Henley Flog It!

I'm walking across a very busy bridge over the River Thames

and just look how picturesque Old Father Thames is.

It's 220 miles long from its source to the sea

and today we're in Henley

but unfortunately there's no time for rowing and revelling.

We've got some serious antique business to get down to.

Welcome to Flog It!

We've left the riverbank behind,

as we travel a few hundred yards to Henley town hall,

our magnificent venue for today.

We've got a great crowd wanting to sell their antiques and collectables,

so let's meet our experts.

Today our team are led by Mark Stacey and Catherine Southon.

They're already in the crowd looking for antiques.

Catherine specialises in scientific and marine items.

Today, she's got her feet firmly on dry land

but it looks like the cold is getting to her.

We'll discuss it inside in the warmth over a cup of tea.

Mark's an expert in decorative arts

and he's decorating our owners with red stickers

to mark up the most interesting items spotted.

-I'm going to put a sticker on you immediately.

-Oh!

-Does that mean I get a cup of tea?

-It does mean you get a cup of tea,

if you're very good.

What a marvellous queue we've got here today.

They're all hoping that they're going to home with lots of money.

We've got the lights, the cameras, the sound, we've got the experts,

we've got the people and they've got the antiques.

You're going to ask that one important question, which is...

What's it worth?

-And when you find out, what are you going to do?

-Flog it!

-Are you ready to go in?

-Yes!

-It's 9.30. Let's get the doors open.

Come on!

Coming up today, we've some real highs and lows

-and Catherine's world is rocked at the auction.

-What?

'I'm joined by an old rock and roller.

'Who is he? Well, think 1960s, think Edelweiss.

'Stay tuned and you'll find out.

'So let's get on with the valuations.

'Mark is with Frances and she's brought in an old friend with a twist.'

Now, thank you so much

for bringing a really quirky bit of Clarice Cliff in for us.

-We see it a lot on Flog It!, as you know.

-Yes, I do.

-Have you had it a long time?

-Yes, I have.

-Where did you get it from?

-From my late father-in-law.

I needed a little pot to put a cactus in

and he said, "I've got just the thing," and he gave me that.

-It's a wonderful shape, isn't it?

-Yes.

-I can see a cactus looking quite glamorous.

-It looked OK, yes.

-Quite a posh cactus pot holder, isn't it?

-Rather!

Well, you've kept it in remarkably good condition.

-There's no cracks or chips on it.

-Oh, no.

-All the colours are still very bright.

-Beautiful colours.

What I quite like about this is two things.

First of all, it's this very stepped design,

which is very Art Deco, very 1930s, Jazz Age, avant garde.

-So it's one of the first ones she'd done?

-Yes, it's early '30s.

-Really?

And then when we look at the mark, we've got the usual mark -

Bizarre by Clarice Cliff - but then we have "Cafe-au-lait".

-Now, do you know what that refers to?

-Well, I thought it was coffee.

It is because it refers to this sort of background colour.

As you turn it round, you see this wonderful Art Deco design

and then you have this sort of cafe-au-lait glaze painted behind it.

So that's what it means.

And I think that pushes it out of the ordinary a bit. It's lovely.

-It doesn't look like it ever had a lid.

-No, no, it doesn't.

When it was first given to me, I thought he's given it to me because the pot would fit in it.

Well, I love the design. I don't know the name of the design.

I've never seen it before, that one. I've lots with orange and blue

but I've not seen that actual colour.

-So now it comes to price.

-Yes. Talk to me.

-If said it was worth £20, would you sell it?

-No, I'd take it home.

-You'd take it home.

-I'd put it in the cabinet.

-Put it in the cabinet.

-Well, I've got to try and be realistic.

-Yes.

I honestly don't know.

It's funky enough to cause a bit of excitement in the sale room.

-I would have thought around the £150 mark.

-That's what I was thinking.

-Over 100.

-Yeah.

-I think if we put, say, an estimate of 140-180...

-Yeah.

-..with a reserve at maybe 140.

-Yes.

-So it protects it a bit.

-That's right.

Maybe with a bit of discretion, so if it got to 130, we'd sell it.

-That's quite acceptable.

-But who knows?

If it is a rare design, it might make £200 or £300, Frances.

It's certainly got my vote.

What are you going to turn a redundant cactus pot holder into?

Erm... Towards mending the roof of my garage.

-Very practical.

-Thank you. I think so.

-So you're swapping a work of art to keep your car dry.

-That's right.

Sounds good, doesn't it? See you at the sale.

A guaranteed seller to start us off.

Now, I'm still searching for interesting items

but across the room, Catherine's with Ellen,

who's got some rather lovely jewellery.

You've got a lovely brooch here, a sapphire and diamond brooch,

and a lovely pair of earrings, there.

Where did you get them from?

About 10 years ago I used to help look after an elderly lady

with her son and I used to help wash and bath and dress her

and do the crosswords with her.

And unfortunately she died

and her son got himself into a bit of a financial pickle after she died

-because he had no real idea of finances.

-Right.

So to help him out, I bought some of these items off of him.

-That was very nice. So these items belonged to his mother?

-To his mother, yes.

-So do you remember her wearing them?

-I never saw her wearing them

because she was bedridden when I knew her.

So you bought them because you were attracted to them?

You were helping him out but were you attracted to them?

-I thought they were pretty but I knew I would never wear them.

-Right.

This brooch dates from the 1970s and it is 18-carat gold

and we've got the sapphires there and the diamonds.

You say it's nothing that you've worn

but is it the type of item that you would wear

-or you just haven't got round to wearing it?

-It's too big for me.

-I prefer more delicate pieces.

-Smaller ones.

These days, brooches aren't that commercial

because we don't see so many people wearing them.

What we've got here, it is a nice piece of jewellery

and we've got the sapphires and the diamonds there as well.

Now, moving on to the earrings. You've never worn these either?

-No, they're a bit big for me.

-Really?

I like to wear very small...

-Oh, I can see.

-..dainty things.

-You like nice, dainty earrings.

I think they're quite pretty.

-Although they do match the brooch quite nicely...

-Yes.

-..I don't think they're a set.

-They don't look the same.

They are of the same period and they've both got the sapphires and the diamonds.

I would be quite tempted to put them in as separate lots

because they've both got substantial value by themselves

and I think maybe different people who buy the brooches will buy the earrings.

-I think it's probably better to separate them.

-Right.

I would put this in with an auction estimate of £500-£600

and a 400 reserve

and I would put the earrings in as another lot

-with a pre-sale estimate of £100-150 and a reserve of 80.

-Right.

-How does that sound?

-Oh, right, yes, that's fine.

Would you be happy with that?

I did assume that they might be worth a little bit more.

-How much were you hoping for?

-Probably about 100.

Right, well, would you like to put a fixed reserve of 100 on that?

-I think yes, please.

-OK, well, that's absolutely fine.

-So just to protect them, I'll put a firm reserve on of £100...

-Yes.

-..and an estimate of £100-£150.

-Right.

Will we see you at the auction?

No, unfortunately, I'm away, so my son will have to stand in for me.

Your son will stand in. I'll look after him

and hopefully we'll phone you with some good news.

-Thank you.

-Thank you for coming.

'# Edelweiss... #

'We look forward to meeting Ellen's son Mark at the auction

'but now I'd like you to meet a semi-retired show biz character

'who's turned up at our valuation day.

'It's '60s and '70s singer Vince Hill,

'who's lived near Henley for over 30 years.

'# Small and white... #'

So what have you been doing? Are you still writing and touring

or doing the odd gig?

Not very much. I write a bit and I, well, I play a little bit,

very bad piano.

But I'm more or less retired now, at my age, you know.

You had such a great success with Edelweiss

-and I know you've written many other hits.

-Yes, yes.

How does it work being a singer-songwriter?

Do you write songs on your piano

and think, "That's nice, I'll record that,"

and then, hopefully, a big producer rings up

and says, "I'm looking for XYZ - have you got anything?"

Or do they ask you to write a specific thing? How does it work?

It sometimes it happens that way but I've been very lucky,

I've been able to record some songs by great writers,

not necessarily by myself.

But one thing you do as a writer,

you always make sure you've got something in the tin trunk, as we say,

because when you make a single, Edelweiss, for instance,

we found we hadn't got anything to put on the B-side.

-So you wrote something.

-So I wrote something.

A lady called Gwen Owen, she sent to me this lyric

She said, "How do you like this?" and it was called A Woman Needs Love.

Realising I hadn't got anything for the B-side, I did it,

I wrote a tune to it, we recorded it

and the record jumped away - bang, 300,000 records later,

she was on the B-side of it.

It turned out to be the most wonderful thing for her

-because she had a handicapped child.

-The royalties went toward that.

All that money that she got helped towards her medicine,

-so it was fantastic.

-Yeah.

And that's what I'd like to do with this thing.

You've brought in this astonishing, exceptionally long rifle.

-It's a miquelet Kabyle.

-It's lovely.

Originally, these were made in the 1600s in Spain.

It's an early form of flintlock rifle.

-But this one's early 19th century.

-We think, yes.

I would say that's from North Africa or the Middle East,

-along that area.

-Around that area.

They were using them into the 20th century.

-Has it been on the wall?

-Yeah, it was on the wall for a while

but then we moved house, so it's just been standing in the hall.

Whatever we get for it,

I'm going to give it to our local children's hospice

in Henley.

-Well, I'm not an antiques firearms expert, OK.

-No.

I think we put this into auction and let the auctioneer decide.

After all, he's working for you, he's your agent,

-he's taking a cut out of this sale, isn't he?

-Yeah.

So he's duty bound to work for you. He'll get the best price possible.

-Yeah.

-And all the money's going to charity,

-which is going to really push it.

-And a very deserving one.

My gut feeling is £100-£200, so it's better than nothing, isn't it?

It is. It's going to a worthy cause.

-Happy?

-I'm happy, yes.

-See you at the auction, then.

-OK.

Let's hope Vince's rifle shows star quality

when it goes off to auction.

This is where it gets exciting

because right now we're going to put some of those valuations to the test.

It's all down to the bidders.

It doesn't matter what our experts think or what I think or you think.

You've got to be in that room putting your hand up.

Here's a quick reminder of what we're taking to Cameo Auction Rooms.

Clarice Cliff Cafe-Au-Lait plant pot.

I don't even like coffee but I like this.

Ellen wasn't that keen on this jewellery

and I think I can see why.

It's not the sort of thing I would wear.

Nevertheless, 1970s jewellery is becoming very collectable

and this will do very well if the right people are there.

And I've chosen Vince's 19th century flintlock rifle

as a piece of military history.

We're just up the road in Midgham for our sale

and the auctioneer is John King.

The seller's commission here is 20% plus VAT.

Our first lot is that Clarice Cliff jardiniere belonging to Frances.

Why are you selling this?

A lot of people are collecting it and they're not selling it.

Well, I... It just doesn't fit in with my home

and it's just a novelty.

Well, it's an interesting one, isn't it?

It is Clarice Cliff and she doesn't normally let us down

but it is an unusual pattern, Cafe-Au-Lait, because of the ground.

-If it's unusual, it should fly away.

-Possibly. I love the shape.

That stepped shape is very Art Deco. But who knows?

The Clarice Cliff hand-painted Bizarre stepped jardiniere pot.

Nice pattern, this. What am I bid for it, please?

-£80 to start it, somebody, please?

-Come on.

80 I'm bid. At £80 I'm bid. 85, anywhere?

-At £80 I'm bid. 90 I'm bid.

-We have a bidder in the front row.

95 in the room. 100 anywhere?

110 in the room. 120 anywhere?

115, I'm bid. 120 I'm bid now.

At 120 I'm bid now. 125 anywhere?

At 120 in the room. 130 I'm bid. 140 I'm bid in the room.

At 140 I'm bid in the room.

Fair warning, then. At... 145. 145 in a fresh place.

At 145 in a fresh place. Are you all done?

At £145.

-He's sold it.

-He's sold it.

-It was close, though, wasn't it?

-Yes.

-It was close.

He just worked to get to the estimate.

-He was working quite hard, actually.

-Yes.

-Good auctioneering.

Like a Jack Russell wrestling with an old sock - he didn't want to let go.

-He's sent you home happy.

-Oh, yes, I'm quite happy, believe me, I am.

And who wouldn't be happy with £145?

Next we have Ellen's jewellery.

We've split it into two lots. We'll sell the brooch first.

Sadly, Ellen can't be here today

but her son Mark has come along in her place.

Obviously, you're not into jewellery, are you?

-It's not something wear.

-Otherwise, this would be your inheritance.

But we're going to see what it's worth.

-Catherine, you love it.

-I do, actually. I picked it up at the valuation day.

Brooches aren't that fashionable but this one's got quality.

-It's a nice thing.

-Let's see if we can get the top end. Here we go.

Good luck, Mark.

This very nice 18-carat gold and sapphire and diamond brooch.

What am I bid for it, please? 200 to start it, please?

200 I'm bid. £200 I'm bid.

210 I'm bid, 220.

220 in the room. 230 I'm bid, 240 I'm bid.

In the room at 240. 250 I'm bid.

It's creeping up slowly, isn't it?

£260 I'm bid. 270 I'm bid.

280 I'm bid. At £280 I'm bid.

At 280. 300 if you want it. £300 I'm bid.

At 320 anywhere? At 320 I'm bid.

-340 I'm bid. At £340 I'm bid.

-Slowly but surely.

360 I'm bid, 380 I'm bid.

-At £380 I'm bid.

-I can't see who's bidding, can you?

-No.

-400 I'm bid.

-Little fingers going up, I think.

At £420 I'm bid. At £420 I'm bid.

-At £420.

-Excellent. That's good.

-In the room at £420.

Against you all now at 420.

-Yes! Oh, your mum will be ever so pleased.

-She will.

-Right, next lot, the earrings. Hopefully 150 here...

-Yeah.

..to add onto this.

It's a pair of 18-carat gold, diamond and sapphire earrings.

There they are. What am I bid for them? 50 to start me, somebody?

£50 to start them, somebody? 50 I'm bid.

55, 60.

65, 70.

75, 80.

85, 90, 95, 100. At £100 I'm bid.

105, 110, 115, 120...

115 I'm bid. At £115.

In the room at £115 and away. Are you all done at 115?

-115.

-Excellent.

-Happy?

-Yeah, I'm sure she'll be very happy.

I think she will be. That's a total of £535, less commission, of course.

-Everyone has to pay that.

-I'm sure she can spend that.

Get on the phone and tell her.

Things are really flying at this auction.

That's almost £700 from our first items,

so can we keep it up with Vince's antique rifle?

Auctioneer John King has valued it at £200-£300

but we're still going with no reserve.

Coming up right now, Mr Vince Hill.

-This could be one last big hit for you, couldn't it...

-It could be.

..if we're on target with this.

-Your rifle is about to go under the hammer.

-OK.

If we get a decent offer, that would be great.

I had a chat to the auctioneer

and he said, "Paul, I kind of agree with you.

"Let's look around the £200 figure and say £200-£300 as the guideline."

But there's no reserve, so hopefully, we'll get that figure.

If we can get that, it will be marvellous. The more the better.

A full house here for you now. So entertain us, Vince. This is it.

Fingers crossed.

We have an early 19th century Kabyle rifle long gun.

Commission interest again, here, so £200 with me to start it.

-Straight in.

-Oh!

-£200 with me to start it.

210 anywhere, please? At £200 with me to start it.

210, 220.

230, 240.

250, 260, 270, 280.

290, sir.

300, 310.

320? 310 I'm bid.

At £310 in the room. At £310 in the room.

-Yes! I think we hit the target, there.

-We did.

-Well done.

-Thank you for bringing that in.

-It's all going to the children,

a centre for handicapped kids, and that will be wonderful for them.

Great. Vince Hill, everybody. What can I say? The legend yourself.

A lot of people probably think I'm a one in four gradient up the M1.

-So...

-Oh, I like that.

How about that? That concludes the first visit to the saleroom today.

I've certainly got the auction bug. I hope you have.

We're coming back here later on, so don't go away.

But while I was in the area, I thought I'd check out

a wonderful historical home

that's got a real '50s flavour to it.

Take a look at this.

If you like history, you will love Greys Court in Oxfordshire.

The house was built in Elizabethan times,

constructed by the de Grey family, who have lived here since Doomsday.

What may surprise you about this classic Tudor courtier's house

is the fact that you're looking at a time capsule,

not from the 1500s like you'd expect but from the mid 20th century.

In 1937, Greys Court was bought by Sir Felix and Lady Elizabeth Brunner.

They restored the house and garden, making a glorious family home.

In between bringing up her four sons, running the house and creating a new garden,

Lady Brunner was actively involved with the Women's Institute.

Now, although the couple were extremely wealthy,

they still had beliefs in Liberal politics and Christian philanthropy,

which meant they wanted to share what they had with other people.

So in 1969, they decided to give the house and the gardens

to the National Trust, when it was still their home.

'Laura Gangadean from the National Trust is going to show me the house

'and tell me more about the Brunners.'

Not what I was expecting. A very pleasant surprise.

I was expecting period oak but I guess it was a family house.

Absolutely and when the Brunners moved in in the 1930s,

they brought their own touches to it,

the soft furnishings and the paintings in particular.

-It feels like a home, doesn't it?

-Yes.

-I could move in.

Although I must say,

I've never thought of painting any of the rooms,

in any of the houses I've had, pink.

-It was Lady Brunner's favourite colour.

-Was it?

The planting in the gardens is pink. A lot of the furnishings are pink.

Tell me about the Brunners. Where did their money come from?

Sir Felix's grandfather was Sir John Brunner, the first baronet.

He co-founded Brunner Mond, which later became ICI.

He was also heavily involved in Liberal politics

and Lady Brunner's grandfather was Sir Henry Irving,

the first actor to be knighted, the celebrity of the day, really.

So there's a good combination of artistic talent and brains.

With the Liberal politics thrown in.

So why did they decide, then, to open their house up to the public?

-They've got everything they want.

-They wanted to share it.

They felt that this was a place of peace and tranquillity

and you could get away from the busyness of daily life by coming here.

They encouraged families to visit the gardens.

-Even though they were still here?

-Yes. They liked that.

Lady Brunner liked sitting in the garden

and watching people pass by the ends of some of the vistas.

The local people obviously embraced Lady Brunner.

-They thought it was a good thing.

-Absolutely.

She was very high profile in the local community.

She was a JP and she was chairman of the local village WI.

She became national chairman of the WI as well, in the 1950s.

# Bring me my bow

# Of burning gold

# Bring me my arrows of desire

# Bring me my spear Oh, clouds unfold... #

Now, this is a very lived-in room. Full of their personal things?

Yes, it's the family room, so it's got toys, their favourite books...

-It's got that feel about it, hasn't it?

-Absolutely.

What do the public think when they're visiting?

Do they come and make themselves at home or are they frightened to sit down?

We have to encourage them to sit down

-because they're so used to walking around carpets.

-Exactly.

You can get hands-on, you can appreciate things. It's tactile.

We still use white gloves for silver. We're very careful.

We have a nice piece here.

This is the Queen Mother's Award for Lady Brunner

for her work on Keep Britain Tidy.

Lady Brunner was the founding chairman of the cause.

-Was she?

-It was a resolution that was passed through the WI.

That was an iconic slogan, wasn't it? Keep Britain Tidy.

Only the sort of thing that could be brought up by the WI, too.

It's something we carry on here at the property.

Every few months, the volunteers and I get together and litter-pick the estate.

-Wombles.

-We Womble around, yes.

What's the room that the public gravitate towards the most?

-The kitchen.

-Why's that?

We're baking, we're cooking, we're making jam when we're open to the public,

so the smell usually gets as far as the front door,

so you have to slow people down because they're going through too quickly

-to see what's going on.

-Nothing baking today, unfortunately.

-I can't smell anything, anyway. But let's have a look.

-OK.

Well, kitchens are always the hub of the house, aren't they?

And this is the draw for people.

It's the warmest room in the house. You've got the range, there.

With the range going away.

This is typical of the '50s.

It's sort of cobbled together but it works.

It's utility but it's really attractive. There are very pretty fabrics.

I like the curtains to hide the pots and pans.

That's typical of the '40s and '50s.

I've just noticed the pink table and chairs.

Lady Brunner used to sit here sometimes when visitors were coming

and she'd have a chat with them as they walked along to go out the back door.

And I gather you are an active member of the local WI as well.

-Yes.

-So you're following in her footsteps.

I don't go to the local village WI but I go to one in the area

and I've even been to Denman College, the college she helped found

to support women's interests in handicrafts, cookery and such.

-And for you, is this a job for life?

-Oh, yes.

-Have you fallen in love?

-I can't leave Greys Court.

It's such a beautiful place to work and live.

-We like to see people enjoy it and share it with us.

-Well, I have today.

I've discovered a bit of our heritage that I didn't know about.

Thank you for showing me around

and I'm envious, because you do live in this unique bubble.

-This house does embrace you. You're in a happy dream, here.

-Yes.

Well, there you have it - Greys Court, a splendid Tudor house

that's definitely well worth a visit

and which, because of the generosity of the Brunners

and the work of the National Trust,

continues to give us a fascinating snapshot

into what life was like in the mid 20th century.

And do you know what? It feels like home.

At our valuation day in Henley town hall,

there are still plenty of people waiting to have their items valued.

Mark Stacey is wasting no time.

He's back at the tables and he's with Janet.

-Thank you for bringing your lovely pair of budgies in.

-That's all right.

Before we look at them, tell me a bit of the history.

-How did you get them?

-Well, I bought the green one in a charity shop that I used to work in.

And the blue one I bought at an arcade in Hungerford,

to go with the green one.

I was going to sell the chap the green one to go with the blue one

and he didn't want it, so I bought his blue one instead.

-He's a clever dealer, isn't he?

-He is, really. He is!

Well, they are charming and they're made by Beswick.

We can cheat a little bit because the mark, of course, is in the front.

-There's a label there.

-Yes.

This is very typical of their work.

There's not a great deal of pottery skill in this.

They're made in a mould. They're very crisply done.

The key thing with them is they're all hand-painted,

so the colour and decoration is very good.

-They do have rather appealing faces.

-Yes, I like them.

I used to have budgies when I was a child,

-playing with their mirrors and things.

-I used to have budgies.

-They never said anything, though. Did yours?

-No. We had a blue one and a green one

and the green one was called Charles and the blue one was called Diana

and they had babies called William and Harry.

The Beswick factory is very well known to us on Flog It!

-We've handled a lot of Beswick.

-Yes.

-These will date from the 1950s, I would have thought.

-Do they?

The factory doesn't go much further on than that

but they were really well known for producing a whole range of animal and bird subjects,

-right down to little robins and wrens...

-Yes.

..right up to big models of panthers on rocks and things like that.

But they're very well and crisply modelled.

-They're fully marked, of course, underneath.

-Yes.

Beswick, and then you've got the shape number, as well.

-Those are the type of marks you expect to see.

-Right.

I've not handled a pair of budgies before, so it's a tricky area.

Right.

I was hoping we could get away

-with an estimate of somewhere around £50-£80...

-Yes, that's fine.

-..but to protect them with a reserve of £50.

-I would like to, please.

-We don't want them to fly away too cheaply.

-No.

-OK, then, thank you.

-I look forward to seeing you at the auction.

We've got more items to find before then.

Catherine's with Sue, who has a drawing which takes me back to my childhood.

Sue, you have brought such a delightful thing along,

-this beautiful sketch by Ernest Shepard.

-Yes.

-Where did you get it from?

-I got it in an auction about nine years ago.

I've always loved Winnie the Pooh, it was one of our favourites at home.

-I couldn't afford a Winnie the Pooh sketch.

-No.

But I saw this and I thought, "I'm going to buy it."

And I did buy it but I haven't really done much with it

and I never knew where it was.

-It says, if you notice, "Walk along the front".

-Right.

So we knew it was a seaside view.

And then about 18 months ago or so,

I was in Gerrards Cross at a book fair

-and I just saw this book...

-Right.

-..and it had Ernest Shepard,

so I picked it out of the rack and it just opened at this page.

Wow! It literally fell open at this page?

-I know. I couldn't believe it.

-That's incredible.

-So I now know that the little boy...

-So we've got the exact picture.

So this picture was drawn for the book. That's amazing.

And we now know where it is. It's in Ramsgate.

-Oh, right. So this book is all about Shepard as a boy?

-Yes.

-Well, that's fate, isn't it?

-It is.

And this here, what's this item here?

The letter came with it and the auctioneer told me that it had been found

-in the back of the picture.

-Right.

-It's quite an interesting letter.

It is written by Shepard and it's to do with some building work he had had at his home

and it's a thank-you letter.

So that's interesting that that was in the back of this.

It's a really lovely collection here, between the three.

-Can I ask how much you paid?

-Yes. I did buy it with another picture

and I paid £500.

Right, OK, so the picture, the letter and this other piece

-and you paid £500 for the three.

-For the lot.

-And the book?

-The book was very reasonable.

I only paid £20 for the book.

But it's, yeah, very reasonable,

but if you keep it all together, it adds to make it a special lot.

Now, I would be happy to put it in an auction with a resale estimate

-of £600-£800.

-Yes.

I think people will pick up on this

and I hope it would make more towards the £800,

hopefully more.

I think we should put a fixed reserve on of £600.

-OK.

-We need to protect it.

-Thank you.

Obviously, you've paid £500 for it

-and we want to make sure you get your money back.

-Thank you.

-So £600 reserve.

-Yes.

If the right people are there on the day,

this could really excite everybody, excite the audience,

and I hope that it makes more towards the £800.

But who knows? You never know with auctions.

-But it is a lovely lot...

-Thank you.

-..with a lovely history behind it.

I love the fact that he's identified right here.

Let's hope other people recognise it and it does well.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

I know EH Shepard sketches of Winnie the Pooh sell really well.

Let's hope that magic rubs off on Sue's drawing.

Now, take a look at this face.

Does Mark think Gwenda's miniature will make a small fortune?

Gwenda, is this little beauty a member of the family?

I don't think she is. I've never checked.

It belonged to a member of the family but I don't know who the lady in question is.

-Well, she goes back quite a long way.

-Yes?

-How long?

-She's Georgian.

-Yes?

-About 1810.

-Well, I didn't think she was as old as that.

-She's looking well on it.

-She is. She's very pretty, actually.

-She's beautiful. She's absolutely beautifully painted.

-Yes.

I love these little feathers in her hair

and I love the almost Regency style costume she's wearing

and so delicately painted.

It's the detail on it, I think, that's impressive, yes.

The history of portrait miniatures is quite interesting.

They go back an awfully long way, right back to the Tudor period,

if not before.

And they were often given out as gifts of loyalty, of course -

a portrait of the queen, Elizabeth I, Henry VIII, and that sort of thing -

and to show allegiance.

Wearing your monarch on your dress would show allegiance to them.

They were also secretive at times.

Sometimes you can find little miniatures hidden in boxes

-and they're little love tokens.

-Mm!

I think this is much more honest. I think she's a nice little Georgian beauty.

-Yes. I'm sure she was very pure.

-Just like us.

-Yes!

-Now, it's painted on ivory.

-Oh, is it?

-Yes.

-I know it can be painted on porcelain, can't it?

-It can.

-This is ivory, is it?

-Most of these family miniatures were painted on ivory.

-Oh.

-I can't see any signatures on it

-but it's certainly a jolly good artist who's painted this.

-Yes.

We have a little piece missing, I think.

-Yes, I thought there should be a back on it.

-Absolutely.

I think there would have been

a little crystal or glass back on here

-and it could well have contained a lock of her hair.

-Yes.

Because often in Georgian and Victorian times, when somebody died,

you put a lock of their hair as a love token.

-You did it as well if it was a gift of affection.

-Yes.

I think it's lovely but I would never wear it.

-No, but it's a collector's piece, isn't it?

-I presume so, yes.

But looking at the type of decoration,

I think it's quite a valuable little piece.

-I like it a lot.

-Surprising, yes.

I'm going to take a little bit of a punt.

-I'm going to say £200-£300...

-Oh, yes?

-..with a 200 discretionary reserve, if that's OK with you.

-That's fine.

I think, to be honest, if two people admire her

and if my hunch is right, it could make £300-£400 or more.

-That really surprises me.

-So fingers crossed.

-Thank you.

So that's our final item selected for the sale.

Here's Catherine and Mark with their reminders of what they've chosen.

Well, these Beswick budgies are not my cup of tea

but let's just hope there's a couple of budgie fanciers in the room for them.

This is such a scrummy little lot

and in my mind it's absolutely priceless.

We've estimated it at £600-£800

but I don't think Sue really minds if it doesn't sell.

I think she loves it as much as I do.

Look at this miniature - a real Georgian beauty, don't you think?

A lot of people are going to be interested in her.

We're selling our items at Cameo auctioneers in Midgham

and the man on the rostrum is auctioneer John King.

First up, it's Gwenda's miniature ivory brooch,

valued at £200-£300 by Mark.

She's a lovely Regency lady,

all dressed up with the feathers in her hair.

You're buying the work of art, as opposed to the brooch,

so let's hope we can find that appreciation and that value

-at £200-£300.

-Quite right.

-That would be lovely.

-Happy with that?

-Very happy.

-Let's find out what the bidders think.

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

It's a very nice little early 19th century miniature portrait,

unsigned, of a young girl on ivory.

I'm bid 120 for it. At £120 I'm bid for it.

130 anywhere? 130.

140. 140 in the room.

At 145 anywhere? 145, 150.

155? 150... 155, 160.

160 in the room. 165, 170. 170 in the room.

At 175, 180, 180 in the room. At 185, 190.

190 in the room. At 195.

200. 200 in the room.

210 anywhere? At 210, 220. 220 I'm bid.

230 anywhere? 230, 240.

240 I'm bid.

250 anywhere?

250, 260. 260 in the room.

270 anywhere? 280? At 270 here. 280.

280 in the room.

-This is good.

-It went past its estimate.

At £300 I'm bid. At £300 I'm bid. In the room at £300.

-Yes!

-That's brilliant, Mark.

-We like the top end, don't we?

-We certainly do. The top end of the estimate. 300.

-Brilliant.

-Good for you.

-Thank you to Mark.

-That's quality, you see,

-and quality always sells, like we keep saying on the show.

-Yes.

That's splendid. Thank you, Mark.

A big price for a very small thing.

Next we're selling Sue's original sketch

by Winnie the Pooh artist EH Shepard.

On preview day, I asked auctioneer John King for his opinion.

This belongs to Sue. If it was mine, I wouldn't be selling it.

She's looking for £600-£800.

If it was from one of the Winnie the Pooh stories, it would be £4,000 to £6,000,

that's an illustration from the book.

But they got the book in a book fair a few years later.

This was bought in auction and the image is in there, so it's quite nice.

We've also got a letter signed and dated by Shepard as well,

-so it's a nice little package.

-It's a nice little archive, yes.

It's more a collector's piece than a speculative dealer's piece

and a nice thing.

£600-£800, I'd have thought that's not too much of a problem.

-Any interest so far?

-None that I can see at the moment.

It's the sort of thing that I'd expect somebody to come and look at,

-not an internet thing.

-OK. Buy on the day.

Just a note of caution at the end there from John.

Let's hope the buyers are at the sale.

I am absolutely loving this.

If you love Winnie the Pooh, you'll know EH Shepard, the illustrator.

And it belongs to Sue.

-Who have you brought along?

-This is Tony, my husband.

Pleased to meet you. Why are selling this? This is such quality.

As a book illustrator, he's now been accepted by the Fine Art Society as an artist in his own right.

-This is something to invest in.

-Oh, well!

What's nice is that it's actually Shepard's life.

It's about him when he was a young boy and I think it's lovely.

It's a really nice thing.

-So you're meant to keep this.

-We shall see in a minute, won't we?

Stranger things have happened in auction rooms.

Anyway, it's going under the hammer right now.

Let's find out what the bidders think, shall we? Here we go.

It's a framed pen-and-ink drawing by Ernest H Shepard,

plus a book which shows the publication of that sketch.

What am I saying for this, please? 300 to start it, please?

£300 to start it, somebody, please.

At £300 anywhere?

At £300 anywhere?

At £300 for the Shepard?

-No.

-What?

-£300 for the Shepard anywhere?

-I can't believe this.

-I'm taking it home.

-No interest?

-I'm lost for words.

-And with no interest

and no commission and no internet interest,

I'm sorry to say we're going to have to pass it.

No interest at all?

-Well, you were right.

-You know, you've got to keep that.

-I will keep it.

-Please do, won't you?

-I'll put it on the wall.

-Display the book underneath it.

-I will.

-And treasure it.

-I will.

Well, what a disappointment

but at least Sue's happy to take her sketch home

and now Mark's back with Janet and her two Beswick budgies.

-Ready for the tweet-ment, Mark?

-Oh, Paul, they're getting worse, your jokes.

-I think we've got a reserve of £50.

-We have.

I shan't mind if I take them home.

But Beswick, it's a sought-after name.

-Very collectable.

-Yes.

Budgies seem to be quite popular, so fingers crossed.

-Hopefully.

-Hopefully we can get the top end.

-I hope so.

We'll find out right now what the bidders think of the budgies.

Lot 203 is a pair of Beswick budgies.

There they are. What am I bid? I've got two bids the same.

-£110 to start them.

-Oh!

-Ooh!

115, 120. 125, 130.

135, 140, 145, 150.

155, 160?

155. 160 anywhere?

At 160. 165.

170. 175.

-The budgies are causing a bit of a flap.

-They're flying away.

200, then. 210, now. 220.

-£220, Janet!

-Wow!

£240 I'm bid. 250 anywhere?

250. 260. At £260 in the room.

-270, 280...

-Oh!

At £280 in the room. 290, 300.

At £300 in the room. At £300 in the room.

And selling it in the room at £300...

310, 320.

-Well done, you, Janet, that's all I can say.

-330 anywhere?

At £320. Your last chance on the machine.

At £320 and selling.

-The hammer's gone down. £320.

-Oh, wow.

-APPLAUSE

-Well done, Janet.

-Oh, good!

-That's lovely.

-They did fly away, didn't they?

-Wow.

-Hey, what did we miss?

-Who's a pretty boy?

Who's a...?

-That was amazing, wasn't it?

-Lovely. That's lovely.

Well, I never. You learn something every day, don't you?

If you've got anything like that, now you know what it's worth.

Bring it along to Flog It!

Well, I was going to give the money to my grandchildren and I still think I will.

-How many have you got?

-Three. Benjamin, Joshua and Katie.

-They'll be all right now.

-There! What a lovely grandma.

-That's lovely. Thank you.

-Thanks for bringing that in.

-Thanks very much.

-And making Mark feel embarrassed.

I am, I'm just... I shall go and look in the mirror all on my own.

The auction's still going on but it's all over for our owners

and it's fair to say everyone's gone home happy.

We've had some highs and some lows - that's what auctions are all about.

If you'd like to take part in Flog It!, we'd love to see you

but for now, it's cheerio.

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