London Flog It!

MUSIC: God Save The Queen by Sex Pistols

Today we're very excited to be in the UK's capital city

and during its 2,000-year history, London has witnessed plague, fire and war.

It's also played host to everything from the Great Exhibition of 1851

to the Olympic games.

It's home to 12 palaces, 46 universities

and around eight million people

and today, it welcomes Flog It!

London is a global city with a world-wide reputation

for the arts, commerce, fashion and, of course, heritage.

Today, we really are in a place that tries to preserve history

for future generations.

We've taken up a residency at London Zoo

and I must say, once you're inside the zoo, it feels a world away

from the hustle and bustle of the city outside.

It's a modern zoo with a wealth of history.

It participates in breeding programmes for more than 130 different species,

many of which are under threat.

I'm rather hoping today that the antiques we find

are equally well-preserved.

Founded by Sir Stamford Raffles, the zoo started life in 1828

so that fellows of the Zoological Society could scientifically observe

exotic wildlife.

Over the years, the Society's fellows have included Charles Darwin

and David Attenborough

and these days, people can study over 18,000 animals.

Today, of course, our experts are studying something else altogether

as our Flog It! crowd have brought along their antiques and collectibles to be valued.

So will Thomas Plant find a rare species in his midst?

What have you brought here?

In inherited this from my late father

and I'm told it's ancient Ecuadorian art.

How old do you think ancient Ecuadorian would be?

It's about 2,000 years old.

Look how marvellous it is, isn't it? Beautiful, isn't it?

And will an exotic breed of collectible come out of hibernation

for Catherine Southon?

I'm just going to go and do a little bit more research.

Can I come back to you in a moment? I promise I'll bring it back!

Our headquarters for today is the zoo's Prince Albert Suite,

where Catherine's established herself centre stage.

Let's see what she's picked up for her opening number.

Helen, welcome to Flog It!

Now, this is a rather interesting copper charger you've brought along today.

Can you tell me about it? Where did you get this from?

We got it from a local auction in our home town in Ringwood.

Right, OK. So you're often going off to auctions, are you, buying things?

We go and have a look round, yeah.

Is this more of a recent interest or have you always bought things?

Well, it was the television programmes that started us off. Oh, really?

Oh, well, that's very good.

I'm glad that we've made you interested in this

and got you up and delving in all the boxes.

So was this part of a lot or was it just one item?

It was just in a cardboard box underneath the table in the auction

and we wanted the water jug out of it, a blue VAT 69,

and this was part of the box.

So the water jug you kept. Mm-hm.

But why aren't you keeping this? It's a lovely piece.

If I have it much longer, I'm going to have to clean it.

That's dreadful! Mind you, I'm with you on that, I have to say.

Now, when you got home and you had a good look at this,

what did you think about it?

Well, we thought it had some weight

and we saw the HW and they were on the internet

and they were fetching some money.

You homed in straight away on the initials right at the bottom here,

which are HW for Hugh Wallis.

Now, Hugh Wallis, he worked during the Arts and Crafts movement,

so he's working in that sort of Arts and Crafts movement,

which is when people went back to the time when everything was handmade.

It's been hammered, it's got that lovely effect all around here

and the nice engraving in the centre, with this nice floral motif.

It just tells you, it screams, what the whole movement was about, the whole Arts and Crafts movement.

So what about the battering? Does that matter?

Yes, that's something that I was going to come on to.

That does worry me slightly.

I think, in perfect condition, we'd probably looking at around the ?100 mark.

Oh, my goodness! Yes.

But... Oh, yeah, OK. ..and there is a big but,

it has been bashed about quite a bit

and there's quite a lot of staining going on around here,

so I think we need to bear that in mind when thinking about the estimate.

I would put ?40-?60 on this. Yes. With a ?30 reserve. Right.

Would you be happy to sell it that? I would.

I think that's a pretty good return on your ?15 box, don't you? Yes, I do.

And bearing in mind you've got other items as well. Yes.

Now, I understand you can't come along to the auction. Is that right?

No, we're already booked on a ferry to go to Belgium

and do the antique flea markets. Oh, I was out there recently.

So you go out there and buy from the flea markets?

Yes, we take our camper van out there.

They happen on a Sunday,

so you have to spend at least three Sundays and...

Well, I wish lots of success with your next finds.

Thank you very much. I've gone red!

Music to my ears - Helen's a paid-up member of the Flog It! club

and has turned her telly viewing into a productive and pleasurable hobby.

Well, I must say, antiques are certainly on the bill today

and I absolutely love what Thomas Plant has just spotted.

Let's take a closer look.

So, Lorraine, you've come along with some candlesticks. I have.

Tell me, how did you come by them? I inherited them. Did you? Mm.

From a lady I house-kept for. She left them to me in her will.

Such a very handsome gift.

Do you use them? Do you have candle-lit suppers?

No, I don't! No? No.

You're not like Mrs Bucket? I'm definitely not like her, no.

I don't use them at all.

And you know they are solid silver? No. They are.

I knew they were silver because I've seen the hallmarks. Yeah.

These are made in Birmingham, only in the 1960s, actually - in 1961 -

and they are solid silver.

They're not the oldest candlesticks ever to walk this earth

but they are extremely handsome

and I think we can describe them as handsome rather than pretty

because they're quite Stoic,

these fluted, Classical columns on these stepped bases

and then these very decorative, what we call Corinthian capitals.

What are they worth to auction?

If they were going to be 18th-century,

we'd be able to put four figures on them.

These are not. These are 20th-century

but I still think they hold quite a good value for you

and silver being such a strong market at the moment,

because silver is sold for weight.

We don't want to sell them for scrap

because they're much better than that.

I would say we should put these in at ?400-?600.

Oh, that would be brilliant, yeah.

I think so. I never expected that at all.

I think we fix the reserve at three

and it makes sure that they're bought by somebody

who wants to use them... Yeah. ..as a pair of sticks,

not a scrapper who's going to melt them down.

Do you know what I mean? I do know what you mean.

I think, because of the story you've told me, they deserve better. Yeah.

But I think that's the fairest way.

I've given you the valuation and the clouds have parted.

Sun's out. And the sun's out and they look marvellous,

they look absolutely wonderful.

So we'll see you there at the auction? You will indeed.

I look forward to it. Me, too, me, too.

# We've walked together We're walking down this street

# But I just can't get enough I just can't get enough... #

As well as being the very first scientific zoo,

London Zoo opened the first reptile house in 1849,

the very first aquarium in 1853

and the very first insect house in 1881,

so you can see it's been pioneering in many different ways.

Well, you've just seen our experts be pioneering.

Their first choices of items are going off to auction,

so why don't we put them to the test?

You've heard their opinion, you've probably got your own.

But let's find out the opinion of the bidders.

We're off down the road now to the leafy suburb of Chiswick

for today's auction.

Well, any moment now the auction is just about to start.

The auctioneer William Rouse is on the rostrum.

Our owners are here, we've got our items,

so let's get on with the show.

?100, fresh bidding. ?100. Shaking his head, there.

?100...

Right, and now something for all you Arts and Crafts lovers.

We've got a Hugh Wallis copper charger. We have that.

Unfortunately, we do not have Helen - she's on holiday -

but we have Helen's sister, Julie. Hello, there. Hello.

Can you remember this copper charger from years ago?

No, they bought it in an auction recently. Did they? Recently? Yes.

Oh, so she's trying to turn a quick profit. I didn't know this.

?15 for a job lot. That's right. It was in a box of...

She's got a keen eye, hasn't she? Yes, yes.

A bit of Manchester school. Well.

Does she take you out shopping with her? No. They live too far away.

They live down in the New Forest. I think I ought to move down.

I think so, don't you?

The next time you go and stay, say, "Come on, let's go shopping at car boots."

They love car boots and things. They have a great time.

Let's put it to the test. This is it.

145, an Arts and Crafts copper tray.

It's worth ?20 for this, surely?

I'm bid 20. 22, 25.

28, 30.

?30 I'm bid. 32, here.

In front of me, then, at 32. Jolly good.

Anybody else? At ?32. 32.

That was close, wasn't it? That was close. Yes.

But at least you don't have to carry it home.

And she hasn't got to polish it. She hasn't got to clean it.

You will tell her? I will. Say, "It's gone."

But only just. That's lovely. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you.

95, 100... What a bargain for such a lovely example of British Arts and Crafts.

Selling...

Fingers crossed, Lorraine.

Let's hope we light up the saleroom with this next lot.

Can you guess what we're talking about? Yes, you can remember.

Those lovely candlesticks. Yeah.

They're quite new, aren't they? 1961.

But they've got that Georgian style, Corinthian capitals. Very nice.

But you didn't use them in your flat, did you? No, I didn't. I've never used them.

Is that because there's no dining room?

I haven't got a dining room, no.

It's a thing of the past really, dining rooms.

Big houses, obviously, yes but most people put their kitchen into their dining room. That's right.

It's all down to this lot now, the bidders. Let's find out what they think.

?250, this pair of Corinthian candlesticks.

Nice lot. 250, I'm bid.

260, 270.

?270 for the candlesticks.

At 270. It's not quite enough.

At ?270. 270, then, with me. 270.

Didn't reach the reserve. No.

Never mind. It's a shame, isn't it?

There's a lot of silver, there. There is a lot of silver.

Maybe I was a bit strong on my estimate.

I actually don't mind taking them back home. Good. I really don't.

That concludes our first visit to the sale.

We're coming back later on. Don't go away.

Before we look for more antiques,

I'm going off to explore a building

that houses the UK's first museum gallery

dedicated to British architecture

and the building is pretty stunning itself. Take a look at this.

South Kensington in the heart of London

hosts an exceptional area of cultural and architectural history,

born out of Victorian success.

There's a fascinating story behind every building here

on Exhibition Road.

Welcome to the Albertopolis.

I'm here today to focus on one particular building

and its architectural history

and that's the magnificent Victoria and Albert Museum.

Using ?186,000 worth of profit from ticket sales

to the hugely popular Great Exhibition,

the Kensington land was bought up for the museum development.

Prince Albert himself designed the first temporary iron buildings

in 1856,

which were much derided as ugly and like monster boilers.

Joined up with a brick house on the site,

it was built to house what would become a world-class collection

dedicated to the arts and sciences.

And there are examples of decorative arts and references to the Classics throughout the building.

Now, this is the original entrance to the museum and it is mighty fine,

used right up until the turn of the 20th century.

It's built of red brick and terracotta,

with a mosaic infill for ornamentation.

Without the extensions, this would have been a rather grand facade

for the residents of Kensington to enjoy.

Despite having to keep things modern where possible,

some reconstruction of original decoration gives visitors an idea

of what the museum would have looked like,

and the V have a continuing plan of restoration,

in conjunction with creating modern spaces fit for the 21st century.

The original collections at the museum mainly addressed the decorative arts

but over the years, the architectural reserves have grown and grown,

from drawings to scale models, even to full-size complete rooms.

I'm particularly enjoying looking at this modern scale model

of the whole of the cultural area, the so-called Albertopolis,

which grew up around the original earlier buildings like the V,

which you can see in the centre.

It just goes to make you appreciate actually how lucky we are

to have such wonderful institutions here for all of us to enjoy.

Now, what else has been saved in the architecture rooms?

Abraham Thomas is a curator in the museum's architecture department,

who work alongside RIBA,

the Royal Institute of British Architects,

in safeguarding the drawings, models and designs

of the world's most famous buildings.

I must say, Abraham, there's a wonderful collection here.

There are even drawers full of archived plans

that people can pull open and have a look at.

But can you show me something that's specific to the V's own architecture?

Yeah, well, I guess this here shows where it all began.

This is the Crystal Palace and the Great Exhibition of 1851,

the brainchild of Henry Cole, our first-ever director,

and Prince Albert.

The Exhibition was really intended as a space

for the world's best contemporary manufactures,

so it was intended to inspire British designers

and to develop taste within the country.

The collections that formed the V at the beginning

really came from this exhibition and existing schools of design.

I guess this was really one of the very first museums

where the majority of the population came to look at the wares that you could buy. Absolutely.

Yeah. Six million people in six months,

three times the population of London at the time, yeah.

I absolutely love this.

When you see that stone facade, you can see it's a statement of intent,

the importance of what's going on inside.

It's a wonderful drawing.

It's just so bold and dynamic

and really a seduction tool to persuade the client to go ahead with this extension.

And there's Queen Victoria above the arch, with Albert below.

It's a shame that she died just before this was completed in 1909.

She'd managed to lay the foundation stone in 1899

but it wasn't completed until ten years later.

That's some good 50 years after the original building works. Yeah.

Originally, it was going to be called the Albert Museum

but it was changed at the last moment.

Yes. Victoria was very sad when the Great Exhibition closed

because that was Albert's vision,

so for her it was very appropriate that this became the Albert Museum

but of course we felt that it had to be the Victoria and Albert Museum.

What about future plans for the museum?

Well, we have phase two of our FuturePlan programme of gallery refurbishments

and a key part of that is restoring the South Courts,

which we're hoping to reveal to the public again.

There's this wonderful architectural space above

which we hope to reveal over the next ten years or so.

Thank you for showing me round. That's all right.

I can't wait to see that. It's very exciting.

Well, I hope my little tour of the V today

has given you inspiration to come here

but also to check out the architecture of any building

before you go inside it,

because in many cases, the architecture is a work of art in itself.

And here, for this magnificent building, one of the finest in the world,

we have to thank Prince Albert and his forward-thinking team.

What they've done is they've left a legacy for future generations

to enjoy and be inspired by.

# Now, I'm the king of the swingers Oh, the jungle VIP... #

Back at London Zoo, we're still rifling through the antiques

brought in by today's crowd

and Catherine's next item rather stood out.

Janette, it's lovely to see you. Pleased to meet you. Pleased to meet you.

And you are looking incredibly colourful. Thank you.

And we've got a nice sunny day outside

and then we've got a very wintry picture.

Tell me about this. Do you like it?

Not very much because it's quite plain

and it just sits in my spare room doing nothing.

No-one goes in there? No. No-one looks at it? No.

I'm not a paintings expert but I know the name.

Signed right at the bottom there, Jacques Deperthes.

I would date this probably to about 1967, 1968.

He was a French realist painter

and he used to go out and paint these quite bleak landscapes,

often painting quite simple, rural scenes.

We've got some very strong vertical and horizontal lines going on here.

There's not an awful lot going on but I love that.

I think the simplicity is absolutely beautiful here.

And do you know what I also love about it?

It's the fact that you just look at it and you want to put on your hat,

you want to put on your scarf and you just want to jump in

and make footprints all along here.

It's just... It's got so much atmosphere there.

For me, it's a really lovely picture.

But it doesn't do it for you, Janette? No, no.

Because I hate the cold weather. You hate the cold.

I really hate cold weather.

But going back to the name, Jacques Deperthes,

he's quite a well-known artist

and his paintings at auction do vary from ?400 right up to ?4,000,

so it's a difficult one to gauge

but I'd be happy to put in auction with an estimate of ?800-?1,200.

Oh, that's... I can't believe that.

Is that nice? That sounds very nice. Does that sound good? Very nice.

And with a reserve of ?600. Yes, that will be fine.

I just can't believe it could be worth that much.

I can't believe it. You sound very excited. Yeah, I am!

Well, I do hope that it sells for that because, as I say,

the prices are between 400 and 4,000.

That's a very wide gap and I'm not quite sure how to gauge this

but I think ?800-?1,200 would probably be a good place to start.

Let's hope at the end of the day there are people there and they recognise the name,

recognise how beautiful the picture is

and it makes you some money. Good luck. Thank you very much.

I'll see you at the auction, Janet. We'll see what happens.

# Daddy's taking us to the zoo tomorrow, zoo tomorrow, zoo tomorrow

# Daddy's taking us to the zoo tomorrow, we can stay all day

# We're going to the zoo, zoo... #

Thomas has been a roving expert all day long.

Of all the animals in the zoo, I wonder which one he's chosen

for his next valuation.

We have vultures behind us. Here we are with gold and silver coins.

Tell me, why have you brought along this album of coins?

Where did these come from? They were my late mother's.

I found them in her attic and she was a great collector of stamps and coins

and cigarette cards

and I just came across them and saw that there were so many of them

and that some of them have been labelled, as well.

And what did you think when you found them?

First of all I thought, wow, what a lot of coins.

And then as I began to look through,

I thought how old some of them were

and how worn some of them are

and the variety, as well, that's there -

florins and shillings and sixpences.

The other interesting thing - I don't know if you know this -

is that some of these coins are silver, some of them are half silver,

some of them are cupronickel. I didn't know, I didn't know.

It's quite an interesting fact that all silver coins before 1919

were all solid silver - the silver ones. OK.

We're in 1919, we'd just finished the Great War at that time.

We went to half silver, then,

because it cost quite a lot of money to make coins out of solid silver.

And then we come to the end of the Second World War, 1946,

as when we stop putting any silver in coins at all.

They go from half silver to just cupronickel.

But what we've got here is we've got the monarchs

dating from, you know, the 20th century.

Believe it or not we can say that because Queen Victoria died in 1901

and this is her Jubilee head.

So we've got two Victorian crowns.

We don't have Edward VII here.

And then we go to George V, there. George VI

and then we've got Queen Elizabeth.

These two coins, do you know what these are?

Half sovereigns? These aren't halves, these are full sovereigns.

Are they? Yeah, these are full sovereigns. 7.9g of solid gold.

They've got the old Victorian head on them.

One is dated 1896 and the other one is dated for 1900 again.

And of course, with the price of gold, these have tremendous value.

So you've got quite a lot of coins here.

We've got to come to a value.

What do you think this coin collection is worth?

Have you got any idea? No, I have not. None at all.

If I said, "I'll give you ?350," what would you say?

It's quite good. I think they're worth a bit more than that. Right.

These are worth ?400 just on their own.

Oooh! OK.

This coin, the double florin, is worth about ?40 on its own. OK.

And then you've got these crowns here. These are silver crowns.

These are worth at least ?25 each

but you haven't just got these three, you've got more here.

So I think you've got an album here worth at least ?500-?700.

Wow. Including the sovereigns.

You've got to fix the reserve at 500. Mm-hm.

How does that grab you? That's pretty good, yeah.

Did you expect to find something like this? No, I didn't, no. Not at all.

Has it gone down through the generations, to be a collector?

Her dad was a collector of stamps and things.

My grandfather was a collector as well. But you two aren't? No.

Only of clothes and shoes. Well, naturally!

LAUGHTER

45, 50.

?60.

The auction house has divided the collection of coins,

separating the more valuable gold sovereigns into a single lot.

Unfortunately, we don't have Mum but we do have Holly. Hello.

So where is Mum? Mum's a teacher, so... What subjects?

She teaches year one. She's a primary school teacher. OK.

Did she teach you when you were a kid? She wasn't a teacher back then.

Because that's typical. My father was a teacher

but thank goodness I didn't go to the school that he taught at.

I had no friends because Dad was a teacher.

Right, first up, Holly, this is it. Here's the sovereigns.

235 is a gold sovereign and another one mounted as a pendant

and I've got a bit of interest and I'm in at ?350.

I'll take 370. With me at 350.

370.

400.

420.

450 is the next bid. 420 there.

Come on, this is good. At ?420 for the two sovereigns.

At 420. 450 in the room. Just in there.

Late bidder. Late bidder. That's good.

Marvellous. Right, one down. ?450. Here's the second lot.

Lot 236, an album of British coins, various coins in the album.

What are they worth? ?30 for these?

30 I'm bid. 32, 35

38, 40, 42, 45, 48, 50.

It's all the old boys bidding, as well. The old collectors.

65, 70.

?70, then. Nearer to me at 70.

75, there.

80, 85.

They're still keen. That chap wants them, the chap with the beard.

Nearer to me at 90. Anybody else?

At ?90, I'm going to sell them.

I'm happy with that. You've got to be happy with that.

Are you going shopping with that money or is Mum?

Probably both of us. We'll fight over it.

You've got to let her know, haven't you, first. Yes.

I don't have to.

I'm going to sell it then. At ?90, it's going.

Thank you very much.

Now for our final item, Janette's painting.

This is definitely the one we've all been waiting for,

the Jacques Deperthes painting belonging to Janette, here.

Why are you selling this? This is a keeper, if you ask me.

It hangs in my spare bedroom

and I've got 16 grandchildren and they're just going to ruin it.

They ruin everything. Do they? Crayon all over it. They'd draw on it.

Well, you'd think it was quite safe on the wall.

I know they'll stretch up and get to it. It's too big.

That's the only downside. The size? Yeah.

It is on the large side. You need a big room for a large painting.

Yeah. But it is fantastic. It's got the look, hasn't it?

It's got a wonderful look. Yeah. Has it?

Yeah, it has. She's not convinced.

Look, there's a packed auction room here, full of bidders, OK?

I'm sure there's some commission bids and some phone lines booked.

Let's find out, shall we? Let's put it to the test.

Lot 360 is this oil painting, the winter scene.

Lots of interest in it, I'm glad to say. A good thing.

And where shall we start? ?500, I think.

550 I'll take. At ?500. 550.

600. And 50.

?650.

?700 now. We've sold it, anyway. It's gone. We want a bit more.

750 I'm bid, then, in the corner at 750.

At 800 if you like. At ?750 I'm going to sell it.

At 750... 800.

850.

900. ?900 here, then. Shaking his head.

At ?900, then. Fresh bidder. At ?900 I'm going sell it.

900, then. That was a good result.

?900. I can't believe it.

You did not need to lower the reserve, did you?

I could not believe it. It's marvellous.

MUSIC: Let's Dance by David Bowie

Well, that's it, it's all over for our owners.

The auction is still going on

but we've had some great results today

and everybody has gone home happy - that is what it's all about.

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

and you can pick up the details on our BBC website.

Until then, it's cheerio from everybody here

at the Chiswick Auction Rooms.

We've got a wild week of adventure planned, UK-style...

..from soaring eagles...

to hungry puffins

and foraging bats.

Join us to celebrate our own home-grown wilderness.