Greenwich 21 Flog It!

This magnificent hall in the Old Royal Naval College

in Greenwich is one of England's greatest art treasures and we're

feeling very privileged today, because we're making this

the base for our valuations.

While the crew make sure everything is in place,

all I need to say is, "Welcome to Flog It!"

The Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich is one of London's

most famous riverside landmarks.

In the past, visitors to Greenwich were encouraged to arrive via

the River Thames so they could fully appreciate the formation of

this classic masterpiece.

The celebrated architect, Sir Christopher Wren, designed

the buildings in the late 1600s as a refuge for old and injured sailors.

Well, I've come outside to meet all of these lovely people.

Hundreds of them from London and beyond,

laden with antiques and collectables.

In a few minutes, we'll be getting them inside

so they can find the answer to that all-important question, which is...

What's it worth?

Stay tuned and you'll find out.

Helping steer us through the valuations today

are experts Jonathan Pratt...

You see watches have a maritime theme, of course, and

here we are in the naval college.

Watches were used for timekeeping and navigation, as well.

And Philip Serrell.

I see no ships.

No, there's nothing there at all, is there?

But putting them together could mean a lot of horsing around.

-Isn't that lovely, JP.

-What have you got there, then?

-Well, it's Muffin the Mule, isn't it?

-Is it Muffin the Mule?

-What's it worth?

-I'm not old enough to remember Muffin the Mule.

Thank you very much! What is it worth, mate,?

About a pony, I would have thought.

While everyone gets seated, here's a quick look at what's coming up.

Philip Serrell is training up the next generation of experts.

-When I ask you, you go 50 quid, all right?

-OK.

-What do you think that's worth, Harry?

-£50.

He's good, isn't he? He's really very, very good.

And Jonathan has a favourite fan.

I'm rather drawn to this one.

I don't know if it's the naked ladies bathing,

but it's a bit of a racy subject, which is kind of nice.

And later on in the show, I'm aboard this national treasure.

The Cutty Sark was one of the fastest sailing ships the world had

ever seen in the mid-19th century.

Here she stands in all her glory, having survived the high seas,

hurricanes and even fire.

While everybody's getting themselves settled in,

I'd like to show you the artist behind all of this masterpiece.

Sir James Thornhill painted himself in,

like a self-portrait, onto the mural on the back wall here.

Here he is, look, in all his splendour with his wig and with his

palette and brushes, which you can see the oil's already mixed up.

Thornhill painted directly onto dry plaster and there are

a number of themes running through all the murals here from

royal patronage right onto the maritime trade.

Although he also worked at Blenheim Palace and on St Paul's Cathedral,

this is what he is best known for.

He received a knighthood for his work here.

It's hardly surprising, really, it's absolutely breathtaking.

Right, now let's catch up with our expert, Philip,

and hopefully he's found something worthy of some honours.

-Jill, Paul.

-Hello.

-Phil. How are you, all right?

-Fine, thank you.

-Fine, thank you.

How long has this been in the family?

Um, it was my father's.

We've had it for as long as we can remember.

Has he been an avid clock collector?

-Yeah, he used to be an amateur... watch...

-Repairer.

-Horologist.

-Horologist.

-Horologist.

-OK.

-Yeah. I've not heard that, but...

Well, do you know how old this is?

-Er, I think it's Regency.

-How do you know that?

-Because one of your experts...

-Oh! That's unfair!

That is so unfair.

-Oh!

-He's absolutely right.

What I love about this business is that there's no magic to it at all.

It's just a question of using your eyes.

If you start at the top here, if you think of the Brighton Pavilion.

-Oh, yeah.

-Pineapple finials.

Oh, yeah.

-You've got this almost fan-shaped pagoda top.

-Yes.

It's made out of rich mahogany.

These spandrels, they're typical of that late Regency period.

This is called a bracket clock.

This would sit on a wooden bracket on a wall

in all its glory.

This has problems, OK?

This is mahogany

and it's all veneered,

but if you look down there,

you've got a massive problem with your veneers.

So whoever's going to buy this clock

they've got to get a good furniture man to restore the veneers here.

So it is repairable, then?

-Everything's repairable - but it's at what cost?

-Right.

Let's just open this up here.

The light's a bit better if I just spin it round.

There we've got the movement.

Now, what I don't quite understand is this pendulum.

Right? Because that

should fit in there,

-but if it does, it isn't going to swing, is it?

-No.

So I'm not convinced that this pendulum goes with this clock.

I wonder whether your dad bought this as a bit of a project

and perhaps he intended to sort out the veneers here.

Perhaps he was wondering if he could alter this pendulum.

That might be the case. Do you want to sell this?

Yes, I do.

Let's turn it around and put it in all of its glory, shall we?

Um, if you're sure

-that this is the only pendulum that you've got.

-I think so.

Leave it with it and we'll put it with an auction estimate

of £200 to £400.

Give the auctioneer 10% discretion

and we'll see where it goes.

All we've got to hope is that time flies, haven't we?

Well, yes, our experts definitely aren't wasting time today and

it looks like Jonathan has already spotted something

right up my street.

-Welcome, Ann.

-Thank you very much.

-What a beautiful room we're in here.

It's absolutely fabulous.

Yes, and looking at this object, it doesn't look out of place.

What do you know about this?

This was found by my uncle in the 1980s

in the attic of a house he was living in.

He passed it onto my father, between them they were trying

to find out where it actually came from.

-Right.

-And it finally finished up in my hands.

-What first strikes me about it is the wood, which is rosewood.

-Lovely.

Quite an exotic wood.

It was a very fashionable wood at a specific time,

predominantly at the end of the Georgian period,

running up to the Victorian period, around the 1840s, circa 1840.

-This panel on the top is carved...

-Right.

..from the wood and you've got this amazing acanthus

on this coffer shape.

It's really a magnificently made piece of furniture, almost.

I just love the colour of it.

Then we look inside

and up it comes and it's a good old solid top

and inside we've got a book.

Immediately this looks a little bit more florid.

This is a typically Victorian, maybe late Victorian monogram.

Watered silk lining and then that... Gosh.

That strikes me almost a sort of medieval illuminated manuscript.

-Yes.

-What have we got on here?

It says, "Address of congratulation,

"John Muir Hetherington,

"esquire, upon his marriage."

And then the date - "March."

-1891.

-1891.

What is this?

Well, the Hetherington family owned a factory in Manchester...

Right.

..which manufactured machine parts for the textile industry

and John Muir Hetherington was one of the sons of the family.

OK, so this is sort of an explanation of the business.

It's a short description of the business.

Then we've got a list of the employees.

But it goes on and on and on and there are 500,

or 600 people listed in here.

-It was a large factory.

-A large factory.

So that's a lot of people in the Manchester area

-working for this company.

-Yes.

What strikes me is it's possibly...

That this is at a point where the son's inheriting the business.

I think this was a sort of a ledger to pass on as a wedding gift,

"Here you are, son, you're now in charge."

-Lovely.

-It could well be.

My feeling is the box alone is worth £800 to £1,200, my feeling.

Um, the book is very hard to put a value to.

-Mm-hm.

-I think, combined,

the valuation would be between £1,000 and £1,500.

Would you sell it at £1,000 or £1,500.

-At that price, yes.

-OK.

If it had been my family, then, no, that would've stayed in the family.

-Yes, exactly.

-Thank you very much,

Uncle, you've found it, you've passed it through and I would

love to pass it onto somebody else who can appreciate it.

Brilliant, thank you very much,

it's such a brilliantly crafted thing with such a brilliant history.

I can't wait to sell this.

There's a lot more to find out about it, as well.

I tell you what, it's good to catch up with the crowd here.

-Are you all enjoying the surroundings?

-Yes.

-I bet you come here often, don't you?

-Well, I like to think so.

Have you been here many times before?

No, this is my first.

How far away do you live, then?

-If you think of the Elephant and Castle.

-It's not far.

That's my nearest landmark.

That's a couple of miles down the river, isn't it?

-Yes.

-So you've got to come here more often.

What do you think of that?

I love it, I'm speechless. I'm really speechless.

-I'm enjoying the view, including you.

-Oh, thank you very much.

I'll tell you what, you might be one of the lucky ones going

through to the auction later on.

So let's join up with our experts and we've got

a lot of people still here in the room.

-Do you like watches?

-I do like watches, very much so.

-That's one of THE makes, isn't it? A Rolex Oyster.

-Mm-hm.

Do you know anything about Rolex?

All I know is I've got one myself and my brother's got one as well.

-Really?

-Yes. Both 18th birthday presents.

-Is that from your dad?

-Yes, it was.

-He's a real watch man.

-He was a watch man, yes.

-Was this his?

-That was his, yes.

So Rolex was set up by Hans Wilsdorf in 1905.

Right.

This is an Oyster.

The Oyster movement was set up in 1926.

And in 1927 there was a swimmer called Mercedes Gleitze.

-She swam the channel wearing her Rolex Oyster.

-Right.

When she got out, having done her ten-hour swim,

the watch was still in perfect working order and it was called

an Oyster, apparently, because Wilsdorf said

it's just like an oyster.

It's almost impossible to get into.

It won't let water in, it won't let dust in,

it won't let whatever in.

Why do you want to sell this?

It's just not a watch that I was going to be wearing,

neither my brother.

And we've both got them, so we just thought we'll sell it

and use the money to separate between the two.

Do you remember your dad wearing this?

Yes, I do, he used to wear it all the time and

then he just stopped wearing it and got another Rolex.

OK. It's stainless steel.

It's not gold.

What's it going to make at auction?

The interesting thing for me is that in the last ten or 15 years

watches have gone through the roof

in terms of price.

The reason for that,

now this is no tax advice here,

so I've got to lay that clearly.

You don't pay capital gains tax on watches.

So if you buy a Rolex watch today for £10,000,

-and you sell it in three years' time for £40,000...

-Yeah.

..that's yours. There is no CGT on it.

Having said that, I don't think we're going to be paying

capital gains tax on your dad's stainless steel watch.

My idea of an estimate for it is £200 to £300.

That, I think, is a sensible estimate.

Give the auctioneer 10% discretion.

Now the thing is, it's going to go on the internet

and so the world will know it's available.

-Yeah.

-So...

..if it's worth £300, £400, £500, it will make it.

I don't have any worries about it at all.

Are you happy with that?

-Yeah, it's fine, perfect.

-Thanks for coming along.

-Thank you very much.

Well, the atmosphere's certainly buzzing and hundreds of people are

enjoying the impressive surroundings.

Our experts have worked flat-out and we have found our first items

to take off to auction.

I've got my favourites, you've probably got yours.

Let's find out what the bidders think.

Here's a quick recap of all the items that are going under

the hammer.

Although we can't make more time,

let's hope we can make more money with this Regency bracket clock.

This rosewood box found in an attic has the craftsmanship that

should see it do well at auction.

And it's a sellers' market at the moment for timepieces,

so this Rolex Oyster watch from the 1950s should do well.

We're heading west along the River Thames to the suburb of Chiswick.

Chiswick Bridge was opened in 1933 and it now marks the

finishing point for the Oxford and Cambridge boat race.

Today, though, it's not about speed, it's about money and

here at Chiswick Auctions, William Rouse is on the rostrum.

And remember, when you buy and sell at auction, you have to pay

commission and the fee here today is 15% plus VAT.

First up, it's the bracket clock.

It's great quality. It belongs to Jill and Paul.

-In fact, it was your father's, wasn't it?

-Yes.

It's been in the family quite a bit of time.

I think £200 to £400 is sensible on this.

-It's just a good looking, decorative clock, really.

-OK.

We're going to find out what the bidders think right now

as we put it under the hammer. Here we go.

The Regency bracket clock.

I've got commission interest in this straightaway at the bottom estimate,

which I think is very low, of 200.

I'll take 210, somebody else.

With me at £200. 210, 220.

450.

-That'll do, won't it?

-Yes.

We love the internet.

480.

Would you like 500?

No, he's out.

The phone was immediately knocked out by the internet at 480.

Would anybody else want to come in?

Internet bid 480.

That's a good price. £480.

-I'm very pleased..

-I'm happy with that.

Putting it at that estimate encourages the bidding.

Yes, that certainly worked for this one.

Next up, the lovely rosewood box.

-And, good luck. Good luck.

-Thank you very much.

This is quality, the rosewood writing box.

Why are you selling this?

It was found by my uncle in the attic.

-It doesn't belong directly to my family.

-So you can let that go?

I've had it for 30 years, it's time for somebody else to enjoy it.

Do you know what? I'm with you on that.

Let's put it to the test, it's going under the hammer right now.

An impressive Victorian rosewood case with the book inside, as well.

Very impressive lot.

Start this. £500 to start me?

£500 to start me? We've got to start there.

For £500?

Nobody's flickered. For £500?

Any interest for 500?

I'm afraid it needs to be this and a bit more.

At £500 I'm not selling it, I'm afraid.

No interest?

Oh, I'm ever so sorry.

-That was short and sweet.

-I'm ever so sorry.

In a way, I'm not that sad.

I'm very happy to take it home and look after it a little bit longer.

It would've been nice to let it go but if the person isn't there...

There is another auction on another day, in a few months' time maybe.

Now, with no time to waste, it's Guy's Rolex.

-Who's this?

-My son, Fraser.

-Hello, how do you do?

I know it's half term. Thank you for joining us in the auction room.

We're just about to sell the Rolex.

It is a lovely '50s relics with a blackface and it was your father's?

-That's correct.

-Philip, I agree with the value.

Let's hope everybody else does.

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

A Rolex gent's Oyster wristwatch. Quite a bit of interest in it.

I'm straight in at the bottom estimate of £200.

210, 220, 230, 240,

250, 260, 270,

280, 290, 300, 320,

340, 360, 380,

390, 400.

410...

..550 on the internet.

550.

-600.

-Yes.

650.

700. 750.

800.

850.

900.

900 is bid on the telephone.

950 is also bid on the internet.

-It's good.

-Top marks.

Thank you on the telephone.

950 it is.

At £950, internet bid, 950.

Yeah, it's going.

Hammer's gone down. Crack! That's a sold sound. £950, Dad.

-It's good.

-That was your dad's.

-Yes, it was.

You're now thinking, "Hang on a minute, Dad,

"why didn't it get passed onto me?!"

I'm sure you've got a shopping list together now, haven't you?

-Yeah.

-I'm sure you'll get something out of this.

-Thank you for bringing it in.

-Thank you.

-We enjoyed selling that.

-Thank you very much.

-Lovely to meet you.

There you are, some good results and we are coming back here later on

in the programme, so do not go away.

Meanwhile, back in Greenwich, I had the opportunity to go

on board the world's last surviving tea clipper, the Cutty Sark.

In the mid-19th century, this ship became famous for her speed,

style and elegance.

In a few years from now,

she will be celebrating her 150th birthday, having survived high

seas, hurricanes and more recently, in 2007,

a fire that swept through the decks, which left many fearing the worst.

It's the Cutty Sark!

Today she stands looking across the River Thames and she's

a fantastic reminder of Britain's seafaring heritage.

I can remember as a schoolboy, a 12-year-old boy,

my dad bringing me here when we lived in London to see

fantastic three-masted tea clipper with these beautiful lines,

the best ship in the world for me and I can't begin to tell you

how excited I am today to be standing here right now on the deck.

She was built in the Victorian era when London was the largest

and the busiest dock in the world,

handling around 60,000 vessels each year.

This was the age before steam, the age when Britain truly

ruled the waves.

Cutty Sark was commissioned in 1869 by shipping magnate Jock Willis,

a Scotsman based in London.

He wanted a ship that could bring tea back from China

as fast as possible to ensure that he got the best prices.

I'm meeting with the ship's curator, Jessica Lewis, who's giving

me a tour and can tell me why this ship was so innovative for the time.

We're down in the belly of the ship

and the tea would be stacked right the way

down to the bottom of the ship, up to the underside of the main deck.

She is the pinnacle of sailing ship design.

She's what's known as a clipper ship. And clipper ships are defined

by a very long, narrow hull, a very sharp bow at the front,

-a huge sail area, bigger than anyone had ever seen before.

-Yeah.

She's all about getting that cargo onto the market

ahead of her competitors, because in the late 19th century,

the market was incredibly competitive.

Cutty Sark was bringing back high-quality black tea from China.

At the time that Cutty Sark was trading,

the fad was for the fresh new season's tea and it really was

a fad, because, after all,

tea's got a shelf life of two or three years, but it was the fashion

to pay the premium for that high-quality tea that was

coming back ahead of all of the other teas.

So the race was on to get that blend back from China

as quickly as possible.

Between 1870 and 1877,

the Cutty Sark raced between London and Shanghai,

bringing back more than 600 tons of tea with each trip,

enough to make more than 200 million cups of tea.

Although she proved strong competition

against other fast clippers,

she was yet to make her name as the fastest of them all.

So what happened to her, towards the end of the 1880s?

Well, Cutty Sark was built to serve the China tea trade,

but just at the time that she was entering the tea trade,

the Suez Canal opened and that opened up the trade to the steamers

and sailing ships, including Cutty Sark, were driven out of the trade.

So obviously this ship was built to make money and so Jock Willis,

the owner of Cutty Sark, put her into other trades

-and in 1883 she went to Australia to bring back wool.

-Really?

And it was as a wool clipper

that she became known as the fastest ship of the day.

On her very first voyage back from Australia to London,

Cutty Sark reached port in just 84 days.

It was the fastest passage ever made by any ship that year.

But it was under the command of Captain Richard Woodget

that she beat off all competition

and beat her very own record by a significant margin.

'I'm meeting with Martin Woodget,

'who is the great-grandson of Cutty Sark's most notable captain.'

-So your great-grandfather delivered Cutty Sark's fastest times?

-Yes.

From Australia to here, he did it in just over 70 days.

Yeah, he must've been a great captain and a great navigator.

Well, he was. I think one of the...

He was very good on the rigging,

he was very good in handling his men.

He was tough, mind you, but he did, you know, they knew where they were.

He navigated further south, around Cape Horn, than anyone else did,

because the winds were stronger, but that made it quite risky

and they saw, as my grandfather told me,

lots of icebergs, so it was very dangerous.

He had a lot of guts

and he was almost foolhardy, I suspect, sometimes.

-He captained this vessel for ten years.

-Yes.

What happened after that? what did he do then?

When he retired from Cutty Sark at 50,

he went on this other clipper,

but somehow he lost heart a bit, I think.

-She just did not compare with Cutty Sark.

-No, I can imagine.

And there wasn't another ship that could

and so he retired to North Norfolk and took on a smallholding.

By the end of the 19th century, the era of the fast clipper ships,

like Cutty Sark, also came to an end.

Despite speedy passages, by the 1890s,

she wasn't making the money she once had.

Sadly, she was sold off in 1895 and she spent the next 27 years

flying the Portuguese flag.

Under her new name and country,

she continued to transport cargoes around the world.

This may have been where her story ended,

had it not been for a retired sea captain

who spotted her more than 25 years later

when she pulled up in Falmouth.

Despite the change of name and her battered appearance,

he instantly recognised her from her glory days

and salvaged her from her Portuguese owner.

She was used for training cadets during World War II

and in 1951 was moored in London for the Festival of Britain.

Shortly afterwards,

she was acquired by the newly formed Cutty Sark Reservation Society

and in 1954, floated here into Greenwich to a welcoming crowd.

She was by now the last surviving tea clipper

and here she would stay as a reminder of Britain's maritime past.

Then, in 2007, disaster struck.

While undergoing conservation work, a fire swept across her decks.

Five o'clock this morning and an intensive fire

beside the Thames at Greenwich.

Gradually people realised part of Britain's heritage was burning.

It's the Cutty Sark.

This had been the world's fastest tea clipper,

but in under two hours this morning,

it was reduced to this - a burning frame.

It was a really horrific time,

a very difficult, very challenging time for us here at Cutty Sark

and we had phone calls from across the world.

The ship featured on news bulletins across the world, you know,

everyone cares about this ship and people were worried about

losing that bit of maritime history, but, thankfully,

because we were in the middle of a conservation project,

we were able to bring this ship back to life.

So a lot of this was off-site?

Yes, all of the master rigging, the deck furniture, you know,

half of the hull planks,

all of that was safely in storage at the time of the fire.

The biggest casualty were the decks,

but none of the decks were original, from when she was a working ship.

What does the ship mean to you?

I mean, I've been coming here since I was little.

She's at the heart of maritime Greenwich.

-We can't imagine Greenwich without her.

-No, you can't, no.

The Cutty Sark has proved herself worthy time and time again

on the high seas and even here in Greenwich.

She's one of the last of a kind of sailing ships

that truly did rule the waves and I believe

she's earnt our respect and a place in our hearts forever.

Welcome back to our valuation date venue

here at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich.

It's now time to catch up with our experts

to see what other treasures we can find to take off to auction.

Now let's see what Jonathan has spotted on his travels.

So, Alison, you've brought along a suitcase.

Yes, it's an interesting suitcase.

Let's have a look inside.

It's a bit battered.

Yeah, what we've got is, um...

a beautiful lady's travelling case,

fitted with lots of silver jars and a dressing set within enamel.

Now, so who did this belong to?

It belonged to my great-aunt who used to travel a lot

-with her husband.

-And what did they do for a living?

-Well, he was an ambassador.

-Oh, wow!

-So she just travelled the world with him...

-Yes.

..and, yeah, he had a very big job.

He was, I think, his last post was Czechoslovakia,

-the old Czechoslovakia.

-Right.

-He was ambassador. Yeah, so...

So to go to Czechoslovakia, you'd go on the Orient Express, wouldn't you?

-You would, yes.

-And she did, I guess?

-Yes, she did.

-Yes, she did.

-Perfect.

-And this had been taken with her, obviously.

-I mean, we can see from the case, this has had many a journey.

-Yes.

-That sort of wear doesn't happen overnight.

-No.

So looking inside it,

we've got all these lovely fitted cases and jars

on this watered silk background,

which are kept in with little poppers

and you've got covered jars for various different things,

like scents and... Do you know?

I don't even know what these tall ones are for,

-possibly hat pins and all sorts of things like that.

-Oh, OK.

And then you'd have jewellery in here. You've got a button hook.

You would have a pair of scissors here and I think this one

would have been a nail file, actually.

All hallmarked silver, er, dated...

So now this gives us a clue, so we're dealing with...in the '30s.

-Right.

-This is dated 1938. And you've got this guilloche enamel...

-Right.

-..which is essentially...

They machine-engraved this sort of pattern and then they'd melt a glass

on top. It's a coloured glass.

-Oh, right.

-So this is all coloured glass.

And then this whole thing here inside lifts out.

-You'd put your clothes in there.

-Right.

And then you've got this, and I think this is quite a nice touch,

look, this becomes another little sort of vanity case

to take to the evening, I suppose,

that you can get yourself ready when you're on your ambassadorial...

-Duties.

-..duties, yes.

So we get to the nitty-gritty about the valuation.

-Now, my feeling is that it's worth between £250-£350.

-Yes.

And we can put a reserve somewhere below the lower estimate.

-Yes, that's fine. That's fine.

-Put a reserve of...

-200?

£200 would be wonderful. I think that's really good.

You know, as an auctioneer, you see an object like this

coming into the saleroom and you don't actually get to sell it

-with that story, like we can here.

-Oh, good.

-It's really interesting.

Thank you for bringing it along.

You're welcome.

And that's what it's all about for us -

those stories behind the objects.

And I think I've spotted an item on Philip's table that also fits

with Britain's maritime history.

Let's find out more.

-You look terrified. Am I that scary?

-No.

-Do I growl, eh?

-No.

-So what's your name?

-Harry.

-And who have you brought with you today, Harry?

-My mum.

-And who bought this?

-She did.

-She did.

-She did, she's my mum.

-And you're Nicola, aren't you?

-I am.

-So, I love this.

-I absolutely love this. What do you know about this?

-Not a lot.

I mean, the person we got it off of was a friend of my mum's.

When she died and all requests

had been dealt with,

my mum was left with everything else,

so there was a suitcase full of papers, photos...

-What did this friend do?

-She was a press photographer.

-When?

Would have been from the sort of '40s onwards.

I'm a real petrolhead, right?

Now, if you look at a boat like this,

this family were the Campbells.

-Yeah.

-Malcolm and Donald - land-speed records, water records.

So you've got a picture of an old boat and if we turn it over,

you've got this signature of Malcolm Campbell. So who's Margaret?

Margaret was the woman that left everything to my mum.

She was born in the '20s. She had an amazing life.

She was a photographer, she married well. She basically did everything.

But the thing that I find really interesting -

she must've been a real character,

because if she was born in the '20s, this was taken in 1947,

she would have been in her mid-20s out there taking photographs.

You know, I mean, that's...

I'm sort of kind of guessing that was very much a male preserve then.

-And she actually took this photograph?

-We don't know.

You wouldn't know who Malcolm Campbell was, would you?

All I know was he broke the land-speed record.

See, smart kids. Never ever work with smart kids.

They don't ever work.

-You're absolutely right.

-That and the internet.

No, but it's interesting, because why would you keep this?

Because I recognised the name on the back.

-You recognised it straightaway?

-Yeah.

-OK, so we've got to arrive at a value of this, haven't we?

-I guess.

What do you reckon, Harry?

-I'm thinking about £150.

-Really?

-I'd say lower than that.

-I don't know.

-Look, Harry... Come here.

-I'd say about 50.

-When I ask you again, go, "50 quid," all right?

-OK.

-What do you think that's worth, Harry?

-£50.

Yeah, he's good, isn't he? He's really, really, very, very good.

I think you're spot on, Harry.

I think that that's going to be worth...

I think at auction we should estimate it at £50-£80

and put a reserve on it of £40.

And the thing is, if you go and make 40 or 50 quid...

It could actually make £150 -

you just want two enthusiasts there, right? It's a really cool thing.

-Thank you for bringing it. Have you got a lot more?

-Not like that, no.

In case you're wondering how we get that close-up detail

on the mural on the ceiling,

it's by virtue of this thing here, a great piece of kit.

It's called the jib and these guys are the jib operators,

hoovering up all of that lovely artwork.

Now up here, this section is known to us as the holding area.

This is where we have off-screen experts and we also have

a lot of people here who potentially will be going through to the auction

if they make it to the valuation table.

So this is where a lot of the work is done

behind the scenes, hence off-screen.

As you can see, we've got lots of laptops, lots of books.

These are our off-screen experts, so you can see it's a hive of activity.

We've got lots of crews, lots of lights, lots of soundmen,

lots of directors and, of course, lots of antiques to get through.

-Hello, Pepita.

-Hello, Jonathan, hi.

Where's Pepita... What's the name Pepita from?

-It actually means Josephine, but it's Spanish.

-Oh, lovely.

-Well, there we are. Spanish...

-Yes.

-So you've got Spanish heritage?

-No, I don't, no.

-Oh, cos you've got a collection of fans?

I've got a collection of fans.

Of which I think one or two might be Spanish,

but we've got a bit of an array here. Where are they from?

They're basically from my grandmother's side of the family.

I think it was various cousins and people like this might have

left them to her, but I'm not really quite sure.

But they have been in the attic for many a year,

so I thought it was time that they actually saw some light

and went to somebody who might appreciate them.

I think they probably do represent one person's collection,

-buying one every now and then perhaps.

-Yes.

So various different styles. I rather like...

I'm rather drawn to this one.

I don't know if it's the naked ladies bathing

-or just because you've got these little mirrors on the end.

-Yes.

And it's very decorative on the other side as well.

And this paper here, which is finished off at the edges,

is gouache painted here at this end

and then in the middle it's actually over a print,

so it's like a stipple engraved print.

-Oh, right, is it?

-And coloured over the top, yeah.

-Yes.

But it's a bit of a racy subject, which is kind of nice, you know?

-This one here is handmade.

-Right.

-It's handmade lace and I would say certainly Spanish.

-Yes.

This one again is a Chinese one and comes from a similar date to these,

so you've got a sort of late 19th...

-Similar date, moving into the 20th century here.

-Right.

Obviously, condition's everything and they've always...

Presumably they were like this when you got them?

They were like this, yes, yes.

Ever since I've known them, they've been in this condition.

This has obviously got a lot of detail

and this is Chinese and Canton.

-It's copying sort of the porcelains of the day as well.

-Right, yes.

You get a lot of porcelain with this sort of decoration

-in these colours.

-Right.

With ivory boards here and still pierced,

so a lot of work, you know, hand-cut.

Obviously, when you're handling ivory,

-you've got to be certain that it's legal to sell.

-Right.

The law states that it has to be pre-1947 worked ivory to sell.

Well, most auctioneers don't really want to touch anything

that's even close to that date. This is late 19th century.

-It's absolutely fine to sell.

-Oh, right. Oh, good.

So I think, really, we're looking at around...

-I think we'd probably get about £150 for them...

-OK, OK.

..if that sounds realistic to you?

No, it does, yes, no, no, no, that's perfectly OK.

-If we pitch it sort of estimate £120-£180, a reserve of £120.

-Right.

I think we're going to see what we can do with them now.

Right, well, thank you very much.

You never know on the day they might do a bit better or...

-Hopefully they don't have to go back in the loft.

-No, I hope not.

Well, that's it.

Our work is now done at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich.

Our experts have found their final items,

so it's time to say goodbye to our magnificent host location.

I've had a marvellous time.

Right now it's straight over to Chiswick, to the auction rooms,

and here's a quick recap,

just to jog your memory of all the items we're taking with us.

This lady's vanity case could make a fabulous present

for the classy lady.

And those with a need for speed would have to fasten the bells

when this goes under the hammer.

And calling all fans of fans,

this eclectic collection could seal a deal.

We're back at Chiswick Auctions

and our auctioneers are Stephen Large and William Rouse.

Now, let's hope there's some stylish ladies in the room.

We're going under the hammer right now. We've got a real treat.

Some real class belonging to Alison and hopefully not for much longer.

I think this big crowd out there will get excited

about the vanity case and I know our expert Jonathan did.

It's the kind of thing that belongs on the Orient Express

-and indeed it did go. I love the back story to this.

-Yes.

I really do. Great-aunt's married to the Ambassador of Czechoslovakia,

travelled a lot.

Quality, quality, quality. And we always say on the show,

-"Quality always..."

-Yep. "Always sells."

-It does. It always sells.

Fingers crossed, the moment of truth, what's it worth?

We're going to find out. It's going under the hammer and here we go.

Special lady's vanity case by Adie Brothers Ltd, 1938.

It's very, very nice. It's all complete.

Let's go straight in at £200. At £200.

It's a fine example. At £200?

£200. I'm bid in the room. So £200. In the round at £200. £200.

Any further advance? At £200? Just on the reserve.

At £200, any further advance?

-We thought this would go for a lot more. We were hoping so.

-Oh.

At £200, 220? In the room at 220. It's against you.

Would you like 240? 240.

It's £240, it's against you.

It's £240 in the room. Last chance. Final warning. £240.

-Well, he's selling at 240.

-It's sold.

Hammer's gone down. £240. Gosh. Ah!

-Well, I'm pleased.

-I'm pleased.

-Yes.

It's not going to go back in the loft. It's now going to be loved.

It didn't need to go back in the loft.

It's going on a new journey.

Yes, hopefully it'll go back on the train with somebody new,

so I'm happy, I'm happy.

Time for a new chapter in the life of this vanity case.

Next up, the postcard. Nicola and Harry, it's great to see you.

High-five, man. Yeah!

I feel the need for speed, which brings us to our next item.

Yes, Malcolm Campbell, Donald's dad,

and this man loves his speed as well.

We're talking about that photograph.

-You know what we're talking about, don't you?

-Yeah.

Malcolm Campbell. Do you know, also, he won the Grand Prix twice

in an old Bugatti?

I think if you weren't an auctioneer,

-you'd be a Grand Prix driver.

-Oh, I'd love to have had a go, yeah.

-That would be a good career for you, wouldn't it?

-Yeah.

Well, it's a great image. It's an iconic image, isn't it?

So we're going to put this to the test and find out what the bidders

-think of it.

-Yeah, let's hope it goes at a high speed.

Yeah, here we go. This is it.

Come to a very nice lot now. This is a Malcolm Campbell...

A signed postcard with me at £40. 40 is bid in the room.

Commission is out.

Surely a further advance for a Malcolm Campbell,

part of our heritage. At £40. £50.

We'll go in tens. £60. It's £60.

I've only got one of these. £60 in the room. Would you like 65, sir?

No. £60. Would you like 65? 65. £65.

It's £65 for Malcolm Campbell.

Is that it? It's a special lot, special gentleman selling it. 65.

That is it. It's selling at £65.

-It's sold at £65.

-Hammer's gone down.

Well done, Philip. Got it spot-on. Well done.

-So, are you going to get a treat out of that?

-I don't know.

-You don't know. I bet you do.

-More than likely.

-I think you will.

Yeah, more than likely.

It's heating up in this saleroom. Time to cool off with this next lot.

Right now we have a collection of fans going under the hammer

belonging to Pepita.

Look, your fans, why are you selling them?

Because they have been in my attic and as I've moved house,

they've gone from attic to attic and...

-Gathering dust, getting broken, falling apart.

-That's right.

We're going to put the fans under the hammer right now.

-Good luck, Jonathan.

-Thank you.

-Here we go. This is it.

The fans, good little lot of fans,

lots 475 and with a phone bid and straight in at 85. With me at 85.

90. 95. 100.

110. 110 it is.

Every time the internet... 160, 170.

-That's brilliant.

-Yeah.

-170. 180.

190. 200. 210. 210.

220. 230.

-Oh, hopefully we'll climb to 300.

-230, then? An internet bid of 230.

-240 on the telephone. 240 on the telephone.

-Back to you.

-260. 270.

280. 290. 300.

-Pepita, that's good.

-It's amazing.

-320. 340. 360.

-380.

-Cor, I need one of those fans to keep cool now.

-This is warming up, isn't it?

-I know.

-420. 440.

-Oh, we could do £500.

-Oh, could we? Wouldn't that be... Don't say that.

-480.

-There's a lot of fans here.

Has the internet slowed down? I think it might have done.

We're on the telephone, then, at 500. At £500 I'm selling it then.

-Telephone bidder. 500.

-That's absolutely brilliant.

-£500.

Thank you. That's absolutely amazing.

Well, I think the auctioneer did a good job there.

-They found the right price.

-He did indeed.

Believe me, we wish this could happen to all our owners,

but it doesn't, does it? Sometimes we fail, but it's not our fault.

We really do want this, genuinely, but we got it with you,

-so thank you so much.

-Thank you. It was absolutely amazing.

What a way to end today's show.

Sadly, we've run out of time, but we've had those wonderful surprises

that I promised you and if you keep watching, hopefully we'll give you

some more, but until then, from Chiswick, from London, it's goodbye.