Birmingham 3 Flog It!

This is Soho House on the outskirts of Birmingham,

home of the great industrialist Matthew Boulton.

Some of the greatest minds of the 18th century met here once a month,

by the light of the full moon,

calling themselves the Lunar Society.

The ideas they discussed here would change the course of history -

that's what comes from an enquiring mind.

Welcome to Flog It!

MUSIC: Get Lucky by Daft Punk & Pharrell Williams

Birmingham's role at the heart of the Industrial Revolution

was largely thanks to one man,

the pioneering engineer and entrepreneur Matthew Boulton.

He paved the way so that by the Victorian times,

it was known as the city of 1,000 trades.

We'll be hearing more about Mr Boulton

and the Lunar Society later on.

Today, we're on our own voyage of discovery

here at Birmingham's Museum & Art Gallery,

situated right in the heart of the civic centre.

It's full of the finest examples of man's ingenuity and talent

but meanwhile, our experts are on their own voyage of discovery,

delving into all of these bags and boxes, looking for treasures

to take off to auction and there's only one question on their lips,

which is...

-ALL:

-What's it worth?

MUSIC CONTINUES

On their own quest for enlightenment are our industrious experts,

James Lewis and Thomas Plant,

who'll be hoping to see lots of Birmingham's famous anchor hallmark

on the gold and silver brought in today.

# We're up all night to get lucky

# We're up all night to get lucky... #

Yeah, that's nice, it's Birmingham.

James, James, that's not a magnifying glass.

THIS is a magnifying glass.

Thomas, size isn't everything, mate.

Ha - I'm keeping well out of that debate.

Coming up on today's show,

Thomas shares his knowledge of technical terms...

You know how stamps is philately or paper money is scripophily -

fishing is called piscatoria.

..James practises his bedside manner.

-How do you feel?

-All right.

I think if it made any less, I'd be disappointed.

-So would I.

-OK.

Oh, no.

'..and one of our contributors makes a special effort at the auction.'

Harry's in full dress with a swagger stick.

Look at this. Ooh!

We have taken over the museum's Rotunda Gallery

for our main valuation day venue.

It really is lights, camera, action right here, right now.

In the very centre is the Archangel Lucifer

by one of the 20th century's greatest sculptors, Jacob Epstein.

He shows Lucifer leaving Heaven and as he's falling,

his hands are shielding him from the flames of Hell as you can see.

Before he falls, he's the bringer of light and the most beautiful angel.

I think we should focus on that aspect

and let's hope our next item has all of those qualities.

Let's catch up with our experts.

MUSIC CONTINUES

And to kick us off is Thomas, who's spotted a real catch.

-So, are you a fisherman, Luke?

-Yeah, I am.

-What do you fish?

-Carp.

-Carp?

-Yeah.

-That's in the big lakes?

Yeah, fishing lakes.

And is your whole family into fishing?

My mum was. My dad still is and I am, yeah.

-Now, you've brought along these two pair of reels here.

-Yeah.

-Salmon reels by Farlow & Co. from London.

-Yep.

How have you come by them?

Well, my mum bought them in about 1960 or 1970

-from a second-hand shop in Erdington.

-Did she pay much for them?

She said, like, nine pounds, she said.

-That's quite a lot of money then.

-Yeah.

-Did she use them?

She hasn't used them, no.

-She liked them, that's why she didn't want to use them.

-They're lovely.

-Yeah.

-They are really nice.

Now, do you know what the collecting term is called for fishing?

I'm not sure.

You know how stamps is philately or paper money is scripophily,

fishing is called piscatoria -

-pisca as in Pisces, piscatoria...

-Yeah, yeah.

..so, a bit of piscatoria here.

-I think these are rather special.

-I know, they're quite nice.

I think they are lovely. How much is a modern reel now?

Oh, they can be from five pounds to thousands, some of them can be.

Yeah, yeah.

Well, I have a funny feeling that at auction,

-these are going to do quite well.

-Yeah.

You've got lacquered brass. What do you think this is made out of here?

-I'm going to guess ivory of some sort.

-It's not ivory. No, it's horn.

-Oh, it's horn?

-You're quite right, it's an animal product.

Well annotated here, patent lever number 1,850

by C Farlow & Co., 191 The Strand, London.

It's a pair of them.

You've got, on here, you've got the initials of the owner -

F R H 1 and F R H 2.

-Even being conservative, I think 500-700 is conservative.

-Yeah.

-They could end up making £1,000.

-Yeah.

They are rare. To have them cased, they're 19th-century, numbered -

-it's the most popular sport..

-It is, yeah.

..and there are people with real money out there to spend on these.

-It makes me want to go and start fishing, really.

-Yeah. It is good.

MUSIC: Fishin' Blues by Taj Mahal

# Any fish bites if you got good bait

# Here's a little tip that I would like to relate... #

I love fishing and those reels are a REAL catch...

# I'm a-goin' fishin'

# Yes, I'm goin' fishin'

# And my baby goin' fishin' too... #

..but is James as confident about our next item?

Harry, anyone who knows me knows I gravitate towards anything African.

You've brought a really interesting mass of Masai artefacts.

Now, what are they doing here in Birmingham?

How did you come to have them? What's the story?

Well, the story is I was brought up in Kenya.

I came back when Jomo Kenyatta became president.

He basically booted us all out in '62

and my father was in the government service,

he worked for the Kenya government, British Home Office.

Some Masai tribesmen lost some cattle.

They were stolen overnight and my father rounded up some askaris,

we called them, they were soldiers, basically.

He got the cattle back to the Masai, the Masai said,

"Thank you very much, have a shield and some spears."

-How wonderful.

-Because they hadn't got any currency,

-this was all they'd got.

-And what sort of timing was this?

Early 1950s.

So we're talking about things that were collected over 60 years ago.

-Yeah.

-So people automatically think that these things

are tourist objects that are post-war

but it's not long before these actually become true antiques.

-There were no tourists in Kenya in the 1950s.

-No, not many.

We've got first of all the shield

and the spears which are the classic warrior pieces.

The shield made of cattle skin or vellum

and then of course the dyes - the white is made from clay

-and the red, I'm sure you know...

-I'd say, probably, some blood.

-Blood, exactly, cattle blood.

-Yeah.

Mixed with, again, a bit of soil, a bit of earth and then smeared on.

And then we've got the two spears, both with a point at the bottom

and for a Masai boy to become a warrior, one of his biggest tasks,

the most important thing that he can do, at least it used to be,

is to kill a lion.

Originally, the idea would be the spear would be jammed in the ground

and as the lion charges, it leaps just before it makes its kill

and the shield hides the spear

and then as the lion is about to kill the Masai warrior,

away goes the shield, the lion falls on his spear.

Absolutely right, yes.

Traditionally, these are known as leaf spears

but traditional Masai spears, lovely.

But then we got a whole mass of other things - we've got the comb.

-I've never seen these before - they're like pine cones.

-They are.

-Seed pods, but I don't know what.

-Seed pods.

-They're wonderful, aren't they? Very tactile.

-Yeah.

A couple of knives, a fly whisk, necklace and a zebra skin drum.

Together, I think the best thing to do with these

is to put them as one lot.

The shield is going to be worth 40 or 50, £60.

The spears are worth about £30 each.

We're talking about £100 there, 120, about £150.

I would put 150 to 200 or something around there as an estimate.

OK, what would you say as a reserve?

I think 150 as a reserve - if they don't make that,

hold them back and try them again another day.

-Happy to go with that.

-Lovely.

JAZZY MUSIC

There's a huge crowd here today and I love seeing if I can spot

some gems before the experts decide what they're going to take to auction.

-Can I just have a look at this camera...

-Yes.

..because look, look, here.

There's a great example of great British craftsmanship.

Look at that.

J Lancaster & Son, made right here in Birmingham.

There's its patent number, look at that, 1891.

This is a later Victorian box camera.

Now, plenty of these have survived

but I'll tell you where the value is -

It's in the bellows. It's a box bellows.

If you pull this out, those bellows have to be in perfect condition.

Also, the lens. That's very, very critical.

If it's scratched, it's worthless but this one's very clean,

it's in very good condition.

-Kirsty, how did you come by this?

-It was my father's.

Was he a photographer or a collector?

No, I think he got it from his dad so...

-It's been in the family quite some time?

-Yeah.

I just wonder if it took photographs of your family,

-you know, three generations back, let's say.

-Possibly.

-That would be quite amazing, wouldn't it?

-Yeah.

This one looks to be in perfect condition

and it's made of Cuban mahogany, I mean, there's no expense spared.

I think it's absolutely lovely.

I think if you put this in to auction,

-you might be looking at around £150-£250.

-OK.

..because it's a lovely piece of kit for a photographer.

Photography items are highly collectable so who knows?

Well, look, thank you for coming in anyway. Thanks.

Now, Thomas has found an old friend.

Ruth, Flog It! wouldn't be Flog It!

without a piece of Clarice Cliff.

This is what we have here, a piece of geometric Clarice Cliff.

As far as I know, it's early Clarice, is that right?

Well, it is early cos it's got this geometric design.

I think Clarice has a bad press sometimes

because some people don't like her because of the jazzy patterns

but I think she's a really important person in 20th-century art.

Some patterns are rarer than others

and this is just simple, a Bizarre pattern and the gold backstamp,

which is an earlier backstamp -

Newport Pottery, went on to Wilkinson's.

It rings well.

-There aren't any major dings. There's a bit of paint loss.

-Yes.

-Has it been in your family for a long time?

-Well, I think it has.

It was my aunt's, my great aunt's.

Why have you brought it here today?

Well, the thing is I had nightmares that one of these days,

it's going to just go crunch

and then it's going to be worth nothing.

Well, it will always be worth something to me

but I think it's time that it went

because I'm trying to save some money to put on another play.

-Put on another play?

-Yes.

-So are you a...

Do you write plays or are you a director? What do you do?

A bit of both, actually.

I write the plays, I direct them and I'm actually sometimes in them.

-I mean, we're not going to get you a king's ransom.

-No, I know that.

I think I could say auctioneer's estimate - one, 120.

-Well, that would be all right.

-Reserve it at £80.

Where we're selling it, the auction house,

what he doesn't know about Clarice Cliff isn't worth knowing.

-Oh, gosh.

-I haven't felt more confident

about a piece of Clarice Cliff ever.

Oh, I doubt that. Is that the truth? Really? No.

-Well, because it's going to the right place.

-Well, that's fantastic.

It's going to the right place where they specialise in Clarice.

-Really?

-Yeah, he does.

It's nice to meet you

and I look forward to seeing you at the auction.

-Thank you very much. Cheers, thank you.

-Thank you.

MUSIC: How Bizarre by OMC

# How bizarre, how bizarre... #

Well, we've already seen hundreds of people

and we're only halfway through our day.

Our experts have been working flat out

and they've now found their first items to take off to auction

so don't go away because this is where it gets exciting.

Anything could happen and here's a quick recap

of all the items that are going under the hammer.

MUSIC: Love Me Again by John Newman

# I need to know now, know now

# Can you love me again? #

Ruth's classic Clarice Cliff fruit bowl

with its striking abstract design is highly collectable.

Harry's Masai collection with his dad's story

gives a fascinating glimpse into our recent colonial history

and I predict Luke's piscatoria -

or fishing reels to you and me -

will net a few bidders.

# Can you love me again?

# Now I'm rising from the ground

# Rising up to you... #

We've travelled a short distance to the market town of Stourbridge

and Fieldings Auctioneers,

where we're always assured of a warm welcome

from our very own Nick Davies.

Seller's commission here at Fieldings is 18%.

First up is our old friend, Clarice Cliff.

Clarice never lets us down.

Well, it has on two occasions over about 13 years of filming

so the percentage is up there. Look, good luck with this.

-Thank you.

-I know you need the money, don't you?

-Yes, I do.

Tell us all about this.

Well, really, I'm selling it so that I actually can put the money

into a new production and I will put my play on sometime in the summer.

Is there a role for us two?

Why not? Now then, my next play will be all about an auction house.

Right, let's put this Clarice Cliff to the test, shall we?

It's going under the hammer right now.

Lot 170, Clarice Cliff Holborn fruit bowl

in the original Bizarre pattern,

£100, straight off on a commission at £100...

Opening the bidding, do I see 110 anywhere...

At £100 maiden bid, nice early bizarre pattern...

At 100, 110 anywhere else...

110, 120...

You're out, 110 seated it is...

At 110, 120 anywhere else...

We're in the room at 110...

Are we all sure and done at £110...

Finished and done...

-It's good.

-I think that's good as well.

Yeah, I'm OK with that.

Good luck with the play.

Thank you very much. Cheers.

Short and sweet, a confident result for Clarice.

Now, our next item couldn't be more different.

Going under the hammer right now,

we have a Masai warrior's shield and some spears -

good tribal artefacts and I've been joined by Harry,

who's in full dress with a swagger stick.

Look at this. Ooh!

So, what's this all about, Harry?

Well, my father was in the prison service in Kenya

and one of the local Masai tribes gave him the spear and shield.

This is what he wore every day.

Oh, brilliant, hope it brings you good luck.

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

Any bids and interest? I can open here at 130.

-140.

-Right, we're in.

150 in the room? 140 with me. 150.

Right in the distance, I've got you at £150.

Paddle aloft, thank you.

Do I see 160 anywhere else?

At £150, he'll take them home with him, be sure of that.

At 150. 160 anywhere else? Last chance.

At 150 to sell then, all done. Are we finished?

-£150, they've gone.

-I'm very happy indeed.

-They'll only rust in the shed.

-And I love this.

And you're obviously going to keep this.

-This is not for sale.

-This is part of the wardrobe.

Fancy dress.

290, 300, 310, 320...

'So far, so good.

'Our lots are racing off the podium.'

Well, it's time to reel in the bidders

as we cast out this next lot number.

And it is those wonderful salmon fishing reels belonging to Luke.

-I think these are quality pieces.

-Oh, they're just amazing.

-What's the biggest carp you've ever caught?

-21-pounder.

Oh! Man, that's massive. I've caught a five-pound carp -

I thought that put up a fight - but 21.

That is a fish that size, isn't it?

I mean, great fish. Great fish.

Oh, I love my fishing. Right, OK.

Hopefully, we are going to sell these.

£500 straight off, on a commission at £500.

Do I see 520 anywhere in the room?

-We're in. £500.

-500.

520, anywhere else for the reels?

At £500, maiden bid, on commission.

520, right in the distance.

540, 560?

-That's more like it.

-580?

600.

-620, 640...

-Yes.

£620, on commission at 620.

640. Anybody else want to have a go?

At £620 on commission.

With Alison at 620, all done?

Yes, £620.

-That's good, yeah.

-That proves fishing memorabilia

is big business.

What do you think Mum will do with it, give you some?

-I know you're studying...

-We're going to go halves, yeah.

-Going halves? That's all right, that's quite generous!

-Well done.

-Thank you for coming in.

-Yeah, thank you.

'Quality kit.

'What a great return.'

200 with you, sir. At £200, all done.

That's the end of our first visit to the auction room today.

We are coming back here later on.

Now, most of us have heard of James Watt, the great Scottish engineer

and inventor of the steam engine,

but who was the man behind him?

Well, he's Birmingham's most famous industrialist,

and he's even on the back of the £50 note.

Go on, go and check who it is.

Well, if you don't know, you're going to find out right now.

The 18th century was the age of invention,

discovery and expansion

on a level that had never been seen before.

So, it's no wonder that it became known as the Age of Enlightenment.

In Birmingham, one of the leading lights of the British Enlightenment

lived here at Soho House in Handsworth.

When Matthew Boulton moved to Soho House in 1766,

it was at the centre of a vast 200-acre estate

overlooking his famous Soho Manufactory,

the most complete manufacturer of metals in England.

It was just the first of a long line of visionary

accomplishments that he achieved

giving him international fame during his lifetime

and lasting fame in the history books

as one of the founding fathers of the Industrial Revolution.

'Boulton inherited his father's buckle and button business in 1759.

'And within a year, he had started building his great,

'one-stop Soho Manufactory

'that was to revolutionise production methods.'

Within a few years, it was turning out jewellery, coins, medals,

decorative objects, fashionable ormolu

and of course, silver tableware -

not to mention Sheffield plate -

and exporting them all over the world.

And here is a wonderful marble bust of Matthew Boulton himself.

But this is a Boulton masterpiece.

Boulton's greater skill was as an entrepreneur.

He could spot talent and an opportunity at distance.

He didn't need to think twice, he struck when the iron was hot.

And his greatest partnership was with James Watt,

the Scottish engineer and inventor.

'Recognising the potential in Watt's early designs,

'Boulton brought him to Birmingham,

'and the resulting Boulton and Watt steam engines

'became the driving force for much of the emerging

'Industrial Revolution.'

Boulton's wide-ranging and prodigious talents

attracted fellow enquiring minds.

And amongst them, they managed to discover oxygen,

harness the power of steam...

..pioneer the theory of evolution...

..and revolutionise the British pottery trade.

'In 1766, this elite group of friends

'founded the Lunar Society

'with the intention of meeting each month

'by the light of the full moon.

'Alongside Boulton were some of the leading thinkers of the day -

'James Watt,

'Erasmus Darwin,

'Joseph Priestley

'and Josiah Wedgwood.

'To tell me more about this extraordinary group

'is Professor Jennifer Tann.'

So, how and why did the Lunar Society start?

The Lunar Society was a group of friends.

It started with just three or four people

who were local to Matthew Boulton, in this place.

They were all hugely intelligent

in different trades and so on,

and they liked being sociable.

The 18th century was a coffee house society.

And it was a society where their business papers

were full of personal reminiscences as well.

Much more fun to work on than later times.

So, apart from their obvious intelligence and curiosity,

what sort of people were they? What sort of chaps were they?

Remembering that some of them were Nonconformists,

so they didn't belong to the established Church of England,

so they couldn't have gone to university,

to Oxford and Cambridge.

Er, others were sons of tradespeople,

like Matthew Boulton himself.

But it was a time when people could be very upwardly mobile socially.

And Boulton opened this house

to visitors from overseas

and, erm, the nobility from here.

He courted them for his own business.

-Sure. They were clients?

-Yes, indeed.

But he also loved it.

They played, they had fun.

Sure, and bounced ideas, as you say, off of each other.

-Indeed, I think they built on the ideas of each other.

-Yes.

There was a little bit of teasing about competition

between Josiah Wedgwood, the potter, and Matthew Boulton,

because Boulton wanted to make cameo brooches.

And he said, something like,

"Well, I think I might become a potter, too."

And Wedgwood sort of said, "What?!"

-But this didn't happen and they remained the best of friends.

-Sure.

All very successful men.

So, set the scene, OK? Let's say the Lunar Society are meeting.

It's not quite the full moon today,

but paint the picture of supper time here.

Well, they'd start about two o'clock in the afternoon.

So, they'd arrive in daylight in their carriages

and would travel really some distance.

Erasmus Darwin came from Lichfield,

which would have taken a while to get here.

But they rolled up about that time.

Dinner was a sort of three o'clock in the afternoon onwards kind of meal.

Lasting through to the early hours...

I think the "onwards" was the operative word.

-Lots of fine wine.

-Yes.

Boulton had a wonderful cellar.

But they'd sit round here and share ideas,

building on, "Have you heard about this?

"What about the other?"

For instance, when the Montgolfiers in France sent up the balloon,

Erasmus Darwin tried to send Matthew Boulton a balloon from Lichfield,

but it got blown some distance to Hagley Hall instead.

Fabulous, really, isn't it, to think that, you know,

some of the discussions and inventions that took place

from here have really shaped Britain's history in some way.

Yes, it has. It has made a huge contribution.

There were lots of other coffee clubs,

but nothing quite like the Lunar Society,

which was deliberately kept informal,

no minutes,

no membership list,

nothing.

Just a network of friends who had fun,

who played,

who sparked off each other intellectually.

And had huge, huge curiosity

about life and the external environment.

They were really extraordinary people.

And when Boulton died and it had really fizzled out,

and some of them had died already and left the area and so on,

it just got left as a sort of...

-..episode in time.

-Which is lovely, isn't it?

-Yes.

-It really is.

Since those heady days nearly 250 years ago,

Soho House has being a vicarage,

a girls' school, a hotel and a police hostel.

But thankfully, it has now been returned to its former glory,

when it entertained a group of friends

who would help shape our future.

And Josiah Wedgwood summed up the Lunar Society by saying,

"We were living in the age of miracles,

"in which anything could be achieved."

# One, two, three o'clock, four o'clock rock

# Five, six, seven o'clock, eight o'clock rock

# Nine, ten, eleven o'clock, twelve o'clock rock

# We're gonna rock around the clock tonight

# Put your glad rags on... #

Welcome back to our valuation day

here at Birmingham's Museum and Art Gallery.

It's now time to catch up with our experts

to see what else we can find to take off to auction.

Let's take a closer look at what James Lewis has just spotted.

Tom, I have to say, you're the sort of person I would expect to

be wandering around Birmingham with an iPad or a laptop.

An inkwell? I guess you've inherited it from someone, yeah?

No, no, I've bought myself a couple of years ago.

I bought it in the NEC.

-So you're a collector?

-Oh, yes, yes, yeah.

Lovely, OK, so what attracted you to that?

Well, I collect inkwells,

-so there was, like, a link there.

-OK, yeah.

And compared to my other ones, this one stood out to me,

-because of the decorative features to it...

-Yeah.

-..and the quality, which I like too.

-Yeah, let's have a look.

We've got a pineapple-shaped, hobnail cut,

clear glass well in the centre, with a silver cover,

hallmarked in the top. Rupert Favell is the maker.

We've got the lion and we've got the K,

-which is the date letter for 1885.

-Gosh.

Erm, the base is nicely engraved

and we've got a whole sea of leafy acanthus scrolls

on a matted ground.

-You see these little pinpricks that have been hammered in?

-Yeah.

Just gives the ground that bit of texture,

so that the engraving stands out.

Now, whenever you have a well that is detachable,

-the first thing you must make sure is that that matches that.

-Yeah.

And you've got that same engraving around the outside, so good news.

Now, value...

I don't want to know what you paid

-because that will affect what I tell you.

-Yeah.

-Erm...

£80-£120, I think it's pretty enough to make that.

-I think if it made any less, I'd be disappointed.

-So would I.

OK, oh, no. OK, what did you pay?

-I paid about 300.

-Did you?

OK, right, that's your difference,

a lot of the time, between auction price and retail.

-Yeah.

-And we all know that all the shows that are on the TV,

how difficult it is

-to buy retail, and sell and get your money back.

-Yes.

And of course, the dealer, he may well, he or she,

may well have bought it from auction, may have bought it for,

say, 130, £150, then paid the buyer's premium on the top,

and then they've got their petrol, their stall costs,

all the overheads...

-Yeah.

-..and they've got to earn a salary out of it.

So a lot of the time, you're paying double

-what your dealer has paid for it at the fairs.

-Yeah, yeah.

How do you feel?

-All right, all right.

-Sure?

-I think so, yes.

OK, so what are you going to do?

Are you going to reinvest the money in something different?

-Erm, antiques, still antiques.

-Brilliant, well done you.

Have a look at the auction when you go,

and the key to an auction is not to set your heart on one thing.

If you're going to buy and then sell it on,

it's go and look at that auction

and mark everything in the catalogue.

-Yes.

-It doesn't matter if you like it or not.

If you're doing it to make a profit, mark everything,

pick up the bargains, sell them and use the money to buy what you love.

-Sounds perfect.

-That's the way to do it.

It's so nice to see somebody of your age with an interest,

-and I hope you do really well with it.

-Thank you.

-Well done, you,

and I'll see you at the auction.

-Thank you very much.

-Lovely to see you.

Top tips from James.

MUSIC: Mr Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra

Now, I've got a story for you.

Now, have you ever wondered why Birmingham silver,

and I've got an example here,

has the assay mark of an anchor stamped on it?

You're completely landlocked, you're in the middle of the country,

yet you have an anchor as a hallmark.

Well, there is a rather simple explanation.

Matthew Boulton, the famous silversmith and manufacturer,

was lobbying for an assay office in Birmingham,

and also in Sheffield at the same time.

Now, he went down to London to do this,

and with his colleagues, they got granted the rights for one.

So they went off to a pub called the Crown and Anchor,

and legend has it, that's where they tossed the coin,

and Birmingham got the anchor,

which you can quite clearly see here,

and Sheffield got the crown.

And now over to Master Plant

for a lesson in English ceramic history.

-Roy.

-Yes.

-This is quite a feminine object, really, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Two burly chaps,

sitting in between a Blue Children Doulton Burslem vase.

Tell me, how has it come into your possession?

Well, it was my mother-in-law's originally.

She was in service in the 1920s and '30s, at Reddings Road, Moseley,

and the lady who owned the house went to Canada,

-and she gave it to her as a going-away present.

-Oh, really?

-Yeah, she was an upstairs maid, my mother-in-law.

-An upstairs maid?

-Yeah.

-Fabulous, I bet you she saw some stuff.

-Oh, yeah, some of the stories she told.

-Yeah?

Like two of them working a vacuum cleaner,

one jumping up and down on the bellows

and the other one working the hose.

-Isn't that fabulous?

-Yeah.

-I hear this story quite a lot, actually.

Somebody's been in service, and their employer gave them a gift,

erm, and, you know, when they left their service.

And what a lovely gift. Did she prize it highly?

-She did, indeed, you know, it had pride of place in her house.

-Yeah.

And then, the last 20 years of her life, she came to live with us...

-Yeah.

-..and she gave it to us as a present, like, you know.

Well, that's very sweet.

So, it's a classical shape, almost campana.

Campana is a little different, it has handles here,

but ovoid Greek-urn-shaped.

And it's, as I've mentioned, it's by Doulton Burslem,

the art pottery. Part of Royal Doulton,

British, English porcelain, beautifully done.

And you've got the mark there, for Doulton Burslem,

and the little England mark,

-and that helps you date it.

-Yeah.

Dates it between 1891 and 1910.

The gilding is superb -

this lovely gold handle, the decoration here,

a quality piece.

And this type of decoration, we call Blue Children ware,

cos the children are always blue, and it's a lovely scene, isn't it?

-It is, indeed.

-You've got a little girl on a bench

with her dolly, talking to a toad.

-Yes.

-Is she imagining if she kisses that toad, it turns into her prince?

It could be...yeah. THEY LAUGH

Have you ever...had ideas of value?

Not really...

I did have an idea in 1988, but...

-1988, yeah?

-But evidently, it's gone down since then.

I'm afraid, this is my thing I was going to say to you,

it's great quality but it's one of these things

which is almost yesterday's antiques.

In the late '80s, early '90s, these were making £600-£800.

You know, good money.

-Yes.

-Today, it's probably not making as much.

-No.

-I'd probably almost half it, to be candid.

Between £300-£400, with a reserve at 200.

Don't give it away.

But the size is going for it.

Are you happy with that?

Yes, I think that's fair enough.

I mean, it's better to be sold than get broke on my sideboard.

Is that where it is at home?

Well, it's been on the sideboard, yeah,

but we've got a great-grandson who comes and...

-How old is he?

-He's three, now.

-You don't want to have it around

with him, he'd be like this.

I've got a four-year-old... "Can I have a look at this, please?"

They tend to kick and throw before they...

-before they let you know.

-Yeah, of course, of course,

I think you're doing the right thing,

and maybe your great-grandson might benefit from the sale.

That's right.

MUSIC: Time On My Hands by Al Bowlly

# Time on my hands You in my arms... #

Well, Joyce and Bob, welcome to Flog It!

Erm, I have to say, somebody about 130, 140 years ago,

has either left you together their entire personal timekeeping,

-one for the home and one for travel...

-Mm-hmm.

..or are these things that you've bought separately

or inherited separately?

-Yes.

-OK.

-The main clock, the large clock is an inherited timepiece

that goes back to pre-1900,

and that was owned by my father's mother and father.

Let me stop you there, because you've said "a timepiece".

And actually, as an auctioneer,

-I only learnt it relatively recently...

-Hmm.

..that there is a difference between a clock and a timepiece.

-Oh, right.

-Do you know what it is?

-No.

A clock chimes,

so it's got a gong, or if it's got a bell,

-then it's a clock.

-Oh, right.

If it hasn't, it's a timepiece,

-and that's the definition of the two.

-Oh, right.

So here we have one, and I think you've just about dated it

-precisely what I would have said as well, about 1900 in date.

-Yeah.

This is a mantle clock with mercury compensating pendulum,

and with the mercury,

you could add little drops of mercury into these glass tubes

to change the weight,

-keeping the time correct on the clock.

-Right.

We've got an ivory in-dial,

a visible escapement, Roman numerals.

We've got a circular gong,

which is associated with Continental pieces,

and again, that will date it to after about 1880.

Generally, before then, you would find a bell.

So, that's that, but this little chap,

what a beautiful little watch.

-Hmm.

-Gorgeous, isn't it?

-What's the story with that?

Well, that goes back to my grandfather.

He used to regularly go to a local pub

-on the edge of Birmingham...

-Right.

..and somebody came up to him and said,

-"Would you like this watch?"

-No, I don't believe it.

"Cos I need to have a drink."

So consequently, for about £2,

-he gave him £2 to buy...

-You hear these stories.

..quite a few pints in those days, I should think,

going back to the '70s,

and he ended up having that in exchange for the £2.

Well, it's a great little watch.

Well, the man in the pub was trying to flog a lady's fob watch.

-Yes.

-Yes.

-So we've got an outer case that's engraved

with foliate scrolls around the outside,

which is typical of the period.

And then inside, we've got a movement,

and the movement is inscribed,

-"The Waltham Watch Company, Massachusetts".

-Uh-huh.

Now, Waltham was the leading manufacturer

-of watch movements...

-Right, uh-huh.

..and they exported them in their hundreds and thousands,

probably millions.

And we've got a Continental ten-carat gold case.

You've got a top winder on there,

which would date it to 1900, or slightly later.

Pre-1900, they tended to be key-wound. Now, value...

-There's a bit of a chip to the enamel at the bottom, there.

-Mm-hmm.

There's also a chip to the glass case that

-I didn't see to start with.

-Yeah.

-But the biggest problem is that...

-HE TAPS ON GLASS

-That's a new piece.

-That's a new piece.

We've got three bevelled glass panels,

-and then a new piece here...

-Yeah.

-Yes.

-..which does considerably lower the value.

-Hmm.

-Oh, right.

So taking all that into consideration,

I think £100-£150 is the right sort of investment.

-This little chap, though, really like that.

-It's a very nice watch.

-I should think that's going to be worth around the same as this.

-Hmm.

-Around £100, probably.

-Yeah.

I would have hoped, maybe, a little bit nearer the 200 level.

-OK.

-But if you say 150, if that was a sort of reserve price?

-These things, you've got to be comfortable in letting them go.

-Yes.

-Hmm.

-So, if you feel that anything less than 150

you wouldn't be happy with, don't sell it at less,

-and let's put £150 on it.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Hmm.

-It's got a chance.

-I think so, yeah.

-Yeah, right.

-Certainly, yeah.

-But it would certainly be a pretty thing to have.

-Yeah.

-Right.

-So, sale it is.

-Yeah.

-Yes.

-Good luck, and I think we'll do all right.

-Thanks very much.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

Well, it's now time to say goodbye

to our incredible valuation day venue,

Birmingham's Museum and Art Gallery.

And who'd think that when we started filming here this morning,

the incredible stories that we would uncover here today?

And I hope you've learnt a thing or two, because I certainly have,

but right now it's off to the auction room for the very last time.

This is where anything could happen,

so don't go away, it's going to get rather exciting.

We've got some gems to go under the hammer, and here's a quick recap.

Let's hope we can recoup some of the £300

budding antique dealer Tom paid

for his inkwell.

Roy's impressive Doulton vase, a beautiful example of

quintessential English porcelain,

at a knockdown price.

And a pair of stunning timekeepers,

and highly collectable.

We're back at Fieldings Auction Rooms in Stourbridge,

and it's a packed saleroom today.

All done and finished?

First up is Tom, our budding Flog It! expert.

I think every good old traditional partner's desk needs an inkwell,

-don't you?

-It does.

-There's definitely room for inkwells,

-they set the scene.

-Yeah.

Now, what do you think we're going to get?

-Will we get you your money back?

-I think that's a struggle.

-Maybe two.

-Two?

-Two on a good day.

-OK, it's a nice thing,

-I like the pineapple.

-Yeah.

That draws me in. OK, look, good luck.

-Thanks, fingers crossed.

-This could be an expensive lesson.

Here we go. We're putting it to the test.

402, which is a Victorian hallmarked silver

clear glass inkwell, London '80-'85, nice example.

-Straight in at £100. £100 then, that's the bidding at 100.

-Good.

Do I see 110 in the room anywhere?

At £100, maiden bid, first and last, it'll be.

110, 120, 130, says no.

120 on a commission it is, then.

120, with Andrew on commission.

130, anywhere else?

At £120, and I'm selling, all done at 120...

-And the hammer's gone down. You were spot on, James, spot on.

-Yeah.

-That's a knock.

-Yes.

-It is a knock.

Hopefully, your others that you have bought have given you good returns

or they will in the future.

Yes, yes, I briefly bought an ink Art Deco Bakelite,

and I sold it for triple the money,

-so I was very pleased with that.

-Oh...

-That's good.

This is the good thing about collecting,

-cos it does in the end balance out.

-Yeah, it does.

-You never make a big killing on something, a big profit...

-No.

..because that takes care of the losses,

but if you can break even, learn something, enjoy the journey

and have a great collection, that's what antiques is all about.

-What more could you want?

-Now, that's it. We're lucky,

being in this trade, aren't we?

We are, I mean, the thing is, also, you know, as you get older,

all the things you've made losses on, you will forget about,

but all those things you bought really well,

-that's what you'll remember.

-Yes.

So join the club - win or lose, we love what we do.

Going under the hammer right now,

we've got some Doulton Burslem belonging to Roy.

Now, we've got a little bit of a change here in the valuation,

because we had 300-400, Thomas,

-with a fixed reserve at 200...

-Mmm-hmm.

..kind of brings the valuation down to two to four.

-But you really want a fixed reserve at three.

-That's right.

So it has to make 300 on that hammer to sell.

Would you be disappointed if it only made 280 or 260?

-I would, to be honest.

-So it means something to you.

-Yes, it does, indeed.

-OK, OK, I'm sure it should sell.

We're going to put that to the test right now.

This is where it gets exciting,

cos we're all feeling quite nervous over this one.

-Roy, good luck, OK?

-Thank you.

-This is it.

The 20th century Doulton Burslem Blue Children vase, there we are,

twin-handled example, got telephone interest on this as well.

-Telephone interest, it's going to sell.

-Good, telephone interest.

Open at 270.

I look for 280 in the room. 280 in the room before I go to the phones.

270 with me, 280 in the room anywhere before I go to the phone?

280, 290 with me. 300, sir?

-300 out and down the room at 300.

-It's gone.

Do I see 310 now anywhere else, before I go to the phone?

At 310 on the telephone, Adrienne, would you like to bid 310?

320? Are you sure?

Can't tempt you?

320, anywhere else?

310, all done, on the phone...

Roy, it's sold, £310.

-Dead on the mark.

-So you didn't need to meddle with it, did you?

Mind you, I don't blame you protecting it.

And now, it's our final lot, Bob and Joyce's timekeepers.

The saleroom has divided them into two lots. First up is the watch.

So did you take a shine to this watch?

-It's a ladies' watch, Joyce.

-Yeah, it's pretty,

-but it's always in the drawer...

-It's very pretty.

-..you know, I've only had it for about 20 years.

-It's exquisite.

It's a shame it's not English,

-as we all know, it would be £300-£400...

-Yeah.

-..but nevertheless, it's quality, and it looks good.

-Lovely quality.

We're going to put it to the test now, here we go.

£120, takes the bid out at 120.

I'll go to the lady right at the back first, 130.

140, 150, 160, 170,

180, 190, 200, 210,

220, says no.

210, right in the back, paddle aloft.

220, anywhere else in the room?

For £210, she's stuck with it all the way at 210.

220, anywhere else?

-At £210, we're selling the little fob watch...

-£210.

-Wow.

-Jeez.

-Now, don't get too excited, OK?

That was just part one of this lot, because right now,

going under the hammer, the mantle clock.

This is it.

-£170...

-Oh.

-Oh, wow.

-Good.

180, 190, 200.

210, 220, 230,

240, 250.

240, the lady's bid. 250, anywhere else?

250, fresh bidder. 260...

-This is good, isn't it?

-It is good.

-It's wonderful.

290. 300, 310.

320, says no. Thank you, anyway.

310, gentleman's bid, now.

320, anywhere else?

At £310, are we all sure and done at £310?

Finished? All done?

-Well done.

-Yeah.

-So, begs the question, doesn't it?

-Wonderful, thank you very much.

-All that money, how are you going to spend it?

-Oh...

Well, we were going to buy something here,

some Moorcroft or something, but...

-we can't afford it.

-But we can't afford it.

£22, on my left, at 22, are we all done..?

£5 for this one...

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

Another day, in another saleroom, and how exciting was that?

Because it was so touch-and-go, I've nearly lost my voice,

I've been so nervous for our owners.

If you've got anything you want to sell,

we would love to do that for you.

Bring it along to one of our valuation days.

Details, you can pick upon our website or check the details

in your local press. Dust them down, bring them in, and we'll flog them,

but until then, it's goodbye from all of us here in Stourbridge.