Alnwick Castle Flog It!

This is the magnificent Alnwick Castle in Northumberland,

which has had rather a turbulent past -

with links to rebels, gunpowder plots and Shakespearean knights.

But today we are hoping for a slightly more serene experience,

because this is the venue for our valuation day. Welcome to Flog It!

The Castle has been home to the Percy family ever since 1766,

many of whom were passionate collectors and furnished it with some incredible antiques.

So with all these wonderful objects, it's a fitting location

for one of our valuation days.

We've got a marvellous crowd

and they've had a rummage through their attics and cellars,

looking for unwanted antiques and collectables

to put through to auction.

The lucky ones will be going home with a lot of money.

So let's not waste any time.

Let's get our experts stuck into all those bags and boxes.

And our experts today are the feisty lady auctioneer Anita Manning

and the debonair David Fletcher.

And Anita is taking no prisoners in her search for the ultimate antique.

What have you got? Show me your goodies!

And if at first you don't succeed...

Stand and deliver!

David is shooting people down too!

-I think, probably, thank you, but no thank you.

-No.

Let's hope he finds something worth a hefty ransom later on in the show.

Today's programme is packed full of drama

and I'll tell you a historic tale of kidnap and terror,

as I visit Gibside pleasure grounds.

And we've got our share of deadly items on the show too,

but which will make the most at auction? These Victorian pistols?

Or these swashbuckling swords?

Yes, there's a lot of people there,

which means a lot of antiques to value.

And it looks like Anita Manning is our first expert to spot a real gem.

Let's take a closer look.

Beryl, welcome to Flog It!

You were the very first in the queue this morning

and I thought that you might have something interesting.

This is a lovely plate. Where did you get it?

I was a home carer a lot of years in Alnwick

and I was really attached to this old lady

and she left it to me in her will.

I used to clean it and look after it.

-Right.

-She was always telling me to go on holidays.

I never thought I would part with it but I have got grandchildren

and I am frightened it'll get broken.

Tell me what you liked about it, Beryl.

The colours. It's pretty when it's up.

Yes, well, the most obvious thing about this plate

are these wonderful colours.

It is called Imari and it comes from Japan,

a little town in Japan called Arita,

and it was made in the 1880s and 1890s

for the export market.

And it is characterised by these wonderful blues, rust reds,

golds and whites, and the British people loved that type of thing.

And I think it's very attractive. If we look at the front,

we can see these colours in all their glory and it's so fresh!

Obviously you haven't got into it

with a Brillo pad or anything like that.

And we see these segmented designs here, right round,

and this lovely scalloped edge.

We see the motifs of dragons

and these almost mythical creatures.

So we have a lot going on on the front of that plate.

And they always looked absolutely wonderful on the wall.

Am I turning you back onto this?

Now, if we turn it around to the back,

we see a more restrained colour palette here.

The blues and whites

with this typical blue circle round the inside here.

It's absolutely lovely.

If it had been selling 10 or 15 years ago, it would have been worth more.

-Right.

-But this type of item has gone down a little bit in value.

OK.

I would like to put it into auction

with an estimate of, say, £40 to £60 on it.

-Right.

-Would that be OK with you?

-Um...

It might go a little bit more than that, Beryl.

-Right.

-It might go a bit more

-but that's the correct estimate that it should go in with.

-Right.

-We could put a reserve of £40 on it.

-Yes, yes.

-If it doesn't get it, you'll know that it's to come back to you.

-Yes, I'm happy if it comes back.

It has been an absolute pleasure

-to have you here with this lovely plate.

-It's been lovely.

I've enjoyed it.

Who'd have thought that Japanese plate would end up in a castle in Northumberland!

Flog It certainly attracts the exotic and the wonderful

and some of our objects aren't what they seem at all.

-Hello, Richard.

-Hello, David.

-Have you hurt your leg?

-No, this is not really a walking stick.

-Is it not?

No, it's a Sunday stick, as it was called.

You could go walking, on a Sunday when golf was not able to be played,

and you could use this to hit the occasional ball

and people would think you were walking with your stick.

-Do you know, I have never seen one of these.

-Oh, yeah?

Tell me about golf. You weren't allowed to play on a Sunday?

In certain places you weren't allowed to play on a Sunday.

The Old Course at St Andrews is closed to let it rest.

So out on a walk, you could take this as your walking stick

and, when no one was looking, hit a few golf balls.

So you would be in trouble if you saw the minister coming

-on the opposite side of the road?

-Possibly, yes.

So that is when you swung it around and used it as a walking stick.

Yes, very good. Show us a swing, Richard. You're a golfer, I'm not.

Very good! It's a lovely crafted object.

And it has a little hardwood face here

and a little leaded weight behind it,

as a normal golf driver of that era would have.

-And we have here what I assume must be the maker's name.

-Yes.

"W Seelley". Might be Scully but I think it has to be the maker's name.

I love the fact that it adds a bit of a risk

to the experience of going out for a walk.

-I mean, it makes it almost illicit to be playing golf.

-Yes.

Whether it was banned, as such, I do not know.

-I suppose you might have got into trouble for playing on Sunday.

-Yes.

And what about St Andrew's these days?

The Old Course is closed on a Sunday to allow the course to rest

and a lot of people go walking on it.

-Really?

-They just ask you to stay off the greens.

-They do not check to see if you have these?

-I don't think so, not now.

You could try it. I think it is great.

What a lovely story.

This will appeal to collectors, both of walking sticks

and people like yourself who are golfers.

How did you come by this?

It belonged to my mother. She had it for many years.

Although she wasn't a golfer,

she was very interested in golf and anything Scottish.

Right. So why are you selling this?

Well, I don't collect golf memorabilia

and it's been in the cupboard by my golf bag for years.

So I thought I would try and flog it to see what I get for it.

Now, I would be inclined to estimate this in the region of £30-£50.

-Yes.

-If it made 50 or 60, I wouldn't be surprised,

but I can't see it making much more than that.

I think, if we are going to sell it at that estimate,

if we could sell it without reserve, it will find its level.

There will be collectors all over the world for this sort of thing.

Let us hope it comes up to par

and we have a successful sale.

-If we do, I will see you in the 19th.

-That would be great.

-OK!

I can't bear all of these golfing puns!

Now, Anita's about to tee off her next valuation.

-Brenda, welcome to Flog It!

-Thank you.

It's lovely to have you along in this wonderful setting.

-It is lovely.

-I like this watch.

Tell me, where did you get it?

I bought it from a little antique shop in Berwick about 25 years ago.

I paid about £30 for it then.

Right, why did you buy it? What drew you to it?

It was the face and it hadn't faded and I thought, "Yes, I like that."

So where has it been for the last 25 years?

-In a cupboard, in a drawer, in a plastic box.

-Oh, right!

I have never had it out. Never had it out.

-So it was just a casual buy at the time?

-I just liked the look of it.

Well, I can understand that. I see a lot of this type of watch.

It is a ladies fob watch.

This one is particularly pretty.

These watches often have damage on the porcelain face.

This one is in perfect condition.

And I particularly like the numerals.

And I also like this lovely gilt decoration,

which goes round the face.

The hands are still there,

and, again, the gilt decoration is repeated in the middle of the watch.

Yes. Yes, it is.

So it is very pretty and it's very feminine.

That is what I thought at the time, actually.

And then you put it in a drawer and forgot all about it.

It is Victorian.

It dates from the latter part of the 1800s, early 1900s.

Now, it would have been attached to a long chain

which she would have had around her neck,

or she may have had it attached to a chatelaine,

which was a device she'd wear on her belt to keep her little watch

and the other little everyday things that she might need.

-Right.

-This little chain here is, perhaps, not the original chain.

-It is not anything of any great substance.

-No.

We have looked at the front of it.

If we turn it around and open it to look at the back,

-we can see a mark, "935".

-Right.

Now, this is a continental silver mark.

It tells us that there are 935 parts of silver per thousand.

So there is a little bit of base metal in there

and that is just to harden the metal up.

If we look at the back,

we see this very nice chased and engraved decoration here.

So, all in all, it is quite a nice little item.

-Do we know if it's working or not, Brenda?

-No, I've never used it.

You've never used it? Maybe you felt you deserved a wee treat?

-Well, we all do, don't we, sometimes?

-I completely agree with you.

Let's think about price. You paid £30 for it.

-Yes, I am sure I did.

-And you bought it in a retail situation?

Yes, just a little antique shop.

I would put an estimate of £30-£40.

So it will not have increased a great deal in value and, perhaps,

-we would put a reserve of £25. How do you feel about that?

-That's fine.

-That's fine.

-I think the pleasure that was got from it was when you bought it.

-I think it was. I think it was!

-When you bought it!

I look forward to seeing you at the auction

-and we will have some more fun.

-Thank you very much.

Well, let's hope Brenda gets a great price for that watch.

Then maybe she can use the money to buy something fabulous

and experience that buying buzz once more.

Now, what's going on on David's table?

-Hello, John.

-Hello.

-You look as if you are challenging me to a duel.

-Yes.

-We are in the right place for it.

-We are indeed.

I don't think I'd be very good at it, really.

I'd run a mile if anyone threatened me with a sword!

Anyway, I can't claim to be an expert on swords, so I will be led by you.

-You obviously collect them.

-Yes.

-So you must know a bit about them.

A little. Just what I found online.

Is this the extent of your collection, or have you got other ones at home?

-No, I have a few more at home. Three more.

-Right.

So let's start with this one, which is presumably an infantry sword?

An infantry sword from about 1820, something like that.

And how did you come by this one?

I was working for a pub,

doing a job, and these were in the cellar, these two,

all covered in paint and rust and they were going to throw them out.

I asked if I could have them and they said, "Take them."

I cleaned them up and I found this one was a Percy Tenantry one

and this is a light cavalry sword.

-So this is a cavalry sword, not infantry?

-Well, I think so. I'm not so sure about that.

-OK.

I am sure you are right. Tell me more about that one.

The Percy Tenantry were from Alnwick Castle here.

It was Lord Percy who had a sort of Dad's Army in the 1800s,

in case Napoleon invaded Britain. That is all I know about that one.

Thank heavens he didn't!

-This one is the US Navy.

-Right. And who is this one by?

-Horstmann and Sons, Philadelphia.

-Philadelphia. OK.

So that was made in America.

This looks to me as if it might be based on an earlier pattern

-but I would expect that to have been made in the 20th century.

-Right.

It has "USN" on the guard, doesn't it?

I guess, really, the most interesting one, because of where we are...

-Percy Tenantry.

-It has local interest, doesn't it?

And I daresay they are not uncommon but have you ever seen one before?

-Never. No.

-I think that will generate some interest.

Any idea what the market value is?

-I bought this one at auction for £80.

-And these two you acquired,

so they don't stand you in at anything.

As far as you're concerned, are you looking to get money back?

-I would like to get my money back on them, yes.

-OK.

I have a figure of £200 plus in mind

for the three of them.

I think they should be sold in one lot but the auctioneer may decide to split them up

and sell them individually.

-We will be guided by them on that.

-Yes.

-OK.

So let's go for an estimate of £200-£300

-and a reserve of £200.

-Right, very good.

Fingers crossed there are some bidders on the day

determined to battle it out for those swords.

So let's get our items over to the auction house in Tyne and Wear sharpish!

And just to refresh your memory,

here's a quick recap of what we're taking with us.

Beryl's Imari plate has travelled all the way from Japan.

But will it be flying out of the saleroom,

or flying back into Beryl's arms?

Richard's Sunday stick might have once been illicit

but I think David's given it a perfectly respectable valuation.

You'll have to watch this space to see if Brenda's little timepiece makes Anita's estimate.

And we're about to find out if David has been cavalier

in his valuation of John's sword collection.

This is where it gets exciting. It's auction time.

Today's sale is taking place at the Boldon Auction Galleries.

Hopefully it's going to be jam-packed inside.

Well, our luck is in. We've got a great turnout.

But will the bidders be putting their money where their mouth is?

And as Giles Hodges takes to the rostrum,

there's no time to waste because our first sale is coming up right now.

This is classic auction fodder, really. Imari plates.

Japanese. Lovely. £40-£60. Should do that any day of the week.

-Why are you selling this?

-It is big and cumbersome.

Where has it been for the last few years?

In a drawer. It is too heavy to put on the wall.

It is a shame, really, cos it is pretty.

You should have things like that on the wall!

-My mum would have that on the wall.

-I have too many pictures of grandchildren and what have you.

Good luck. Going under the hammer now.

We have the Japanese octagonal Imari wall plaque.

I am bid 20 to start it. At 25.

-Come on!

-30. 35. 40. Five? At £45?

-On my left at £45. 50 anybody?

-Come on!

-£45.

-50. I have got the hand at 50.

-50.

-That is good.

-55.

-60. Five. 65.

-Someone else is bidding now.

-It is at £65.

-Come on!

At £65 for the last time. At 65.

That's a good price!

-That's a very good price.

-Good, good.

-Yes.

-Happy?

-You said 40-60.

-Yes, I am thrilled.

-Very good. Well done, Anita.

It hovered about 40 for a wee while and then a fresh bidder.

A fresh bidder came in. That is what auctions are all about.

-This was your first auction, wasn't it?

-Yes. Yes.

Well, what a great start!

Next up, Richard's Sunday stick.

I wonder if this will find its way back to Scotland.

Have you done more research?

Yes, well, I found it was the church that banned golf on a Sunday.

-They disapproved of it strongly.

-Yes.

So the Sunday sticks were invented at the turn of the century.

-A nice thing, though, a nice thing.

-Yes, unusual.

I have a mate who plays golf every Sunday. If he was prevented, he'd be furious.

-His world would fall apart, would it?

-It would.

I think this will go back to Scotland.

There is a lot of golf memorabilia in Scotland. Good luck. Here we go.

We have the Sunday stick in the form of a golf club.

And I am bid 40 to start it.

-At £40. 45. 50. Five.

-That was good.

-60.

At £60. Anybody else left? 65. 70.

-Five.

-Someone on the phone.

-80. At £80. Are you all done?

At £80 and we are away. At 80.

85. Just in time on the net.

At £85. All done, ladies and gents? On the internet.

The room is out too. At £85.

-Yes, that is more like it, isn't it?

-That is good.

-That is a good price.

Someone was serious. That is going in a collection.

-I hope so, yes.

-Thank you for bringing it in.

-We've learned something.

-Absolutely.

Well, it is fast and furious today

but up next we have a ladies fob watch belonging to Brenda.

Unfortunately, she can't be here

but we do have Anita and we are looking for that top end.

Yes. These little fob watches are quite common

but this is a particularly pretty one.

The porcelain face is in wonderful condition

and it has lovely gilt and silver decoration.

So I like this one.

Something a little different to catch attention.

Here we go. It's going under the hammer right now. Good luck.

We have the ladies fob watch with the decorative dial

and the little silver chain.

And I am bid 10 to start it. At 10.

15. 20. 25. Back of the hall.

We are hoping for around £20-£25.

30. 35. 40. Five. 50.

£50 on the front row.

At £50. Anybody else left?

-That is good.

-At £50. We are away at 50.

That's a good result and they liked it because of the decoration.

-It was very, very pretty and the watch was very fresh.

-Good.

I'm sure Brenda will be chuffed with that result.

They do say in the trade that the auction room is the cutting edge,

so it's the perfect place to sell three swords belonging to John.

We have a value of £200-£300 on these.

I like the naval sword. Why are you selling?

I just have one or two spare swords. I came to value them.

Hopefully we'll get the top end. There's three of them.

John's a knowledgeable chap. He knows more about these than I do. He helped me through this one.

-Thanks for saying that.

-You do. It's a nice little lot.

The US naval sword and two others. I have 200 bid.

220. 250. At 250.

280 now? At 250. 280.

300. 320.

It's on the phone at £320.

To the phone.

This is good. This is good. 340 now.

360. 380.

They are thinking about it.

400.

420. 440.

At 440. It is on the phone.

-460, it is on the net.

-The suspense is killing me.

-460.

480.

-Still on the telephone.

-It has all gone very quiet.

-£480.

Are we all done, do you think? At £480. And we're...

-500.

-Oh!

520 on the phone.

At 520.

-Somebody really wants them. Somebody on the phone.

-At £520.

Are we all done on the internet? The bid is on the phone.

At £520.

Yes, we will take that. 520. Well done. Well done.

-I am very pleased.

-I bet you had an idea it was worth that.

-About that, I thought. 400-500.

-I said he knows his stuff.

It's all going swimmingly here and we'll be back later on

with three more lots to go under the hammer.

Auctions attract all manner of historical items,

including diaries and personal letters.

It's amazing how much they fetch. This letter sold for £550

at an auction house in 2010

and I want to explore the shocking history surrounding it.

It describes a dramatic eight-year ordeal

and it was written by the Countess of Strathmore in 1785.

This is Gibside, a splendid 18th-century estate,

nestling in the countryside ten miles outside Newcastle city centre,

and it was built to display its owners' opulence

but its history reads like a tragedy.

OK, it looks like a fine house. It looks enchanting and inviting

but for one woman it must have felt like a prison.

In the beginning,

it was simply a case of owner George Bowes showing off.

He created these luxurious stables to rival his contemporaries' houses,

designed an exquisite Palladian chapel for his own burial

and became renowned as having

one of the most impressive estates in the land.

All this worked well for him

but it was when Gibside was passed down to his daughter,

Mary Eleanor, that things took a dark turn.

Mary Eleanor was just 11 when her father died.

Overnight, she instantly became the richest heiress in the country,

with an estimated worth of around £150 million in today's money.

That's a staggering amount.

It instantly made Mary Eleanor a very desirable young lady

but it was also the recipe for disaster.

As the years passed, she eventually settled on a suitor, a chap called John Lyon.

They were in love and they married.

But, sadly, the Countess was left widowed at the age of 28.

Newly single, she lived in London enjoying the high life,

where she met a man who would dramatically change her life.

Andrew Robinson Stoney was an adventurer,

conman and despicable rogue.

He had his sights on Gibside

and would do ANYTHING he could to snare Mary Eleanor.

Anonymous letters started appearing in a London newspaper

blackening her name.

Stoney, apparently aghast at these accusations,

penned replies in her defence, which were also published.

When the letters continued,

Stoney challenged the newspaper editor to a duel.

He lost and was seemingly fatally wounded.

Stoney asked to see Mary Eleanor.

He had one final request -

to marry the woman he was prepared to die for.

Moved by this act of kindness, Mary agreed.

They hurriedly made arrangements to wed before Stoney slipped away.

But what would you know?

Shortly after the wedding, Stoney made a miraculous recovery.

The duel was a set-up and Stoney had written all the letters himself.

Unbeknown to Stoney,

Mary Eleanor had entered into a legal agreement

with her first husband's family,

ensuring that the estate be protected, in its entirety,

for her eldest son to inherit.

When Stoney discovered this, he went absolutely berserk.

But, having married into wealth,

he was determined to live the life of a millionaire.

Mary Eleanor afforded him this life of luxury

because she had a rather generous monthly allowance.

But Stoney ran up huge gambling debts

and, much worse, he treated his wife despicably.

The statue you can see behind me was built by her father.

It's a representation of Liberty

but, ironically, Mary Eleanor was held prisoner for eight years

at the hands of this evil man.

Eventually, after unspeakable torture at Stoney's hands,

Mary Eleanor managed to escape.

She wasted no time in starting divorce proceedings.

But Stoney was not giving up that easily.

He knew that if Mary Eleanor was successful, he would be arrested for bankruptcy.

As a child, Mary Eleanor would have seen teems of horse-drawn coaches

coming in and out of these stables,

delivering her father's rich guests.

Never would she have imagined how one such journey

would be so terrible for her in later life.

The year after her escape, Stoney employed four thugs

to kidnap her while she was out shopping in London.

They forced the terrified countess into a horse-drawn coach

and raced up the country with her friends chasing in hot pursuit,

ending up in Streatlam castle, the Bowes' ancestral home.

Here, Stoney puts a pistol to Mary Eleanor's head

and demands she stops the divorce proceedings at once but she refuses.

She'd rather die than live a life of hell at Gibside.

With her friends in hot pursuit, Stoney forces her onto a horse.

They gallop off to Newcastle and from there over the Pennines.

After 11 days of pursuit, they reach Darlington where,

thankfully, a local blacksmith recognises Mary Eleanor,

knocks Stoney out, and helps her escape.

Divorce proceedings are resumed.

The trial lasts two bitter years,

where Stoney does everything in his powers

to tarnish Mary Eleanor's reputation.

He even feigns illness to try and win public sympathy.

But at last, the countess gets her divorce.

Their high-profile case was groundbreaking.

Back then, divorce was very rare

and it was even rarer for a woman to instigate it.

Stoney was arrested for bankruptcy and put in debtor's jail.

Finally, Mary Eleanor was free of Stoney.

She retreated to Hampshire to live a quiet life,

where she made peace with her estranged children.

Mary Eleanor died in 1800, aged 51.

Stoney died in jail.

The estate carried down Mary Eleanor's family tree.

The best-known of the Bowes-Lyons is the Queen Mother,

who would have visited Gibside in her youth.

But increasingly the family were not interested in living here

and the estate slipped into ruin.

But in 1966, parts of Gibside were taken over by the National Trust,

who have brought the estate back to life.

Mary Eleanor's life was far from a fairytale story

but undoubtedly this is a house with a story to tell.

These days, the grounds are open to the public

but, sadly, the house is a little too rundown to explore.

The grounds are a wonderful place for families to visit.

All the time and money George Bowes lavished

on this estate all those years ago

can now finally be enjoyed and appreciated,

in a way that, sadly, Mary Eleanor was unable to do.

Well, after that dramatic tale, it's fitting we are back at our valuation day venue, Alnwick Castle.

And the weather has taken a bit of a dramatic turn too.

So I am escaping inside

to have a closer look at what Suzie has brought along.

Hello, Suzie. At least we didn't get wet! Everybody ran for cover.

Right, let's get these out of the box. What can you tell me of them?

Well, they belonged to a very dear friend's father.

His father gave them to me as a present seven or eight years ago.

OK. Well, these are fascinating.

These are little muff pistols, designed to be in the muff,

concealed in a hand muff, but generally they weren't used by women.

They're more pocket pistols for gentlemen.

Tiny little things. I think a lot of people considered

being shot by these was more of a hindrance rather than an injury.

-Aren't they lovely?

-Yes.

-As you can see, the trigger is concealed,

so it did not catch any fabric from the pocket or hand muff.

If you pull the hammer, that enables the trigger to drop down there.

And look at that lovely walnut stock. All crosshatched.

So there is a nice bit of grip.

You can see, look, there is a V with a crown.

So we do know we can date these to the Victorian period.

And I would say, circa sort of 1850-1870.

-And there's a name. Can you see that? "AF Girding".

-Girding, yes.

-Do you think these were made for him?

-I haven't a clue.

The auctioneer may not know either but he will have people

that collect arms and militaria. So we'll talk to him before the sale

and we'll get a better picture.

These unscrew and you can see where you put the black powder, just there.

Not much at all. Not much at all.

You load your bullet in there as well.

A little bit of round lead. Screw the barrel back on.

And there you are.

POP!

-And they are both working.

-Mmm-hmm.

-There has been a bit of damage to this one. Can you see that?

-Yes.

-Have you any idea of the value?

-No, not really.

If they were in immaculate condition, you may be looking at £500-£700.

I think, because of the condition, I'd feel happy

-if we put them into auction with a value of £300-£400.

-Yes.

-Would you be happy with that?

-Yes.

-Yes, happy?

-Yes.

Fixed reserve at £300. See what happens.

-Yes.

-They are marvellous. The nicest thing I've seen today.

Proper history. You see real antiques turning up,

and, for me, that's what the programme is all about.

Now, David is in the great hall with Heather,

who has brought in a collection of picture postcards.

One of your friends went on a lot of holidays if they sent all these!

-It belonged to my aunt.

-Oh, they're not yours?

-It belonged to an aunt.

And were you aware your aunt had this collection?

-Oh, yes, as small children we used to look at them.

-And is she still about?

-Yes, she is.

-She won't mind you selling them?

-Not at all. Not at all.

-So not too much of a surprise when she sees them on television?

-No, no.

Good. OK. We will have a look at them, page by page. Right.

So far, I must say, a bit boring.

Although there is one of Alnwick Castle,

where we are at the moment, of course.

Oh, the Prince of Wales and his wife Queen Alexandra. They are a bit more interesting.

But, generally speaking,

they are postcards of views.

And although they are saleable,

they are probably among the least saleable of all postcards, really.

Why are you getting rid of them?

They have been in the loft,

so it is pointless keeping them if someone was interested in them.

There certainly will be people who will be very interested in them.

And, of course, in the days before mobile telephones and texts

and e-mails and things, people did communicate.

You sent one postcard, posted it after you got home, and everything was fine!

-That's right.

-No problems at all.

I wish it were like that now! That's why there are so many postcards.

You did draw my attention to this loose pile. And these are humorous.

Whether you think they are funny or not is another matter but these are far more saleable.

-Right.

-I like this one. He is buying get well cards

and he is a Scotsman, of course.

And he says, "Have ye no one aboot saxpence?

"It's for somebody no verra seek!"

Terrible stereotype, isn't it, really?

They are going to be worth a few pounds each.

-You will not miss those ones either?

-Definitely not, no.

-Especially not those!

So you want to sell them.

-Have you any idea what they might be worth?

-No.

-OK.

-I think we have got between £50 and £80 worth.

-Right.

-And I'd be inclined to put a covering reserve on of £30.

-Right.

-OK, I will see you at the sale.

-And I am sure we will be fine.

-That is lovely. Thank you very much.

David may not have been taken by those postcards

but on the other side of the hall,

Anita is getting very excited about something.

Pat, welcome to Flog It!

I absolutely love this wonderful, big pot.

Oh, that makes two of us!

-Where did you get it?

-It was a gift from my grandmother when she died.

-It was left for me.

-Can you remember it as a wee girl, Pat?

-Yes.

Towards the end of the war, I stayed with my grandmother in York

and she used to always have this full of Victorian pennies

and I was allowed to tip them out

and drop them into this lovely vase.

Did you count them before you put them back in?

Not always. I preferred the noise it made as they went in!

Well, let us look at the item itself.

I think it is absolutely beautiful. It is a big studio pot.

That means that it wasn't factory made or mass produced.

It was produced in a small studio or workshop.

And every pot that they put out was an individual piece.

-Right.

-When we look at the decoration here,

we see these almost stylised fish.

Now, what has happened here,

they have made this pattern, or this image,

by scraping out the clay while it was still wet

to make the lines which form up the pattern.

And I love that.

I like the fish motif.

And this was very typical of this studio or workshop.

It is the studio of Charles Brannam. And this was a Devon factory.

Now, this studio started in the late 1880s

and continued until the 1920s.

And if we look at the base here,

we can see the signature here for Charles Brannam.

And this word here, "Barum", is a place in Devon.

It also has a date on it and the date is 1892.

So it's quite an old pot.

-That's fascinating!

-What did you like about it?

First of all, the feel and the colours.

And as a child, I don't know, it was just so different.

As a child, can you remember it?

Yes, the fish, and sometimes they would scowl at me.

This one looks like a glowering fish! Where do you keep it?

-Up in the attic!

-Well, no wonder that fish is glowering!

Well, I would put a value of between £100 and £200.

It is fairly low and fairly wide.

But I think that a collector would be prepared to pay £100 for that.

I think it is certainly worth that. Shall we put it to auction?

-Yes, please.

-Wonderful.

We will put it in with, perhaps,

a reserve price of £80, just to protect it.

But I am sure we'll get it away at that

-and we might even get a wee surprise.

-We might!

Well, that is it. We have found our final three items to take to auction.

You've seen them. You've heard what our experts had to say

and you've probably got your own opinions but don't go away

because there could be one or two big surprises.

While we make our way to the auction room,

it's time we said farewell to our host location,

the magnificent Alnwick Castle.

And here is what we are taking with us.

I absolutely love Suzie's pistols

and I hope they will make a real bang at the auction house.

They might not be David's cup of tea but he is confident someone

will have their head turned by this postcard collection.

Whereas Anita has fallen for this Charles Brannam studio pot.

But will the bidders agree and match her estimate?

We are back at the Boldon Auction Galleries in Tyne and Wear.

Giles Hodges is overseeing proceedings

and he is about to kick off our next lot.

Good luck, Pat. That is all I can say.

A bit of West Country pottery going under the hammer right now.

I like Brannam pottery. Were you searching, thinking, "It's Flog It! What can I bring along?"

No, no. I went along just to enjoy the day

and I thought, "Oh, I'll take the blue vase."

OK. And you got talked into handing it over to Anita here.

I love this vase! I love the decoration on it

with these big, stylised fishes. It's lovely.

Let's find out what the bidders think.

We can talk until we're blue in the face but it is down to this lot. Here we go.

The lovely, large stoneware vase by Charles Brannam

with the swirled handles and fish decoration.

-I've got two commission bids. 100 starts me straight in.

-Yes!

At £100. 10 will go. At 100.

110. 120. 130.

140. 150.

160. 170.

-180. At 180. It's with me.

-Come on!

-190. 200.

-Yes, we've done it!

-220.

240. Still with me at 240. Anybody left?

-At £240, anybody on the net?

-We'll take that.

-At £240.

For the last time at 240.

-Yes!

-£240.

Somebody out there really wanted that. It's gone! It's gone!

-But what a cracking price!

-I'm so pleased.

-Thank you.

-Quality always sells, doesn't it?

-Yes.

-Quality always sells.

And thank you for bringing in such quality.

-Thank you for having me.

-Have you enjoyed yourself?

-I thoroughly enjoyed it.

-Good.

Well, that certainly made Pat one happy lady.

Going under the hammer right now, we've got a collection of postcards belonging to Heather,

-who is right next to me. Hello.

-Hi.

-Is this your first auction?

-It is.

-What do you think?

-Good. Good, I'm enjoying it.

-A big atmosphere here.

It's electric, actually.

Look, great little collection. We've had surprises before with postcard collections,

-so fingers crossed there might be one or two valuable ones in there to push the price up.

-Hopefully.

But it's only the postcard collectors who really know that.

Yes, they know their market well.

Let's find out what the bidders think.

Going under the hammer right now.

Large album of various postcards.

I've got, again, three commission bids. I will start at £100.

-We'll go in tens.

-There you go!

-110. 120.

130. 140.

150. 160.

170. 180.

180 with me.

-Have I missed anybody?

-That's a nice little surprise!

-Very surprising!

190. 200. Still with me.

You're both out.

At £200 for the first and the last. At 200.

-That's more like it!

-Well, the bidders weren't mean, were they?

-Very surprising.

-There was something in there!

-Must have been!

There always is in a collection. What a first experience of auction!

-Definitely. Good.

-Got the bug?

-Oh, I'll have to come back, yes.

-Do more decluttering.

-Find more things to sell!

Despite David not being enthusiastic about those postcards,

they've certainly gone down well in this saleroom.

Well, I've certainly been looking forward to having a chat to Suzie. It's great to see you.

We're about to put the percussion cap pistols under the hammer, the ones signed "Girding".

-The jury's still out on whether they were made for him or not.

-Hmm.

Giles has done some work.

He couldn't find anything else that you and I didn't know.

So it's all down to the bidders. I'm quite excited about this.

-Are you?

-I'm nervous and I'm very excited.

Here goes! This is it!

Lovely lot.

The pair of percussion turn-off barrel pistols, "AF Girding".

Lovely quality. Unfortunately, no boxes for them.

I have...one, two, three, four, five, six, seven,

eight, nine, ten, 11 bids.

We have phone bids as well.

-Wow!

-I can start them off at 850.

-Weren't expecting that as a starting point, were you?

-900.

It is on Caroline's phone at £900.

900. 950. 1,000.

1,100. That is 1,100. It is on Lucy's phone. Anybody else?

-At £1,100.

-Short and sweet, isn't it?

-The internet is quiet too.

At £1,100 for the last time.

-At £1,100.

-Susie, Suzie...

£1,100. Bang! Straight in at £900.

Oh, you have got some tears. Oh!

Thank you for bringing those in. That is a lots of money, isn't it?

Whoever has bought them, enjoy them and look after them.

Aw! And I am sure they have gone to a good home.

What a wonderful way to end a show.

-OK? Are you all right?

-I am absolutely fine.

-We'll look after you, don't worry.

-First aid, please!

We have tears here in Boldon, but, whatever you do,

join us again soon because there are going to be more surprises to come.

-But until then, it is goodbye from us two.

-Wonderful.

Yes, thank you so much.

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