in, which is nothing to do with the garden. That would be a different programme.

What do you want us for?

We've got some bits and pieces we've got over the years,

inherited, given, and I'd like to raise some money

because Michael's got a special birthday coming up.

Right, OK.

Where has all the stuff come from?

It's mostly from my aunt, who's also my godmother.

She's given me things, and I've inherited other things.

OK. So we've got plenty of stuff to look through.

How much do you want to raise and what do you want to spend it on?

Probably about £700-800.

Michael's got a special birthday coming up, and we'd like to go to the Eden Project

because it's somewhere he's always wanted to go to, and we're into the gardening.

How lovely. You have to tell me what birthday it is.

I hate to admit it, but it's the big five-O, 50.

OK. So basically you're going to run away to the Eden Project!

Don't blame you! Whenever there's an 0 at the end of it, it's worth doing a runner, isn't it?

OK. We need to raise £700 so you can have the birthday celebration that you want.

As nice as it would be to stay out here, I think we'd better go and have a look at the stuff.

-Yeah.

-Come on then.

Let's hope Michael and Pippa's green fingers will be good

for picking out collectibles from the cupboards and attic

to be sure Michael has a really good birthday trip.

It looks like Paul may have already found something worth celebrating.

-Ah, hello!

-How are you?

-Fine!

-What have you got there?

-Hello!

It's a massive dinner set, actually. We've got a gravy bowl from the service. This is fantastic, isn't it?

Wedgwood Charnwood it's called.

So where did this come from?

It was my aunt's.

She collected it over a number of years, and used it every afternoon.

How wonderful. Proper afternoon tea.

-It was, very much.

-That's wonderful.

It's a very elegant service. It has an antique look about it, but it is quite modern.

This is their bone china range.

They worked out if they introduced bones into the formula,

it gave a great, white porcelain,

and this particular design was done in the 18th century,

but it was more popular in the 1950s, 1960s. It was reintroduced.

That's lovely. You've got everything in there.

Tea cups, coffee cups, the whole lot.

It's quite a good collection actually.

-What sort of price could we be talking about?

-It's hard to say.

If you went to buy these today, you're talking quite a lot of money.

But, the second-hand market, you're looking £100, maybe £120.

-Does that sound all right?

-Yes.

OK, that's not bad. £100 certainly helps us on our way.

£700 to raise, though, so we can't count our gravy boats yet.

Shall we go and see what else we can find?

I won't use it, and my children don't want it.

So I'm quite happy for it to go to auction!

What a great start! With any luck, the Wedgwood tea set will serve up the £100 Paul predicts.

But we'll need a lot more than this if Michael and Pippa are to make it down to Cornwall.

We'll spread out and see what other treasures we can turn up in the Botting household.

In the kitchen, Pippa brings out a set of six Dutch teaspoons,

with unusual twisted handles, left to her by her aunt.

Just right for serving up a little Hollandaise sauce, and worth at least another £30.

Paul's come across a few bedroom items, with a very personal history.

Now then, where have all these come from? A nice little silver set.

They were my aunt and uncle's wedding presents to one another.

It's a coincidence having a "P" on it then.

Yeah, her name was Phyllis.

Right, that was handy. And this one here is GV?

His name was Gerard, and it's, "van der Sandt", which was their surname.

These are very old pieces. They date from the 1930s.

They're very Art Deco.

I always liken the style to the Empire State Building,

with the three-tiered effect.

And that's represented here.

Very sharp edges and corners. They are solid silver.

But you haven't got a lot of silver in this.

By the time the 1930s came, they started to use sheet silver,

which is almost paper thin, and wrapped around the body.

So there's not a great deal of value as a weight value.

Have you any idea how much that might be worth? Have they any sentimental value, first?

No. They used them. I wouldn't use them at all.

You must be looking £40-70.

Does that sound all right?

-Yeah, that's fine.

-OK.

-But you can use them for other things now. Let's keep looking.

-OK.

I'll pop these back here.

There's still a long way to go before we hit Pippa and Michael's £700 target.

So we need to space out and see if we can find some monster finds.

Hidden away in a sideboard, I find another treasure-trove of silverware.

Paul values this lovely five-piece condiment set at at least £30.

Even better, he expects this pair of 1950s Georgian-style sauce boats to fetch between £40-60.

The more I look around, I can't help wondering why there are so many oriental objects in the house.

Pippa?

-This is very nice. Is this one of your aunt's pieces?

-Yes, it is.

A lot of stuff is from the Orient, so tell me about that connection.

She was actually born out there because my grandfather was a merchant out there.

She went to school, and then she met my uncle when he went out to work there.

She developed quite eclectic tastes then,

because you have got that mix of quite...Delft...Holland...

My uncle was Dutch, so they went back to Holland when he retired.

I see. Tell me a bit about your plans for the birthday celebration.

It's always something Michael's wanted to do.

He's always been into gardening. I've got into it over the years.

And since it opened, he's always wanted to go.

I hope he's going to make the same effort for your 50th birthday.

Um...mine's gone.

He's actually younger than me. He's seven years younger, he's my toyboy.

-Oh, how nice!

-Yes!

No wonder he's so active in the garden!

-It comes in useful, doesn't it?

-Very useful!

I wonder if he's been useful enough to find some more stuff. Come on.

But enough of this chat, Pippa's toyboy, and the rest of us,

need to keep on hunting for those hidden treasures.

In the loft, I come across this collection of metal mini planes,

which Pippa's father used to collect.

Valued £40-60, fingers crossed they'll really take off at auction.

But there's no way the find so far will bring in the target amount, and I'm beginning to worry.

However, I'm so excited by my next find.

We need to reconvene in Michael's gorgeous garden.

I've brought you all out into the garden to show you this.

I think this is the nicest fish server I've ever seen.

No prizes for guessing how I know it's a fish server.

Have you ever seen one like this, Paul?

I haven't seen one as grand as this.

Normally in the UK we have a large fish slice like this and a fork that goes with it.

You see lots of those in boxed sets.

This one's really unusual. It's almost a work of art.

There's a pierced decoration, with the fish gills,

there's engraving around the face, and that's all been done by hand.

It says here, van Kampen & Zonen, so they're Dutch silvermiths.

But this looks top quality.

I think this would be almost pure, so you could be looking 95% pure.

And that does help the value.

It's a fantastic boxed piece, it would make a great present.

-I think 250, maybe £300.

-Really?

Are you pleased with that?

Yeah, absolutely.

We'd better take this carefully back into the house and stow it away somewhere for auction.

Yeah, I'll hide it under the bed!

That actually went very well.

It was worth a lot more than we'd anticipated.

We haven't used it, it's got no sentimental value, so let's take it to auction.

The beautiful silver fish server is a real catch and has really boosted our rummage.

Let's hope someone at auction falls for it, hook, line and sinker.

The Dutch theme in this house continues, when Paul finds a stack of unusual tiles.

Michael? I've found some real antiques here. These are fantastic.

-Oh, these!

-These are from Pippa's side of the family?

Absolutely. How did you guess?!

These are 18th-century Delftware, from Holland.

These would have been in the family a couple of hundred years.

They're marvellous. Just look at the quality of that one.

They're earthenware pottery, and they have a tin glaze,

which gives this wonderful protective finish.

This one is fantastic.

This is a fighting galleon ship from the 18th century.

Yeah. Amazing really.

I think they are wonderful.

-Bearing in mind they're almost 300 years old.

-Right.

That's a long time ago, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-I think these are pretty good.

This one has a crack, but most are OK.

If I was being conservative here, I think you've got a value of £40 upwards.

And I think, on the day, if you get a real Dutch collector,

-you could do all right with them.

-Excellent.

-That sound all right?

-That sounds very good.

-There's a few teapot stands there.

-There certainly is!

Those tiles will certainly build on our fund. But we're not there yet.

I find that Holland isn't the only European connection the Bottings have.

This fancy Italian tea set, decorated with Cupids and cherubs is worth at least £30.

And then, just when we thought we'd seen everything in this house,

-the Bottings reveal their piece de resistance.

-This is it.

Wow, what a cracker. Is this from the Dutch side of the family?

Yes. It's from my uncle's aunt, and then it came to me.

These used to be open shelves.

The loose word is Delft racks. Have you heard of that before?

You would hang these, and show your Delftware,

like your blue and white tiles, and bits of pottery.

It really is a cracker.

Paul, what are we talking about in terms of value?

Is it something that'll be difficult to assess because it's continental?

When these turn up for auction they have a lot of interest in them.

Lots of people collect porcelain, and they're always looking for this type of cabinet.

I think 250, possibly £300.

-Does that sound a lot of money?

-Yeah!

That's a great result.

If you take into account that cabinet, and the fish server,

it will make up the bulk of our money because you wanted £700 for this 50th birthday celebration,

taking in the Eden Project,

-and the value of everything going to auction comes to £750.

-There you go.

But it does mean that we're quite top heavy

and relying on two major items here - this and the fish server.

But my gut instinct is both will sell easily, don't you?

I'd like to think so.

I don't know how to say good luck in Holland. How do you say good luck?

Hoodly, hoodly, hoodly!

If we're going to turn Michael's green fingers even greener at the Eden Project,

all the items we found will have to really blossom at auction.

Here are just some of the things that are heading under the hammer.

The Wedgwood tea service that Pippa's aunt used every day for afternoon tea,

valued between 100 and £150.

The Art Deco dressing table set and cigarette case,

which Pippa's aunt and uncle gave each other as wedding presents,

with a price tag of 40-£60.

The beautiful silver fish slice, which could catch a whopping £300.

And the 18th-century Dutch wall cabinet, a family heirloom,

which will hopefully raise over £250.

Next on Cash In The Attic...

Will bids pour in when the silver sauce boats go under the hammer?

That was good, wasn't it?

And when the silver fish slice comes up for sale, will it sink or swim?

Sounds cheap, doesn't it?

It's been a few weeks since we looked through Pippa and Michael Botting's home.

They had some wonderful antiques and collectibles, which we brought here,

to Hampshire Auctions, in Andover.

They're looking to raise £700 so they can go to the Eden Project

as part of Michael's 50th birthday celebrations.

Let's just hope they do have cause for celebration,

and a bit of a party, when their items go under the hammer today.

Auction day's started here in Andover,

and the saleroom's buzzing with browsers hoping to find a bargain.

Among them is Paul who seems really taken with that silver fish slice.

Ah! My favourite piece. I love that.

It's fantastic quality, boxed and mint.

-It hasn't been used for years. A bit like myself!

-What else have we got?

Lots of other bits of silver.

A nice tobacco box.

There was a lovely Dutch cabinet.

Hopefully, anyone who collects Dutch porcelain would go for that.

It won't take up a lot of room. I think everything else is OK.

Good! Let's go and see how they feel about the auction.

Let's hope the sale has pulled in lots of buyers today,

all here to snap up Michael and Pippa's cast-offs.

Just before things get under way, we find the Bottings eyeing up another item in the sale.

No, Pippa, we've come here to sell not buy.

-Morning!

-Hello.

-You got here OK, then?

So how do you feel on the day of the auction about your items going under the hammer?

-Excited.

-Looking forward to it.

-No second thoughts nor regrets?

-No.

OK, because we did have a look a little bit earlier at that lovely silver fish slice.

-You're still happy for that to go?

-Yes.

What about the Dutch cabinet. Paul, you really liked that, didn't you?

Anyone who's interested in Delft porcelain would be interested in that.

You've got a good chance of selling it.

Good. It sounds hopeful so let us see what will happen. Come on!

The silver fish slice and the Dutch wall cabinet are the two star items.

If just these two items sell at the top of their estimates,

Pippa will be well on her way to taking her toyboy to Cornwall.

Well, Devon at least.

The room has filled up nicely and the bidders are raring to go.

Remember to contact your local auction house for more information

if you plan to buy or sell in this way.

You will have to pay commission, VAT and possibly other charges.

It's time to get into position.

Our first lot of the day is about to go under the hammer and Paul's really excited.

The terrific collection of antique Dutch tiles.

I noticed that you put a reserve on these.

Yeah, we put a £40 reserve on it.

-How many tiles?

-There's quite a lot.

£40 for 200-year-old tiles, I think that's more than reasonable.

Let's see. Hopefully, it will pay for a night on the tiles!

30 I've got and two is there.

32 anywhere?

32 there is. 34, 36, 38, 40?

That's £38. 40 is there?

40 there is. Two, sir? 44, 46, 48?

At £46. 48 is there.

48. 50, sir?

At 48. 50 anywhere?

At £48.

£48.

-Good!

-That's not bad at all.

-That's actually quite good.

-Yeah.

It's a cracking result.

Paul was correct with his estimate.

Let's hope that our second lot will float someone's boat.

Lot 40a then. A pair of Georgian-style silver sauce boats.

Georgian-style. What is that?

It means that the shape originated in the 18th century but these were made in the 20th century.

It's the style of the Georgian times

but not the original item.

I've got £30 to start the lot.

32 there. 34, 36, 38, 40,

and two, 44, 46, 48, 50 and two.

£50 there.

Sell it at £50. Two anywhere?

At £50...

-That's fantastic! £10 over.

-A small profit and we're shipshape again.

The two silver boats with ladles,

I never use them so I'm quite pleased.

It saves me polishing them.

Next is the ornate Italian tea set which, with any luck, will reach its lower estimate of £30.

28.

There you go!

Falling just short of its target, the Bottings are still happy to say, "arrivederci" to their tea set.

Now we wait with bated breath for one of our two star-items

and hope that Paul's estimate isn't a red herring.

It's an expensive piece

and we need to have the right buyers in the house

so we can't take anything for granted.

You've put a reserve on this.

-What is the reserve?

-250.

-Let's see what happens.

Got some bids to start it off. I've got 180.

-180. We're in!

-Come on! It's got to go for more than that!

190 there is. 200 I've got.

210, 220, 230 at the back.

230. 240 is there.

No. 235 if you like? 235 there is.

240 I've got. Five for you? No?

I'll sell it at £240.

You're really lucky there. What he's done his use his discretion.

Normally, you'd have lost that.

If you had said 250 minimum, he'd have said no.

-So, that's a relief.

-Are you happy with that?

-Absolutely!

Phew! That was close and no small thanks to the auctioneer.

At the end of the day, the £240 for the fish slice,

we were really pleased with.

With any luck, the buyer of the fish slice is on the lookout for more silver.

A little five-piece silver condiment set.

Lots of people are looking for these small items.

So, £30... Let's see how we get on.

I've got £20 only to start. Worth more. 22 there is.

24, 26, 28, 30.

And two, 34, 36, 38, 40. And two.

44, 46, 48, 50. And two?

At £50. Two anywhere?

Sell it at £50.

£50 pounds! That's bang on the top estimate there.

That was good, wasn't it?

That one cut the mustard!

The sale's really spiced things up

and nudged Pippa and Michael closer to their target of £700.

Next up is Pippa's dad's mint collection of eight mini planes found up in the attic.

This lot could appeal to both toy collectors and aviation enthusiasts.

So, let's hope they fly out of the auction.

£36.

There you are! It sounds cheap, doesn't it?

A bit lower than our estimate,

but Michael's still on a high with the result.

£36 for those mini planes. I mean, right result!

Next, more heirlooms. The wedding presents Pippa's aunt and uncle gave each other.

We've got the dressing-table set, the silver one.

OK, looking at that silver dressing table set and the cigarette box.

For £40. Let's see how we go.

30 to start. 30 for it?

I've got £30 here. The cigarette box is worth this.

Two is there?

A cheap lot at £30.

32 at the back. 34, 36, 38, 40.

No? 38 with me.

I can sell it at 38. 40 is there?

At £38.

Uh! That was a cheap lot actually.

A few of our items seem to be coming in under estimate now.

Our £700 target is looking a little shaky.

Come on, people! Get those bidding cards in the air.

Let's hope our next item doesn't leave another bad taste in our mouths.

Lot 240a. Six Dutch silver teaspoons.

What do we want for these?

We're looking for about £30. I think these are quite nice.

Right. £40 for the lot somewhere?

30 if you like. 30 for it?

-30 I've got. And two.

-We're in!

Well worth the money at £30. Two is there?

I'll sell them at £30.

There you go! That's dead on.

Sweet!

Don't stir things!

Those spoons just scraped in at the lower end of our estimate,

but how does Michael feel about parting with them?

Pretty good. They were only taking up space.

Never used them. Perfect!

With just two lots to go, we've got fingers, toes and everything else crossed.

Whether Pippa and Michael will be drinking champagne in Cornwall

or lemonade depends on how well our second star-item sells.

Lot 30a. Little Dutch cabinet.

This really is a specialist piece. It's 200 years old

We're looking for £250.

I've got bids here.

150. 180 to start.

190 anywhere? 200 somewhere?

210, 220, 230.

240 anywhere? At £230. I'll sell it.

-There you go! That's all right actually.

-230. Are you happy with that?

It's a little bit under but, you know, you have to take what you can get on the day really.

I think that was bought by a dentist.

Do you get it? Tooth hurty!

Oh Paul, that was painful! Honestly, the people I have to work with!

But our fund is filling up nicely now.

Very pleased with that. It does need some work to it,

so I'm very pleased that it's gone.

I really want the Bottings to reach their target so they can have a wonderful weekend away.

Hopefully, our final item will be someone's cup of tea

and be the icing on the birthday cake for Michael.

Lot 20a, a large collection of Wedgwood.

Paul, £100 to £150. Do you think it will make that?

I do. When you think 91 pieces at £100,

it's just over £1 a piece.

If you went to buy this set, it would be a fortune.

-But that's a realistic estimate.

-Let's see what happens.

I've got bids on it here. 60 and 80.

I've got £90 here to start.

100 is there? 100 there is.

110. 120. And five. 130.

And five is there?

At £130.

Lovely! £130.

-Are you happy with that?

-Yeah.

A smashing result. We really needed that.

I'm sure Pippa's aunt would be pleased her beloved tea set went for a good price.

Now, it's time to tot up the figures and see how much we've made.

-You've wanted £700, didn't you?

-We did.

This is for your 50th birthday celebration and a nice trip to the Eden Project.

Do you think you've made that money?

Yeah, I think we are there or thereabouts.

We hit round about the figure we were aiming at, so we can't be far away.

-You've actually make £872.

-That's even better!

-Would you do this again?

-Yeah. I've enjoyed it.

That's all we need to hear!

Not with us, Michael. Not with us!

The £872 we made at auction was a resounding success.

More than enough for Michael and Pippa to enjoy

an ecological weekend away in Cornwall for his 50th birthday.

We're really happy with how the auction went. We exceeded what we expected and our target.

Now we are looking forward to a really good day out at the Eden Project.

Here at Britain's largest environmental centre

they pack in exotic plants from all over the world under just one roof.

Plenty of inspiration to get Michael and Pippa's green fingers twinkling.

We've had a really good day and we are looking forward to taking some of the tips home.

We'd like to have put some plants in our pockets, but they were a bit big!

We're looking forward to going home and trying out some of the tips that we've learnt.

It looks like Pippa and Michael had a fantastic time at the Eden Project.

If you'd like to raise some money for a similar sort of project

and you've got plenty of antiques and collectibles that you can sell,

why not apply to come on the show?

You'll find more details at our website...

We'll see you next time.

For more information about Cash In The Attic,

including how the programme was made, visit the website at bbc.co.uk/lifestyle

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]