Morris, E. Cash in the Attic

Hello and welcome to Cash In The Attic.

The programme that likes nothing better

than to help you sort out those antiques and collectables

that have been collecting dust for years,

and turn them into cash.

Today I'm going to meet a truly inspirational woman,

who wants to sort through a few family heirlooms

and prove that charity really does begin at home.

Coming up on Cash In The Attic, expert Paul's beady eye

doesn't miss a trick

with a 19th-century Staffordshire flatback.

But he is missing one thing, have you noticed?

His mobile phone!

And his assessment of some Victorian sketches takes our host

completely by surprise.

-These could actually be the originals.

-No way!

-Yeah, did you suspect that before?

-No.

At auction, Paul and I get a little distracted by some racy books.

-What's that?

-This one's slightly different.

It's called, forgive the title, Sex In The Garden.

Goodness me, that's a lively one when the hammer falls.

Today I'm in the Wirral, near Liverpool.

And I'm on my way to meet Elizabeth Morris

and her great friend Norma,

and we're hoping we're going to find enough valuables

so that she'll be able to raise money

for something which is a very personal cause.

Elizabeth is a very outgoing lady.

She used to present local radio news

and also worked as a fundraiser which is how she met Norma.

Unfortunately, due to ill health,

Elizabeth had to give up work five years ago.

She's feeling much stronger now, though,

and would like to raise some money to pay for a special day out.

Elizabeth loves living on the Wirral now,

but she recently inherited lots of possessions

from the family home in Northamptonshire,

and she'd like our help in sorting through them.

Well, Paul Hayes, who's joining me today

is just the man for the job as he's been around antiques all his life.

So, while he starts the search, I go and meet the ladies.

-Hi, Elizabeth and Norma.

-Hello.

-I see you've started already!

Rummaging!

I have to say, Norma, this is the most beautiful day.

-Is it always like this up here in the Wirral?

-Yes, it always is.

It's absolutely a wonderful, wonderful place to live, the Wirral.

Thank you so much for inviting us into your house today.

You've had a tough time over the last few years,

haven't you, Elizabeth?

Yes, a little bit. Health issues and also losing quite a lot of my family.

Yeah, it's been difficult.

But tell us why you've called in Cash In The Attic.

Well, I want to raise some money to take my mother, who's 89,

and my daughter and myself out for a lovely three-generation day.

I also want to give a donation to the PIA,

which is the Primary Immunodeficiency Association,

and my wonderful immunology team at Manchester, who look after me.

Because that's one of your main health problems.

Yeah, the biggest one is CVID.

Which is Common - very uncommon - Variable Immunodeficiency Disease,

a genetic thing.

What sort of things are we going to find, then?

Well, I lost three members of my family -

my mother's two brothers and sister, and my own father,

and they lived in this wonderful house, an Edwardian house,

and the family, generations back, have lived there, as well.

It's full of old things.

Norma, how much do you think we're going to need for all of this?

I think, maybe, if we could raise £500,

that would be absolutely superb.

I've got Paul Hayes with me and he is really keen to get going,

to find out what we're going to take to auction.

So why don't you and I go and find him, Elizabeth?

And, Norma, I'm going to leave you to keep rummaging,

because it looks as if you've hit gold there, by the look of it!

-I certainly have, I certainly have.

-So we'll see you later. Come on.

One of Elizabeth's great uncles, Frank Smith, collected antiques

and they were all in the two adjoining Northamptonshire houses

where her relatives lived.

She's brought most of them back to her new home,

so we could be in for a very interesting day here.

-Hi, Paul!

-Hey, hello! How are you?

-You've found another!

-Is your house full of boxes with stuff in?

-The house and garage, yes.

You're going to have a great time today, Paul, aren't you?

It's amazing, it's been a while since I've seen such quality items.

We've got some really nice interesting bits and pieces.

Take this, what a wonderful item! Do you know what this is?

-No, I don't. I know it's Meissen.

-Yep, it definitely is Meissen.

If you look underneath, that's the crossed swords mark.

-Yes, there it is.

-That's the only thing I knew. That's all I know.

It's an oil lamp.

-Oh!

-So what you've got here, is the base and the actual fitting.

Then this well, here, sits in there,

and inside this would be your paraffin, or your white spirit.

Then screwed into the top would be your wick and adjustable burner,

and it would have a big shade on the top.

But the shade is missing, is that a difficult thing to replace?

Not at all, no. This is a great restorers lot.

What will happen is someone will find an old oil lamp somewhere,

that has one of the screw fittings. Take the screw fittings off,

you've got a working oil lamp and a shade that matches the colour.

-No problem at all.

-So, where is this one from?

This came from the family home in Burton Latimer, in Northamptonshire.

As a child I remember it sitting on a Georgian sideboard,

in the sitting room upstairs.

What I love about this one is

that you've got this neoclassical decoration, these Egyptian motifs,

and that was very popular throughout the 19th century.

But Egyptian, on English...

-On German porcelain.

-German!

-Oh, German! Of course!

Even so, Egyptian and German!

This is often referred to, here in the UK, as the Empire style.

It comes, actually, from Napoleon.

He wanted to be the Emperor of Europe.

They had lots of campaigns at the beginning of the 19th century

in North Africa and into Egypt.

So the Egyptian motifs were often symbolised at that time.

-You're looking at the early part of the 19th century, here.

-Gosh.

-And what about this thing here?

-Well, that's been part of a set.

It's made in the Vienna style, this one.

Typically late 19th century, you'd have two vases, identical,

then a very ornate clock.

-I'd like to see £100-£150 for those two, how does that sound?

-Gracious.

I think the end result would be superb,

but that's for somebody else to worry about.

Well, let's hope that's a "start as we mean to go on" find.

And it certainly fires us all up to carry on with our search.

Elizabeth comes across what looks like a little notebook

that hasn't been used.

It seems to go with a purse that she found in the dressing table

at the family house.

It's Edwardian and has a nine-carat gold clasp.

It was made by ER Moore and Co, from Dublin,

and should make £30-£60 at auction.

I tell you something, Norma,

there's quite a collection of old jewellery here.

Who do these belong to? Do you know?

I presume it came from Elizabeth's family.

Has Elizabeth ever worn any of this or has it just been lying around?

No, it's just been lying around.

It's not her, but there are some beautiful little pieces.

It's strange how fashion changes, the whole costume jewellery image.

I've noticed that Elizabeth is very much into her white gold

and silver-looking items. These are more old-fashioned, aren't they?

Very, very. But there's a lot of work which has gone into them.

Well, that one you're touching there is actually a mourning brooch.

That's a lock of hair in there, and when somebody died,

they would take a lock of hair,

and the hair would be made into a sculpture of some sort.

In this case it's the Prince of Wales feathers.

-That will date to maybe 1900-1910.

-That's old.

And it's a type of swivel brooch, as well. This would, at one point,

have moved around so you could wear it either direction.

-So that's actually somebody's hair in there.

-Wow.

There you go, sometimes you get an inscription

saying "In memory of..." whoever had passed away.

Well, that's a good speculative lot,

and these sorts of boxes are always favourites at auctions.

People love to have a good rummage around

and find a little gem in there.

And if I said at least £100, £150 for that, how does that sound?

Wonderful, absolutely wonderful.

But when the collection gets to auction,

will buyers be as taken with it?

And I have a commission bid of £40 here, any advance on £40?

Around the room, any interest at 40, then on the jewellery...?

Will it get anywhere near Paul's £100 estimate?

As our search of Elizabeth's home on the Wirral continues,

a scrapbook has caught my eye,

with press cuttings of football teams from the 1920s and '30s.

It was put together by Elizabeth's Uncle Roger,

who obviously spent an awful lot of time on it,

as he's handwritten the name of every player underneath each photo.

This could appeal to collectors of sporting memorabilia,

and it gets an estimate for auction of...

I leave Paul and Norma to it for a while,

so that I can take a breather with our host.

Elizabeth, when we first met today, you alluded to

the medical problems that you've had

over the years - they're pretty horrendous, aren't they?

Yes, a bit of a shock.

Because I've been such a girl of activity with my career and...

I think you can say I've lived hard...worked hard and played hard.

-So, what was going on exactly?

-I started getting chest infections,

eye infections, a bit of alopecia, all sorts of idiosyncratic things,

and I was being treated for each problem, and I felt all along

that there was an overwhelming reason as to why I was so poorly.

To cut a very long story short,

I've got a genetic, rare immune deficiency called CVID.

And to this day, lots of doctors don't know about it.

You brought up your daughter Anna on your own

since she was three years old, so, presumably,

when you were really ill, the responsibility for looking after you

fell on her young shoulders?

And as a mum, you don't want that.

But we had no choice, and she's absolutely brilliant,

took it all on her shoulders, had a weep now and again

with good friends like Norma,

and yes, she did things that you just wouldn't want

a young kiddie to do, really.

I know that some of the money you raise

you hope to give to the charity that's involved with your illness -

-that's clearly very important to you, isn't it?

-Yes.

I want to give a donation to the PIA,

which is the Primary Immunodeficiency Association,

that is a great charity, because people like myself,

who'd never heard of this condition,

and I'm sure you've never, and lots of people haven't,

we get together, and we can compare notes,

and it helps, it really does help.

Well, we are determined that you're going to make that £500 today,

so, shall we go and find Paul and Norma

-and see how they've been getting on?

-Absolutely.

-OK, let's go.

Going by Paul's lowest estimate so far,

we stand to make £260 at auction, which means that

we're already over halfway towards reaching Elizabeth's target.

And it looks like Norma has spotted another

heirloom from Elizabeth's family house.

It's a pretty manicure set in its original box.

All the implements are made of solid silver,

hallmarked in Birmingham, dating it to the turn of the 20th century.

Manicuring had been considered part of the doctors' profession,

but by the turn of the century,

it became a separate practice in its own right.

The set is in very good condition, and gets an estimate of...

Oh, my, Elizabeth! Come and tell me about this!

-Oh, the Titanic.

-"Wreck of the Titanic!"

-Yes.

-It looks like a serviette, doesn't it?

-It does!

-A large serviette.

Yeah. I've never seen anything like this before,

it's got the whole story of the Titanic sinking,

and a list of the local crew from...

Liverpool and Birkenhead!

-His place of birth!

-Yes!

I think we've really got to show Paul. Paul...!

-Paul?

-Hello? He-hey!

Have you ever seen anything like this?

-"Wreck of the Titanic..."

-Gosh, look at that.

Have a look at that. Where did this come from, then, Elizabeth?

I found it in a secret drawer in a writing bureau

at the family home in Burton Latimer, so in fact,

although it makes mention of the list of local crew

being from here, 186 miles south was where I found it.

-So that's a real, incredible link.

-You've no idea what it was?

No, it looks as though

it might be from a sort of a gala event of some sort.

-Like a fundraising of some sort?

-Right, well, it certainly looks like

a piece of ephemera, which is an item that's designed

to have a short life span but has actually survived.

-Right.

-Things like bus tickets, theatre programmes,

napkins, this sort of thing really were designed to be

used on the day, a little memento, then thrown away or just discarded.

This was printed in 1912 - how much do you think

this might make if we took it to auction?

Erm, if I said we'd put this in at

at least £100, and I think it's worth every penny of that...

-Yes.

-But I suspect, if we do our homework

and promote this in the right way, we get some Titanic interest,

we'll hopefully get a bit more - how does that sound?

That sounds great.

-How exciting!

-What an...! Ah!

-It could be plain sailing!

-..exciting thing to look forward to!

'Oh, dear, he can't stop himself when he gets excited!

'The contents of a wicker basket have grabbed Norma's attention,

'and she's pulled out a wooden tea caddy,

'made of mahogany, with an unusual mother-of-pearl inlay

'on the front in the shape of a fish.

'It's from the 19th century, and Elizabeth

'remembers it from her childhood.

'It gets an estimate of...

'And that's not all that Norma's found...'

-Paul...

-Uh-huh?

-What you think of these?

Ah, now, then - here we go.

Some bits of silver. Do you know what these are?

Er, like a button hook for ladies' boots?

-Right?

-Exactly right. And do you know what these are?

-Glove stretchers.

-Oh, I didn't know that!

-There we go.

So who do you think these would have belonged to?

I'm pretty sure they belonged to an Auntie Gertrude.

This would have been very necessary for any Edwardian

or Victorian lady - can you think why?

Dresses, crinoline dresses?!

That's exactly right. You think about it,

you try to put your boots on with all of that material...

So, they'd use these as an extension arm, that was the idea.

But these are all solid silver items,

and what I can tell you, they all have local interest.

-These have been assayed in Chester.

-God, that's interesting, isn't it?

And their symbol was three wheat sheaves, can you see that?

So that tells me that's a Chester hallmark.

Then you've got the lion passant, which tells me that they're silver,

and then you got a date letter here

which works like a car registration number,

so you're looking at, maybe, 1880 to about 1910, that sort of time.

And they're in quite good condition. Do you like them, yourself?

-I think they're absolutely superb. They're beautiful.

-Right.

The work in them is...lovely.

I mean, if I said around the £50 mark,

sort of, 30 to 50 as an estimate, how does that sound?

That sounds fine. Fine.

-Are you sure?

-Yeah. Well, nearer the higher mark, 50. Maybe 60.

THEY LAUGH

-Well, let's see if we can stretch to that.

-THEY LAUGH

Come on, let's get some fresh jokes.

In Victorian times, tight gloves were fashionable,

so stretchers were necessary to keep them in shape

and, once they were on, they stayed on,

as it was a breach of etiquette to remove them

when making a formal visit.

In the spare room, Paul has come across a rosewood sewing box

which belonged to Elizabeth's relatives.

It's from the Victorian era again, and inside there are two layers

that look in very good condition.

Paul thinks an estimate of £40-£60 should attract some bids.

Elizabeth has been a formidable fundraiser over the years,

raising over £5 million for charities.

And, in fact, it was through charity

that the pair of you met, wasn't it, Norma?

Well, I was the shopping centre manager

at the local shopping centre in Birkenhead

and I had a message - received a message -

to say that an Elizabeth Morris from the SAM appeal

at the local Arrowe Park Hospital wished to meet up with me.

Elizabeth walked into my office a stranger

and walked out as a friend, and that's how it's been ever since.

Yep. And I persuaded you to do a celebrity shopping day.

-That's right, yes.

-And this is the poster for it.

That's the original poster.

It was a fabulous day, and we used to charge the public

so much for a photograph or so much for an autograph, wasn't it?

That's right, yes.

But you raised three million for the Alder Hey Children's Hospital

with Paul and Linda McCartney as your presidents -

how did you manage that?

Alder Hey is the largest children's hospital in Western Europe

and still is, and the parents of sick children

were sleeping literally on the floors by the beds,

and they could be there for weeks.

They had no washing facilities, no toileting, no adult loos -

little kiddies' loos - and I thought, well,

with my background being in the media in radio,

I could perhaps help with some publicity.

And they'd actually got a fundraiser there

and within a few months I was asked if I would take the whole thing on,

which was ridiculous because I'd never done

anything like it in my life.

-But you were a natural, obviously.

-Powers of persuasion, I think!

And you persuaded Paul and Linda McCartney to be president of it.

I know. And everybody said, "You have no chance.

"Absolutely no chance," because they'd never done it before,

and they didn't do it right up until Linda's death.

And they were fantastic.

To have that name behind an appeal, you can imagine.

What is it, do you think, that drives you,

that gives you the passion for raising this money for charity?

I know, I just... I don't know, I loved it.

I think I found my natural niche

in being a bit bossy and persuading people to part with their money.

And Norma will second that.

And I never take... I don't know what "no" means, Angela.

So, hopefully, when we get to the auction, none of the bidders

are going to be able to say "no" when your items come up.

They're going to say, "I'll have that,"

and we'll raise lots and lots of money.

So let's go and see what else we're going to take.

Paul is headed out to the garage

where he spotted a writing slope covered with a burr-walnut veneer.

Burr has a particularly swirly appearance.

It's not particularly rare, but definitely attractive

and therefore more expensive. The interior of this slope is leather

and its estimate for auction a very fine £70-£100.

-Norma?

-Yes, Paul.

Now, then. I found a real antique here - look at this.

So where does this come from, do you know?

It's come from the family home in Burton Latimer, I presume.

Well, these figures are called Staffordshire figures,

it's really the name of the county

where most of them were manufactured,

and there were hundreds of different factories,

but they all have this similar theme in common, really,

which is things to do with the countryside, the rustic look.

So you had the celebration of the harvest, here,

which was very important. If the crops failed it was a big problem,

so the harvest is well-represented here.

Then you have country pursuits,

things like hunting with the dog on the side there -

it's a very rustic sort of character.

But they are known in the trade as a flatback.

-Can you see that?

-Right, yes. Of course, yes.

They were designed to go against the wall, so the back is never decorated.

There you go. But he has got a bit of a chip on his hat there, can you see?

Been dropped probably.

Yes, I still think this would bring...

Well, around the £50 mark, sort of, 30 to 50. How does that sound?

That sounds great. That sounds really fine.

But he is missing one thing. Have you noticed?

His mobile phone.

THEY LAUGH

We're all frantically trying to find any other gems

that would do well at auction before the end of our day here

and it's our expert again that's noticed something

that could be something quite special.

-Elizabeth?

-Yes, Paul.

Now, then, tell me - where have these come from?

-These are great, aren't they?

-They are nice, aren't they?

I admired them on a wall at an office

that I used to go to for my fund-raising

and I said, "I've got lots of wall space,"

and the guy that was moving offices said, "Have them,"

and so I did, and I was given them and... No, I really like them.

Really like them. Don't know much about them

-other than it says "Spy".

-That's right.

-That's all I know.

Well, these were a form of political satire.

These were all characters that were prominent in society

in the late 19th century.

The nearest you can describe it, really,

is things like Spitting Image or Have I Got News For You,

that sort of thing. They'd take the mickey out of characters of the day,

and they'd often exaggerate what a person did for a living

or what his role in society was.

So who are they?

Well, that is the massive question because lots of these politicians

were virtually unknown at the time -

they've become certainly unknown now -

so it's hard to identify who the actual characters are.

-Right. It could be anybody.

-It could be anybody.

But what I can tell you is that some of the artwork for these

is very, very desirable and most of them tended to be coloured prints,

round about 1880, 1900 they had very affordable methods

of printing these sort of pictures,

so they were lots of magazines, lots of detail and so on.

With these being black-and-white ones, I'm not sure -

don't hold me to this - that these, actually, could be the originals.

-No way.

-Yeah, did you suspect that before, or did you...?

No, not at all. Not even considered it.

I've never seen black-and-white versions like this.

I've seen coloured and they're quite cheaply printed,

so you do get the feeling that they're quite poorly made,

-but these look fantastic.

-So how are you going to find out?

Well, what we have to do is take them out of the frame

and I think what we should do now

is put these in with an estimate as a print

and if these do turn out to be original pencil sketches

or charcoal drawings then I think you're on a real winner,

but I think we should maybe err on the side of caution for a while.

-Angela? Norma? Are you there?

-Yeah.

Now, then, we found some very interesting pictures here.

Oh, gosh, yes, look at those.

-Amusing pictures in the loosest sense.

-Spy.

-Spy, yeah.

These are satirical pictures, 19th century,

but potentially these could actually be originals.

-Rather than prints?

-Rather than prints.

-How amazing is that?

-Yeah.

Well, but you're going to hedge your bets on these, obviously?

Yeah, as prints, if I said around the £100 mark,

-I mean, how does that sound?

-Yeah, that's fantastic.

Well, I tell you what I'm going to do, I'm going to take that £100

and add it to the lowest estimate that Paul has given you

on everything else we've looked at today

and I know you want to raise £500, don't you, Elizabeth?

We can do a bit better than that,

because, even on Paul's lowest estimates,

and not knowing whether those are original or not for sure,

we should be able to make £700, on the nail.

Superb.

And, remember, that is his lowest estimate

and if these turn out to be originals,

as he says, we could be on a flyer.

Gosh. Never, ever expected anything like that.

Well, it's been great to help Elizabeth

sort through her family's possessions

and we have some fascinating pieces heading to the saleroom.

There's the napkin which was produced

in memory of the Titanic crew.

If we can attract the right buyers on the day,

it should reach its £100 estimate.

And there's that 19th-century German Meissen oil lamp,

which will be sold along with the Viennese-style vase.

The lamp needs restoring, but - fingers crossed -

together they'll attract upwards of £100.

And what about those political sketches,

which were given to Elizabeth when she was fund-raising?

Paul thinks they might be originals,

but even if they're not, they should achieve £100 on the day.

'Still come on Cash In The Attic...

'I recount the story of a duchess who dined by candlelight...'

-Because she felt that...

-How romantic.

Well, no, because it was good for the wrinkles, darling, yes.

I tell you, it's cheaper than a face-lift. Let's see what it does.

'..have I hit on a new beauty trend?

'Plus a reminder of our expert's great passion.'

This was a time when tea was far more appreciated

-than what it is now.

-And there speaks an expert.

'Will we all be fired up when the hammer finally falls?'

Well, just a few weeks after hunting for antiques in the Wirral,

we've now come to Cuttlestones auction house here in Staffordshire

to see how well Elizabeth's items will do

when they go under the hammer,

because, remember, she not only wants to take

her mother and her daughter on a very special day out -

if she's got any money left over at all,

she'd like to donate it to her immunodeficiency charity,

so we're really hoping that the bidders today

will be ready to splash their cash.

The auction house is in the small market town of Penkridge in the south of the county

and Staffordshire is known the world over

for all the potteries that used to be based here.

-Hi.

-Hello. Hello, you. Hello.

Oh, there we go looking at the wreck of the Titanic.

-Have you framed that?

-Yes, it looks better, doesn't it?

It does, but we've got some news on that, haven't we, Paul?

Yes, we've contacted one of the country's leading Titanic experts -

they have dedicated Titanic sales -

and he said to me, "Is it printed in Wigan?"

-Yes, it is!

-So he knew exactly this serviette.

They obviously put in the best bid for the deal, didn't they?

So he says maximum, you're probably looking at £150, all right?

So it's not an extremely rare item but it is still collectable.

But there is one thing I have to tell you. The two Spy pictures,

which potentially could have been paintings -

the auctioneers had them out of the frames, had a good look at them.

They are prints, they're Spy prints, all right?

So that means we are looking around the hundred mark.

-Is that all right?

-They're still nice things to have.

And there was an off chance they could have been the originals,

-but we made sure.

-Yeah, so it's worth looking, yeah.

-Well, how are you feeling about the auction today?

-Oh, excited.

-Really excited, yes.

-Look, the place is filling up.

There is a real buzz about it today, isn't there?

Hopefully we'll get a fair bit of money for you today,

because you've got two things you want to spend it on, haven't you?

-Yes, yes, absolutely.

-So, shall we don't take our places?

-And let the bidding commence.

-Yeah!

-OK, good luck.

You'll remember that almost all of the possessions

Elizabeth is selling today came from her family home in Northamptonshire,

which was full of stuff that her relatives

had amassed over 100 years.

Her first lot to come up is very fitting for the location -

the 19th-century Staffordshire flatback figure.

Have they still got a collectables market?

They still have, because we are in a country area here.

You've even got one of those houses that has the lovely oak beams

and a lovely 19th-century house,

and this is exactly the sort of thing you want.

And I can start this in at £20 on the flat-back, £20, bid with me.

£20, £20. 22,

24. 26. 28.

-£30.

-Great.

Any advance on £30, then?

32. 34. 36.

38. 40. 42. He says no.

£42, the gentleman seated.

Any advance on £42?

-Selling for 42, then.

-GAVEL BANGS

-Terrific. £32.

-There you go.

A great start here for that rustic looking figure -

pretty much bang in the middle of the estimate.

I don't think we've ever had on this programme anything quite like

this scrapbook from the 1930s of the footballers.

There was an extraordinary passion

went into that collection, wasn't there?

Meticulous entries, yeah. Absolutely, but that's my Uncle Roger.

That's my mother's brother, who died 18 months ago, and all sport -

cricket, football - he was absolutely a meticulous follower.

And I have a commission bid here and I can start this straight in at £32.

-Ooh, there you go.

-Wow!

-How was that?

Any advance on £32? 34.

Football fan.

Any advance on £34, then?

No? 36. 38.

40. 42.

Says no. £42 to the gentleman standing.

-£42, and selling, then.

-GAVEL BANGS

There you go. That's all right, isn't it?

-Gone to a football fan, obviously.

-I hope it's gone to a good home.

Yeah, I'm sure it has. A couple of people fancied that, didn't they?

It's so good to see that all the long hours

that Elizabeth's uncle put into that will obviously be fully appreciated.

Paul, you are really taken with the Meissen porcelain lamp

and the little vase that went with it, weren't you?

This is a thing of the past.

It's so rare to find the well and the lamp actually together,

but, of course, people don't really use these things now,

they're more ornamental, but if you wanted romantic lighting

then this is the perfect thing to have.

But I think, as a ladies, we quite like that soft lighting, don't we?

-Yes, we do, yes.

-Yes.

-THEY LAUGH

I remember reading somewhere that the Duchess of Windsor,

when she lived in Paris, she would only ever have

-candlelight in her dining room, because she felt...

-Oh, romantic.

Well, no, because it was good for the wrinkles, darling, yes.

Absolutely, good for the wrinkles,

you couldn't actually see them in that lighting.

THEY LAUGH Bring it on! Where's our soft light?

Exactly, so that's what we want, isn't it? £100 - £150?

It's cheaper than a face-lift. Let's see what it does.

And I can start this in at £50.

-50. Wow.

-55. 60.

65. 70. 75. 80.

85. 90. 95.

-Ooh, one more, come on.

-100 at the very back.

110. 120.

130. 140.

Says no. 140 at the very back.

Any advance on £140, then,

-or I shall sell?

-GAVEL BANGS

Obviously it's a lot of wrinkles. THEY LAUGH

No, that's our little secret.

Let's hope that the winning bidder

is going to restore that lamp to its full glory.

Next up is that a very delicate Edwardian purse

with the nine-carat gold clasp.

Lots of people have been looking at that.

Yes, I saw them looking in the cabinet.

-It's rather unusual, isn't it?

-It is. The only thing is, of course,

you wouldn't be able to put modern notes or coins in there -

it would destroy it, wouldn't it?

Even though you can't really use it today,

it's a nice thing to have as a little keepsake.

Start this in at £20.

-Start at 20.

-22.

24. 26. 28. 30.

Bidding's out, left-hand side at £30. 32.

34. 36. 38.

-That's more like it, come on.

-40.

The gentleman at the back is desperate to get it, look.

£42, left-hand side. 44.

46. 48.

50. And five.

Says no. 55, at the very back.

Any advance on £55, then?

-GAVEL BANGS

-55, sold.

-You saw that man looking at it, did you?

-Yeah.

He was looking at it in the cabinet.

Well, he was quite determined to get it.

Well done, that's excellent.

Another great result, there.

The bidders here certainly seem to like what Elizabeth has to offer.

What will they make of her

19th-century mahogany tea caddy, then?

I love this, yeah, this was a time

when tea was far more appreciated than what it is now.

And there speaks an expert.

And it was far more expensive,

and the idea was you'd keep it under lock and key.

This one's really unusual,

because it has a mother-of-pearl escutcheon,

a mother-of-pearl finial actually put into there.

That actually is Japanese - it's one of those Japanese counters.

Starting this in at £20 with me on the tea caddy.

22. 24. 26.

-Rising.

-We got some tea lovers here.

£30, on the left-hand side on the tea caddy.

Any advance on £30, then?

32. 34.

36, Sir? 36.

-Yeah.

-Great.

-38?

Says no. £38, left-hand side.

£38, and selling, then.

-GAVEL BANGS

-Well, there you are. Do you know, that's the going rate for that.

And over your lowest estimate, Paul.

-Yeah, that was somebody's cup of tea, wasn't it?

-Yes.

Oh, dear, there he goes again.

We can't complain though, as we are having such a good time.

Next up is the silver hallmarked manicure set

from around the turn of the 20th century.

This set is rather beautiful.

-It's one of my favourite things.

-Really?

-From the whole auction, yes.

Why are you getting rid of it, then?

Well, I've got so much, Angela.

I've got to terraced houses, linked, full from Edwardian times,

so you've got to let something go.

Solid silver hallmarked manicure set,

with the bottles, nail files and the toothbrush there,

starting this in at £20. £20, at the moment.

20, 22. 24. 26.

28. 30. 32.

34. 36.

38 with the gentleman. £38. 40.

42. 44.

New bidder.

48. 50.

And five.

60. Says no.

£60 with the gentleman standing.

-Yes.

-Any advance on 60?

-GAVEL BANGS

-60 to 103.

-Excellent.

-Very good, is that all right?

-The top of your estimate, Paul.

-Yeah, that's all right, isn't it?

-Top of your estimate.

-Well done, you.

Are you sorry to see that go?

In a way, but, you know, you can't keep everything.

No, well, I hope I'm going to sweeten the pill a little bit

cos we're at the halfway point.

We're halfway through the items that we've got to sell.

-Your target is 500, isn't it?

-Yes.

-Well, you're well on your way.

And we've got some wonderful things to come, because,

with that last sale of £60 on the manicure set,

we're up to £377.

-Ooh.

-Wow.

-That's fantastic.

-So here's to a great day out.

Shall we go and take a break, cos I think Paul wants to

take a look around and see what else there is here.

If you'd like to try buying or selling at auction,

do bear in mind that fees such as commission

will be added to your bill.

This charge varies from one saleroom to another,

so it's always worth enquiring in advance.

You know, auctions are great places to pick up quality pieces

at very reasonable prices, and both Paul and I

have spotted some very good examples here.

Ah, now then, are you all right?

Ah, yes - you're doing what I'm doing, Paul,

which is, sort of, rummaging around these boxes of books.

You find amazing things in them, don't you?

It's always good to have a look at these rummage boxes,

cos you can find something that interests you.

-What's that?

-This one's slightly different. It's called -

forgive the title - Sex In The Garden.

Oh, is that Lady Chatterley's... No, it's not.

-What's that about, then?

-It's about propagation.

Oh, well, of course it would be, wouldn't it? Yes.

You're quite right - you find the most extraordinary books.

Do you know, there's something for everybody here today,

and you can buy these boxes - 10 or 20 quid - for the lot.

There's probably 100 quid or 200 quid worth of books at cost there,

so complete bargains to be had, I think, today.

And that box alone could probably sort out birthday presents

for any bookworms that you might know.

As the sale of Elizabeth's lots resumes,

her 19th-century writing slope made with burr-walnut veneer

is next to go before the bidders.

Here at £30, on the right at £30.

Any advance on £30?

32. 34. 36.

38. Says no.

-£38, with me, then.

-Ooh.

-Oh, come on.

40. 42. 44.

46. 48. 50. Says no.

£50 with me, then.

-55.

-Good.

-60.

-Good.

-Says no.

£60 with me, then.

Any advance on 65, and I shall produce 62 if it helps you, sir?

Says no. Selling, then.

-GAVEL BANGS

-There you go.

-£60.

-£10 under, that one.

-A tenner lower, yeah. That's OK.

-Is that all right with you?

-Yeah, that's fine, yes.

-OK, there you go.

I think Paul's a little disappointed

that that didn't make a bit more, especially considering

it was made of a very fine burr-walnut veneer.

The Edwardian silver, hallmarked button hooks and glove stretchers

are next to go before the bidders and these are Norma's favourites.

What was it about them that you loved so much?

The whole thing about them, and of course, my family was in footwear.

We had a footwear business and it goes back many years,

so it seemed a very special to me.

You touch it and you feel the history coming through, don't you?

£20, £20. Any advance on...? 22.

24. 26, bidding's out at £26.

This is £26 on the button hooks.

Oh, is that all? 26?

-Oh, well, we've got 30. There's a new bidder now.

-Oh, going up still.

30. 32.

34. 36.

-That's more like it.

-Says no.

-Come on.

-£36, left-hand side.

£36 and selling, then.

-GAVEL BANGS

-They've gone.

-Oh, I'd have bought them.

-Yeah.

But that's about what they're worth, to be fair. Thing of the past.

I wouldn't mind whether they're worth... They were just lovely.

Yes. They were pretty, weren't they, the way they were engraved as well?

-Very pretty.

-Just a nice thing to own.

-Yeah.

It would be interesting to know

if the winning bidder plans to use them.

Maybe they belong to an Edwardian Appreciation Society.

Elizabeth, what can you tell us about the sewing box?

All I can tell you is that my family had a lot of ladies in the family

and I know that my aunt was very interested

in anything to do with needlework, embroidery, tapestry

and I assume that as it came down through the generations,

it was well used.

And I have a commission bid of £32.

-32 already, how's that?

-Wow, that's good.

34, bidding's out. 36. 38.

40. 42. Says no.

£42 with the gentleman. Any advance on £42, then?

Just over our lowest estimate.

-Selling for 42.

-GAVEL BANGS

-There you go. Good, that's exactly what we wanted.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Oh, dear.

-It's a nice little piece of furniture that, actually.

Yeah, quality little thing.

And although it was in good condition,

it's exactly the kind of thing that many people like to refurbish.

Next, to come up are the illustrations by Spy

from a 19th-century magazine.

I'd love to say that these were the originals,

but we've had them out of the frame, they're just prints,

which is a real shame

and there are thousands of these still around in existence.

And we've still got 100 to 150 on them.

Yeah, I think as decorative pictures, that's what they're worth.

And I can start these in at £40.

£40, £40.

Any advance on £40 on the framed Spy prints?

-Have you put a reserve on these?

-No.

Any interest at 40? No?

No? I'll have to pass those, I'm afraid.

-You've got them back.

-That's OK.

-You're happy about that.

-No!

They were the only thing I don't want to take home!

THEY LAUGH

-Because they're not antiques from the family.

-No.

Anything from the family I would have happily taken home, but not those.

Never mind - at least Elizabeth can console herself

that it is her first piece not to sell today.

Maybe she'll have more luck with her penultimate lot,

the collection of 19th and 20th century jewellery.

I did notice in the house there was a pocket watch in this lot

but that's not here today.

Very pretty little feminine pocket watch

that my daughter had her eye on and, as she hasn't really chosen anything

from the jewellery collection, I thought that would be nice for her.

-A family piece for her to keep.

-Well, that's fine.

So that's what happened, so Anna's got it.

-I'm not sure what difference that will make.

-OK.

-We are looking for about £100.

-OK.

Bidding up and I have a commission bid of £40, £40 here.

Any advance on £40 around the room? Any interest at 40, then?

-On the jewellery.

-Oh, I think the pocket watch was the main thing.

Ooh, far left. 42. 44.

46. 48. 50.

And five. 60.

-And five.

-There you go.

-It's still doing all right.

-Where's that come from?

£70, left-hand side, then. Any advance on £70?

-Then I shall sell it for £70.

-GAVEL BANGS

-There you go, that's good.

-That is brilliant, yeah.

It was looking like he wasn't going to sell it at one point.

But thankfully it did do pretty well in the end,

and Elizabeth is delighted.

Now, it's going to be interesting to see what happens now

because, of course, we've got this Titanic serviette.

Now, you've put a reserve of £100 on it, haven't you?

And if it doesn't go for that,

we're going to leave it with the auctioneers

-for a specialist auction later on.

-Lovely.

But that's the right decision, I think, don't you, Elizabeth?

Yes, I think so. It's so special.

Lot 1888 and I can start this in at £32.

Oh. Nothing.

£32, start me off on the Titanic commemorative, there.

34. 36. 38.

40. Says no.

-Oh, well.

-Dear, me. That's terrible.

Any advance on £40, then?

-I'm afraid that's not sold.

-I think it should. I think it should.

I'm really surprised, cos if I, honestly, would have been here

not knowing the history, not knowing what that's worth,

-I'd have taken a chance on that.

-Yes. Yeah.

Well, I hope you're not too disappointed by that, Elizabeth.

A no-sale on the very last item, but that's the only item of yours

of real value that's unsold.

-Unfortunately, the Spy prints are going home with you as well.

-THEY LAUGH

But never mind, because you wanted £500

for your charities and your day out.

What we've actually managed to make

from all the things we've sold today, 10 items...£585.

Good Lord. Excellent.

A few weeks after the auction,

Elizabeth has brought her mother and daughter

for a fine dining experience at a local luxury hotel.

Anna now lives in London and we don't see a lot of each other,

so it really meant quite a lot to get us all together.

The surroundings are beautiful, the meal was absolutely beautiful.

My daughter's probably my best friend as well as my daughter,

and my mum's always been there to support me

in everything I've ever done, so we're quite a close-knit family.

-Well, there you go, look. Oh, that's actually nice.

-It's horrendous.

The whole idea behind Cash In The Attic

was to see what some of the family antiques...

Learn a bit more about them, really, and - most importantly -

to make some donations to the wonderful people

that have helped me keep well. I'd recommend it to anybody.

Here's to us all. Good health, happiness.

Cheers. Cheers, Grammy.