Windermere Flog It!

Today's programme comes from Windermere in the Lake District.

Welcome to Flog It!

This is England's most dramatic landscape, with soaring mountains,

including all five English peaks, over 900 metres high.

They sweep so majestically down to the waters of 16 lakes.

Lake Windermere is by far the largest, at 10½ miles long.

Today, we are the guests of Lake School.

Our experts, Adam Partridge and James Lewis, are standing by

to get into all those bags and boxes, in search of interesting objects.

But first, let's get this show on the road.

Adam is first to the table today.

-Hi, Dorothy.

-Hello.

-Welcome to Flog It!

Why have you come today?

It was a nice day, and I wasn't doing anything else, so I thought I would come and see you here.

That's very nice.

And you've brought along a vase.

-Yes.

-Tell us about the vase. What do you know of it?

All I know is the name on the bottom, which is Ruskin.

-Yes, it's a good name.

-I think so.

A good name in the art world.

-Something to do with the glaze.

-They did different types of glazes.

The most valuable are the high-fired, lustre glazes, of which this isn't one.

But it is still a good name. The Ruskin Pottery started at the end of the 19th century, 1898.

It was closed in 1935, when the founder died.

This one dates from the early 20th century, I guess 1910 to 1920.

It's quite easy to tell because we have the mark, Ruskin, England.

In 1920 onwards, it says, "Made In England". So we know it was pre-1920.

-Where did you get it from?

-A car boot.

-Recently?

-No, about five years ago.

It was a very good buy.

-Was it? May I ask?

-£2.

-£2.

That wasn't bad. Why did you buy it? Because you liked it or because you recognised the name?

I didn't recognise it. I thought it was another piece of pottery, Cranston ware.

I know the Cranston stuff, it looks a little bit like the Charlotte Rhead stuff,

-with tube lining on it.

-Yes, that's right.

I have some in brown, and I knew they did it in blue, and I thought that was a piece of that.

People watching are either going to love or they're going to hate it.

There is no middle ground with something like this.

I like the art pottery of the early 20th century. I think it is a nice piece.

-Very heavy.

-Yes, it is heavy.

-What do you think it will make at auction?

-Who knows!

-Have a guess.

More than £2.

I think 60 to 100.

-Is that all right?

-Yes, 100 reserve.

-No, 60 reserve.

-OK.

-Is that OK?

-Yes.

-60 reserve. 60 to 100 estimate, and let's hope it makes a bit more than £100.

-OK.

-Thank you for bringing it in.

-Thank you.

Anthea, when I spotted him in the queue, I picked you out for two reasons.

The first one is the obvious one, which is this.

The most fantastic Art Nouveau-style three-piece silver tea service.

We see lots of these on the show.

Something that makes this slightly more unusual

is you don't often see a three-piece silver tea service in a box.

Almost always, as soon as they come in these presentation cases,

they get put in the sideboard and the box is chucked out. So this is lovely to see it.

The style of this is just wonderful.

If you take the sugar basin, for example,

the shape is very Art Nouveau in style.

This is known as planishing. It is made to look as if it is hand-made.

These are little dents that are left in there on purpose.

A silversmith can quite easily smooth those out.

So this is Art Nouveau, Arts and Crafts, harking back to earlier craftsmanship.

The emphasis is on handmade.

And these wonderful split handles,

terminating in a flower head at the end.

Again, a lot of influence there from nature.

We look at the date. We are expecting something 1900, 1910, classic Art Nouveau period.

-But here, we have 1928.

-It would be my grandmother's wedding.

She was obviously a lover of Art Nouveau,

because this was made in the height of the Art Deco period.

That makes it interesting, because you would expect no influence of nature, no planished designs

on the silver, angular handles, very stylised, very modern-looking.

So... That's the most interesting part, really,

the fact that something was made totally out of style for its period.

But it's a lovely shape.

It is. I love the legs and the handles.

Why do you want to sell it?

For most of my life, it's sat in cupboards in my mum's sideboard,

and it's now in my sideboard.

Just occasionally, as a child, I bullied my mum into using it once or twice.

-But a silver teapot is a nightmare to clean!

-They're not practical, are they?

-No.

-Do you use normal tea or teabags?

-Teabags nowadays.

-Tea cups and saucers or mugs?

-Mugs.

Me too. And that really is where we get a little bit of a problem when it comes to the value.

-Nobody uses them.

-In the 1920s and '30s, everybody had a silver tea service, anybody with money.

And ladies didn't work, they would stay at home and there would be afternoon tea.

You'd invite guests and that was the lifestyle of that period.

Today, mugs, tea bags, kettle, straight in and off.

Nobody wants to polish it, nobody wants to use it,

so we are wrestling, really, with an unfashionable object

but a wonderful style.

Then again, a downer on it is the initials, so that counts against it.

Then it's got its box, and that's in its favour!

Where do we pitch this? It's not easy.

Do you have any idea of what you think it's worth?

I would have thought 150 to 200.

Maybe 150 is a bit low.

Let's put 200 to 300 on it, and a reserve of £180.

That sounds fine.

Let's take it and see how we do.

Brilliant.

Jason, considering it was built, the main components, in about 1850,

it's in full working order.

-Whose is this spinning wheel?

-It's my mother's.

She did some domestic help in Grange, a little village not far from here.

She has been left it in a will and she just asked me to bring it here to find out what it's worth.

The spinning wheels were used all over the British Isles.

It's hard to tell if this was for spinning cotton or flax.

I don't know if it's Irish or Scottish or one from the West Country,

but they were used around Cumbria a lot too.

-It will be nice know if there was local history to it.

-You never know.

It's not entirely what it seems, OK?

It's built of fruit wood, it's cherry wood.

It has some lovely turned bobbins. I love the wheel and the offset cam.

All this is hand-wrought by a blacksmith. But there are a few alterations.

That foot pedal has been put on roundabout the 1920s,

because this works on a treadle motion.

You've got a handle here which starts it off.

You start the offset Cam off,

it starts to move and you carry on with the foot.

That's pedal power. You just keep it going.

That would have taken all the abuse.

What I would like to see on that is the wear,

the undulations where the sole of the foot has just crunched down, over the years,

making this lovely smooth curve.

-Dipping here.

-There would be a dip.

A foot impression, lots of wear and no sharp edges. That is 1920s oak.

Something else that has been added at a later date is this.

This is a winding-on reel.

Once this would be full, you could then offload it onto this.

This would then be taken out,

stored away and brought back at a later date to wind back on.

You can see this is pine, and this has been stained to look like the cherry wood.

-It's not an original winder?

-It's not an original one, but it has been used.

This is the beauty of it. We're not looking at a bit of sculpture. It is not a bit of folk art.

It is actually an industrial machine.

If I can point out some of the little turnings here.

All of them have a lovely finial at the top, which is a sign of quality.

Moving down, you've got flattened ball turnings. Underneath that is a cotton reel turning.

Can you see that? And then it goes into a classical vase turning. It's wonderful.

The whole thing does come apart. It's all kit form.

And it feels so nice and tactile.

I think somebody would really appreciate that, put that in the corner of the room and look at it.

And what we're selling is a bit of sculpture, folk art.

-Nice in a farmhouse or something.

-It looks the part.

If this was in its original, unique state,

£600 to £800.

Because it is very collectable.

It should go in a bygone museum. But because it's been altered,

there are a few components which aren't right, it's devalued it completely.

It now becomes a decorator's piece.

But I think, in auction, if we can get £150 to £200, that's a good result.

I'd like to put it into auction with a valuation of 120 to 180 on it.

-I'm sure my mother will be happy with that.

-Thank you, Jason.

Linda, this piece of pottery. What do you know about it?

I think it is Wemyss, from Scotland.

And it was my grandmother's, in London.

That's interesting, because it was actually retailed in London, by TE Goode.

Fantastic retailers of very fine quality pottery and porcelain.

You're in good company having a piece of Weymss, because probably the most famous collector of all

was the Queen Mother.

-The most famous thing that they produce were these great big pottery pigs. Have you seen those?

-No.

There are about this big, and they're painted with shamrocks and roses.

They came in different models, but Wemyss can go for an awful lot of money.

-The big pottery pigs make £3,000 or £4,000.

-Oh!

If you've got a rare set, if you have the piglets lying on their side, they can make £15,000.

I have no pigs!

No pigs, no piglets. But we've got a honey pot.

That's not bad.

Again, all hand-painted. Wonderful rustic scenes.

If we take this, look at that.

-Isn't that wonderful?

-It's lovely.

-Very primitive, but it has a charm about it.

That is what people look for.

But this one is sadly damaged.

We've got a chip here out of the side.

It is crazed and discoloured. We have a chip to the finial.

-That is because it has been used.

-You used it, really?

-I use it.

-Use it for honey?

-Yes, in the B&B. I've got a B&B, and I think it's a bit too good.

But people love it.

-I bet they do.

-They slice away at it.

That's wonderful. It is a great thing.

-Whenever people are looking at late 19th, 20th century ceramics, condition is everything.

-Yes.

None of it's serious and it's all restorable.

We need to work out an estimate to put on it.

I think if we put... Well, what do you think?

I don't know.

-80?

-I think that's mean.

-Oh, do you?

-You should make a bit more than that. Let's put 150.

-Oh!

150, 200, somewhere around there, and I think it will still do well.

You don't want to give it away. Let's take it to the sale and see how we do.

Fine, OK, thank you.

What a fantastic batch of antiques we have found so far.

It's time to put those valuations to the test.

Time for our first visit to the auction room.

Here's a quick run-down of all the items that are going to go under the hammer.

Dorothy's vase. Although it's not of the highest quality,

nevertheless it's a great example of Ruskin.

James was intrigued by this Art Nouveau-style silver tea service,

which dates from the Deco period.

I thought Jason's mum's 19th-century spinning wheel was a real winner,

despite some more recent renovations.

And finally, Linda's Wemyss honey pot has seen some use and better days!

But its essential charm speaks for itself.

Today, we are at Penrith Farmers' and Kidds' Auctioneers, and the man at the podium is Alan Atkinson.

He'll be seeing whether our experts' valuations measure up.

Now, talking of measuring up, look at these slide rules.

I bet you can't guess what these are used for.

That is a pretty odd shape.

It extends and contracts this way,

and is calibrated on the face side there, if you can see.

That measures - if you haven't guessed by now - the width of a barrel.

This one,

the longer yardstick...

That moves this way. It's calibrated on both face sides

and that will measure the length of a barrel.

They were used by the authorities to make sure

there was as much beer in the barrel as the brewery said there was.

So, nobody ended up with short measures.

Coming up first is that very bright blue vase.

The Ruskin vase. A bit of quality, and it belongs to a very colourful Dorothy. What an outfit!

-I know.

-Isn't that lovely?

-That brightens up a dull day.

-Thank you.

-It does, yes.

-You bought this Ruskin vase in a boot sale?

-Yes.

-A few years ago.

-About ten years ago.

-How much did you pay for it?

-£2.

-That's not a bad buy.

-Not a bad buy, was it?

-Hopefully we're gonna get 100 quid today, 150.

-Who knows.

-Who knows?

We just need two eager bidders.

What do you think this will do, Adam? Top end?

I'm hoping it'll make 100-plus.

It's not gonna be a fortune because the very expensive Ruskin ones are the high-fired ones.

-This one isn't one of those.

-100 quid would be nice.

-It would be lovely, yes.

We're gonna find out what you're gonna do with the £100 after we've sold it

because it's going under the hammer now. Good luck.

305, the Arts and Crafts style Ruskin pottery vase.

Rather a nice one there. £60 bid.

£60, the lot. 70, 80, 90. £90 bid.

£90 the lot, at 90.

100, and 10. 120, 130.

140. £140 bid.

140. Anywhere else now? 140.

150.

This is great. This is really good.

-160.

-On the phone.

170, 180...

£180 on the telephone now, and selling. At £180.

The hammer's gone down, £180.

-Very good.

-What are you gonna do with that?

-Oh, have a holiday, I suppose.

-Where?

Somewhere warm.

-Where would you like to go?

-Australia.

-Have you been before?

-Yes.

-Hopefully, that'll be a good contribution towards it.

-That'll go towards the fare.

-Yeah.

-Very nice.

-What a good price.

-Strong price.

-Very strong price.

-I'm pleased with that.

-Thank you.

-It's a pleasure.

I've been joined by Anthea in the nick of time.

It's packed in this room. It's exciting, we're getting great prices here today.

-Selling the family heirlooms?

-Yes.

Silver tea service going under the hammer.

Will we get 200 to 300? That's what we're hoping for.

The money's already spent. What have you been doing?

I've been competing for Britain, which unfortunately because it's a minority sport, it's expensive.

I've been orienteering on horseback.

-Fantastic.

-With James's sister-in-law.

Wow!

-Yeah, you see.

-We didn't find out until the valuation.

-What a coincidence.

-Yeah.

What a coincidence. Will we get the top end?

Well, we've got to, haven't we? We've got saddles and tack to buy.

The bank manager will be pleased!

Lot 165, the Art Nouveau, three-piece tea service

in the case. I've £100 bid.

£100, the lot. 120, 140, 160. 180.

£180 bid. At 180.

180, the lot. At 180 bid. £180, and I'm selling now.

Are you done? At £180.

The hammer's gone down, it's sold.

-Anything's better than nothing.

-Just scraped through there.

-Silver's a hard thing to sell at the moment.

-Especially tea sets.

People have to polish it. Then, what do you do with it? Put it on display, and it gets nicked.

Being in a box, you don't have to polish it so much.

No. Sad to see it go?

Kind of. It's very much something I've known from my childhood.

You've still got the memories and you can hang onto those.

Good luck with Team GB.

Thank you very much.

It's time for me to weave some magic. It's my turn to be the expert.

We've got Jason and that spinning wheel that belongs to your mum.

-There are a few spinning wheels here. Have you seen them?

-I've noticed.

Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe it's gonna draw all the collectors in.

They do belong in a bygone museum. What's Hilary gonna do with the money?

-She's going to New Zealand for three weeks, so she wants money for that.

-Bit of spending money.

-Yes.

-Are you here by yourself?

-I've brought a bit of moral support.

I've got my wife and my little daughter there.

Oh, Stella, hello.

She's cute. How old is she?

-She's just two.

-You've got to treat her as well.

Lot number 50, the spinning wheel.

I've £80 bid. 80, 90, 100.

And 10, 120, 130. £130 bid. At 130.

£130 the lot. 130 and selling.

All done at £130.

Yes! That was short and sweet.

-Spot on, weren't you?

-Well...

Not bad at all. That's gonna help Mum get to New Zealand.

-Definitely.

-Who's she going to visit in New Zealand?

She's going with her new partner who's taking her on holiday for three weeks.

I'm sure she'll enjoy herself. A bit of extra spending money.

-Jason, and all the family, thank you very much for coming in. It's been a pleasure.

-Thank you.

Are you ready for this, Linda?

What will the Wemyss dish do?

We're looking at around 150 to £200.

-A little bit of damage.

-Yes.

-But it attracted James's eye.

-A nice little thing.

-Classic thing.

-Yeah. I really like it.

Why are you flogging this?

Well, I've got a B&B, and things get broken.

-I'd keep this.

-Oh, don't tell me that!

-I'd add to my collection.

-I'd put it all in a dresser and I'd make all of my guests look at it in amazement.

-Don't be nasty!

-You could put your prices up.

-Don't...!

-I umm-ed and ahh-ed when I was at the school.

-And he talked you into flogging it, did he?

-No, the other one did.

-Oh, there you go.

-Both our experts are at it.

-Can I withdraw it now?

-No, it's too late. It's far too late!

In fact, it's going under the hammer right now. Good luck, this is it.

Lot 275, the Wemyss ware.

Little butter dish and cover there.

Well, perhaps it won't get the price.

-It will.

-Oh!

Various bids, I've £240 bid.

-Wow!

-230, 260, 280. 280. £280 bid.

At 280. 300, 320.

340.

340. 360.

360. 380, 390.

400. £400, I'm out. £400 bid.

-This is fantastic.

-£400. Anywhere else, on the telephone? At £400.

A round nice figure there, £400.

We're close to Scotland, aren't we?

-The Scottish collectors are here.

-Oh, do you reckon?

I wonder who bought that. I wonder if they had a B&B to put it in.

-Or a lovely little hotel to show it off!

-I don't wish to know...

They'll probably be serving honey from it.

Until the mid-19th century, the Lake District was a remote and rural area

known only to those who really worked and lived here.

All that changed in 1847 with the arrival of the railways at Windermere.

While the cities of northern England were expanding rapidly

as the Industrial Revolution took hold, the beauty of the Lake District offered a breath of fresh air.

Increasing numbers of the better-off travelled up to the Lakes for their holidays to take in this spectacular

beautiful scenery and soak up all the charms of nature.

Some very wealthy families were even able to build their own holiday homes

and the Holts of Manchester were one such family.

Edward Holt was a brewery magnate and Lord Mayor of Manchester.

He wanted a rural retreat where he, his wife and their children

could escape from the city whenever they were able to.

The result was Blackwell, an architectural delight set in its own grounds

with the most striking views of Lake Windermere there and the Old Man of Coniston just further on.

This isn't any old holiday home. Blackwell was built and designed

at a very key moment in time when architects were beginning to look anew at the very function of a house.

The new monied middle classes, they wanted their own version of an ancestral aristocratic pile.

Their lifestyles were much less formal than the older monied families.

They wanted this to be reflected in their homes.

One architect in particular was keen to explore the needs of the modern middle-class family.

Mackay Hugh Baillie Scott came to prominence during the transition from

the Victorian to the Edwardian era, when great social changes were afoot.

Those changes were mirrored in the new ways that artists and designers set about their work.

The Arts and Crafts movement was flourishing in the Lake District when Baillie Scott set to work in 1898.

Blackwell is a pre-eminent example of an Arts and Crafts house.

The movement rejected the conventions of clutter and excess,

characteristics of the Victorian house,

and in total contrast they wanted open-plan spaciousness and very sparse furnishings.

Holiday homes aren't restricted to the domestic necessities of everyday life

so Baillie Scott was able to indulge himself to the utmost of all his architectural and design fantasies.

The result? Well, this is one of his finest interiors.

Carvings of birds, plants and berries reflect the natural history of the area.

Small mirrors set into the fireplace catch the light flooding in through

the huge bay window, and the view - well, that's absolutely breathtaking.

Wealthy people are often in the vanguard of those adopting new trends

and Blackwell was at the very forefront of design.

It was seen as a local talking point and the Holts would have been seen as extremely fashionable.

All this high fashion, as you know, does date rather quickly and become a little bit hard to live with.

In its heyday, the house would have been a hive of activity

with an army of servants rushing to do the family's bidding.

Edward Holt's son and heir, Joseph, was killed in the Great War.

Blackwell was eventually inherited by Holt's second son, also Edward,

but the house had already fallen into disuse by then.

By the 1920s it had become obvious that the old-style country house,

reliant as it was on a large domestic staff, could no longer function

and as the 20th century progressed,

the number of people willing to enter service diminished.

But Blackwell remains intact and stands as a beautiful reminder

of a bygone era when, as John Ruskin, the intellectual father of the Arts and Crafts movement wrote,

"Good art flowed from the craftsmen who created it."

Now, with all that inspiration, let's get straight back to our valuation day.

Adam has found something a little more prosaic.

Well, Deborah, what an unusual potty you've brought in.

Yes, it is. And it's not a potty.

-It's a spittoon, isn't it?

-Yes, I think so.

You can hold a lot of saliva in there - it's a good generous size.

Yes. It's very attractive, but when you know what it's for...

It's a very decorative object for someone to gob into, isn't it?

-It's made by Doulton.

-Yes.

Dates from the Edwardian period, blue and white transfer printed decoration.

It's a pleasing object, actually.

-Yes.

-This is yours, is it?

-It is, it was given to me by my mother.

-She just thought it was ornamental.

-Where did your mother get it from?

We used to live in the Isle of Man and she bought it there.

I don't know how much she paid for it.

She said they used to use them in pubs.

-Yes.

-They'd be by the fireplace.

-They did used to use them in pubs.

She did wonder whether I'd be using it, but no, it's not my style!

I don't know if it can be converted to a modern-day use, really.

-Flowers?

-Yeah, I wondered about a plant in it, but I don't really use blue and white.

-No?

-I just thought I'd like to come and see what it fetched.

You don't see them that often. I suppose they were disregarded

and they suffered a lot of damage and were broken up.

This one's no exception. We've got some damage here because it was a working object.

-There's not a lot of value, because of the condition.

-Right, OK.

-I think an estimate of £30 to £50.

-That's fine, by me.

-A reserve of 25, just in case it goes for nothing.

-Yes, that's OK.

-If it doesn't make that, it's worth taking it home.

-Yes.

Absolutely. I'm really pleased you brought it along.

-It's not often you get a chance to talk about spitting on TV.

-No.

-It's made my day. Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

Now this is very interesting. It is quite spooky really.

I'm sitting in between Harold and Philippa.

Harold has brought in a print of Ruskin from the original painted by Collingwood.

Now, this is spooky because, Philippa, it was your grandfather...

-My grandfather.

-Who was the original artist.

Collingwood, who painted that.

It was just chance that I saw him going out with that

and I said, "That was a picture of Ruskin, wasn't it?"

He said, "Yes". I said, "My grandfather painted the original."

-It's in the National Portrait Gallery now.

-In London.

-Do you have a copy of it like this?

-No, but I have it in books.

-It's a well captured image.

-Yes.

-So your grandfather knew Ruskin?

Yes, he worked for Ruskin for the last 30 years of Ruskin's life.

What was he like as a person?

My family never said a word against him. So...I think he was a very interesting man.

My mother, as a little girl, used to go and sit in his bedroom when he was old and an invalid.

-So this has brought back lots of memories?

-Yes, it was quite amusing.

A trip down memory lane. Harold, why did you bring this in then?

Was it for a valuation or are you hoping to sell this?

No, I brought it in because it was...a history of the area,

rather than selling it. Trying to get a value on it, as well.

Hopefully, our experts are going to enlighten you a little bit later.

What a happy ending!

It's such a feel-good factor. I love it when things like this happen.

-Thank you so much for both being in the right place at the right time.

-Well done.

Jennifer, it doesn't take a valuer to tell you what these are.

-Is this something you've had on the dressing table at home?

-I have, yes.

-It was passed down from my aunty.

-Do you think she had them new?

No, I don't think she did. She was a housekeeper to a family

and I think it was actually passed down from that line.

OK. They're lovely quality.

-They're gorgeous.

-You know it's silver?

-I think it is.

-Come on...

-Anyone who's been watching Flog It should know by now how to tell a bit of silver.

-Yes, it's silver.

Tell me about those marks.

-It's got the lion on there.

-What does the lion mean?

-That shows it's silver.

-Fantastic.

It's got a leopard there and that shows it was London.

Brilliant. You've got a maker's mark there that's very badly rubbed.

It's not very clear. But that's the mark for Mappin and Webb.

-So... Fantastic. We can swap chairs and you can have my job!

-Oh, well...

-This one...

-That hasn't got any markings.

-No, silver plate.

Because it was used as an atomiser, and you push that up and down,

it needed to be a bit stronger. Silver would have been too weak.

So we've got a really nice set here. The decoration on the cover -

I thought it might have been enamel to start with, but it's not, it's a form of lacquer.

It's a blacky or a browny colour lacquer.

It's been hand-painted over the top.

We've got these wonderful stylised insects here.

You can tell this has been influenced from something Japanese

because they're not English insects even.

Like a fancy type of wasp of some form.

But obviously the blossoms there...

Typical of the Japanese influence really.

Each one is individually decorated.

It's a good set. Having used it, why get rid of it?

Because I really don't have anywhere to show it to its best advantage.

How about a dressing table? You must have one of those.

-I know, but you get that much clutter.

-You do, it's true.

Face powder?

-People don't use it, do they?

-Don't use face powder!

I can understand really.

And atomisers.

You just use a bottle now.

I suppose, in a way, it's a comment on the times.

The difficulty is though, just in the same way that

you wouldn't use it today, lots of others wouldn't either.

So it's probably going to go purely as a form of decoration for somebody. Now we need to add it up.

-Go on then.

-People collect scent bottles and atomisers.

So the atomiser itself has a certain value.

I think that's worth £60-£65.

Silver powder box and cover - again, powder boxes are not so saleable, but it's a silver one.

So that's got to be worth about £40-£50. Say we've got 100 there.

That's got to be another £50 or £60.

-So shall we say £120-£180? Is that OK for you?

-Fine.

I'm sure it will find a home.

-It really is such a fantastic design that somebody will love it.

-Good.

Hello, Mo.

-Hi.

-You've brought along some fabulous candlesticks

and something I'd really like myself which isn't always the case when I see things on this programme.

What can you tell me about them?

Well, they belong to my sister-in-law and she asked me to sell some things for her.

I picked out these from the boxes that she gave me.

I liked the look of these and I thought that they were pewter and I like the style of them because

they're the type of thing that I like. A lot of the other things were things that I don't like.

Were you tempted to offer something to her for them?

I hoped she might give them to me actually!

-But no.

-But you've ended up bringing them along. A good pair.

Arts and Crafts, Tudric pewter candlesticks for Liberty and Co.

Turn of the century.

There's the Tudric mark there

and there's the shape number which is quite a nice early number.

-The later pieces have five digits and six digit numbers.

-Oh, right!

The numbers all refer to a shape or design number that can be found out.

There they are. D'you know much about the Arts and Crafts movement?

I know a little.

I visited a local house, Blackwell, a superb Arts and Crafts house.

-Yes, I know the one.

-And they would fit very nicely inside there.

They would. It's a movement that came at the end of the 19th century and into the early 20th century.

The Victorians over-embellished everything. It was heavily carved and very ornamental, very fussy.

Then they went back to basics and started using copper, brass, pewter

and simple organic sinuous designs.

Back to the basics.

The furniture was made from solid wood with exposed metalwork and things like that.

So these are a good example of Arts and Crafts design. What you think they're worth?

Probably about £50, something like that.

I think they're worth more than that. I'm going to put £60-£100 as an estimate, if that's OK with you.

-I'm sure she'd be very happy with that.

-Shall we put a reserve at 60?

-So they don't go for less.

-OK.

They should make three figures. They should make 100, maybe 120.

That's what I'd call a come-and-buy-me estimate.

They're going to fly out. I hope so now that I've said that anyway.

Adam was delighted to see this rather unusual item -

a Royal Doulton spittoon - even if Deborah was less keen.

Jennifer impressed James with her knowledge of silver marks

and he thought her dressing table set would prove a good seller.

Mo had rather hoped her sister-in-law would give her

the Arts and Crafts candlesticks, but under the hammer they must go!

I've just been joined by Deborah and we're about to flog a Doulton spittoon. A funny thing to own.

You inherited it, didn't you, from mum?

-Yes, and blue and white is just not quite me now.

-Not your thing.

But the good news is we're going to hopefully get £30-£50, which is what Adam's put on it.

There's a bit of damage but it's a fun lot and we like the unusual.

It is unusual. It's a great curio.

The money will be spent on planting a tree, which is something we should all do to try and save the planet.

And I know we can't see trees come to fruition, big mature oak trees and things like that,

but little fruit trees like the one you're going to plant in your garden,

you can actually get some fruit off in a year's time and enjoy it.

Yes, it's going to be a dessert apple tree

and if I get a bit more money, there might be a damson tree, as well.

Lot 366, the late Victorian porcelain spittoon.

Just hold it down. I might catch it from here.

I've £10 bid. At £10.

15, £20.

30, £30 bid. £30 bid.

£30 the lot. 30, 30 bid.

-Good.

-£30 bid. £30 the lot, at 30?

Selling now at £30.

Blink and you'll miss it.

Straight in and straight out. £30, that's not bad.

That will get you, depending on what garden centre you go to, a plum tree and an apple tree.

Yes, you're probably right and I look forward to planting them.

So high though.

Only about that high, sort of a metre and a half off the ground.

If you start at that height, they are about £28-£29.

I'll get two small trees and that will do me fine.

Oh, how lovely is that! Adam, we're responsible for that.

And when it blossoms, I'll think of you two.

Oh, that's nice, isn't it?

Jennifer, how exciting is this? Your moment is just about to come.

We're looking at £120-£180 for this dressing table set.

-I hope so.

-This is a good one.

-Our expert James, who's just about to join us here, said it's one of the best he's ever seen.

-It's a good one.

But they're hard to sell.

Extremely hard to sell. They might get broken up by the trade, split up.

A couple of bits are worth selling individually, but the brushes and the mirrors are hard.

If we get that top end, what would you put all the money towards?

I'd put some of it towards a piece of Lladro that I've seen.

-What, here in the sale?

-No, not in the sale.

-That's what you collect.

-Yes, I like Lladro.

-OK,

fingers crossed, this is it, it's going under the hammer.

Lot 180...

the dressing table set, very nice set there. £50 bid. 50, 60, 70.

£70. £70 the lot at 70. £70 bid.

Seven pieces altogether.

-£70 bid.

-We want more!

-80, 90.

-Come on.

-90, 100. 100, £100 bid.

At £100 the lot. Anywhere else now? At 100 and selling... At £100.

-£100 - he sold it.

-That's all right.

-That's OK, isn't it?

-That's fine.

At least I'm not taking it home!

-Well, happy shopping anyway.

-Oh, I'm a good shopper!

-I bet you are!

When you mention Arts and Crafts you've got to think Liberty, so we've got a lovely pair of candlesticks.

Pewter, made by Liberty and Co. They belong to your sister.

Yes, they're my sister-in-law's.

-Were you happy with the valuation - £60-£100?

-Yes, I thought that was fine.

Let's hope we can get you a little bit more.

-Adam, I reckon these could do a bit more.

-It would be nice to, yes.

I like to think I know this market fairly well.

He's the man for Arts and Crafts. Definitely. This is your thing.

We've seen them time and time again on the show.

Yes, hopefully just push over the three-figure mark. But you never know.

That would be good, wouldn't it?

There's got to be a drink in it for you, surely.

I think so. If they don't sell, maybe she'll let me buy them.

Lot 428, the pair of Liberty Arts and Crafts candlesticks.

Various bids in the book. I have £260 bid.

There was a gasp in the room. At 260. 280, 280.

300 and 20.

350. 350 on the telephone.

350, anywhere else now?

At 350, 380.

380, 400.

£400 with Tom, at £400 and selling?

On the telephone at £400.

Yes, the hammer's gone down. 400 quid. That lit the saleroom up.

£400!

-That's amazing!

-It's unbelievable.

Adam, you're our expert, what happened there?

We had a good result, didn't we!

You could be on a percentage, think of that. Think of the money.

They made what they were worth.

Your sister is going to be so surprised.

That's really good for her because a lot of the other things that she's got are of a lesser value.

But that's great.

If you've got any antiques and collectibles you're unsure about

and you want to flog, bring them along to one of our valuation days.

You can get details of up-and-coming dates and venues on our BBC website.

Just log on to:

If you don't have a computer, check the details in your local press.

Go on, you could end up like Mo here with 400 quid, which is a brilliant, brilliant result!

Well, that's it, we're coming to the end of our show.

What a brilliant one it was up here in the Lakes. Lots of surprises.

It was especially good to see that big smile on Mo's face.

And a big grin on my face, as well, and on our expert Adam's face

because he put the initial valuation of £60 on the Art Nouveau candlesticks,

the Liberty pair which sold for a massive £400.

That's what it's all about, lots of surprises.

So join me next time on Flog It for many more.

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

email: [email protected]