Rarities Flog It: Trade Secrets

In over a decade on Flog It! we've valued

thousands of your antiques and collectibles,

and we've helped you sell them

in auction rooms all over the British Isles.

And during that time, we've learnt a great deal about the items

that are passed through our hands.

-A great thing to have on Flog It!

-Thank you so much.

In this series, I want to share some of that knowledge with you,

so sit back and enjoy, as our experts divulge their trade secrets.

On "Flog It!", we never tire of old favourites

like Moorcroft and Clarice Cliff.

And we are always fascinated by the enormous array of silver items

that land on our valuation tables.

But then there are the more unusual things you bring in.

Rarities that sometimes defy valuation.

And they certainly create a buzz amongst the Flog It! Team.

So today we've got those extraordinary oddities firmly in our sights.

I've not seen this particular set before.

Christina opens our cabinet of curiosities with

a unique set of bunnies.

Rare as hen's teeth.

And I'm blown away by some astonishing sales.

Oh! I'm not joking, listen!

2,300 anywhere else?

But before all of that, one of our Flog It! favourites

has a rather exceptional tale to tell.

Since he joined the Flog It! Team back in 2003,

Adam Partridge has grown in stature from the rather overconfident

young chap of those early days...

Everything I touch turns to sold.

Yes, I remember that. The Midas touch thing.

..to the mature auctioneer of today.

And I can start the bidding at £100,000.

We've come to know and love Adam as a man of many parts, and

one of his myriad of interests is religious paraphernalia, so you can

imagine his delight when something extraordinary fell into his lap.

I have a great interest in Judaica.

I think this boils down to, perhaps, right back to my childhood.

I'm half Polish, so I think there's a slight connection there,

and I grew up in a very musical background,

so I met lots of Jewish violinists

and I was in Jewish houses, and I felt part of the whole culture,

and it all evolved that we started doing a Judaica sale.

So we've got a very big auction tomorrow with a very

good representation of Judaica in it.

Judaica refers to the ceremonial art that Jewish people use

in their rituals in synagogue or in the home, and Adam's brought

in for sale a wide variety of pieces relating to various festivals.

One of the most important of these is Passover, where Jews

retell the story of Moses from the book called Haggadah.

Apart from all these wonderfully-interesting things here,

we've got extra special. Something that was found in really, really,

unusual circumstances and is going to be extremely

valuable and important.

I don't take much time off work.

I'm a real workaholic. I'll do all hours.

I get home late at night and I took a week holiday. One week!

And these clients of ours phoned up and Bill went out.

-Normally, it would have been me.

-He was sunning himself

and I found myself up in north Manchester.

I was being toured around the house.

The lady just kicked along this box,

along the floor, and said, "Well, there's a box of Jewish books there.

"Is there anything in there?" And this was the box, itself.

A chicken soup box. Rummaging around in it,

perhaps the most modest-looking is this little manuscript.

But on leafing through it, I opened it up, and it is quite apparent

that someone with a very skilled hand has created this.

When Adam returned from his holiday, the first question he asked was...

"Anything good come in while I was away?" He presented me with this.

And my jaw dropped. Neither of us knew exactly what it was.

I'm not pretending that we would be experts straight away, but we both

had the instinct, I suppose, the gut feeling, to know that it was

something very important and worth investigating further.

Bill and Adam's hunch was right. This wasn't any old manuscript,

but a rare Passover Haggadah, by Aaron Wolf, the chief Jewish scribe

of the Imperial Library, working in Vienna in the early 18th century.

It was an incredible find.

At that point,

I took it out to certain Jewish colleagues of mine,

mainly in north Manchester and that is how I came up also

seeking Dr Wise's advice about it.

Dr Yaakov Wise, an historian at the Centre for Jewish Studies

at the University of Manchester, examined the book.

This is a very rare survivor. It's a hand-illuminated

and illustrated Haggadah from the middle of the 18th century.

It was written in Pressburg, which is now called Bratislava,

and it is an example of the finest-quality Haggadah that has been

made in the last two or three hundred years.

Jewish families value their simple Haggadahs,

much like people might have a family Bible.

But most have no financial value, which makes this hand-written

and hand-painted work, created in 1727, quite extraordinary.

Could you tell me a bit more about Aaron Wolf,

-the scribe and calligrapher here?

-He was one of the top scribes

in 18th-Century Europe.

He was employed by the best families, the most wealthy families,

-such as the Oppenheimers, for whom this Haggadah was written.

-Right.

The Oppenheimers married into the Rothschild family,

because, as we say in Yiddish,

-money goes to money.

-And in a very famous name, of course.

-Yes.

And I suspect that it moved across Europe with the Rothschilds.

Having survived the Napoleonic Wars, the upheavals in Germany

in the 19th century, the First World War,

apparently, it arrived in Belgium just before the outbreak of

-the Second World War.

-It's amazing to think what events this has survived,

-what its seen over almost 300 years of its existence.

-Yes.

So, Belgium at the beginning of the Second World War?

And it, apparently, came to England in 1940.

Over 100,000 Jews fled Germany

and Austria in the two years before the outbreak of World War II,

heading for safety across Europe, America and the former Palestine

- and taking only their most treasured possessions.

Dr Wise thinks the owners of this precious Haggadah

may have kept it concealed on the way to Britain.

Once here, it remained with a distant relative,

who apparently had no idea of its significance.

People have lived their whole lifetimes and never come across

a Haggadah of this quality and this age and this significance.

In terms of value, we've put

an estimate on it of £100,000-£150,000 -

an awful lot of money. What really makes it so valuable

and how many people do you think would be actually interested in it

at that, sort of, level of price?

Well, it's extremely rare, it's probably one of the five or six

-oldest Haggadot in Europe.

-Gosh.

-I would like to see it go to a museum.

-I agree with you.

I think it would be lovely for it to end up in a museum.

I'd quite like to go and visit it again one day.

We have, encouragingly, had some interest from the Jewish Museum

in Vienna, which I think would be particularly appropriate.

Exactly. That is where first used, in Vienna. That is a very good idea.

There is a lot riding on it and a lot of pressure on us all, as well.

But with a sale like this,

we have to trust our research and, ultimately, trust in the object.

It is a wonderful, wonderful, thing to be offering for auction.

I'm quite sure it will achieve a superb price.

Just what price exactly? We'll find out a little later.

Time and time again we find that rarity can add a premium to the

value of an object.

Poor condition and damage can be trumped by something that is

rarely seen, so how do we know

when we've got something that's extremely unusual?

And where is the best place to start looking?

If I'm looking round an antiques fair

and I see something I don't know, I love buying them.

Because it's where you learn about things,

sometimes it turns out to be quite an interesting thing.

More often than not, of course, it turns out to be nothing at all.

But if you get that wee sort of buzz from it,

that feeling that it might be something,

then it is occasionally worth having a go at it.

You can always do your research afterwards.

It's always worth taking a punt on something,

because if you don't know what it is, perhaps the person who's

selling doesn't know what it is,

and it might well be that little secret find.

But identifying that secret find

- something that's unusual or even rare - isn't always easy.

That's where our experts come in.

Experts like Charlie Ross, who discovered that a big surprise

awaited him in a small package.

I'm expecting to find a carriage clock in here,

there's a little button that releases the top.

What you can do is leave it in here

and still have the benefit of the clock itself,

as it is, just by pulling that panel up there, isn't that neat?

Very nice.

'The size was exciting,'

because most carriage clocks are...let's say,

that size, and this was a miniature one, half size.

And also, what I didn't know of course,

until I took it out the box,

was those wonderful pietra dura panels on it.

Pietra dura - "hard stone",

literally translated from the Italian,

they are panels from Italy, and I think it's absolutely sweet.

'Pietra dura are pieces of rock put together rather like a jigsaw

'and glued together, so you don't see the joints, the glue,'

so the skill is in the cutting - rather like a jigsaw puzzle -

to make sure that one bit fits exactly into the next.

I can see that there is a little bit of damage on the back panel here.

That's an expensive job to do.

Somebody doing this will need to repair that, otherwise, bit by bit,

the pieces of stone will fall out and you'll be left with nothing.

But the side panel is absolutely perfect. I think it's worth...

Well, it would be worth 3-500 all day long in perfect condition,

I really think 2-300 is the right estimate,

and the auctioneer should work hard on this because it'll certainly be,

even if he's got six carriage clocks in his sale,

the best carriage clock in his auction.

Charlie was obviously charmed by such an unusual piece,

but would rarity outweigh damage?

-£2-300 put on this by our expert Charles here.

-Spot on.

It's going under the hammer now.

Pretty little late 19th century carriage clock,

-and significant interest...

-Ooh, good.

-Great!

-The lowest commission bid is £500.

-What?!

I was quite bowled over when the auctioneer opened the bidding

and said, "I have commission bids here" and whatever he said,

"600 - 50, 700 - 50."

And there wasn't a bid in the room!

£750 is what I have with me, may I say £800?

Is there 800 in the room?

With me and to be sold then, all happy, at £750...

Straight in and straight out, blink and you'll miss it. £750, Richard!

I was astonished by the price. I think the rarity was the thing.

In hindsight, how many miniature carriage clocks have

I seen with pietra dura panels?

The answer is very few,

and therefore there's an extra premium, over and above

the extra cost of making the object is the rarity value.

Go for something unusual!

It seems a rare design or size can sometimes matter more than damage.

Christina came across some objects she wished she'd had

the pocket for. A rare collection that marked the very early

beginnings of a very well-known maker.

You've absolutely made my day bringing these in.

I have seen these in books before, but never in real life,

-do you know how rare they are?

-No.

-Rare as hen's teeth.

-Oh!

-Or should we say, as rare as a rabbit teapot.

-Great, absolutely.

The designs were developed by a nun called Barbara Vernon.

Now, she was the daughter of a man called Cuthbert Bailey,

who was one of the managers at Royal Doulton.

Her father, in 1934, decided that he wanted

to produce a line of nurseryware for Royal Doulton,

and his first idea for a designer was to go to his daughter,

because her drawings were so endearing,

she used to make her animals into caricatures.

-This is the end result.

-How lovely.

-These are also the precursors to the Bunnykins.

-Yes.

So it all links together,

and these are just a Bunnykins collector's dream.

They really are the first Bunnykins figures, if you like,

but in a utilitarian teapot, creamer and sugar bowl.

The Bunnykins range are very collectable,

they're still being made now,

and they have crossed the 20th century,

cos you get very early Bunnykins,

which were taken from the original sketches of animals,

and now you get Bunnykins which are wearing helmets and space hats,

so they really have grown with the generations.

So let's have a little look to confirm my suspicions,

we'll take the cover off there, look at the bottom.

Yes, lovely mark there,

Royal Doulton mark with the Bunnykins either side,

great that we've got that, collectors are going to love that.

When the war came, 1939, production stopped,

-and it never started again, so these are incredibly rare.

-Good grief!

-We do have a problem with this, don't we?

-Yes.

The sugar bowl, we've got

a crack that runs from the rim right down through the body.

That is going affect the value,

collectors want them in absolutely mint condition.

I think perhaps at auction, I still think it will fetch

-something in the region of £5-700.

-Right.

Damage worries me, but...

We're going to find out, because this is our lot, here we go.

Bunnykins three-piece tea set, somebody bid me £800 for it.

-Oh, gosh.

-Wonderful!

-850, 880, 900...

-They are rare.

..980, 1,000 - and 50, any more?

At 1,050 - 1,100.

There's the bid at 1,100 - 1,150,

1,200, 1,250, 1,300.

-1,350, 1,400...

-£1,400.

At 1,400 then, there's the bid, and I sell at £1,400, done, thank you.

Well, £1,400, the hammer's gone down.

-I'm shaking, I've learnt something.

-Bunnykins.

Bunnykins, that's where the future is.

The sugar bowl had a crack,

which I was incredibly worried about at the time, but I think

because it was such an early set,

and because Bunnykins collectors do want those early pieces

and there are so few around, in that instance it really did not

matter hugely that there was a little bit of damage.

Once again, the bidders decided to overlook

Let's not pretend it's easy to find something very rare.

After all, there's not much of it around!

But there are things you can do to improve your chances.

Find a traditional collection with a more unusual theme,

like this most enchanting set I came across by Britains,

one of the leading manufacturers of lead toys since the 19th century.

I've not seen this particular set before. The gardening set.

-Really?

-It's fantastic.

The condition, I've got to say, is 100% perfect.

It's absolutely fantastic.

And what I love is you've even got the little glycerine bags,

look, and it says "Geranium" on there. "15 Plants".

And that's two pence, that little packet,

which you could buy separately. I'm going to tip that out.

Look at all those little geraniums in there! Isn't that brilliant?

You can pick one up and they pop...

..into the soil.

I'm going to put it into auction with an estimate of £180 to £250,

but in no way let them go any cheaper than that,

because these are quite rare.

It was not only delightful but rare,

and, in a triple whammy, was in great condition.

So I knew this would have buyer-appeal,

and so did auctioneer Will Axon.

Most of the time at the auction house,

when toys are brought in, certainly lead toys, it is

usually soldiers, cars, or vehicles, or figures, that sort of thing.

It's not as usual to see a gardening set come through the door.

And I've got interest here, where? At 130, 140. I'm bid 150.

At 150, I'm bid, on commission. 150. 160. 170. 180. You're in now.

-180 in the room. At 180. 190. Fresh blood.

-Come on.

-200.

-220. 240...

-We've sold it.

-..280. 300.

320. 340. I shall sell them at 340.

All done at 340?

Hammer's gone down, Eric. Well done.

Some Britains sets are very collectable.

I mean, the standard sets that you get coming through the sale, maybe

six figures in these long boxes, can make £200, £300 regularly.

Then if you start getting into rare figures,

you've got a Flying Corps box set, which includes a little

zeppelin and so on, I think one of those sold for £3,000.

And Salvation soldiers, again, is a very rare set,

and I think another set at auction did sell for £8,000.

Quite astounding, isn't it? What someone will pay to buy back

that childhood that perhaps they never had?

This is a great example of how a classic collection

with a twist on a theme can be hugely desirable.

But this was nothing compared to the extraordinary collection

Kate Bliss found in 2009.

-Which is your favourite here? Which one do you like best?

-Gosh.

Um, I've got to say this one, I think.

There's just something about him. He's a proper little character.

He is, isn't he? That's what strikes me about all of these.

They've all got their personalities,

their quirkiness, if you like.

Let's look at these two quirky figures first because, if you look

-closely, as you can see, on their hats, there's a little mark.

-Right.

An F and an M.

And they stand, those two initials, stand for Fernand Martin.

They're never in very good condition, his characters,

because they were made from scrap metal that was

scavenged from the streets of Paris, literally. So those are interesting.

These three are by one of the best-known German manufacturers

of toys at that moment, a company called Ernst Lehmann.

And one of the characteristics of the toys produced by the firm

were the bright colours they used, and the lithographed designs.

We can see that, I think, beautifully,

on the wheels of this cart here.

So what about value? This lovely collection?

-All in all, you've got several hundred pounds here.

-Right.

And I think with the right collectors at the auction,

-they could significantly surpass my estimates.

-Lovely.

Bashed about a bit, but would that bother the collectors?

I love these tin-plate toys. I know the condition's poor

on some of them, but who cares, because they're early ones.

Let's find out what this lot in the room think, shall we? Here we go.

Lot 734. We have to open the bidding at 500...

Oh, late bids for this.

£680.

-£680.

-Straight in at 680!

Be still, my beating heart.

'Be still, our beating hearts. These tin characters flew out the door.'

420.

'We could hardly believe what was happening, as the bids went up

'and up.'

I'm not joking. Listen.

2,300 anywhere else? Finished?

2,200... Do you know something?

That's taken us to a total of £4,990.

Just under five grand.

Give us a hug! Come on!

I'm totally gobsmacked. Absolutely gobsmacked.

Nearly five grand for those clockwork tin-plate toys.

Didn't matter about the condition. The collectors loved them.

They were so rare.

'We realised these were special, but not quite how special.

'Luckily for Stephanie, the collectors knew.'

So what else can you do to have a better chance of finding rare

and unusual items?

Get to know the field you're interested in

and then you'll know what's ubiquitous and what's rare.

Collectors will pay a premium for their favourite

collectable in a rare size or colour.

It can be challenging and very exciting to look for prototypes

and experimental pieces by a well-known designer.

These can be very sought-after by the aficionados.

So look out for marks or documentation to prove its pedigree.

And remember that while damage can be a turn-off it may be

overlooked if a piece is of such exceptional rarity,

quality or historical value that a collector just has got to have it.

So when you see something truly individual,

keep something in mind that the wear and tear can be

part of its charm, and might well add to its value.

Rare finds don't get much more exciting than the wonderful Haggadah

that Adam and his colleague Bill found in an old box in Manchester.

I don't feel very well, actually.

I'm full of cold, congested, but nothing is done to stop me

getting up there in a minute and selling this manuscript.

It's really encouraging, a room full of people.

I haven't seen an auction this busy for quite a long time.

I'm ready excited. You're going to have to stop me talking

because I'm going to just go on and on and on.

I can't wait to get up there.

Adam was as excited as a schoolboy!

But finally it was the moment of truth.

He'd estimated the book at £100,000 to £150,000,

but could it match his expectations?

Lot 100. The 18th-century Passover Haggadah.

And I can start the building at £100,000.

I'll ask for 105,000 next, please. It's £100,000 to start.

105 on the phone. 110.

115. 120. 125.

£125,000 on this phone now.

130. 135.

135. 140.

135 with James. 10,000, Bill?

140,000. 145.

150.

155.

160. 165.

At 160,000...

170,000.

170. I'll take 5 if you want. 170,000 here.

This was exceeding Adam's wildest dreams!

175. 180.

I'll take 180. 180 to this phone.

A new bidder joined the fray and it looked like there was

fierce competition to win this incredibly rare prize.

Quite appropriate. 185,000.

190. At 190,000 now.

I've got all day, I don't mind. 190,000. 195 now.

195 on this phone. Round it up, then.

Are there any decisions on the other phone? At 195,000...

At 195,000...

For the first time, then, at 195,000. Are we bidding?

We're bidding 200.

-200,000.

-AUDIENCE GASPS

at 200,000. Oohs and aaahs all round!

210.

210 on Bill's phone now.

Whatever you want to bid me. I'll take 215 if you want.

-Or 220 would be better. At 210.

-220?

210,000 is on the phone here.

The hammer is up, then, for the first time. At 210,000.

Second time at 210,000. Have you finished bidding?

-He's asking his client on the phone.

-Right.

-No, sir.

-At £210,000, it's the final call.

No extra than 210?

-No, sir.

-They are completely done. We are selling, then.

Final chance, then. At £210,000,

if you're all sure and done...

Thank you very much.

APPLAUSE

Well done, Bill.

That's very good. It's gone to where I wanted it to go as well.

It's going back to Vienna, ladies and gentlemen, which is where it originated.

Which is a very romantic story. Thank you very much.

APPLAUSE

A result which - for once - threatened to leave Adam speechless!

Gosh!

I feel very emotional, actually.

And I'm really, really, really pleased that it's made such a strong price.

210,000 is basically really what I thought it was worth.

Delighted. Delighted.

It made a wonderful price, a very strong price,

and nice to do a good job on a wonderful thing.

I will miss it very much.

It's now going back to where it belongs, to Vienna.

And... Yeah, I'm just extremely emotional.

I've never felt like this before.

Oh, dear. Thank you very much.

What an emotional journey for Adam, and that incredible Haggadah.

There are, of course, items of religious interest to look

out for across many faiths but what should you keep in mind?

Religion, as a general rule, doesn't sell very well.

The amount of times we have a valuation day

and people bring in family Bibles or portraits and things like that.

But there are certain areas that are still collectable.

For an example, church furniture.

Gothic church furniture is quite popular

and perhaps things like rosary beads you'll see.

So there are other collectables in religious terms,

but I would be careful and would advise you against thinking

that everything religious is therefore collectable or valuable,

because that is quite far from the case.

Finding the rare and the unusual takes single-minded determination,

a keen eye, and, most importantly, a large slice of good luck.

£4,990!

But don't let that put you off, because those idiosyncratic items

are out there and, as we've seen, they can sometimes show up

in the most peculiar places.

Well, that brings us to the end of today's show.

I hope you've enjoyed it.

Do join us again soon for some more inside information on Trade Secrets.

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