Newcastle 48 Flog It!

Looking at this incredible piece of public art, you can

probably guess where today's show is coming from.

But it wasn't love at first sight for everyone in the area,

and later on in the programme I'll be finding out what the

people of Gateshead think about the Angel Of The North 15 years on.

Welcome to "Flog It!"

Today's valuations come to you from Newcastle's Discovery Museum,

home to science and local history collections.

But just over 40 years ago, this Victorian building,

known as Blandford House, was a sorting and distribution

centre for the Co-op, which employed up to 1,000 people in its heyday.

There was a laundry, an impressive canteen, and even an onion pickling

room, where a women-only workforce busily peeled and pickled.

Let's hope there's lots of activity today

when this lot make their way upstairs to our valuation room

in the old canteen.

The people of Tyneside are gathering in their droves here

in Newcastle's city centre

to get their antiques and collectables valued.

Our experts will be working hard both on-screen

and off-screen to offer up the best antique advice.

From north of the border,

Anita Manning, Scotland's first female auctioneer,

whose love of antiques stems back to admiring

her granny's mahogany furniture when she was a girl.

This is not an apron.

It's a cello cover.

And Nick Davies, who got a summer job as a boy

working in antiques, has been in the profession ever since.

I only had £3.75 and a £20 note,

-so I got it for £3.75.

-I thought you were going to say a £20 note then!

With our valued crowd filling the Discovery Museum,

it's great to see all the items arriving.

Have you just taken that off the wall this morning?

-Did you see the dust?

-Yeah!

And right now it's time to take a look at what's coming up

in today's show.

Can you antique hunters at home spot what will double its estimate

when it's put under the hammer later on in the programme?

Will it be a pastel sketch by the famous artist Emmanuel Levy?

A 19th-century silver aide-memoir in its original case?

Or a vintage 1920s flapper dress?

Well, our "Flog It!" team are now in their positions, so let's

get on with the valuations and take a closer look at our first item.

Eddie, welcome to "Flog It!", and you've brought along for us

today a nice little mixed-media work by Emmanuel Levy.

Tell me, where did you get it?

-I picked it up as payment for a job I did.

-What kind of job was it?

It was just a clearance job. I helped someone move house.

Do you do that as a living? What do you do for a living?

Fundamentally I collect scrap really, but that means

I do a lot of clearance jobs, I help people when they move house.

This came out as a part payment,

as part of a job that I helped someone out with.

-Did you choose it yourself?

-Yeah, I did, yeah.

ANITA LAUGHS I'm quite persuasive!

Do you like art? Do you like pictures?

Yeah, I collect art. I do enjoy it.

-What drew you to this picture?

-Just about everything.

I like the composition. I like all the people.

-I like the thought that it has a bit of history behind it.

-Yeah.

Emmanuel Levy was a Manchester artist.

He lived 1900 to, I think, '96.

So he lived for a long, long time.

He studied at Manchester College Of Art,

where he subsequently taught,

and he was also an art critic for the Manchester Evening News.

So he was an artist of some stature.

Now, Eddie, this little work, and it's a crayon work, mixed media,

it's maybe been added to afterwards. It was done in Paris in 1930.

Now, that was a magnet for artists from all over the world,

and he quite possibly went over there just to be part of the scene.

I like the style.

And it might possibly have been a sketch that he did

when he was on the Metro.

Tell me why you like it.

Well, I know that he was very famous for portraits

at the time, and I think this looks to me like it's almost like

a study, isn't it, and no doubt a good one because he's framed it.

But, yeah, it looks to me like some sort of study of the people.

-I find it really interesting.

-He's very good with the figures here.

-Yeah.

-And I think that it is charming because of that.

But I would be tempted to keep my estimate fairly modest.

If we put it at £100-£150,

would you be happy to sell it within that estimate?

I would be happy to put it to auction with that estimate, I think.

-Would you like a reserve price on it?

-Yeah, cos I do like it, so...

-Did you pluck it off the wall to bring along here?

-Yeah, yeah!

There's a space!

So I would like a reserve of sorts.

Shall we put £100 with a little bit of discretion?

-Yeah, that sounds fantastic.

-OK.

So, £100-£150, reserve £100, with a little bit of discretion.

-And let's hope that it flies away.

-Fingers crossed.

-Fingers crossed.

What would you do with the money? Will you buy more art?

-It's my brother's wedding this year.

-Oh, right.

-He's getting married.

So I've got to put something aside for... Possibly a painting for him.

I hope he doesn't like this though!

-We'll see.

-Oh, well, it's going to auction anyway.

Great to see a bit of 20th-century British art

from a known artist there.

Well, there you are. So far, so good. An impressive start.

But right now, let's catch up with Nick Davies,

who's somewhere in this museum.

Today we're making use of every inch of this historic building.

-So, Gay, have you come far today?

-Sunderland on the Metro.

Sunderland on the Metro? Excellent.

-And you've brought this lovely diamond ring for us?

-Yes.

Can you tell me a bit of the history,

-and where it came from, please?

-Well, when my mother died in 1992,

-some jewellery was divided up between me and my sister.

-Right.

That was one of the items,

although it didn't actually belong to my mother.

-It was my great-grandfather's ring.

-Oh, OK. And have you worn it?

-No.

-I'm not really into diamonds.

-You're not into diamonds?

-They are not my best friend.

-A woman who's not into diamonds?

I never thought I'd see the day. Anyway, it's a lovely example

of what is obviously a diamond solitaire ring.

Date-wise, I'd probably put it at around about 1890-1910,

somewhere in that region. It's what we call an old cut stone,

so it's sort of the reverse of an iceberg.

There's a lot on the top, there's not so much underneath.

It's a very flat top surface.

And some lovely detail to the scrolls of the shank, which is

18 carat gold. So, your grandfather wore it, you said?

I don't know that he wore it.

He went out to Australia just before the First World War,

and acquired it then.

How it got to be back in this country, I'm not really sure.

So how come your great-grandfather ended up in Australia?

He went out there to visit his brother,

who owned a chain of hotels and restaurants, and decided he liked it

there, married an aboriginal lady, had a son,

-stayed there until he died.

-OK.

Well, it's stamped 18 CT, and the maker's mark is CC,

and the hallmark, and that's it.

So it's very difficult to be precise where the stone came from.

It's the European old cut stone,

but that was the style that was used all over the world, really.

The box is not the original box, as I'm sure you're well aware of,

so again, there is no real hope from that either.

But, as I said, dated around about 1900.

It's a good ring, and it's a good size for someone to enjoy and wear.

I mean, the stone, to be perfectly honest, it's not a great quality.

It has got a flaw in it. Having gone to Australia,

it's a very good chance it was bought over there, because

-obviously there's quite a few diamond mines in Australia.

-Yeah.

Nowadays people get very much wrapped up with clarity

and colour and size etc. It's a decent size,

it's just shy of about three quarters of a carat,

-I measured it up earlier.

-Oh, right.

-So it's a good spread.

-I mean, have you had any idea on value at all?

-No, I haven't, really.

-Not since I've owned it, no.

-Right.

You might be a bit disappointed, to be honest.

But I'd put it in at £200-£300.

-It's the flaw in the stone that's the problem.

-Yes, I understand.

Flaws are caused when the diamond is formed.

Basically the diamond is carbon.

When it's crushed under the volcanic pressure,

when they're pushed up to the earth's surface,

little bits of carbon

and little fissures get stuck within the stone, and that causes the flaw.

When I had a look at yours,

-it's got one right through the middle.

-Oh, what a shame.

-That's the problem. But, it's still a diamond.

-Yeah.

It's still just shy of three quarters of a carat.

It's there to sell.

So, will you miss it? Have you got any emotional attachment to it?

Not really.

It's been in a box for 20 years and I don't remember anyone wearing it.

It was my great-grandfather's and I didn't know him. So, no. Not at all.

-So you've just got £200 sat in a box in a drawer.

-Yep.

-You may as well flog it and turn it into cash and spend it.

-Exactly.

Absolutely.

And it's over to Anita for another glamorous item.

-Sally, I want to be the girl inside that dress! It's wonderful.

-It is.

It's a flapper's dress from the 1920s.

Where on earth did you get it?

I think it was my grandmother's.

It's been in my airing cupboard at home all of my life.

Have you ever worn it?

I wore it once at a fancy dress, but I was so scared of losing

the little glass beads on it that I would never wear it again.

It's a wonderful dress in a black chiffon.

It's the type of dress that a flapper would wear.

Now, a flapper was a wild young thing of the 1920s

who smoked cigarettes, drank alcohol and danced the Charleston all night.

And she would dance in this type of dress.

If we look at it,

the design of it is looking forward to the Art Deco period.

At that time, the slim look was in,

so absolutely straight coming down to heavy borders

and decoration of these wonderful silver glass beads

that are falling in rounded columns here.

And we have a sort of curvilinear design here,

and then this straightforward more geometric design at the top.

And I don't know what this is,

but it might have been something that she'd wear in her headband,

or maybe to keep herself cool after dancing the Charleston.

It's in remarkably good condition, and this was your mother's?

-No, grandmother's.

-Your grandmother's?

-Do you have any photographs of her in this dress?

-No, sadly not, no.

These things are extremely fragile now,

-and they really aren't for everyday use.

-No.

I suppose it's the type of thing that you will find in a London

vintage shop, and it could be bought by some glamorous film star

to wear at the BAFTAs or something. Now, how have you kept it?

-Has it been hung?

-No, it's been in a cardboard box

in the airing cupboard.

That's probably one of the reasons why it's in such good condition.

-Do you have daughters?

-I do, yes.

-Do they not fancy that?

-No.

-Not her type of thing?

-No. Definitely not.

-OK.

The people who are interested in costume would be interested in this.

It's iconic of the 1930s and of that period.

The value of this type of thing is often dependent on the condition,

and if we look at the back of this, Sally,

we can see a little hole there, and a couple of wee holes here.

So there's maybe some mice in the airing cupboard!

But it's not bad.

And the important part of it, with these wonderful silver glass beads

in this marvellous pattern, it's quite whole.

-Have you any idea of the value on it?

-No. No idea.

I think to put it into auction

with an estimate around about £60-£80 might be the way to do it.

-Would you be happy to sell it?

-Yes, I think so.

-If there was a fixed reserve on it, I think.

-Uh-huh.

-Shall we put a reserve of £60?

-Yep.

-She's wonderful though.

-Thank you.

-Absolutely marvellous. Thank you for bringing it along.

-Thank you.

Vintage or retro textiles and shoes are all the rage.

It's an exciting and growing collectables field,

with items getting ever increasing prices.

And we've had some stunners on the show. Just take a look at these.

The Liberty of London dress coat, £380. On the telephone now.

£380!

The stitched patchwork quilt at £520 I sell...

And the hammer's gone down.

That's a nice figure, £520.

345 is this kimono.

The advance on £700, the kimono.

Yes, the hammer has gone down. £700!

So, if you have something special hanging in the wardrobe, or boxed

in the loft, get it down, shake it out

and bring it along to "Flog It!".

We are now halfway through our day.

Our experts have been working flat out

and we have found the first items to take off to auction.

I've got my favourite, so you've probably got yours.

But you know the game, it's all down to the bidders in the sale room.

Here's a quick recap of what's going under the hammer.

Emmanuel Levy's pastels sketch of the Paris Metro is sure

to draw in collectors of the Northern or Manchester school.

It might not be Gay's best friend,

but this diamond ring is bound to get the bidders talking.

And Sally's beaded 1920s flapper dress, a timeless classic,

will surely get the vintage market raving.

Today our auction room is just outside of Newcastle

in the picturesque village of East Boldon.

The bidders have been sizing up the items here today,

and this little auction house is packed.

Our auctioneer Giles Hodges has taken to the rostrum,

and it's time to meet our first seller.

If I said the Great Gatsby, you'd know what was coming up next,

wouldn't you? Yes, it's that flapper dress belonging to Sally.

It's absolutely wonderful.

We don't get that many textiles on the show, do we,

but it's really nice when one of our lady experts talks about them.

-And I saw you modelling it like that.

-Yes!

And of course, it's that fast, frantic bead motion which

causes the flap, and that's why they're called flapper dresses.

Good luck with this, because I think it's absolutely divine, I really do.

-And the condition is good too.

-It is. Yep.

-Why are you selling it?

It has been sat in a box in the airing cupboard all my life.

-So, 30 years it's sitting in a box.

-OK. Let somebody else enjoy it.

It's going under the hammer right now.

1920s black silver beaded flapper dress, off we go again.

One, two, three, four bids.

I start at £110.

-Brilliant.

-110, straight in.

120, anybody? 120, we're on the internet.

The commission bids are out. At £120. £130 on the internet. 130.

At 130 it's on the net.

140, yes or no?

I shall sell, make no mistake, at £130 to the internet, all done.

-Brilliant.

-Yes, good.

-That was a good result.

The condition counts, doesn't it? It really does.

-Enjoy the money.

-Yes, I will!

-Buy yourself a new frock.

-I will, yes!

The women of Tyneside seem to be selling their glamorous

pieces today. There's always a market for bling.

Gay, I normally say diamonds are a girl's best friend,

-but in your case they are not, are they?

-No.

-You don't wear them?

Well, I do. I've got this one.

-But that was my mother's, so that's sentimental.

-OK.

This is a nice diamond solitaire ring. We're looking at £200-£300.

-It has been in the family a bit of time, hasn't it?

-It has, yes.

But I never actually saw anyone wearing it,

so it's not really got any sentimental value.

Right, let's hopefully get that top end and put the money to good use.

That's what it's all about. Is it a quality stone?

It has got a flaw in the middle. That might put some people off.

-Colour's good, clarity's good? Cut's good?

-Colour's good.

It's a sparkler, put it that way. And it's going to sparkle right now.

-It's going under the hammer. Good luck, both of you.

-Thank you.

The 18 carat gold diamond solitaire ring. I'm bid 100 to start it.

120, 140, 160, 180, 200.

-It's in the room at 200.

-Nice.

-Good.

Anyone on the internet? At £200, 220, anybody?

£200, we're away. All done at £200.

-And it's gone.

-It's gone for what we said.

-That was the flaw, wasn't it?

-It was the flaw. I thought it might.

-The lower end.

-But it sold.

And you didn't want it.

Well, I didn't mind if I took it home, but I'm glad it's gone.

-Because now I can spend the money.

-Exactly! Good stuff.

And here's one last chance to see that lovely Emmanuel Levy pastel

before it goes under the hammer.

Good luck, Edward. I hope we get the top end of the estimate.

I'm talking about the pastel which is going under the hammer now of

the Metro, the underground in Paris,

by Emmanuel Levy, a Manchester artist.

Fingers crossed there's a few phone lines booked from Manchester.

Because the Northern School love their stuff. They really do.

-In fact, I like this. And I reckon you like this.

-I really like it!

So please, please, please, give me

a really good explanation of why you want to sell this and not keep it.

I don't know. I've got loads of pieces of art in my house,

and it was one of a selection, to be honest.

-It could have a bit of potential this, couldn't it?

-Fingers crossed.

Yeah, it's a lovely little picture, and the subject is charming.

You're looking at around £120, aren't you? £130 or £140?

-We want as much as possible.

-Of course you do!

We all want as much as possible.

Let's find out what the bidders think of it.

-Thank you.

-That's what you've come for, isn't it?

-Top job.

The Emmanuel Levy, the pastel, the French underground.

And I'm bid £50 to start it. At 50, at 55.

60, five, 70, five, 80, five, 90, five,

100, 10, 110 bid.

At £110. Anybody else?

No? At 120, we're back downstairs.

At £120, the internet's quiet. At £120. All told, at 120.

-The hammer's has gone down, 120.

-Bang on.

-You're happy with that?

Yeah, I'm happy with that. It looks like someone nice has got it.

You've got plenty more you can enjoy,

and hopefully you'll get a lot more.

I gather with your job you do house clearances,

-and these things come along?

-Yeah, every now and again

something comes up.

Keeping the auction rooms busy, that's what he's doing, isn't he?!

220, 230...

Well, the hammer has just gone down on our last lot for the first

visit to the sale room here,

and we've sold everything, so everyone has gone home happy so far.

We're coming back later on in the programme, so don't go away.

But here, we're surrounded by fine art and antiques,

pieces that tend to be chosen by individuals to furnish their house.

But what happens when a piece of artist is chosen for an entire town?

Well, I headed down the road to Gateshead to find out.

The Angel Of The North, created by artist and sculptor

Antony Gormley, is a striking piece of public art.

It is absolutely awesome.

But its existence has been met with some considerable controversy.

The issue for us is what it's always been, is what the people want,

and all the evidence that we have

is that people don't want this statue.

15 years ago, when the 20m long, 208 tonne Angel

made its journey from a steel manufacturer in Hartlepool

to its home in Gateshead, the area was ravaged by unemployment.

An end to the shipbuilding industry and the huge decline in mining

had left a chasm of despair in the community.

So, for many people at the time, art was very much at the bottom

of their agenda,

and it's during this poor economic climate that Antony Gormley's

bold sculpture, based on his own body form,

costing nearly £1 million, arose.

I still think you could spend the money somewhere better than

what that is, like.

I know they won't, and they haven't. But I still think you could.

Oh, it was going to be 300 to start with.

And that wasn't a bargain either.

I think they could spend that money on better stuff than that, like.

Mick Henry, head of Gateshead Council,

was around in the early days of the Angel.

What sort of attitudes existed within the council about the Angel

-Of The North back in the '90s?

-There was a sense of risk.

The Angel was being seen as something very, very controversial,

so, "Can we do this? Should we do this?"

And I remember the then leader of the council

actually called himself a Philistine, an arts Philistine.

But he was from a mining heritage.

But he knew that we needed to do something for the future

for Gateshead.

So everybody in the council was on board with this, eventually.

But many people were not won over, and one local councillor,

Jonathan Wallace, who opposed the angel at the time,

felt that the money should have been spent on community art projects.

We are particularly saying nowadays, when money is even tighter,

would you spend such a huge sum of money on one single piece of art?

Or would you want to get more art out into the community so that

individual groups and community groups are actually more involved?

-We

-were

-doing community project, and if you look

at the history of Gateshead, it wasn't one thing or the other.

We were very, very active in community projects

as well as community art.

People always think money should be spent on something else,

and you have to explain that it comes from different purses,

that we wouldn't have had the money to do other things

if we hadn't done the Angel. It came from private funding, some Arts Council funding,

and we just wouldn't have got it for other things.

For its creator, Antony Gormley, the Angel is about many things.

But poignantly, beneath this spot where we stand right now,

coal miners worked for two centuries.

And the area's renowned for its shipbuilding.

So this sculpture marks the region's industrial heritage, making the

transition between the industrial age and the age of information.

It certainly has an incredibly strong presence.

Some have described it as magical, and even spiritual.

Anthony Gormley said he created an angel

because no-one has ever seen one, and we need to keep imagining them.

He felt this spot called out for a feature which would link Earth

and sky. In some way the pose

is quite like the Crucifixion, symbolic, perhaps,

of a modern-day saviour for a disenfranchised generation.

In an area that has suffered mass unemployment,

and all that goes with that, the Angel does seem to have

raised morale, and given many people a sense of pride in Gateshead.

And after all the early outrage,

one symbolic act by Newcastle United fans marked the turning point,

the moment when the people of Gateshead and Tyneside

accepted Antony Gormley's sculpture as their own.

Making it the people's art, as it was always intended.

NEWSREADER: It was six in the morning.

Wives and children joined in the carnival atmosphere,

but it lasted just 20 minutes.

The police had been called,

and as the long arm of the law closed in, the shirt was removed.

But even the officers got a kick out of it.

It's a tribute to Alan Shearer,

but it's also really done some good for the Angel.

I think a lot more people now will like the Angel,

now it's had a Newcastle shirt on.

For me, I think it just represents home.

You know, when you've been away on holiday or away

somewhere down south, and then you're coming back,

it's one of the first things you see on the motorway.

I actually first saw it from the train a couple of years ago

on the way past.

And knowing we were coming up here, I said to my husband,

"Let's actually going see it up close and personal."

I love it. I just love it. I think it's beautiful.

I suppose there's just something about it,

the fact that it's this big, rusty, metal, beautiful object.

For me, I sort of like associate it with the mining heritage,

and stuff like that, of the north-east.

They've regenerated Gateshead in all kinds of ways,

and that was about, do we keep on looking... You know, celebrate it,

but do we keep harking on to ship building and mining,

which is part of my heritage? Or do we actually try to create a new one?

And that's what we've been trying to do. The Angel symbolises that.

Even Jonathan Wallace,

who stood by his opposition in the early days, seems to have had

a change of heart, and now can't imagine Gateshead without it.

It would be like Paris selling off the Eiffel Tower,

and getting rid of it, or New York getting rid of the Statue Of Liberty.

It's a symbol for that city, and this is now a symbol for our area.

And despite all the controversy, despite the fact that

I was involved in fighting it, if you were to take it away now,

I would probably be there at the front,

in front of the bulldozer, saying, "Over my dead body."

Welcome back to our valuation day here at the Discovery Museum

in Newcastle.

We still have pretty much a full house, and more and more people

are still arriving laden with antiques and collectables.

Just take a look at this lot. Give us a wave and a smile!

You're all on telly!

Right, let's find some more antiques to take off to auction.

And somewhere in this extensive museum is Nick Davies.

OK, John, you've brought some interesting bits and pieces.

A bit of local history here. Tell me about how they came here.

Well, I was a demolition worker, way back in the '80s.

And I got this one from Hams Hall Power Station,

down Birmingham way.

They'd come to knock down the turbine hall,

-and I got my eye on this.

-OK.

I'd asked the engineer permission to have it.

-Excellent. What with being from the north-east.

-Yes.

I thought, a bit of nostalgia for me.

And he says, "Yes, if you dismantle it yourself, take it off."

And I says, will I need a chitty to get it through security?

-You know, to keep things all above board?

-Absolutely.

-So he did that for us, and I took it home.

-Was the wife pleased?

Oh, yes, aye. I'll say. It was in the coal house for 28 years.

28 years it's been in your coal house?

It's been in the coal house for 28 years.

These things don't come by every other weekend,

so I thought, I've got them, I'll keep them.

But I've kept them a bit too long. That's why I'm getting shot of them.

Well, it's CA Parsons And Co.

as we can quite easily read around the outside. Newcastle Upon Tyne.

Charles Algernon Parsons And Co Limited,

they invented the steam turbine.

-And the Turbinia, the great ship's here.

-Yes.

-It was the fastest ship of its day, I believe.

-I didn't know that.

-And they also... The steam turbines are right behind us.

-Right.

There we are, we can see the name on the side of the steam turbine there.

CA Parsons And Co.

For this type of thing as well, and enamel tin signs, etc,

they often have a little bit of damage.

And we've got some scratching in the middle here,

and a bit of paint flaking, etc, and losses.

But I think for something of this era and this weight, it's acceptable.

You've brought some other bits and pieces as well.

Were all these from various jobs?

-No, this was from Plymouth Power Station.

-Plymouth Power Station.

-You moved around a bit, didn't you?

-I did, I certainly did, yeah.

So, tell me about the one at the front.

Well, this one came from Plymouth Power Station also

-and then finished up in the coal house.

-Right.

As I say, for 28 year until I finally decided how to get shot of them.

Right. I think it's great, a bit of local history.

-I mean, you can't get any more local, can you?

-No, you can't, no.

It's fantastic.

It does weigh a tonne. These two are London & Renfrew, Glasgow.

-That's correct.

-Those two. And this...

You know what this model is in the middle? This sort of logo here?

-Well, it's the world, as you see, with the steam.

-That's right.

But it's a copy of Archimedes's first steam boiler.

What Archimedes did - put in a boiler,

a pan of water on some struts. And in the middle was this

globe, all right, that heated through the water.

And outside, above and below, were two steam jets that spun round.

And that's what that's copying - Archimedes's steam theory.

-Right you are.

-That explains the logo.

They obviously put the world in because they provided steam

-for the world.

-Of course. Right you are.

So there's a nice bit of local history.

Signs are always quite popular.

So, what do we think about value?

-I couldn't honestly tell you how much they're worth.

-No?

I couldn't. I have no idea.

-Well, I think your Parsons' one is probably worth £60 to £80.

-Mm-hm.

I think the two Babcock & Wilcox, the pair of them might do £40.

And your Yarrow one's probably only around about 15 or 20.

-Well, there you are. But that's your opinion, mate.

-That's my opinion.

-And I'll tell you what, not a lot of people listen to my opinion.

-No, no.

And I'm pleased about that.

We'll put them through to sale if you're happy with that.

Yes, I am, yeah.

-We'll work out a reserve price on them as well.

-Right you are.

-Unless you want to just let them fly and see how we get on.

-Yes.

-Let the steam fly.

-I will do, let the steam fly.

-Yeah? We'll give them a go.

-Well, I'm OK with that.

-Excellent.

-Thanks ever so much, John.

-No bother. Thank you.

Well, I'm not exactly sure where Nick was in this cavernous

Victorian building, dating back to 1899.

If you look at these wonderful handmade tiles,

they are every inch Victorian in character,

as are the steel girders holding up this room.

But if you look at the ceiling, you'll see something

of the 1930s creeping in -

those wonderful Art Deco lights.

Although the recession had really hit,

the Co-operative Wholesale Society

was in fact doing very well at this time.

And the management area itself is living proof.

It was at this time that these areas had a makeover.

And when you look closely, you can see the wonderful marble walls,

beautifully selected.

Behind me, you can't miss it, the stained-glass window,

the rising sun,

such a familiar motif with the co-op.

It is sort of, you rise in the morning and you smile

and you are going to have a good day.

And have you noticed the wheat in the field look?

And the motif is one ear of wheat cannot stand by itself,

but with others, it can.

It's a symbol of strength in unity. Isn't that lovely?

The decorative aspects of the maker that didn't stop there,

and perhaps the most flamboyant is the peacock blue gentlemen's toilets

and managers' loos with their mosaic tiles, stained-glass and mirrors.

Well, it is probably time we head back

and take a look at our next item, also from the 1930s.

Karen,

-this little clog is instantly recognizable.

-Yes, it is.

-You know what it is.

-I do, yes, Clarice Cliff.

Some people love Clarice Cliff, some people hate them.

I love Clarice Cliff.

I loved her because she was a rebel,

she was a genius and she was clever enough to marry the boss.

-Yes.

-Tell me, where did you get this?

I got it from a friend of mine who is sadly gone now.

And I was just at the house one day, admired it,

saw it was just lying on a windowsill, and I said,

"We need to put this in a cabinet to keep it safe."

And she just went, "No, you can have it."

An argument sort of went on, and I always lose arguments with her,

so I brought it home and put it in the cabinet.

So you are obviously like me, an admirer of Clarice Cliff.

Yes, I do like some of her stuff. I like the colours

and I like that era, you know.

-Let's look at it a wee bit more carefully.

-Yeah.

It is in the shape of a little clog,

so it would have been a novelty item. But quite interesting.

If we look at the underneath, we see that it is in the Bizarre range,

Fantasque, and we see the signature of Clarice Cliff here.

This would have been made in the 1930s.

-And the pattern is called the Melon pattern.

-All right.

So we can identify that exactly to the time.

What I like about this particular pattern

and this particular colour weave,

is I love the combination of blue and yellow and orange there.

I think they shout at you, they shout Clarice Cliff.

I was a bit concerned that there wasn't colour all over.

I thought it would have been coloured in.

And I just thought maybe it was missed on the production line

-or something.

-Well, the production line of Clarice Cliff's

studio or workshop,

-there wouldn't have been machines there.

-No, no.

What you had were a group of good-looking women called

the Clarice Girls who were trained by Clarice Cliff,

who executed her designs.

-Yes.

-So she wouldn't have been letting anybody miss bits out.

-If that bit is missed out, it's meant to be missed out.

-OK, yeah.

So, we know the Clarice Cliff is sought after,

and this is an unusual little object.

-What you think on value?

-I don't know.

I know they came in different sizes. I don't know, £100?

-I think you're very good.

-Yeah.

I think you are just right on the spot there. And if we estimate it...

-Let's make it low and wide.

-Right.

£100 to £200,

-and that is giving plenty of expansion.

-Yeah.

Plenty of expansion. But I think we will put a reserve on it.

-Yes, I'd like a reserve on it.

-I think we should put a £100

reserve, are you happy with that?

-Yeah, that sounds OK.

-Let's go ahead.

-Yeah.

So, thank you very much. Thanks for bringing that along.

-Lovely to meet you.

-We'll see you at the auction.

Over to Nick now, who is next to the Turbinia steamship

in the main foyer.

-Well there, welcome to "Flog It!"...

-Thank you.

-..on this lovely sunny day in the Northeast.

-Yes.

-And you've brought us a box.

-Yes.

-Which is very nice.

But it's what is inside that I prefer, let's have a little look.

There we are. We've got a nice silver aide memoir.

That's a posh word for a notebook, really.

But tell me all about it, how did you come by it?

-Well, it belonged to my husband's aunt.

-Right.

-And she died, so him and his cousin were clearing the house out.

-OK.

-And he came home with this.

-Excellent.

And unfortunately, it has been in a drawer ever since.

So you've never used it. You've never really looked at it.

-It has been stuck in a drawer for how many years?

-About 20.

About 20 years! My goodness me. Right, let me tell you all about it.

It is an aide memoir. It is hallmarked silver.

-There is a little hallmark down here.

-Oh, right.

We can date it to... How old do you think?

-About 1900?

-A little bit earlier, but not bad. 1887.

-Oh, right.

-And it was made in Birmingham.

-Right.

It's actually made by a company called Charles Cheshire,

who were based in Northampton, Birmingham, in the Jewellery Quarter.

And if I just take it out of the box gently like that...

-It's also marked on the back, you can see there.

-Yes.

We've got all this lovely foliate engraved decoration around it.

If we open it up nice and carefully, with that finger the button there,

and we've got a little ivorine card there and a little pencil there,

-and that's for your dance card, I would have thought.

-Yeah.

You've got a little card case there for the gentleman caller's card.

-Right.

-And we close it up, and we've got more

of the foliate scrolls on both sides.

The other nice thing about this, it's quite nice and local.

In the lid here, we have got Reid & Sons Goldsmiths

and Jewellers to the Queen and the Prince of Wales,

-Newcastle on Tyne.

-Yes.

-That would have been the retailer.

-Yes.

-The nice thing about it, it's in its original box and it is in

-really good condition, having left it in the door for 20 years.

-Yes.

Looks like your aunt left it in for a few years before that.

-I think she must have done, yes.

-So we come down to value.

-There are collectors for this type of thing.

-Right.

There are certain card cases and makers who are, shall we say,

-Premier League, people like Nathaniel Mills.

-Mm-hm.

But this is a good, solid manufacturing jeweller

-from Birmingham.

-Right.

I would probably put it in, £150 to £200.

-And put a reserve on it around about 120, just to look after it.

-Yes.

-How does that sound?

-Yes, that sounds fine.

-Yes, that's about what I thought.

-About what you thought?

-Yeah.

-Good.

We can swap places next. I hope that has been helpful.

-Oh, yes, very.

-And we'll see you at the auction, fingers crossed.

Lovely.

Well, there you are, our final items of the day.

So sadly, it is time to say goodbye to the Discovery Museum,

our magnificent venue for today, entrenched in local history.

But we have to make our way over for the very last time to the

Boldon Auction Galleries, and here is what is coming with us.

John's industrial plaques have been divided into two lots

and could be just the industrial feel that designers are looking for.

Clarice Cliff lovers will be delighted by this novelty clog.

And will the silver collectors hone in on this 19th century aide

memoir in its original case?

We are back at the Boldon Auction galleries to find out.

And first up, it's those industrial plaques.

Well, I've just been joined by John,

and it is demolition time, let's face it, you were a demolition man.

-What a cracking job!

-It was, yes.

That's where you came across these industrial nameplates.

There's four of them, a bit of connection

to the industrial Northeast here. In fact, a big, big connection.

What do you think about value? What are you hoping for?

-It's just potluck with me.

-Potluck, OK. Well, I think...

-He doesn't want them back.

-We'll test the market.

You don't want to be carrying home,

putting them on the backseat of the car. You'll ruin it!

-Yeah, they are very heavy.

-There are heavy, aren't they?

-Very heavy.

-Optimistic about these?

-We'll see.

-They are fun, I think, really.

-A bit of fun.

And obviously, a lot of imagination needed to be creative with them

to try and put them to another practical use.

Maybe make a coffee table out of them or something.

-A decorators' piece.

-Garden furniture, something like that.

You could make a coffee table, couldn't you?

Yeah. Let's find out what the bidders think.

Large, circular, industrial nameplate -

CA Parsons & Company Limited, the Heaton Works.

I have two commission bids.

Two commission bids, John.

Start straight in at £80. Five, anybody now.

At £80, is there a fi...? 85.

At £85, we are in the room. 90.

Five.

100. 110. 120.

120 the back of the hall.

At £120, we are all done on the Internet, too.

At 120...

-We're in.

-Well, I'm happy.

-I'm delighted.

-Nick is absolutely delighted. What do you think?

-Yeah, it's OK.

-Is that all right?

-Yes, yes.

Well, we are happy with that. That is the first of the lots.

We split this into two lots. Here is the second.

Hopefully, we'll get around the same again. That would be nice.

-Next one, yes.

-You never know. This is it.

We've got the Babcock & Wilcox Limited plates

and the cast-iron Yarrow & Co, from Glasgow, plaque.

Again, we are straight in, two commission bids.

80 to start, five anybody now.

At £80. It looks like that is going to be it.

At £80, ladies and gents.

Are we all done? At 80...

Not so much that time, but a good result.

-Yes, yes.

-I tell you what, I think the same person bought both lots.

-That's right.

-Well done. Thank you for bringing that in.

-Thank you.

Whether it is heavy-duty industrial or delicate China

you are trying to sell, the auction house is a brilliant place.

But don't forget, sellers have to pay a commission.

And here, it is...

Well, so far, so good.

And coming up now, bizarrely enough, is a clog,

-and it is a left shoe, isn't it?

-Yes, it is.

It is the left shoe, am I right? It's not the right foot?

Did they make pairs or were they all left feet? Karen, what do you think?

-Probably didn't make pairs, I would think.

-No, they're all left feet.

-Why are you selling this? Do you like it?

-I do like it.

But I just brought it along and thought, "Well, give it a go."

"What's it worth?" And hopefully, £200.

Have you sold many of these clogs?

Yes, lots and lots of them.

They're not rare, but they are novelty

and they bring a smile to folk's faces, and that is why we like them.

Question is, will they pay top money for it?

We are going to find out right now.

We have got the little Clarice Cliff Melon pattern clog.

-I have one, two, three, four bids.

-Listen. Four bids.

-Yes!

I am straight in at 140.

-150 now.

-Well, it sold, Karen, hasn't it?

-It sure has.

-150 anybody?

150. 160. 170.

The bid is upstairs in the room at 170. Commissions are out.

At £170, ladies and gentlemen. Are we all done? At 170...

Yes! The hammer's gone down.

That is a classic collectible, isn't it?

It really is, yeah.

Will you reinvest that money in antiques or...?

No, I think I will just treat myself.

We are going away for a couple of holidays,

so we'll probably use it for that.

-Yeah.

-There you go.

-Clarice Cliff never lets us down.

Let's hope the same can be said of our next item.

I like this next lot and I think it has got a lot going for it.

It belongs to Beryl it's a silver aide-memoir.

You look like you'd be collecting things like this.

-Oh, yes.

-Because it looks good

in a vitrine with a few other little things, in a cabinet.

-Yes, doesn't it?

-Oh, I do collect things like that.

-You do?

-Oh, yes.

Why you selling this one, then?

It was to go towards a holiday, originally.

-Where did you want to go?

-Now, I've changed my mind.

My grandson is getting married next year,

so it is to go towards an outfit.

Oh, how nice! Oh, right.

New hat, new outfit, new shoes.

-We need top dollar.

-Yes.

-Absolutely.

Lovely case, Victorian silver aide memoir. Birmingham, 1894.

On bid, 100 to start it.

110. 120.

130. 140.

150. 160. 170.

180. 190. 200.

-No. At £200. All quiet on the net.

-There is a bidder in the room.

At £200... 210. 220.

220 at the back.

At £220, all done, ladies and gents?

-220.

-£220!

-Excellent, yes.

-That's the hat and the shoes, possibly.

-Yes.

-Great day out.

Great day out, yes. Thanks very much.

And thank you for coming in, thank you so much.

It just goes to show,

beautiful objects will always sell well in the auction room.

Well, that is it, the hammer has gone down on our last lot

and it is all over.

We've had a fabulous time here, all credit to our experts,

because we have sold everything today,

and it's not easy putting a value on an antique, as you know.

So, from this extraordinary part of the country, rich in heritage, it is

time to say goodbye to from the Northeast.

So until the next time, with plenty more surprises on "Flog It!",

it's goodbye.