London Flog It!

MUSIC: "Wild Ones" by Flo Rida

Today, we've come to a menagerie in the heart of the city,

London Zoo. Home to animals of all shapes and sizes and, incredibly,

a collection of listed buildings

by some of Britain's most distinguished architects.

Welcome to Flog It!

# London Calling through the far-away towns

# Now war is declared and battle come down. #

In almost 200 years of the zoo's history,

some of Britain's best-known architects have contributed

to its design, building pioneering animal enclosures

reflecting the architectural styles of the time.

From Georgian tunnels to an art deco reptile house,

a playful penguin pool

to an elephant house designed to look like its inhabitants.

The zoo is full of architectural history.

# The ice age is coming, the sun is zooming in. #

Opened in 1827 for the scientific exhibition and study of animals,

the London Zoological Society opened its gardens to members only.

Thankfully today, it's open to everyone,

and later on the show, we'll be learning a little bit more

about our wonderful venue and the history behind it,

but right now, we've got to delve into all of these bags and boxes

searching for the best items to auction.

Welcome to Flog It!

Hundreds of people have come from far and wide

to see our experts today.

Wild at heart, Thomas Plant is going on the hunt

for some exotic collectibles.

-Are you excited about Flog It?

-Yes, I am.

I hope we come up with a good valuation for you

and your £5 investment will be marvellous.

And just like Noah and the ark,

Will Axon's bringing his items two by two.

Quite nicely done, in a way, aren't they?

Friend of a friend, she sold them to me for six quid.

-Might do a bit more research on those inside, if that's OK?

-I'd be grateful.

But will we uncover any items

with tales to match those of our historic venue?

Which of these finds raises the roof at auction?

Is it this snappy 1950s Ducati camera?

Or will this collection of medals bring in an over-the-top price?

Or maybe these gold brooches will shine with the bidders today.

Right, we're all raring to go so let's see what Thomas has found.

John, I hope my valuation is going to be good enough

for you not to throw me to the lions.

-They look pretty asleep right now.

-They're not ready for food yet.

Not really, no. Tell me, why did you bring this camera along today?

Well, I've done quite a bit of research with it

and what I found out, I can't find another one

to match it up or even to price it up at all.

I thought it would be a good idea to come here.

Let's be clear, this is a Ducati 35 mm, range-view camera.

It's made in Italy.

Like all things Italian, it's extremely compact

and actually quite beautiful to look at, isn't it?

This being a Ducati is known as the Italian Leica,

and Leica are the seminal camera people.

This company produced this very small camera

for a very small amount of time.

That's why you didn't find many on the internet

or your research of working out have these cameras sold before.

You type in Leica to a search engine,

it will come up with reams of them.

-Mostly lenses I found.

-Lots of lenses.

This is a body, this does have a lens here which can be changed.

It does come off completely. Tell me, how have you got it?

Four years ago, my uncle died and we cleared out his place.

What we done, with all his stuff in a box, put it in the loft.

Then in January this year, we done loft insulation

and we came across it again. That's when I noticed "Ducati" on it.

I decided, they make motorbikes, not cameras,

so I decided to check them out.

Funnily enough, yes, I found out they made cameras as well,

way back in the 1930s or something.

'30s, '40s, and they had the war,

then from about '46 to about '53, when this one was made.

This was the Ducati Sogno, which means "dream."

I didn't realise that's what it meant.

Now, value. This is why we're here.

As I said, I mentioned Leica, the godfather of all camera production,

and I said this is the Italian Leica.

It is a rare camera, they do not come up very often for auction.

But there is a little bit of corrosion on the button here

and the shutter is not working, but there's a cloth shutter.

They do deteriorate.

Saying that, I would believe a sensible estimate

would be £800 to £1,200,

I'd like to fix a reserve round about £600.

-What do you think?

-That sounds OK. 600's a good reserve.

Reserve at six but we'll put it at £800 to £1,200 as the estimate.

-Try and build up the interest.

-Yes, quite happy with that.

Next up, Will's been poring over this jug

brought in by print artist, Rita.

Rita, I recognised what you brought in straight away

from across the room. It's a piece of Doulton Lambeth, isn't it?

-That's right.

-The thing I don't know

is exactly who it's by designer-wise.

You're going to tell me, aren't you?

You've done a bit of research on this, haven't you?

I had, but already they did know who it was by because of his name.

He's got his initials actually on the item itself.

You're right, the initials are on the jug itself.

It's George Tinworth, probably one of the most famous designers

working for Doulton,

established originally at the Lambeth School of Art alongside

those other well-known names like Hannah Barlow,

all the Barlow sisters.

-A well-known name in this sort of field.

-Yes.

We've got the Doulton Lambeth stamp there.

We've also got it dated there, 1880, which is handy.

Actually, Tinworth's mark is actually in the decoration.

-It's very difficult to find.

-There it is.

We've got the interlocked "TG."

And from what I've read, he did have

some smaller types of things that are well sought after.

This, to me, sounds a little bit unusual for him.

It is. When you say George Tinworth,

the first thing that comes into your mind usually would be "mouse."

I've learnt that lately.

He used to do various... Mice on bicycles, falling over each other,

so little humorous, fanciful pieces.

They really sort of struck a chord with people

and they liked the light-heartedness of them.

It's well collected, Doulton.

This is Doulton Lambeth,

that's what they called it with this association with the School of Art.

You've got a good name there, Tinworth is a good name,

very well collected. This kind of muted colour

and the way it's decorated is quite typical of the time.

Doulton were known for these slightly subdued colours

whereas other art firms, such as Minton and so on,

tended to be a bit brighter and brasher.

That's, again, part of the appeal. It doesn't necessarily clash.

You could see that fitting in quite nicely

in a modern, contemporary interior without shouting too loudly.

Do you have any idea what you think it might be worth?

No, I didn't. I'm very, very keen to find out.

It can either be almost thousands or nothing.

-Gives me a nice wide range to work with.

-Absolutely, I have no idea.

I know it's important but that's all.

I see it around that sort of 250 mark, 250, that sort of figure.

Let's put it in at £200 to £300.

Fix that reserve at £200 and I reckon it will do £250, £300,

-that sort of figure. How do you feel at that?

-It's OK.

I hope it goes to somebody who really appreciates Doulton Lambeth.

Rita, it's obvious from talking to you that you really appreciate

the artistic merit of something like this

and I'm hoping there will be two or three people at the auction

that feel the same way.

It's out of our hands, it's all down to the auctioneer now.

I look forward to it.

We've got scores of people here today at London Zoo,

but before they get to see Will and Thomas outside,

they're all passing through our headquarters for the day

here at the Prince Albert Suite.

So many people and so many antiques to look at now.

-Ladies, what's your name?

-Naomi.

-Naomi, and?

-Avril.

Have you seen what they're both holding? Silver spoons.

You obviously got together this morning and thought,

"What are we going to take in?"

We didn't. We wanted something quite mobile.

They say, you know, if you're lucky,

you're born with a silver spoon in your mouth,

but look at the size of that!

You're going to need a whopping great big...

-You weren't born with that one, were you?

-I wasn't, no.

-That's Tiffany, isn't it?

-Yes, it is.

There's a bit of weight there, and what have you got?

That's a Georgian spoon. That's very, very nice.

That's beautiful, isn't it?

-Do you think that one's worth more than that one?

-Maybe.

-What do you think?

-I think hers is worth more than mine.

I can tell you, that one is worth more than that one.

But that one is made by Tiffany so the name is very, very strong.

It's good but it's a lot later. That's circa 1930s, 1940s,

but it's got some quality. There's a bit of decent weight there.

Scrap value there on that spoon's around about £60.

-That's slightly heavier.

-I'll wear it round my neck then.

Hey, look! Do that again.

# A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down

# Medicine go down

# Medicine go down. #

Thomas has really got to the point with these Zulu spears.

-How did you come by them?

-They were given to myself and my late husband 37 years ago

by a gentleman who was a warden of a National Scout campsite.

Why did he give you two spears?

I think he was having a bit of a clearout,

asked David and I if we would like them

and we said "Yes" and we use them as decoration in our living room.

I have this romantic opinion that Bert, your Scout friend,

these were in the shed kicking about, and these have actually been

brought back from South Africa by an older Scout, not Bert himself.

Maybe somebody who knew Baden-Powell.

Maybe, he was at the siege of Mafeking, you know?

-Or had done all those things, you know what I mean?

-Yes, I do.

These are probably from South Africa

and they most look like they're going to be from the Zulu tribe.

They had three weapons.

Their shield, this, the stabbing spear,

and they had a throwing spear and sometimes a club,

but because they're so thin they had to keep them behind the shield

and sometimes you see the shields

-with the weapons all sticking out, don't you?

-Yes.

This would come behind the shield

and they'd be able to hold it all in one hand

and the other hand to do things like throw the spear and carry on.

What caught my eye, I have to say,

is this lovely rushing here,

putting this blade on to the shaft itself.

this rush work is just absolutely delightful.

-To get them here, where do you live in London? South London?

-Harrow.

Harrow, so North London. You got them here to the zoo.

Did you come on public transport?

We did. We came on the Tube

so I wrapped them in pillowcases and then brown paper

so that we wouldn't be stopped from going on the Tube this morning.

You didn't want to be arrested. Your collar being felt.

"Hello, madam, what have you got there?"

They probably would have thought they were canes for your allotment.

Or something, yes.

So, realistically, we've got to think, what are they worth?

They're not going to make a huge amount

but I'd like to say a typical auctioneer's estimate - 80 to 120.

-That's what I thought you would say actually!

-Do you mind?

-Not at all.

-I know it's a big cop-out!

-Regarding reserve, about £40, if that's all right.

-OK.

If we do all right with them, are you going to buy more weapons?

-Certainly not. We're going to put it towards a house move.

-Oh, really?

-Yes.

-Where are you moving?

-We love Derbyshire

but we can't go as far as that because my son and daughter

are expecting my second grandchild today.

-She's in labour now.

-Oh, really!

-Yes.

-And you're here?

That's probably quite a good thing. They don't, you know...

Granny can come later.

We don't want to go too far away from them and they live in Hatfield.

Are you a granny, grandma or a nan or what are you?

-I'm called Nannykins.

-Nannykins!

Well, I hope we do very well for you

-and good luck with today.

-Thank you very much.

# Like a true nature's child

# We were born, born to be wild

# We can climb so high

# I never want to die. #

While our experts keep up the search

for hidden treasures amongst the crowd,

I've decided to look for a bit of hidden history elsewhere.

This is the east tunnel,

one of the last surviving examples of the early part of the zoo.

It was built in 1829

and it mirrors the work of architect John Nash,

whose work you can see all around Regent's Park.

With its Doric screen above that wonderful arch,

balustrades up there and reproduction stone finials,

it's certainly stood the test of time.

This was even used as an air raid shelter during the Second World War.

Well, you've now seen our experts' first choices of items

to take to auction. So, why don't we put them to the test?

Why did you bring this camera along today?

John's Ducati camera is a rare example of a classic design,

a brand to die for.

Will Rita's Doulton jug

be doing the Lambeth walk out of the saleroom?

And Janet's exotic and historic Zulu spears

are just straight out of the pages of Boy's Own.

We're travelling west across the city for today's sale

at the Chiswick Auction Rooms.

The man with the gavel is auctioneer William Rouse.

£100 fresh bidding, £100 shaking his head there. £100.

First up, let's see if Janet and Heather's Zulu spears

hit their mark.

We've got a fixed reserve at £40 and I know, Thomas,

you held your hands up at the valuation.

You don't know anything about spears. I don't blame you

because nor do I. I tell you something, they will sell at £40

so you don't have to take them back on the Tube train.

Which is what I don't want to do.

No, you don't want to be doing that, do you?

Listen, there's a Scouting connection, isn't there?

I see you're wearing a Scout's medal there.

Yes, this is the Medal of Merit for services to Scouting.

How long have you been involved with the Scouts?

I was involved for many, many years, I can't tell you exactly,

but I was a district badge secretary for about 20-odd years.

-That's why I received it.

-Were you a Boy Scout?

-No, I wasn't.

-I was in the Cubs.

-I was a Cub and a Scout.

-I even played in the Scouts band.

-Did you?

That's not surprising, is it, with the drums?

Actually thoroughly enjoyed it. Absolutely enjoyed it.

We did, many years ago, we were given the spears by a Scouting friend

who was the warden at a national Scout campsite.

I would like them to move on to somebody

who would be able to appreciate them more now.

-Tribal art is very collectible.

-Right.

Hopefully, we'll find a home for them right now.

Here we go, this is it. This is exciting.

Lot 130 - two African spears with the nice polished shafts.

Let's start this one at £20 to get going.

I'm bid 20, 22, 25. £25 is all I'm bid. 28.

30, 32, 35, 38, 40, 42.

£42 I'm bid here, at £42.

In the room then it is at £42, are you all done, finished.

For the spears, 42, I'm going to sell them.

-There it goes.

-That's fine.

-That is fine, just.

-That's good, isn't it?

-At least they've gone.

The thought of you taking them back on the Tube!

MUSIC: "Stuck on You" by Elvis Presley

Coming up next, we've got John's Ducati camera,

which is just about to go under the hammer

and John, it's great to see you again. I really liked the camera.

We had a chat to William, our auctioneer, on the preview day.

He liked it a lot as well.

-It is quality and they didn't make that many of them.

-Very rare.

And they didn't sell that well either.

That's why they went into transport, particularly motorbikes.

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

It's going under the hammer right now. This is it, good luck.

Lot 70 is this rare Ducati camera. Where shall we start this?

£400 to get things going.

400 I'm bid, 420, 440, 460.

£460 for the camera, at 460. 480, thank you.

500, 520, 540.

£540 it is, at 540, nearly there.

At £540.

-So close, so close.

-So close.

-Couple of bids away, really.

You've got a couple of options here.

You can have a word with the auctioneer after the sale,

see if he can find the underbidder.

He might know who he is because of his registration number

and maybe you could sell it at that price.

What a shame, but it just goes to show,

you can never tell what's going to happen when you're at an auction.

I'm bid 110, 120, 130, 140, 150. Thank you very much.

Bit of quality going under the hammer right now.

A George Tinworth Doulton jug belonging to Rita

and it has to go because the cat might damage it.

I still keep it on the shelf but behind another vase.

This sort of high, up there, so the cat...

He gets up there though?

Much higher than the doors so I suppose about seven foot.

Come on, let's get this sold. Let's get it away from Stripes.

160 is the George Tinworth jug. Lets start this at £150.

Someone on the phone there, look.

Maybe he's thinking to a colleague,

"I'm in the room, I'll buy it for you."

180, 190, 200. In the doorway then, it is at £200.

In the doorway at 200. Anybody else want to come in then?

-And going to sell it, for £200 it goes.

-It's gone.

-£200, the hammer's gone down, Rita. It's gone!

-Sad.

-I knew you would be.

-I hope they like it as much as I liked it.

That's the thing about auction, like we explained at the valuation day.

Whoever's buying these things is buying them because they want them.

At least you know it's going to someone

who's made a conscious decision that he wants it,

so it's not like, you know,

you're not letting it go to the dogs, as it were.

-It's safe at least.

-At £90 it's going, thank you very much.

That concludes our first visit to the auction room today.

We are coming back later on the programme.

Before we join up with our experts to see what else they can find,

I'm going to take you on a tour of the zoo, but this time,

instead of looking at the animals,

we're going to be focusing on the architecture.

# 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, zoo, how about you, you, you?

# You can come too, too, too, we're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo. #

London Zoo has seen many changes over the years

since it was first founded by Sir Stamford Raffles back in 1826.

This little corner of Regent's Park is now home

to thousands of species from all over the world

and they attract around a million visitors each year.

But interestingly enough, the majority of the visitors that come

probably don't realise that the zoo is also home

to 13 heritage listed buildings.

Like the animals themselves,

these listed buildings are conserved for visitors to appreciate.

Let's take a walk in the zoo and have a closer look at them.

Now, this is the Giraffe House, built in 1836.

It's the oldest building in the zoo still used for its original purpose

and it was built buy Decimus Burton, the zoo's first architect.

I know it lacks the flourishes that you associate with his earlier work

but it does illustrate the challenges

that the Victorian architects had

when designing homes for exotic animals like these giraffes.

Burton had a heating system fitted into the interior,

which was hot air which was pumped all around to keep the animals warm,

and he also designed the doors large enough

to let the 4.5-metre high occupants go in and out, as you can see.

However, future architects were keen

to really leave their mark on the zoo.

They were more ambitious in their plans and layouts for the buildings.

Fast-forward nearly 100 years

and we're off to see how Berthold Lubetkin,

one of the most famous modernist architects of the 20th century,

made his mark on London Zoo.

Now, this is the Round House for the gorillas,

designed by Lubetkin and built in 1932.

His revolutionary new approach to architecture

was to blend function with form.

The bold curves of this building

make it one of the most instantly recognisable enclosures at the zoo.

And it also incorporates some very clever functional design

because there's a half drum inside there within another half drum.

So, basically, it moves around like this to shelter the gorillas

when the weather is cold and then slides back, so you don't see it.

However, the gorillas are long gone.

They moved out in 1939 when it was deemed too small for them,

and it's now home to the lemurs.

I've crossed the road to zoo's south side

to see another Lubetkin creation,

an instantly recognisable modernist classic,

still popular with visitors today.

This is Lubetkin's famous Penguin Pool.

Although the penguins are long gone,

you can still appreciate its unusually elegant and playful design.

This would have been really spectacular

when it first opened in 1934,

and looking back on it today,

you can see it's so evocative of the period.

But that was state-of-the-art technology.

That's why it's earned itself Grade I listed status

and this is my favourite building here at the zoo.

Unfortunately, the pool was unpopular with its residents.

Whilst concrete was perfect

to create this double-helix centrepiece,

it was really bad for their joints.

And this whole exposed area was just too unnatural for the penguins.

Lubetkin's monument to modernist architecture

proves how the zoo's attitude towards conservation has moved on

because now they have the most perfect enclosure, a pleasure beach.

'Robin Fitzgerald is the senior project manager here at London Zoo

'and responsible for keeping the animals happy in their homes.'

How have the attitudes changed towards the animals over the years?

Enormously. Originally when the zoo was created in 1826,

-animals were presented very much in a picture-postcard format.

-Hmm.

But since then we've moved on enormously,

from animals in little boxes to what you see now.

Penguin Beach is a pinnacle of what we've created recently.

We create more open enclosures, more naturalistic enclosures,

and engage people with the animals.

-Yes.

-There's been a fundamental shift in the last 150 years.

And you can see that.

Let's talk about comparing Penguin Beach to Penguin Pool.

Each was built 70 years apart.

How do you go about commissioning new projects here?

When we commissioned the Lubetkin pool,

it was an architect-led commission.

The animals were designed around the structure.

We've completely turned that on its head

and now we take what's required for the animal

and we build the enclosure around the animal

and the architecture takes a back foot.

It's often enclosed in the landscape.

-So it's a real fundamental change.

-Yeah.

That looks absolutely stunning, I've got to say.

With penguins, you normally think about freezing-cold waters,

but that kind of looks like a beach and it IS is a beach.

It's almost tropical!

Again, one of the things you find when you work at the zoo,

penguins don't just come from Antarctica in the southern hemisphere.

These penguins come from the Patagonia region of Argentina, Chile.

-Where the waters are warmer.

-That's it.

So that reflects the enclosure you see here.

There is a big difference here.

I've just seen the Round House

that was originally built for the gorillas in the '30s.

They've obviously moved on somewhere larger.

With Gorilla Kingdom, we took the same approach.

We've seen what gorillas require and we put them in a landscape

and gave them a more naturalist setting.

And with the public, we've brought them into the exhibit as well,

so almost at one with nature.

You take down the barriers, you see what's there.

You'll find everything is much larger,

much more space for the animals,

and again, you'll see, the proof is in the pudding,

you'll see the animals are much more content.

-It's all about animal welfare now.

-That's it. Very much so.

There's a finite amount of space here, 36 acres.

How do you go about re-designing new areas around the listed buildings?

The whole site is a conservation area,

so, unlike other zoos, we can't just build

cheap and cheerful with agricultural buildings and chain-link fences.

So the whole approach has to sit in with...

English Heritage we have to consult, the Royal Parks,

conservation committees.

It is a challenge.

Certainly it's one of the hardest challenges

I've ever had to face, working here.

Now we leap forward to the middle of the '60s

to another building by a famous architect

that has stood the test of time.

That building, the Casson Pavilion, appeared here at the zoo in 1965.

It was designed by Sir Hugh Casson,

famous for his work on the 1951 Festival of Britain.

And his style of architecture is New Brutalism.

If you look at the walls, you can see that they are textured quite heavily.

That's to emulate the skin of rhino and elephants,

the animals it was designed to house.

At the very bottom you see the brick plinth all around.

They doubled up not only for extra strength

but also for scratching posts for the elephants,

which I think is quite amusing.

You won't find elephants and rhinos here today

but you will see camels and pigs. They now live here.

The final elephants moved out

for the wider spaces of Whipsnade Zoo in 2001.

Looking at the listed buildings, it's clear that London Zoo is constantly changing.

As animal welfare and conservation evolves,

so, too, does the architecture.

It's a lasting and ongoing legacy

which London Zoo continues to this day.

Although there's plenty to admire around the zoo,

we have still got work to do.

Marie wants to generate some pocket money

for her granddaughter and her great-granddaughter.

You ask any jewellery dealer

and they will tell you that brooches are one of the harder pieces to sell

because you don't see people wearing brooches.

-You see me.

-Really? You wear brooches?

-I have, yes.

I've got a brooch, I think,

on every jacket and coat that I own.

Tell me about these. Do these sit in your jewellery box?

-Yes, they've sat in that box I should think a good 30 years or more.

-No!

-I've never worn them.

-Have you bought them? Were they a gift to you?

They were a gift from my aunt. Um...

I went to Malta about 30 years ago

-and a had an aunt who lived over there.

-Yes.

And she said, "I want to give you something for you to remember me by."

And she gave me that one.

And I think those two were my mother's.

We see a lot of these what we would call sweetheart brooches,

late 19th century, that period.

But a lot of them, usually coming out of Birmingham assay office,

are made in silver.

-Really?

-What's nice about these is that they are in gold

with these, I would imagine, semi-precious stones.

It makes them a little bit more special.

-You know why gold is popular at the moment?

-Yes.

-Is it still high up in price?

-Yeah.

The demand across the world for these sort of things is high,

so therefore that's why we can put quite a generous figure on them,

-I would have thought.

-Yes.

I think we should put a figure in around the £100 mark.

-How do you feel about that?

-Yes. Just 100?

I'd like to sort of put them in at 80-120.

-Yes.

-And fix the reserve at £80.

-80.

-Yeah.

-Right.

I think they'll do well because they're small,

they've got value as per what they're made of, the gold,

and they're pretty enough.

Someone might really take a shine to them and think,

-"I'll have those and use them and wear them."

-Right.

Are you happy at that figure?

-Your granddaughter and great-granddaughter will be happy?

-Oh, I think so.

-Yeah?

-Yes.

-I'll see you there.

-Thank you.

-Not at all. Thank you.

# I said, hey, sugar, take a walk on the wild side

# I said, hey, babe... #

Next Thomas takes a view on Mike's pastel landscape.

I'm not great on pastel pictures.

-I have to put that caveat in before we start to look at yours.

-OK.

But I believe you've done a bit of work on this, is that right?

A little bit of research.

I inherited it from my late father

and asked my wife if she'd like to put it on the wall. She declined.

So I thought, "We'll look it up, see if what can find out."

It does have a name, which we think is Bernard Sickert.

So I looked him up and there's not an awful lot of his work

-but he is the brother of Walter Sickert.

-Correct.

Beyond that, I don't know much more.

There's three years' difference between them.

Walter Sickert is 1860, Bernard is 1863.

Walter Sickert is a famous British artist,

part of that Camden Town Group,

that British impressionism, a genre of people, of life going on.

This could be his brother. His father was an artist as well.

They did work in pastel colours.

The pastel is in the right palette

and actually it's a wonderful picture.

You look at it from afar,

you actually get the feeling of the fields, the farmhouse.

It's been done by quite a confident hand.

This big large tree here, this outline,

the pencil and the filling in.

It's not been done by a happy amateur, do you know what I mean?

I do. I like it.

All things being equal, does it make it a valuable picture?

The answer is, being a Bernard Sicket, no.

-If it was Walter, thousands of pounds.

-Sure.

There are records of Bernard's work coming up for sale.

It's not signed. I would say £150, £200. Reserve it at 120.

-Sounds good.

-Do you think so?

-Yes, yes.

-You want to give it a go?

I do want to give it a go.

I'd love to flog it because my wife won't allow it

and therefore I'll use the money to take her out for lunch.

-A good lunch.

-Well, if it only gets £50...

If it doesn't sell...

-It might not.

-Sure.

..can I recommend one thing so maybe, maybe

it might get hung in your house?

-I'd get a better mount for it first.

-Yes, yes.

And actually frame it and it would look rather good.

-I think my wife could be swayed by you.

-You really think so?

-I hope so.

-I don't know.

-Maybe she'll come to the auction.

-But it might sell.

# Worked so hard in the burning sun

# Fever, fever, jungle fever

# So let you know my work is done

# Fever, fever, jungle fever... #

I don't know about Jungle Fever but when it comes to bargains,

Eva here is a terminal case.

# Fever, fever, jungle fever... #

So, Eva, I understand that these are some things

that you've picked up from a car boot.

Is that something that you do regularly?

Are you always on the look for antiques at the car-boot sales?

(FOREIGN ACCENT) Um, yes. Because interesting and...

I'm always learning something.

You're right there.

Because after I am checking the internet and there's lots of new...

-Information.

-Information.

-Yeah.

Exactly. Well, you've obviously brought along here

what we can see in front of us, a Christmas tin here from 1914

and also a selection of medals.

Now, looking at these, can I ask you what you paid for them?

-About £10.

-Yes.

-And £9.

-So you've done all right there, I think, yes.

Let's talk about them separately. As you say, Christmas tin.

These were produced... Princess Mary...

There was an advert in the national press

and they were asking for donations.

Want they wanted to do was to reward people who were in the army

fighting overseas, just to give them a little something from home.

And so many donations were given

that they had a lot of money to spend.

So what they decided to do was produce these Christmas tins.

-And they used to put little treats in them.

-Yeah.

Occasionally you see them

-and they still have the contents completely intact.

-Yeah.

What they had in them depended on who you were.

-If you were a smoker...

-Smoker, yes.

-And an officer...

-Some tobacco or...

-Exactly. Right.

-Or a pipe.

-You're dead right. Tobacco and a pipe.

-If you were one of the young boys who had signed up...

-Sweet biscuits.

Exactly. And if you were in the Indian army, sweets and spices.

-Yes, yes.

-Exactly. Sweets and spices.

So these were gratefully received by the soldiers on the front

-because it was a hard battle, it was a hard battle.

-Yeah.

-It was nice things.

-So that's the Christmas tin.

And the medals themselves...

Medals are an interesting area of collecting in antiques.

They can do very well indeed but what people are buying

isn't necessarily just the medals, they want a story behind the medals,

they want to know who they were awarded to,

why were they awarded to them,

at what battle were they awarded and how original are they.

I've had a look and the first thing that catches my eye,

they've done a sneaky tricky here.

If I turn that one over, you can see

-they're the same medal.

-Yeah.

-That's been reproduced.

So they wouldn't have been awarded to the same person.

So already I'm thinking, "Hang on, I think we may have a mismatch."

-Oh, right.

-Also the ribbons themselves.

-Can you see the ribbons?

-Yeah.

These all represent different troops, different battles, um...

So each medal itself has a distinctive ribbon.

This ribbon is right. That goes with that victory medal.

-This ribbon does not belong with this medal.

-Right.

So that's something that the serious collector is going to pick up on.

And that will devalue them somewhat. Moving along, we've got...

That's got the right ribbon and if you look on the side,

can you see we've got an inscription?

-Yeah.

-"2347 Private WSG Insall. Hereford regiment."

-And this?

-So that should match what's on the side of this one.

And it doesn't. So they've been awarded to two different people.

That's important as well.

-And looking at that one again, that one isn't inscribed at all.

-Yeah.

That's a little bit unusual. Usually they're inscribed.

They're a reasonable group. If someone was interested in starting a collection,

this would be a good area to start at.

Some groups of medals can make thousands of pounds.

If you've got a Victoria Cross, for example,

the sky's the limit for those

because they were awarded for very specific acts of courage in battle and so on.

So we know what you've paid for them.

You've done a little bit of research.

-What do you think they're worth now?

-No idea.

-No idea?

I think they're worth more than you've paid for them, to be honest.

If you would be happy to put them in auction at, say, £40-£60,

how does that sound? It's not a bad return on a £9 outlay.

Well, 9 and 10. 19, so...

I think I will try the auction.

Excellent. What's the money going to go towards?

-Put it in your pocket and head to the Guildford car boot again?

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

-I will, I will go, yeah.

-Excellent.

Listen, Eva, I'm pretty sure that at the auction

we're going to sell them for you.

-Thank you.

-I look forward to seeing you at the sale room.

# My baby don't mess around because she loves me so and this I know... #

It's been a fantastic day here at the zoo.

Lots of friendly "Flog It!" faces and interesting objects.

Here's a quick recap just to jog your memory

of all the items we're taking with us.

Marie's sweetheart brooches hark back to an earlier age.

Let's hope someone will rekindle the romantic custom they embody.

Marie, please tell...

It's a Sickert, but a Bernard, not a Walter.

Will the connection be enough to budge Mike's pretty pastel picture?

And finally the stories behind Eva's medals

are still to be discovered,

which should appeal to the militaria collectors out there.

Let's hope there are a few in the sale room.

We've arrived back at the sale room in Chiswick in west London.

£450 there. 450.

We're going under the hammer now. We have three gold sweetheart brooches.

-They belong to Marie and it's great to see you again.

-Thank you.

-Did you wear them?

-No, they've always been in my box

-because I'd always said I'd give them to my granddaughter.

-OK.

Let's put our Will to the test with his values, shall we?

Let's see what they're worth in the auction room today. Here we go.

-They're going under the hammer now.

-Can I look?

-Watch this.

Lot 295 is a yellow metal filigree brooch.

It would appear they do test for gold, and interest in the lot.

I've got £60. 65 I'll take. £60. 65. 70.

-75.

-Creeping up.

-80.

£85 there in the blue at 85.

-90 at the doorway.

-Fresh bidder.

-95. You bidding 100? 100.

-That's nice.

-110. 120. 120, then. Thank you for the bid.

-120. 130 here.

-Oh, dear.

-You see?

-You didn't like them but somebody else did.

-160.

160 in the gallery, then.

-At £160, 160.

-Sold to someone up in the gallery up there. 160.

That's great.

Now our penultimate item of the day is this family heirloom,

Mike's pastel landscape painting.

Why do you want to sell this anyway?

-I inherited it from my late father.

-Yeah.

And...my wife suggested it went to auction

because it hadn't been put up

and it had been lying there for five years, not hung.

-Not framed either.

-Well, I don't think she likes it, so...

-It's got to go.

-I can't get it past the missus.

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

Lot 400 is this pastel attributed to Bernard Sickert.

£60 to start it. £60 I'm bid. 65. 70.

With me at £75. I'll take 80, though.

That's £75, not quite enough.

At 75. Anybody else? £75 it is, then. Not sold, I'm afraid.

-It's going home.

-It's going home.

-I think you've got to remount it.

-I think so.

-It's a remount.

Remount, frame it and put it on the wall.

Every cloud has a silver lining,

although I'm not sure Mike's wife will agree.

'At the preview day I met up with Will, our auctioneer,

'to discuss our next lot.'

Do you know, this group of medals

and this Princess Mary Christmas box Eva got at a car-boot sale.

-Guess how much.

-No idea.

-£10.

-That's not bad.

We had an evaluation put on by Will of around £40-£60 -

definitely a come-and-bite-me. Christmas box is worth that alone.

Obviously, if it had its chocolate and its tobacco,

and cigarettes, it would be worth a couple of hundred pounds

in better condition. But it's empty.

But what about the medals? In the catalogue

we've got a revised estimate. Is that right?

We put up the estimate because, like you say,

the cigarette box is worth a few pounds on its own,

and then you've got this group of medals which,

even individually, even if you just say they're worth £20 each...

So we've now got a revised estimate printed in the catalogue

not at £40-60 but at £100-£200.

That's a good start, and they haven't even gone under the hammer.

Whatever you do, keep watching. We're about to put them to the test.

95. 100. 110 it is there. At 110.

If you're interested in making money, ask Eva,

because she knows how to do it.

-Yeah.

-You will do in a moment, won't you?

-Yes.

Turning £10 hopefully into £100-£200.

I know originally they were put on for £40-£60.

The auctioneers had a look and thought,

"Let's up that estimate to £100-£200." Did you know that?

-Oh.

-You didn't know that?

-No.

I think the auctioneer has spotted a couple of medals in there.

There's an Italian aviation one, so hopefully...

That would be a nice return.

Did you know what you were looking at?

Or did you think, "I like the medals.

"They look decorative, I'll have them"? It was that?

-Yeah.

-And the tin.

-The tin, yes.

Good luck, both of you,

because I think this is going to be a great result.

Let's see what the bidders think.

I'm bid 30 straight away. 32. 35.

38, 40, 42, 45...

We're starting low but getting there.

..50, 55, 60,

65, 70...

-He can take all day, as long as I'm concerned!

-..80, 85,

-90, 95, 100...

-We're there.

-100. £100.

-In the distance, at £100.

At £100 I'm going to sell it, then. £100. It goes at 100.

That's what we like to see. Well done, you.

I'm very happy. Thank you so much.

You're going to buy some more stuff now at the car boot? Reinvest?

I will.

120 there. 130, 140, 150...

Well, that's it.

It's all over, another day in the office for "Flog It!"

I tell you what, we had our work cut out there.

It was touch and go in places, a few highs and a few lows.

But that's what auctions are about.

It's not an exact science, putting a value on an antique as you've just seen.

Join us next time for many more surprises,

but until then, from all of us here at Chiswick, it's goodbye.

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