Chesterfield Flog It!

This fantastic church may give you a clue where we are today. It's the largest church in Derbyshire.

Flog It! is in Chesterfield!

The spire of the Church of St Mary & All Saints in Chesterfield stands 228 feet above ground level -

but it leans nine feet and five inches off its true centre.

Absolutely incredible!

When it was being constructed, they used unseasoned timber.

That, combined with 32 tons of lead tile,

has caused the spire to twist and turn as the wood is drying out.

It IS incredible, and it has become an architectural landmark.

And not far away is our venue for the valuations, the Winding Wheel Conference Centre.

Today's aspiring experts are Nigel Smith and Charlie Ross.

Trevor, you had a bit of a scoop with this, didn't you?

-You bought this fairly recently.

-Yes, about four years ago.

-And you paid how much?

-£18.

-I wish I'd been there! I would've bought it before you.

It's a piece of Grimwade's "Bairnsfather-ware".

Obviously this was made by Grimwade's of Stoke-On-Trent.

And these amusing prints appear on all manner of things -

ashtrays, little dishes and so on, with these sepia prints on.

Let's turn it upside down, have a look at the marks on the bottom.

There...

"A souvenir of the Great War."

So this would've been made after WWI,

obviously, 1919, 1920, something like that.

It's the biggest piece of Bairnsfather-ware that I've seen.

I haven't seen one as big as that. I've seen the smaller plates.

And they're always humorous. The British are great in the face of adversity, aren't they?

-When you think of the tragedy of WWI...

-Yeah.

..still able to laugh at ourselves along the way.

There's one here of a man juggling hand-grenades and smoking a pipe.

That's gotta be dangerous!

It says, "Keeping his hand in."

This a couple of prints of that...

then there's a chap...obviously from the bomb disposal squad,

straddling this bomb.

"Give it a good hard 'un, Bert -

"you can generally hear 'em fizz before they explode." A great thing.

The little frieze around the top is nice.

Helmet... Mice attacking little tins of corned beef...

It's in fairly good order, made of earthenware.

A little of this enamel border is flaked.

Apart from that, I can't see a lot wrong with it. You got a bargain.

-I knew I'd got a bargain, but... She wanted 24 for it originally, but I knocked her down.

-Knocked her down!

-HE TUTS

-Absolutely!

-Hope she doesn't watch the programme!

I reckon we could put that in at £100-£150, something like that.

-Good, very good. I'd be happy with that!

-What I would think,

the thing to do is put it in with a reserve of £80.

-It's a good thing.

-It's a nice piece, yeah.

Thanks for bringing it. And we'll see you at the auction.

Thank you very much!

-June, hello.

-Hello.

-I've had a peep into this book. You have brought a blockbuster of a book to me today!

What I know about it is that it was among quite a few other books...

-Yeah...?

-..that were bequeathed to the hospital.

-The hospital here?

The hospital - Netheredge, which is now closed. It's in Sheffield.

And the officials at the hospital were going to burn these books

after they'd had them so long - for a few weeks - because they didn't know what to do with them.

-How many books were there?

-I would say...

about...300 or more.

-And maps, old maps.

-This is...

"Snobson's Seasons - the Annals of Cockney Sports by RB Peake,

"with 92 Illustrations by Seymour."

And it's just full of the most wonderful sporting stories.

and brilliant - brilliant! - colour illustrations

in the brightest, brightest colours!

I think this book, although it's a bit torn on the edge, has not been opened very often.

I mean, a poor devil being ducked here...

with this grotesque man,

"You shoot my ducks and I duck you! Dip again, my lads!"

And it's just very, very amusing,

it's beautifully written... Have you ever read it?

I haven't completely. I've sort of skipped through it.

-Do you know how old it is?

-I don't, no.

-It's not dated at all.

But this chap, Snobson, wrote a similar book...

He was writing in 1820, 1830.

So it's an old book. Blimey, it's nearly 200 years old.

-Why do you want to sell it?

-I think cos I have no room for it.

I've had it about...oh, ten years.

-I think we'll sell it without reserve, if you're happy.

-Yes.

-I'd expect it to make £50-£100.

-Good.

I'd be very disappointed if it didn't make £50. But we'll do what we can.

-Thank you very much. It's given me huge amusement.

-Thank YOU.

Mary, you've brought Crown Derby! I said, "We're going to Chesterfield,

"so I hope we see some Derby." You've come up trumps. Thank you very much.

Now, then, where did you get it?

-What can you tell me about it?

-We bought it when it was our 40th wedding anniversary

-as a present to ourselves.

-D'you mind me asking how long ago that was?

Er...! No, wait a minute. We've been married 56 years... 16 years.

16 years ago. It's a lovely piece,

a dressing-table set.

It's nice and complete. The little ring-tree, pin trays,

pots for various ointments and powders,

-And the tray to go on. Have you used it?

-No, I've never used it, no.

It would be expensive when it was made.

And it should be a reasonably expensive thing now.

Turn it over...and if you look at the mark, "Royal Crown Derby, England,"

and then we've got a date cipher.

-That would date it into the 1880s, early 1890s.

-Oh!

They put the blue on first,

onto this bone-china body,

and then they put a transfer-print on with the red decoration,

then the gilding goes on in a separate firing.

Quite an elaborate process to make this beautiful design.

The overall inspiration for these patterns is Japanese porcelain.

We often call these Japan patterns or Imari patterns. Dare I ask you...

what you paid for it 16 years ago?

-I think...not far off £1,000.

-Really?

-£1,000...yeah.

-So I'm worried, you know, that it's not worth that now.

-I can't see you getting £1,000 for it.

-No.

-I would've said £350-£450 is what you're gonna be looking at.

Possibly half of what you paid for it. The thing to do

-is put it in with a reserve on. But you couldn't put it in with £1,000...

-Oh, no, no, no.

-So what would you say?

-I think... I'm probably being conservative,

but if we can say £350-£450...? Or maybe £400-£500 as an estimate...

-Yeah.

-..and put a reserve on of £400.

-Well, we've got to get rid of something.

-The downsizing thing.

-Declutter.

-That's right.

-So, you know... Yeah £400-£500.

-Put a fixed reserve of £400? And I think it'll go on a bit more than that.

-I think we'll sell it.

-I do hope so. Thank you.

-You may get more than I'm anticipating. I hope I'm being very cautious.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-Thanks for bringing it.

-Now, a little bird has told me this doesn't belong to you.

-No.

-But it's in your hands.

-My friend asked me to bring it in to see if it was worth anything, and sell it.

-Right. You know who it's by?

-Moorcroft.

-Do you know anything about the patterns?

-Pomegranate and berry.

Well done! And leaf-and-vine pattern.

What I particularly like about this... By having a lidded object,

we've got two of Moorcroft's designs in one piece. And that's unusual.

As you say, we've got the pomegranate on top

and the leaf-and-vine at the bottom.

It's a trinket jar. I'm not expecting to open it and find any fitments.

I am expecting it to be signed on the bottom, "W Moorcroft".. Here we are.

Moorcroft. Made in England.

And this would've been made between 1910 and 1920.

And...what we've got, really, with this plated rim round it,

is... We're almost coming into the Art Deco period, the '20s, '30s,

-in terms of design.

-Is it silver plated?

-The rim is. I can tell that

-from here.

-So the mark on the back isn't...?

You can see where the base metal is coming through, so it's been well polished, well cleaned.

-I thought that...

-There is a little mark there. Um...

It certainly isn't a hallmark. I think it could be a blemish.

I think - without a glass - it COULD be a serial number.

but is shouldn't worry, cos it's got a number on the pot anyway.

We'll just open it up... Ooh, it's a bit stiff, isn't it?

-I don't think it goes any further.

-I think it should do, cos it'd restrict what you can put in.

But I don't think we'll try.

It's superbly made. The quality of the plate is fabulous.

And it is, as far as I can see, in virtually perfect condition.

I think it's a really, really lovely object. So why is she selling it?

-They just don't need it. They're not into antiques.

-They're not?

-No.

Has she given you instructions? "If it is a certain value, it can be sold"?

She said, "Above £200, I think we'll sell it."

I think you're bang-on with regard to an estimate, £200-£300. I've got a feeling, as it's an unusual item,

-we could well see a little bit of plus there. Reserve at £200 with discretion?

-Mm-hmm.

-Do you know what she has in mind? If you take her £200 or £300 home...?

-Might go towards a holiday.

-A holiday. Could we get her along to the auction?

-I don't think so.

-Is she a recluse?

-No - she just doesn't like cameras!

The antiques have just kept on coming in today. Our experts have been spoiled for choice.

So far, we have four great items to take off to the auction room.

Trevor bought this Bairnsfather jardiniere four years ago for £18.

Nigel's predicting a good profit.

June saved this book from the bonfire.

Its coloured illustrations will really light up the sale room.

Mary Anne and her husband paid nearly £1,000 for their Royal Crown Derby.

I'm not sure they'll get all their money back.

Finally, two patterns for one - a very rare piece of Moorcroft.

It's fabulous quality and will sell well.

For our auction, we've come to Bamfords in Matlock. It's one of my favourite auction rooms.

On the rostrum, our good friend James Lewis. I wonder what he thinks of some of our valuations?

You're recognise this. Lots of local interest. Crown Derby.

-Nigel has put an estimate of £400-£500. Will it do it?

-I mean...

everything about this is great.

It's a great factory, a good colour, good condition - it's all great...

-apart from the estimate.

-Why?

-Well...

-I sell more Royal Crown Derby than anyone else in the country.

-Well, this is the place for it.

I do an official valuation day AT Royal Crown Derby, seeing loads of it, every month.

I've sold dozens of these.

And there's one of these in the antiques centre, locally, £280.

This, you look at each individual piece, and it's really £200-£300. that's what it's worth at auction.

So what you're basically saying... I think what James is saying is that this is gonna struggle.

If it sells, it will be fantastic, an amazing result for it.

And I'm hoping it will but, you know... Really, on past performances, it's worth about...

-You know your market, James. It's too much.

-It's too much.

We're gonna have to wait and find out. Don't go away - this'll be really interesting!

I feel sorry for Nigel but, fingers crossed, let's just all work really hard, and hope they take it away.

Something to put your pot plants in - a Grimwade's jardiniere, and it belongs to Trevor.

Early 1920s. Now, this could be a very good buy from Trevor.

We've got £100-£150 valuation on it. You bought this four years ago.

-18 quid!

-£18, yeah.

-Well, that's a good buy, isn't it?!

-You've got a keen eye, then.

-I've always liked Grimwade's -

Winton, as it is now. I love it.

Were you happy with Nigel's valuation? Our expert, Nigel, put the value on. £100-£150.

-Well, he's an expert, so yes.

-Well, apparently(!) I was quite happy with that valuation -

I'm not so sure I'm happy now!

The Grimwade's jardiniere, there it is,

with the Bairnsfather sketches and cartoons.

Two bids on it, and I can start it at £85.

90 do I see? 90 in the room first.

90 and five...? And five. 100...

110, 120...shakes his head at £120.

£130, standing.

Oh, they like this. It's great, isn't it? Come on.

£140...? £140 on the phone.

150...160...

160 on the phone, 170.

180...?

No?

At £170, bid on the phone...

-Sold for £170.

-I'm chuffed with that.

-I bet!

£18 investment!

-Whoo!

-I'm gonna buy some more.

-Are you really?

-Do you have an eye for antiques?

-I just love the day out.

Where do you buy all this stuff, all this "cheap gear"?

Exactly!

This is a lovely lot, a calf-bound book full of sporting illustrations and stories, and it belongs to June.

-Not for much longer!

-No - I hope!

-It's absolutely charming.

Not a lot of money, £50. Hopefully, we'll get that top end of £100.

-That'll buy a fence panel, won't it, for my garden?

-Is that where the money's going? Fence panels!

-Has the fence started to rot away, then?

-Yes.

-Aw!

-Now, this was one of how many books - 300?

-Yes. I didn't have the full 300.

But there were about 300 in all.

The illustrations are splendid, beautifully coloured. We read a bit of the book.

It's written in the most extraordinary, satirical way.

But you're right, it isn't particularly valuable, and the condition isn't great.

-But if it makes £40, £50, we'll be happy. Especially if it was going in a skip!

-Exactly.

A classic bit of recycling! It's going under the hammer now, June.

Leather-bound, nice book.

Has some fantastic illustrations in it.

Who'll give me £50 for it? 50...?

Anyone want it at 50?

£50 taken. £50 - and five do I see?

Five anywhere? Is that it? At £50...

A single bid at £50...

You got £50, so that's really good.

-Lovely.

-Straight in, straight out.

-Yes.

Really the Crown Derby? A bit of local interest. It belongs to Mary,

-who's looking absolutely wonderfully colourful and beautiful.

-Thank you!

You were so nervous. It's her first auction. We'll look after you on Flog It!

Now, you've got £400-£500 on this.

I had a chat to our auctioneer, James Lewis, Nigel.

James said he thinks it's slightly over-valued.

He walked up to the local antiques centre and saw two complete sets, identical, for £200-£300.

-Oh, dear.

-We might just struggle.

-There's a lot of it around.

-Well, there's a lot around. But it's quality.

It is, isn't it? It's quality.

-If this makes £400, we'll nip down the antiques centre and buy the other two, shall we?

-I think we're ALL mad!

Good luck. Here we go.

Royal Crown Derby. In lovely condition.

Lots of it - the pots, the covers, the ring-stand AND the tray.

Let's see a bid of £400, please.

£400...?

£300, then? Do I see three?

300 I have. £320 do I see?

At £300 and 20 is it? 320...?

It's with me at £300.

Let's see £320. Nope? No bids.

Nope, that's not sold.

No, there's a bit too much around.

It doesn't help that there's two identical dressing-table sets literally 50 metres up the road

-in the local antiques centre.

-Yeah.

-You can but try.

-Yes. Thank you very much.

-A bit over-ambitious.

I'm not SO concerned, actually, cos I like it.

-I think it's beautiful.

-I'll take it home.

-And look after it - and have wonderful memories of Flog It!

We're always banging on that if you want to invest in antiques, buy quality - a good maker's name -

AND good condition. This lot has got the lot.

But you've gotta be here to buy it. It belongs to Winona. A Moorcroft pomegranate-pattern lidded pot.

-Absolutely stunning.

-Gorgeous.

-Charlie's put the value on it. £200-£300. It should do well.

It's a shame it's got the silver-plate ringing and not pewter,

-cos the Arts & Crafts enthusiasts really like it with the pewter.

-Bizarre, really. You'd think that...

-being silver-plate, it was more valuable, better quality.

-Yes!

-But it's an Arts & Crafts...thing.

Lot 230 is...

the Moorcroft pomegranate and berries trinket box and cover.

A nice lot indeed, this one. very unusual.

I can start the bidding at the lower end of the estimate, at £200... 200.

£210 do I see? At £200 and ten is it?

210 in the room here. 210...

£220, 240 for you...? 240,

260. 280?

280, 300...320?

320. 340?

340...360...380?

380,

390, 400. 400 has it.

420 do I see...? At £400 here.

Against the Internet, against the absentee bid... Are we all sure?

(Yes!)

The hammer's gone down. Winona...

-I know!

-£400!

-Thank you very much!

-Fantastic!

What are you gonna put £400 towards?

It belongs to a friend, actually. It's going to a holiday fund.

-A holiday fund?

-Where are they going?

-Why couldn't they be here today?

-Didn't want to be on camera.

-Aw!

-Left it up to me.

-That was a cracking item.

-Mmm. Internet bidding, commission bidding. And one in the room, which is nice.

Just goes to show - quality always sells.

The great thing about Flog It

is that I get to go out and about all over the British Isles.

I love the countryside, I'm an outdoor person at heart. And walking keeps you fit and healthy.

And looking at all the different regional scenery is so inspiring.

I'm in Castleton in the Peak District. You'll have to agree,

looking at that as a backdrop - well, that is just dramatically so beautiful.

The Peak District was the first National Park to be established,

way back in 1951.

At its heart is the village of Castleton, nestled in the idyllic Hope Valley.

And to tell me more about the history of this area,

I've met with National Park Officer Bill Bevan.

So where our first port of call?

-Just here. St Edmund's Church.

-Quite a good call! I think we should go in and say a prayer -

and hopefully, get the rain to stop!

THEY CHUCKLE

It feels like there's centuries of history in the church. When was it built?

-It was originally built by the Normans, so that's about 1,000 years ago.

-This IS a Norman arch,

-isn't it?

-It is, and it's actually the only Norman bit of the church that's survived.

-It's got the wide...

-Yeah, nice and soft, and quite low.

-That's right.

I love some of the carving here! You've got a date, here.

It says 1663...

"Robert Hall." Who was he? Do we know?

The Halls were a well-known family of the 17th C in Castleton.

You're see a lot of the names on the pews.

As an archaeologist, I'm actually very interested in the history of the town as it's evolved over time.

The Normans created a planned market town here after the Norman Conquest of 1066.

They gave it the name Castleton after the castle they built. But that wasn't the original village.

The original was Anglo-Saxon, and it was then called The Peak's Arse.

-The Peak's Arse?!

-I'm afraid so.

-Why was it called that?

It was named after the cavern, Peak Cavern, which is just behind the village.

That's where the water supply for the village comes from.

Supposedly, when the wind's in the right direction, strange rumbling noises come out of the cavern.

Hence the name.

And we know that it was called that because it's written down in the Domesday Book as Peak's Arse.

So there you go, it IS official! What a lovely story!

-Shall we go up to the castle?

-Let's do that.

Phew! We're nearly there. I tell you what - it keeps you fit!

My word! Once you're up here, at the very top, that view!

Even on a day like today, it looks superb.

-Gosh! That really is atmospheric, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Point out some of the peaks and the hills.

-Over this side,

we have the Millstone Grit side of the valley. The large one, that's Lose Hill.

-That's part of a pair, Lose Hill and Win Hill.

-What, "win or lose"?

-That's exactly right!

Over 1,00 years ago, there was supposedly a battle here between the Northumbrians and Mercians.

The Mercians camped under one hill, the Northumbrians under the other.

-Lose Hill is where the Mercians were.

-The Northumbrians won.

-They did.

-What's the next one along?

-Back Tor.

-Then we have the ridge along to Man Tor, ahead of us.

-That's big.

That's the biggest one in the area. A well-known hill.

It has a prehistoric hill-fort right on top of it, built over 3,000 years ago.

-Wow.

-So that pre-dates the castle down here...

-Exactly.

-..by 2,000 years.

And this a Roman fort further down the valley. This really was a valley of forts in ancient times.

It's a great location for a fortress! What a stronghold!

-Imagine trying to storm it by climbing up there! that is a sheer drop, that walk.

-That is.

-I mean - how long it's taken us to get up here...

-Yeah.

-And on the other two sides,

It's completely cut off from the valley side by fissures. So you can't actually walk on to the castle.

You have to go over by a bridge or climb up the slope. If you're a new Norman lord - unpopular in the area -

you want the safest spot to build your castle.

The castle was built by William Peveril, a son of William the Conqueror,

in 1086, and so became Peveril Castle.

And from this stronghold, the Peverils controlled the land

and collected the taxes for the king.

We're now right at the very top.

There really is no shelter, we're exposed to the elements.

-The keep - was that built by William Peveril as well?

-This wasn't.

This was actually built at the end of the 12th C, when they changed the castle from a wooden fortification -

originally built by Peveril, into the stone castle you see today.

in 1400, this became a prison.

It had been the home of the Peveril family until then. They didn't need such a fortification to live in,

-by then - they lived elsewhere - so this was turned into a prison for the local criminals.

-I've got to say,

looking around... Well, this is your office, isn't it? I'm very envious of you. Look at what you've got

to work in every day! Look at that!

I tell myself every day never to take it for granted. I'm very glad I'm helping tell visitors

-about the heritage of the area, and encourage 'em to discover more.

-Yep, rain or shine, it looks brilliant!

-Thanks VERY much for giving us the tour.

-My pleasure!

-Mine as well!

Back at the Winding Wheel, there's no chance of the weather spoiling our day.

Inside in the warm, Nigel and Charlie are hard at it.

-Betty.

-That's right.

-From Sheffield.

-Yes.

-This doesn't come from Sheffield, though.

-Nope!

-You tell me about it first.

-It's just that a friend was moving house.

-And she gave it to us.

-Really?

-Yes.

-She obviously didn't know what she was giving away.

-I think she probably did.

-Did she? Very generous.

-This is the sort of thing that's made where I come from.

-Oh, right.

-"Oop north!"

-Oop north!

-We sell a lot of these pieces.

This is a piece of "Mousey Thompson", as we call it

-because of the mouse motif. The Robert Thompson firm started, really as church furnishers.

-Right.

They started way back in the '20s, I think. My local parish church is full of Mousey Thompson furniture.

-The children, every year, go round and count the mice in the church.

-Oh!

Lots of churches and public buildings you got to in North Yorkshire are full of this type of furniture.

They made all sorts of small novelty items later on, really.

They made breadboards, cheese-boards, book racks, candlesticks,

all sort of little things like that, which are very collectable now. The very early things in Mousey Thompson

can make a lot of money. This, I suspect, isn't that old.

-I would guess 20, maybe 30 years maximum.

-Oak, I think.

-Made of nice, light oak.

-Yes.

-The great thing is the little mouse motif.

-That's the signature of the factory, really.

-I don't like mice.

-You don't?

Value-wise... Well, what do you think? Would you take £50 for it?

-No.

-£30?

-No.

-I think it's gonna make 100-150.

-Yes.

That's more like it. More like it.

-Do you require a fixed reserve?

-Yes, please. £100.

-You're not gonna budge from 100?

-No.

We'll give it a go. I think it should fetch that quite comfortably.

I know if it was sold in my part of the world, it would easily make that. What are you gonna do with the cash?

-I shall probably take the friend who handed it down, we'll go for a meal.

-So the friend that gave it to you,

-you're gonna treat them.

-Yes.

-That's a lovely idea! What a nice idea.

We'll go out and have a Yorkshire carvery, I think.

Barbara, what a BLAZE of colour!

Seldom have I seen so many toys that haven't been played with!

It's a real treat. I have to say, at this stage, you've got a boxful.

-And although these are the better ones, we've got others we couldn't get on camera, haven't we?

-We have.

-Where did they come from?

-They're my husband's.

They've been stored away for a lot of years, very rarely saw daylight.

So they've not really been played with.

But my husband is quite ill. And the grandchildren don't particularly want them. So...

We have talked about selling them for a number of years, on and off,

we've been through the process.

But thank goodness people haven't played with them. Virtually all of these here have their boxes.

A collector will go wild when he sees this lot,

because invariably they're chipped and bashed, or haven't got boxes,

or the boxes are torn.

Even the boxes are in good condition! It really is an example of how to keep a collection.

-They've been stored in a big case.

-Marvellous. And they're early.

-These toys are 1950s.

-Yes.

-Excellent, again.

My husband would've been collecting them since he was roughly 10 or 11,

-if they were '50s.

-So he bought them new?

-He'd have bought them new.

T are are one or two here... I LOVE...

this Slumberland lorry.

It's very easy to remove a transfer from these, easy to scratch them.

-And this is complete. "Slumberland... by appointment to the KING."

-Yes.

That's quite interesting. The other thing I like here is the AA man.

-You don't see those on the roads any more!

-They used to salute you as you drove past.

Did they? My father was a member of the AA. However, I'm not sure he paid his subs.

I think he probably got a badge from somebody and put it on the car.

-But it was always that.

-Yes, it was.

-Yeah... A nice tanker here, too.

The colours are great, aren't they?

-And a nice, thick gauge. They really made them well!

-Solid.

-Once you get into the '60s and '70s,

the gauge of metal is much thinner, plastic windows - there's more to damage. Funnily enough,

the ones that are more intricate, the diggers,

probably don't have the value of the lorries.

The Boden flat-back lorries are valuable and collectable,

-and so is the tanker.

-Yes.

-I'm gonna suggest

-that, assuming you're prepared to sell them...

-Yes.

-..that we sell them as one collection.

-I think that would be a good idea.

-I

-think that would be a good idea.

-The sensible saleroom estimate would be £400-£600.

-Yes.

-Yup.

-That's probably about what you were expecting?

-I think it is.

-There wasn't that, "Ahhh!" look on your face.

-No. £400-£500, we thought.

And I think that's a tempting estimate. And I'd like to think

we might steam on a bit. We might even produce one of those golden Flog It! moments.

-Oh, yes - we see those, don't we?

-We do. Thank you, Barbara, very much indeed

for favouring us with your collection.

It's one of the best Flog It! collections I've seen in Dinky Toys,

-particularly the condition. Marvellous.

-Thank you.

John, what a magnificent figure.

-It is beautiful, isn't it?

-You remember this from an early age?

-Yes.

I remember it from when I was about six or seven.

It used to stand on top of a piano on the upstairs landing of our house.

Every time I went upstairs, I used to stop and look at it

-and admire the fine work.

-You weren't allowed to touch it?

-Oh, no! No, no.

-Where was your house?

-In Martham in Norfolk. A nice house, it was.

But now I live in a rather cluttered little flat, and I'm afraid I haven't room to show it.

-Did it come down the family?

-I really don't know. My mum and dad had it.

I THINK she might have inherited it from her father, but I'm not sure.

But it's certainly 55 years old that I know of.

Yes - a bit older still. It's a nice thing.

-It's made of hard-paste porcelain. It's quite heavy, isn't it?

-Yes.

Quite a lump! We describe these things as being "in the white".

Normally, a figure like this would've been coloured, either "on the biscuit",

-or glazed with enamels.

-Oh!

But this is in the white. I think it's more elegant for that.

The condition is fairly good!

There's one tiny little nick on the base.

And just a tiny flake on the front. Apart from that, it's all there.

-Mm-hmm.

-You've got these lovely applied little flowers - hand-made, the little petals -

all encrusted on. And she's standing elegantly on this base

with more flowers at the bottom.

-And very nice shoes.

-I suppose the style of her dress would be...

mid-18 C. The figure's not that old. We'll turn it upside down,

have a look at the base. There's a mark.

That's a crossed-swords mark with a little star on the top of it.

That's a Meissen mark... for the Dresden factory.

As a Flog It! fan, I had thought that, but...

And the little dot normally means that it's a period...early 19th C.

It was called the "Marcolini period"

of the Meissen factory. So we're looking round about 1800, 1810.

-Having said that, I think this is a little bit later, and I'm not sure it's Meissen.

-Oh.

For that reason, I'll be a little bit more conservative on value.

-I would suggest, probably, an estimate of £200, maybe £300.

-Mm-hm.

-Would you be happy with that sort of figure?

-Yes. That would be OK.

-What are you gonna do with £200-£300?

-My partner Sue and I, we both love Scotland,

and she's said several times she'd like to go to Shetland,

-so if we got that...

-You'll send her?

-I'll go with her! It'll pay for the overnight ferry from Aberdeen,

-which would be nice.

-Well, we'll put it in the sale. We're gonna put a reserve on it, aren't we?

-Er, yes, I think perhaps 180?

-I think 180 as fixed. That's fair.

-We'll do our best for you.

-Thank you!

What a day we've had in Chesterfield!

We haven't stopped once. Our final three lots are just about to go off to auction -

Betty's Mousey Thompson bookshelf,

John's porcelain figure in the white

and Barbara's husband's collection of Dinky Toys

which I'm sure will get the bidders very excited.

In every auction room, your gonna find a storeroom.

I James Lewis' case, it's upstairs in this converted cinema.

It's full of treasures ready for the next sale, a fine-art sale in six weeks.

It's in storage and ready to be catalogued.

And something has caught my eye. Well - it smacked me in the face!

You cannot miss this WWI propeller.

It says DEH which, I'm pretty sure, is "de Havilland."

And it's a left-hand prop.

That is some propeller! It's made of Cuban mahogany.

And it's made of laminate. You can see all the sections laminated together.

Most propellers from WWI...

will always have the blades of the propeller tipped...with a canvas.

It's literally stretched and glued on.

This will stop the end-grain of the wood from splitting open.

This is really nice. It's actually got its own maker's label.

Maple & Co of London, 1917.

It's a very sculptural piece - you need a BIG wall to put it on.

But you can imagine a big, white wall with it stuck in the middle - what a display!

Our next item is about to go under the hammer. It belongs to John.

-Hi, John.

-Hi.

-It's a late 19th C porcelain figure in hard-paste.

Will it prove HARD to sell at £200-£300? A bit of pressure on Nigel, our expert who valued it!

John, we know you need the money.

He's just been made redundant. Can you guess what John did for a living?

The little badge on his lapel will give you a clue. Take a look.

It is a lighthouse!

-So you're a lighthouse keeper!

-I was, yes. For 20 years.

-Gosh! is that a solitary life?

-It is, but I enjoyed it. I liked being far from the maddening crowd!

-The further out to sea, the better.

-Well, we're in a madding crowd here!

-We might be out to sea as well!

Nigel, we need top money for this.

Hmm, it's a difficult market at the moment. I think it's more commercial in today's market cos it IS white.

Years ago, people would've preferred a coloured, fancier design.

-Because it's white, we might stand a chance.

-Gd1

-Tope end - he says good!

Er...it should sell. But I don't think it's gonna run away.

The Continental figure glazed in white, late 19th C.

Good, big decorative figure!

We've got one...two...three bids, all very close together.

-£180 bid.

-That's the reserve.

-190?

At 180 I can just let it go. At 180.

Do I see 190? Selling...

at 180, the commission bid.

Anyone in the room? At 180,

letting it go...

Hammer's gone down. Short and sweet.

-180...

-Hmm.

-Blink and you'll miss it, that was so quick!

That's all I can say. We got it away, John, that's the good news...

-I was hoping for a bit more than that.

-I think we all were.

-Nigel was. So was I.

-I think it's suffered cos there's been no pictures on the Internet.

None of the lots have been on the Web. So people perhaps didn't know it was there.

There's a lot of people here, but it's a case of if they want to buy 19th C porcelain, isn't it?

We've got some Robert "Mousey" Thompson going under the hammer right now! It belongs to Betty.

-Not for much longer. It was valued by our Yorkshireman. A bit of local interest for you!

-I see lots of it.

-I love it.

-We've got £100-£150 on it.

-It's so tactile!

-I know - I've got quite attached to it while I've been stood in line with it!

-Aww!

Well, it's going under the hammer right now! This is it!

Mousey Thompson, a great little lot, this one!

A good investment, mouse-man, always has been. one, two, three bids,

-all very, very close together.

-Three bids on the book!

-£75 - not enough.

I've got a bid of £95 and a bid of £100. 110 do I see?

110? At £100.

110? At 110.

£120?

At £110. On commission, at £110...

-Pow - hammer's gone down.

-Well, there you go.

-That's all right!

-We sold it.

-The lower end, but we sold it.

-That's fine. Somebody will use it, won't they, and enjoy it.

-She's right. A very good investment. They're very collectable.

-They are.

-Nigel's thinking...

-I can see that one going north!

-Going back home!

-Yeah.

This is the one I've been waiting for. We've seen 'em with splendid results on Flog It! before,

-Dinky Toys. We've been joined by Barbara and...?

-Daniel.

-Hello!

So it's a proper family day out. D'you realise Gran is flogging your inheritance?

Lots of Dinky Cars here.

It's the lorries that are collectable, really collectable.

We've got a valuation of £400-£600.

We've seen the lorries sell for well over £800 before, so...

-If I can make the lower estimate, I shall be happy.

-If we make £400,

you'll be happy?

-I take it you've got lots of grandchildren?

-Five.

-So you can't divide the cars up anyway.

-No.

So whatever they make, the money's going to be divided between the grandchildren.

-They're going to buy something so they can remember Granddad.

-Something to remember Granddad by.

Isn't Grandma a lovely granny?!

-That's what grannies are all about, isn't it?

-Granny's brought a bonus.

She's found some tyres, two boxes of tyres in mint condition.

-She's gonna give them to the buyer.

-Yeah, a bit of a bonus.

-So if they get a puncture...

-They'll be fine.

They can have 24 punctures. There's two boxes!

A very large - and a very good - collection of Dinkys, some boxed.

And there is loads of interest.

-And, hopefully, a few bids in the room.

-The lowest bid...

-is 650.

-Ooh!

-Straight in!

700, 750,

800, 850...

900 starts it.

950 do I see?

950 in the room.

1,000.

And 50.

1,100, 1,150...1,200

and 50.

1,300...and 50?

At £1,300.

On the book at £1,300.

£1,350 do I see? At 1,300...

One more?

Go on...! £1,350.

At £1,350... 40? No.

-You've...

-LAUGHTER

-You've got 'em.

At 1,350. It always pays to have another go. At 1,350...

Anybody else? £1,350.

-Yes!

-Yay! The hammer's down, Daniel!

£1,350.

How fantastic is that?

That was wonderful, wasn't it, Daniel? First Flog It! experience and first auction experience.

-Well, thank you so much.

-Thank you!

-What a fantastic day we've had in Matlock enjoying our sale.

-I hope you've enjoyed the show. Join us for plenty of surprises next time on Flog It!

-Thank you very much!

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