Alnwick Castle Flog It!

Today I'm in Northumberland and the venue for our valuation day today

is the spectacular, breathtaking Alnwick Castle.

But will we have the antiques and collectables worthy of the backdrop?

Well, stay tuned and find out. It's going to be an adventure.

Standing proud over the town of Alnwick, the castle is seen for miles.

As a warning to any strangers, the Percy family's lion guards the entrance to the town.

But don't worry. We're friendly visitors today.

And this is where it all starts. For the lucky ones who go through to the auction later on,

they could be going home with a small fortune. There could be one or two big surprises.

Everyone here has turned up laden with unwanted antiques to ask our experts the all-important question,

-which is...

-ALL: What's it worth?

-What'll you do when you find out?

-ALL: Flog it!

-It's about time we stormed the castle, got everybody inside and got on with it. Ready?

-Yes!

Follow me, then. Let's go.

Heading up our team of experts are David Fletcher and Anita Manning.

Are they both in good condition? That's crucial.

They've already scoured the queue, but better get inside with me.

And we're greeted by this marvellous vista.

Coming up on today's show, there's fun for the young and the young at heart

and can you guess which of these items spotted by Anita makes the most at auction?

A collection of toy trains?

This is our dear old Hornby.

A concertina with a bit of damage?

It's made by Lachenal.

Or three history books with a local connection?

Alnwick. The county town of Northumberland.

Stay tuned and all will be revealed.

-Love this. Don't you?

-Yes!

Everybody's now safely seated inside. We're filming outside today, so fingers crossed it won't rain.

What a stunning backdrop! It doesn't get much better than that.

Hopefully we'll have some wizard work by our experts. And Anita Manning is first at the tables.

Anita is with Dick and his trains are certainly not just for boys.

When I was a wee girl, my dad bought me train sets for Christmas. Not dolls. I'm always pleased

to see this type of thing. Tell me, where did you get these?

They were my dad's. And he, I think, bought some of them

in the 1940s. Probably when he came out of the RAF. And he was a railway engineer on steam trains.

-So I think this is where the interest came.

-Oh, right.

-Did he play with these?

-Yes, he did.

-And when you were a wee boy?

-Yes!

I was never allowed to touch them!

-Did your dad get dressed up in his uniform?

-No, no.

No, no!

-It wasn't as bad as that?

-No, it wisnae.

This one here is possibly the earliest one.

This is a German locomotive made by Bing.

From about the mid-1920s, I would say.

-This one here is our dear old Hornby.

-Yes, clockwork.

Probably the most popular company for making trains or locomotives ever.

And this one here is Bassett-Lowke, which were a Northampton company

and, of course, Northampton's a very famous place for railways, railway memorabilia.

Now do you have the other pieces of this?

-We have various tracks and goods stock to go with them all.

-Right, OK.

-Now these are steam-driven.

-Yes.

-When you were a wee laddie, were you allowed to do any of that?

-No, no.

-No?

-Actually, one time they had it going in the living room.

I think this one caught fire and my dad threw it in the sink and it set the curtains on fire...!

He wasn't really allowed to run them in the house after that.

-Your mum said, "Enough's enough."

-They're very difficult to regulate.

You had to put a load of coaches on to slow them down on corners.

-I used to like when they fell off.

-You must have been a wee devil!

-Aye.

-All right. I notice on the Hornby one

that they're all zero gauge and this has been a replacement.

-Yes, my dad made the replacement.

-That probably didn't affect the performance.

-No.

-But...

-The price.

-It will affect the price a wee bit.

I think probably putting them in, maybe 150-250, would you be happy to put them in at that?

-Yes, aye.

-We'll put them in with a reserve of maybe round about 130 on them.

But what I would like you to do if you have the other pieces and carriages

-is to bring them to the auctioneer. The auctioneer may amend the valuation on it.

-Right.

I'd rather somebody got the enjoyment out of using them. That's where they should be.

-Played with again. That's the important thing.

-Aye.

Let's hope whoever buys them doesn't set fire to their mum's curtains!

'And moving on I'm with Irene and the most bizarre inkwell I have ever seen.'

-It's been kicking around my loft for 30 years.

-Has it? What was it doing up there?

-I have no idea. It's my husband's.

-Oh, right. OK.

-I think he got it from his father.

-Strange thing.

-You like it or you don't.

-Yeah, I know.

-I don't really like it.

-No! Neither do I.

-I'm a horse lover

-and it's something that I would never do.

-No.

-Never.

-It looks better on the horse.

-It looks much better on the horse. The horse was called Duckling.

-We know that as it's engraved "Duckling, 1908".

-Yeah.

-This is silver. Did you know that?

-I saw the...

-The hallmarks.

-It was black this morning!

-You polished this?

-My husband did.

-Bless him!

-It was black.

-"It might make more money! Give it a quick polish!"

It doesn't really matter if you don't polish silver.

I like my silver unpolished. Maker's name - M&C. The silversmith Macey and Chisholm.

They were working from 1834 to around about 1957.

-Somewhere around there.

-Right.

-So it was a good span, over 100 years.

-That thistle, what does that tell you?

-Scotland?

-Exactly.

So the assay office was in Edinburgh.

-If this horse had had a racing pedigree, then it might be worth quite a bit of money.

-Yeah.

But I think it was just a trusty steed, a family pet.

This kind of thing was fashionable back in 1908.

-At auction, I imagine this would fetch £60-£80.

-Right.

-Are you happy with that?

-Fine.

-Let's stick it in with that valuation. Do you want a reserve?

-No.

-Shall we say no reserve?

-Yeah.

-Just get rid.

-OK.

-I've never been to an auction before.

-Well, you'll enjoy yourself!

You'll enjoy yourself. 'Not to everyone's taste, but Irene gets to experience an auction.

'David is with Linda and her dolls.'

You've brought three very pretty young ladies along with you.

-What can you tell me about them?

-Well, all I know is that they belong to my mother-in-law.

I don't know how long she had them, but we came across them in a cupboard, all wrapped up,

-after she died. And really we've had them since then.

-OK.

-You didn't know of their existence?

-She'd never really shown us them.

-She collected and had so many things.

-I don't think these are dolls that were made to play with.

They were made to sit on a mantelpiece or in a display cabinet.

That's really borne out by the splendour of their costumes.

I think that they would have been made in about 1900.

-They were made in Germany.

-Oh, right.

-Made out of what I really think we should call porcelain,

-but is known as bone china.

-Mm-hm.

And more or less mass produced.

Each one of the girls has very rosy cheeks and those bright blue eyes.

-And their difference lies in the costumes.

-Yeah.

-Are you looking to raise money for a particular purpose?

-Well, we are going a trip

-to the Deep South in the States next year. New Orleans, Memphis, all around that area.

-Wonderful.

OK. I don't think the proceeds will pay for your trip,

but they'll go towards your holiday. And you might be able to buy dinner somewhere on the proceeds.

I think they're going to make somewhere between £10 and £20 each.

So I would like to put an estimate of £30-£50 on them.

-OK.

-So if you're happy because they're relatively low value I'd like to sell without reserve.

-Fine.

-You don't really want them back again, do you?

-No.

-Just have to say bye-bye.

-And I'll see you at the sale.

-Thank you very much.

That's it. That's our last item found this morning and now it's time to put those valuations to the test

as we head over to the auction room for the first time. Here's a quick recap, just to jog your memory,

of the items going under the hammer.

We have three items to take off to auction, all good fun.

Dick's selling his collection of trains along with more track that he's added to the lot.

Irene's horse's hoof inkwell is a curious item, but it does have a silver lid.

And Linda's three dolls are low value, but would really appeal to a collector.

We're thrilled to be at Boldon Auction Galleries in South Tyneside,

where I'm keen to get the bidders enthusiastic.

-What have you seen?

-Lots of things, but it depends how much they go for.

Oh, a canny lot! Well, any moment now the auction is just about to start.

Our auctioneer is Giles Hodges and he's ready with his gavel in hand.

Linda's hoping to raise some holiday money by selling her dolls.

-Why are you selling these? Because they're spooky?

-Well, they are a bit!

-We don't have them out.

-I don't like them. I don't like any type of dolls.

-Do you?

-I don't think I do, particularly, Paul!

-You didn't want to answer that.

But somebody out there does love them and we're going to find them. Good luck.

Three little continental dress dolls. Somebody bid me £10. 10 bid.

-At 10. 15. 20.

-We've sold them.

Anybody I've missed? At £20.

5, yes or no? At £20. We're right at the front.

For the last time at 20.

Yes! That's it. There was no reserve, so £20, straight in.

-It was a bit of fun!

-It'll buy you a gin and tonic if you're lucky!

I hope those dolls went to someone who will love them. The same goes for Irene's horse hoof ink well

as she doesn't want it back.

-Hello there. Who's this?

-Joan, my friend. The reason I came.

-The reason you came? Why?

-She wanted to come.

-Ah, I see!

-And I didn't have anything!

-You haven't got anything in your house?

-It wasn't worth anything.

OK, well, hopefully it's the little bit of silver that gets this away.

I'm not sure about the name Duckling, but somebody loved it and this was the fashion.

-Let's see what the bidders think. Happy?

-Absolutely.

-Here we go.

A silver-mounted hoof inkwell. Edinburgh, 1908.

Engraved "Duckling". And I have a £50 bid for it. At 50.

5, anybody? 55. 60.

65. 70.

75. 80. At £80. It's on commission.

At £80, are we all done?

At £80. It's the commission bidder. There's nobody on the 'net.

At £80, are we all done? At 80.

-Yes! £80. That's not bad, is it?

-It's all right.

-I was a bit worried.

-Kind of what I said in a way.

-Yeah, it was. 60-80.

-It was nice and quick!

-Yeah. In and out.

-Lovely. Yeah.

Top end of the estimate for lovely Irene. Now it's time for Dick to say goodbye to his trains,

which used to belong to his dad.

-Did he let you play with them?

-Not often! Not at all, in fact!

-"You can't play with them, but I can!"

-They're a wee bit dangerous at times!

-And you brought some other bits and pieces.

-Rails and carriages.

-It's a nice package.

-A nice group.

-Well, we could have a big surprise.

-Let's hope so.

-You never know.

This is what happens in an auction. Cheeky come-and-buy-mes.

-Good luck, Dick.

-Right.

-Here we go.

A large collection of Bingham, Hornby, locomotives, track, rolling stock.

Plenty of interest again. I'm bid 100 to start it. 100.

120. 140. 160.

At 160. 180 now?

At 160. 180. Back of the hall.

At £180. 200 now? At £180. Are you all done?

At £180 and we're away.

-Sold. 180. It's gone.

-Right. Good, good.

I don't need to take it back!

There you are. That concludes our first visit to the auction room.

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

While I was in the area, I took the opportunity to discover

the new gardens created by the Duchess of Northumberland. This is the old meets the new

and it's absolutely stunning. Take a look at this.

We all dream of a secret garden, but this one is teeming with people.

Welcome to Alnwick Gardens, just a short walk from the castle.

A peaceful, yet invigorating space to appreciate Mother Nature at her very finest.

Thanks to Jane Percy, 12th Duchess of Northumberland,

24 acres of the castle's estate have been transformed into these truly spectacular gardens.

The Duchess's vision was to turn a neglected piece of land into a gorgeous public garden,

but it's taken a lot of hard graft to get here. The plans started to form in 1997.

Heavy work started in the year 2000 and now, a decade on, the garden is clearly flourishing.

As this site was used for centuries before as the gardens for the previous Dukes of Northumberland,

the current design incorporates a nod to the past.

For traditionalists, there is the ornamental garden

and also a touch of modern with the bamboo labyrinth.

The area I'm in now is the rose garden and I'm surrounded by 3,000 roses.

The sense of smell is really heightened here because this area is so concentrated.

One rose here is the Alnwick rose. This was planted up in 2001 when it was named.

I'm told you can actually make out the scent of raspberries.

Do you know what? You can. It really does smell of raspberries. That's astonishing.

Now to something darker.

This is the Poison Garden, developed to educate the public

about the hidden hazards of horticulture. Alison Hamer from Alnwick Gardens

has agreed to be my guide through the world of deadly and dangerous plants.

Hello, Alison. Pleased to meet you. So tell me all about this.

-Why have they kept poisonous plants here under lock and key?

-Well, every plant in this garden

-is poisonous.

-Right.

-Would you recognise them?

-No.

-No, you wouldn't.

-What's this?

-This here is Rue, an irritant. Debbie, our gardener, was bruised by this

-and her whole skin was up...

-In a rash?

-Yeah.

-I know you've got something to show me that I've never heard of.

-Aconite.

-I don't know it!

You will when you see it.

It's absolutely beautiful.

I'd want to buy some. It's like a cottage garden flower.

-You can go into florists and see this in bouquets.

-Really?

-Absolutely.

-Why do they sell it?

-They know how to handle it.

-OK.

-The poison in that is only if you ingest it,

actually take it into your body. In ancient times, warriors would carry aconite in their pockets,

dried, and when they were on siege, they would drop it into wells and castles would be poisoned.

-Really? So if you dry this out...

-I'm not going to tell you how to do it! That's a secret.

We hold those secrets dear.

But in Ancient Greece this plant was known

that if you were no longer of any use to the state, especially old men,

you were expected to take aconite and rid your family.

-So a good plant to have.

-What else can you show me?

-Come over here.

-Can you touch this?

-You can, but the smell it gives off is what makes it really special.

If you just rub the leaves and smell.

This is Artemisia absinthe, which came to notoriety

in absinthe, the hallucinogenic. It's totally addictive.

-Is it?

-Absolutely addictive. If you drink this, your colour spectrum turns to the yellow.

Now just you imagine... Go back and look at Degas. Look at Lautrec.

-You see everything goes to yellow.

-Really? They were into this.

They were really into this. The fascinating thing about this

is that this is mentioned in an Anglo-Saxon book. They say you make a tea from this, wormwood,

and it rids the body of worms.

In recent studies, there's been a clinical trial for malaria.

And we've had York University come to talk to us. They're now creating a medicine

from absinthe for malaria. But where did all that knowledge go? 900 years we had that knowledge

and it's only coming to light now. That's the story these plants tell.

-It's absolutely fascinating! Thank you so much!

-Come again!

Before everything goes yellow.

# This is the end

# Beautiful friend

# This is the end

# My only friend, the end... #

But Alnwick Garden is not just for the alchemist or green-fingered.

There's plenty of humour, fun and information in the grounds to entertain every visitor.

Engineering and imagination have joined forces here to create this wonderful visual spectacle,

the Grand Cascade. There's 21 little weirs of water here

with 7,260 gallons of water flowing down it. The whole thing is made out of local stone.

And every half hour and on the hour you get this wonderful,

eccentric display of water spurting up with fountains everywhere. It'll be any moment.

I might have to move in a second because one of the fountains is literally 2 or 3 feet away from me.

And if the Grand Cascade wasn't an impressive enough water feature,

there's another fluid bit of design in the Serpent Garden,

home to eight water sculptures.

You really do have to get amongst them to understand their true meaning.

They were designed by the celebrated sculptor William Pye who must have an excellent grasp of science

because for these installations to work, they have to rely on physics, surface tension and gravity.

But it's not the science the kids are enjoying, it's all the splashing!

I particularly like this one. This one is one of my favourites.

It's called Coanda. It gives the illusion of water defying gravity

by clinging to the underside of a smooth surface like that. Isn't that wonderful?

It's subtle. It's something for the adults. I could live with this one at home.

And all this is down to the vision and the dedication of one lady -

Jane, the current Duchess of Northumberland.

Without her hard work and passion, none of this would have been possible.

This is Alnwick Castle. Nothing was ever going to be done on a small scale.

It's as grand as ever and it's paid off.

A short walk up from Alnwick Gardens and you're in the grand surrounds of the castle buildings

where we have more valuations to get under way.

And over with David, Betty has her sweetheart brooch on display.

-Hello, Betty.

-Hello there.

-You've brought along a little brooch

which has a pair of wings, a bit like eagle wings.

-It's actually an RAF brooch.

-An RAF brooch, yes.

Royal Air Force, of course.

How did you come by it?

I bought it at an antique sale.

And what attracted you to it?

Well, my husband was in the RAF in the 1950s for five years.

I'm interested that you bought it yourself. I'm soon to get married.

I hope that my wife will buy her own jewellery.

-It's what's known as a sweetheart's brooch.

-Yes.

And wives of men in the RAF either were bought these or, in your case, bought them for themselves

to recognise the fact that their husbands or boyfriends were in the RAF

or whatever other armed force it might have been.

You get regimental sweetheart badges and all sorts of things.

I think that they're delightful.

It's not quite what it appears to be

because, as I'm sure you know, it looks as if they're diamonds,

-but on closer examination, we discover that they're just glass or paste.

-Yes.

But if I could turn it over...

Yes, I can confirm that the mount is silver.

It's actually marked "sterling silver"

which I think we can take as a guarantee that it's 925 parts per 1,000,

so it's a nice little thing, enamel decoration

and, as I say, paste

-with the RAF wreath just behind the letters in green.

-Yes.

And surmounted, of course, by the crown.

-You don't have any sentimental attachment to it now?

-Not really. I never wear it.

It's not anything of immense value, as I'm sure you know.

I would be disappointed if it made less than £30,

but I think an estimate of £20 to £30 would be sensible.

Let's hope we have a nice surprise and it flies away.

-Very apt.

-Sorry. It was very corny, wasn't it?

-I'll see you at the sale.

-Right.

Well, those rain clouds have finally opened up and sent us all inside the Guest Hall

to carry on with our valuations,

but we still get to look at the castle and that's thanks to Jackie's local history books.

-Where did you get these books?

-I was left them by my uncle who live in Jesmond just out of Newcastle.

He had a great interest in historical books and had quite a few.

-Uh-huh.

-He didn't get to travel very far in his lifetime,

but he gathered information from places that he visited and went on holidays,

such as Bamburgh.

And a general interest in Newcastle.

He never moved out of the city and he lived until he was about 90, 95.

Well, it just shows you, you can get so much from books.

-When did you inherit these books?

-About 15 years ago. I can't quite remember now.

Have you read them?

I've leafed through them, but I don't like to go through them too often in case I damage the pages

And they are in remarkably good condition. Let's have a look at them in more detail.

-I'd like to open the book on Alnwick first of all.

-Yeah.

"A descriptive and historical view of Alnwick,

"the county town of Northumberland, and of Alnwick Castle."

-And this is the second edition, dated 1825.

-Yeah.

-Here we have the ground plan showing the Great Court.

-Yeah.

Absolutely wonderful.

It's always good to have illustrations

and when we look at this book here, it's The History Of Newcastle...

Now, very interesting as well. Have we dated this book?

-It's dated 1736...

-1736.

"The History of Newcastle upon Tyne or the Ancient and Present State of that Town."

What we have here is a little piece of Newcastle's history.

As well as telling us about the history of Newcastle, it's a piece of history as well.

-These are original, the bindings?

-The bindings are original.

Here we have... This is a later book.

This book is by Cadwallader John Bates.

It's gone into its third edition

and again we have some illustrations.

-He had so many books.

-Wonderful again.

-Fantastic book, yeah.

I love this.

-Uh-huh.

-It's pretty.

-They were all beautifully bound.

Well, I have a feeling that...

I know that these two are the most desirable.

But if we put them into the auction with a moderate estimate, they will achieve their proper price.

-Yes.

-Would you be happy if we put them in with an estimate of 80 to 120?

-Yes.

We'll put a firm reserve of £80

-because I think they're worth that at least.

-OK.

I've enjoyed looking at them and when we've finished this,

-I'll go into a wee corner and have an even better look at them.

-Good.

Thank you very much.

Fascinating books and lovely to see something relevant to our location.

Christine's glass vases are a lovely splash of colour on David's table.

Do you like them?

-Not particularly.

-No, which is why they're here.

-They're quite pretty.

-They belong to my daughter, really.

-Right.

She knew I was coming along today and she said, "Mum, take the glass vases that were Great-Granny's."

-OK.

-She just has them stuck in a little cabinet at the side there.

This is just the sort of thing that young people, in particular, don't like, really,

because they represent

all that they think is bad about sort of Victorian art and Victorian decoration.

They're overblown, they're over-ornate,

they've got sort of frilly edges.

You know, people today prefer minimalism.

Anyway, I've done nothing but criticise them and now I've got to try and get you to sell them.

I'll have to do some frantic back-pedalling.

They're typical of the sort of items that were produced

to decorate your parlour in the late 19th century.

And the parlour was that space in your house in Victorian England

-which you only ever used if the vicar came to tea.

-That's right.

You'd have a family of five or six in a smallish terraced house and they didn't use one of the rooms.

I must say, I quite like this sort of thing.

-It represents, it speaks of a period.

-It does.

It therefore has historical value, even if we may doubt its decorative value.

And having been so rude about them, there are aspects of them which make them quite commercial and saleable.

-And chiefly, the colour.

-Yes.

This type of glass is often called Vaseline glass for obvious reasons.

You won't be sorry to see them go, your daughter won't miss them,

so let's have a think as to what they might be worth.

-I think we're talking about something in the region of 30 to 50.

-Right.

And because they're your daughter's and not yours,

you're probably not empowered to sell them without a reserve.

-Do you think we ought to put a reserve on them?

-Yes.

-OK.

Let's make it that bottom estimate, £30, and hope that they might make 50 or 60.

For our final item, we have headed back outside for a last hint of sunshine

and maybe a spot of music as Ian and Liz have brought along their concertina.

-Now, I...

-MUSICAL SOUND

I love these things.

It's a concertina.

-Where did you get it?

-It was from my grandfather.

I've had it for 30 years and it's just been sitting in my house.

Liz, did he never take it out at some point and just have a wee go at it?

-He's not very musical.

-He's not very musical?

-No.

He can't sing, he can't play.

OK, concertinas are highly desirable instruments

and the best of them can go well into four figures.

But what's most important about it is the make.

And if we look at this one, this is called The Edeophone

and it's made by Lachenal.

Now, Lachenal was a Swiss company that came to London

and made these precision instruments.

They made them from about the 1850s to the 1930s.

This one is probably from about the late 1890s, in that area.

But let's look at this wonderful, ebonised plate on here

with this marvellous fretwork.

Now, I like that and when I see things finished like that

with such good craftsmanship, then you know it's a quality instrument.

We have a wee condition issue on this thumb strap here.

Now, tell me, Ian, was it like that when you got it?

-As far as I can remember, yes.

-It's been like that?

-Yeah.

We also need some attention on some of the buttons here.

They're not working. So a couple of wee condition issues there,

but in the main, the instrument is in good order.

What makes it...even more desirable

is the fact that we have it in its original leather case.

-Yes.

-Estimate...

I would like to put a value of 250 to 450.

I think that it has a good chance of going higher,

but to give it a conservative estimate will pull in the bidders.

-Shall we go ahead and flog it?

-Yeah.

-Yes.

-Good, good.

-Will you be there at the auction?

-We'd love to be, but I think we might be away on holiday.

-You'll be on holiday at that time?

-I think so.

Well, I will be there to cheer it on

-and hopefully, to make you a nice little pot of money for coming back to.

-That's brilliant.

Well, that's it. We've now found our final items to take off to auction,

so sadly, it's time to say farewell to our magnificent backdrop - Alnwick Castle.

Let's get straight over to the saleroom. Here's a quick recap of what we're taking with us.

And we're taking Betty's sweetheart brooch with its RAF connections.

Jackie's three local history books,

including one all about Alnwick Castle.

Christine's two Victorian coloured glass vases.

And last, but not least, Ian and Liz's concertina in original case.

It's a packed auction house and hopefully, that can be good news for our owners.

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

Here at the Boldon Auction Galleries, it's 17.5% plus VAT.

Check in the catalogue because it does vary from auction room to auction room.

Betty is waiting with her sweetheart brooch.

I know it wasn't your husband's, was it, but you managed to buy this one?

-I bought it. I bought it in an antique sale.

-In an antique sale?

-How much did you pay for it?

-I can't remember. It's 20-odd years ago and I think it was about 50.

It's great that the gallant chaps in the RAF were sentimental enough to think of their girlfriends and wives

-and buy little tokens like that. It's very touching.

-Yes.

Let's find out what the bidders think right now.

Pretty little RAF brooch.

I've got commission bids.

I've got £35 to start me.

40. 5. 50.

5. 60. 5.

At £65 to my immediate left.

-At £65 now on the net.

-Yes.

Bidding on the book and on the internet - £65.

Are we all done, ladies and gents, at 65?

-GAVEL BANGS

-That's a good result.

-Fantastic.

-£65.

-Someone else likes it as much as I did.

Yeah, that's a real collectable, isn't it? That's a real collectable.

It's a piece of jewellery, but it's also a collectable item.

If you're interested in aviation or the RAF, it's a nice thing to own.

-Betty, thank you so much. It's been a real pleasure to meet you.

-And you as well.

'That was a double whammy as it was Betty as well as her brooch who was a real sweetheart.

'And here's another one - Jackie and her three books with a local connection.'

Very, very nice. Why are you selling these?

They're just getting very dusty on a bookshelf

and probably not kept in the right conditions for older books

Well, these things are of historical interest as well.

I think it's nice for a collector to have them, to get that historical information and move on from there.

Let's hope there's a few collectors here today and to get the top end and a bit more.

Good luck, both of you. This is it.

"The History of Newcastle upon Tyne

"or the Ancient and Present State of that Town."

Somebody bid me? I'm bid £50 straight in.

At 50. At £50. 5, anybody now?

At 50. 5. 60. 5.

70. 5. 80.

5. 90. 5.

100. 110. 120.

130.

140. Downstairs to the left at £140.

Are we all done, ladies and gents,

at 140...?

-GAVEL BANGS

-Sold. Good. Very good.

-Very good.

-Are you happy?

-Yes, very pleased.

-Thank you for bringing them in.

'Way over top estimate, perhaps because of the link with the north-east.

'Moving on to some colourful glassware with Christine...'

They've been in the family a long time, but they skipped a generation. They were Grandma's?

-Not your mother's?

-No. They were my grandmother's, then Mother's, then mine.

-And your daughter's?

-My daughter's.

-But she doesn't want them now?

-No, no.

-Do you want them back?

Not really.

-Not really.

-It seems nobody really likes them.

But I'm sure they'll find a home today. We'll find out right now.

We've got the two pretty, Victorian, coloured glass trumpet vases

with the flower heads.

And I'm bid 20 to start them.

25. 30.

5. Front row at £35.

40.

45.

£45 on the front row.

At £45. 50, have I missed anybody?

At £45 for the first and the last.

At £45...

-Job done.

-Yes.

-Well done.

-Thank you very much.

No big surprises there.

-It was a good experience though?

-Yes, I've thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thank you for coming along because without you, we would not have a show.

If you've got anything you would like to sell, bring it along to one of our valuation days.

Pick up details on the website. Just log on to bbc.co.uk/flogit

Follow the links. All the information will be there. Or check the details in your local press.

Dust those antiques down and bring them along.

'For our final item, Ian and Liz's concertina.

'I asked auctioneer Giles's opinion on the preview day.'

When people come in to view this,

the collectors come in and people that play them, hopefully,

do they get a tune out of them?

If I give you a quick demonstration, what they're not looking for, unfortunately,

is this sound.

-It's quite...

-Flat.

-Flat.

-Some of the cards are broken in there?

-Yes, and there's probably quite a lot of rust inside it.

At some stage, it's got damp inside.

Whoever buys it will be having a bit of a gamble to see whether they can restore it.

If they've got to restore all the airs, it will cost a lot of money.

If this was in perfect nick, in good condition and played well, £700, £800?

-Yes, I would have thought so.

-£1,000

-It would probably tip over 1,000 on the right day at the right sale,

-but with our business, condition is paramount.

-Yeah, this isn't good condition.

-It needs a lot of work.

It's a great item, but will its condition affect the final result?

Time to see how Ian and Liz's concertina fares.

-Unfortunately, they can't be with us, but we have their daughter Kelly. Hello.

-Hello.

-Where are your mum and dad?

-On holiday in Wales.

-And I gather they're off to Poland soon?

-They are, next week.

-And they're putting the proceeds of the sale towards that trip?

-Yes.

-Did you ever have a go on this?

-I didn't, no, unfortunately.

-Did anyone?

-I don't think so.

-We were frightened to touch it.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

-Here we go.

We have the Lachenal Edeophone concertina with 48 buttons.

And I'm bid 200 to start me.

-We're straight in, but it's not enough.

-£200.

At £200.

220. 250.

At 250...

-That was a sticky start, wasn't it?

-280. 300.

-320. 350.

-This is great.

-380.

-400. 420.

-Now we're making music!

450. 480. 500. 520.

550. 580. 600.

-I love this, don't you?

-Yes.

680. On the phone at 680. 700 now?

At £680. It's on the phone.

Be quick on the net, please. It's fair warning.

At £680 for the last time...

At 680.

Yes! Great result, considering the condition. It needed sorting out.

-That's great.

-You've got to get on the phone and tell them.

-I will.

-Will they be pleased?

-Yeah.

-I bet you're pleased as well.

-I am, yeah.

'Ian and Liz had a fantastic holiday in Poland, using some of the proceeds of the sale.

'They might even make a return trip with the rest of the money.'

I hope you've enjoyed today's show. If you've got any antiques you want to sell, we would love to see you.

Bring them along to our valuation day and it could be you in the next sale going home with a lot of money.

But until then, from the Boldon Auction Galleries, it's goodbye.

Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd 2012

Email [email protected]