Rowland Cash in the Attic

Hello. It's good to have you with us here on Cash In The Attic,

the programme that helps people turn antiques and collectables

into something else rather special.

Today, I'm with a couple who are giving up their life here in Wales

to move to an island in Scotland.

Coming up on Cash In The Attic -

is our expert Paul giving us an idea of how he used to treat his toys?

It's one of those toys that you could throw off a quarry or downstairs,

it would always survive.

'And I reveal that I still haven't outgrown mine.'

-Well, I talk to my teddy bear, you see, so...

-Do you really?

-Yes, yes.

Look at the look on their faces.

At auction, Paul and I swap roles for a change.

So they called time on it then, did they?

-Very good.

-He normally does the jokes, not me.

-Yeah, well.

Will we still be smiling when the hammer finally falls?

Today, I'm in Flintshire in North Wales,

with a husband and wife who really are quite prepared

to usher out the old and bring in the new.

Annette and Nigel Rowland are very keen on wildlife

and can enjoy watching much of it

from their idyllic countryside home not far from Chester.

They moved here 25 years ago when it was derelict

and Nigel has done most of the work to bring it to its finished state.

But now they want to leave their beautiful house

and that's the reason that we've been called in.

Joining me is Paul Hayes, who was born into the antiques trade,

and I have an inkling he could be busy here today.

-Oh, hi.

-Nice to meet you.

-Hi, you two, hi.

We've just been admiring your wonderful garden, Paul and I.

It's fabulous. So who's the gardener here?

My husband's the gardener.

Ah. You did this professionally, Nigel?

-Yes, I'm a qualified landscape gardener.

-Oh, right.

You made a fabulous job of it and you did all the house, as well.

Yeah, most of the house.

Well, you want to go and have a wander, don't you?

I'll watch these beams, though. They're quite low. I'll make a start.

We'll catch up with Paul later.

Why have you called in Cash In The Attic?

Well, we're going to move to the Orkney Islands,

so we're looking for money for modern furniture

because everything here is in period with the house.

And how old is the house?

This house was built in 1640

and we're going up to the Orkney Islands and it was built in 1994.

What sort of money are you looking for?

Well, if we could get about £400. Anything over £400 would be a bonus.

Nigel and Annette must streamline all the stuff they've collected

over a happy 43 years of marriage.

Their son Lee and his two teenage boys have selected what they want to keep,

so the rest has to go.

-Ah, now then.

-There you go - toys for the boys, Annette.

-Can't keep them away from them.

-This is fantastic, isn't it?

-It's a Tonka toy?

-Yeah.

-Blimey, it's enormous.

-Where did this come from?

-I bought it when my son was about five

and he had it for a Christmas present.

-So how long ago was that?

-My son's nearly 43.

-Yeah.

But I'm afraid we've been very naughty.

I think for the last 20 years, it's been outside in the dairy.

-Oh, right!

-So I'm glad you found it.

-OK.

-But Tonka's quite a name, isn't it?

-Yeah, it's a popular brand of toy.

Having it in the dairy wouldn't have made any difference whatsoever.

These are indestructible.

As a kid, you could throw it off a quarry, throw it downstairs,

it will always survive.

-Are we getting a glimpse of the Paul Hayes childhood here?

-We are.

-These are highly collectable and this is quite a rare example.

-Good.

And it's a fire engine. Every little boy wants to be a fireman.

-That's the way it is.

-So what do you reckon? What sort of price would you put on this?

If I said sort of £40-£60 as an auction estimate.

-Oh, smashing.

-It could set the auction alight.

-Good.

-Not literally.

-Oh!

-A no-no joke.

Paul has obviously started as he means to go on.

Meanwhile, Nigel wonders whether this blue and white pottery

would bring in much at auction.

They've collected 18 pieces over the years.

Some are Victorian but most are from the 20th century.

The pattern is an Asiatic pheasant and the estimate is £50-£80.

-Annette, these are very, very pretty.

-Oh, yes.

Aren't these lovely? Where did these come from?

-They came from my grandma's.

-So, did your gran have flowers in them?

They're beautiful silver vases.

No, they were just kept for any bits and bobs that people didn't know what to do with.

-What have you used them for?

-Well, nothing.

To be honest, they were in the garage for about ten years.

-In the garage?

-They're only aluminium or something.

They're not aluminium because in there I can see a hallmark.

I think this is solid silver.

-I think we should get Paul to take a look at these. Paul?

-Yes?

I've got something here that I think you are going to love.

Are they silver or silver plated?

The hallmark's in the middle of all that lovely work there.

There we go. That's fantastic.

What we've got, we've got a set of three marks, here.

That main one to look for is the lion passant.

Can you see the big lion there? Sideways on, passant. That tells me it's solid silver.

Then we have a date letter and that's a Gothic G,

so the letter G in this case is 1899.

Wow, that's certainly an age, isn't it?

-These will do quite well at auction, won't they?

-They're always popular.

What I love about them is the embossed work.

This has all been done by hand.

-What if I said 60 to 80, to give them a real chance?

-That would be great.

And when they get to the sale room,

will it be exciting news?

-And I can start straight in at £85.

-SHE GASPS

-Wow!

-That's fantastic.

But we'll have to wait a bit longer to see how high the bidders are prepared to go.

As the search of Nigel and Annette's lovely house continues,

Paul has come across three small wooden boxes

which belonged to Annette's grandmother.

One of them is a jewellery box with a maple finish.

He gives them an auction estimate of £20-£40 for all three.

In the garage, Nigel has uncovered three old books.

There's a French Red Cross picture book which belonged to Annette's mother.

The other two were given to Nigel.

One is a map of England and Wales from 1903

and the other is the Book Of Days antiquities from 1854,

a kind of 19th-century version of Trivial Pursuit.

The estimate for that lot is £20-£40.

-Paul?

-Mm-hm.

-What do you think of this? Is this anything?

Let's have a look. Ah, jewellery. Is this something that you bought?

-No, no. It was my mother's...

-OK.

-..who said it was from her mother.

Whether it went further back again, I'm not too sure

but it's been in the family for a long time.

Well, judging by the style, this is dead Victorian, 1870, 1900.

-Would that fit in?

-Yes, that would fit in.

Right, well, I can tell you straight away this is nine carat.

The Victorians were obsessed with allegorical symbols,

so you've got the crescent shape, here - can you see that?

You can have star-shaped brooches, or the sun.

The stones in there are a seed pearl, that's the smaller one,

-and an amethyst. That's very purple.

-Oh, right, yes.

The four precious stones are diamonds, emeralds,

rubies and sapphires.

-Yes.

-Anything other than that is semiprecious, so amethyst is semiprecious.

It's in good condition and if I said between £40-£60,

-how does that sound?

-That would be fine.

So far, going by Paul's lowest estimates,

we stand to make £230.

The perfect time for a little break, I think.

Annette and Nigel, this is such a delightful, cosy little cottage.

Why on earth do you want to leave here and go and live in Orkney?

Well, we've always holidayed up there for at least 35 years.

We've always said that we'd like to live there

and we decided a few years ago that if we don't do it now,

we will never do it, so we bought a property up there three years ago.

So unfortunately, we have got to sell this place.

Holidaying is one thing. You're going to live there.

Annette, what's the attraction?

It's just a lot better way of life.

It's a lot more quieter, everybody's got time for you.

It's like going back about 20 or 30 years.

We like the sea, as well, so from the bungalow

you can just look out the window and just see the sea

and there's always something happening.

And we just love wildlife, as well. We've got lots here

but it's a different kind up there.

Quite often you see killer whales.

There are tens of thousands of seabirds.

Lovely big seabird colonies. It's a wildlife haven, really.

And that's what attracted us to it, originally.

We're hoping we're going to raise at least £400

for new furniture for your new home

and I do think we've left Mr Hayes on his own for long enough.

-Shall we go and see what he's up to?

-OK, then.

-Come on, then, Nigel.

Well, I thought this house was rural

but on Orkney, that's taking it to the extreme.

So where did these two come from?

We bought those about 30 to 35 years ago

at a little place in mid Wales called Barmouth at an auction room.

OK, these are King Charles spaniels.

-They're called comforter dogs. Have you heard that expression?

-No.

Apparently, King Charles had a spaniel similar to this one

and they started to make models that would go next to a fireplace

-and they would add comfort - the dog was a friend of the family.

-Yes.

But the idea was they would go either side of a mantelpiece.

They were always a pair.

That's how they're supposed to look, either side of a mantelpiece.

These are definitely 19th century.

They have a very small air hole in the back here.

-You've got one as well, yeah?

-Yeah.

-That tells me...

They add that so it doesn't collapse in the kiln as it's being fired.

The more modern versions were made a lot thinner

-and they have a large hole underneath.

-Yes.

By having that small air hole at the back,

-I'd say these were sort of 1860 to 1900, the late 19th century.

-Yes.

But these russet ones are the most popular, really,

and you can say quite a bit for these now, sort of £80-£120.

-How does that sound?

-It's cheaper than getting a proper dog.

The house used to be a small farm with eight cow stalls

and Annette is heading out to what used to be the dairy.

Inside, she spots an old wall clock.

It's Art Deco in design and was made in the 1930s.

It belonged to her aunt, who bought it to go with the decor of her house at the time.

The estimate for auction is £20-£40.

And I've come across a small porcelain doll

that may once have belonged to Annette's grandmother.

It's from the 19th century

and has a mark on it of a Paris doll maker, SFBJ.

Annette had no idea of the doll's existence

until after her mother died

and she gets an estimate of £20-£40 on it.

Where's this big fella come from, then?

Is this something you had as a child? Where's he come from?

No, it was bought by one of my aunties,

when they were on holiday in Austria, for her sister.

They kept it for a number of years

and then they gave it to me to give to my son

-when he was about five or six.

-Right, OK.

-So what age are you looking, then? 1960s?

-Yes. Early '60s.

Right, OK. It's really difficult with these teddy bears

because there are lots of manufacturers of teddy bears.

-Do you know why they're called teddy bears?

-No.

-Do you know about Teddy Roosevelt?

-Yes, yes.

Well, in the 19th century, he was on a hunting trip

and he refused to shoot a bear cub

and it became a massive story at the time

and it became known as Teddy's bear and that's where it comes from.

If this was going to auction as an unknown manufacturer,

I could say at least £100-£150

but how do you think your son would feel about that?

I think he might hang onto it for that amount of money.

-I'll put it into our target for today...

-Yes.

..and if he doesn't end up at the auction, we'll all understand.

Shall we tell the others? Nigel, Angela?

Now, we've got quite a find here, a wonderful teddy bear.

Oh, isn't he fantastic?

He is, but we're not sure if he's going to auction yet.

-So we're going to wait on a decision on this one.

-Yes.

We'll say £100 for the sake of our target

-but see what happens on the day.

-But it might make more,

-if indeed you actually come to the auction.

-Exactly.

I hope we're going to see you there.

-I talk to my teddy bear, you see.

-Do you really?

-Yes.

-Oh.

Yes. Look at the look on their faces. Yes, I talk to my teddy bear.

But £100, you say, for him?

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

to the lowest estimate on everything else that Paul has seen today.

We should be able to make £450

but some of those things you've got are so pretty

that we could make a lot more than that.

You could be having a great day buying new furniture for the house.

And I can't wait to see how the auction goes when we take everything that we've found today,

including that vintage American 1950s Tonka fire engine.

Will it cause a spark of interest with its estimate of £40-£60?

And there's the pair of 19th century Staffordshire

King Charles spaniels, which they bought at auction 30 years ago.

We're hoping they'll bring in between £80-£120.

And what about those silver vases that Annette thought were aluminium?

They're Victorian and should sell for at least £60 on the day.

Still to come on Cash In The Attic,

maybe it's a good thing, keeping one's antiques out in the garage.

I think the fact that they haven't been polished every day

has kept them in that pristine condition.

And Annette confesses what she was going to do

with the illustrations in one of their old books.

I'm sorry to say this, but I thought about cutting them out.

Will she be glad that she didn't when the hammer finally falls?

Well, it's been quite a few weeks since we've joined those wildlife enthusiasts Nigel and Annette

at their very beautiful cottage in North Wales.

Today, they're joining us here at Cuttlestones auction house

in Staffordshire,

where hopefully, the bidders are really going to be enthusiastic

when their items go under the hammer.

We're a few miles south of the county town of Stafford

in the village of Penkridge.

This auction house used to specialise in agricultural pieces

but now they sell all sorts of antiques and collectables -

good news for Annette and Nigel.

-Hi, Annette.

-Good morning. How are you?

-Who are you?

-I'm Angela.

-Two Angelas.

-Nice to meet you.

-Hello.

-Lovely to see you, but where's Nigel?

-He's still on the island.

-What's he doing?

-He's shutting the bungalow down for the wind and rain that's supposed to be coming,

force nine, force eleven gales that are forecast.

Right, so we're without him today but we've got you to help.

And I see you're taking a last look at this wonderful fire truck.

-It is an amazing piece, isn't it?

-It's a great toy.

It's a toy that hasn't survived in large numbers.

They are very collectable, so we are going to look after this with a reserve.

-A small reserve, yes.

-What's the reserve you put on it?

-We put £40 on it.

-£40. Hopefully, it'll get more than that.

Have you put a reserve on anything else?

Just on the silver vases that were in the garage.

Yes. And that's it, yes.

We've seen them, they look lovely, all cleaned up, they look nice.

We're hoping for good things for those.

One thing Annette forgot to mention is that she decided not to sell the large teddy bear,

as it has just too much sentimental value.

But that means we're £100 down before we even start,

so let's just hope that we can make that up today on the other lots.

Annette, just remind me about the clock that's coming up now,

the 1930s Art Deco clock. Where did that come from?

That belonged to one of my aunties and uncles.

When they left the house that my mum and I moved into,

they just left it on the wall and said, you know, "You can have it. We don't want it."

So they called time on it, then, did they?

Very good one.

-He usually does the jokes, not me.

-Yeah, well...

No joke on the price, though, £20-£40, Paul.

Yeah, it should be OK, actually.

It's clockwork, it's Art Deco, it's 1930s.

People have gone for more of a minimalist look, now.

Start this off at a tenner. £10 in.

£10, £10. Any advance on £10, then?

12, sir, on the right-hand side.

-14, 16. Book's out at £16.

-Oh, no.

Any advance on £16 on this clock?

18, 20.

-You're up to 20. Good.

-Walks round to have a look. 22? Says no.

-That's the going rate for them.

-22.

Any advance on £22, then?

It's got a lovely chime.

-Sold, then.

-Oh!

-That is the going rate for them at the moment.

-Yeah.

It's a shame that it didn't get a little bit more

but it wasn't your classic Art Deco look that most people recognise.

Now, Annette, we've got this very pretty brooch coming up.

Was this yours or one that you inherited?

It's one that was given to me by my mother.

It's got the amethyst and the seed pearls, which represent rebirth, new beginnings.

Victorian jewellery is always popular,

so this should be at least £40.

OK, here it goes.

-And I have a bid here of £18.

-18 and we're in. Come on.

£18 on the brooch, there. £18. Any advance on £18, then?

-For the gold brooch.

-Oh, no.

-No?

-Goodness.

20, 22, 24, 26...

28, 30? Says no.

£30 on the book, here.

-Any further interest at 30?

-That is really affordable.

-I can't sell that.

-He's not selling it.

-That hasn't sold.

That's a real surprise, that,

because gold's doing really well at the moment

and that's a nice one.

Oh, well. At least it didn't sell for less than it was worth.

Next, it's the collection of blue and white pottery

that Annette has collected over the years, but never used.

Selling for £40...

GAVEL BANGS

Let's hope it's gone to someone who will fully appreciate and use it.

I saw quite a lot of gentlemen taking a look at that Tonka toy.

-Right.

-Yes. And I'm sure it's...

It's always difficult to tell

whether it's grown men reliving their childhood

-or looking for something for the grandchildren.

-Mm. This is it.

It's where the market is at the moment.

It's 1950s, there's nothing antique about it, it's a bit of retro,

a bit of nostalgia for somebody.

We're looking after this with a reserve of £40.

-I hope it's not coming back.

-You'd rather see it go, would you?

-Yes.

-I would.

-OK.

I can start this in at £16 on the toy there.

-Is that all?

-16 on the phone. 16, 16.

Any interest? Any advance on £16?

18, 20. 22.

-24.

-We want about 40.

26, 28. Next one takes it. £30.

-Bidding's out at £30, then.

-30.

-Any advance on £30, then?

No?

-GAVEL BANGS

-We can't move it at that, I'm afraid.

Oh, dear, Annette didn't want to take that back with her

but the toy collectors obviously aren't here today.

So what will that mean for the 19th-century porcelain doll?

Annette found it when she was clearing her mother's house.

Selling for £30, then.

GAVEL BANGS

Bang in the middle of Paul's estimate.

That's a pretty good result.

We're just over halfway through the sale of Annette's lots

and so far she's made just £92 towards the cost

of new furniture for their house in Orkney.

If you'd like to raise money by selling at auction,

do remember that fees such as commission are added to your bill.

It's best to check these in advance,

as they do vary from one sale room to another.

Next up are those silver vases

that Annette thought were made of aluminium.

Bearing in mind that you had these little flower vases

in the shed originally,

now they're here, they look very, very nice indeed.

-Do you wish you'd had them in the house before?

-I don't know.

-Possibly, because they are really nice, aren't they?

-They're lovely.

They've cleaned up beautiful and you can see all the roses on them.

I think the fact that they haven't been polished every day

has kept them in pristine condition.

-I have one, two, three commission bids.

-Oh!

-Commission bids.

I can start this straight in at £85.

-SHE GASPS Wow!

-That's fantastic.

88, 90.

Says no. £90 with me. Any advance on 90, then?

-Up, up!

-I'll take two if it helps.

92, 94.

-96.

-Great.

-Come on.

-Book's out at 96.

-Excellent.

-Any advance on £96?

-Just another four. Another four.

£96. Far away left. And selling...

-GAVEL BANGS

-£96.

-96.

-There you go. Is that a good result?

-Very good.

-Good.

£96. Just think, £96 worth sitting out in the shed all that time.

-With the mice.

-With the mice!

-I wonder if they appreciated it?

-They'd be very posh mice.

At last, a really terrific result.

I wonder if we'll be able to repeat it

with the three antique boxes?

One has a maple finish, and they all belonged to Annette's mother.

-Do you keep things in boxes, Angela?

-I love wooden boxes.

-I've got a collection myself.

-You have?

-Yes.

-There you go.

-So do you remember these boxes?

-I didn't get chance to look at them.

-No, I didn't show her those.

-I might have kept them.

And I can start this in at £16.

-Oh, that's good.

-Come on. That's good.

-20, 22.

-Above our lowest estimate.

26, 28.

30, 32, 34,

36, 38, 40.

-Says no. £40 with me.

-Go on.

You did empty your jewellery box, didn't you?

-I'm going to sell for 40.

-GAVEL BANGS

Yes, we did it again.

The second half of the auction is certainly making up

for the earlier disappointments.

Our penultimate lot today is the three old books.

Two are Nigel's and one was Annette's mother's.

I used to look at the Red Cross one, I know, when I was young,

because the etchings are really nice inside the book.

At one time, I'm sorry to say this, but I thought about cutting them out.

Well, do you know, people do. Thank goodness you didn't

but there we are.

I can start this straight in at £30.

-Wow.

-There you go!

£30. Any advance? 32.

34, 36, 38.

-Great. They like these, don't they?

-Yes.

40. Any advance on £40, then?

42. £42. Selling for £42, then.

-GAVEL BANGS

-There you go.

-Isn't it nice to know that people value those old books

-because of the history that they contain?

-That's right.

-Are you pleased?

-Yes, I am.

-Good.

I expect that those beautiful intact illustrations

by Edmund Dulac had something to do with our success there.

I think these King Charles spaniels probably feel they've come home

because we've got two Staffordshire King Charles spaniels now.

-Are these things that you bought?

-Yes. We did buy these, yes.

-Yes.

It must have been, oh, 30, 35 years ago.

-We're hoping for between £80-£120.

-We are.

However, I have a confession. I had a chat to the auctioneer.

He's not as optimistic as I am but let's see how we go.

Starting these at £40, on the spaniels. Any interest at £40?

On the spaniels on my right.

-£40 showing.

-Not doing so well here.

44, 46, 48, 50.

And five. 60.

-Bidding's out at £60 on my right-hand side.

-60.

So £60 showing there. Any advance on £60?

Selling for 60...

Yes, sir. 1937.

-So it didn't quite make your lowest estimate, Paul.

-No.

20 below.

-20 below sounds like the temperature today, actually.

-Freezing!

-We had originally hoped to make £400.

-Yes, yes.

Bearing in mind that there are two no-sales,

I hope you'll be pleased to know that you have actually made £330.

Wow, that's really good, isn't it? I thought it would be less than that.

-Well, there you go. £330...

-Right.

-..to help towards the move

up to the new house - we wish you lots of happiness.

I hope you remember the fun you had with us on Cash In The Attic.

-We've really enjoyed it, haven't we?

-It was super.

-Great.

The money that Nigel and Annette have raised

is to buy new furniture for their modern house on Orkney.

We've managed to purchase some of the furniture that we want.

Because we're going to be spending more time outside,

the furniture that we bought was oak, a table and chairs,

so as regards sitting around, we won't be doing very much of it.

I find it difficult at home or when I go there to sit down.

I just like to be out and about.

I wouldn't mind getting involved with the local whale-watching groups

and that sort of thing.

When they finally move out of their beautiful farmhouse in Wales,

they'll be sad to leave behind all the wildlife

but there'll be plenty more to see on Orkney and they'll have Bertie, their dog, too.

Bertie's a five-year-old Staffordshire bull terrier.

He needs all the exercise and activity he can get,

so that's another way that I'll be spending my time,

looking after Bertie and making sure he gets his exercise.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd