Bolton Flog It!

We've come to try our luck today in the north-west, in Bolton,

which is situated near the western Pennines and surrounded by wild and rugged moor land.

But the centre is a Mecca for shoppers and Bolton's population

of 261,000 makes it the biggest town in Britain that isn't a city.

And it looks like most of them have turned up here today!

What a queue we've got outside the Albert Hall in Bolton here today.

It just goes on and on and on! There's hundreds of them!

And all these people in Bolton have a nickname - they're called the trotters

and this goes back to ancient times where they loved to play tricks on visitors that came to the town.

Now allegedly, you are the funniest and the happiest people in the whole of England - is that true? Yes!

So our experts Phillip Serrell and James Lewis and myself better be on our guard today!

Oh, sweet!

Three quid!

Fantastic! How much?

That's perfect!

But there's plenty of serious business to be done in here,

searching out the best items we can find to take off to auction later on.

So, while everybody's getting settled in, let's see what Philip's found.

Marjorie, how are you?

Fine, thank you. Excellent.

Now, we were talking before we went on camera and you were telling me

why you want to sell this.

And I know that people have sold things because it doesn't fit in

a house, or they don't like it any more, or they never liked it at all.

But you want to sell this because of feng shui, is that right?

Yes. Basically, yes.

You'd better explain to me and everybody else all about feng shui.

Well, feng shui

is a Chinese principle, really.

And this has got very, very sharp edges.

They are very dangerous if the child was to pick it up with their hand.

And also, the balance - it very easily falls over.

And that offends the principles of feng shui, does it?

It does. Do you know, you learn something new every day!

True, true! But it has damaged some other things I have,

because of falling over.

So, I mean, do you like it?

Not very much. Not really. How did you come by it?

It's been a family piece, it's come down in the family, and that's all I know about it.

But it did originate from Liverpool.

It came from Liverpool? Yes, originally.

Well I think it came from a little bit further away originally. Right.

I think it's a Vienna cold painted bronze. Really?

And if we just turn it up, just there, we can see a "B" in a shield.

I think that's the mark of a man called Bergman.

And Bergman specialised in cold painted bronzes.

And a lot of the subjects that he did were sort of Moroccan and Eastern scenes.

And you'd have a carpet seller, sat on a carpet.

All painted, with a camel. You know, those are typical of his works.

And his works make between, I don't know, ?200-300, perhaps more.

I have never ever seen as subject like this before. OK. I don't know where it comes from.

I mean, I know that it is a Viennese cold painted bronze by Bergman, but is it from Lapland?

Is it from Iceland? I look at it and wonder whether it might be Eskimo?

I think this is really quite exciting.

In terms of value,

I'm going to put an estimate on it of ?250-350.

And if you're really really lucky, it might make a little bit more.

It depends how rare that specialist subject is.

Just because I say I haven't seen one before, doesn't mean that it's unique.

But I think it's lovely.

Do you like it a bit more now? A little bit more, but...

It doesn't quite offend feng shui quite so much now, does it, eh? No, that's true!

Judith, this is a lovely little carriage clock!

It really is a sweet one.

What family history d'you have to go with this?

Not a lot, really. My father was a watchmaker and he had a shop.

And when he retired, this went home.

And when my mother died, I brought this back, along with

a lot of other things, put them in various cupboards in the house.

That's where that has sat for nearly 30 years! Oh my goodness!

I think it's time it had something done to it.

Absolutely! Poor little clock!

It really is a pretty clock. Now, just with anything else,

with carriage clocks there are different qualities of makers, different qualities of clocks.

Now, this one, as I'm sure you will have seen, is signed on the front there.

Have you noticed it? Yes I have.

Yes, Charles Frodsham. Yes.

Now that is the Rolls Royce of carriage clock makers.

Right. The very best.

The original Charles was born in 1810, died somewhere in the 1870s, I'm not sure exactly the date.

But he was the first.

But the company is still going today.

And when my father retired he worked for Boots the Chemist, and he retired in about 1991.

They gave him a choice of retirement presents.

And he chose a Charles Frodsham carriage clock.

Not as nice as this, I have to say!

Because his was modern.

But this is fantastic.

Simple, plain, lacquered brass.

But with lacquered brass you can see the remains of the lacquer in the grooves there.

And where the people have handled it over the years, it's tarnished and the lacquer has rubbed off.

It's exactly what you want to see with a carriage timepiece like that.

There's no point in stripping it down, taking all the age away and renewing it.

I love to see them just like that.

If we open up the back,

the quality is fantastic.

This isn't a carriage timepiece, it's a carriage clock.

Because a clock chimes or strikes on gongs or bells.

A carriage timepiece doesn't have gongs and doesn't have bells.

And this one is signed, Frodsham again, down at the bottom, and made in Paris.

So it's a French-made clock for Charles Frodsham.

And this address is New Bond Street.

He had moved addresses throughout the 19th and early 20th century throughout London.

He was also the person responsible for keeping all of the clocks in good working order in Buckingham Palace.

So he had some good clients! So you're in good company!

This one -

not a top model.

But a good model.

But having said that, again, the quality of the movement,

the quality of everything inside this case is the very best.

Why don't you want to have this on the mantelpiece?

Although my father was a watchmaker, I'm not really a clock person.

And I'd rather have some Moorcroft.

Really? So if I sell the clock, I'll buy some Moorcroft.

So, value.

?180-250. Right.

Is that alright? Yes.

It's a lovely carriage clock!

Sheila, thank you for coming in.

I think you would have probably got to the valuation

with this tucked under your coat or wrapped...

I did, I had it in a bag, Paul!

People frown upon you - this is as bad as wearing fur, isn't it?

Exactly, yes.

And it makes me feel really upset and sad. Absolutely.

I didn't want to talk about it, but I feel I want to in a way,

because we've still got to spread that message that you cannot hunt for ivory. Exactly.

And I know it still goes on today, illegally.

I think this is typical 1920s, 1930s.

Just looking at the colour of the ivory,

it's definitely the real thing.

It is. It is an old piece. Its African, isn't it?

Yes, it was brought to this country by an African missionary priest in the 1930s

in order to raise funds, in fact, through raffling the piece

for the African children that he was a missionary to.

My aunt actually won the raffle for the piece.

Oh gosh! It was won in a raffle!

Mind you, she probably thought at the time, it was beautiful!

I mean, you cannot knock the quality of the craftsmanship here.

Absolutely, yeah. The carving of the elephants

is stunning. The rhinoceros and the lion -

which is unusual, because you normally see these elephant tusks

carved with just a series of elephants that taper.

But this has got a few other animals on there. Yes.

And this is quite nice - a little bit of open fretwork.

Just some training vine.

Just to finish it off.

You can see, it's definitely ivory.

It is all tissue and hair fibres compounded together.

And it's quite heavy.

That's right, it isn't a piece that I want at all.

It's been put away for many years.

And I feel that if there is to be any sort of remuneration from it,

I would like it to go back to where it came from.

Back to the elephants? Back to look after a baby orphaned elephant.

Exactly. So, you know, I'm very pleased to have brought it so that some use perhaps can come from it.

Well, the carving is exceptional.

The proportions are beautiful.

If this was carved in anything else other than ivory - let's say this was carved in wood -

it would be probably worth round about ?300-400.

Sadly, it's not. It's carved in the real thing.

Yeah, I didn't come here to sort of...

Yeah, I didn't come here to sort of... It's going to devalue it. Yes.

Nobody's really - there's very few people that will actually think, yes, this is wonderful.

I'm going to put it on the mantelpiece and display it.

Shall we put this into auction with a value of ?80-120? Yes.

I mean, I'd like to see it to a little bit more.

The more it can get, the more will go to an orphaned elephant,

which would be lovely, wouldn't it? It would.

Barbara, the Star vacuum cleaner, patent number 18899, British-made.

Baxendale and Co Ltd in Manchester. Baxendale and Co in Manchester?

I would think this would date to, I don't know, 1915, 1920? A little bit before that.

1911.

Oh, you've got the...? You didn't buy it new, then?!

No! No.

Why have you got a nearly 100-year-old vacuum cleaner?

Well, one of my spinster aunties died a couple of years ago

and I was clearing out the garage

and I came across a long, black bin liner.

It was a little bit covered in cobwebs and things.

I pulled it out very gingerly and opened it up, and this thing popped out.

I thought, "What's that?" And it worked! How long have you had this?

I've had this in my possession for just over two years.

It's a great talking point, isn't it?

It's caused quite a lot of laughs today.

What I like about it is that all this sort of bellows here,

you know, nearly 100 years old, I would have expected all of that to have perished

and gone all grotty.

So what you do is you hold it - I'm going to stand up -

this is a first!

House work on national television - it's going to ruin my reputation!

More men should do it!

I just happen to have about my person a biscuit.

You need to put it flatter on the table, do it properly!

Barbara, I'm worn out here!

That's a hell of a thing, isn't it?

Everything inside is working, too.

The wooden base, wooden top with the filter, nothing is rotten.

So there's a filter in here? At the top here. That works

by creating a vacuum or a suction,

which sucks all the dust and sort of biscuits up from down there?

Come up in this wooden base,

and then to empty it, you undo these wing nuts here.

And take out the bag. Fascinating.

Absolutely fascinating.

How do we, as auctioneers, or valuers, arrive at value?

Most people at home will think we guess!

Well, that's what I would have to do.

On novelty value alone, on something like this.

That's what I might have to do.

If you've got one there that sold for ?100,

and one there that sold for ?150,

there's a fair chance that the one in the middle might be worth ?120.

Because valuation is about comparison.

I've got to be really truthful with you here, I've never ever seen

a Star vacuum cleaner sold at auction!

So I'm guessing.

I think it's real novelty value.

We are going to Adam Partridge's saleroom in Knutsford,

and if anybody can sell this, Partridge will!

I think we are going to stick an estimate on it of ?20-40.

We'll have a ?10 reserve on it, we'll keep everything crossed, and hope it goes. All right?

That's fine by me.

We're certainly hoping for some top results at the auction today.

Marjorie's cold-painted bronze

should definitely warmed the bidders' hearts.

And the Charles Frodsham name makes this carriage clock very desirable.

Sheila and I want to get as much as possible for the ivory carving,

so the cash can go back to an elephant charity.

Finally, Philip couldn't resist the Star vacuum cleaner!

A real blast from the past.

For our auction today we've come to Frank Marshall's in the heart

of Knutsford, and on the rostrum is our very own Adam Partridge.

So let's catch up with him and see what he's got to say about some of our owner's items.

But more importantly, our experts' valuations, let's hope we're on the money, fingers crossed.

I love cold-painted bronzes,

we see lots of on the show and they always sell well.

These will be no exception.

They belong to Marjorie, they've been in her family a long time,

handed down through the generations.

That's what I like to hear. Yes, crisp to the market with a value

from Philip Serrell of 250 to 350. Mm.

Easy. Easy, isn't it. All day long.

She's selling them, believe it or not... They're a bit delicate aren't they?

She's selling them because the sharp edges are too dangerous for children.

Well, I'd say put them on a higher shelf

or in a glazed cabinet, or in a room where children aren't allowed, but you know, it's too late now.

On a good day, Adam, ?600-800?

Yeah, I'd think so. Yeah, yeah.

Unusually accurate, Paul.

Just joking!

Franz Bergman, a popular Austrian modeller of bronzes, he can be easily noticed

by his various marks, that bottle-shaped mark, and sometimes,

you have Bergman backwards which is Namgreb, and you see Namgreb, that's a Bergman piece as well.

Well I think this one's a real steal if it goes for that sort of money.

It's going to make more than that. So Philip was a bit mean. He must have known that would fly.

Well, yes I shan't say anything wrong about Mr Serrell at this point.

Good pal of mine.

But I think he's got it slightly under.

No harm in that, the lower the estimate the better result, Paul.

That's an auctioneer's favourite trick, isn't it? Reel the bidders in.

People are going to be lining up thinking they're going to buy that at 250-350. And they're not.

And now for the star of today's show, don't get excited,

it's a bit of fun, it's the Star vacuum cleaner,

brought in by Barbara here. And it is a bit of fun, isn't it?

It is, yes. You found it in a black bin liner when you were cleaning out the house.

It is a collectable item.

I have every confidence that Master Partridge will get it away sold.

And just prove what a real good auctioneer he is.

I am sure he will, I'm sure he, will Philip.

Good luck. This is a bit of fun really, isn't it?

It is, yes.

Star of the show, the Star vacuum cleaner.

It's an early hand-operated vacuum cleaner.

Who'll give me ?1,000?

Let's hope it cleans up.

?20 then?

?20 for the Star vacuum cleaner.

Who's seen it on the landing? Who's never been to an auction before?

Who'll give me ?20 for the Star vacuum cleaner?

Anybody?

?10 then?

Please!

A Star vacuum cleaner, ?10.

I can't believe he's doing this to me. I thought he was a friend.

Can't say I didn't try. No sale, Philip.

Of course! ?10.

Call yourself an auctioneer? It's ?10.

In the middle.

This lady never normally breaks the double figure threshold but ?10...

All done at ?10?

There's a stroke of luck, wasn't it?

I think that was a sympathy vote really.

We now know what they're worth.

I've just been joined by Sheila.

This is my turn to be the expert, the valuer.

But I'm not doing a very good job on this one.

We did put a value of about 80-120.

We did, yes.

We want this to go, don't we?

We do, yes. So we've lowered the value right down to 40. Hopefully you'll get ?60.

Yes, hopefully.

Fingers crossed. Yes. We both don't like it.

It's not very PC, this carving of the elephants.

It is beautifully done. Yes.

But there's something good that's going to come out of something bad

because the money's going to the elephants, isn't it?

Yes, the Born Free Foundation, the Virginia McKenna charity.

Fingers crossed. It's going under the hammer.

There we are. This is the African carved ivory tusk with the lion,

two rhinoceri and three elephants.

There we are, there's the tusk.

Tension's building. ?80?

?50 then? 50 bid, ?50, take five, at ?50 who's going on?

55, 60,

5, 75, 5, 80,

5, 90, 5,

100, 110.

No, 100 in the middle, ?100. Any more now?

At ?100, ?100 all done, ?100.

Hammer's gone down bang on my mid estimate, to start with, 80-120.

Brilliant. That was OK, wasn't it? I'm very happy.

I'm very happy as well. ?100 goes to the Born Free Foundation.

It does. It's fantastic. Great.

Next up a Vienna cold-painted bronze brought in by Marjorie here.

These always sell well on Flog It! They do so well.

We've got a valuation of 250-350, but I think is sneakily going to go a little bit higher.

Now you're selling because into feng shui. Yes.

Well, let's hope, let's hope we've got a lot of positive energy

in the saleroom today because we could get, fingers crossed, ?800 for this.

Oh, that would be good.

That's good feng shui isn't it?

That's very, very good. Philip.

I'd like any energy at all would do me.

The thing is, it's a lovely little object, it's a thing of the moment

and I haven't seen that subject before.

I've not seen that before.

Yeah, you get the Arab scenes on some of the little carpets and they have a standard price.

This could make ?300, it could make ?800.

Could make a little bit more if two people really want it.

But you know, it will be interesting to see. Yeah, it will won't it?

Well the bidders are here.

This is it.

250, 250 for it, the Bergman figure,

200 to start me, we know it's worth more.

Two bid, take ten, at ?200 who's going on? At 200.

All finished are you at 210? 220,

230, 240,

250, 260,

270, 280,

290, 300,

320, 340, 360,

380, 400, 420...

We might need a seat, this could be a long one.

..460, 480,

500, 520? ?500.

?500, any more now?

At 500, are you all done then?

?500.

Yes! ?500!

That is great, isn't it?

What are you going to put ?500 towards?

Well, I've just got my first grandson last week and I've another one due next week.

Oh, well spoil them, won't you?

Thanks, Marjorie for coming in. Thank you.

That was a cracking result.

Yeah, pleased with that.

It's a good collectable thing isn't it?

We're ticking along nicely now but I've just been joined

by Judith and we've got that lovely French carriage clock.

I know you're slightly nervous, but hopefully we'll get that ?300 mark.

And all the money is going on Moorcroft and it's a lucky day because the saleroom's jam packed.

Full of Moorcroft. James?

The pressure's on. Do you know, I don't feel any pressure at all.

Convinced it's going to fly, it's going to do really well.

If it doesn't make the top end...

OK. It's made too little. So 350, 400?

Yeah, easily. Fingers crossed.

Watch this, it's going under the hammer right now. Good luck, Judith.

Commission interest starts me straight in at ?180, 90 now, 180 bid,

190, 200, 210, 220, 230,

240, 250, 260, 270, 280,

290, 300 here.

300, 310, 320, 330, sir? 340, 350...

Adam's working at a cracking pace.

400, 410, 420, 430,

430 in the room, 440 now, 440 anywhere? At 440 here.

460 now. 480?

460, 480, 500?

At 480 here, at 480, ?480, internet bidder this time.

500. 520?

500 in the room, ?500, 520,

540, 560? 540 then, 540...

They're getting stuck in like Jack Russells!

He's keeping them going well.

580 in the room.

All finished at 580? 600, 620, 600 still on the internet here.

?600, we sell now at 600...

The hammer's going down at ?600... HAMMER STRIKES

Sold for ?600! How exciting was that?

Judith, I'm shaking, I'm shaking.

So am I.

The money is going on Moorcroft, is it? Oh, yes.

It's a lot of money, could be a holiday.

I might treat the family to lunch.

Crisps! Crisps!

Before the Industrial Revolution,

Lancashire was a quiet backwater made up

of farming communities who eked out an existence weaving sheep's wool.

In fact, the only thing you would hear around here would be the odd sheep.

Hand looms have been used for hundreds of years by weavers in their own cottages.

It was when inventors and engineers began to devise power looms

that the possibilities of producing more cloth of a better quality were realised.

By the mid-18th century,

cotton began to overtake wool as Britain's main textile product.

And of course, Lancashire found itself at the forefront of a massive new industry.

All the ingredients were right here.

The damp weather conditions, they prevented the cotton threads

from snapping when they were on the looms.

Plenty of water to power these new factories, and, of course,

a great deal of coal to fire up the furnaces when steam took over.

By the mid-19th century,

there were 250,000 cotton power looms in Britain,

most of which were right here in Lancashire,

making it the centre of the cotton industry

not just in this country, but in the world.

The factory era had arrived and, all of a sudden,

the Lancashire skylines were dominated by massive chimneys,

just like this one, belching out black smoke everywhere.

And now man and machine had to work together

and life, all of a sudden, got a lot noisier.

This is the Queen Street Mill Textile Museum in Burnley,

which was opened in 1895.

It's the only steam-powered cotton mill

still working today in the whole world.

At the height of production, in its heyday,

boilermen would have shovelled six tons of coal every day

into the furnaces to drive the machines.

It's machines like this that made the Industrial Revolution possible.

This is what it's all about.

This steam engine still drives 308 looms today

at the Queen Street Mill.

In its heyday, it generated enough steam to power 1,100 looms.

In fact, it generated enough power to run the whole factory.

The engine was built by William Roberts in 1894

and it's a 500 horsepowered tandem compound engine.

And if you think this is noisy, well, it's time to cover your ears.

Welcome to the weaving shed.

The Industrial Revolution working at full pelt with 300 looms in here

and the noise is absolutely deafening.

The weavers would communicate by use of sign language and lip reading.

But before they could start weaving,

the thread had to be prepared for the looms.

Yarn came into the mill on bobbins, or cops,

and had to be prepared for warp or weft threads.

The warp threads are stronger and run up and down the cloth.

The weft thread was wound onto a cardboard tube or pirn,

which fitted directly into a shuttle.

The shuttle shot between the warp threads from left to right.

It was a high pressure and hazardous job,

as each weaver had to look after eight looms at once.

Any lapse in concentration

and fingers or hair could get caught up in the machinery.

They renewed the weft thread every two minutes

and checked the cloth for stray threads and knots.

In a shed this size, there would have been around 70 or 80 weavers

working flat out all the time,

and only three loom mechanics, or tacklers as they were known.

Now, of course, the weavers worked on piece rates

so there was great tension between the weavers and the tacklers,

to make sure the machines were working at 100% efficiency all the time

to produce the perfect cloth.

And this is where the cloth would have been inspected for faults by the cloth looker.

If there were any faults, the weaver would have been paid a lot less for this particular piece.

It was a tough life.

But this is a great insight into the working life of a cotton mill

and it's definitely well worth a visit.

Back at Town Hall and the people of Bolton

are still bringing their valuables for James and Philip to inspect and value.

Brenda, Barbara, thanks so much for bringing this along.

Now is this something you play with regularly or...?

Well, we did, yes.

It belonged to a great aunt,

then it was handed down to my aunt, then to my dad and then to us.

Aw! Are you sisters? Yeah.

Oh, fabulous. So tell me, is this something that you remember

sitting as a little girl and playing with?

When we went to auntie's, yes, we did, yes.

So, it's a good quality thing.

It's Victorian, it's about 1870 and as you know, of course,

it's a musical box and it's known as a cylinder musical box.

It has this brass cylinder down the centre

and it has a steel cone and the cylinder shifts to the side,

and you can play eight or ten different airs on it, or different tunes.

Now to get the musical box working, what we have to do is...

Have a look at the side here, there's this big brass crank.

It'll pull out a little bit.

Move the "on" switch here and here.

And... MUSIC STARTS

It has a fantastic tone, doesn't it?

That's one of the most important things

when you're looking at a musical box.

When you're valuing these, the first thing to do is start on the outside.

Look at the quality of the case.

Here we have rosewood, not from rose bushes.

It was called rosewood because when the tree was cut down, it smelled of roses.

It's a South American tree.

Round the border here, it's been ebonised or painted black

to make it look like ebony.

Here, this little stringing is boxwood.

Got a problem though. What's happened here?

I don't know. I bet somebody's been standing a plant on there.

I don't know, probably. It looks like water damage.

Are you guilty? No. No.

It's been parcelled away up in the attic. I believe you!

We've looked at the outside. We've got good quality veneers,

a bit of damage. Inside, a good, long brass cylinder.

The longer the cylinder, the more valuable the box.

Then you've got to look at the maker.

This Swiss maker was the most important.

Swiss mainly, almost all of them were made in Switzerland.

It's just a single comb musical box of about 1870.

Why don't we put a reserve of ?120 on it and see how we go? Right, OK. Lovely.

Lesley, how are you doing? Fine, thank you.

Husband Geoff? Yep. Good-oh.

There's a story behind this, isn't there? Definitely.

Come on, let's have the story.

We were driving through a little town one day. Where?

Ramsbottom. Ramsbottom.

And I shouted, "Stop, stop! There's a piece of that glass in the window." What glass?

Where did you learn about it?

I didn't know what it was called at the time,

but I'd seen it on the programme. On Flog It?

Yes, and it was the Drunken Bricklayer.

I thought it looked very much like it.

So you thought this looked like Drunken Bricklayer vase?

The same make, yes. What's the name of the maker?

It's Whitefriars. And you found all of that out through the programme?

Yes.

How much did you pay for this? ?5.

?5. So if you think about this laterally and logically,

any profit you make belongs to the programme.

No, we need the money! We need the money, yes.

Not half as much as we do!

I don't believe you need the money.

So, do you collect glassware?

Yes, we do and we try and pick it up through car boot sales, etc.

Do you use any knowledge?

What we've picked up since watching the programme, yes.

There's two things that interest me.

First of all is that the programme gave you that bit of knowledge

to go and pay a fiver for that.

Secondly, did the programme enthuse you

to go and collect in the first place?

Or was that already there?

No, we've never collected anything, really.

We've just started collecting this glass.

This is a Whitefriars vase which is what? 1967, 1969?

Designed by Geoffrey Baxter? Yep.

Is it a figure or eight?

Cello... Or a cello vase.

Are you gonna tell me what it's worth now?

You're making me feel quite superfluous. Go on, what's it worth?

It depends where you're selling it. I would say about ?150.

Did you say 100 to ?150?

If that's what you say. We'll stick at that. 100 to ?150...

Reserve ?100. So that's ?5 of your money back and ?95 to us lot, then?

We'll share it. I'll settle.

On that note we'll go and get it sold, I think.

Now Kath, you've brought along an old "Flog It!" favourite, a lump of Moorcroft.

Tell me about it. Have you had in the family since it was new?

Is it something you found in a car boot sale?

Kept in the back of a cupboard, or what?

Me mum give it me about six years ago.

She had it stuck in a cupboard and it never saw light of day.

She gave it me. That was six years ago, did she know what it was?

No, I didn't either six years ago. Really?

On "Flog It!" we have so many bits of Moorcroft, it's just incredible.

This one is a really quite different one.

This is a good design.

It's one of the early pieces.

It's by William Moorcroft, dated about 1925.

It's known as Moonlight Blue or Moonlit Blue.

This wonderful, delicate combination of colours is very typical of his early works.

When he was working at McIntyre he would do this quite pronounced tube lining

with a contrasting bright blue with white, bright green with pink.

Whereas here, we've gone into the 1920s.

The tube lining has become slightly less pronounced.

The colours merge a little more.

It's a bit more delicate.

If we turn this bowl over, it's signed in the full. W Moorcroft, in green.

Yeah. That's for William Moorcroft, the first William Moorcroft.

William Moorcroft started the factory and then Walter Moorcroft took over

in 1945 and William Moorcroft took it over again later.

This piece, however, would probably have been retailed by Liberty.

Liberty were the main retailers of Moorcroft in this period.

Eventually Moorcroft took over Liberty. Right. After the Second World War.

This is a fantastic example of art pottery at its best.

Bowls aren't as fashionable as vases because they're more difficult to display.

What do you think it's worth?

I haven't a clue. It's been in the cupboard all those years...

Stuck on the shelf in my house, yeah.

You'll be pleased to hear that it's worth 250 to 350, possibly even five.

On a good day? On a good day with a following wind and all the rest of it.

A conservative estimate is so important.

Let's put 300 to 400.

OK. That's fantastic. 300 to 400.

Let's put a reserve of ?300 on it.

So much? Yeah. Oh, my God.

It is doesn't sell for 300 have it back.

I want to get rid of it! OK, well, 280?

If it doesn't sell for 280 put it in a different sale.

You've got to protect it with a reserve. OK.

Let's hope it finds a good home and somebody is gonna really love this.

It's gonna be in pride of place in a Moorcroft collector's cabinet.

As we head to the saleroom, James is confident

that the Victorian music box will be a big hit.

And Geoff and Lesley are hoping to get a good return on their ?5 investment in the Whitefriars vase.

This is one of the most collectible Moorcroft designs, but how much

are the bidders prepared to pay for the little blue bowl.

A bid of ?150. 140, 150, 160, 170 now.

Finished at ?170.

Well, we've got Barbara here but unfortunately Brenda cannot be with us today. She can't make the sale.

Two sisters and a wonderful Victorian music box.

There's lots of memories here.

You and your sister used to play with this musical box when you were kids. That's right.

Sad moment? Yes.

We're selling.

Was it granddad's pride and joy?

Yes. Aw... I can see him with it now.

I love those kind of memories.

They're worth hanging onto, aren't they?

I gather you're splitting the music box with your two sisters, you've got kids...

You can't divide that up, can you? No.

Fingers crossed, let's hope we get the top end of James' valuation, shall we?

Hope so.

Are you singing the right tune, James? I think so.

It's gonna sell, isn't it? 300?

The top is very badly damaged.

250?

Yeah, two-ish, I should think.

It's a lovely little thing. It means a lot to you and your sister.

It's gonna go under the hammer right now.

A musical box there.

What about ?100 for that?

I'm bid 80 here. ?80, 5 now.

At ?80... 5... 90, 5, 110.

110 in the room, any more now?

All done, 110. We sell at 110.

Any more now at 110? All finished?

The hammer's gone down at 110.

Is it sold for 110? It's sold for 110, I think.

Sold at 110.

Right now congratulations is in order because I've just been joined by Geoff and Lesley here.

From the valuation day to today, the auction day, you've got married, haven't you?

And you've been on honeymoon, tell us where you've been?

Bangkok, Hong Kong, Singapore and Bali.

No wonder you look so brown, happy and healthy.

Now it's back to reality, isn't it? Most definitely! Back to work.

Let's hope we can make your arrival home a happy one as well.

We've got some Whitefriars glass by Geoffrey Baxter about to go under the hammer.

We're looking for around about 100 to ?150 for this.

It's the right colour - the tangerine look.

Good luck with that.

Philip, top end on this one, I hope.

It'll do it. It'll sell. It'll sell well.

The Whitefriars cello vase.

Tangerine glass, cello vase.

I have two identical bids of ?115. 115.

120 here. 120, 130 now?

120's in the room. 130, 140, 150?

Someone's keen, look they're just holding their hand up straightaway

with the catalogue, determined.

At 150, all done. 160, 170, 180, 190.

200, 210, 220? 210, lady's bid. 210.

All done now? At ?210...

Yes, cracking result.

That's a sold sound. ?210.

Not bad is it? Not bad at all.

What is that going to buy you?

Just pay off the wedding? Yes.

It's been on the shelf, gathering dust, but no more. It is up for grabs.

It is up for sale and I am sure Kathleen, it is going to fly away.

It is, of course, that lovely blue Moorcroft bowl. Hope so.

It is the star of the Moorcroft here. There is a lot of Moorcroft.

There is about 100 lots, and yours is definitely going to draw in all the collectors. Fantastic.

I had a chat to to the auctioneer, Adam, earlier.

You don't know this either do you? So come in on this.

We both said yes, it could do 600 to ?800 with luck.

If he puts a sum of 600 to ?1,000 as an estimate it won't sell.

No. Put 300 to 500 and it'll make six to eight. Now you know

it's worth an awful lot of money - cos it is, isn't it...?

Do you want to hang on to it? No.

No? No. It is precious.

I'd probably drop it. You'll probably drop it? OK, fair enough.

It's coming under the hammer right now. Watch this. Don't go away.

This is going to be exciting. This is it.

328 is the moonlit blue landscape bowl. What a beautiful bowl.

It is my favourite piece of the Moorcroft.

I've got five bids here, starting me at... Who left 40(?)

Goodness me!

Here we go. I'll send them hate mail!

460 is where I start.

480 now. At 480. 500.

520, 540, 560 in the room. 560.

Any more? 580, 600, 620, 640, 660.

640 here. Any more? At 660.

680, 700, 720, 740, 760, 780.

800... Oh, my God!

At ?780. Are you all finished?

At 780. 800.

Yes. You've got the 800.

800 here. 820, 840. 820.

We sell at 820 now.

820. The hammer went down very sharply there. Brilliant.

?820.

Fantastic. What is the first thing that comes to your mind?

What are you going to spend that money on?

I've got to treat me mum.

You've got to treat your mum. Yeah.

She's going to knocked off her feet, isn't she at that sort of money? Yes.

She'll want it back! Exactly.

Phew! What a scorcher it's been.

"Flog It!" certainly turned on the heat on the saleroom floor this time.

All credit to our experts.

Everybody has gone home happy, but once again it's the Moorcroft

stealing the show and proving to be that 20th-century classic.

Sadly that's all we have time for from Marshall's in Knutsford.

So until the next time, cheerio.

For more information about "Flog It!",

including how the programme was made,

visit the website at bbc.co.uk/lifestyle

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd - 2006

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