Basingstoke 1 Flog It!

I'm in the village of Selborne, in Hampshire, which was once home to

one of Britain's most famous scientists

that you've probably never heard of.

Now, that's got your attention, hasn't it?

Later on in the programme,

I'll be finding out more about this 18th-century naturalist

and why that became one of his most important tools.

Welcome to "Flog It!"

Hampshire has been a hotbed for scientific

and technological advancement since the Industrial Revolution.

It's fitting that the county was the birth place of one

of our greatest engineers - Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

It's also the site of the London and South Western Railway

that took passengers, in the 19th century,

from London to the important industrial port of Southampton.

At our valuation day venue here at Basingstoke,

they've brought the engineering

achievements of the old Industrial Age alive again

with a fascinating collection of old vehicles,

goods and appliances once sold on the Victorian high street.

We'll be finding out more about the county's scientific

and engineering endeavours later on in the programme.

But right now, our crowds - look at them all -

are advancing towards our experts ready for their valuations -

this is the scary bit here -

at Milestones Museum in Basingstoke.

So, if you're happy with your valuation,

what are you going to do? ALL: Flog it!

Our experts are getting stuck in,

and there's already plenty to catch James Lewis' eye.

Oh, blimey.

-Oh, blimey.

-That's old, isn't it? It is old.

-Yeah.

While Elizabeth Talbot is taking a leisurely approach.

But not for long.

Come on, you, don't sit around on the job, we've got work to do.

Excuse me.

And I have too. Right, follow me, let's get this show on the road.

It's through these doors!

Come on, everyone.

'As I take the crowds in, let's find out what's on the show today.'

Elizabeth's got the moon and the stars in her eyes.

Well, Tim, you've made my eyes sparkle when I saw this.

But why has Angus got tears in his?

Well done, well done.

And which of these objects will get the cash register ringing?

£1,000.

£1,000.

Ching-ching!

Well, from up here on top of this early-20th-century bus which

rode the streets of Portsmouth, you get a fantastic bird's-eye view

of the proceedings going on down there. Just look at it.

We really are spoiled for choice today.

Not to mention a fantastic array of vehicles, from bikes to buses,

and all sorts of internal combustion engines.

So, let's now hand the proceedings over to our experts,

and let's see what breakthroughs they can make with their first item.

And Elizabeth Talbot is joined by Paul,

who's brought in an amazing-looking contraption.

Please, tell me all about it.

Well, I...

I bought it from a hospital that was closing down for about £25 or

something. And that was in the early '90s.

I'm fairly confident it's a piece of anaesthetic equipment.

But apart from that, I don't know.

I liked it because, you know, it's an attractive bit of kit, I think.

I agree. It bears a name - I noticed a Dr Magill's name on the front.

Yes, right.

Now, Sir Ivan Whiteside Magill was actually working at the very

early part of the 20th century.

He was Irish-born and he was originally a general practitioner.

-But he then began specialising in anaesthesia...

-Oh.

-..and anaesthetics.

-Right.

That was his special area of study.

And throughout the early part of the 20th century,

he took the developments of his research quite extensive ways,

which I think really set us to where we are in modern-day

-understanding of that subject.

-Oh, gosh. Yeah.

In 1919, during the First World War,

he was positioned in the Queens Hotel at Sidcup.

And he there, at that point,

met a surgeon, Harold Gillies,

who was working very hard

and doing some pioneering work

on the reconstruction and plastic surgery

of particularly faces of soldiers who served in the First World War.

-Right.

-And the two of them became quite a powerhouse together.

Doctors Magill and Gillies worked to improve the lives

of soldiers returning from the battlefields of France.

Over seven years,

the surgical team conducted an incredible 11,000 operations,

repairing the horrendous facial injuries of 5,000 men.

In a way, that would have seemed miraculous at the time.

And they did it all using instruments like this.

Interestingly enough,

Gillies then served in hospitals in Basingstoke.

So he has a connection locally, which is quite interesting.

And the work that Magill did over the next few years took him

to the point where he was eventually knighted.

And even today, doctors who achieve outstanding work

in their profession are...can be awarded the Magill Medal.

-Yeah.

-So you paid £25 for it, did you say?

-About that, yeah.

It really is going to be the eye of the beholder.

Anybody who collects medical implements or

anything that is related to medical history may well

place on it a value different to what I will estimate.

-I would think it should sell for between sort of £50 and £80.

-Right.

-OK.

-Would you be happy with that?

-I would.

And the money, is that going anywhere in particular?

Yes, it is. It's going to brain tumour, cancer...

brain tumour research.

-I lost a daughter earlier this year from that.

-Oh.

And so we're finding all ways and means of, you know,

-putting some money to the charity.

-For fundraising.

So this would be a very apt way of it going to a good cause.

It is actually, yes.

£50 to £80. £50 reserve. Fingers crossed.

-Thank you so much for bringing it in.

-Thank you.

That's most interesting. Thank you.

A remarkable story about an object

that changed the fortunes of so many.

And now James has found a pair of objects that some might think

a bit staid

but marked technical innovation in their day.

Val, I have to say,

Royal Worcester,

one of the greatest names in English porcelain manufacturing.

They are about 1890.

-Did you know the way of telling the date?

-No, I don't.

OK, so, grab one of those.

-You see the purple mark?

-Yes.

-You see the dots above the R?

-Yes.

I've got four on this one altogether.

The first dot was put on in 1892.

-Oh.

-1892, '93, '94, '95.

-Oh, my God.

-These are 1895.

-Oh, my God.

-Lovely.

-Yes.

-Family things?

-Yes, they were my mother's. Yeah.

OK. And was she a collector or a dealer?

-No, my father just bought them for my mother.

-Did he?

-Yeah.

-So you remember them growing up as a child?

-Yes.

They are glazed Parian.

-Parian ware was invented for the 1851 Exhibition.

-Right.

It was invented to copy marble busts.

But by the 1870s, the marble busts were going out of fashion,

so they needed a new use for their Parian ware.

And this sort of ware became the new fashion.

It is known as blush ivory

because it is a yellowy colour

with a bit of a pinky tinge to it.

And then it is hand-painted over the top.

And this was fashionable until about 1910.

And here we've got a pair painted with thistles

and meadow flowers. And with masks on the handles.

Lovely quality gilding, in good condition.

-If you wanted to sell them, which I presume you do...

-I do.

..they would certainly sell at auction. They won't make a lot.

-Today, auction estimate of 80 to 120.

-Right.

Might make a shade more. I would put a firm reserve of £80 on them.

And at least that's a safety net so don't they don't go below that.

-Yes.

-Is that all right for you?

-Yes, that's fine.

-Super, all right.

While an item might not always be en vogue,

what I always say is one man's trash is another man's treasure.

I love looking in your bags and boxes to find things

that are intriguing, even if they are not to everyone's taste.

Ever seen anything like it before?

Do you know, I'm lost for words.

-Are you?

-I'm lost. I don't know what to say.

I really don't know what to say.

To me, it looks as if it is sort of 1950s.

There's always a buyer for something,

we've found that on this show.

But I tell you what, though, I couldn't help but gravitate

towards it to go, "Gosh, what is this?"

Yes.

-And now I've seen it...

-You're going away again.

-I'm happy.

THEY LAUGH

Now Elizabeth has found something that is definitely to her taste.

Well, Tim, you've made my eyes sparkle when I saw this

because it accessorises with my outfit today,

so I'm very pleased to see this little jewel.

Is this something that you've inherited or what can you

tell me about it?

-No, I found it at a car booty in East Anglia...

-Oh, did you?

..one weekend, yeah.

My wife was looking for costume jewellery

and they found this big box.

And they were messing around in there looking for stuff

and I see this little pouch right in the corner.

As I pulled it, this popped out of the top.

So I just said to the lady, I thought,

"How much do you want for it?" And she said £5.

And I went, "No, I'll give you £3 for it."

And she said, "Yeah, OK, fine."

-I took it home and put it under some spotlights and it sparkled.

-Mm-hm.

And I put a magnifying glass on it and I thought,

-"No, this is...this is something."

-The real thing.

-Yeah.

-Have you done research in terms of a value as well?

-I haven't got a clue.

-No?

-I haven't got a clue.

Obviously, you have probably established from looking at it

more closely that what we have here is a late Victorian brooch

which is set with, principally, sapphires and diamonds,

and it is centred by a pearl.

-Right.

-The pin at the back is gold.

-It is gold?

-The mount that the actual stones are set into,

I think, is probably silver. It's not marked.

A lot of jewellery of this ilk, because it is so delicate

and there's not much ground to sort of stamp anything on,

-often it isn't stamped, it isn't marked.

-Right.

Now, the late Victorians loved the crescent moons

as a motif for jewellery, principally for brooches.

And they used different stones to reflect that,

but I think obviously the blue and the silver of the stones

they've chosen really sort of suit it perfectly.

You know, I think they all look as though they're original,

they've not been replaced, so it is all very positive.

So have you got an expectation of the value then?

Is there something that you'd be...?

As long as it is more than £3.

If it's more than £3, I'm quite happy, yeah.

You know, if it doubles its value...

-Yeah, I don't mind.

-At the moment, the precious metal market

is still strong, which gives it...

It doesn't mean that it is really relevant, but it gives a baseline

of interest that that would hold just because of what it contains.

-Right.

-I think a sensible estimate

-would probably be £200 to £300.

-Right.

But I would suggest that probably a discretionary

reserve of a round about 180. Are you happy with that?

-Yeah, yeah. Ching-ching.

-THEY LAUGH

You'll be back to East Anglia for the next car booty.

-Yeah, definitely.

-Let's watch with interest and see.

-Yeah. Yeah.

-We'll reach the moon, eh? For that one.

-Yeah, thank you very much.

-Thank you so much, Tim.

-I'll see you at the auction.

-Thank you.

-Take care. Thank you.

But before we do that,

I've headed to another part of the museum for some fun.

Time to play on the largest collection of working

penny arcade slot machines on public display.

Dating from 1910 to the 1960s, all the old favourites are here,

from the shoot the skeletons...

Go down, come on!

..to the Egyptian pyramid.

And my favourite, the spiritualist room.

Oh, look, there's a skull coming from the back of the chair.

Madam Zasha, please, please, please, make it good news.

Right, here we go.

"The way you attract

"so many admiring glances, it's a good job

"I'm not the jealous type!"

Well, I wonder if our experts' predictions are right

with their valuations, as we go straight over to the auction room.

Let's put them to the test.

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

Here's hoping for good fortune for all three of our items today.

There is Paul's pioneering anaesthetic instrument,

the proceeds of which will go to a good cause.

There is Valerie's duo of less-than-fashionable blush ivory

Royal Worcester vases

in search of an avid collector.

And finally, there is Tim's car boot bounty -

this stylish Victorian brooch he bought for a song.

For our auction, we are heading to Winchester,

a town surrounded by reminders of the Industrial Age.

The area is dotted with nearly 100 old mills, but the only one

still working is in Whitchurch, a stone's throw from Winchester.

It produces high quality silks which clothe the actors

in historic dramas like BBC's Cranford.

For our sale today, we are here at Andrew Smith & Son,

and hoping to create some drama of our very own

as our lots go under the hammer.

So don't go away, because I think there could be a big surprise.

And don't forget, if you are selling, there is

a commission fee to pay.

It varies from saleroom to saleroom.

Here, it is 18% including VAT.

On the rostrum today is auctioneer Nick Jarrett.

And our first lot

is that early-20th-century anaesthetic instrument,

brought in by Paul.

-When you see it...

-I know.

It comes in this box

and you see this wonderful chrome sort of construction.

-Well, exactly right.

-..you go, "Gosh, that's good."

-It foxed me.

I don't know what it is all for and how it's used,

but we appreciated it on the day, didn't we, as exactly that,

-just a piece of aesthetic beauty.

-Let's hope people pick up on it.

I think they will because it is a curio. And it is so hard to value.

Well, it is certainly hard to value.

-Ready for this?

-Very ready.

-Well, let's put it to the test.

Here we go.

This is of medical interest. Good thing.

I've got a few bids

and I have to start you to clear bids here at £60.

Yes! There's a doctor in the house.

65. Is that it? At £65.

70. Five. 80.

-Come on. Fresh legs.

-Come on.

Five. 90.

I've got to go 100. 110?

130.

-I've got 130 then.

-£130.

-£130.

140?

At 130 then...

Sold. Hammer's gone down. £130 for that wonderful piece of sculpture.

PAUL LAUGHS

Well, I am so happy with that because it is all going to charity.

-Fantastic.

-To brain tumour research.

-Brain tumour research. Well done.

-Thank you.

-Thank you so much.

-Thank you very much.

How apt that the proceeds are being used to continue to

change people's lives for the better.

Our next lot are those blush ivory Royal Worcester vases

that aren't to Valerie's taste.

But will there be a buyer out there who will want to

get their hands on them?

-Mum and Dad had them.

-Yes.

-Were you allowed to touch them?

-No.

-No. Precious?

-Yes. On the mantelpiece.

Well, we've got a classic 80 to 120.

They should sell at that, James.

That is a good estimate on those.

It is a conservative estimate, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Who knows?

-Good for your money.

-Yeah.

-There is a market for this.

-OK.

-So fingers crossed.

-We'll see.

-You don't want to take them home, do you, really?

-No.

-No.

-Here we go.

-Thank you.

-Handsome vases. I have to start you to clear bids at 120.

-There you go.

-130.

-They've gone, top end of the estimate.

-Great.

We're selling at 120. 130?

At £120 then, with me.

130. 140. 150.

It's with me still at 140, and I am selling.

150 did you mean, sir?

No, at 140 then, still with me.

150, yes? £150 on the net.

-At 150. 160.

-Good, good.

-150 on the net.

I'm out. At £150. Any more?

At £150. All done at 150...

-Great result.

-Thank you.

-For today's money, that is a great result.

-Yes, I know that.

Luckily for Valerie, there was a fan out there.

Now, our third object should have admirers aplenty.

Well, just to jog your memories, this is Tim

and coming up next we've got something bought at a car boot

sale for £3, and we're just about to sell it hopefully

for £200 to £300.

-It is the sapphire brooch.

-Yep.

-What a find.

-I know.

It was a great find. But it's super quality.

I can imagine it mixed in with other things, it would have

stood out as being slightly different.

But, yeah, well done, you, cos it's a charming little thing.

-Yeah, charming.

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

-Yeah.

-It's going under the hammer.

-Lovely.

There it is, handsome brooch. And I've got several bids.

I have to start you at 400 to clear.

OK then!

-At £400.

-Get in there.

-420. 440.

-That is a shock.

-At 420 then.

At 420. 440?

At £420. Are you in here? At 420.

All done? At £420...

Last chance.

-Yes!

-Ching-ching!

-How about that?!

-Get in there!

-Straight in on the big numbers, wasn't it?

-Yeah.

-Brilliant.

-That shocked me. Shocked you as well, didn't it?

-Yeah.

I thought, "Gosh, could this go any higher?"

-Straight in, lots of bids all at once.

-Very pleased with that.

-Yeah, very pleased. Excellent.

-Back at the car boot this weekend.

Yeah, I'll put a few more pound down.

Well, Tim's obviously got the eye,

so hopefully he'll find more car boot bargains.

Now, sometimes scientific advancements can come

in the most modest of forms without publicity and fanfare.

Not far from this saleroom

is the pretty, rural village of Selborne.

Now, it is like most other villages around here.

It has a village shop, a little cafe and a couple of pubs.

But out in the heart of it lived a man who

revolutionised our understanding of nature and our environment.

I've come to this quiet little nook in Hampshire to find out

more about the 18th-century naturalist Gilbert White

whose worldwide reputation rests on this single book.

And this is his house.

But to find out what he achieved and why his work became so important,

I've come through the house for now and out into his workplace -

his GARDEN set amidst the beautiful landscape of Hampshire.

Gilbert White was born here in Selborne in 1720.

As an avid gardener,

he was compelled by the natural environment around him,

something David Standing,

the gardener here for 20 years, knows all about.

What is special about this spot for a gardener,

or for White particularly?

For White, yeah. A lot of things, really.

There were so many different habitats and types of vegetation

and geology was so varied

there was an awful lot to study.

-And it is here, all on his doorstep.

-Indeed it is.

The surrounding area inspired a fascination for nature

and all its complexities throughout the seasons

and would become the inspiration for Gilbert White's life's work.

In what way was his approach different to other

naturalists at the time?

Instead of taking nature into the laboratory and chopping it up,

he went outside and looked very carefully at what was happening.

He would look at one thing for a very long time

to examine all the details of it - how doves migrated,

how they...the sort of nests they made.

The swallows, for example, around the village.

He wanted to know whether they hibernated or whether they migrated.

He wanted to know all their habits.

And nobody had really focused

so closely before on that kind of detail.

So that was kind of new and fresh, wasn't it?

I mean, he obviously looked at the weather,

looked at the changing seasons

and saw how that affected plant life and animal life.

-And I know he discovered new species.

-He did indeed.

There was a little mouse that people just assumed

was a small house mouse, but it turned out to be a new species -

the smallest mammal, the little tiny harvest mouse.

They are cute mice, aren't they?

And nobody had identified that before as a separate species.

And it was only through very careful observation

that he was able to identify it.

How charming. That's lovely, isn't it?

Gilbert's scientific approach was to stake out a small place

and watch the natural world around him undisturbed.

He believed by focusing on a small sphere in meticulous detail,

you could get the best results.

And this is where he would come and sit.

It's been made from an old port barrel.

He drank the port with the villagers before he converted

it into some kind of hide. Now I'm going to get inside this.

And he'd sit in here, patiently, for hours on end,

just observing the weather and the changing seasons

and how it affected plant life and animal life.

Nobody had done this before.

But it is what he did next with these observations

that made White so remarkable.

There are no confirmed images of Gilbert White,

but the Gilbert White Trust has restored his study

as it would have been in his day.

And this is where he wrote up the results of all his fieldwork,

in the Natural History Of Selborne.

Published in 1789, they still have the original document here,

a remarkable record of what we would now call early scientific endeavour.

And what I love to see is the creative mind at work here, with

mistakes and crossings out together with great content and detail.

I'd like to read you a little extract from the book

here about the pettychaps bird. And here we go. Look.

"This bird much resembles the whitethroat,

"has a more white or rather silvery breast and belly.

"It is restless and active, like the willow wrens,

"and hops from bough to bough, examining every part for food."

So you can tell, look, he's really been out there quite patiently,

observing and studying every single little move.

White conveyed his scientific insights with a prose style

that appealed to the reader.

It is this X-factor that won him quite a fan club,

from painters to poets, and even Darwin.

One man who understands the allure of White's writing is former

publisher Ronnie Davidson-Houston.

He's amassed the largest collection of editions of the book

and even published his own version,

and they are all here in this library.

Well, I've never seen 1,000 editions of the same book before,

so that is a first for me. Very impressive.

It is a classic of English literature.

And I was, you know, just one person among the whole nation

who knew and loved this book and carried it with them to war.

And when they went abroad, off to the colonies in the 19th century,

there was always a copy of the Natural History Of Selborne

in their baggage.

Why? Why was it, though?

-It had a sense of home to people who travelled abroad.

-Wholesome.

-Yep.

There is so much that is quintessentially

English about this book. It is not surprising it appeals to

people all over the world and has become a global phenomenon.

You've got some that are bookmarked here, why is that?

Well, those are the copies that I am still looking for,

-so it is a collection progress.

-So it is still not complete?

-No, no, but it is still a magnificent obsession.

-Wow.

And the poetry of his writing style is still evident in his work

for all to read.

"On Friday, December the 10th,

"being bright sunshine, the air was full of icy spicula, floating

"in all directions, like atoms in a sunbeam let into a dark room.

"Were they watery particles of the air frozen as they floated,

"or were they evaporations from the snow, frozen as they mounted?"

Gilbert White continued his quest to understand the natural world

here in this garden right up until his death in 1793.

He was aged 73.

From such small seeds grew a worldwide phenomenon

and a new science - the study of the environment and all living things.

Gilbert White had firmly set himself amongst

the pioneers of early ecology.

We are back at the Milestones Museum in Basingstoke,

our valuation day venue, where the crowds are having a wonderful time.

-ALL:

-Hey!

And James has found some objects Gilbert White surely would

have appreciated - a compass

and a Victorian measuring instrument known as a theodolite.

And, of course, James knows all about it.

Now, John and Jean, I have to tell you, you are taking me

back years to when I did surveying at uni.

We all had to have a go with one of these.

And do you know, I can't remember how on earth to use it!

It looks so complicated.

I think I had about two days of one of these,

got completely baffled and got somebody else to do it for me.

-What is the history behind this?

-Well, my father had it.

It was wrapped in a box and it was put away for some reason

and I only found it after he had died.

-So...

-Was he a surveyor?

-No, he was a stonemason by trade.

-OK.

-So he would have worked in the building trade, then.

-That's right, yes.

-He may well have been using this in the 1930s.

Although it was made about 100 years earlier than that.

We've got an inscription on the dial.

It says Abrahams,

A Abrahams & Co, Liverpool.

So it is not a London maker,

but it is still good maker.

And it is...

The whole thing is constructed in lacquered brass.

-Is this anything you guys know how to use?

-Yes, I know how to use it.

-I'm a surveyor as well.

-Oh, yeah, OK.

So did you use something similar?

Something similar but a lot later design.

This was quite a showy object.

The dial itself is a silver dial,

similar to something you would

expect to see on an 18th-century or early-19th-century longcase clock.

Or a barometer. Again, that scientific instrument type of look.

Now, what is the story with this one?

Well, this one was my father's. He was a surveyor as well.

And he was seconded to the Gold Coast Survey

in West Africa in the 1930s.

What a time to be in West Africa!

And one of his jobs was to update the maps that they had at the time.

-Which is the relevance of this little chap.

-Yes.

-OK.

-It is actually huge, so to open it up would be a bit difficult.

Is it a really massive one?

-It is a massive one.

-I'll have a look at that later.

The first thing to say is -

-the compass and this piece should be sold separately.

-Yes.

I think the map, because of its history

-with the compass, should stay together.

-OK.

So in terms of value, let's start with this one.

That is a straightforward piece.

It is a lovely quality, scientific instrument.

It is worth £250 to £350.

And you should really put a reserve of 200 on it.

If it doesn't make that, then try it in a specialist sale.

-Fine. That's fine.

-So firm reserve of 200.

-Yes.

This one...

As a compass, it's nothing exciting.

It's just what it did is exciting.

And therefore...

-I have to use my head, not my heart. 60 to 100.

-Yeah.

I think that is what it is worth.

And a firm reserve of £60.

-That would be fine.

-Is that OK?

-Yes.

-Fine.

-Really interesting.

-It has been an absolute pleasure.

-Thank you very much.

There is a very healthy market for scientific instruments, so let's

see how these particular fascinating surveyor's tools do at auction.

We love it when you bring us something a bit different,

so I've left the hustle

and bustle of the main hall to take a look at just such a collection.

# Sure plays a mean pinball! #

This music memorabilia artwork, relating to the iconic

'70s rock band The Who, is owned by one local man, John Davies.

# He stands like a statue Becomes part of the machine... #

Collector Paul Kelly has brought it in to tell me John's story.

When John listened to the songs, it would inspire him to do artwork.

And on this, he'd done a small exhibition.

And it was his friend that said to him, "Can my friend see these?"

And John said, "Yes, of course he can."

Well, a week later, he turned up with Roger Daltrey from The Who.

And John was like amazed.

Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend liked the work so much

they had John do his artwork for a book about the band.

And how did you come by this?

So, unfortunately, John was killed in a car accident in 2006.

And lo and behold, what I didn't know, John had made me

the main beneficiary to his will.

And as I was cleaning out his old house in Bramley,

I came across all these portfolios in his bedroom.

And in the portfolios was all this artwork.

-Paul, thank you so much for bringing your collection in.

-No problem.

It's great to collect rock memorabilia.

And I think you're doing the right thing with The Who, so stick at it.

Thank you very much.

As they were such great friends, Paul Kelly has an emotional

connection to the work and won't be parting with it.

But remember, if you are thinking of collecting, there is

a very strong market for original rock memorabilia.

Now, has Elizabeth got a hit with an artistic piece

crafted in a very different era?

# We got a hit. #

-David, good afternoon.

-Good afternoon.

You have brought this beautiful little sampler.

-I think it is very nice.

-Do you like it?

-Yeah.

Are you a collector of samplers?

-No, I'm not.

-You're not? So how have you acquired this?

Well, it was just a spur of the moment.

I walked into an antique centre and I saw it on display

-and I thought, "That's nice."

-Uh-huh.

-Cos I do like pictures.

-Right.

-I looked at it, it was the little label on the back

that made me interested.

Did you know the significance of the references on the label?

That's why you bought it?

The only thing that sort of gave me inspiration was

-the Earl of Coventry, so I thought, "Oh, that's history."

-Yes.

-So I bought it.

-So, how long ago was that?

-That's back in about 1978, '79.

-OK.

-Yeah.

So the name here, Mary Gunning,

and the label on the back which refers to Maria Gunning,

really it's exciting

because it sounds as though it belongs or had association with

a very famous Maria Gunning who married the Earl of Coventry,

as it says on the label.

That isn't original to the frame.

It is handwritten. But there is no proof that we can establish today...

-No.

-..that would link it to the lady who was so famous in history.

That's what I thought.

Maria Gunning, as you perhaps know, she died at the young age of 27,

in 1760,

from poisoning of all the items, all the ingredients in her face make-up.

-A bit like Queen Elizabeth I.

-Right, yes.

-She died of poisoning.

-I didn't know that.

-Yeah.

She was reputedly a lady of great beauty who made men

swoon in front of her because she was so beautiful.

But she was known to be the first person died of vanity,

so, I mean, it is all kind of very much wrapped up in that.

It is, isn't it?

It's a sampler worked in coloured wools. They are not fine silks.

They are sort of fairly robust threads on a very course

canvas ground.

From this shape of it, it is very much

a sort of Georgian sampler because it is long and thin.

It is very simple, it's got no border.

As samplers move through into the Victorian period,

they became squarer

and the border took up more of an attention to detail.

So the fact that this has a date which doesn't tell us a year

but implies it is '44, it might be 1744, it might be 1844.

It doesn't feel like it's 18th century to me.

But I love the range of stitches which are shown at the top.

That's quite an unusual feature

to have all these lovely stitches here.

It goes down to a fairly predictable alphabet

in the different upper and lower cases, the numerals.

Then we have French, which is quite unusual.

I think, realistically, you would be looking at open market

value at the moment of round about £70 to £100, which is

probably not dissimilar to what the way it was when you...

But samplers in the last 20 years I have seen,

they have risen quite steeply. Some of them still make a lot of money,

but a lot of them are quite disappointing.

To think of the age and the work that's gone into it.

-Yes.

-So on the basis of that, would you be happy to try it?

-Yes, by all means.

-And we'll put a reserve on it for you of £70.

-Yes.

Let's follow on and see the next stage of its progress.

-Thank you very much.

-No, thank you.

Even if the sampler isn't by Mary Gunning,

will the buyers be tempted by the unconfirmed connection?

James has been drawn to something very special on his table.

Angus, what can I say?

You have brought with you one fairly bashful Venus

and one rather confident Apollo.

HE LAUGHS

-Typical fella.

-LAUGHING:

-Right.

They are two of the most famous classical sculptures that we see

up and down the salerooms all over the country.

These are brown patinated bronze.

They are influenced by the originals excavated in the Grand Tour

excavations in the 18th century.

And they are by the Barbedienne foundry,

-Ferdinand Barbedienne.

-I did not know that.

But, yeah, he was a Frenchman. He was born in 1810.

But in 1838, he opened the Barbedienne foundry.

So you see round the site here, F Barbedienne Fondeur,

-foundry.

-Yep.

And they cast some of the most important bronze sculptures,

candlesticks, urns, interior design of the 19th century.

-The other thing to say is that they are not a pair.

-Aren't they?

-No, cos look, the base, slightly different shaped bases.

-Oh, yeah.

But that doesn't matter because they sell individually equally well.

What is your history with them?

My wife bought them 50+ years ago.

Her boyfriend was an antique dealer, an Irish antique dealer.

-He used to come over to England every year or so.

-Yep.

And she used to travel with him

round to different places when she got a chance.

And I think she bought them,

but it could be that he bought them for her.

And she has had them all this time.

-EMOTIONAL:

-Which I lost her about three months ago.

And they've got to go down to family.

I can't give them to one, so I want to sell them.

-OK.

-So that's the plan.

-Your wife had very good taste.

-Yeah, oh, yes.

-No answer to that.

-HE LAUGHS

And a very good eye.

Barbedienne foundry was one of the best.

They are slightly suffering

due to a little bit of surface patination wear.

This one has been dropped at some stage and has a bash on the base.

So because of that,

I'd like to put a somewhat conservative estimate on them.

-£600 to £1,000.

-Jeesh!

-Is that all right?

-Oh!

Too right.

Very much so.

I would be very disappointed

-if they didn't make upper end of the estimate.

-Lovely.

That completes three more fascinating valuations.

And what a great day it's been for interesting finds

here at the museum.

So as we say goodbye from Milestones...

It is over to the auction for the very last time to put those

valuations to the test.

And here's a quick recap of everything that is going

under the hammer.

Will the early-20th-century surveyor's instruments

belonging to John and Jean's father chart a course to success

when they go under the hammer?

And there is David's sampler

referencing the 18th-century beauty Mary Gunning.

But without proof of provenance,

would it attract the bidders?

And finally, will Angus's

mismatched bronzes which belonged

to his wife live up to expectations?

Back at the saleroom, Nick Jarrett is about to auction our next item.

-Jean and John, good luck.

-Thank you.

Two lots, one following the other one.

-We have two compasses.

-Yeah.

One for...

One is a little small hand-held compass which was used to plot

-roads in Africa.

-OK, yeah.

And the other one is the big surveyor's compass.

-Good luck with those.

-Thank you.

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

-We are starting off with the one...

-The hand-held one.

The hand-held one. This is it.

I'm going to start you here, to clear bids, at £42.

45 can I say now?

It is 42 with me. 45 anywhere?

Anybody else in at 42? At £42.

Any more?

At £42. No? At £42.

Well, I can't sell it at £42, so...

James had his doubts about that one.

-Yeah.

-Better luck with the next one.

-We've got high hopes for this one. The theodolite level.

-Yeah.

And that would've been on a tripod base, wouldn't it?

-It would.

-In its day. I mean, it is a wonderful-looking thing.

-It is. I like it.

-It is incredibly made.

-Yes.

-Well, good luck with it.

I do have a few bids on this

and I have to start you to clear them at £400.

-There we go.

-Good!

At £400. To clear other bids, at £400. And 20 is it now?

420 on the phone. 450.

470.

£500. And 20?

550. 570?

600. And 20?

At £600 with me on commission. At £600.

20 on the other phone.

620, yes?

At £620 on the other phone and I'm out here.

Are you done? At £620...

Gosh, £620!

-That's very good.

-A big smile. We like that.

That made up for the lack of interest in the first one,

-put it that way.

-Yes, it did. Thank you very much.

Although the first one didn't sell,

what a fantastic result for that surveyor's compass

that so evoked the past.

As does the next item - David's Georgian sampler.

While Nick is taking a rest, we are

now in the hands of his colleague, Andrew Smith.

I like samplers. I like those early Georgian ones.

This one is slightly different because it is telling us a story.

Well, it's a spurious connection

to Mary Gunning, which would get everybody very excited.

As it turns out, it is just a very nice sampler.

Unusually, part of it is written in French.

Rather than being an English script, it is written in French.

I think it was a very learned young lady who was doing her French

and her needlework at the same time.

-Yes. A well-educated young lady. And disciplined.

-Indeed.

-Better than I can do.

-Let's see what we can do for you.

Let's see if we can get your money back. Here we go.

It's going under the hammer.

£70.

50 then.

£50 I have, thank you. And five.

£70. Even better. At £70. And five.

£70 is on the net. And five anywhere?

At £70, are you sure?

Very last time then at £70...

-Yep, tres bien.

-Tres bien, Elizabeth.

-Tres bien.

Indeed, a delightful piece. Now, our last lot of the day -

Angus' bronze sculptures that belonged to his late wife, Jean.

Angus, your two bronzes, Venus and Apollo,

are just about to go under the hammer.

And if you look in front of the rostrum, look, you can see,

pride of place. Look.

They're great. Lovely quality casting.

Then you've got your top name.

-Yeah.

-And hopefully, top dollar. Right now, right here. Good luck.

That's what we want. This is it.

Two 19th-century bronze figures. We have two telephones.

Oh, great!

-How much?

-We've got a battle on our hands.

I'll start then at 400, which is a commission bid. At £400.

420. 450. 470.

500. My commission bid is out. £500 on the net.

550.

600. 650.

700. 750.

800. 850.

Angus...

I think we could be looking at four figures, don't you?

At £900, and we are selling. 920 to Gary's phone.

950.

-970.

-Oh, we might do. We are going to do it.

It is £970.

-£1,000.

-Ah!

£1,000 on the net.

1,050.

1,100.

To the phone at £1,050, and we are selling.

-We are selling, Angus. 1,050.

-That's great.

£1,050 then for the very last time...

-Thank you for bringing those in.

-My Jean would've loved that.

I bet she would've.

Well done, well done. Great result, James.

Great. Very, very pleased. They were my favourite thing on the day.

And a great result. Well done.

-Yeah. You take care of yourself. Well done. A pleasure.

-Thank you.

It's been a pleasure, Angus.

What a great tribute to Angus' wife who so appreciated those bronzes.

We've had some highs, not too many lows and a few tears,

but it is all in a day's work. Do join us again soon.

But until then, from Hampshire, it's goodbye.