London 29 Flog It!

MUSIC: "London Calling" by The Clash

# London calling to the faraway towns

# Now war is declared and battle come down

Today's show comes from the heart of London,

famous for its red buses, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament

and much more. And, from where I'm standing, you get a perfect view

of this vibrant and historic city.

Welcome to Flog It!

# I live by the river. #

MUSIC: "My Generation" by The Who

# People try to put us d-down

Our venue for today is London Zoo.

-# Just because we get around

-# Talking 'bout my generation

Established in the early-19th century

by the Royal Zoological Society, the zoo

has seen nearly as many changes as the city around it.

# Talking 'bout my generation

But of all the decades to choose from, today's programme comes from the swinging sixties.

The era of mods and rockers, miniskirts and icons like Twiggy.

Post-war austerity was over.

Things were changing in art, fashion and music.

And London Zoo was undergoing some radical changes all of its own.

# Talking 'bout my generation

# I'm just talking 'bout my g-g-g-generation. #

On Flog It!, we're in the business of conservation,

conserving pieces of history. Finding antiques new homes.

That's what this show is all about.

That's why hundreds of people have turned up today.

Joining us are experts Catherine Southon, who established her career

with the prestigious London auction house Sotheby's.

You and I could talk for hours. But, sadly, I've got work to do.

-Then, you must go.

-But we shall have another chat inside, if that's OK?

-Marvellous.

-And, hopefully, find out a little bit more.

And Will Axon, who's got an eagle eye

for spotting the best of the bunch when it comes to antiques.

You're an artist, are you?

I've got my paintings all over the walls.

But I haven't got room for really good work.

Well, looks have a closer look at it inside along with your Dalton jug.

Well, the size of this queue proves that, in 2012, London is still swinging.

Just like our neighbours the monkeys there behind me here at London Zoo.

Today, we're hoping to find some antiques of quite a rare variety,

delving into all these bags and boxes.

Everybody here has turned up to ask our experts that all-important question, which is?

ALL: What's it worth?

MUSIC: "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones

Today, expert Will will be taking up residence outside,

next to the zoo's Australian-inspired Mappin Terraces.

While Catherine will be keeping up Victorian traditions in the Prince Albert Suite.

But, before they get stuck in, which of these fab finds will be top of the pops at auction?

Could this collection of travel ephemera from the 1950s sail away?

Might these gold sovereigns from Kenya make a pretty penny?

Or will this elegant condiment set tickle the taste buds of our buyers?

# So hey-hey-hey

We've got hundreds of antiques to look at, so let's get on with it.

It looks like Catherine Southon is first to spot a real gem.

# I can't get no... #

-John and Newla, welcome to Flog It!

-Lovely to be here.

-And welcome to London Zoo.

-Lovely to be here.

-Have you been to the zoo before?

I came to London for the first time in 1967.

-And I never came here.

-Today's the day. You'll have to look around.

-Absolutely, yes.

-We've paid for the car park.

-So, you will have to.

Now, I love to see a good selection of ephemera.

And that's what we've got here. A lovely bit of social history.

Where did it all come from? Tell me the story.

-Well, my grandfather went to America in 1954 to visit his cousin.

-Right.

He was 73, he'd never been abroad, never been out of the country.

In fact, I don't think he'd ever been out of Lancashire or Yorkshire at that time.

And he went out on a ship called the SS Flandre.

He went to New York and then flew from New York to LA.

He'd never flown before in his life.

-I mean, to travel at his age, you say he was 73.

-He would have been 73.

That's a big thing. At that time, if you think, whisking back to the '50s,

this was kind of like a movie-star thing.

He was so excited. I was a small boy at that time.

-But it was a very big adventure.

-It was a huge adventure.

-Absolutely.

On the first night out, on the Flandre, he went and had dinner.

Had a wonderful time, he really enjoyed himself.

And he drank wine for the first time. Never drank wine before.

-Really? In his 70s and he'd never drank wine?

-That's right.

-Wow!

He writes in his journals that he woke up the next morning and he was feeling sick and thought

he might have eaten something that had disagreed with him.

-He was hung over.

-I think he was a little bit drunk, don't you?

-Which, indeed, he was.

-That's a brilliant story.

-And so he went out on the Flandre.

-On the Flandre, yes.

And these are the menus. They look very grand.

Oh, God, yes, they do. And that was second class.

-What was first class like?

-Gosh! Are they?

-He came back on a ship in December 1954

-called the Saxonia.

-Right, OK.

-That ship was brand new in 1954.

And launched by Lady Churchill. There's a booklet there

telling you all about it, which he brought back with him as well.

To me, just this brochure itself, there's so much behind it.

But this is just a very small part of a very large collection.

-What have we got here?

-We have here

a set of postcards my grandfather bought whilst he was in America.

And they are views of Los Angeles and Hollywood.

-Gosh! They're so colourful.

-And there are a lot of pictures of film stars' houses.

-I love it.

-Here, for instance, we have Will Rogers.

The ranch here. The Nelsons here.

Jose Iturbi, who was a very famous conductor.

-Robert Taylor.

-You've got pictures of their houses

-and then little tiny portraits of them.

-That's right.

-So you know who they are.

-And a small one here.

-Mickey Rooney.

That's why his picture is smaller than anybody else's.

-Clark...

-Clark Gable.

-Clark Gable.

-That's right.

And here we have Cary Grant on Santa Monica Boulevard.

The most important thing, what we've come to talk about, is how much is it all worth?

-Well, yes.

-It's very difficult to put a price on American postcards

because, obviously, they're not going to be

as popular here as British postcards.

It's a lovely selection, however, it's in lovely condition.

And together with all this ephemera that you've got,

just for me makes up a wonderful story and a really lovely collection.

Now, I think we should put it in auction

with an estimate of £200 to £300.

-Right.

-And a fixed reserve of £200.

-Which means, we won't sell it below that.

-That's good.

-Are you as well-travelled as your grandfather?

-Yes.

-Oh, are you?

-Do you think you can travel to the auction?

-I think so.

-Chiswick? Just down the road.

-Chiswick. I'll see you there.

-Brilliant.

-Thank you for coming along.

-Lovely to meet you.

Lovely to meet you. Thank you.

# Altogether now, tie me kangaroo down, sport

# Tie me kangaroo down. #

So, with a hop, skip and jump, let's see what's popped up on Will's table.

Rita, what a sweet little picture you've brought in for us today.

I mean, look at this scene here, lovely verdant green Italian scene.

Pretty much as far away as you can get from this backdrop we've got of the arid Australian outback.

Tell me about it. Is this something that caught your eye and you had to have.

No. I have inherited it.

But I know very little about it.

It belonged to my mother, she had it framed and was very proud of it.

-Right.

-I know little about it, apart from appreciating its colouring.

Tell me it's hanging on your wall at home.

Well, it's in my studio. It is propped up on my plant chest.

You say studio, so you're an artist yourself?

Well, I consider myself an artist

but I don't know if everybody considers me an artist.

-It's a matter of opinion.

-I would say I'm a...

-Not a professional artist.

-Yes.

-But I do paint and sell my work.

I'm talking to someone who can really appreciate this piece.

-I mean, that's exactly...

-It is a charming picture.

It is a charming picture and the quality of the paintbrush strokes

and the actual detail that the artist has managed to get in this picture

is really impressive. It's just a few brushstrokes here and there

but, say this trellis here, it really works, doesn't it?

You can really feel the way that's hanging in the trellis.

Working up, the landscape, typical... It must be Italian, don't you think?

-Well, one assumes it's Italian. It looks Italian.

-Italian lakes?

It does? Certainly up here, where you've got this bell tower,

which is almost a sort of Venetian bell tower.

Then you've got these typical cypress trees.

It's so professional in all aspects, isn't it?

-Composition and everything.

-Exactly.

You've got composition, which is important.

You've got figures, which are important. A bit of a focal point.

When you see keen amateur paintings, a lot of the time,

they're not brave enough to paint figures

in these pictures because it's quite hard to paint a decent figure.

If you look here, her in the boat. He's used a little bit of white,

a little bit of blue, a little bit of red, and she's there.

She's manifested herself from the page.

And also this chap here, you even see the shadow almost cast by his hat.

The other thing that catches me is the perspective is right.

That's a very difficult thing to get right, perspective.

-Yes.

-I've had a look at it, I can't find a signature.

Have you been able to find anything out?

I took off the back to look for a signature but I couldn't find one.

It may even be like a preparatory sketch, perhaps.

-Yes.

-It almost feels to me as if what this is

is maybe an English artist travelling abroad.

The artist usually used to go to northern France, southern France,

down to Italy, a sort of Grand Tour but at a later date.

-Yes.

-I don't think this is 18th century.

I think, here we're looking at sort of 19th century,

maybe turn of the century at the latest, I would have thought.

-Really?

-Value? I mean, because it hasn't got a signature,

or an artist who we can pin it to,

I'm going to say let's try it at £100 to £200.

-Mm.

-And let the market decide. It's got to be worth that just for the...

-Even as just a decorative picture.

-Let's hope someone knows who did it.

I think you can say goodbye to it because I think it's going to find a new home.

Thank you.

A bit of detective work is required there but it's clearly the work of a professional artist.

And just like our items, London Zoo is full of history.

At the height of the swinging sixties, it wasn't just the tank top

and the World Cup grabbing all the headline news.

London Zoo had a few head-turning stars of their own.

Throughout the sixties, Chi Chi the giant panda was one of the main attractions here.

And I can remember seeing her as well.

And the media and the general public were fixated by the zoo's attempts

to try and start a family here.

But despite bringing in An An, a male giant panda from Moscow, it never really happened.

I guess it was a match that wasn't made in heaven.

But Chi Chi's fame lives on.

She was the inspiration behind the symbol for the newly launched

World Wildlife Fund.

Now back to the Prince Albert Suite to see what Catherine's uncovered.

Cantelau and Hitton, it's wonderful to see you on Flog It!

Thank you very much for coming along today.

Now, you've brought along some coins, some Kenyan gold coins.

-Yes.

-I want to know where you got them from and why you've got them.

-I bought these in Kenya..

-Um-hm.

-..in 1966, most probably,

for my investment.

This one is dated 1966. They're all dated, I believe, the same date.

-So, you were very wise, may I say,...

-Thank you.

..to go and buy them in that period.

-Thank you.

-And you've had them all this time.

-All this time. Yes, me.

-Who's on the back here?

-The president of Kenya.

Jomo Kenyatta, father of the nation of Kenya.

Right, OK. So, what were you doing in the sixties?

-I had a shop.

-You were living in Kenya?

-I had a shop.

-Right.

-My own business.

-Right.

It was a very good shop. And I had very good customers.

And Jomo Kenyatta's wife,

Mama Ngina, she was my best customer.

So, the president's wife was one of your customers.

Yes. She used to come to my shop, do her buying.

And she was very pleased with my service.

-So, you must have had quite a high clientele.

-Very good friends.

-It must've been a good business you had.

-A very good business.

Are these something you are interested in at all, Hitton?

Yes, I am very much interested in them.

It's the sentimental value as well,

in the sense that this has been bought by my father.

And also there's history behind it because he's got three brothers

and he wants to kind of share the proceeds of the sale of his coins with them as well.

-Oh, that's lovely.

-That's what he believes in.

-That's a really nice thing to do.

-That's wonderful.

-Yeah.

Do you have any idea of how much they're worth?

It should be around £1,800 today.

-Right.

-It might be more.

We have weighed these and we understand that the value is around the £1,900 mark.

That's how much we'd be looking at for scrap.

Would you be happy to put them into auction at £1,600 to £2,000?

-With a reserve price of 1,600?

-He's very good, isn't he?

-Yes.

-He's very wise.

-He's done his homework.

-He has done his homework.

-Are you happy to sell at that?

-Yes, that's fine.

-Hopefully, they'll sell well and you can share...

-With my brothers.

-Yes.

-Well, I think you're incredibly wise and incredibly lovely.

-And I wish you lots of success at the auction.

-Thank you very much.

-Catherine, thank you very much.

-I shall see you there.

-And, Hitton, I shall see you there too.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

If there's one sure-fire investment it's gold

secreted away for nearly 50 years.

Cantelau should be confident of reaping his rewards.

It's hardly surprising that, after nearly 200 years, London Zoo

is constantly changing to suit the needs of the animals that live here and call it home.

This was the original entrance to the Parrot House built in the 1860s.

It's one of only a few unlisted buildings here on the site.

It was demolished recently to make way for a home

for a feathered friend of a different kind.

It's now the site of Penguin Beach,

Britain's largest penguin pool.

There's a surprise around every corner and, right now,

it's time to p-p-p-pick up the final items and take them off to auction.

Here's a quick reminder of our experts' choices.

John's colourful souvenirs are a glimpse into a more romantic age,

when travel was still a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Although unsigned, Rita's pretty gouache is clearly by a professional artist, but who?

At £100 t0 £200, it's still a steal.

And bought as an investment in the mid 1960s,

Cantelau's ready to reap the rewards from his gold coins.

MUSIC: "I Can't Explain" by The Who

Our sale today comes from the Chiswick Auction Rooms in the leafy suburb of Chiswick, West London.

The birthplace of the original modfather, Mr Pete Townshend.

Let's go inside and see who's up next.

-# Got a feeling inside

-# I can't explain... #

And, on the rostrum today, auctioneer William Rouse.

95. 100. 110. He's there at 110.

First up, it's Cantelau's little hoard of gold.

-Three gold coins going under the hammer, Kenyan coins.

-Yes.

-From when, 1966?

-1966.

-Yeah.

-And these coins are fabulous.

-They are.

-Absolutely fabulous.

Let's find out what the bidders think. They're going under the hammer now.

Shall we start this lot at £1,000 to start for the gold coins?

£1,000 I'm bid. 1,100 is the next bid. £1,000. 1,100.

1,200. 1,300. £1,300.

Do you want 14? At £1,300.

It's not quite enough. 1,400.

-1,500.

-Come on, one more.

£1,500 it is then. I'm afraid, not quite enough at 1,500.

At £1,500, anybody else want to come in? Is that it?

£1,500.

-It didn't sell.

-It was so close. So close.

Well, there's always another day and another saleroom.

But, bear in mind, gold values fluctuate,

so it's important to keep an eye on the market.

Let's hope artist Rita has better luck with her Italianate painting.

The reason I didn't put it up on the walls is that I spent many years going down to St Ives...

-I bet you have a lovely collection.

-I have, I have.

-I want to get round there and have a look.

-Yeah.

Well, some have to go and I guess that's one of them.

Good luck with that. Hopefully, we'll get the £100 to £200.

It's going under the hammer. Good luck, Rita. Fingers crossed.

Lot 175 is this gouache of the lake view. 175.

Let's start, please, £50 for this.

50 I'm bid, thank you. 55. 60.

65. At £65 it is.

-70, thank you. 75.

-We're in here. Come on.

-80.

85. 90.

95. 100. Anybody else want to come in? It's £100 bid.

In the room, then. £100. I'm selling it for 100.

-Rita, it's gone.

-Right, right.

-Happy?

-Yes, I'm happy about that because someone will appreciate it.

Yes. He's over there. You might want a word with him afterwards

-and see if he can tell you more about it.

-He might.

-Yeah. He might know.

-Sometimes, people are prepared to talk to you

-about things they've bought.

-Once they've got it.

-Sometimes, they'll be under the arm and out the door.

-Yeah.

45. 50.

Next up, it's John's collection of travel souvenirs

from his grandfather's trip to the United States.

MUSIC: "Heart of Glass" by Blondie

I've been looking forward to this. It's great to see you again.

-I know you love auctions, don't you?

-Absolutely.

-Have you picked up a bidding paddle?

-No, we haven't No, no.

-You're just here to sell.

-We're being very wise today, yes.

-I do like those American postcards.

-They're wonderful.

They're fantastic, they really are.

They're all hand-coloured, the satin-finished ones.

There are views of LA and Hollywood, which do not exist any more.

We've seen it on the show before with postcard collections.

You just don't know. I like the ocean-liner menu cards

and the actual programme. You can see what the women were wearing

-and the times.

-And the furniture.

-The 1950s furniture. Cutting edge.

-It evokes the whole period.

-Absolutely. It's wonderful.

-Let's see if it's cutting edge here today.

Let's put it to the test. Here we go. It's going under the hammer.

Where shall we start this?

Nice and easy at £100 to start me for it.

100 to go. 100 I'm bid. 110.

-120. 130.

-He's keen. He's got his bidding cards out.

-He's got taste.

180. 190. 200. £200 there.

In the middle of the room, then, at £200. Anybody else want to come in?

I can sell it, then. At £200. I'm selling it, for 200 it goes.

-£200.

-It's gone. £200.

And that chap over there was very, very keen.

He didn't put his bidding paddle down, he held it there. I want it. I'm going home with it.

-I wish there was somebody else doing the same.

-Yes, I know.

Thank you. 110. 120.

130. 140. 150.

Thank you very much.

MUSIC: "Dedicated Follower of Fashion" by The Kinks

Well, that's the end of our first visit to the auction rooms today.

We're coming back later, don't go away.

Before we join up with our experts, I'm going on a little tour.

It's no secret that I'm a big music fan, absolutely love music.

I'm going to visit a part of the city that has made rock and roll history.

And you'll be surprised at where I'm going.

Twelve miles down the River Thames in Twickenham, lies a sleepy island

with a unique musical past.

I'm going to enjoy this today, it's a trip down memory lane for me.

I went to school around this area and I was born a mile down the river at Teddington Lock.

My father was a lecturer at Twickenham Polytechnic.

On Saturday mornings, he gave rowing lessons at the Twickenham Rowing Club.

I used to join him on many occasion.

Sometimes, during my holidays, I'd swim across. It's not that far.

But, once you were over there, it felt like you were miles away from the mainland.

A hidden oasis. And, today, it's still a little bit of a secret.

And it's called Eel Pie Island.

# I can see for miles and miles and miles

Half a mile in length and home to a small community of 120 people,

no one's quite sure how it got its name.

Theories range from Henry VIII's taste for the very English delicacy

to the tradition of fishing for eels on this stretch of the river.

No matter what, its mythical name matches its legendary history.

Eel Pie Island was the backdrop to my early teenage years.

It was the 1970s, the hippie era.

There were plenty of hippies holed up in the Eel Pie Island Hotel,

a rundown dilapidated 19th-century building on the other side of the island.

But, ten years earlier, it was the throbbing heartbeat of the London music scene.

MUSIC: "You Really Got Me" by The Kinks

# Girl, you really got me going

# You got me so I don't know what I'm doing now... #

I mean, it's hard to imagine it now because, just look around you, it's so tranquil here.

But from the mid 1950s right up to the mid 1960s,

the hotel on the island was the venue for many of our greatest rocks bands.

Rod Stewart, The Rolling Stones, The Who, all played here.

And, as dusk fell and the bands came on stage,

you could hear those blistering guitar licks

from Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page.

This island rocked.

It all began around 1955 as Britain emerged from the years of post-war austerity.

And American influences had been taken up with gusto.

Amongst the imports were the blues musicians of Chicago.

Players like Muddy Waters, BB King, Howlin' Wolf.

They influenced the local jazz musicians who, in turn,

influenced the bright young megastars of the future.

# Boom, boom, boom, boom. #

Recognise anyone? Step forward, Mod the Rod Stewart.

Eric, Jimmy Page, Mick, Keith and Charlie.

This heady brew all cooked up here on this little island in the Thames.

It's more like New Orleans than Richmond.

But how did it all happen? And why here on Eel Pie Island?

Well, it's down to one man, really.

Arthur Chisnall who, coincidentally, had an antique shop in Kingston upon Thames.

Antiques aside, his true passion was social research.

And he was studying a group of local art students who visited his shop quite frequently.

He heard about their frustrations, there was nowhere they could go

and dance and hang out and listen to live music around here.

But he thought, "Hang on a minute, I know the hotel on Eel Pie Island has the most marvellous ballroom."

"The perfect venue for them to play their music."

-# Up above my head

-# Up above my head

-# I hear music in the air

-# I hear music in the air

The first parties were held in 1956. And crowds of teenagers flocked

to the free jazz club Arthur established in the hotel.

His social experiment was underway.

In the 1960s, R&B took over

and a young Rod Stewart sang backing vocals

for Long John Baldry's Hoochie Coochie Men.

# Up above my head. #

Suddenly, Arthur's student club was one of London's hottest music venues.

Word spread fast on the grapevine

and the legend of Eel Pie Land was born.

'For over ten years, teenagers have flocked to Mr Chisnall's island club

'from all over Britain. Once in, they can buy alcoholic drinks at the bar.

'According to Mr Chisnall, his club has 28,000 members.

'That's a lot of people. Certainly, Eel Pie Land has become notorious

'as a haven for beatniks.

'The Rolling Stones kicked off here

at a time when those young men were way, way out.'

# When you were a child you were treated kind...

In 1963, The Rolling Stones were given a weekly slot on the island,

in the middle of which, the band had their first chart hit.

# Your mother who neglected you owes a million dollars tax. #

The rest, as they say, is rock and roll history.

In 1967, unable to renew the hotel's licence for live music, the bands stopped playing.

By then, many of them had gone on to play in larger venues.

But there was worse to come.

In 1971, a mysterious fire gutted the legendary Eel Pie Island Hotel.

And it had to be demolished.

It was a very sad day in the history of rock and roll.

Today, nothing remains to mark this unique chapter in rock and roll history.

This is where the music scene ended, right here, this very spot.

But, for me, it went on, actually.

Eventually, I worked for Pete Townshend of The Who

at his recording studio called Eel Pie Studios in St Margarets, just further along the river there,

where I met a girl, discovered antiques and that's another story.

MUSIC: "You Really Got Me" by The Kinks

# Girl, you really got me going

# You got me so I don't know what I'm doing now

Back at the zoo, the buzz of evaluation day is music to my ears.

# You got me so I can't sleep at night. #

Working diligently at his outpost in the Aussie desert, Will has unearthed a unique bit of history.

-Hi, Yvonne.

-Hi, Will.

-Thanks for coming along today

and bringing along this rather interesting football programme.

I'm not even going to suggest that you got this from the match

because I know you're going to kick me in the shins.

But how did you come by this because, obviously, the date 1945, is this something a family member went to?

It belongs to my husband's side of the family.

-His father and eldest brother went to the match.

-They were actually there.

So, they were there and brought home the programme.

-And it's stayed in the family ever since.

-Interesting.

-A family of Arsenal fans?

-On his brother's side, yeah.

-My husband is a Tottenham fan.

-Oh, you're joking, aren't you?

-An interesting rivalry there.

-Family lunches must be quite an event,

certainly during the season.

This is obviously Arsenal Football Club playing Moscow Dynamo

-at Tottenham.

-At Tottenham.

-Hence the Tottenham-Arsenal connection.

Just looking here, it looks like Moscow Dynamo Football Club

were on, shall we say, a tour of the UK because it says here,

their "next engagement will be with Coventry." And "Glasgow Rangers,

November the 27th." They were obviously on, shall we say,

an exhibition tour. I think that's what it was.

I think that's what it was because it was towards the end of the war period.

During the war, there were no league matches.

-Everything was suspended.

-For obvious reasons.

-And I think to boost the morale of the football fans...

-Yeah.

..being as there were no football matches during that wartime.

-And they would bring in...

-Teams from abroad.

-..teams from abroad

-to do these one-off games.

-Yeah, I think you're right.

-It would help boost the morale.

-That's exactly what it was.

-So, your husband owns it.

-He does.

-He's a Tottenham fan.

-He is.

Yeah, so he's not going to frame this and hang it in pride of place above the mantelpiece.

Maybe if he got a bit of Tipp-Ex out and Letraset.

-If he could, I'm sure he would.

-Really?

-You don't let him have it up, do you?

-Well, I don't mind.

But he's just kept it in the drawer with other programmes.

-Does he collect football programmes?

-He's got quite a collection.

-This one stood out from the others.

-It's one of the earliest ones.

-It's one of the earliest ones.

Have you been on the phone? Is he happy that you're going to flog it?

-Yeah, he's quite happy.

-What does he think it's worth?

He spoke to somebody on the phone

who said it could be worth maybe around the £50 mark.

OK, yeah. I think that's a reasonable ballpark figure.

Because of the condition, it's obviously been well-thumbed.

That's what I was going to bring your attention to, the condition of the programme itself.

I'd like to use that £50 as the top end of the estimate.

-So, try it at £30 to £50.

-That's fine.

-Yeah.

Just because of the condition.

-It's being sold in London, so it's in the right...

-It's in the right area.

Exactly. We'll have a few Arsenal fans, hopefully, in the crowd.

(BROLGA CRANE SQUAWKS) I think we've got some interest over there.

It's a Tottenham fan, he's trying to sabotage the filming.

We'll take that as a commission bid.

But I'm confident that at £30 to £50, let's reserve it at 30.

-That's good.

-Yeah.

-I'm pleased with that.

-Maybe your husband can come to the sale day.

-I'm hoping he'll make it.

-Brilliant, Yvonne. Nice to meet you.

-And you. Thank you.

# Never failed in the mail yet, come around Bill!

# Too much monkey business. #

I love how a single piece of paper can conjure up

all the excitement of a football game from 75 years ago.

Now, something's got Catherine pretty excited too.

One of the things I absolutely love about working on Flog it!

is coming along, seeing boxes

and opening them and, hopefully, finding a wonderful surprise.

-Shall we have a little look in your box and see what we find.

-Please do.

Now, that is what I call fantastic.

What a lovely little condiment set you've got here.

Silver at the top and ivory.

Now, tell me about this because I believe you are very well-travelled

and there's a lot of history behind this.

I'm a New Zealander and I've inherited this from my mother.

When she died, I was living in Italy with my family.

One of my sisters in New Zealand

kindly collected up some of the items that my mother left behind

and put them into a tea chest and had them shipped to us in Milan.

Where did your mother get it from? Was it a family piece you've had for a long time?

I think that my mother might have inherited it

from her Irish aunties, her maiden aunts.

-Right.

-They were the O'Connells and they had emigrated from Ireland

-to Napier in New Zealand.

-Oh, Napier. That rings a bell.

-I think I've been there. Is that north or south?

-North Island.

North Island, right.

And then it got sent over to me in Milan.

And then, a few years ago, we moved back to England to live.

So, this is a very well-travelled item.

A well-travelled set, yes.

Right, let's have a look at these individually.

We've got peppers and we've got salts and we've got little mustard pots

and these beautiful little mustard spoons.

I think, perhaps, it might have been part of an even bigger set.

Something that would have been on a large dining table.

This is a prestigious set that was for a big family banquet.

This is a very nice set, here.

These individual pieces, the lovely ivory there.

It's got a lovely patina to it.

I love the way inside you can see how that's finished.

Now, a lot of people are a bit worried about selling ivory.

Now, this is pre-1947, which means it's perfectly legal to sell.

If we look around the top, we can verify that because we've got the hallmark on the silver.

Birmingham. The date letter is "C".

So, this "C" dates it perfectly to 1902.

So, that's the date we're looking at for this set.

And we've also got the maker's initials.

B&Co. Broadway & Co. To be honest, it's not a maker that I've heard of.

So, it's not something I can give you much information about.

What I can tell you is it is a very nice little set.

And I think the sort of thing that would do well at auction.

I've never seen anything quite like this, I must admit.

-No.

-It's really lovely.

Now, the crucial point.

Valuation. Have you ever had this valued or looked at before?

Yes. I was told that, if I put it in an auction,

it would probably get £800.

-Which I was very, very surprised to hear that.

-Very surprised.

I must say, I'm a little bit surprised.

To me, that seems very, very punchy.

It's a lovely set but it's not the original box.

There is a spoon damaged.

I think we need to come down a little bit more on that.

Perhaps, put an estimate on of £300 to £500.

With a reserve of 300.

-Would you be happy with that?

-Yes, I would.

It's a lovely piece. It's very well-travelled.

There's a lovely story behind this.

I hope that a couple of people at the auction love it just like we do.

-Thank you very much for bringing it along.

-You're welcome.

-I'll see you at the auction.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

# Shaking all over. #

Lorraine, I don't need to tell you what you've brought in today.

-I think they're snuff boxes.

-I think you're dead right.

You're dead right. Silver snuff boxes.

Nice that they're in silver. Probably table snuffs, looking at the size.

Rather than carried in the pocket, probably to be at home

on the table to bring out when you have guests and so on.

-Right.

-But, yes, you're right. Little hinged lids.

Silver gilt interiors ready for snuff. You've got hallmarks there.

I can see silver. Have you given them a polish before you brought them?

-Yes.

-You've got to be careful cleaning silver, you know that?

I do know. I was told many a time.

Don't over-polish because you'll rub the marks

and rub the decoration as well. But nice quality.

Nice, clean, close well, tight hinges.

-That's really what collectors of these are looking for.

-Right.

-How did you come by them?

-I inherited them. I worked for a lady

and when she passed away she left them to me in her will.

-How very kind of her.

-It was very kind of her.

-It was a total surprise.

-What a nice surprise.

-She originally had four.

-A little collection.

-Snuff boxes are really widely collected.

-Yeah.

There's a huge variety, a huge range of snuff boxes that you can collect.

You can collect ones made of wood, tortoiseshell, horn.

They tend to be a little bit more affordable.

Right through to the silver ones here.

These are fairly plain but I quite like that.

-I quite like the plainness of them.

-Right.

You get some that are more ornate. They've got castle-top views.

-Yeah.

-They're well-known. You would have seen them on the programme.

And then you go right through to the gold ones that have got enamel and even inset with jewels and so on.

So, there's a wide range. Anything to suit anyone's pocket really.

So, they're a really good way of getting into collecting.

This first one, I've had a look at the hallmark. 1825 we're looking at.

-Oh, right.

-That surprises me. Does it? You thought they were later?

-I did, yeah. Yeah.

Snuff boxes and so on, they really came into fashion late 18th century

into the early 19th century when people were taking snuff.

-Yeah.

-So, they're both from around that period.

This one's a little bit later. 1827, the hallmark on that.

This one's inscribed on top with the date 1838.

So, that ties in nicely with the hallmark.

I've had a look at the inscription.

-It's "Coventry Commerce", is it? Or "Industry".

-Yes.

-Yeah. So, presented to... No idea who that is? No.

-Mr Palmer.

-Mr Palmer, whoever he was.

-Whoever he was.

Thank you very much, Mr Palmer, if you are up there.

Value-wise, you say she left them to you in her will.

Did she give you any indication in the will what they might be worth?

-No. None whatsoever.

-OK.

Any ideas, having watched the programme? You might have picked something up here and there.

-80.

-80? That sort of figure?

I think I'd give you £80 now for them if you offered them to me.

So, I think they're probably worth a little bit more than that.

You said £80. I'm going to say let's put them in at £100 to £200 each.

-How do you feel about that?

-That would be great.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

The good thing about silver is that it always tends to make its money in the salerooms.

-Right, OK.

-Let's be sure about that and put a fixed reserve of £100.

They've got to be worth £100 each.

I don't mind taking them home if they didn't sell.

Exactly. That's the right sort of attitude to come at it with.

-It's been a pleasure meeting you.

-Thank you.

-Thank you for bringing these. You've been very patient.

You've been queuing since early on. I think you were here before we were.

-I was.

-Exactly. But look at this now.

We're in the sun, the sun's going down, we could almost be...

You know what I feel like? I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here.

You've been here all day. You can shout it as loud as you like.

We'll get you a cab and get you home.

-Well done. It's been really nice meeting you.

-Thank you.

-I'll see you in the saleroom.

-It's been a lovely day.

MUSIC: "Louie Louie" by the Kingsmen

# Louie Louie

# Oh, no, we gotta go

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.

# Fine little girl she waits for me

# Me catch the ship across the sea

A slight thing but packed with history.

Certain football fans should be pretty excited

about this historic programme from an early match.

This ivory condiment set is well-travelled.

And it immediately caught Catherine's eye.

And Lorraine's elegant silver snuff boxes are highly collectable.

And I'm sure they'll be snapped up at auction.

# Oh, baby, we gotta go. #

Back at the Chiswick saleroom, auctioneer William is working hard on the rostrum.

£450 there. 450.

Well, let's hope we hit the back of the net with this next lot.

You know what I'm talking about. That single-sheet football programme that Yvonne brought in.

Great to see you again. Who have you brought with you? A Tottenham fan?

-This is my husband Kenny.

-Hello, Kenny, pleased to meet you.

-And you, Paul.

-Shouldn't you have an Arsenal scarf on?

-Well...

-Or a Moscow Dynamo scarf?

Yes, that's my brother and father, the Arsenal fans.

-Right. They went to the game.

-They did.

-Wonderful old programme.

-What an early programme.

-Yeah, it's great.

-Football history there.

-Quite an interesting match as well.

-I did a bit of research.

-Moscow won, didn't they?

-They did, 4-3.

-A terrible fog descended on the game.

-That's it.

My brother mentioned that.

Do you know what? The Russians made a substitution but never took a player off.

-Oh!

-So, they played with 12 men on the pitch because it was so foggy and they refused to call it off.

-I like that, don't you?

-That's interesting.

-Very interesting.

I'm sure there's a lot of football fans here in the auction room.

Let's find out if we can score a hat-trick with this, shall we? This is it.

Lot 55 is a single-sheet football programme.

And I've got a bit of interest in it. I'm in at £20.

At £20 with me. 22 now, in the room. 22. 25.

£25 I'm bid. £25 for the football programme.

-It's struggling.

-Anyone else want to come in?

£25 is not quite enough, I'm afraid.

-Ooh!

-Didn't sell.

-Didn't sell.

Do you know what? In a way, I'm pleased it didn't sell.

Because, if you'd sold right on the reserve, I think... You know?

-I think there's more money to be made with that.

-Definitely.

# All or nothing... #

What a shame. I'm sure it will do well in a specialist sports auction.

Hopefully, the bidders wont turn their noses up at Lorraine's snuff boxes,

which William has split into two lots.

-Why are you selling these?

-I don't display them.

-You just don't display them.

-I don't display them

-OK. Best get rid, then, eh?

-Yeah.

-Have the money instead.

-Exactly.

Let's see what this lot thinks. It's down to the bidders now.

Nice little thing here. Little snuff box. Start me at £60 for it.

For a snuff box. I'm bid 60.

65 I'll take. £60.

65. 70.

75. 80. 85.

£85 it is. 90.

-95.

-We're going to do it.

-£100.

-There we go.

-£100 there. Do you want

110? 110. 110 there.

At £110. Seated in the armchair at 110.

Anybody else? 110 it is. 110.

-OK, first one 110. Let's see if we can do that again.

-All right.

Interest in this one. What am I bid? £80 to start me.

I'm bid 80. 85.

90. 95.

100. 110. 110.

At 110. 120.

130.

140. 140.

-Good.

-This is the person who missed out on the first one

-having a bit more of a go on the second one.

-Mmm.

All done. 140 I'm going to sell it.

-£140.

-Thank you, Will.

-Not at all. thank you for coming.

It pays to put things into auction. If you don't want them lying around the house,

we'd love to see you if you've got any collectables you want to sell.

Bring them along to one of our valuation days.

You can find details on our BBC website.

Log on to bbc.co.uk/flogit for the links.

All the information will be there.

If you don't have a computer, check the details in your local press.

Come on. Dust them down, bring them in, we want to see.

95. 100. 110.

Next up, this wonderful condiment set.

It's been in the family for many a season.

Hopefully, there'll be collectors peppered about the saleroom.

Is this going to be a wrench to sell it?

My daughter's getting married on Saturday

and it'll be nice to have a bit of extra money.

It's a bit of quality, isn't it? I know the silver dealers are here and they're all poring over it.

The firm is Broadway & Co and they are still in business today.

-Really?

-The fourth generation are running it.

So, it's good pedigree there. Let's get on with the sale, shall we?

It's now down to the bidders. Good luck. This is it.

I'm going to start this straight off at £260.

-270.

-It's in the room behind us.

290. 300. 320.

320 there. 340. 360.

380. 400.

-420.

-Very good.

-440.

460. 480.

500. And 50.

-600 fresh bidding.

-Fantastic.

-650 behind you.

700. 750.

-800. 850. 900.

-Can you hear that?

-Yes.

-£900.

-And 50.

-That's good.

£1,050. £1,100.

£1,100 it is. At £1,100, are you all done and finished? £1,100.

-Jolly good.

-What a nice surprise.

-What a lovely surprise.

-It's fantastic.

My mother, who died, who I inherited it from,

she would be so pleased to know that money will go towards her granddaughter's wedding.

In Wiltshire, my home county. Royal Wootton Bassett. Oh, marvellous.

-I hope the weather's fine.

-Yes.

-Have a lovely time at the wedding.

And what a wonderful way to end today's show.

I told you there was going to be a surprise, didn't I?

I hope you've enjoyed it. Join us again soon for many more.

But, for now, from Chiswick in West London, it's goodbye from all of us.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd