Henley Flog It!

Hello and welcome to a very picturesque Henley on Thames in Oxfordshire,

a place renowned for its links with rowing.

But there's no time for playing around with boats or feeding the ducks.

I've got an appointment at the Town Hall and it's in that direction.

And this is it - our magnificent venue for today, Henley Town Hall.

We've got a magnificent queue of people,

all wanting to sell their antiques and collectables.

They've come to see our experts,

our wonderful team headed up by Mark Stacey and Catherine Southon,

-who adore antiques when they're not rowing and revelling.

-Oh, we do.

-What have you found?

-It's a bit of Lalique.

-It's beautiful.

It's 9.30, let's get the doors open and get everybody inside.

-Are we ready, everyone?

-Yes!

-Let's go inside.

Coming up in today's programme,

I burst in on Mark's valuation with some rather shocking news.

-We've got a pair of them now.

-What have I found?

-You've devalued ours.

There's some guy making them

-just down the road as I'm speaking...

-You rotter!

And over at the auction house, we make Marjorie's day.

-That's put a big smile on your face.

-That's wonderful! Yes!

As our owners settle into their seats,

we're all eagerly delving among the boxes and bags

to see what they've brought in.

Remember, at every valuation day, there's not just me and two experts.

We have a whole team of off-screen valuers,

who sift through your items to spot the best ones to send to auction.

And that's already bearing fruit, a fruit stand, to be exact,

and Mark's about to give owner Marjorie the benefit of his expert knowledge.

Now, tell me - where did you get such an exciting fruit stand from?

My father had an aunt, an elderly aunt,

who I think had seen better days,

-and she wanted something to give him and she gave him that.

-Oh, lovely.

And so it... I always used to see it on the sideboard at home

and my mother kept fruit in it

and then eventually she said, "It's yours now."

And for a long time I used it, I used it for fruit,

-always with a tissue in the bottom.

-Yes, that's right.

And then it gradually found its way into the bottom of the wardrobe.

-It hasn't seen the light of day for a while, has it?

-It hasn't.

-It could do with a jolly good clean-up.

-It could.

It could do with something specialised that gets into all the cracks and crevices.

Well, even before looking at the marks,

which we will do in a moment,

the shape and the style of this screams Victorian.

It's got this wonderful pierced border and trailing vine design,

-so you can imagine luscious grapes.

-With a bloom on them.

And this carrying handle.

We're very lucky because it hasn't been cleaned a lot.

-If we turn it upside down...

-Yes.

..we can see a nice set of hallmarks there for Sheffield.

-It's Sheffield?

-Sheffield. Hallmarked in Sheffield.

And 1861.

We've also got a maker's mark for Thomas Bradbury,

-who was quite a well-known and prolific maker.

-Yes.

-So we've got a nice full set of marks.

-Good.

-It looks really quite heavy, doesn't it?

-It does

and actually, in a way, it surprises me...

It surprised me when I picked it up again...

-How light it is.

-Well, not really, no.

Well, I think it's quite light. I was expecting it to be heavier.

-Well, all this upper part is very delicate.

-Yes, very pierced.

But the bottom bit is the heavier bit. It stabilises it, of course.

It's lovely. It's a nice honest piece of silver, Victorian silver.

-How much is it worth?

-I've no idea at all.

Well, I think we should put an estimate of something like £180-£200 on it.

-Fine.

-And we'll put the reserve at 160.

-Yes, yes.

-Is that all right? A fixed reserve.

That is very... That's absolutely fine with me.

You've had it all these years. Why do you want to get rid of it now?

Because I don't expect I shall be using it again

and I think somebody ought to have pleasure from it.

Wonderful. A very good reason for selling.

-It's a pleasurable piece of silver.

-Absolutely.

-Yes.

-Good idea.

I have a feeling Marjorie and Mark are onto a winner, there.

Now, what's Catherine found?

Something special that comes in a small box and it belongs to John.

As soon as I saw this box, I knew it would hold something of quality.

Now, let's just open it up and have a look what we've got inside.

What we have is a nice little set of scales.

I see sets of scales pretty much every day

and they're not really worth an awful lot of money.

They're normally postal scales or coin scales

and perhaps worth about £30-£50.

Now, what I like about this is really the quality.

We can see all the weights contained in there.

Where did you get this delightful box from?

-It was given to me by a friend.

-Mm-hm?

-Her step-father had passed away...

-Right.

..and she asked me if I could do her a couple of favours

-moving some of his things out of his flat.

-Right.

And then there was this lovely little box

and I opened it up and she said, "Do you like it?"

and I said, "Very much."

So she said, "Would you like it?" and I said yes.

What we've got is a lovely little set of tweezers

to put the weights in the pans when you're weighing them.

-Imagine!

-It just gives it that quality.

I love seeing things like this. It really is wonderful.

It's just interesting to see what they were actually for

because the pans are bowls, really, rather than pans.

I don't think they were postal scales or coins

because of the shape.

Perhaps they were for gems or something like that

-but you've got no idea where they came from?

-No. I'd love to know.

I would say they're perhaps for stones, for gems,

I would have thought.

I think these are really quite early,

maybe early Victorian or even sort of 1840, that sort of date.

But they are lovely. Really nice quality.

I don't really know how to gauge these

but I might put an estimate on of perhaps £60-£80.

-Would you be happy with that?

-Yes.

I want to fix the reserve at £60

-because I don't want to go below that.

-Very good.

But I really hope they make more because they are something special.

-Are you happy with that?

-Yes. Very good.

Will you be sorry to see them go, though?

I will but I shall give the money to her charity anyway.

-Oh, that's lovely.

-Yes.

-Oh, that's very nice.

What a lovely ending. That would be great if we make some money.

Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope they do well.

-Good.

-You've made my day. Thanks, John. Lovely.

We're staying with small and delicate right now,

as Mark spotted Frances and an interesting silver item.

I have to be honest with you, I've never seen one of these before.

-Do you know anything about it?

-No, nothing at all.

Well, I've had a word with a colleague

who has recognised what this is

and apparently it's Russian and they are known as throne salts,

-I guess because it looks like a little throne.

-Ah, yes.

You open the lid here and you keep your table salt in there.

So you have a number of these on a table

-and then you spoon over salt.

-Spoon it out.

-Yes.

And it's a very charming item. It's pre-Revolution, made before 1917.

-Yes.

-It's a very interesting little object

-but one that's quite difficult to value.

-Is it?

-The Russian market is quite buoyant.

-Yes.

There's a lot of people who collect Russian items.

The condition looks very good to me, and this lovely pierced back here.

It's a very elegant item. Have you had it for a long time?

Yes, I have. My husband's aunt came to stay with us for the weekend

and she said, "Oh, I've brought something for you and you enjoy it."

I said, "Oh, thank you very much." And that was it.

-So we don't know how it came into her possession?

-Not at all.

It's an interesting object and I think we ought to have a little look

-because all the back is decorated and pierced.

-And it's all marked.

-It's quite a nice little quality item, isn't it?

-It is. It's unusual.

But in terms of value, we've been pondering about it

and we thought it ought to be worth round about £200-£300,

-with maybe a £180 reserve, something like that.

-Yes.

What are your feelings on that?

I didn't expect it to be in that region.

Let's just see what happens. It's a very interesting object.

I can honestly say I've never handled one before,

-so I'm in the dark here.

-Yes.

-So if it doesn't sell, you won't shout at me, will you?

-Not at all!

Everyone is having such a marvellous time here.

There's an excitement in the air.

Everybody's hoping to get picked to go through to the auction room

and we've found some cracking items so far.

It may not be rowing memorabilia but what we have found

is going to make waves when we put it into Cameo auction rooms.

Our experts have found their choices

and here's a reminder of what we're selling.

This is a classic, Victorian pedestal fruit stand in silver.

Not really my cup of tea

but I'm sure it would grace anybody's fine dining room.

This is a lovely little box, a magic box.

It doesn't just hold a normal set of postal scales

but a quality set of scales.

Sadly, John's not going to make it to the auction

but I'll make sure they make their money.

This exquisite Russian throne salt

is a little bit out of my league.

It's a treasure from the East.

I just hope we get the right Russians at the sale.

'We're selling our items just down the road in Midgham

'and it looks like the bidders are already having a good look around.'

Remember, if you're buying or selling at auction there is commission to pay.

That's how the auctioneers pay their wages and pay for this place.

Here at the Cameo auction rooms it's 20% plus VAT,

so do factor those costs into whatever you're selling.

Our auctioneer is John King and on the preview day,

I asked him what he made of our first lot,

that Russian silver salt.

-I like this and I've not seen anything like this before...

-No.

-..a little Russian salt.

It was given to Frances by her husband's aunt

but it's been in the cupboard ever since.

-It should really be out somewhere and viewed.

-Agreed.

-We've got £200-£300 on this.

-Absolutely.

You know, my feeling is, it's a pretty little thing.

-The feet let it down a little bit.

-Architecturally, they do.

-Yeah, in terms of the rest of it.

-Especially with that pierced back.

-That's really quite unusual, isn't it?

-Yeah.

My favourite expression is, "Go and find another one."

Well, I've not seen another one, so it's hard to do a price comparison.

That's why it's great to be at an auction rather than in an antiques shop

because it's hard to put a fixed price on this.

-I've got people that are going to be here bidding.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-And hopefully, some internet bidding.

-Oh, there's no question.

So what is your gut feeling?

Erm... Top end of the estimate. 350-ish. That sort of price range.

He's not giving anything away, so don't go away, watch this space.

The bidders are taking their places, John's on the rostrum,

so let's get underway with our first item.

If you'd like to take part and you've got some unwanted antiques,

then dust them down and bring them along.

-That's what Frances did, right here, didn't you?

-I did indeed.

You dusted it down, it had been in a cupboard for years and years...

-That's right.

-You showed it to Mark and hey presto, it's that silver Russian salt.

-Lovely object.

-An unwanted antique and what a find.

-We didn't know it was an antique.

-I didn't know what it was.

-One of the off-screen experts said it was a throne salt.

-Yes.

And you can see it straight away but I've never seen one before.

It's an important little thing, isn't it?

It's saying, "Look at me! Look how proud I am. Phwoar!"

Very nice Russian silver throne salt,

filigree back, decorated with swirls and flowers.

There it is there. Nice little thing. What am I bid for it, please?

£100 to start it, somebody.

-£100 to start it.

-Come on.

110, 120, 130, 140, 150.

150 I'm bid. 160 anywhere?

At £150. 160, 170.

180. 180 I'm bid.

At £180. 190.

190 I'm bid. 200 anywhere?

200 I'm bid here. At £200 here.

210 anywhere? At £200 here.

At £200 and away.

Seems cheap to me at £200 and away.

Are you all done at 200?

Yes. It's just, just £200.

-That was close.

-It was close. That's a fair price.

-That was a close shave.

-£200.

-Yes.

-Happy, though?

-Oh, yes.

-Good.

-Quite happy.

-Better than it being in the cupboard.

-Indeed.

Go on, open your cupboards. Dust down those unwanted antiques.

Who knows? You could make £200 as well.

Next we have the set of scales belonging to John

and valued by Catherine at £60-£80.

The reason I chose this is because it's slightly different.

Early 19th century.

But it's got that nice little bit inside that you lift up

-and it's got the weights inside and the tweezers.

-OK.

So it's a nice little piece.

And I've protected this with a 60 reserve.

-And John was happy with that?

-Yeah.

-John can't be with us today.

-No.

We'll phone and give him the good news or the bad news.

-Hopefully good news.

-If it's good news, who's going to do it?

-Me.

-If it's bad, you.

-You.

It's a nice little mahogany boxed case of scales,

complete with weights and a small brash dish pan, there.

I can start the bidding here at £50 for them.

£50 I'm bid for them. 55 anywhere?

-At £50 I'm bid for them. 55 anywhere?

-A little bit more.

-Are you all done?

-Oh, come on.

-At £50 for the scales and weights.

50 I'm bid. New bidding. 55, then. At £55 and away. Are you all done?

-At £55 and away.

-One more.

-All done at 55?

60. At £60. Against you now.

At £60 and away. Are you all done at 60?

With a nod at £60 and away.

-Well done! He was struggling.

-That was close.

-He pulled that bid out of that guy.

-That was close.

-That was close, wasn't it?

-Yeah.

-But well done, though.

-I'm going to go and call him.

It is a roller coaster ride. It's not easy. It's not an exact science.

As we keep saying, anything can happen.

Well, the auctioneer is really having to work the crowd hard today.

I hope the buyers are more eager to put their hands up

for Marjorie's silver fruit stand.

So why are you selling it now?

Because there's nobody really to enjoy it

and I haven't used it for so long

and I just think there must be somebody, with a rather beautiful thing like that,

who would want to have it out and on display.

I know Mark would put his fruit in it.

I would put my fruit in it, Paul. It's a quality item.

-And it's a good time to sell silver.

-So they say.

Well, good luck. It's going under the hammer right now.

Fingers crossed.

This is the silver hallmarked filigree fruit dish,

decorated with embossed grapes and vines.

I can start the bidding at £250.

-Oh, 250.

-Straight in at £250.

-Good gracious.

At £250. 260, 270.

280, 290.

300, 310.

-320, 330.

-Wow!

£330 with me. 340 anywhere?

At £330 with me.

Are you all done at 330?

-Hammer's gone down. £330.

-£330.

-That's put a big smile on your face.

-That's wonderful. Yes, rather.

-£330.

-Double the estimate, virtually, Paul.

-We like that, don't we?

-Yes.

-So it is a good time to sell silver.

Absolutely. I trust you.

-I shall enjoy your programmes even more now.

-Oh!

Thanks, Marjorie. You can always trust Flog It!

We'll be back at the auction house a little bit later

and one of our owners will be making even more money than that

but for now, stay tuned, as I've got a hidden gem to show you.

This is the story of one of the 20th century's greatest artists, Stanley Spencer.

He was a man with enduring religious beliefs,

who saw beauty and the spiritual in everyday things.

His main inspiration was the ordinary working life

of his village, Cookham in Berkshire,

which he thought of as heaven on earth.

Cookham is a kind of newspaper to me,

through the pages of which I am anxiously glancing

in hope of finding something about myself in it.

On the whole, it's rather satisfactory.

He'd set up a studio in the village and was painting prolifically.

His work was just beginning to be recognised.

It was being accepted. Everything was falling into place.

He'd found his subject and he was happy with his technique.

He felt he was on the right spiritual and artistic path

but then the First World War came along.

By 1915, Spencer could ignore it no longer and volunteered.

He was only five foot two inches tall,

so he wasn't selected for the front line

but found himself working as a hospital orderly

in the 1,600 bed Beaufort War Hospital in Bristol.

With no time for painting, Spencer set aside his obsession with art,

to turn instead to the search for godliness in his mundane duties.

So how did Spencer feel about this?

Well, judging by this extract from his diary, he had mixed emotions.

It reads, "When I'm seeking the kingdom of heaven,

"I shall tell God to take into consideration

"the number of men I have cleaned

"and the number of floors that I have scrubbed,

"as well as the excellence of my pictures, so as to let me in."

Running short of soldiers in 1916,

the army accepted Spencer for service overseas.

After a spell in the ambulance service in Macedonia,

he found himself fighting on the front line.

More soldiers died from malaria during that campaign

than they did from fighting in combat.

Spencer himself was invalided home in 1918 to recover from it

and it was at home that he threw himself back into his art work.

But it was his experiences from the war

that actually motivated him to plan a memorial chapel.

He took as his role model for this important work

Giotto's chapel in Padua.

In it, he wanted to remember the ordinary soldier.

All he needed were the patrons

and he found them in Mr and Mrs Behrend.

Mrs Behrend's brother died of an illness he contracted during the Macedonian campaign

and Spencer's chapel was commissioned as a private memorial for him, here at Burghclere.

And this is the chapel.

On the outside, it's pretty much of its time

but inside, it is absolutely timeless.

It's breathtaking.

MUSIC: RENAISSANCE CHORAL MUSIC

Well, it is absolutely incredible

and it just goes to show how prolific Spencer was.

And it all starts here, with this oil on canvas.

This is the start of the journey

that joins all the pictures together.

It's a convoy of wounded soldiers

arriving at the gates of Beaufort War Hospital in Bristol.

Or could they be arriving at the gates of hell?

Look - the sun's shining

but on the inside, it gets darker and darker in the foreground.

So it really could be hell, couldn't it?

The whole meaning is multi-layered.

Look how you can see their slings, look.

It's almost like the wings of an angel.

Showing the human companionship of war,

not the killing and the fighting and that's what it's all about.

This is the journey that it takes you on.

'There are 19 paintings in the chapel

'but this wonderful resurrection scene is the masterpiece,

'which literally towers above the rest

'and makes sense of all of them.'

It took Spencer six years to complete the works in the chapel

and virtually a year alone on this resurrection scene.

He wanted it to be a happy painting

and it depicts the men rising from their graves

and handing their crosses to Jesus,

in the same way that the troops that were demobbed

would hand their weapons back when the fighting had finished.

The painting is a celebration of the resurrection or the homecoming,

something that would have been dear in the hearts of all of these men

fighting in Macedonia.

And the whole composition, the whole structure of this work

actually hangs on the crosses

and as you can see, they come in three waves -

one at the top, one in the middle and one here,

right in front of the altar,

very much like the sea flowing towards the shore.

The position a cross would be in would in many cases be brought about

through the behaviour of the men, their affection for it

and their gratitude towards it and so on.

Just above where the men are shaking hands

you see a man caressing it, like he would caress a baby in his arms.

The crosses also break up the picture as a total

into smaller little portraits

and you can see that quite cleverly by the frames that the crosses make.

I wonder who they were? Spencer painted people he knew,

people in his village.

All over this wonderful scene,

there's different little vignettes to look at. It's very clever.

There's something else to point out.

Look how Spencer has depicted Jesus,

a figure virtually the same size as everybody else.

He's an equal, he's not sitting in judgement, looking down on them.

But interestingly enough, the central motif

is two massive, great big, white mules.

That's sort of Spencer's religious belief

in the humble at the heart of God's creation.

Having seen this now, with all its irreverence and complexity,

I now understand why it's considered

to be one of the most important works of art of the 20th century.

The man was a genius.

Henley Town Hall is our valuation day venue

and we're checking through the antiques and collectables being unpacked.

Let's now join up with Mark Stacey, who's with Jean and Dennis

and a large reminder of a particular time in British history.

My mother-in-law gave me this about 15 years ago.

I don't know why she gave it to me then

and that's really all I can tell you. I don't know anything else about it.

And has it been on display on your kitchen dresser or...?

-No.

-Not at all? Just in a cupboard?

-Yes.

-Exactly right.

-Yes.

-It's a shame, isn't it?

-Yes.

I mean, first of all, it's Sunderland,

because whenever you see this pink lustre

it's always going to be from the Northeast - Sunderland lustre.

What confirms that is the view of the bridge at Tyneside,

when it was opened in 1793,

transfer printed and all coloured in hand.

The thing that makes it slightly more interesting from our point of view

is the fact that we've got these soldiers here,

one holding a British flag, one holding a French flag,

with a little motto there, "May they ever be united."

Now, we're not often united with the French, are we?

No! That's what I was thinking.

Now we come to this lovely plaque.

We've got the royal crest there and the lion and the unicorn

and we've got Napoleon here, the Third,

and Queen Victoria, actually, believe it or not.

And I think it relates to the Crimean War.

Unfortunately, we've got a nasty crack

-where somebody's clanked it at some point...

-Yes.

-..and has broken it.

Hello. Paul's found another one. You haven't found another one?

-This is so strange!

-We've got a pair of them.

-What have I found?

-You've devalued ours!

-Good heavens.

-The Crimea - well I never.

There's some guy making them just down the road as I'm speaking.

-You rotter!

-£40-£60 he's charging.

-You rotter!

-Ours is better.

-Yeah.

-Yours is bigger.

Ours is damaged but it is better. That's lovely, isn't it?

-How strange is that?

-Isn't that strange?

Is that a good or a bad sign for our jug?

I think the value is going to be affected by the damage.

-Had you ever thought of the value?

-Not really, no.

-No.

We don't look at it. It's been in the cupboard.

-So you just want to get rid of it, really.

-In a way, yes.

You want it to go to a collector who'd appreciate it.

-It's a bit silly, keeping it in the dark.

-It is.

Well, I think, had it been in perfect condition,

we probably would have been looking at £300-£400,

-in good condition.

-Mm.

Bearing in mind the damage, we're looking at about a third of that,

-so maybe £80-£120.

-Yes.

I think we ought to protect it with an £80 reserve.

-I don't think you want to give it away.

-No, no.

-If it doesn't sell this sale, you can try it in another.

-Yes.

-Are you happy to go along with that?

-Yes.

-That's fine.

Give it a bash? Well, it's already had a bash.

-Let's not give it another bash.

-No.

-We'll try it at auction.

Now, while that jug's being carefully wrapped up for auction,

I'm kept busy seeing what else has been brought in.

-What's your name, Pat?

-Pat.

-Pat.

-You know I like my wood, don't you?

-I do.

-I do like my trees.

-That's bur walnut. Can I have a quick peep inside?

-You can.

-It's a writing slope.

-It's a writing slope.

The condition is superb.

-What's this?

-It's a letter about the box itself.

-You've done some research, have you?

-My nephew did.

Oh, right, OK.

So he's traced where this box was presented

-to the national school in Derby.

-Derby.

-Derby.

-Derby? I can't remember.

So the inscription on the front is by Mr B Owen

and it was presented to him in 1870 and the school dates back to 1762.

-That's nice provenance, isn't it?

-Yes.

-Really nice provenance.

Generally, these fetch around £200-£300.

A good campaign writing slope, maybe £600

but it's got to be a very early one in exceptional condition.

This is a little later, this is a Victorian one,

but nevertheless, it's bur walnut and the condition is outstanding.

Is this something that you want to sell?

-I'm giving it to my son.

-Keeping it in the family.

-He's a journalist...

-Is he?

-..so I thought it was...

Ah, so that's quite fitting, isn't it?

He can do some writing on there.

I think you're doing the right thing, do you know?

-Keep it.

-Thank you.

-Keep it.

Some antiques aren't meant to be sold, let's face it.

They really aren't. This one, sadly, isn't going to be flogged

but the next one, that Catherine has just found, certainly is.

Let's take a closer look at what she's spotted.

Beryl and Les, thank you so much for coming along to Flog It!

and thank you for bringing the most exciting thing

I have seen for a very, very long time,

this wonderful leech jar.

Where did you get it from?

It's been in the family for as long as I can remember.

It's always lived on a shelf in the living room.

I've no history on it at all.

-So as a small boy, you saw this at home?

-At home, yes.

-And it's survived...

-It's survived.

-..in this prefect condition.

-Do you like it?

-Not particularly, no.

-Is it because of the word leeches that is plastered across the front?

-Possibly! Possibly so.

-What about you, Beryl?

-I like all the holes in the hearts on top.

I wondered if someone had worked for a big house or something

and maybe it was passed on down like that. I don't know.

Well, once upon a time, these were actually in a shop.

They were pharmaceutical jars.

They would have been lined along with other apothecary jars.

Now these, obviously, contained leeches

and we can see here these little perforated holes for the leeches...

-I can see you squirming at it.

-I know!

For the leeches to be contained in here and to breathe.

These days, these leech jars are hugely collectable.

Lots of people collect these,

especially when they've got the name leeches right across them.

You have got a little bit of rubbing there to the decoration

but, to be honest, overall, it is in lovely condition,

-although I can see there a tiny little chip on there.

-Yeah.

These were made in Staffordshire.

It's difficult to say exactly which factory they come from

-but it's around 1820, around 1830, that date...

-Goodness.

-Wow.

..so it's got quite a bit of age to it.

I'm just amazed you've had it in your family

on the shelf all this time and I don't...

-You know, as a young boy, you didn't kick a football or knock the lid off?

-No, no.

It's in great condition, so well done you for keeping it like that.

Now, because they are so collectable,

we see quite a few reproductions of these.

A lot fakes come on the market.

And one of the ways to tell with these are that the holes are much bigger.

-Oh, right.

-So they haven't quite got it right

because the leeches could have crawled out of bigger holes.

-Now, estimate wise. Any ideas?

-No idea at all.

How does £2-3,000 sound?

LAUGHTER

No? £2-3,000?

£2-3,000? They are very collectable, very sought after

-and it is worth at least £2-3,000.

-Oh!

The only thing that people may worry about is that slight chip

but generally speaking it's just absolutely fantastic.

I would be so proud to own this. It's really lovely.

-You've just made my day bringing it in. Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

-You looked shocked!

-I'm shattered.

Don't fall down and knock this over.

You've looked after it all this time.

So that leech jar is off to the sale room

with a valuation of £2,000 to £3,000

and a reserve at £2,000.

Over to Mark now, who's found our final collectable of the programme.

He's with Paul and Celia, who have a fine military brooch.

-Now, a little military brooch.

-Indeed.

-Family history?

Yes, it was my father's and he gave it to my mother

when they were based in Germany

and it would be worn at cocktail parties and mess dos

and things like that.

-It's a sort of sweetheart brooch, really.

-I suppose so.

-And your father was serving in the Royal Artillery?

-He was.

-He was a captain and he left as a major.

-Oh, wow.

You don't go out to cocktail parties, I guess?

-Not military ones, no.

-Not military ones, so erm...

And it's just sitting there, not being appreciated, not being worn.

I'm scared stiff that if I did wear it I'd lose it, so I'd rather...

-Pass it on to a collector.

-Well, hopefully, yes.

-Or somebody who's serving.

-Exactly.

-It would be a lovely present for his wife.

-It would be.

Because the first thing to say is

regiments are collectable in their own right

and some are rarer than others.

Also, they come in different standards.

This one, obviously, is in gold

and not only do we have enamel work, we have different colour gold

and we have, of course, the wheel

and it's surrounded by little diamonds with a ruby in the centre.

-Are they real diamonds?

-They are. They're rose-cut diamonds.

-One is missing but you knew that.

-Yes, I did, yes.

It's a very, very nice lot.

-Have you any idea how old that would be?

-Erm...

Difficult to say. It's probably the beginning of the last century.

-Right.

-1920, '30, something like that.

And I think it would attract interest in the sale room.

If I was putting that in for sale,

I would probably put it in hopefully with a slightly cautious estimate

-of something like £250-£350.

-Right.

-I've spoken to my jewellery colleague about it.

-Yes.

He says... I suppose it's because your late father was captain

and ended up as a major, it's top end of the range,

rather than one of the ones which would have smaller

if it was lower down the ranks.

He says it should easily make that and maybe a little bit more.

-We'd have to protect it with a reserve, of course.

-Yes.

We don't want it to be given away.

I wouldn't really want it to go for less than that.

-I don't think it would be worth...

-No, I don't.

-We should put a reserve of £250 on it.

-OK.

-We won't sell it for a penny less than that.

-Right.

-And hopefully, we'll actually get 300, 350 for it.

-OK.

-If we can protect it with a 250 reserve...

-That would be lovely.

..and then if it doesn't go,

-you can try it in another sale after that.

-Yeah.

-Right.

-But it is a wonderful object.

-It's very pretty.

-Is that all right?

-That's wonderful. Thank you.

-I look forward to seeing you at the sale.

-You, too. Thank you.

And that's it. We're off to auction one more time

and here are Catherine and Mark to remind us what they've chosen.

Well, this Crimean Sunderland lustre jug is a real piece of history

and at the time, it was probably filled with entente cordial.

I don't know how it will do but I love it.

I absolutely love this piece.

It's a subject I'm passionate about,

medical and scientific instruments, and this fits right in.

This is a fabulous piece.

I'm beguiled by the quality of this Royal Artillery jewelled brooch.

I just hope the military collectors are at the sale to appreciate it.

We're selling our items at Cameo auctioneers in Midgham.

The bidders are ready and our auctioneer today is John King.

So no time to lose. The sale's underway and I'm joined by Mark.

We've got the brooch belonging to Paul and Celia

but they've got the flu, they can't be with us,

but hopefully, we can raise a bit of cash here.

-It's a lovely thing.

-£300 maybe?

-Hopefully. I think so.

These are collectable items.

We're going to find out right now. It's going under the hammer.

532 is a very nice Royal Artillery brooch,

set with diamonds and a centre ruby.

What am I bid for it, please? 200 for it, somebody?

I'm bid £200 for it. 210 anywhere?

At £200 I'm bid for it. 210, 220.

230, 240, 250.

260.

At £260 I'm bid for it.

At £260 I'm bid for it. Are you all done at £260?

-That's a good result, £260.

-They'll be happy with that, I'm sure.

-Short and sweet, wasn't it?

-Well, it got there.

-Over the reserve, as well.

-Yeah.

I just hope you get well soon and you enjoy this little moment

and enjoy the money when you get it.

Now to the Crimean War

and that jug featuring Queen Victoria and some military figures.

Jean and Dennis, it's good to see you.

The last time I saw you, you were at the valuation table with Mark

and that Sunderland lustreware jug

with the images of Queen Victoria and the Crimean War.

-And another one had turned up...

-Yes.

-..completely out of the blue.

-A baby one.

-A baby one. A smaller version. How unusual was that?

And you teased us. It was a complete fluke.

-You'd never expect to get that, would you?

-No.

-It has got a bit of damage on there.

-It's 80-120. That's why, isn't it?

-Exactly. Spot on.

-Yeah.

But you've got to look very closely at it.

Let's hope the buyers haven't.

There are a lot of people that collect Sunderland lustreware.

We have a 19th century lustre jug

depicting French and English soldiers,

an armorial crest with pictures of Napoleon and Queen Victoria.

I'm bid £60 for this.

£60 I'm bid for it. 65 anywhere?

65, 70. £70 I'm bid.

-Come on.

-75 over there. At £75 over there.

80 anywhere?

At £75 I'm bid for it.

80 anywhere?

At £75. Your last chance to bid, here. At £75 and away...

Not quite. One bid away. It had a fixed reserve at 80.

-That's auctions for you. It's a roller coaster ride.

-Never mind.

-Well, you know, we were just shy of that £80.

-£80, yes.

-So...

Have a word with the auctioneer, maybe leave it here, re-enter it and lower the reserve to suit that.

-OK.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

'Auctioneers are in the perfect position

'to gauge the strength of the current market

'and that's why I asked John's advice on our next item.

'It's more china, the Staffordshire leech jar spotted by Catherine.

'She was very excited and valued it £2-3,000.'

Beryl and Les's Staffordshire leech jar.

It's early Victorian, 1840s, 1850s.

It's been in their living room on the mantelpiece

for as long as they can remember.

It's been up high because a lot of these don't survive intact.

-That's right.

-The lids go missing or they get chipped.

We're looking at around £2-3,000, put on by our expert Catherine.

I'm not surprised. I have to say, these are unusual.

You don't often see them in this condition.

-I'm not keen on pale blue. I'd like to see it in white.

-I would, too.

But the shape of it is nice. This top is a nice shape.

It stands out from the others

and I think these pharmaceutical jars are very, very collectable.

-They fetch good money.

-They do.

-Has there been a lot of interest?

-There has been. We've just got to turn the interest into money.

-Yeah.

And that's what an auctioneer's job is all about.

Come on, John - work your magic for Beryl and Les.

We've all been waiting for this one.

I'm standing next to two very nervous ladies.

-This is Beryl, this is Catherine. Where's Les?

-At work, I'm afraid.

He's missing this, isn't he? How did you come by this?

-It's an odd thing to have.

-It was in Les's mum's house when we cleared it.

-Was it?

-He remembers it when he was a boy.

-It's in very good condition. No-one played with it or used it.

-No, no.

Sometimes the lids are missing or they're damaged.

The finial, often, because it's exposed, that gets chopped off.

-It's an acorn shape, that finial.

-Yeah. It's lovely.

-It's quality.

Good.

Two to three. Ooh!

Lot 618 is a fine Staffordshire pedestal leeches jar,

circa 1840.

There is a small chip to the rim,

undetectable once you've put the lid on it.

Lots of interest in this, I have to say.

I'll start the bidding at £1,000 with me. At £1,000 with me.

-At £1,000 with me.

-Come on.

-At £1,000 with me.

1,100 I'm bid. 1,200 I'm bid.

-1,300 I'm bid.

-He's milking it.

-1,400 I'm bid.

-I hope you're right.

-1,500 I'm bid.

1,600 I'm bid.

1,700 I'm bid. 1,800 I'm bid.

1,900 I'm bid. £2,000 I'm bid.

-It's gone.

-£2,100 I'm bid.

At £2,100 I'm bid on the machine, here.

-At £2,100 I'm bid.

-Come on.

2,150. 2,200 I'm bid.

At 2,200. 2,250.

Beats me at £2,250 I'm bid.

At £2,250. Are you all done?

-Yes!

-Well done.

-Wow.

-Great valuation.

-At least you don't have to take it home.

-Take it home!

Can you imagine breaking it, now you knew what it was worth?

Wow! Wow!

-You're shaking.

-I know.

-You are, aren't you?

-And this is your first auction.

-Absolutely.

-It's your first time on telly, first auction.

-I know, I know.

Got rid of your leech jar!

You're going places!

Well, what a busy show.

We've had a great time at our valuation day in Henley

and here, too, at the auction room in Midgham

and most of our items sold.

I hope you've enjoyed the show.

Join me again soon for many more surprises

but for now, it's cheerio.

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