Cripps Cash in the Attic

Hello. We're delighted you've been able to join us for the programme

that turns old treasures into new dreams.

And let's face it, moving house is a bit stressful at the best of times.

But today, we're going to help one lady lighten the load

and hopefully find her some cash in the attic.

'Coming up on Cash In The Attic,

'a little-known secret about our expert, John, is discovered.'

What's happening to you?

I have seen you play with tractors, cars, all sorts of things.

-But not dolls.

-Keep it quiet. I've got a reputation.

Not much of one, but I still have a bit of a reputation.

'What's wrong with the man?

'And he's taken a dislike to a little man sitting on a Japanese teapot.'

-He looks a bit moody about something, doesn't he?

-He does.

He hasn't got a nice expression, has he? He's like, "What am I doing up here?"

'At auction, will there be heartache over some 18th-century poetry books?'

Now, are you going to be sorry to see these go?

No. They're dust collectors.

HE LAUGHS

'Will they still be laughing when the hammer falls?'

Now, today we're having a lovely day out

because we're on the Kent coast.

And the idea is to help someone downsize from a family home

to a more manageable bungalow.

Mind you, I'm not so sure that "downsizing" is the accurate phrase

because once we help her de-clutter,

she's going to use the proceeds to fill her new house with furniture.

'Val Cripps has lived in her current house on the Kent coastline

'for the past 37 years.

'She's decided it's just too big for her now,

'and this is why she's roped in her good friend, Paul,

'to help with the clear-out.

'They both work as prison officers,

'so I had better be on my best behaviour!

'Fortunately, John Cameron is here with me to assess all we find,

'and work out what might raise some good money at auction within these walls.'

Val and Paul, how are you?

Hello.

Very nice to see you. And this, of course, is John, our expert today.

Actually, it's a bit funny today because we're wondering,

as you're both in the prison service,

do we get locked in today? Do you keep us here all day?

-Is that the idea?

-No, you'll be fine.

But you're going to go off and have a look at some very special things.

-OK. I'll see you in a bit.

-Fantastic. See you then.

So, did you guys meet, then, in prison?

Well, we sort of know each other from work.

Val works in one prison. I work in another prison.

But we meet at a quiz that we do every week.

-Quiz night, like at a pub?

-Quiz night, yeah.

-But you're mates as opposed to partners?

-Yes.

Oh, yes. We're mates. Yes, definitely.

Now, why did you decide, Val, to call in Cash In The Attic?

Well, I wanted to downsize, and I've got all this stuff

hanging about. It's everywhere.

I want to get a smaller house and I wanted to get rid of all my bits and pieces that are hanging around,

so I can have a bit of space.

Is it going to be strange being friends, you rummaging around her house?

Yeah, it will seem a bit strange. But I'll be careful where I'm rummaging.

-WOMEN LAUGH

-I've got to send you off, actually, Paul,

-and see what you can find.

-OK.

-So, I'll let you disappear.

-Thanks very much.

-It's good.

And Val, overall, how much money are you aiming for?

£400, um...

..so that I can maybe buy another piece of furniture.

-So, just for a freshness and a change.

-Yes, a change. Yes.

-OK.

-So, you've got good muscles there.

-Mm.

-All ready for work?

-Yes.

-All right.

-Well, let's see what John's got up to.

-Ooh, yeah. Let's go and look.

'Val describes herself as an amateur antique collector,

'and even used to deal at one point.

'She says she has nearly 40 years of stuff around the house,

'but I think she must keep it all under lock and key

'because it looks very neat and tidy to me.'

Aha, John! In the bedroom.

Now, what's happening to you?

I have seen you play with tractors, cars, all sorts of things.

-But not dolls.

-Keep it quiet. I've got a reputation.

Not much of one, but I still have a bit of a reputation.

-But what a beautiful doll there.

-Well, interesting doll.

What's the story as far as you know, Val?

It was bought as a present for me

because my husband threw away my old dolls,

and I told him he had to buy me an old doll back.

-Why did...

-"Why did he throw them away?" They said in unison.

Because we were clearing out the loft and I had two black bags,

one of rubbish, one of all my very old dolls,

and he went down the skip.

And when I looked in the bag, he'd taken the wrong ones.

-Is that why you divorced him?

-Yes.

THEY LAUGH

Now, when did your passion, though, for dolls begin? Like, when did the collecting begin?

I started... Well, this must be about 15 years ago.

I just liked them, and I feel sorry for some of them

that had broken hands or whatever,

and started collecting.

Did you take them to the Doll Hospital and have them all fixed?

Yes. That one I had re-strung on here.

It's interesting. The first thing I do when I look at a doll is turn it around,

look at the back of the head and see if we've got the maker's mark.

And we do have one on here. See the initials, AM?

That's Armand Marseille, probably the most famous doll manufacturer,

who was actually Russian, from St Petersburg.

-Oh, didn't know that.

-Yeah, he moved to Thuringia in Germany,

a very well-established area for doll-making

where he purchased a porcelain factory,

and a few years later, started producing the heads

of these bisque heads of the dolls.

A huge centre for production in Germany at that point.

Now, turning to the body now, which is what I was looking at when you came in,

I don't see any wear here at all.

And what I think may have happened is that

the doll has got terribly poorly,

and it's had a trip to a doll hospital

and has been replaced with a new body.

How much do you reckon it might fetch?

Well, I still think she's a nice doll. Pretty-looking doll.

I'd like to think she'll make something like £70-£90.

Something like that.

Well, that's a good first find and I know...

I'm sure there are lots and lots and lots of other things to look at,

so put your doll DOWN, John,

reluctantly, and come and have a look at some other things.

Come on, Val.

'I'm worried about him.

'It looks like Paul, though, has his work cut out, going through his stack of paintings on the landing.

'But he pulls out a couple of prints

'that Val has had since she was 19.

'They're both riverscapes in the style of

'the early 20th century Belgian artist, Henri Cassiers.

'The person who painted these works, however,

'is unknown in the art world,

'and the estimate of £20-£30 for the two reflects it all.'

Now,

this looks an interesting little teapot.

What's the story with this?

-Where did this come from?

-Bruges.

I went over there on a day trip and they were having, like, a boot fair.

And I spotted it, and I thought,

"That's got to be old."

And I asked how much was.

Five euros.

-So, I snapped it up.

-Five euros!

I think you did well there.

-So, you thought it looked old.

-Mm.

How old did you think it was?

Well, I thought it was like '30s,

cos it had on it "Made in Japan."

And I thought it was foreign.

You clearly know what you're doing, don't you?

"Made in Japan", places it in the '20s. When you look at marks,

you can see that, if it just said "Japan", we'd have probably placed it before the First World War.

In between the two World Wars, it starts saying "Made in Japan" or "Made in France", what have you.

But, after the Second World War, there's still a lot of ill feeling towards Japan, places like Germany.

It would just say "Foreign," so that it didn't affect their export market.

When you look at the piece, apart from it being an elephant,

-with this little man sat on the back... He does look a bit moody about something.

-He does.

He hasn't got a nice expression. It's like, "What am I doing up here?"

But if you look at those flowers on there,

-that's quite interesting, because they remind me straight away of Carlton Ware.

-Oh!

And there's a link there because they were copying Carlton Ware, Japan.

It's a nice thing, and I certainly think it'll do better than your five euros.

-I wouldn't be surprised if we got 20 or 30 quid.

-That'd be nice.

-Happy with that?

-Yes, I'm very happy with that.

I think John will be very happy, actually.

Because Paul has come across five more dolls.

They all have bisque heads - they are unglazed -

to give them that realistic skin-like matte finish.

Once more, they are part of the collection Val has amassed over the years.

She says she would really like to pass them on to her family

but, sadly, nobody wants them.

One of them is by that famous doll maker, Armand Marseille.

And the estimate for the lot is £100-150.

And, when they get to the saleroom,

will their quality impress the bidders?

Including one by Armand Marseille. The magic name.

Start me 100?

Start me 50?

We'll just have to wait a little longer to find out where that sale finishes.

As the search of Val's house continues,

going by John's lowest estimates up until now,

we stand to make £210 at auction.

So we're just over the halfway mark.

As well as downsizing,

Val's also planning to retire soon, and spend more time with the family.

Including someone she is keen to introduce me to, right now.

-This is Jack?

-Yes.

-Nice to meet you, Jack.

-I should imagine he's great company for you.

-He is very good company.

-Is he literally like a lapdog, does he hang around you all day?

-Yes.

-He follows me around everywhere.

-I like that.

I was going to have him when I retired,

but I'm pleased I've got him now.

-You wouldn't be without him?

-I wouldn't.

So, are you looking forward to retirement?

I am looking forward to spending time with my grandchildren.

Being able to go on nice walks

and not thinking, I've got to rush back to work.

How often do you see them?

Er...two or three times a week.

One only lives in the next road. Another lives 10 minutes away,

-so I can walk there with the dog.

-That would be my absolute dream,

to have my grandchildren just up the road.

I'd go and see my grandson and play football,

and my granddaughter, she does the horseriding.

-Does she have a pony of her own?

-Yes.

-Yes, she has.

-What fun is that?

Sometimes she brings him up here to see me.

-GLORIA LAUGHS

-What? Into the garden?

Yeah, he munches a bit of the front lawn for me!

Now, I live in Kent,

but I'm not familiar with the Isle of Sheppey.

What's it like living here? You've been here 37 years.

It's very nice.

A nice community. Everybody knows everybody else really.

A lot of people are related.

The neighbours are very friendly around here. They all look after each other.

You like that sense of community?

I do, it makes you feel safe, I think.

You've got someone you can call on, if need be.

Right at the beginning of the programme,

-you said you'd like around £400.

-Yes.

I would just like to buy a smaller chair that I'd wish to go in a smaller house.

No doubt, this one will probably pinch it from me!

GLORIA LAUGHS

-And no doubt you will give Jack pride of place, I should imagine.

-Yes.

-I think we'd better see how the boys are getting on.

-Oh, yes.

-Do you want to come with us, Jack?

-Yes.

-Why not, come on.

-Let's go and see.

I like Jack.

And John has come across a ruby case cut-glass table lamp and shade.

It was made in what was once Czechoslovakia.

And it's in the shape of a mushroom.

Val's daughter bought it for her when she changed the colour of her lounge.

But Val says it just won't look right in her new bungalow.

The estimate is £60-80.

John.

What do you think of this?

It certainly looks like something we can take to auction.

But it looks like it's got pride of place here, on the mantelpiece.

What's the story? Will Val mind us selling it?

I think it's just a clock someone gave to Val quite a while back.

I'm sure she would. I don't think it's got a sentimental value to it.

OK. Well, it looks like a French clock to me.

Certainly, date wise, put it in the 19th century.

Very typical of these Mannerist scrolled columns at the side here.

The first thing that strikes you about these clocks is

they weigh an absolute ton. But it's not solid marble.

You've got a reconstituted stone base underneath here which houses the movement.

Then it's been clad with these marble panels,

with the white Carrera marble and the rouge marble.

Typical white enamelled dial, with Roman numerals.

Two winders here, which tell us, one, that it tells the time,

and two, it strikes, more than likely, a bell.

Turn it round and have a look.

Nice gilt metal putti on the top there, putti figure.

We can see it's missing the case that houses that in,

what we call a sound fret, it allows the sound of the bell to resonate out.

That's gone. Not a major thing.

We've got the bell there.

Inside, we can see the top of the pendulum.

There's a maker, it'll be a Parisian or French maker,

which were very popular at the time.

So, we do see a lot of these clocks at auction. Condition always varies.

A little bit of staining to the white marble, but not too bad.

Value wise? Quite reasonable, actually, if you want to buy one of these.

At auction today, I'd estimate it at about £70-90.

Hopefully we'll get 100.

-Still a lot of clock for your money.

-Yeah, it is. It's extremely heavy.

-We won't play catch with it!

-No.

-Let's see what else we can find.

-OK.

-Come on.

So, you might say, a timely boost to the chair Val wants when she downsizes.

Now, some Devon pottery has grabbed Paul's attention.

It's a tea set in the shape of cottages,

and it was given to Val a couple of years ago when a friend emigrated.

John puts a value on it of £20-30.

Come and have a look at these. I just love these books.

-I know, John, you love them, all leather bound.

-Yeah, I do.

I'm a sucker for good bindings. Poetry here.

Anderson's Fairy Tales there. Is that John Gay?

What's the story with the books?

I used to collect them, right from about 16,

I used to go around the old bookshops and collect the poets.

I liked leather-bound books.

Val, did you buy them as much for the colour and the bindings as the poetry?

Or do you just love poetry?

-The books, the feel, and the poetry.

-Yes.

-Is there a big market for leather-bound books these days?

-There are.

I've got my favourites in my hand already, the John Gay, The Poetical Works.

People collect books for a number of reasons - the content, the authors,

the press and the bindings. These are all very important factors when you're looking at books.

But these do have decorative bindings, they are quite nice.

And, the condition of this one in particular is rather nice.

Beautifully bound in Morocco here, with gilt tooling, Greek key around there.

And look. Judging that this is hand-woven paper.

Gosh. I'd never have known that, never have known it at all, till you pointed it out

in all the years I've owned them.

And the date of it, 1777.

-Wow.

-Look how clean those pages are.

It's been looked after. We've got the other two there as well, look.

Those, for me, are the best books there.

I'd put them in all together as one lot,

and I'd be looking at about £50-100.

Did you know the John Gay books, were quite valuable?

No. No, I just knew they were John Gay, I just wanted to buy them.

Here we have The History of America,

you might as well put it in the collection.

THEY LAUGH

Val's obviously a romantic at heart.

So let's hope her books capture someone else's attention at auction.

John decides to thoroughly explore the bedroom, and comes across some tiny brooches.

Five of them are nine-carat gold.

There are also some that aren't hallmarked, so they'll be sold as yellow metal.

Val isn't sure where they came from,

but she's very pleased with the estimate of £30-50.

We're having a great time plundering your house and finding all sorts of goodies.

While I have both of you together, knowing

that you're both in the Prison Service,

I'm anxious to know what the reaction was within the ranks, if you like,

when they heard you were on this programme?

They said, "You're going to be a star now, we'll have to ask for your autograph.

"We can't wait to see you on there."

Because of the nature of the job, and because you're in long-term business,

is it a very stressful job?

Not as a job, as such.

You have to be aware of things that's around you all the time,

keeping an eye on things.

I enjoy my job. I'm very lucky.

I get to meet different people every day.

It's quite a nice environment to be in.

People might find that almost hard to understand,

a nice environment?

-Prison has changed so much now from the early years.

-In what sense?

The biggest change is the rapport the staff have with prisoners now.

It was very much a "them and us" attitude years ago.

But now, that's changed. More interaction is encouraged amongst staff and prisoners,

in order to help them rehabilitate and socialise with people,

and lead a better life when they get released.

That's what I like to hear, two people who are happy in their jobs!

So now we come to the kings and queens of the pub quiz.

How does it all operate?

There's about six of us.

It's for charity.

We just try and win every week.

-But usually we are second or third.

-We never win.

-We never win.

I wish Val would store knowledge, like she does bits and pieces around house,

then we'd probably win!

'No pressure there, then!'

John is definitely determined to find something amongst Val's possessions

which will prove to be a winner, come sale day.

-Hello, John.

-Hello, Val.

-What are you doing in my garage?

I've found two rather interesting lamps, what are they doing there?

I've been downsizing, so I've put most of the things in the garage.

-Don't you like them any more?

-No, they don't go, I've gone modern.

-Gone modern?

-Yeah, minimal.

You can imagine how dusty they are, look.

They are a little bit dusty.

What's the story? Is there anything you can tell me about them?

I bought them many years ago when I used to buy things,

then sell them on and get something I really liked.

-And I like them. I wanted them on my fireplace.

-OK.

-Do you know much about them?

-Not a great deal, I just like the ladies.

They are rather nice, aren't they?

They are made of spelter. You know what spelter is, it's a soft alloy of zinc and lead.

It's usually used to imitate bronze,

but it's much softer than bronze,

so it doesn't quite hold the detail, the sharp detail, like bronze does.

It's often referred to as a cheaper or poorer man's bronze.

Where would you date them?

'30s?

Actually, they're a bit earlier, I'd put them at about 1900, 1910, that sort of date.

-They're very much in the Art Nouveau style.

-Yes.

Which lends heavily from organic motifs,

lots of flowing drapery.

We can see they're very much in that style.

What do you think this is?

They took their inspiration from a lot of flowers.

That looks to me like some sort of foxglove almost,

the actual flower that she's holding.

They're quite nice.

I like the way they're holding aloft the lamps.

They've got their original ebonised wooden bases, which is nice.

I'm guessing they're working.

-So, something we can sell.

-Right.

Today, at auction, I'd be looking at about £50-70.

-Are you happy with that?

-Yeah, that's fine.

-Jolly good.

-Let's get them inside and get a duster on them.

-Yes.

-Come on.

What a great discovery John made in the garage.

I can't resist having a peek myself.

In preparation for her move, Val's already boxed up some porcelain

from one of the highly regarded Staffordshire pottery companies.

It's a set of Carlton Ware, and there are about 45 pieces in total.

Apparently it started as a birthday present to Val, and has been added to over the years.

She says they can just stay in the box and go to auction.

And it gets an estimate of £80-120.

John, would you like to have a look at this?

-The box?

-There might be something of interest inside it.

It's a nice box, isn't it?

-Is there's some stuff inside it?

-Yep. Lots of things.

OK, wow, interesting bits and pieces there.

Is this leftover stock or stuff you've part collected yourself?

Things I've collected over time, and put in a little box for my grandchildren to look at with me.

We got some interesting bits in here, lots of costume jewellery.

What's in this little box here?

That's interesting.

A collection of micro mosaics.

Any reason why you've got micro mosaics?

I just thought they were pretty.

So, I started to collect them.

But you know how you grow out of these things? That's what I did.

These were tourist pieces, if you like.

They came from Italy.

They're little mosaic pictures made in tiny piece of glass.

You have got an odd little collection of bits and pieces here.

You wouldn't know really whether to separate them.

I hear an awful lot of ooh-ing and ah-ing going on.

-My goodness, what a box of goodies! Have you been on a raid, Val?

-SHE LAUGHS

Just hiding in my bedroom.

It's fantastic, I love all of these.

Little shoehorn. Are these silver?

-They are silver handled, very hollow silver handled.

-Oh, right.

We've got some micro mosaics, some costume jewellery,

some glove stretchers, all sorts of bits and pieces in there.

Are you going to put all of this into the auction as one?

It's arguable if you'd separate them or sell it as one lot. You always end up with bits and pieces.

I sometimes think it's good to sell a bit of rough with the smooth.

So I sometimes say, make a job lot, and see how we get on.

-Even the box, in my opinion, is going to be worth £20 or £30.

-Yes.

The auction house may decide to separate those.

I'm going to put an estimate on it, I think, today,

this has got to be making about 100-200.

-Let's hope you get the 200 bit.

-Yes.

Some of those silver pieces look gorgeous in there, terrific.

-I'm quite shocked at that.

-Are you?

I guess you would like to know how much, according to John, you're going to get at auction.

Hopefully get.

We started off the day with you looking for £400

that would buy you a lovely chair.

Today, I think you've got the lottery, a mini lottery.

Because, instead of £400, you have got

670.

-My goodness!

-Nearly £700.

-I can't believe it.

-I'm so pleased.

-You must be.

-I can't believe it.

You don't add it up as you're going along.

I didn't expect that much, myself.

You may not have been adding it up but, hey, I was!

THEY LAUGH

Anyway, it's been a lovely day, thank you for all your hospitality. We'll see you very soon.

-OK, thank you.

-Thank you.

Poor Val, I think she was lost for words for a minute.

Fingers crossed we reach that figure for her at the sale room,

with the help of

that very heavy French marble clock.

Will the estimate of £70-90 chime with the bidders?

And, the large collection of Carlton Ware porcelain

which started as a birthday present for Val.

We're hoping the estimate of £80-120 will generate some interest.

And, of course, not getting Val's collection of dolls.

Two of them are by Armand Marseille.

They should make...

Still to come...

Is John causing Val to have second thoughts

about selling her ruby coloured glass lamp?

-It would go nicely with you and I today, wouldn't it?

-It would, yes.

-We've coordinate perfectly.

And did he excite a confession about her spelter lamp?

Condition wise, do they need anything doing to them at all?

Yes, there's paint on the leads.

HE LAUGHS

I knew that. I was wondering if you were going to tell me that.

It's an auction full of smiles, when the hammer finally falls.

We had a great day out on the Isle of Sheppey with Val and her good mate Paul.

You may remember that she wants to raise around £400

for a new piece of furniture when she downsizes in her home.

Now, we've taken all her things to the John Nicholson Auctions in Surrey

and, sadly, I can't be there today, in two places at the one time.

But I'm going to leave her in the very capable hands of John.

And I'm not the only one who couldn't be there

because Val's friend Paul couldn't make it either.

But, as the general auction here takes place on Saturdays,

let's hope these weekend bidders are feeling in a holiday mood when Val's lots come up.

-Hiya, Val.

-Hello.

-Do you have any second thoughts about selling your doll collection?

You have a little bit, don't you? But they've got to go.

Apologies for purging your house of nice things.

Is there anything you're looking forward to seeing in the sale today?

I think my little box of unusual bits and pieces.

I'd be interested to see how that goes.

With those lovely micro mosaic brooches, as well.

-A little bit of gold.

-Yep.

A nice clock. We should be all right for hitting our target today.

But you never know, it's all in the hands of the auction and the punters today.

We're going to need a bit of luck if we're going to hit that target today.

I think we ought to find ourselves lucky spot.

-Yes, let's do that.

-Come on, then.

The auctioneer has already started with the sale.

And it doesn't take long before the first of Val's lots comes up.

It's the ruby coloured cut-glass lamp and shade.

-What was the story with this?

-My daughter bought it from me,

because she thought the colouring would go right in my room.

But it doesn't.

-You're getting rid of it because it clashes with the colour?

-Yes.

It would go nicely with you and I today.

We've coordinated perfectly. Perhaps if we had the lamp there, it would be all right.

We're looking to £60-80 for it. Confident?

-Yes, I am, very confident.

-Let's see what the auctioneer thinks.

Start me,

it cost a lot of money, that. I'm 20 bid. 30, 40.

£40 bid. 50 I'm looking for. 50.

Your bids are at 50.

At £50. 60 now.

I'll take a fiver if it'll help.

55. 65. 70.

-Excellent.

-Yes.

£70, your bid, sir. You bid well, madam.

There's the bid, selling.

-Make no mistake, gentleman's bid.

-Yes!

-£70.

27.

-There we are, right in the middle of our estimate.

-70.

-He got there in the end.

-He did.

He was starting to slow down, then it picked up again. Great.

-£70 towards our target, happy?

-Very, yep.

Jolly good.

She certainly looks it.

I love Val's big, great beaming smile.

Let's hope we see plenty more of that through the auction.

Next up is her French marble clock.

I found this with Paul. What was the story again?

My ex-partner bought me that as a Christmas present,

because I like puttis, or cherubs, whichever you want to call them.

Well, they can be hit and miss at auction,

only because so many of them have been made.

But this one is not in bad condition, if I remember rightly.

We're looking for £70-90. It doesn't sound a huge amount of money,

but there are lots of them out there.

So, when supply equals demand or is greater than demand,

prices are quite modest.

£70-90. Let's hope we do that.

Start me, 10.

20, 30.

40. 50.

Your bid, 50. 60 I'll take.

At £50.

60, I'm looking for.

55? 60. Your bid, sir, 60.

There's my bidder, selling.

Make no mistake. There's my bidder.

At £60.

Your bid, sir, 60.

Well, £60. Just under our bottom estimate.

I'm not really surprised. As I say, they can be hit and miss.

You can pick those up quite cheaply.

-Are you all right with that?

-Yeah, I'm fine with that.

Good old Val, very understanding.

I bet John wishes all his customers were like that!

Now it's the turn of two prints.

They're of river views,

painted in the style of a 20th-century Belgian artist called Henri Cassier.

-So, are you a fan of the riverscape at all?

-I live near the sea,

-so, yes, I do like them.

-Same here.

I love riverscape prints. But £20-30, cheap little lot.

Let's see what happens.

Lovely pair of seascapes there.

£10 bid.

15 I'll take.

15, bids all over the place.

15. 20, sir.

£20. Five now? 25. 30.

Five.

35. 40.

£40.

Your bid's worth 40. Five now?

At £40.

-Your bid, sir.

-£40!

-Wow.

-Selling.

There's my bidder. At £40.

Well done, sir.

-Not bad at all. Are you happy with those?

-Yep.

£40 towards our target.

-Great.

-Getting there.

Wow, what a good result.

Quite a few bidders here wanting to get their hands on those prints.

Will they be as keen on Val's collection

of 18th- and 19th-century poetry books?

Now, are you going to be sorry to see these go?

No, they are dust collectors. HE LAUGHS

-But you were a big fan of those?

-I was, years ago.

You were a bibliophile, as they call it.

I had a bookcase made specially for them on the wall.

But now, sadly not.

Well, these are quite nice books.

Nice bindings to them.

A good little lot, £50-100. Would you be happy if they sell for that?

Yes, I will, very much so.

It's a surprise to me they're worth that much.

Let's hope we get that.

10, 20, 30.

Five. 40 I'll take.

At £35.

40 now.

At £35.

40, anybody? A bit disappointing.

40, anybody? Had its time, then, and selling.

At £35.

-35.

-Not good.

£35. We're £15 under our estimate.

-Disappointed with that? I am.

-Sadly, yeah, after what you explained about them.

I'm disappointed as well.

What a shame the attractive books didn't make a bit more.

The bibliophiles are not out in force today, obviously.

Maybe they'll like her Carlton Ware,

next to go under the hammer. Not literally!

It's a large set - 45 pieces in total.

How long has this taken for you to put together?

Years. Over 20.

I'm guessing you had it on display?

-All in my kitchen, in the cabinets.

-Isn't it interesting how taste changes?

-And the things we're fascinated with, they get wrapped up and popped away.

-Absolutely.

Well, you're not alone there. Because fashion does change.

Hence, we've seen prices for Carlton Ware drop quite considerably since the '80s,

I'm looking for around £80-120.

I think that's cheap.

-I'm hoping it's going to do better than my estimate.

-Oh.

There's 45 pieces.

Must have taken ages to collect.

Lots and lots of different shapes

10, 20, 30.

40, 50, 60, 70.

80 I'll take.

At £70.

80 anybody?

Had its time, then, and selling.

Here we are, £70.

Under our bottom estimate, with discretion.

It just goes to reflect current demand for it.

We've got a packed auction house here today.

I remember times when I would have sold that, as individual lots

and got quite a bit for it.

-There we are, it's gone now.

-Yep.

And we've got £70 towards our target.

That's certainly a healthy amount to add to the kitty.

And Val doesn't seem too disappointed.

Next lot is another casualty of your modern drive,

and your quest to modernise the house.

You're getting rid of your little Devon pottery cottageware tea set.

-Yes.

-Did you buy it all together or did you make this up?

No, my friend gave it to me.

She's emigrated to Greece, and so she said, would I like it when she went? I said yes.

-But now...

-It's got to go. OK

£20-30 for it. Let's see what happens.

Anybody, £15?

I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen, no bid. Unsold.

-We've got an unsold.

-And unsold?

-Oh, dear. Your friend will be delighted.

-Yes, she will be!

£15. She'll say, "Serves you right!"

OK. That one, we're taking home.

So I'm guessing it's going back in the newspaper?

-Mm-hm.

-All right.

Oh, dear, no interest at all for that very pretty set.

So how has that left Val's running total?

We're at the halfway point of the sale.

-And are you wondering how you've been doing?

-Yes.

-Our target was £400 today, wasn't it?

-Yes.

Well, I can tell you, at the halfway mark, we've got £275.

-Oh, that's good.

-So we're over halfway there.

-Yep. We're getting there.

We've still got some interesting bits to come. We've got those Art Nouveau lamps.

-The micro mosaic brooches.

-Yes.

-And some gold brooches.

-Yes.

And the dolls.

SHE LAUGHS And the dolls!

-What do you reckon? Are we going to be OK?

-I think so.

-Let's have a break. My feet are killing me.

-Go and have a cup of tea.

If you're interested in buying or selling at auction, do bear in mind

that charges such as commission will be added to your bill.

These vary from one sale room to another,

so it's definitely worth checking in advance.

Now, auctions are terrific places to sell unwanted possessions,

as Val is doing today.

But they're also really good for finding unique items to buy.

John Nicholson, the auctioneer, wants to show our John

something a little bit special.

-Morning, John.

-Morning, John. I hope you've made a fresh pot!

-Afraid not. Coffee's out the back!

-Tell me about the coffee pot, what's special about it?

We've got a general sale. But sometimes we put a few tasty little bits to get people excited.

And we decided we'd put a few decent lots of silver in this sale.

Silver's flying at the moment.

What's so special about it?

Um, it's 1772,

which is right in the middle of the reign of George III.

Original crest.

Beautiful condition, beautiful gadrooning. Pineapple finial.

Original wooden handle.

And we reckon that'll make £700 or £800.

It's certainly a nice classic form.

When you think, if the melt gets any more, that's going to get scrapped.

And that is criminal.

That would be very, very sad. But then again, at the end of the day,

the other stuff that does survive will be much rarer,

and worth more in the longer term.

The big question that differs between auction houses,

you look like a man who has a butler who'd do the polishing for you.

But, polish or no polish?

Original condition,

don't touch it, sell it dirty.

You sell it dirty, people know that it's original, they know it's come straight out of a clearance.

For some reason, it gives them that same strange confidence to bid that little bit more.

Good luck with the sale.

You've got to get on the rostrum. I'm going to find that hot coffee pot.

-There's some nice cakes as well!

-Come on, then.

-Take care, cheers.

The two Johns weren't the only ones who recognised the quality of that pot.

The bidders went absolutely wild for it.

And it ended up selling for £1,000.

So will they still be feeling as generous when they see Val's pair of Art Nouveau spelter lamps?

I wonder.

-Where did this come from?

-I got them because I liked them.

-Are you done with them now?

-I'm done with them, yes.

I've had lots of pleasure out of them.

-Condition wise, will they need anything doing to them?

-Yes, there's paint on the leads.

HE LAUGHS

I knew that. I was wondering if you were going to tell me!

We can we can live with a little bit of paint on the flex.

We're looking for £50-70.

There they are.

20. 30, 40.

50. Your bid, sir, at 50.

At £50.

60, I'll take.

At £50.

Your bid, sir. 60, the lady. 70. 80.

80. 90. 90.

£100. At £90.

A bit uneven at 90. 100, if you want it.

There's the bid, then, selling.

At £90.

-£90. That was all right.

-Yes, that's good.

They nearly went for the 50.

-Then they went on again. Great work by the auctioneer.

-Yep.

-It looks like the paint on the electrical flex didn't deter anybody!

-No, it didn't!

It certainly didn't.

That was an absolutely fabulous result.

Val's next lot is her bisque-headed dolls,

including one by the famous turn-of-the-century Russian doll maker, Armand Marseille.

Now, down to your sharp eye,

you brought it to my attention that these dolls have been lotted up differently

-to how we saw them in the house.

-Yes.

OK. We've had a word with the auctioneers.

They've had interest in them. And they're confident we're going to get our money regardless.

We're not going to swap them around

because that could cause confusion with any successful bidder.

Hopefully, we're going to hit our target. The first lot coming up,

-£100-150 was our estimate.

-OK.

Including one by Armand Marseille, the magic name.

Start me 100?

Start me 50?

50, 60, 70, 80. 90. 100.

20, 40, 60.

180. 200.

200, the lady's bid.

200, there's my bidder.

At £200.

Your bid, the hammer's up.

I'm selling at £200.

Wow. £200.

Are you happy with that?

Ooh! Yes! SHE LAUGHS

She's ecstatic, and no wonder.

That was a truly terrific result.

So how will her second lot do here?

It's just one rag doll.

Not in the best of conditions.

But it is by Armand Marseille yet again.

Now, we've got £70-90.

The auctioneers are confident it's going to sell for that.

-How do you feel?

-I hope she does!

That's all I can say.

For you, it's more a case of the money,

-we're not worried unless that makes that money?

-Yes.

OK, let's hope it does.

20, 30.

40, 50, 60.

My bidder. At £60.

70, I'll take. Yours at 70, sir.

At 70, there's my bid.

At £70.

80, I'm looking for. At 70.

It's had its time, then. Your bid, sir.

Selling at £70.

429.

Well pleased, I didn't think it was going to make that.

And 200 for our other lot.

-We've done all right.

-We've done all right.

-Are you happy?

-Yes.

-Good.

-Yeah, brilliant.

Yep, brilliant. Another great result,

and Val is absolutely delighted.

Actually, I'm equally pleased for her.

Now it's the turn of her 1920s Japanese teapot,

in the shape of an elephant.

Now, why are you laughing?

SHE GIGGLES Because it's just a funny teapot.

-Where did it come from?

-I bought it on holiday.

My other half says, "You're not bringing that home!" I said, "Yes, I am."

-It's a wonder how you got it home in one piece. You must have wrapped it up well.

-I did.

OK. We want £20-30 for it.

It's novel.

And it's 20th century.

But, as long as it gives us £20, we don't care.

No, I don't mind, no. It can go.

Start me, £10 bid.

I'll take 12. 12. 15, 18.

20. Five.

30. Five.

£30, your bid, sir.

At £30, against the lady.

There's my bidder,

and selling at £30. 27.

£30.

-That's the best one yet, I think.

-We hit the top estimate...

-Absolutely.

-..on the item we were least expecting to do it.

-Yeah, but well pleased.

It just goes to show you the unpredictable nature

of the auction world.

They were all laughing at it at the beginning,

and it got the top of the estimate.

And that just leaves two more lots - both jewellery.

We've got five nine-carat gold brooches, and three yellow metal brooches.

Now, if I remember rightly,

I was convinced some of the others I've described as yellow metal were gold.

But, because we couldn't chemically test them, I left it at that.

So, maybe they've be looked at here.

We've got £30-50.

I'm confident it's going to make at least their estimate.

If it makes a bit more, then those others were gold. Let's see.

The brooches, £20?

20 bid.

Five I'll take. 25.

30. Five. 40.

£40, second row.

At £40.

The bid's in the second row.

Make no mistake,

selling at £40.

240.

OK, £40 for that lot.

-The middle of our estimate. Are you happy with that?

-Yeah, that's OK.

It would be nice if it had done more. But, you know, that's how it goes.

It sure is, but that wasn't a bad result at all.

And so to the final lot.

That wonderful mixed box of micro mosaic brooches,

other costume jewellery, plus some silver pieces.

How are you feeling about this?

I'd just like to know how the auctioneer's going to introduce it.

There's so many things in that box.

They've been on view here today and for a couple of days prior to that.

You can rest assured that the cabinet where the items will have been

would have had a crowd around it.

And the people interested in that sort of thing would have gone through that box

-with a fine-tooth comb, and will know exactly what's in there.

-That's fine then.

So don't worry about that.

We worry that it's going to make £100-200, all right?

Yes, fingers crossed.

I'm 50 bid. 75.

100 bid.

At £100.

I'll take 10 now.

And £100. 10 anybody?

Fair warning, then.

Selling at £100. Your bid.

-We got our bottom estimate of £100.

-Yeah.

-I was secretly hoping for a bit more.

-So was I.

But it sold, and it goes towards our target. So, £100 that we got.

-Slightly disappointing. But at least it's not unsold.

-No.

Maybe it didn't make more because it reached £100 so easily and quickly.

Perhaps if it had started low and slowly worked its way up,

I reckon they'd be happier.

What's the saying? "The harder the struggle, the more glorious triumph."

And so, over to John to tell us how much Val has made overall.

-Your target was £400.

-Yes.

-You were looking for a chair?

-A chair, yes.

-Have you spotted one?

-Yes, I have.

You have? OK.

How do you think we've done?

-Around 400?

-We've had some ups and downs, haven't we?

-Yeah.

OK, well...

Do they do these chairs in pairs?

-HE LAUGHS

-No?

If they do, you can get one, because you've actually got £805.

Wow! Yeah, I'm well pleased.

-Are you surprised?

-Yes, I'm very, very surprised, yes.

Very surprised. I can buy a few more things now.

And are you going to go traditional or modern?

-Modern.

-Modern!

-With a few antiques about.

-Ah, OK.

-Well, OK. I hope we'll you see you at the auction rooms buying some bits then.

-Yes, I may well do that.

When we first met Val, she told us that she plans to downsize,

and she'd like a new armchair that would fit in very nicely with her smaller house.

So she's come out today to decide which chair she's going to go for.

-I like that one.

-Do you like the stripey wine?

-Yeah, I think that's lovely.

-That's really nice.

I'm quite short, so I'll get a small little chair to go in the corner.

Something bright and cheerful.

I've gone for something a bit brighter.

I've gone for a cranberries and beige striped colour.

So I've got lots of other colours I can mix in my room, cushions, curtains,

for when I downsize.

Jack will like a new chair. He can't wait to get on it, no doubt!