Famous Connections - Part 2 Flog It: Trade Secrets

Stand by for some more inside information

from the Flog It! experts.

We've got a wealth of experience from over ten years of valuing

antiques and collectables.

So, if there is something you need to know, you can find it right here,

on Trade Secrets.

In today's show,

we're exploring how famous events can affect an item's value.

Coming up - some collectables relating to famous events

get our experts hot under the collar.

Phyllis, I'm so excited to see all this.

My heart begins to pound, I think, "We've got something special!"

Charlie discovers that appearances can be deceptive.

I just thought it was a ghastly tea service, to be perfectly honest,

and it was only when I turned a piece up that I realised

the historical importance of it.

And we find out what difference provenance can make.

Now, if this was early 20th century, it would be worth

a few or several hundred pounds.

But because of the provenance, it's probably worth £20,000.

Well, they say you never forget where you were

when you heard about a major event.

The moon landings, for instance, or the death of a notable person.

Now, sometimes, these events are a good excuse to go out and collect

associated memorabilia, which become quite valuable in their own right.

Just think of the huge amounts of money

paid by the collectors for Titanic memorabilia.

So, which events, past or present, are the ones to look out for?

You know when you think back, and you remember

where you were when something happened?

I think, for me, that's when you realise

that somebody great has died

or something important has happened in world history.

When a centenary or bicentenary of a certain event comes round,

you tend to see a peak in the prices of items associated with that event.

The collectable items are the items with the mistakes on,

or the changes in dates.

For example, Prince Charles and his second wedding to Camilla -

there were two dates. Can we remember why the date was changed?

The Pope had died.

Therefore, we had to move the wedding a few weeks later.

So, the first date is always collectable.

Without question, anything to do with Nelson

and the Battle of Trafalgar went wild at the bicentenary.

For me, the next big one - Battle of Waterloo.

Bicentenary 2015, anything to do with the Duke of Wellington,

if you've got anything in the cupboards, bring it out in 2015.

Back in 2005, Mark Stacey found an item

which commemorated the death of a very great Brit.

What can I say about Admiral Lord Nelson?

He was the superstar of his day.

What an interesting item you've brought in to show us!

It's a very interesting box.

This year, particularly, because it's a little brass box

made to commemorate the death of Admiral Lord Nelson,

after the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

And, of course, it's the bicentenary this year,

so if you're going to sell something with Nelson memorabilia, this is the year to sell it.

Nelson saved Britain.

His publicity machine was fantastic.

I mean, at his funeral they had entry tickets only.

The man was a legend in his day.

But what I like about it is that it's very nicely made.

We have a portrait of Lord Nelson,

and then we have a nice, classical Greek key border going around.

And then on the bottom, we have "conqueror"

and then the various battles -

Copenhagen, as well as Trafalgar, of course.

'The Battle of Trafalgar was a definitive moment'

in the battle against Napoleon.

Sadly, Lord Nelson died in that battle,

which really created a superhero.

And, of course, a lot of items would have been made

to commemorate both the battle and Lord Nelson.

I think we should put a conservative estimate on it,

and a wide estimate of £100 to £200.

150, 160.

At 160. 170. 180.

190. At 190. 190 with me now.

200. 210. 220.

At 220 in the room now. 220.

Are you all done now at 220?

-Happy?

-Yes.

'Everything proved right on the day, didn't it?'

It was a lovely object.

The bicentenary of the death of Nelson.

The two items coming together helped create a magical result.

If you have an item at home that commemorates an important

historical event, choose carefully the best time to sell it.

Pick an important anniversary, if possible.

Back in 2007, James found some tickets

from a very special American event.

Entrance to the opening of the Statue of Liberty.

I mean, you don't get more of an iconic symbol of the US than that.

We've cleared stuff out and dumped it in the roof and never looked at it.

This hasn't been opened until about February this year, wasn't it?

How on earth did it arrive in their attic without anyone knowing it?

And then, with it, this wonderful history of George Washington

and the Brooklyn Bridge in an envelope together.

This is the invitation to the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge

-and the Statue of Liberty.

-It's dated, you see.

1883 there, for the Brooklyn Bridge.

And 1886 for the opening of the Statue of Liberty.

The people of France gifted the Statue of Liberty to the US.

It was designed by Frenchman Frederic Auguste Bartholdi.

The Brooklyn Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world,

and was seen as an engineering marvel of its day when it opened.

It says "The trustees of the New York and Brooklyn Bridge

"request the honour of the presence of Mr Daniel Huntington."

-Was that a relative?

-No. Not as far as we know.

-Is that the same man as that on there?

-That's Huntington, isn't it?

Ah, well, now, this chap...

General Huntington was one of George Washington's generals

-in the War of Independence.

-Was he?

And we're going through this, and it says,

"Sample of George Washington's hair."

My heart begins to pound. I think, "We've got something special!"

Little piece of paper here that says, "Hair of General Washington.

"The very string, ribbon that had bound his hair."

And it's empty. Oh, no!

The floor fell away.

Where's the hair?

It's been in the roof all these years.

-Whether it's disintegrated, I don't know.

-Oh, blimey.

If only that had been there,

it would have been just one of the most important

'Flog it! moments ever.'

Now, as a collection without the hair, it's going to be worth

£300-400, something like that.

-As long as the right people know about it.

-Yes.

Do you want to know what it would be worth if you can find the hair?

-Go on, go on.

-This might inspire you to go into your attic.

-Somewhere between £7,000 and £10,000.

-Well, I'm blowed!

Really? As much as...?

-It's worth a grovel.

-Yes.

Unfortunately, despite having a good rummage,

Vera and Michael were unable to unearth

the former US President's hair.

240. 260. 240 here, then. 260 anywhere?

At 240, all done, then. At £240, all finished.

240.

I thought it was going to fly, but thank God it didn't sell, really,

because I think it was the wrong place, wrong time.

We're not worried, Paul. We really wanted to get on your programme.

Aww!

We've enjoyed every moment.

'If Vera and Michael still have those tickets,

'I don't think they'll regret it.

'The market has changed so much since live internet bidding.'

I can't think for one minute that those tickets will end up staying in the UK.

They'll end up selling online to an American collector,

or an American dealer, and they will make double, at least,

what they failed to sell for before.

If you are selling an item with international appeal,

make sure your auction house has an online catalogue.

To get the best price, you'll need to attract global bidders.

Charlie didn't have this problem when he found some china

with appeal close to home.

On the face of it, Hazel, this is incredibly boring.

'I had not attached the importance'

to this item when I first saw it. I just thought

it was a ghastly tea service, to be perfectly honest.

It was only when I turned a piece up

that I realised the historical importance of it.

So if we have a look at the bottom of one of these pieces

it will tell us about it, won't it?

It does say Cunard White Star under there.

Tell me where you got it from.

-It's from the Queen Mary.

-Yeah.

-The old Queen Mary.

-The old Queen Mary.

-And it was acquired somewhere along the line,

and came into the family.

I like the word "acquired".

-When the Queen Mary actually went out of commission...

-Yes.

..certain parts and pieces left the ship

before she went to be in America.

Cunard, one of the most famous shipping lines of all time,

was started by a Canadian in the first half of the 19th century.

And its flagship later on was the Queen Mary,

which had an extraordinary career.

It was launched, I think, in 1936.

Soon after that, of course, the War came,

and it was used as a troopship carrier.

Then it went back into service as an oceangoing liner

and ended up, of course, in California.

So it's had an extraordinary career, and to find something

that had come directly from that ship is really quite exciting.

The Queen Mary was kitted out in 1936. This was done for first class.

So, it's the poshest of the posh Cunard.

I suspect that when it finally was decommissioned and sold off,

they probably kept a lot of the items on board,

because now it's more or less a floating museum in California

and it wouldn't be a proper museum without the items there.

So I don't think there's that many things that have

hit the market from the Queen Mary.

If we look at one or two of these pieces, I'm afraid...

-It's well cracked.

-Cracked.

-Rough voyage.

-Bad waiter.

HE LAUGHS

Bad waiter or a rough journey. How much?

Well, I'm supposed to be a valuer, but I haven't got a clue.

I would say to you, I'd be very surprised

if it got up to £100 and would expect, out of interest,

if it's catalogued properly, £40-£60.

Here we go. For this lot, shall we start at £10?

Interesting little lot for collectors.

-Five, 40, sir.

-Look, we've got 40.

45, 50. 60. Five. 70.

-80.

-This is good.

-Five.

90. Five.

100. And 10.

120. 130.

140.

150. No.

-£140 near me. Against you on the back... Going at 140. I sell.

-140.

The hammer's gone down.

I think there's only one answer to the question,

"Why did it make so much money?"

The estimate was wrong. I think I got it wrong.

Because I didn't know enough about it I erred on the conservative side

and I think 100-150 would have been a better estimate.

Don't be so hard on yourself, Charlie.

It was a lot of money for a few cracked plates and cups.

I think there's no doubt that if this had come on the market

without the provenance of the Cunard line,

it would have been worth £10 or £12, probably.

You should never underestimate the lure of buying into a piece

of glamorous history.

The Queen Mary was the fastest and the best,

and people have a great affection

for this wonderful liner.

Phyllis, I'm so excited to see all this stuff,

because the Queen Mary was Clyde-built - a bit like myself -

and, of course, the Queen Mary sailed

from this part of the world all over the place.

Now, tell me, where did you get this stuff?

My brother worked for Cunard line for 34 years

-and he collected it through the years.

-Uh-huh.

He died ten years ago and it's been left to me.

Was a steward?

He was in the stores, he was a steward, in the bar, everything.

The Queen Mary is one of the icons of the 20th century,

and it was the epitome of luxury -

the fitting, the presentation,

the cabins, the furniture that was in it

was of the first quality,

and in the Art Deco style.

And people have a great love and affection for this ship,

which was the first of the great liners.

-Now, who have we got here, Phyllis?

-That's Liberace.

-Liberace.

And we've got his signature.

And we also have the gorgeous Elizabeth Taylor.

And a little later we have Cliff Richard and The Shadows.

And on the back of this, we have autographs of that group.

Is there any sentimental attachment to them, Phyllis?

Not now, cos every time I find them, I have a little weep, you know.

Ah, right.

Phyllis was a wee bit sad when she sold the items.

I think there was a tear in her eye, and I can understand that.

But she had thought about it beforehand,

she had thought about selling it,

and she had felt that to leave them in a drawer, unloved,

uncared for, was not the thing.

She wanted to sell them, to pass them on to a collector.

Would the famous names impress the bidders?

Start me at £200. 200 to start me.

200 I'm bid. 220. 240. 260. 280.

300. 320. 340. 360.

380. 400. 420.

430. 450. 480.

480. The bidding's in front, 480.

At £480, right in front of me.

-Bang! Hammer's gone down.

-Yes!

That's good, isn't it? Thanks very much.

Memorabilia from the Queen Mary

is greatly sought after by the collectors.

What it showed us was a little time capsule of the Queen Mary,

and this would be very appealing for the collectors.

Yes, it's certainly worth keeping your eyes open for items

related to the Queen Mary or the Cunard line.

But what else should you consider when buying or selling antiques

related to famous events?

Items associated with Lord Nelson,

a superstar in his own lifetime, are always popular.

But if you are auctioning a collectable relating to a great Brit,

choose your time carefully.

An anniversary or a centenary will yield a bigger sale price.

Consider who is going to want to buy your famous-related item

and where they are based.

If a potential buyer is transatlantic,

make sure you sell in an auction house that's online.

And, finally, it's always worth exploring your attics

or your cupboards - you never know what you might find.

I've been to many places with famous connections

over my years on Flog It!,

but, arguably, one of the most inspiring landscapes is the Lake District,

where children's author Arthur Ransome

created Swallows And Amazons.

Arthur Ransome was born in Leeds in 1884

and spent three months every summer holiday in the Lakes.

He was a boarder at Old College in Windermere,

where his short-sightedness marked him out as a failure.

So, for him, the holidays were a refuge.

In 1924, after a career as a journalist,

Ransome and his wife settled permanently in the Lakes.

I've come to his former home to meet up with

author and member of the Arthur Ransome Society

Diane Janes to learn more.

What were his passions and interests?

His huge passion in life was fishing.

-Oh, well you're in the right place, aren't you?

-Absolutely.

-You really are.

-Plenty of scope for that round here.

-He also enjoyed sailing...

-Yeah.

..and he kept a small dinghy on Windermere during all his time here.

Did he ever dream that he would be

a successful author at the age of 40?

Well, his hope, ever since childhood, had been to write books

and, in fact, he didn't actually begin Swallows And Amazons

till he'd been here for five years. So he was 45 by then.

-Really?

-So, in a sense, it was rather a make or break moment.

He desperately wanted to get away from the journalism

and actually write children's books.

And his inspiration came in 1928, in an unexpected form

when his old friend, artist and author WG Collingwood,

introduced Ransome to his grandchildren

who were spending the summer with him.

The ensuing friendship with these children -

Susan, Titty, Roger and Tatty -

had a profound effect on Ransome's life.

He took them fishing and helped teach them to sail,

just as their grandfather had taught him, all those years before.

He even bought them two sailing boats - Swallow and Mavis.

Months later, when the children's visit ended,

they came here to Uncle Arthur's workroom,

where they presented him with a goodbye gift -

a pair of Turkish slippers.

In return, Ransome decided to write a story for them

to remind them of their holiday,

and he wrote that story in this very room.

And it was Swallows And Amazons.

And, when it was finished, he decided to dedicate it to,

and it says here,

"The six for whom it was written, in exchange for a pair of slippers."

Can you sum up what you think the most enduring appeal of the books is?

I think one of the reasons that it's been such a success

is that Ransome was an inclusive writer.

The children feel that they're right there in the stories.

You feel you're by the campfire or in the boat.

He's also a very good describer.

You get a real sense of the landscape and the people,

-and children just seem to really enjoy that.

-Lock into that.

-They do.

And children, even now, are still reading them, which is astonishing.

-It is, really, isn't it?

-It's been nearly 80 years in print.

Do you know, I want to be in the book now!

I want to go on an adventure.

Ransome's inspiration came from the beauty and the magic

of this stunning scenery,

and his skill in weaving that into the exciting adventure stories

has ensured the Swallows And Amazons books

have never been out of print.

We talk about provenance a lot on Flog It!,

especially when it comes to relating an item to a famous person or event.

But how do we know if that story's authentic?

Now, sometimes the value of an antique

isn't just the intrinsic worth of the object,

it's the story and the history behind it.

And, of course, we call that provenance.

Now, an easy provenance,

if you've got a written, verifiable history of the object,

you can trace it back through historical documents

and you know its journey and where it started.

Now, this piece of tribal art is a great example.

First of all, stylistically, we know that it is a piece of Benin bronze.

And the Benins, of course, were in what now we call Southern Nigeria.

So, we look at this piece and we wonder,

"Gosh, is it an old piece or is it not? How can we provenance it?"

Well, you start to look at the colour, the patination,

and it's got this wonderful sort of nutty-brown colour and this hue to it.

And we know from the history of these objects

that this is going to take it back beyond 1900.

If it were 20th century, it would have a sort of

brassy, greeny colour to it.

Then we look at one or two other things, as well.

Stylistically, is it correct?

Well, it's of a queen mother

and it would have been used as an altar piece

to give prayer to in, probably, the Benin palace.

Now, if you start to look a little bit closer...

Gosh, this is heavy so you've got to be very careful.

Just very delicately flip it over on its back.

Now, what you want to see is the contours of the interior

match identically the contours of the exterior.

That, again, tells you that it is pre-1900.

And again, we can add it to the provenance of the Benin tribe.

Now, you might be wondering,

"What difference does it make if it's 19th or 20th century?"

Well, with the Benin tribes,

in 1897, we, the British,

to go and teach a lesson to the king of the Benins,

sent troops out there,

and he was arrested and executed and his palace was ransacked.

And items like this were looted and brought back.

So, because of all the patination and the casting,

we know it is from the period of pre-1897,

ie before the palace was ransacked,

and it makes it a very historically important piece.

So, the good tips we've learnt - the patination, the casting,

and know the history of what the object should look like

and what they were used for.

And that 1897 dateline

makes all the difference to the value of an object like this.

Now, if this was early 20th century, it would be worth a few,

or several, hundred pounds, as a decorative piece of tribal art.

But, because of the provenance, and we know it is part

of the King of Benin's Palace, it's probably worth £20,000.

Knowing an item's provenance can make the difference between

it being worth a few pounds or a few thousand,

so it always pays to do your homework.

We're nearly at the end of the show and it's been fascinating

to hear about all those famous events and people.

But for me, it's you, the viewers, with your passion for antiques

and collectables - YOU are the real stars of Flog It!.

Now, you'll all recognise this name - Whitefriars.

The designs of Geoffrey Baxter are of particular interest

to our Flog it! expert Anita Manning, who is a glass lover.

So she was delighted when Georgina brought along

a matching pair of glass vases to our valuation day in Bath in 2012.

I'm Georgina Katanach, head teacher of Kenley Primary School.

I've no idea where the vases came from.

They'd just been sitting on a shelf for a long time.

Georgina, these are a wonderful pair of tangerine pyramids.

Please tell me where you got them.

I've...stolen them from the school.

They've just been sitting on the shelf, doing nothing,

and as head teacher

I have taken the decision that we're going to sell them for school.

-How long have they been there?

-At least 20 years.

I've been at the school 20 years and they've been there for ever.

They'd been around for ages and I hadn't noticed them really.

A parent said, "I think they're worth a little bit. I've seen those on Flog It!"

-And do you know what they are?

-Whitefriar.

I only know that because a parent spotted them.

That's when I took them off the shelf

and decided to start looking after them.

I had Anita Manning on the day, and she was absolutely superb.

She was so kind and very friendly and put me at ease.

These things are very collectable. These were made probably 1968, '69.

I thought her advice was really useful,

because I knew a little bit about Whitefriars but not an awful lot.

Late '60s, what we had was oranges and lime greens and shocking pinks.

-Psychedlic.

-Psychedelic!

-Oh, it takes me back!

-Me too!

I would put an estimate of perhaps £100-£150

on the pair. Would you, or would the school...

be happy?

I sure the school will be happy, the children will be happy.

Well, I'd just like to say to all the pupils at Kenley Primary School,

I hope you're watching this and enjoying the moment here

with Georgina and Anita.

And I've just been given this.

HE LAUGHS

And I've just been given this.

The auction was very exciting. I'd been to a couple of auctions before

but never having sold anything, And it was a really exciting day.

I had to sit on my hands so I didn't bid for anything.

One, two, three, four, five, six on the book, which helps.

Six bids on the book!

-We start at 120.

-Yes!

150. 160 I'm bid.

Any advance on £160?

All done, then.

Selling with me, commission bid, on 160.

I was happy with the price that we got for it.

I thought we'd get about £100,

and I promised the children £100 whatever.

Short and sweet, wasn't it? £160, kids. That's good.

The school council are going to spend £100 on toys for the playground.

# I don't mind doing it for the kids

# So, come on

# Jump on board, take a ride... #

All the children use the equipment.

We have some in the infant playground,

some in the junior playground,

and every now and then, the school keeper, Mr Thornton,

goes up on to the roof to get them all back down.

And we bought the big Connect Four. They love the challenge of that.

And I am actually very good at it, as well.

I think if you find something you think is valuable,

it's a great, fun day anyway to go along and get it valued,

because who knows what's hiding up in our lofts?

Well, I love the fact those children benefited

from the sale of those vases.

If you've got any antiques and collectables you want to sell,

bring them along to one of our valuation days and we'll see what we can do for you.

Well, that's it for today.

Join me again soon for many more Trade Secrets.