Allum Cash in the Attic

Welcome to the programme that loves to help you raise money for a special project or treat

by finding things that you can sell at auction.

Today's family decided they would move to the country,

but will the things they take to auction reflect their city life? Find out on Cash In The Attic.

'Coming up: a unique letter associated with Captain Scott's ill-fated expedition to Antarctica.'

He was in the party that found Scott's body on the ice barrier.

'Plus some very pretty hand-painted porcelain from the 1920s.'

Is this a tea set or a coffee set?

In the north of England, you'd require a bigger cup than that! Not worth wasting the teabag!

'On auction day, our hosts explain why they have so many paintings.'

-We can't stop!

-We don't stop.

'Will we be as pretty as a picture when the hammer falls?'

I'm in East Sussex today on my way to meet Jane and Geoff,

who will part with some of their possessions so that they can buy a new piece of art.

'It was love second time around for Jane and Geoff Allum,

'who left behind the hustle and bustle of London to enjoy a gentler pace of life in East Sussex.

'They share many passions, such as collecting antiques and renovating properties.

'It's clear that they're rather good at both. They fell for this house the first time they set eyes on it.

'And the grounds are pretty impressive, too.

'See that boat - Geoff rowed it across the Atlantic.

'I'm not sure what our expert John Cameron is like at rowing, but he's good at peddling antiques.

'While he makes a start in the house, I'm going to meet the family.'

Hi, Jane and Geoff! I have to say this house is full of nooks and crannies

with the most amazing, eclectic collection of bits and pieces.

-Are you both inveterate collectors?

-We can't stop ourselves.

-We buy junk all the time - it's mostly junk!

-I'm sure it's not!

But you have a wonderful knack of being able to make everything look absolutely right in a house

-which is how old?

-About 1630, we think. It's one of the oldest timber-frame buildings

-in Sussex, so it's pretty old.

-It's absolutely fantastic.

I can't wait to have a good look around, so you'd better tell me now why you've called us in?

We've got lots of bits and pieces that we don't really look at

-and we should condense it down and buy one nice piece.

-What sort of thing are you thinking of buying?

We've seen some paintings in a local gallery. They're not a load of money, but it would be nice to have.

Roughly how much do you think we might make? What's your goal?

Well, we hope about 500, but we'll wait for the expert.

Well, that expert is John Cameron and he's already rummaging.

I think we'd better go and find him and see what he thinks.

'Now I wonder where John's disappeared to. He's going to be like a child in a sweet shop today

'with so much to look at in so many rooms. It is a treat to be in such a delightful building.'

Geoff, this is a wonderful glory hole. I'm not surprised that John has got started in here.

There's plenty in here. I've just come across a letter that's interesting, signed Tryggve Gran.

Tryggve Gran. With Robert Scott at the South Pole, 1910-1913.

-How did you get a letter from him?

-I had a correspondence with him years ago.

We exchanged a few letters and we talked about rowing the Atlantic, which I did.

And he talked about the Antarctic.

-You had an interest in the Antarctic. Is that how you knew who he was?

-Yeah.

We took a copy of The Worst Journey In The World on our rowing boat.

-And so I knew all about his role in Scott's expedition.

-Which was what?

He was the Norwegian ski expert that Scott employed. None of the English sailors he took could ski,

so he employed Tryggve Gran. He was an Olympic skier.

And he taught them to ski.

Then, subsequently, he was in the party that found Scott's body on the Great Ice Barrier

and built the cairn in memorial.

-What was he talking to you about in this letter?

-The effect of the cold on the younger men

and how they suffered worse than the older men in the Antarctic, and in my case, too.

-You'd suffered from frostbite.

-Yes.

-John, this is not actually about the expedition itself

-so does it still have a value?

-There is a lot of interest in anything like this,

especially related to tragic expeditions, things like this and Mallory and Irvine,

the Titanic. Any correspondence directly relating to those events

are always very popular.

This is unrelated to the expedition, but there would be interest.

Taking that into consideration,

I'd be tempted to put £100-£200 on it and see where you go.

What a wonderful thing to start off with. I don't know if you've looked round, but there are so many things,

we're going to have a great day. Shall we go and see what else we can find?

'A great valuation, which gives us our first contribution.

'Jane is downstairs in the dining room, having decided it's time to part with an old stein

'that belonged to her stepfather.

'It was in the 16th century that lids were first attached to mugs and jars to beat disease.

'In Europe at the time, there were problems with vermin and flies,

'which lead to outbreaks of bubonic plague. No such problem these days.

'Steins are mainly produced for the tourist market.

'This could wet someone's whistle with a £30-£50 estimate.

'How close to the mark is John's estimate, though? Close enough!'

£30 for it? Thank you.

-Straight in at £30.

-30 quid right away.

35? 38. 40.

42. 45.

'Stand by for a bidding war.

'As the search in this 17th-century converted barn continues, I've spotted a watercolour.

'It's one of a pair of rural scenes given to Geoff's mum by a friend,

'but they're not to Geoff's and Jane's taste. They were painted by an artist called Martin in 1983.

'Despite his research, John has been unable to identify the artist

'and his estimate of £40-£60 reflects this.'

John?

-Hi, Jane.

-I've got a collection of these, but I'm ready to sell this one.

Woodblock print, still life by John Hall Thorpe. You have a number.

I've only got four in here and a couple more downstairs. My sister's borrowed two.

-What made you collect Hall Thorpe?

-I was given one by my stepfather.

I just thought it was a one off and then I saw another and rather liked it.

I found there were plenty more.

I just bought this one because I saw it in a market in France.

It's got to be worth something.

They're woodblock prints, which reproduces pictures en masse

by cutting the design into the wood.

He was an Australian artist who trained at the Sydney Art School,

before becoming an engraver and designer for the Sydney Mail, and he worked on the newspaper.

He developed his own very distinctive style, which was very popular at the time.

People were buying Oriental items.

It's nice, even though it's faded.

We should still be hoping for around £100-£200.

-All right.

-OK?

-I should think so.

-Jolly good. Keep hold of this one. You don't want to sell the others?

-No.

-All right, come on.

'We've already uncovered some lovely collectables in this property.

'Its lucky residents fell in love with it the moment they set eyes on it.'

You live in the sort of house that most people dream of living in in the country.

But you very nearly didn't get it, did you, Jane?

No, we were trying to buy the house and somebody zipped in and took it from under our noses,

so we went away and were a bit sad,

got on with our lives and then, eight years later, I looked on the internet and there it was.

-We thought we'd have another look!

-And here you are.

-Here we are.

-Did you do all the work on the renovation?

-It was pretty well like this when we got it, Angela,

although we did do quite a lot of work because it was a bit rundown. We've put in a staircase

and put in a new terrace. Stuff like that, just bits and pieces, really.

-We do everything ourself.

-Literally, you are into do it yourself.

-Oh, yeah.

-We have to be.

-Why?

Because after you've bought it, you haven't any money left!

But this isn't the first major job you've taken on like this. You did something very similar in France.

Well, a much bigger project in France. That was a wreck. We really built that up,

-so we have learnt over the years.

-That meant living in France for three years.

-Yeah.

Our son went to the International School in Toulouse and we mixed the concrete mixer every day!

Tell me about the painting you want to put here. A local artist?

Charlotte Snook. She's an artist we've seen in Hastings, which is local to us.

-We like her work.

-Have you decided where you're going to put it?

-No, we haven't.

It depends how big it is and how much money we make!

We're not going to make anything sitting here, are we?

It is such a large house, we'd better get back to work again.

I'll see you later. Let's see what else we can find.

'Going by John's lowest estimates, we stand to make £270 with everything we've found up until now,

'so we're not doing badly at all.

'John has disappeared into what was the cow shed and comes across a Victorian washstand.

'This was another purchase by Jane's stepfather, but it's been relegated to the back of the property.

'It's a heavy piece with a marble top,

'but if we can get it to auction, John thinks it'll fetch £50-£100.

'I'm searching in a bedroom,

'but I'm not sure this African necklace will be of interest.

'Luckily, John's indoors again, so maybe he's having more luck.'

-Yes, John?

-An interesting book. You've got one or two more here.

Grey Owl.

Yeah, yeah. Grey Owl. Funny character. He was an Englishman

who went to Canada, became a trapper, then a conservationist.

He passed himself off as an Indian and was presented to the King and Queen and lectured the princesses,

and he was, in actual fact, born in Hastings.

-Not an Indian at all.

-He's quite a famous guy.

-There have been films about him.

-With Pierce Brosnan.

-He was actually born, as you say, in Hastings.

-Archibald Belaney.

-Yeah.

-And he went out to Canada to work as a fur trapper

-and I believe he married an Indian woman.

-Yes.

-But it was an affair with a Mohawk Iroquois.

She persuaded him to stop trapping

and to write down his experiences

and try to make something of them by publishing books.

He was hugely successful. As you say, lectured to high society and convinced everybody.

-He really does look like an Indian!

-He used to, apparently,

practise in front of the mirror to look like an Indian.

Underneath his own photograph, he's written, "I am an Indian. I speak with a straight tongue."

-That's very interesting, given that he wasn't and he didn't!

-Ironic!

-A remarkable story. How many of these have you got?

-Oh, I guess 10 or 12.

Four or five of them signed, perhaps.

What I need to do is get them all together, see which ones are

first editions or second editions.

Whatever we can find there. And then look at them for condition.

-That's the real key thing with books. From there, we can estimate.

-Thank you.

'Another fascinating discovery and a further search uncovers a further ten copies of his books.

'The four signed ones will be the most sought after,

'but as one lot John thinks £80-£120 is a realistic estimate.

'Let's see how they fare on sale day.

'Jane is continuing her search in the living room and adds this mahogany cabinet

'to the ever-growing list of items that are going to auction.

'She bought it in West London in the 1980s for £20.

'John thinks it could fetch £50-£75. Sounds like a canny investment to me.

'The goodies are really turning up thick and fast and I may have found something else with real potential.'

I found this rather pretty tea set.

John, take a look at the mark on that. Where did you get these?

We bought them in Yorkshire. We went on a little holiday and saw them. They were so pretty,

-I treated myself.

-It's quite nice. The pieces are made of earthenware and they are hand-painted.

The little design is put on before the enamels.

I love those organic handles. They're very typical in a sort of '20s and '30s style,

similar to Carltonware and Clarice Cliff, in a way.

Interesting if you turn them and have a look at the mark. It's Burleighware.

Burleigh is a company with a very long family history. The company goes back to 1851.

A good year for the Great Exhibition and the interesting thing about this mark on the bottom

is it says "Registered in Australia". Why the did that was

a lot of English pottery was having great success internationally.

There were very competitive markets in the Far East, Japan, making copies and exporting them back.

In order to protect their markets, they realised there was a loophole.

If you registered a design in Australia, Japan weren't allowed to copy Australian designs

because of their proximity.

-This was how to stop it. So they registered that design in Australia.

-A wise move.

They all look in perfect order. Is it a tea set or a coffee set?

Well, I think the size of the cups would suggest coffee. Certainly in the north of England,

you'd require a bigger cup than that for a cup of tea! Not worth a teabag!

-So what money could we put on these at auction?

-I think £50-£70

would get the bidding started.

-Who knows where you go from there?

-Let's just put these back.

That is such a pretty little set, but, gosh, there's lots more stuff here to find!

'Geoff is searching through boxes in the loft and digs out a set of 1930s Art Nouveau plates.

'They're by the manufacturer Eichwald, which produced majolica at their factory in Bohemia,

'now part of the Czech Republic.

'These plates were quite possibly among the last ceramics to have been made at the factory,

'as production ceased there in 1939.

'John thinks any collectors might be willing to pay £30-£50.

'There's something to look at wherever you turn in this property.

'Geoff told me they are feverish collectors and he's not kidding,

'but I get the impression they always need to do something,

'whether it's buying antiques, renovating properties or, in Geoff's case, rowing the Atlantic

'back in 1971.'

-This is such a lovely room. What's there?

-This is a photograph I said I'd find for you of us

-just after we'd rowed the Atlantic.

-Us being you and...?

-My cousin Don.

-We'd landed on the beach in Barbados.

-I've seen the boat in which you rowed across the Atlantic.

-How big is it?

-It's 19 feet long. It's about the size of a family car.

Whatever made you and your cousin think that you wanted to do that?

It's men showing off, I think. It's what men do.

-But the Atlantic is big - 3,000 plus miles.

-It is big.

-How did you navigate?

With a sextant. The same way Columbus did it.

And the stars and the sun and navigation books.

-So what was the worst moment?

-When we ran out of water on the eighth week.

We had to go down to half a pint a day each and it was 100 degrees, so that was shocking.

-And the best moment?

-The best moment was when we picked up a water bag.

My cousin picked up a water bag when we saw land and he held it up and poured two pints down his throat

and handed it to me. And we drank as much as we wanted, then we rowed in and landed.

But whatever else happens, you and your cousin still hold the record for being the first.

We were the first east/west crew, double crew.

And we did it in the fastest time, which stood for 26 years.

-Which was how long exactly?

-73 days and six and a half hours.

You really do have to write this account. It's a most extraordinary story.

-But we haven't got time now because we need more things for auction.

-Absolutely.

I am so impressed with that story. It's amazing!

'I'm not even going to waste my breath asking if we can take his faithful boat to auction,

'but might John have found something that accompanied Geoff at sea?'

Jane? I found this compass in your desk over there.

-This isn't the compass that Geoff used to cross the Atlantic?

-No.

We found it in Donald's flat, his cousin he rowed with.

It was something somebody gave him when they heard he'd rowed the Atlantic. They gave him this.

-It's a rather nice little present.

-Not with a leather case?

-No.

It's a hand-held field compass, a First World War compass.

Sometimes referred to as a marching compass. These would have been made in really huge numbers

and dished out to the troops in the trenches.

These would have been used to find your way across open territory.

You literally lift it up like that, the front cover comes up and that glass has a faint line.

That's your object line, so you focus on something.

This one has a little prism viewer.

And you line up the two. Then you've got your magnetic north.

If you look through the prism, you can then read what's on the scale.

You can fix your bearings and that's the direction you head.

It hasn't been over-polished. Just a shame it lost that case.

-Would Geoff be happy for us to sell it?

-I'm pretty sire, yeah.

Jolly good. Even without the case, we should be looking at £30-£50.

-Oh, pretty good.

-Happy with that?

-Yeah, absolutely.

I don't need this to navigate round your house, but let's carry on.

'Another useful addition to our target, but sadly time is running out on our day here.

'I decide to conduct one last sweep around the house.

'My effort pays off when I come across this pair of brass sconces.

'Geoff bought them at a car boot sale back in the 1980s,

'but they've never been used in anger or for decoration, so he's happy to sell

'and John thinks they could bring in £30-£50.

'And just when we thought we'd searched every last nook and cranny, Jane comes up with more goodies.'

-Angela, shall I show you these?

-Oh, aren't they sweet?

-Yeah.

-Little embroidered pictures.

We've got The Good Old Days. A lovely mail coach and four.

And The Present Time - 60 miles an hour. Geoffrey?

John?

-Aren't these sweet, John?

-Yeah, they are interesting.

-Where are they from?

-They're from my mum's house. And her mum's before that.

They've always had them on the wall. Possibly my great-grandmother's.

-Do you remember seeing them in the house?

-Yes, always. Always.

-Did they fascinate you as a boy?

-Particularly by The Present Time - 60 miles an hour.

Even as a young boy, I knew that was old-fashioned!

-They're an obvious pair.

-Yes, and they seem to have the original mounts.

-They have.

They're known as Stevengraphs, a name given to them after the designer who invented the process

of producing these silk pictures. A man called Thomas Stevens.

He was a silk worker, who plied his trade in the Coventry area,

before setting up his own firm at the tender age of 26 years old.

By modifying a portable loom and using a graph system that could reproduce original drawings

to recreate these images in silk.

I must admit I love that rather lovely sort of muted colour that you've got on them.

-This is the mail coach, but they're not mail coach colours.

-That is a critical point.

Originally, those colours would have been much more vivid. They have suffered some fading.

You do see a lot of these at auction and the condition is key,

so although we do still have colour, they were more vivid than that.

-What age would you put on them?

-Certainly the 19th century,

but probably framed again in the early 20th.

In spite of the fact that they've faded, I think that adds to them. I like that subtle colouring.

How much might they make at auction?

-These days in this condition, I'd expect about £40-£60.

-OK.

-Does that sound about right?

-It does.

If we add that £40 to all the other things John has looked at today, taking the lowest estimates,

I know you want to raise £500, but I think with a bit of luck we might make as much as £630.

-Oh.

-You can buy a bigger picture!

-Oh, yeah, absolutely.

-Thank you.

-Let's see what happens when we get it to auction.

'I've thoroughly enjoyed my day in the countryside, and what a wealth of collectables we found.

'Hoping to fund their new piece of artwork, we have the letter from Tryggve Gran,

'the ski instructor on Captain Scott's Terra Nova expedition.

'It's a unique item of great value with a £100-£200 estimate.

'Those signed copies of Grey Owl's books by the British-born conservationist

'whose ethics inspired millions. Maybe we'll see a few naturalists.

'The estimate is £80-£120.

'And let's not forget the brass field compass. It may not have helped Geoff on his Atlantic row,

'but we all hope it will help navigate us towards our target and sail past the modest £30 mark.

'Still to come: a very determined bidder for the stein.'

-He's not even taking his hand down!

-70. 5.

-Wow!

-80. 5.

'The dealers seem impressed by Geoff's Atlantic rowing record.'

-It was written to me in about 1971.

-When you rowed across the Atlantic?

-That's right.

No wonder you lost weight!

'Find out how our expedition goes when the hammer finally falls.'

What a fantastic house Jane and Geoffrey have and they both have extremely good taste,

but now it's time for some of those things to go, so we've brought them here to the Chiswick Auctions

and hopefully they will raise at least £500 so that Jane can buy a piece of local art.

Now it's all down to the bidders.

'These weekly auctions always attract a good mix of buyers looking for something special.

'I wonder what they'll make of our selection

'and a unique letter to Geoff from a Norwegian Antarctic explorer.'

-Having a last read of it?

-Yes, before it goes for sale.

-Yes.

-Any regrets about selling it now that it's here?

-Yes, yes, sort of,

-but we have got a reserve on it.

-What's the reserve?

-I think it's £100.

It's an unusual thing, a one off, but £100 doesn't seem unreasonable.

-And I think we might get some internet interest because of the international interest.

-Yeah.

He was an important person. He was with Scott at the South Pole,

but he was also the first person to fly the North Sea,

so he was quite an important character in early exploration.

-Put a reserve on anything else?

-Yeah, on the Hall Thorpe.

-Just 100.

-I think that was faded, but still a nice example.

So £100 again isn't out of the way.

-Have you got your eye on a piece of art yet?

-We have something in mind.

-Great!

'One thing Jane and Geoff forgot to mention is that they've decided not to sell those silk pictures.

'The value in monetary terms is much less than the sentimental as they've been in the family over 100 years,

'which means we'll have to make up the £40 on all the other lots if we're to make the target.'

Geoff, we've got a WWI brass trench compass.

Is this a family heirloom or did you buy it cos you liked it?

-This came from my cousin Don, the Atlantic rower.

-But you didn't use it to row the Atlantic?

He had one on one of his voyages a lot worse than that.

Cos he lost his main compass. He would have been pleased of that.

This one is dated. It is an Admiralty piece, official military.

The compass is in good condition. I'd be disappointed if it didn't sell for around our estimate.

£30? £30 for it? A bid of £30.

-Straight away.

-35. 38. 40.

42. 45? At £42.

£42. 5 I'll take. 45, new bidder.

At 48? £45. That's the money, £45.

48 for it? 48 there. 50. 52.

55? £52.

£52 and going. All done. At £52. All out?

-Brilliant.

-Fantastic.

-You've got to think of the history. It was 1915, it was in the trenches in France.

-Amazing.

When you think of what action that might have seen.

'Hopefully it's gone to someone who appreciates its worth.

'Maybe it will become part of an existing collection.'

-Next up we have our Gothic sconces. Where did these come from, Geoff?

-A car boot sometime,

about 30 years ago.

-Don't ask me how much we paid!

-We've carried them around for years!

-I've got £30-£50.

A couple of people were looking.

Hopefully that'll go past my estimate.

£50? £20?

I'm bid at 20. 22. At 22.

25. 28. 30.

32. 35. 38.

40. 42?

The bid's here at £40. 42? At £40, are you all out?

I'm selling at £40. Are we done at £40?

-40. Right in the middle, John.

-I'm happy with that.

-Well done. Exactly. Very good.

'With luck, the winning bidder will make use of them instead of just moving them around! Next,

'the pair of watercolours of rural scenes. The artist's name is Martin and they were painted in 1983.'

-You have quite a lot of pictures, all over the place. You like collecting pictures.

-We do.

-We can't stop ourselves.

-We can't.

-But we need to clear out sometimes and these two are going.

-To make room for your new ones.

-Exactly.

-They're very atmospheric.

-Aesthetically pleasing.

They give a lovely country feel.

I've got £40-£60 because I couldn't find anything about the artist.

I'm sure it's an amateur artist.

Start me at £40? £40 for the two? £30?

£30? £20? No bid at £20.

I'll pass on. £20? No bid at £20? A bid at £20.

With the bidder at £20. I'll sell at £20. Take 2. At £20.

Only at £20. Going to go at £20. Are we done?

-That's disappointing.

-Yeah.

-But probably an amateur artist.

-Yes.

-I was hoping to get that for each of them, not for the pair.

-Not to worry, not to worry.

'So they have some much-needed wall space for their new painting and £20 towards its purchase.'

Next up are three Eichwald pottery plates that are decorated in the Austrian secessionist style.

-What was the story with these, Jane?

-Well, I used to do antiques

in a little dabbly way years ago and it's something I bought,

but I don't have them out any more so there doesn't seem any point.

Well, I think they're very stylish. I've got £30-£50 on them. Hopefully, they'll make that.

£30? £20?

£20. I've got £20. 22?

At £20. Is that it at £20? I'll take 22. At £20.

The bid I've got is £20. At £20, going.

-20. A bit lower than our estimate. We thought 30 they might make, but 20... Pleased?

-That's fine.

They're gone, they're gone.

'Jane has just the right attitude. She's not hung up on each sale,

'just focusing on the end figure being somewhere near what they want.

'Their next offering is the collection of Grey Owl books,

'written in the 1930s.'

An Englishman who went to Canada, reinvented himself as an Indian,

and it wasn't until after he died that people found out he wasn't.

-He wrote a number of books and they're quite hard to get hold of.

-And these are signed.

-Some of them.

And some are first editions.

£100 the lot?

I thought you would. £50 the lot. A bid of £50.

At £50. Take 55. 55. 60.

65. 70. 70. 75.

80.

80. 5?

82 if it helps. £80. Take 82.

5 or 2, I don't mind. Are you going to bid?

£80. At £80. All done.

-£80.

-Bottom of the estimate.

-Fantastic.

-You're going well.

-Fantastic.

-Great.

'That very good result is welcome after our last few low sales.

'So far we've raised £212 towards Jane and Geoff's new art,

'but I'll keep that to myself.

'If you'd like to have a go at buying or selling at auction,

'do bear in mind that fees such as commission will be added to your bill.

'This varies, so it's always worth checking in advance.

'Jane and Geoff's next lot to go is that large stein with a pewter lid.'

-Did anybody ever drink out of these things?!

-It would be difficult!

-Or are they just dust collectors?

-Well, it was in our house!

-Why did you buy it, then?

-It was my stepfather's and he liked it.

We brought it home, but it's been in a box ever since. It's silly.

Somebody, I'm sure, will like it.

£30-£50 to stand on a shelf or to use it, John?

This one's got nice decoration. The Prussian artillery. So hopefully we'll hit our mark.

-£30 for it? Thank you.

-Straight in at £30.

-30 quid.

35. 38. 40.

42. 45?

42. 45. 48? 48.

50. Take 2. 52. 55? 55. 58.

-He's not even taking his hand down!

-70. 5. 80. 5. 90.

He wants it!

120. 130. 140. 150. 160.

Crikey!

At 150. It'll go.

-Well...

-Fantastic.

That was £150 there.

Amazing. Blasted my estimate, no pun intended. Definitely the Prussian scene sold that.

-The bidder just kept his hand raised.

-He never took it down!

-I know him. He's very determined.

So there was a bidding battle there.

I'm really pleased.

'And who wouldn't be at three times the upper estimate? We're surprised!

'We don't have much time to recover before their next lot,

'the Burleighware coffee... or tea set comes up.' Jane, I seem to remember finding this

in that lovely cabinet you had. It looked absolutely lovely there.

-It looks lovely here. Why are you selling it?

-My days of Deco

are over. I think I'm moving off and I'm preferring more modern things.

I've enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to buying something new.

-Do you remember how much you paid?

-Gosh, probably about £15.

-We've got £50-£70 on it, John.

-That would be a pretty good investment.

-We've got some wonderful shapes here.

I love the little handles. It's nice, condition's good.

50-70 doesn't sound unreasonable.

£50 for it. £50 for it. A bid of £50. Take 55.

-OK, got it in the end.

-Yes.

70. 75. 80.

85. 90. 95.

-- 100.

-Well done!

-- Fantastic!

130. 140. 150.

160. 170?

160 bid. At 160.

170? At 160. Is that it? All done at 160? 170? Bidder at 160 and going.

-Another incredible price!

-Almost £100 over your top estimate.

-That I can live with!

-You've obviously got a great eye, not just for a bargain, but for a bit of real quality.

-Thank you!

'Absolutely incredible. And again quite unexpected.

'I'm not sure how much more excitement we can take!'

Our next piece of furniture has seen a drop in demand. It is a nice Victorian mahogany cabinet.

-I've got £50-£75 on this. Is this going to be missed?

-I don't think so.

It wouldn't be here if it was!

Hopefully we'll get that. Condition wasn't that bad on it and there are still buyers.

£50 for it? £40?

-I'm bid £40.

-£40 we've got.

-42. 45.

48. 50. 5.

55. 60?

At £55. You want 60? 65. 70. 75. 80.

80. 85?

A bid of £80. I'll take 85. All done for £80. Going.

-You look really surprised!

-We are!

'Jane paid around £20 for that cabinet back in the 1980s,

'so £80 makes a significant and welcome return. Now it's time for the woodblock print

'by John Hall Thorpe, originally painted in 1925.'

-Nice picture, slightly faded, but typical for the artist. Any regrets?

-No.

It's not the best example and I've got a lot that are much crisper.

I would like to get that one in a nice, crisp condition.

-I did try to prise some of the others from you.

-No, no.

£100 for it?

£80 for it?

Start me at £80 for it. A bid of £80?

Nobody to buy at £80? I'll pass the lot.

-You've put £100 on this.

-Yes.

-Sorry, no bids.

-No bids. But thank goodness you put a £100 reserve on it.

-Mm.

-It'll go back and join the rest of them.

-Maybe. Maybe.

-It might stay here.

-It could.

-It could stay here!

'That's true. It may meet Jane's reserve on another day,

'but it's the first of their lots to go unsold today.

'Next, the Victorian wash stand. Jane and Geoff kept it in the cow shed!'

-Are these things still fashionable?

-They're harder to sell these days,

but this one has nice features - brass towel rails, marble top, the splashback.

So it's got some nice features. I'd hope we'd get towards our bottom estimate. It's a nice thing.

£50 for it? £40 for it?

A bid of £40. At £40. 42?

At £40. 42? 42, thank you. 45.

45...

-48? 48. 50. 5.

-OK.

-Come on.

55. 60. 5? 60 bid.

Take 5. At £60.

-For the wash stand. It's going to go. You've got it - £60.

-Not bad for something in the cow shed!

Fantastic.

'The second half of the auction has been very successful.

'Their final lot is the letter to Geoff from the Norwegian involved in Captain Scott's last expedition

'in Antarctica, to the South Pole. How is that going to fare here?'

- A framed, typewritten letter. How do you pronounce that? - Tryggve Gran!

A Norwegian author, explorer and pilot. Dated and inscribed. Tell me about him.

Tryggve Gran was an explorer. He was on Scott's last expedition.

He signed that "With Robert Scott at the South Pole, 1910-1913".

- It was written to me in about 1971. - When you rowed the Atlantic. - That's right.

No wonder you lost weight!

Right, Tryggve Gran and it's signed by him as well. I'm bid £80 to start me.

Commission bid of £80. 85.

Thank you. 90. 95. 100. 110.

Your bid at 110. Take 120. At 110. At 110.

That's it... 120.

130. 140.

140. 150. 160?

Bid's here at 150. Selling now at 150. Last chance.

It goes at 150.

-150. right in the middle of the estimate, John.

-Fantastic.

Pleased? £150 of history there.

'It would be fascinating to know why the winning bidder wanted that,

'but he was a bit camera shy.'

There were quite a few big surprises today.

-There were.

-A few surprises.

The tea service did particularly well.

-And there was a surprise with the wash stand.

-And the stein!

-Yes!

-That was incredible.

-Good heavens.

I hope you'll be equally surprised by what you made in total. How much is this piece of art?

-It's about 500.

-About 500.

-Yes.

Well, you can probably buy something else as well. You've made £812.

-That's fantastic! It is fantastic. Fantastic.

-More stuff!

-More stuff!

-Yes. You never stop.

-No.

-Really good.

-Fantastic.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

It's been a little while since the auction and Jane and Geoff have chosen their new painting.

It's still part of this exhibition in Hastings, but after that, it'll take pride and place in their home.

So they've come to view it and meet the artist herself, Charlotte Snook.

-So here we are.

-Looks fantastic.

-Do you like it with the others? Do you see the connection?

-Yes.

-And the black frame.

-'It's nice to see the painting'

framed properly and hanging in an exhibition with all its partner paintings, as it were.

And to meet Charlotte again.

I imagine it's going to look wonderful in the grand hall of their 17th-century barn conversion.

It's a great bonus that Charlotte's paintings are quite small. It won't take up much room

and we've cleared so much space that we're really, really pleased.

We've had a great time. We really enjoyed the whole thing.

I do love seeing the expression on people's faces when they realise they've made far more money

than they ever thought they might. Jane and Geoff did really well.

I do hope they enjoy that new piece of art that they have in their home.

If there's something you would like to raise money for, then why not get in touch with the programme?

You'll find all our details on our website.

We look forward to seeing you on Cash In The Attic.

Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd - 2011

Email [email protected]