Muncaster Castle 30 Flog It!

Today, we've come to Muncaster Castle for our valuation day.

This magnificent stately home is cloaked within the fells of Cumbria,

and there is certainly a lot of history in those old walls.

But what about history in all these bags and boxes?

-Fingers crossed, there is something interesting. Is there? ALL:

-Yes!

That's what we like to hear. That means it's time to Flog It!

16 million visitors are attracted to the Lake District every year.

This landscape has inspired some of the greatest artists,

writers and thinkers.

For famous writer Beatrix Potter,

this was the magical landscape of her children's books,

featuring characters like Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddleduck.

And for William Wordsworth,

it aroused the feeling and emotion in his poetry.

His famous daffodil poem, I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud,

is thought to have been inspired by this landscape.

What a spectacular view.

I haven't seen anything as special as that in my life before.

Over there, that's Scafell Pike, England's highest mountain.

And talking of great and big things,

just look at the size of our queue today.

That's where it ends and it goes all the way along

the front facade of this magnificent castle.

Hundreds of people have turned up,

laden with antiques and collectables, and they're all here

to see our experts to ask that all-important question, which is...

-ALL:

-What's it worth?

Stay tuned and you'll find out.

Today's experts racing to find some treasures in the queue

are Caroline Hawley and James Lewis.

Hello.

-Hello. Isn't that great?

-That's very you.

I love it.

James is always a hit with youngsters.

HE IMPERSONATES DONALD DUCK

What's that? Are you going to cry or laugh?

It always has one of those effects.

HE IMPERSONATES DONALD DUCK

Not impressed.

And Caroline never fails to find some smashing items in the crowd.

That's lovely. Very good condition.

Have you got it? Hang on to the lid.

-I'll blame you!

-Yes!

So, while everyone gets settled,

here's a quick look at what's coming up on today's show.

We get a lesson on how to be the perfect husband.

The wife said, "Don't bring it home."

Did she? Right! And do you do what your wife says?

-All the time.

-I believe you.

And some gems saved from the scrapheap.

It's a lovely thing. It's becoming quite popular.

Someone was throwing it away to a skip.

-Into a skip?

-Into a skip.

And later, I try my hand at relief printmaking,

a technique that goes back as far as the fifth century.

I'm frightened to lift that off.

-That's the exciting bit. I am too.

-Here goes. Fingers crossed.

So, let's get in and get those valuations underway.

And inside, we are surrounded by decades of history.

The castle has been home

to the Pennington family for over 800 years,

and they have a wonderful collection of fine art and antiques.

I don't know where to look first.

But there is one item I do want to point out to you

and it's this gorgeous clock.

It's a Cromwellian 30-hour lantern clock.

It's only got one hand, the hour hand.

The case was added a little bit later in 1686.

We can tell that, of course, look there, with the deep relief carving.

It's a fantastic piece that spans the generations of Penningtons.

Well, time is ticking so we'd better get on with the valuations,

and Caroline has spotted a box of tricks.

-Hello, John.

-Hello.

Have you come far this fine morning?

Yes. 64 miles.

Gosh. Well, I love boxes

and this one tells a tale, doesn't it, inside?

First of all, from the outside, it's golden oak.

Looks Victorian, 19th century to me.

-Shall we have a look inside?

-Yes.

-Right. Let's open it up.

Wow! And it's a games compendium, isn't it?

How lovely is this?

So, we've got the multipurpose board - chess and backgammon.

You know, I'm partial to a game of backgammon.

-I don't know how to play.

-Do you not?

Oh, well, there will be plenty of other games.

Now, this is the Staunton pattern chess set and, in here,

we've got the draughts.

They are all there, by the looks of it.

Dominoes. Now, do you want a quick game of doms?

-Not really.

-You what? Why? Are you scared?

-Yes!

-Are you scared I'm going to beat you?

And there's more.

We've got playing cards by De La Rue and Company, London.

If you lift that up, we've got a few things under there.

Oh. Some wooden dice,

A lovely boxwood shaker, and then the horses for the racing game.

There's only four horses, there should be six.

Once things are missing, it does make a difference

but tell me how it came into your hands.

The bin man brought it to me.

He had been offered it by a householder,

"Do you want this before I throw it in the bin?"

You bought it from this chap, did you?

Yes. And this top piece was missing and he brought it to me -

-can I make a lid for it?

-So you were a joiner, cabinet-maker?

-No, I'm really an engineer.

-But you can do a bit with wood?

Engineers can do anything.

Can they, indeed?

Clever. Do you remember what you paid?

-A tenner.

-A tenner?

Just over 30 years ago.

Now, I love to see a registration lozenge.

This dates this to 1869.

I think, in this condition, it's going to be worth 100-150,

maybe as much as £200 in today's market.

What do you feel about that, John?

It has actually been valued quite a lot more than that.

Has it? And when was that?

I think about 14 years ago.

Right. Well, I think a lot of things have gone down.

And this, sadly, is one of them.

At the moment, I wouldn't have

thought it's going to get any more than that at all.

Would you like to sell it?

-I would indeed.

-Would you like a reserve on it?

I think we should think about 150 as a reserve.

We will do that and fingers crossed it will fly away on the day.

Hours of fun all wrapped up in a fantastic box.

Look at this. Teas and cakes are being served, everybody.

Don't all rush at once, OK?

Now, James has spotted a scene to rival the one here, in Muncaster.

Deborah and Sonia,

thank you very much for bringing a rare thing today.

A watercolour! We've had hardly any pictures so far, so well done.

Where is it? What's the subject?

It's the Isle of Man and the mountain behind is Snaefell,

and it must be reasonably old, I should think.

It's an artist called Raymond Dearn.

He was prolific in the early part of the 20th century.

Died in 1925.

This is one of his later pictures.

This is dated 1921.

So, it's quite late for him but very nicely done.

Summer hay cart.

A typical landscape of the early 1910, 1920s.

It's a jolly pretty picture.

How did it come to be in your family?

Well, I used to have a bric-a-brac shop

-and it just came with some stuff...

-Yeah.

-..and I loved it.

-I used to live in the Isle of Man...

-Did you?

-..and I couldn't let it go.

It's still very natural.

A lot of natural beauty - the cliffs and the woodland and the glens.

This is a nice memory but I think it's time to downsize for my mother.

Well, it's a watercolour that will certainly find interest

in the auctions. It's not something that is hugely valuable,

but he does have a following.

I would say, an auction estimate, 80-120 would be about there.

And if you are happy to let it go for that,

I'd like to put a reserve of £80 on it as a safety net.

But, if you have different ideas, I mean,

you were trading and buying and selling before I was born, so

I'll take a step back and take some advice from you.

I'm sad but I've got to downsize.

-OK.

-I've no longer got a spacious house to put anything like that in.

-Big picture, actually, isn't it?

-We'd like it to go to a nice home,

with somebody who appreciates the view and the scene and the artist.

I'm sure it will do well.

-Yes.

-I hope you are really happy where you move to,

and don't be too disheartened about having to downsize.

-Thank you. Thank you so much.

-Thank you.

Well, there's only so much more wall space, even in a castle this big.

The Pennington family crest can be seen all over the castle.

It's on the cutlery, on the backs of chairs,

and even in the stained-glass windows,

and it features a wildcat.

Now, it may look like your average moggy but, believe me,

these are aggressive predators.

Wildcats are completely untameable,

even when they have been born into captivity.

They are one of the most elusive creatures in the world.

In the early days of the Pennington family,

wildcats would have been found across the British mainland,

but are now confined to the Scottish Highlands.

It's not uncommon for families to use animals on their crests,

and the Penningtons chose a wildcat because not only were they local to

the area at the time

but they were also a symbol of bravery and determination -

values that the family can identify with.

To make especially sure that these values are not forgotten,

it's now a family tradition

to always have a cat prowling the castle.

Now, let's see what's crossed Caroline's path.

Hello, Veronica.

-Hello, Caroline.

-Are you local to here?

-I am.

-Do you have any connections with Muncaster?

My husband did a little bit of rewiring for them at one time

because he lived close by.

-A LITTLE bit of rewiring? It's enormous!

-It is enormous.

Wow. And this is lovely too.

-Mm.

-"Mm"? Does that mean you don't like it, Veronica?

-Tell me.

-Well, I'm not too keen.

I can see little, pretty things.

You know, the flowers... I can see there's a bit of work gone into it.

Right. And how come you've got it, then?

My husband rescued it.

Somebody had made it into an electric lamp

-and were throwing it away into a skip.

-Into a skip?

Into a skip. And my husband asked if he could have it,

so they gave it to him, and he has tidied it up a little bit.

I think it's great. And you're lucky, having a husband that's

an electrician and has wired it up for you.

-Do you know the make?

-No.

Don't know anything about it, really.

Right. It's Zsolnay, which is a Hungarian make,

and the company started in 1853.

It's pottery and cast.

It's in really very, very good condition.

There's a little bit of crazing, if you look closely on the pottery.

You can see on the glaze it is slightly crazed.

But not bad at all.

And it should have a blueprinted mark or an impressed mark, Zsolnay,

on the base. But of course, you can't see it

because it's covered with this cast base and brass stand.

But it's a lovely thing.

It's becoming quite popular and it sells quite well on the Continent,

and the Hungarians are buying this back.

Now, I would say it dates from sort of late 19th century.

It's good colouring.

It's not going to be worth a fortune, but I would think £50-£80.

-Oh.

-Yeah? Is that a good price?

-Yeah.

-It's not bad for the skip, is it?

-It's more than what I thought!

Is it? Well, I think it would certainly get £50.

Would you like a reserve on it?

-50.

-Would you like a 50 reserve?

-Mm-hm.

-Well, I'm sure, as eggs is eggs, this will sell.

-Very good. Thank you.

-Thank YOU, Veronica.

Well, there you are. Our first three items found,

and we've been working flat out. We're halfway through the day

-and everyone's still enjoying themselves, aren't you? ALL:

-Yeah!

Yes, that's the main thing. Let's put them to the test.

Here's a quick recap just to jog your memory of all the items we are

taking along to go under the hammer.

There's fun for everyone with this Victorian games compendium.

And this pretty picture by Raymond Dearn

should catch the eye of the collectors.

And Veronica will definitely get something for nothing

after finding this lamp in a skip.

Now we're heading north to Carlisle,

which is the most northerly city in England,

and the only one in Cumbria.

It's situated about 10 miles from the Scottish border,

which is why the English built a castle here in 1092.

So we just might be in for a few skirmishes today.

The battleground is Thomson, Roddick and Medcalf salerooms.

And on the rostrum is John Thomson and Stephen Parkinson.

At 150 on the telephone.

15.

Do remember there is commission to pay when you're buying at auction.

It's 15% on the hammer plus VAT, so do factor that in.

You don't want to get caught out.

Right, let's catch up with our owners.

£150.

Now it's the luck of the dice on this one.

Well, if you like a game of chess or backgammon or dominoes,

this lot is for you.

It's that wonderful Victorian games box belonging to John.

There's a couple of bits missing, but it's really, really nice, John.

And good on you. You got this from the binmen for a tenner.

John's an engineer, so you fashioned the lid.

-Yeah.

-And you're a jack of all trades, really, then, aren't you?

Yeah. Engineers can do anything.

Yes, I've been looking for one.

They can. They work to the minutest of millimetres, don't they?

-Yeah.

-Yes. Right, we're going to put this to the test now.

-Fingers crossed, John...

-Yeah.

-..it makes you a healthy profit.

-Ready for this?

-Yeah.

-Here we go.

OK. The Edwardian compendium there.

Lot of people looking at this. This is a nice one.

Can we start up in here with £100?

110 is next, if you like.

At 110, 120. 120.

130, 140.

-We're in.

-140, 150.

-150.

-At 150, 160.

Anybody else? At 150.

160. 160 is at the back of the room.

160. At 170.

-180.

-Go on, Stephen.

-Good auctioneering.

-190.

At 190 in the room.

It's going to sell. Be quick. At 190.

Is that it? Are we all done?

At 190. At 190.

-That's yours.

-Hammer's gone down.

-Checkmate.

-Are you pleased with that, John?

-Oh, yes.

-Well done. And thank you for bringing it.

I need a motability scooter, so that's...

-Oh, do you?

-Yes.

-The money is going towards that.

-Yes.

Great. I'm glad it did well.

380, 400. 420.

Now, how will this Raymond Dearn watercolour fare?

Sonia and Deborah, I like this watercolour.

Raymond Dearn. The Isle of Man.

You got this when you had an antique shop in the Isle of Man.

Yes. I had an antiques yard.

A yard?

-Oh.

-With little wooden buildings...

-Those were the days!

-..and filled up with all sorts.

Aw, did you make a good living doing that, or did you...?

Oh, I did. I did.

It was just the joy of doing it.

Let's put this to the test. It's going under the hammer now.

-Good luck, both of you.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

I'm going to start at 100 precisely.

At £100 for Harvesting On The Isle Of Man.

100. £100.

100, 110, 120.

130, 140, 150,

160, 170, 180.

£180. 180.

At £180.

-All done.

-We're selling, aren't we?

£180.

-That's good, isn't it?

-And we'll be using the money to take my mother on

holiday, to sort of go where she was born in Wales and Gloucestershire

-areas.

-Oh, that's nice.

-Trace the family ancestry.

What a great idea to downsize and go on holiday.

380.

The lamp is a reminder to us all to keep our eyes open, because...

This has been chucked in a skip.

So, did you not fancy sort of putting a shade on it and, you know,

getting it working and using it?

Well, it was put in a cupboard for the last six years.

Oh, right. You never did anything with it?

We never did get around to doing it.

-Cracking lamp base.

-Yeah. It's gorgeous.

-Yeah.

-We've all got cupboards, haven't we,

probably full of stuff that we don't put out?

I'm frightened to open my cupboard doors now,

cos they're tipping, falling over. And it all falls out and you have

to get on your hands and knees and shove it all back in.

It's just like, "Oh, no.

"I dare not open those again for another two months."

Yeah, look, good luck with it, OK?

-Oh, thank you.

-This is great value for money.

Here we go.

How nice is this? This is a cracker, isn't it?

I've got quite a lot of bids here.

At 60, 70, 80,

90, 100, 110.

At 110 bid. 120 bid on the internet.

-At 120.

-Oh!

At 120, 130. Anybody else? At 120.

130. At 130 bid.

At 140 bid. At 150.

At 160. 160, 160. 170.

I'm coming to the skip with you next time.

I'm already in it!

170. 180's next, if you like.

At 170. Is that it?

At 180. Can have a go in the room, if you want.

At 170.

At 170...

-Hammer's gone down. £170.

-Wow!

-From a skip.

-There you go.

-I didn't think it would sell.

Stuffed it in the cupboard, found it in a skip.

That's a good return on nothing.

It certainly is.

Well, that's our first three lots done and dusted.

Some great results and some happy owners.

Now, before we return to our valuation day at Muncaster Castle

to find some more antiques to put under the hammer,

I want to show you an art form

that has inspired great impressionists

of the past - the likes of Van Gogh, Matisse and Picasso.

Cumbria's lakes, mountains and fells

have been a source of inspiration for many great artists,

like John Ruskin and JMW Turner.

It's a privilege to be in such a beautiful part of England,

and just down the road from our valuation day venue

in Muncaster Castle is the village of Ravenglass.

I've come to meet an artist whose work has led him back in time to

the ancient art of relief printing.

Historically, relief printing

has been used by artists as an alternative to painting.

One such artist is Mark Pearce, and he lives right there.

Mark grew up here in Cumbria and, after many years working

as an award-winning graphic designer in London,

he decided to return and convert his property into a home and studio.

Here, he can practise his passion for painting and printmaking.

Great studio, Mark.

Pleased to meet you.

-Hello.

-I was going to say, "What attracted you to relief printing?"

but I can see what attracted you.

Look at this, and what a view!

I've always enjoyed the colours, and looking at things.

It's simple, really. But relief print making was when I first went

to college, and I've loved it ever since.

What was the attraction?

Well, the attraction to me was literally looking at an image,

seeing it in terms of layers of colour.

You know, one layer on top of another colour,

what two colours do when they overlap.

I've spent the rest of my life designing for print.

As a graphic designer.

Or just... I look at a landscape and I see it in layers.

Pure, flat colour, I love it.

Most relief printing, you normally see five or six colours.

-Oh, yeah. Lots of different colours.

-But you're using 20-odd colours.

What I was trying to do with my prints

was to get a bit of atmosphere in,

like the landscape painters would have done,

rather than the very graphic poster-type images,

which don't really have the light effects and the reflections

-and the atmosphere.

-So where do you start?

It is a bit like making a watercolour, because I put down

-a layer of colour like this...

-OK.

..and then protect what I've printed in that colour

by cutting it off the block. And I start with

the lightest colours and work towards the darkest.

-Darkest colours.

-..cos I can't print a pale yellow over the top

of a dark maroon, or something.

And it's not until I get to put them down, the later colours,

that I start to get the effect, you see.

I love it. It is so detailed and so colourful.

I want to have a go. Obviously not something technical like that,

but just an outline image of something.

We'll find some blocks and get you some tools, and you can get started.

Brilliant.

Mark's print craft has a long and illustrious history.

The process of relief printing first appeared in Chinese textiles in the

fifth century, but it wasn't until the 1300s that the art form reached

Europe. In the 16th century,

artists like Durer took relief printmaking to another level.

Durer's ability to produce fine detail and elaborate imagery

revolutionised the medium.

More recently, the likes of Matisse and Picasso also used the process as

a form of expression.

So I've got a piece of traditional lino.

Yeah, and you could have had a piece of wood or anything else that is a

flat surface you could cut into to make a relief block from.

Which you're going to do by using these tools.

Little V gouges. OK. I'm inspired by that water out there,

because I grew up in Cornwall, and I've picked a shell.

Look, I've picked a shell up. I'm going to try and copy that.

-So basically keep it simple, yeah?

-Yeah, absolutely.

All right.

So something like that, yeah? It's loosely a shell, isn't it?

It's good. Yes, yes. It's a very simple graphic shape.

-The best kind of thing, really.

-Which one shall I start with?

Ah. I like this one the best.

It's just a versatile, expressive tool.

And can you push at varying degrees of strength?

That will make the line narrower or broader.

So you've got to keep the same pressure on?

Yeah, if you want a smooth line, yes.

Sometimes it's quite nice to jerk it around a bit and get some...

-feeling into it.

-Oh, OK.

I can see why you enjoy this.

Do you know, I'm pushing incredibly hard and it's...

It's quite tough, isn't it?

-It's tough!

-Yes.

-It IS tough. Yeah.

Right, there we go.

-How's that?

-Well, that's a start.

-That's a start.

At least you can see it's a shell, can't you?

-That's right.

-Can I put a few lines running down?

-Right. Yes, I would.

-I'd do everything I could see.

-Would you?

-Yes. As an artist,

what you do is you look at something and you see something you want to

share with someone else, and express it. So, yeah.

The other thing you could think about doing is clearing

the area around it so that it was a shape.

Does it matter if I go off the lino to get that line?

-No, of course not, no.

-Cos I...

-There are no rules, really.

-OK.

Phew!

-Ready to print.

-Yeah?

-Confident?

-Yes.

What I'm doing now is I'm just wiping off the black paint which

made it easier for you to see where you were cutting before

cos we're going to put some coloured ink on here now.

There we are. If we make a pale version of ultramarine...

-OK.

-..by mixing some white.

And I only put a little bit of blue in there, so...

add it a little bit at a time.

The whole art of this thing is judging colour.

-Yeah.

-And then if you want that pale blue to be greener or pinker,

we can make it warmer or colder by adding another colour.

Now to see how that's going to look on white.

-You can see it's a lot darker.

-It does. It looks better when you

actually put it onto the white surface.

I like that. That's the perfect hue.

So do we now use the roller and...

-That's right.

-Over it a few times?

That's right. But you don't want to get too much.

Get a nice, even film on the roller.

That looks about right.

-Happy?

-Yeah. Because it's even on the roller,

it should be even on the lino. Lovely.

-Backwards as well?

-Yes, backwards, forwards.

That's right. That looks pretty good. Yeah.

-Right. Move that on.

-That protects the outside of the print.

What happens next? Are we going to roll this out

with a piece of paper on the top of it? OK.

Line it with the edge of that.

-OK.

-Right.

Now, we just roll it through.

Ready?

-This will be the moment of truth.

-That's it. Then back.

I'm frightened to lift that off.

-That's the exciting bit. I am too!

-Here goes. Fingers crossed.

That's not bad, is it?

It's pretty good. I was worried it wasn't going to come out at all.

I had my fingers crossed there.

Getting that ink right is quite a difficult thing to judge.

-Yeah.

-I would print two or three more, quickly.

I'll tell you what, I'm really pleased with that.

It's not bad for my first attempt. I'm going to quit while I'm ahead.

I'm not going to do any more. I like it a lot.

But you can see the amount of work involved, not just with

the initial idea, getting the inspiration, using the gouge,

but getting the right amount of ink in that print run.

It's crucial. But I tell you what, long may this art form continue,

because I think that it's so invigorating.

Love it to bits.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-If everyone could take out one or two of their star objects

for me, that would be great.

Welcome back to Muncaster Castle, our magnificent valuation day venue.

Well, as you can see, the crowds are still here.

The sun is shining, so it's time to catch up with our experts

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

James has spotted an item fit for a castle.

Gloria, I have to say, normally when somebody says,

"I have an oak and silver-plated ice bucket," I go, "Oh, no.

"How am I going to let them down and tell them it's worth a tenner?"

Because most of them are.

But that is fantastic.

I love it.

I mean, what better place can you be, looking at a castle ice bucket,

but in a castle itself?

Tell me about your ice bucket.

My grandmother gave me this about 15 years ago.

It used to be in her china cabinet.

And I always said to her that when she dies, could I have it?

So she actually gave me it about ten years before she actually died.

But I never asked any questions about it, so...

I don't know how long she'd had it or where it came from.

The great thing about it is the word novelty.

And as soon as you're able to see a novelty postbox,

a novelty sauce boat, a novelty ice bucket,

that sort of doubles, trebles, quadruples its value,

if it's interesting.

A plain one of these, without the castle link,

would be worth, as I say, £10 or £20.

But this one's super. I've never seen one like it.

It dates to about 1870, 1880.

The mounts are silver-plated.

There are no date codes on there at all.

It has dried out over the years.

-Yeah.

-And these little bits here, it's all a bit rickety.

But it's made in strips of oak, so it's coopered like a barrel.

And all it needs is putting back together in a clamp and re-glueing

and it will be fine.

The difficulty is, if this was a postbox,

a novelty country-house postbox, the same shape,

maybe just six inches higher with a slot saying "Letters",

I think it would be worth £1,000-£1,500

because novelty postboxes are really popular.

But it's not. It's an ice bucket.

But exactly the same quality, exactly the same shape,

but just slightly smaller.

And there's going to be a hugely different valuation.

This one, I think, would be 100-150.

Well, that's a fair one, isn't it?

I think we should protect it with a reserve,

and if it didn't make £100, then you ought to try it again.

And if it doesn't make that, I'll have it.

No, I'm joking. I'll get into big trouble.

That's definitely a cool castle.

Are all of these yours?

Now, Caroline's found a collection of memories.

Hello, George.

-How are you?

-Well, thanks.

-Good.

Better for seeing this.

So what have you brought along here?

Well, it's an album that, when my great-aunt died,

I found this in one of the drawers,

and it seems to be a record of

her sisters writing to each other.

And they travelled around a bit, and wherever they went,

it seems as if they sent a postcard home.

What sort of period?

About 1900 to 1906, something like that.

Shall we have a look at a few?

-Be my guest.

-Let's see what there is.

You see, nowadays, they're almost finished.

-They're almost extinct.

-Postcards? Oh, yeah.

You know, young people do not send postcards any more.

You know, it's all done by phone, and it's done immediately.

-Exactly.

-You send a picture from the other side of the world.

-Exactly.

-But in the days, in the Edwardian times,

it was a huge thing.

So there's a mixture of cards, isn't there?

Fabulous. Now, let me get my glasses and see what this says.

"To Miss A Graham.

"Dear Ada, Mother received parcel safe.

"Many thanks for your PCs."

-Postcards, that'll be. You see? Text speak, even then.

-Yeah.

"I will be 19 on the 17th of November.

-"Florrie."

-She was the sister of Lizzie.

-Who was the sister of Ada?

-Yeah.

-That's wonderful.

And the postmark is October 26th, 1907.

And then we have here...

-May I take it out?

-Yes, certainly.

Now, here we've got a fire engine.

-Mm-hm.

-Can you see all the firemen around it?

-Yeah.

See, and that's a lovely photographic card.

Ah, now what's this? Ah, the Lusitania!

This was launched by Cunard in 1906, and at that time,

it was the world's largest passenger ship.

That sank, didn't it, in the war?

-Yes. It did.

-First World War.

-It did, yes.

Yes, it was. There's quite a few humorous ones,

-aren't there?

-Oh, yes.

-Somebody...

Advice to a young man about to get married.

"It's good practice to feed the cats on cold nights for preference."

-I think that's getting him into training for being a dad, don't you?

-Exactly.

But the whole collection is fantastic.

And there's about 200 postcards here.

And they're very popular at auction.

I can't tell you the exact price of any one of these,

but the postcard collectors and dealers will know.

It's like stamps. Yeah, you know, it's a good collection

and it spans a short part of the lifetime of these sisters,

-doesn't it?

-Yeah.

-And I think this could easily get

£200-£300 at auction.

Very good.

-You happy with that?

-Oh, yeah!

The wife said, "Don't bring it home."

Oh, did she? Right.

-And do you do what the wife says?

-All the time.

-LAUGHING:

-Do you?

I believe you. Brilliant.

But, money aside, it's just a fabulous record.

Thank you very much.

On the 7th of May 1915,

the British ocean liner the Lusitania

became a casualty of World War I

after being torpedoed off the coast of Ireland by a German submarine.

EXPLOSIONS

There were more than 1,900 people on board, and tragically,

1,191 people perished at sea.

Returning from New York, there were a great number of Americans onboard,

and the disaster is considered by many

to have swayed American public opinion against Germany,

and may have contributed to America entering the war.

Back at the tables, and James has found some items

belonging to a soldier of the Great War.

Peter, I have to say,

this, for me, is a first.

I very rarely do musical instruments on Flog It!

And to start with this one, it's quite interesting,

because if we take the violin and look inside,

it has the label for the great Antonius Stradivarius.

1721.

I've seen Stradivarius violins make hundreds of thousands of pounds.

But sadly, it's a fake.

LAUGHTER

Oh!

You knew it. But they didn't.

LAUGHTER

I wasn't winding you up. But we were having a bit of fun.

Sorry, guys.

We see them day in, day out in the auction rooms,

and that's worth about 30 quid.

But tell me about these.

Well, this is my mam's uncle that died in the First World War.

He was killed by a sniper, and this was his violin.

And he was... You know, we don't even know what he did as a living

before he went in the Army.

-Really?

-Just this was his instrument that he played, supposedly very,

very well. So basically, you know,

I just want somebody to appreciate what it is.

He was clearly a local man.

We've got a photograph there

with a Carlisle photographer's name on there.

-Yes.

-What regiment was he in?

The Border Regiment.

It's a really interesting mix,

because not only do we have his violin,

we've got the death plaque.

Gilbert Messenger.

That's his name.

These were cast in bronze and given to the next of kin

of every soldier, airman and seaman that were in the First World War.

We've also got two of the three medals.

You've got three ribbons, but only two medals.

And they were commonly known as Pip, Squeak and Wilfred,

after the three cartoon characters that were popular then.

But the lovely thing is this.

And I've never seen one of these.

Field service postcard.

And it's almost like a quick scribble-out,

choose one of the options...

That's what it is. You couldn't give any more information, just in case,

you know, the enemy interrupted it and said,

"We're going to march to somewhere."

-Yeah.

-You know, so it was just basically, "Are you well?

"Are you injured?"

It has various options that you're meant to scribble out.

It says, "I have been admitted to hospital.

"I am sick. I am wounded.

"I hope to be discharged soon.

"I am being sent down to the base" or "I am quite well."

And, gladly for him at this stage, he was quite well.

It says, "I have received your letter, 6th of the 11th, 1916."

So we know he was alive then.

-Yes.

-So he made it through the first two years of the war.

In terms of value, it's not a huge value.

I would say...

£120-£180.

Something like that for the militaria.

The violin's another 30.

So if we said £150-£200...

-Yeah.

-..I think we're about there.

At the minute, it's just sitting in a drawer.

-Doing nothing.

-Nobody sees it. Nobody thinks about it.

-Aw.

-At least this way, somebody will see it,

can relate the person's face to their medals.

If somebody collects them, they're going to get some interest on it.

I've met a lot of military historians,

and they actually do so much research

into the person, what they did,

how they were killed, whether they were mentioned in dispatches.

And by selling them, his story will live on.

So I think it's quite a good thing to do.

And objects like these will ensure

that we never forget their sacrifice.

We've reached the end of a fabulous day at Muncaster Castle.

And here's a quick recap just to jog your memories of all the items

that are going under the hammer.

We have to keep our cool when it comes to this novelty ice bucket.

And there's a few laughs in this collection

of around 200 postcards from the early 20th century.

And surely the collectors will be drawn

to the World War I memorabilia and violin.

We're back in Carlisle, and the auction room is in full swing.

400. 420. All finished.

Thank you, sir.

Well, things are certainly hotting up in the saleroom right now.

We need cooling down,

and what better way to do it than with Gloria's ice bucket?

And we love it! We really do.

-It's a good one. I've never seen one like it.

-No, neither have I.

That's why I actually brought it, to see what it was, basically.

-Did you ever use it?

-No.

Put money in it.

LAUGHTER

I think this is going to get the top end plus.

Ready? This is exciting, isn't it?

-Yes.

-This is what auctions are all about. You never know what's going to happen.

Fingers crossed it really flies. We're going to find out right now.

I'm going to start at 60.

60 bid. £60.

70. 80. 90.

It's up in the room over there.

100. 120.

130, 140,

150, 160.

170 with Catherine. 180.

190, 200.

Yes!

200. 220.

240.

260, 280.

300. 320.

340. 360.

£360.

Best-looking ice bucket on the planet.

360.

£360! SHE LAUGHS

-I didn't even think it would make the reserve.

-Didn't you?

-No!

-Wonderful quality.

-Yeah.

-And that's what the bidders liked about it.

-Thank you.

Well, thank YOU for bringing it in as well.

A great result for Gloria, and next up, the postcard collection.

Where shall we start this one? £100, anybody?

100. 80 bid. At £80.

We have lots of surprises with postcard albums, as you know.

This is a cracking lot. 200-300 we've got on this.

-Yep.

-But there's a lot of cards there.

-Yeah.

-Some of them are worth 50p, some are worth £10.

-Yeah, yeah.

And they'll have been well looked over today, George.

-We found one with Penny Lane on, didn't we?

-We did!

-Did you?

-In Liverpool, yes.

-Yes, Liverpool.

-Penny Lane.

You see, the value's just gone up. THEY LAUGH

Let's find out what this lot think.

It's going under the hammer now. Good luck, both of you. Here we go.

873.

We've got this early 20th-century postcard album.

Quite a lot of interest in this one.

We're going to start at 100 bid. At 100.

Oh, I thought he'd say 300!

100, 100. 110.

120.

130. 140.

150, 160.

170, 180.

190, 200.

We're going 10s now. 200, 210,

220, 230, 240.

-Keep going!

-Well done. Keep going, yeah.

270, 280.

290, 300.

310, 320.

-That's just half the album.

-Yeah, yeah.

350, 360.

370, 380.

380. Is that it? You out?

At 380.

Are we all sure? At 380.

That's yours.

-Yes!

-Delighted.

-Yes, I bet you are!

We always have surprises with those.

-Yeah, absolutely.

-Because a lot of those images that you see

-don't exist any more, do they?

-No.

It's a record of our social history.

-It's a document.

-Yeah.

-I'm delighted.

Thankfully, you hung on to them all those years.

-Yep.

-You know, and didn't just throw them away, or stick them in...

-Exactly.

-..in a car-boot sale.

-The wife's pleased they're gone.

-Is she?

-Yeah.

-It's always good to keep your wife pleased.

-HE LAUGHS

At 380.

Done.

And now the World War I memorabilia.

Good luck, Peter, with this.

I know James is getting really, really excited, saying, "This is the big one!"

I know you've only got £150-£200 on this,

but it's the World War I memorabilia.

The violin, the Stradivarius. We know that's a copy.

But you've got some medals and a death plaque.

This man has sold lots of medals in his day in his saleroom.

What is special about these?

The great thing about militaria is you can go back,

tap a name into the internet, it tells you lots of things about him.

The auction house have done their research.

This guy was a stretcher bearer for a local regiment.

And the fact that he died in action

all combines with all the history as well...

-With that wonderful provenance.

-Born no more than seven miles away

-from here.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, it's great, actually.

It's got every element, and I think these guys are going to do

-a really good job for us.

-Right, OK.

Sit back and enjoy this, OK?

Here we go. It's going under the hammer.

I think we'll start at 800.

£800 I'm bid.

£800 I'm bid for the Lonsdale Battalion medal.

Straight in at £800!

1,000. 1,100. 1,200.

1,300.

1,400. 1,500.

£1,500.

-Well!

-£1,500 I'm bid.

What did... What?!

-What did we miss?

-Maybe it is a Stradivarius!

HE LAUGHS

1,500. Last call.

£1,500.

-You've got to be surprised with that!

-Yeah!

-You'd have been

happy with the 150 if we'd stuck to the original estimate.

I was happy just someone else getting the buzz out of it,

especially paying such a good amount for it.

-Thank you so much for bringing them in.

-No problem.

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

We said there was going to be one big surprise!

From £150, we stuck another nought on it, didn't we?

£1,500, bang on the hammer.

There you go. It's goodbye from Carlisle.