The Family - Part 1 Flog It: Trade Secrets

Welcome to the programme that aims to help you get in the know

when it comes to buying and selling antiques and collectibles.

Now, with over ten years of "Flog It!" behind us,

that's hundreds of programmes and thousands of items valued and sold.

So, if there's something you need to know, you'll more than likely find it right here on Trade Secrets.

Today we're going to be looking at the family album.

A lot of you that turn up at our "Flog It!" valuation days

bring along something that's been passed down through the generations

and many of those heirlooms are of particular interest to your family.

The question is, when does something so personal to you

become of interest to others?

Christina tries her hand at Who Do You Think You Are?

We need to try and establish a link between your husband's father

and a hospital in Kansas.

Thomas investigates the strange story behind Martinware.

There was a disastrous fire.

Adam plays the Generation Game.

Why should you check with your grandchildren?

-You sell it and spend the money as you wish.

-Naughty Granny!

Time and again, you bring us items you've inherited

but that don't suit your taste or you no longer have room for.

Needs must, but part of me always finds it sad when families

and their treasures have to go their separate ways.

I know it's often a tough decision to sell

so what advice do our experts have on making that choice?

It must be very hard to sell a family heirloom and people have

to make a serious decision to get rid of it or not

because once it's gone, it's gone for ever.

Keep it, keep it, keep it. You have to keep heirlooms!

There can only be two reasons for selling an heirloom.

One is you need the space, two, you need the money.

If the sale price would especially enhance

the life of the present generation, then sell.

For me, it's not just about the objects you bring

into the valuation days that fire up my imagination.

It's often the stories behind them -

whether it's a heroic wartime tale

or an anecdote of life in service,

the experiences of our ancestors are endlessly fascinating.

Of course, the point of "Flog It!"

is you want to know if that item you've had stashed away

in your attic for years has any financial value.

That's where our experts come in.

And where better to start our saga than with some family jewels?

If you have an item and you have a photo of it from a long time ago, for example,

a Victorian brooch that's featured on a portrait of Great-Grandma,

wearing that very brooch, that helps a great deal

because it places it into context and it's further proof of the age

and authenticity of the item.

Now, you've brought in this lovely necklace and bar brooch and this photograph.

Can you tell me who is this person in the photograph?

-She's my grandmother.

-Good grief.

There she is and she's wearing this little brooch, isn't she?

-The brooch.

-Were these items you inherited from her?

-They were indeed.

-Fantastic. Do these ever get worn?

-The little brooch has occasionally.

-Right.

I notice, in the photograph - my eyesight is pretty keen -

that it's perfect there.

If we have a look at it here, one of the bars is broken

-and it's missing a pearl.

-I noticed that.

-So I can tell you've worn that one.

-That's right.

The rigours of youth.

Damage with jewellery always matters.

Sometimes when you look at jewellery simply for its intrinsic value,

its gold weight, you could go over it with a steam roller

and it won't matter but when you're looking at something

like Joan's necklace and brooch, they're more about the workmanship.

This much more delicate necklace

and a much finer piece of jewellery, really, you'd only wear it

on high days and holidays, cos it is so fragile.

-Do you know how old these are?

-I believe they could be Edwardian.

Nearly spot-on. Late Victorian, Edwardian.

-And it's a time where you either had lots of diamonds or you went completely the other way.

-I see.

And fine pearls and semi-precious stones.

And it's a really delicate, charming piece.

Actually, there's one thing that perplexes me -

in the photograph, your grandmother's wearing

the horseshoe what I would consider to be the wrong way up.

-That's always amazed me, why that is so.

-I was told the luck pours out.

I think they're charming.

As I say, they're not intrinsically valuable

but they should be £200-£300 for the pair.

I hope Granny would be pleased with the result,

looking down on the saleroom.

Late Victorian sea pearl and aquamarine necklace.

Nice ensemble, isn't it? Quality always outs, doesn't it? 290. 300...

Oh, excellent.

310. 320. 330.

340.

350. 360.

Will you round it off at 400?

£400. Everybody done at £400?

Hammer's gone down, £400.

-We got that bit more than what we wanted.

-Excellent.

Someone clearly appreciated this bit of Victorian sparkle.

If you've inherited a piece of jewellery that doesn't have a hallmark

and you aren't lucky enough to have any accompanying photographs

or provenance, the best way to try and date it

is to look at the style, setting and kind of metal used.

If you're selling an unwanted jewel

and it's surplus to requirements

and you don't need the money for anything desperately,

it's a lovely thing to take that and go out and buy something

that you will either wear or use, a work of art,

something to remember the person who left it to you.

I think that's rather touching and quite an apt thing to do.

From one type of pearls to another,

and while Joan's snapshot of her grandmother is a lovely

family keepsake, sometimes photos can be key to explaining

an item's place in social history.

Can you explain to me how these all connect and where they've come from?

-This is my husband's grandfather.

-OK.

His name was John Bennett. That's him.

-You've got this procession, here.

-This procession was in Romford Market in 1922.

The gentleman on the end is my husband's father.

They were just magical, weren't they? The photos Val produced.

They were the wonderful processions

of Pearly Kings and Queens and Pearly Princes,

doing what they do best, which is raising money for charitable causes.

So do you know whether your husband's father was a Pearly King?

He was a Pearly Prince, he told us.

A Pearly Prince? That's wonderful, isn't it? So evocative.

He was a young man, then.

We've got all these wonderful badges on here

and trying to piece everything together is quite complex

but some of the badges have these wonderful initials on them,

which stands for the Overland Park Kansas Hospital Society,

-which is in America.

-Unbelievable!

The very, very basic point about research,

if it's a family piece, the best thing...

You can do so much research online, everything is available to us

online now but let's just go back to basics.

Ask family members because as soon as those family members have gone,

all that history is gone with them.

-I think at auction, we may be looking at somewhere in the region of £250-£300.

-Goodness!

-How do you feel about that?

-Very happy.

-Really?

What we need to try and establish somehow

is the link between your husband's father and a hospital in Kansas.

I got that completely wrong! It was the Pearly Kings and Queens.

Luckily, auctioneer Will Axon was on hand to put us on the right track.

We've done a bit of research

and they are definitely Pearly King and Queen medals.

The OPKHS is the Original Pearly Kings Hospital Society

and they are 1920s London

and I don't think there's any American connection.

Even the costumes you can see in the photographs,

-I think, are purely for novelty factor.

-For parades.

To raise money, this guy here, "give what you can".

This is what the pearlies were all about, raising money for charity.

I spoke to a lady last night and she was fascinated with the medals.

I sent them copies of the pictures, they thought they were amazing and loved them.

What's going through your mind? How much?

To be honest, do you know the motto of the Pearly Kings and Queens?

-No, I don't. You're going to tell me.

-I am. It's "one never knows".

The quantity of silver gilt medals, etc. At 220. Are you bidding? 240.

You bidding? 260. 280. It's in the gods, now, at £280.

Now bid at 280 with you, sir. Are you all done?

All it's going to be, ladies and gentlemen. At £280. All done?

Hammer's up at 280.

-We're happy with that.

-That's all right, yeah.

-You didn't think you were going to sell so that's brilliant.

-I'm happy.

So, beware the pitfalls of internet research and try to double-check

your facts, because a little bit of history can go a long way.

If you'd had those badges individually, they'd have been lovely.

They're nice badges to have but they wouldn't have reached nearly

as much if they hadn't had that supporting provenance with them.

We're always talking about provenance on this show.

Put simply, it's the documented history of that item.

That can help to prove authenticity and if you're thinking of selling,

maximise the sale price in the auction room.

So look after any photographs,

letters or any other evidence related to that item

in a safe place because it can make all the difference.

It can only help because it adds confidence to the buyer.

If he can see some sort of backup as to what an item is or where

it's come from, it will make him feel much happier about buying it.

So do your research

and remember, buyers may not be interested in personal family hearsay

but they will want to know everything that can help them

date an item or put it into context.

And sometimes a good story can help sell an item

so it's better to have it than miss it.

That was the case with a painting Claire Rawle

came across at one of our valuation days at Shropshire.

Sue. A hunting painting.

Tell me a bit about it.

Well, family has always been connected with hunting

-and I think it's my great-great grandfather.

-Oh, right.

This is actually your great-great grandfather. Oh, wow! OK.

It hung on my bedroom wall when I was younger.

That's my first memories of it, really.

It's part of the family because it was a relative of hers

that was on the horse in the main picture. There was a bit of damage.

This does affect the value of a picture,

even if it's by an expensive artist because restoration is very expensive.

I mean, it's very much of its type, a late 19th century oil on canvas.

Conveniently, the artist has signed his name at the bottom.

He's a listed artist. Herbert St John Jones.

'If you want to look up an artist,'

these days it's quite straightforward

and you go to the internet.

You usually have to subscribe to sites

but once you are in there, you examples of their work, history of prices realised.

Best place to go.

And if we look at the back of the picture,

we have all the details here.

There we are. It is the North Cheshire Hunt, 1899.

-It's a mare called Luxury.

-Yeah.

And there we are. So this is your great-grandfather. Fred Gosden.

Also, it mentions that the hound is the noted Cheshire Trimbush.

So, presumably, that's the hound, there.

'This particular picture had the most wonderful'

notes on the back of it, explaining who the characters were,

even down to the hound that was in the picture.

It makes a huge difference because with anything like that,

especially with a hound, it would be registered

so you will be able to trace it back and know exactly when it was painted.

So any information on the back of a picture is really worth looking at and trying to read.

He is an artist that can make a lot of money but I think

because of the damage, we are probably looking at about 150-250.

-Is that OK for you?

-Yes, that's fine.

Total provenance. A unique piece of art.

Let's put it to the test. Here we go.

£270, takes all the other bidders at £270.

Two in at 270.

Or is this going to be a maiden bid on commission?

-At 270. 280, anywhere else?

-Straight in at 270.

For the oil, we are going to finish at 270.

-Wow! Straight in on commission at £270.

-I'm very pleased with that.

-That was short and sweet.

-That went a bit quickly, didn't it?

With this particular picture, I think it was languishing under a bed or something

and had been rather forgotten about and so check out, you know,

your little hidey holes where you keep things, maybe the attic.

You never know what you might find up there

and far better to turn it into if it's not thousands,

hundreds, rather then leave it lying, decaying.

If you have inherited an old painting

and you want to sell it on, the more you find out about it the better.

Whatever state your painting is in, please never try

to clean it or paint over the damaged parts yourself.

You could destroy any value it has.

At our valuation days,

you often tell us it's been a tough decision to sell

something that's been in your family for generations

and it might surprise you to learn that despite being

in the business of selling, our experts often feel the same way.

I'm quite a sentimental type of chap so I would hang on to everything.

I find it hard to part with anything but I do understand

when people do feel the need to sell something,

either because of space, their situation, needing the money, etc.

Do you have a name for this?

We call her Ruth, because she was my mother's

and my mother was called Ruth.

She's a lady gleaning in the field so we called her Ruth after Ruth and Naomi.

So this was your mother's.

Do you know how your mother came to it?

My grandmother bought it for her,

possibly in the late '30s, early '40s.

How has she ended up to be on a table here in Richmond?

-She's a big girl.

-She is a big girl.

She is a heavy girl and, really, I have nowhere to display her, now, to her advantage.

-Have you moved house or something?

-Yes.

-I've gone to somewhere smaller.

That is often the problem, isn't it? She takes up a lot of space.

'I think in terms of bronze figures,'

the larger the better in some cases because they are very impressive.

I can see why our contributor wanted to sell it

because in some areas, it's too large to cope with in a small apartment.

But imagine in a big house, it's a very impressive,

swanky-looking thing and with something like that that isn't the highest quality,

size has got to help it because it just adds the wow factor.

She's got the mark, here, of Fournier.

That's the French sculptor Paul Fournier

and that will date it to the end of the 19th century, late 19th or turn of the century.

'There were many, many French bronze sculptors'

in the mid to late 19th century and Paul Fournier was one of those.

He's not one of your big names but I suppose more of a jobbing

sculptor that would have produced commercial bronzes like this.

We can't sell it for any price.

-I would suggest that she would make £300-£500 at auction.

-Right.

And you should put a reserve of £300 on that.

Otherwise she is she is probably not worth selling...

I'd rather keep her than give her away for nothing.

Of course, there is sometimes one problem with selling family heirlooms.

It is good to see you. Who have you brought along?

-My granddaughter, Emma.

-Hello. Nice to meet you.

-You are tall, aren't you?

-I remember.

I remember the granddaughter telling off Grandma a little bit,

she said, "You should have checked with me. I would have had her."

But it was too late because the auction had come and there was quite a bit of interest.

-She had her eyes on it.

-This is the inheritance!

-Granny's selling all the inheritance today.

-Naughty Granny!

Open the bidding at £200.

220. 250.

280. 300.

-320.

-Gone.

-350.

380. 400.

At £400, being sold now.

At £400. Are we all finished?

That was short and sweet. You were bang on.

-£400.

-Goodbye, Ruth.

-Oh, dear.

-I feel like I am in trouble.

-I don't know what to say, yes.

Let's just hope we haven't started a family feud.

My opinion is split on this.

Firstly, perhaps you should check with members of the family

whether you should sell something or not, in case they want it.

The other thing is, what's wrong with a bit of SKIing - Spend Kids' Inheritance?

Why can't you do what you like with it?

Why should you check with your grandchildren?

You sell it and spend the money as you wish.

Many families know little or nothing about their heirlooms

and Christina Trevanion is convinced finding out

more about an object can put it in a completely different light.

I brought in a piece today that I never knew I had until last week.

We had been clearing out my granny's house recently.

She is 103 and just gone into a home so we've been clearing out

her house at the moment

and this was at the bottom of her laundry basket.

And we found it and my antiques eye went, "Oh, that's quite nice.

"A Chinese silver-backed hairbrush."

And, to my great surprise, it is engraved, "Sybil."

And Sybil has always been a little bit of an enigma in our family.

She was my great-grandmother and she married my great-grandfather,

Charles Cecil, at the age of 18. She was very young.

And by the time she was 22, she followed him out to Sri Lanka

and she was pregnant with her first child.

And, at 22, sadly, she had my grandfather and,

two weeks later, she very sadly passed away.

So, my grandfather was shipped back to England as a newborn baby

in a laundry basket, according to family lore.

And my grandfather was then brought up by his grandparents,

who were very Victorian in their outlook,

even though this was the turn of the 20th century.

And, as far as I knew, he was very unsentimental and quite gruff.

But then to find this, his mother's hairbrush,

that he'd obviously kept all this time, was very poignant for me.

Very, very poignant.

And it really shows that even we, as experts,

don't know what we've got lurking at the back of cupboards.

Family stories really are at the heart of 90%

of the objects you bring to our tables on "Flog It!"

And I don't just mean items that have been passed down through

the generations - sometimes it's the objects themselves

that come from family businesses.

Some examples we often see at our tables

are makers Wedgwood and Beswick.

When families work well together,

the results can be astonishing, but it doesn't always work out.

This is certainly true of an eccentric band of brothers

working in London in the late 19th century.

The Martin brothers were pioneers in studio pottery

and they produced a very distinctive style of stoneware that's become world-renowned.

They are particularly famous for their face jugs and weird Wally birds.

But as Thomas Plant discovered, the family story is almost as unconventional as the pottery.

Martinware is so sought-after,

but it's extremely rare, so on "Flog It!"

we don't get to see it very often.

When we do, it is very special.

And Nigel Smith had one of those moments.

We can see it says Martin Bros, London, Southall.

That would date it towards the end of the 1870s, maybe 1880s.

They made some really strange things, Martin Brothers.

-There is a bit of a chip, there, did you do it?

-No.

That was done when I actually bought it.

-Do you have any idea what it might be worth?

-No idea whatsoever.

What did you pay for it all those years ago? Can you remember?

-I paid three pounds.

-Three pounds?

Nigel's face said it all. This man had got himself a bargain.

But Martinware is an acquired taste, so how much did this piece sell for?

1,000. 1,050.

1,100. 1,150.

1,200, anywhere?

Yes! £1,150!

-What do you think about that?

-That is fabulous.

What a great investment! How much did you pay for it again?

-Three pounds.

-Three pounds.

Martinware is one of those subjects which divides people completely.

You either love it or you hate it.

I personally love it and I think I'm going to find somebody else who absolutely adores it.

George Twyman isn't just any old collector of Martinware,

he's made it his lifelong passion and he has also written a book about the Martin brothers themselves.

A fellow fan, Thomas is keen to learn more about their story.

George, these are photographs you have of the brothers.

Here's Robert. He was the eldest.

-He was the eldest.

-He looks a bit like a bird himself, like an owl.

-He was the bird man.

-So he was the man who designed these birds.

-He was, indeed.

-Is that why we call them Wally birds? Robert Wallace?

That's right. There was no-one else at the time doing that type of work.

And this one is Walter Fraser Martin.

He learnt, basically, his art at Doulton.

And his main role in the business was?

He was the main thrower of the pots but he was also the chemist.

He was one of these people who wouldn't write

anything down in case someone stole it.

Edwin also worked there and this is him.

This is him with his grotesque fish.

He was the youngest.

And who is this fine-looking fellow, here?

-He looks quite, sort of, relaxed.

-This is Charles Douglas.

He was a real funny brother, really. He ran a shop.

When they sent it up to the Holborn Street shop to have it sold,

if he liked it, he would secrete it in the back room somewhere.

And he wouldn't sell it.

He thought if other parties saw exactly what was being done

by his brothers, they would copy it.

The magical thing about Martin Brothers, the family,

the pieces they were making at the time were cutting edge.

If you were going in and buying Martin Brothers,

at the time it was being produced, you were modern.

You were ahead of the game.

Thomas will use any excuse he can to get his hands on some Martinware

and George has some fantastic pieces.

It's also a good opportunity for Thomas to clear up some confusion

about the Martin Brothers famous grotesque vases.

See, for example, we have this jug here.

I would call this a grotesque on here.

The decoration is certainly grotesque. That is for sure.

So we are not looking at hideous because we think of gargoyles

and ugly things but it's not,

it is from the influence of the grottoes from excavations in Pompeii,

excavations in Italy and that is why we call them grotesque.

You can see the fineness of potting, the thinness of the stoneware is remarkable.

It was, for the time that they were doing it, it really was brilliant.

My tip for Martinware buyers and collectors is pick up the vase.

If it is lighter than you expect, well-potted, it might well be.

There are fakes out there so be wary.

Make sure it is signed London, Southall, and the date as well.

Out of the items we've got here, which one do you really like?

-I like the watch stand.

-That is so unusual, isn't it?

-It is.

What's interesting about the watch stand is the colours.

The glazes are fantastic.

Look at that fabulous inscription in the base.

R W Martin London March 1875.

And if you think about 1875,

and you think what else was around at the time,

what we see as traditional Victorian antiques,

this is about as far removed as us looking at

a piece of installation sculpture and having it at our home, isn't it?

Something by Ron Arad or somebody like that.

It's so forward-thinking.

When you see what they produced over the years,

the extent that they worked and the amount they produced

that was saleable,

but that was only a third of what they produced was saleable.

The other two-thirds he, Charles Douglas, said was rubbish.

And half of it ended up in the canal at the end of their garden.

It's extraordinary, isn't it?

They might be the forefathers of the studio pottery movement.

What I will take away is they were certainly not businessmen.

What he didn't realise was that they were very,

very poor and money was very, very tight.

Just think what they could have been if they had sold it all.

But then again, I don't think we would have the story.

-Did they gel as a team?

-They did gel as a team, basically, yes.

Until I think it was about 1906, when there was a disastrous fire

and people got killed who were in the flats above the shop.

Really? God!

The only thing we know is the whole stock was valued at £3,600

and when the insurance paid them out, they only paid out half the figure.

That made the situation between the brothers even worse

and they still worked after the fire but the work was not as good.

It's such a sad end, really, isn't it?

To such a fabulous family of artists.

What a family saga.

Unfortunately, they did die very close to each other,

within 13 years, of TB, cancer.

So really pretty unfair and most of them were buried in pauper's graves.

George, with his campaigning and passion for the brothers,

campaigned to have the grades marked with headstones

and had a ceremony to mark the places of their burial

so other lovers like me can go and pay their respects.

Today, one of those wonderful grotesque face jugs

will sell for around £2,000

and a Martin Brothers bird jar upwards of £40,000.

So, if like George, you see something you love,

snap it up straightaway.

You never know, you could not only be sitting on a wonderful collection

but a collection with a superb history.

We've been hearing the lovely stories attached to

objects from family-run businesses

and your own hand-me-downs

So why don't you rifle through YOUR attic. You never know,

you could come across something really special and valuable as well.

We have come to the end of today's show

but I hope you can join us again soon for more trade secrets.

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