Newcastle Flog It!

Lennon and McCartney wrote She Loves You here. I know you'll think, "Never, Paul!"

Well, you're totally wrong! It was in Newcastle and that's where we are today. Welcome to Flog It!

Newcastle and the northeast once meant mining and shipbuilding,

but times have changed, and now it's a lively, modern city

known better for the arts and its leisure facilities.

The Metro Radio Arena was modelled on Madison Square Gardens in New York,

and it's a stunning venue,

and I bet the noise is deafening when there's a capacity crowd.

It was conceived by local lad Chas Chandler of The Animals,

and on its opening night, it brought David Bowie to Newcastle,

but today Flog It! is top of the bill.

The centre is filling up. Everybody is unpacking their bags and boxes.

Searching for the big names in the collectibles today

are experts Kate Bliss and Anita Manning.

It seems funny to get excited about a pair of book ends,

but I think they're lovely. Where have they come from?

-They came from Southall, near Nottingham.

-Right.

-My daughter, she used to be in rather a posh school...

-Right.

We had this garden party. These were on the white elephant stall.

Before they said, "I declare this garden party open," I was ready. I saw they were Asprey of London.

-I thought, "I'll have them." They were 50p.

-50p?!

-50p.

-How long ago was that?

-About 20 years ago.

-So your daughter has long left the school.

-Yes.

So as soon as the fete was opened, you were there, dashed straight in.

-What a bargain, Pam. I think they're absolutely super.

-Good.

We've got the Asprey's name on the bottom. "Retailed by Asprey & Co Ltd, London."

A Bond Street name like that is so well-known, it's always going to add a premium.

And, for these, it shows the quality they are. Beautifully made.

They are, course, leather, and they FEEL so nice.

They feel absolutely lovely.

But if we look at the inside, we can see, originally, they were that beautiful dark green. Really nice.

Regency green, really.

That's the style I'd call them - Regency-style,

with this beautiful, generous classical scroll,

and then this lovely gilt tooled running border - floral, leafage border - all around the scrolls.

-A joy in any study, wouldn't they be?

-Yes. How old do you think they are?

-I think they probably date from about 1910, 1920.

-Really?

-Yes.

Certainly early 20th century, I'd say.

The detail is just lovely, even to these little borders.

They've been finished off beautifully.

-Why do you want to sell them, what made you bring them along today?

-I don't know, really.

-I'm not sure you do want to sell them!

-I picked them up and thought, "I'll take them.

-"See what happens."

-What about value? Any ideas?

-No, none at all.

-You paid 50p?

-I paid 50p.

I think they're super quality, also very useful items. Very functional.

I think somebody could pay £100 for these.

-Really?

-Hm.

I'd like to put an estimate of 70 to £100, an auction estimate,

but I'd pay that for them, easily. I can see someone else paying more.

I think they'll go pretty well for you.

A very good buy all that time ago.

-It'll go towards my pocket money for my holiday in Cape Town.

-Cape Town? Lovely.

-Catherine, this certainly isn't a baby doll.

-No, she's quite big!

-One of the biggest dolls I've seen for a wee while.

-Right.

She's lovely.

She's a German doll, made by Armand Marseille.

This factory started in Germany in about 1867.

This is a later doll.

-Where did you get her?

-I know that she was bought in 1930

for an aunt of mine, and she was bought in a trade fair in the Midlands.

But, apart from that, I don't know anything else about it.

How did you come by her?

Well, this auntie died last year and I inherited.

You became her adoptive mother!

Yes, yes.

Where did she stay in your house? Did she get a room of her own?

Well, she's in the bedroom - but not my bedroom.

She's a big girl

but she's quite an interesting girl.

Her composition body, all the limbs are jointed which is good.

Wrists, elbow, shoulders and thighs.

She has this wonderful colour blue in her eyes which is good

and an open mouth with these dainty white teeth.

So if we turn her round, we can see the markings of Armand Marseille

on the back. We have AM

and we also have 390, the number 390, which is the head mould.

She's all there and I'd say in good condition -

-her hair is a bit straggly...

-It is a bit.

I think it's the original hair.

It's a bit fly away.

She looks as if she's been dragged through a hedge backwards!

I know she's got a wistful expression

-but there's something quite sweet about it.

-I know.

You want to look after her.

You don't want to look after her?!

-No, she's too big.

-You want to flog her. Price-wise.

I'd say between 200 and £300.

Would you be happy to sell her at that price?

Yes, I would.

I think we'll put her into auction and perhaps a reserve of 180. Would you feel happy with that, Catherine?

-Yes, I would. That's fine.

-Tell me, does she have a name?

No, she never had a name.

Poor wee soul.

Never ever had a name which is strange but she was never called...

-Maybe her next owner will give her a name after all these years.

-I hope so, definitely.

Something has just caught my eye and it's here.

We're always looking out for that odd curio and I think I've found one today. Hello, what's your name?

-Alison.

-May I move your handbag and sit next to you?

Now, wow, is it an early bingo machine? Can I play with it?

-Yeah.

-And all these little balls are marked.

-Tell me the story.

-Well, my uncle had a pub and it was used as a bingo machine

and then we went to Beamish for the day and apparently the number on the ball is the Pitman's number

and when they sank a new shaft, if it was dangerous the ball dropped out and he would open the seam.

So it's a bit like drawing the short straw.

You turn the handle like that.

And the dust comes out.

Well, I can see where the ball comes out here, which is spring-loaded.

And then it drops into the tray at the bottom.

This is a hard thing to value because it does belong to a bygone museum.

I've not seen one for sale before and I've never seen one in my life

before but I'd love to see this get around about 150 to £250.

That's what I'd like but...

I bet an auctioneer would come along and say what's the use of it.

Very hard to sell. He'll probably put his cliche 80 to 120 on it but it might find the 150 mark.

A lot of work has gone into that.

It's been made by an engineer and it's built to last.

It does take a lot of abuse.

I think it's a piece of a functional sculpture. I love orbs.

I love round things and globes.

That to me has got the look.

Why do you want to sell it?

Well, I've got a big Singer sewing machine

and it sits underneath the Singer on the treadle of the old Singer.

-It's on display then?

-It's on display but it gathers dust

and I think it's been there too long.

I don't mind putting it into auction with the 80 to 120 and I'd like to see it do 150.

-Good grief.

-Shall we?

Go on then. Go for it.

And I'll probably never see one in my life again.

I don't want to sell it now!

I do, I do!

This stood out among all the tea sets in the queue I was looking at.

What made you want to bring it along today?

I bought a picture, I've had it about three years and I saw a moth

go in the back so I opened it and I came across the picture.

You came across this at the back of the picture you bought?

-So didn't know that you got it?

-No, I didn't know at all.

And where did you get the original picture from?

-I got it down at Clitheroe.

-At an auction house?

-At an auction.

-And what was that of?

A Shire picture but it was a tea towel.

So what did you pay for the picture of the Shire horse?

£12.

Well, not bad having that stuck on the back as well.

Have you tried to do any research or anything?

No, I just saw Flog It! advertised in the paper and I thought I'd come along and see what it was worth.

If it was worth anything at all.

OK. Let's have a closer look.

This is an original gouache picture.

Gouache and perhaps a little bit of watercolour.

You can see it's a really vibrant battle scene, isn't it?

It's signed, down in the bottom left-hand corner.

We've got a signature for Mortelmans, '73.

He's in fact a 20th century artist and it's a battle scene but we've got

it titled on the back, it's printed "At Them With A Bayonet".

I see we've got some notes in the margin,

Worcester's, in brackets, which is the Battalion, at Perozeshah, it looks like.

The setting is in India with these gentlemen in turbans fighting. Do you like it?

Yes, but it doesn't appeal to me because of the fighting.

It's a bit gruesome.

We've somebody here

at death's door. The bayonet about to puncture him.

In fact, there's something else important about it.

It's for a book illustration, I believe.

Mortelmans did various illustrations, several novels by P G Wodehouse.

There are noted a couple of battle scenes that have come up for auction.

So what about price? What sort of value do you think would go on that?

I wouldn't know.

I think at auction, his prices do vary,

and I think on this, because it's for a book illustration, it makes it less commercial.

I'd like to put 150 to 250 on it.

-How does that sound to you?

-Fine.

-Are you happy to sell it at that?

-Yeah.

It's not bad considering you paid £12 and got two pictures for that price.

-Very nice.

-That's lovely. We'll put it in with that estimate

-and I hope we get a good price for you.

-Thank you.

We've all been working flat out.

It's halfway through our day which means it's our first trip

to the auction room, one of the most exciting parts of the show.

Let's hope we hit the top end of our experts' valuations.

Fingers crossed for our owners.

Before we go to the auction here is a quick recap.

I loved these leather bookends.

They should go far.

The German doll is looking for a new owner who will give her a name, hopefully.

And I found this machine and I hope it's number comes up.

As should the painting which was revealed by a moth.

Today's sale comes from the Boldon Auction Galleries and today's auctioneer is Giles Hodges.

They've got to be doing something right. They're about to celebrate 25 years in business.

Pam's scrolled bookends.

They are great. They've got the look.

Fabulous quality, perfect decorator's piece, good-quality leather and got the name.

They have, Asprey, haven't they? They look right.

Little tiny capitals. What wonderful bookends.

I think these are cheap at £70.

So do I. Definitely.

Extremely confident we'll do over 100.

I was going to say extremely confident we will do over 150.

I'd think you're probably right.

-They're going to go.

-I'd hope so.

-I'd have them in my house.

And me, too. Favourite lot of the day. Shame about the little dent on the top.

It doesn't really matter.

It would be good to see how they do later but first up it's Catherine's big German doll.

200 to £300 is riding on this next lot.

-It's a German doll and it's Catherine's - hopefully for not much longer.

-I hope it goes.

Why are you flogging it?

It's not really my thing. It's a very large doll.

My daughter and son don't want it.

So we need a doll collector.

-Yes, we do.

-Will we find one? The pressure is on. Are you a doll collector?

It's not the kind of doll you could hold in your arms.

It's a big cracker!

This one is going to be interesting. I think the valuation is right.

-I hope so.

-Good German maker, as well.

Not an uncommon head but people might like it because of the size.

-Let's hope big is beautiful.

-It is,

so they say.

You're looking at me?!

The Armand Marseille German doll. I'm bid 100 to start.

120. 140.

160. 180.

-200.

-We're there.

220. At 220. Still with me.

240. 260.

Still climbing.

280. 300.

At £300, anybody else left?

At £300 and we're away at 300.

-Bang on target.

-Big is beautiful.

-Big is good.

Brilliant. I'm delighted.

What's that going towards?

Probably a treat for my son and daughter.

Maybe a nice meal out.

Because if Sarah had wanted it she could have had it.

I'll treat them to something.

-Do something daft.

-And treat yourself as well.

How would you spend it doing something daft?

Well, something extravagant you'd not do at any other time, like put the money on a horse.

Go gambling!

Yeah, live dangerously.

This is a great story and a great watercolour and it belongs to Deborah.

You found this behind another painting?

-Yes.

-As Kate unearthed at the valuation day,

putting a valuation of 150 to 250 on this. It's divine and charming.

Lots of action. It's full of life.

I think the movement in it is fantastic.

But it's great that there's a good book section in this sale because it's a book illustration.

All the book people will have viewed it as well as the watercolour buyers.

Which might just put the price up. It's unfinished which I love.

Whoever buys this could cut the top off because there's a lot of the sky that's unfinished.

If you lower it down, hey presto, you could have a slightly finished picture on the cheap!

Anyway, let's see if it goes.

"At Them With A Bayonet".

Edward Mortelmans, dated 1973.

I'm bid 100 straight in. 100. 110. 120.

At 120. 130 now?

At £120. 130 anybody?

At £120, are we all done at 120?

We had a reserve of 150.

A couple of bids short on that.

That's really disappointing.

You know what you've got to do.

Hang on to that for a little while.

That needs to go to a specialist sale.

No problem, you know.

-I think it's great.

-Never costs anything to keep it.

-Exactly.

-Just keep it in that condition because the colours are still so vivid.

It's not marked at all. Because it's not framed around the glass it could easily be damaged.

-Look after it.

-Keep it out the sunlight.

I'll put it back where it was.

-Well, I suppose you could. Watch out for the moths.

-Tuck it away for a few years.

Fingers crossed, Alison. Are we ready for this?

You could say Alison's number is up because you've been using this as a bingo caller. Or it has in the pub.

We know the miners used this, who drew the short straw opened the new seam.

Hopefully I haven't drawn the short straw and the valuation is right.

I had a word with Giles and he's contacted all heritage centres, the Beamish Museum, you never know.

I don't know anyone who would want it.

As long as it doesn't go home to my dining room where it'll gather more dust.

I'm sure it's created the interest here.

You could use it as a bingo caller.

I think that's a great idea. And we have a full house here so who knows?

-Fingers crossed, this is going to do the business.

-Let us go for it.

Lot number 372, slight alteration to the catalogue.

It's called a cabling machine

used by the miners when they dug a new seam.

Each miner was allocated a number.

If you got number one you with first in.

I've got two bids to start. I'm bid 50. At 50.

Five. 60. Five. At £65. 70. 5.

80. Right at the back by the door at £80.

At £80, all done at 80.

Yes! Hammer has gone down.

-£80.

-I don't believe it.

At least I don't have to take it home to gather more dust.

It needs to be on display.

I loved that. I'd have that in my house.

It's a great talking point.

Fab. Excellent.

Well, fancy that!

I've just been joined by Pam who's hopefully turning 50p into £100

with those Asprey bookends. I absolutely adore them.

I love the leather. They're so tactile.

I would certainly like to own them and I know Kate would as well.

They're super.

Pam has such a good eye to pounce on them and beat everyone else to them.

I had a chat with the auctioneer earlier

and he said, yes, they're quality.

You're going to do money and hopefully £50 plus.

Let's hope we get 150 quid.

-That would be fantastic.

-The money is going towards a big trip to Cape Town.

-How stunning. How long are you going out there for?

-Three weeks.

Oh, wonderful. Kate has been there.

I have. I did my first parasend off Lion's Head.

-Gosh.

-Will you be doing that?

-I don't think so. I don't like heights.

-You want to go whale-watching, don't you?

Good luck. Right now, let's watch these bookends go. They're going under the hammer now.

664 - the pair of Asprey & Co Ltd gilt leather,

Regency-style scrolled bookends. 1920s stamped.

I'm bid 100 to start them.

Straight in.

120, 130, 140, 150,

160, 170, 180, 190.

200, 210, 220.

Ooh, they love them.

240, 250!

250, 260, 270, 280.

290, 300.

-Good heavens.

-Good heavens, yes, good heavens.

340, 360, 380,

380, the pillar at 380.

Missed anybody? At £380.

Hammer's gone down.

When two people really love something at auction,

they will pay a lot more than what we thought they were worth, that's for sure.

Fantastic.

£380, South Africa, here we come.

-Fantastic. Thank you very much.

-A nice bit of spending money.

I'm shocked.

So am I. Wish I had a few of those.

Do you want to go next door and have a drink?

I know. If I had some bookends like that, Asprey ones identical at home,

-I'd sell them for 380, that's for sure.

-They're lovely, aren't they.

-Yeah.

I'm now heading back to Newcastle to meet a Durham artist

who drew much of his inspiration from Spennymoor, a local mining town.

Norman Cornish exhibits and sells his work here

at Northumbria University Gallery and he's been a professional artist for 40 years now.

But way back in 1933 at the age of 14, he started out his working life

down a pit - and the colliery was nicknamed the butcher's shop.

And we can all imagine how tough conditions were down the mines.

A life where boys were quickly made into men.

You always had the feeling that if you've got an ability to draw

and a desire to do so, you think, "Oh, why can't I use this

"rather than go round with a pick and shovel and work with that."

Let's remember this. The pick and shovel business, the pit if you like,

it was a kind, a rough kind but a kind of art school in itself.

Norman, it sounds pretty grim.

I don't know how I would have coped at the age of 14 working down a pit.

What was it like and how long were you a miner for?

32-and-a-half years, actually.

That's hard graft.

Well, it's like everything else, you get used to it.

The first shift starts at about half-past three in the morning and you get used to that as well.

I've got to say, your work is absolutely stunning.

What's going on here in your mind when you're painting this?

Well, it's very important to tell you that I was just 14

and I had started work and, believe it or not, it sounds like a story written by one of these romantic

writers but it's gospel truth, the first thing I had to go through was a big long tunnel under the railway.

It was pitch black and when I got the other end, it was fine and it started to snow and blizzard

and I was delighted because it lightened everything up.

-However, I walked to the mine, that's what I saw.

-That's what it was.

It was this great gantry and there was men and it was all very strange and all very mysterious.

And there was all these steel ropes and steel handrails and steel things.

The men were going up with oil lamps and as they walked, they were going

with all these lights, like that, they looked like a load of fireflies

and I thought, "My God, it looks like a big steel spider's web that has got them,

"has captured them, is going to load them down this big hole into the pit."

That's that picture.

Would you say you had any influences then, any famous masters or contemporary artists around you?

Well, I knew nothing about painting and I wasn't particularly interested in painting in that sense.

But I was very interested in drawing.

However, when I started work I was very, very fortunate

because I saw a poster advertising an exhibition

of work by the Spennymoor settlement sketching club.

Marvellous, I didn't know we had one.

So I went straight away to the exhibition.

Wonderful, I thought I was in heaven. You know.

Norman joined the sketching club and it gave him the confidence to paint the people and the places he knew.

And it changed the course of his life.

How can one paint about

life if we don't live?

You see, we must have something about which to paint

and if we want to paint about life, if we want to snatch

little pieces of life as they happen,

they're happening all the time in the mainstream of the world,

and it doesn't matter where you're at, provided it's a sincere job of work which is being

sincerely done. Life is happening there.

When did you actually realise you could leave the mine and work as an artist?

Well, you see, for 20 years, working in the mines, I also was

painting and exhibiting work from time to time and selling work.

Indeed, sometimes I made far more as an artist than as a miner.

Not too often but sometimes.

Norman's paintings are a powerful record of an industry and a way of life that are no more.

You painted a lot of your fellow colleagues in the pubs and on the way to work and down the mine.

What did they think of your work?

Well, they were wonderful because they didn't bother me.

When I went into lovely pubs

and I discovered that local pubs, or any pub,

more so then than now, actually, was a wonderful place to draw.

There was men just being themselves.

There weren't trying to be Cary Grant or John Wayne, they were being

Joe and Harry and Tom, you know. Wonderful.

Do you think, to be a successful artist, you've got to have more

than just the ability to draw or paint well?

If you can draw very well, and if you can work hard and you can

paint very well, that's very useful, but it's no good at all if you haven't got the other ingredient,

and that is to have the kind of brain which thinks and feels intensely.

It feels enough to want to do something about the feel about the thing.

Norman, you're now 86.

-I must say, you don't look it. You look really young, but are you still painting?

-Yes, well, you don't stop.

If you're a writer,

actor, a painter, I reckon you go on until you can't go on any longer.

You don't just stop.

It's a bit like breathing.

Norman, thank you very much for taking time out to talk to us.

It really has been a pleasure talking to you.

You've certainly had a life of two halves and a great one by the sounds of it.

Well, thank you very much, but to me it's just life.

Now, back to the valuation day, where Anita has found a little box of delights.

Tricia, what a lovely little set of William Shakespeare.

Let's have look in the box.

Beautiful box, by the way, little leather-bound box and if we open it up,

we have this delightful little set of six volumes and it's the complete works of William Shakespeare.

I always say to people today condition is so important.

And these little books are really in mint condition.

-Thank you.

-Let's take one out and have a look at it.

Again, leather-bound with the gilt titles of the plays

on the front here and very nice gilt flowery decoration on the spine.

And let's have a look at the inside cover here.

What we have is "The Bijou Shakespeare".

I think that's a lovely name, The Bijou Shakespeare.

-The wee books.

-The wee books.

-As we would call it in Scotland, the wee books.

-Now, these little books are illustrated, Tricia, which is always better.

-Right.

However, these aren't lithographic illustrations, they're photographic,

which are usually not as good, but...

what these pictures are of is famous actors and actresses of the day.

And I think that adds to the charm and collectability of them.

If we look at this one, we have Ellen Terry,

who's a very famous actress of the early 1900s

and there she is as Viola in Twelfth Night.

-And for me, I think that gives added interest.

-Yeah.

So, why do you want to sell them, Tricia?

My mother-in-law's obviously put them in the cupboard and they've been forgotten about

and it's a shame to leave them there, because obviously, my son doesn't read them.

Right, is he not into Shakespeare?

He's more into Harry Potter and Horrid Henry books than Shakespeare.

-These are things of the day. Maybe he'll come round to Shakespeare in time.

-Hopefully one day.

Now, Tricia, this type of item is quite desirable because it's complete

and it's in a nice little box and it's in good condition.

-Right.

-I would like to put an estimate of perhaps 25-35,

30-40, in that region and hope,

you know, that someone will go a little further than that. I don't think we can go too high.

-That's fine.

-Would you be happy to sell it within that estimate?

-Yes.

Let's put it in 25-35 with a reserve of perhaps £20.

That's fine, yes.

Not a lot of money but it'll go to someone who'll enjoy it.

Exactly, somebody might get pleasure.

That's one of the important things.

-Let's put it to auction, let's flog it.

-Exactly.

The first thing I'd like to see is it's great to have a pair.

Pairs always sell better than single items

and with these particular vases, they're in really good condition.

-Yes.

-So you've obviously looked after them very well.

-Just leaving them there, I think.

Had to give them a good wash last night.

Did you? They've come up well.

So, how long have you had them? Where have they come from?

I inherited them from my father, well, from my parents, obviously.

-Why have you brought them along?

-I wanted to know more about them.

I mean, the date on the bottom,

-I've looked and it's 1882.

-You had a good look then.

They're in remarkable condition for...

For something that old. Well, you're absolutely right.

You've had a good look, obviously.

We've got the date there, 1882, which is exactly when

they were manufactured so we can pinpoint them exactly.

They're very late Victorian and typically designed for that period.

Doulton Lambeth produced them but the other word here

incorporated in this stamp is faience and do you know what that is?

No.

It was really the name given to a range that Doulton produced

in that period and this faience range is rather like Delft pottery.

It's an earthenware body as opposed to stoneware, so a lot lighter, and then it has a tin glaze,

which then gives an opaque effect which is then printed or painted over.

So instead of a stoneware range which could have a three-dimensional moulded effect with moulded motifs

in relief or impressed, this has a very smooth texture to it

and the tin glaze provides that very smooth surface on which to print and paint.

So what do you think about the decoration on them?

-It's all right.

-"It's all right,"

she says, "it's all right." Well, it's very Victorian, isn't it?

-Isn't it, yes.

-Not particularly fashionable today.

And the way it's been done is what we call printed painted decoration.

So the outline is printed on with a transfer

and then somebody's actually hand-decorated it over the top.

So are particularly on these green ground panels, here the flowers have

been over-painted by hand in the different colours.

But the actual basic design is printed on first to give it a sort of outline. So what about value?

-Any ideas at all?

-Absolutely none.

-Have you ever had them valued before?

No, no.

Well, I think conservatively speaking,

we're probably looking at 200-300 at auction.

But I wouldn't be surprised, actually, if they made 300-400.

-Right.

-So I would suggest we put a sort of "come and buy me" estimate of 200-300.

-OK.

-Would you be happy with that?

-Yes.

You just want to get them gone, now, don't you?

I haven't talked you into keeping them.

I only brought one because I didn't think anybody would

be interested and I didn't think anybody would buy them.

-Then we sent you home to get the other one.

-Yes.

Thank you very much for making two trips for us today but I think you'll find it's worth it.

OK, thank you very much.

Richard, do you and your wife have a nice, wee cup of tea from this set in the morning?

-No, we don't use this set.

-You don't use it. Where do you keep it?

In the cabinet in the kitchen.

Right, OK. Do you know anything about this?

Do you know the period it was made in?

No, I don't know the period at all. I just know it's Shelly.

Shelly, uh-huh. Now, Shelly was one of the good factories,

it was one of the Stoke factories, and they made very nice china, particularly tea china.

The thing that makes this so wonderful is the design.

It's what we call Art Deco and it was made in the 1930s.

This is a very stylish little set.

If you look on the inside of the cup, we have these rectangles, squares, oblongs and so on.

Now, this was very typical of the Art Deco period,

where they liked angular items and these handles are just wonderful.

So this is hot and it will be well-fancied.

One or two wee things against it, or not in its favour.

We have a crack in one of the cups.

It's a pity but these things happen over the years.

And we have a little bit of wear on the sugar bowl round here, a little

bit of the silvering has come off, possibly with washing over the years.

So I like this very, very much.

What about you, Richard, do you like it?

Oh, yes, very nice.

But you've enjoyed it over a period of years.

Oh, yes, it's been on display and we see it every day.

Uh-huh. Tell me, why are you selling it apart from that?

-My daughter's getting married this year.

-Oh, that's expensive.

-Yeah.

-And you're the father of the bride.

-Yeah.

That means you're the guy that has to dig deep down in his pocket.

-Part of it, yeah.

-Remortgage your house?

-No.

-Sell all your possessions?

-No.

Work 18 hours a day?

Yes.

They only get married once, hopefully!

Hopefully.

Pricewise on it, I tend to estimate conservatively because

I like to encourage the bidders

but I still think we should put it in at an estimate of, say, 140 to 180.

Would you be happy to sell it at that, Richard?

-Yeah.

-I mean, it may do more.

An estimate is only an estimate.

The auction is a live thing, it's not a definite science, an exact science.

So we'll put 140 to 180 on it, but I hope it goes much more than that.

With a bit of luck.

We've got your daughter to think about. And we've got your wallet to think about!

I'm sure it will do well on the day so see you at the auction, Richard ,and let's hope it does well. OK?

Thanks.

Well, it's now time to go back to the auction room

so let's have a quick look at all the items we're taking with us.

Tricia's bijou box of Shakespeare plays would make a wonderful present.

As would this big, bright, colourful pair of Doulton vases.

And let's hope for a good price for the father of the bride's stylish Art Deco tea set.

We've got something for all you scholars out there,

the complete works of William Shakespeare, brought in by Trish here.

£25-35, that's not a lot of money to spend, is it?

-Well, it'll go toward something.

-All leather-bound and you found them.

I estimated them conservatively.

It's quite a nice, neat little set with quite nice illustrations of actors in Shakespearean plays.

I've put 20-40 but I'm hoping it'll do more. It's a sweet little set.

I hope it'll double that. Condition's good as well.

Everything's right about it and it is a nice little set.

-They'd make a wonderful little present for anybody.

-Someone who enjoys Shakespeare.

I mean, my son doesn't read them so it's a shame to leave them in the house.

-Yeah, exactly.

-Might as well go to someone who's going to enjoy them.

And they're going under the hammer right now. Good luck, Trish.

Good luck, Anita, this is it.

Lot number 145, box bijou set,

the complete works of William Shakespeare.

I'm bid 20 to start.

-20 to start.

-Five, 30, five, 40,

five, 50, five, 60, five, 70.

£70 with me. At £70.

Anybody I've missed? All done at 70.

-Yes, that's more like it.

-Good!

-£70.

-Thank you.

That's OK, that's OK.

I think they were definitely worth that.

-Did you enjoy that?

-I did, yes.

-Was your heart beating?

-I didn't expect them to go up that much.

That's brilliant, thank you.

Excellent.

On Flog It we're always telling you to invest in quality,

a good maker's name and condition and this lot has got the lot. It belongs to Jean, here.

Two Doulton vases. You don't like them so much.

I know Kate absolutely loves them and I think these are going to fly away at £200-£300.

You're so frightened because you don't want to take them home, do you?

You won't be at £200.

The nice thing about these is that they're tin glazed rather than

the much more ordinary stoneware so they look completely different.

Yes, they do.

Fingers crossed. They're just about to go under the hammer right now

and I'm pretty sure people are here to buy for some cracking results. Let's do the business, this is it.

Pair of late Victorian Doulton faience vases,

I'm bid 100 to start them.

120, 140, 160,

180, at 180, at 180,

200 standing.

At £200, 220, 240.

It's climbing.

At £240, away at 240.

-Bang! Mid estimate.

-You're not taking them home.

-That's not bad, is it?

-That's good.

There was a moment of disbelief, then, thinking, "Oh, 180."

I thought they weren't going to sell.

Funnily enough, I was listening to the auctioneer and I missed the one, I thought he was saying 80.

I thought, "Gosh, that's low to start!"

What are you going to do with the money? £240.

-Give it to my grandsons.

-What's he going to do with it?

-Well, I've got three.

-Have you?

-Three grandsons? Divide it up.

-Yes.

What a good grandma.

-Thanks very much.

-Thank you.

If you love Art Deco, this is the lot for you.

It belongs to Richard and not for much longer.

It's a jazzy Art Deco tea set.

-I love it. 140-180. I'm pretty sure this is going to sell.

-I think so.

The geometric design is wonderful

but what really makes this little tea set are the little triangular handles.

-Very jazzy!

-I love them!

Especially you, from Glasgow, with that whole Art Deco look.

Richard, I know you're flogging these because there's such a great cause here.

-Your daughter's getting married.

-Yeah.

So all the money's going towards the wedding, which is fantastic, and what's her name?

-Michelle.

-Michelle, good luck.

What a lovely dad you've got. Just about to go under the hammer.

Fingers crossed we get lots of money, Anita.

A wee bit of damage, wee bit of damage.

Hairline crack in one of the cups.

That might make a wee bit of difference but hopefully not too much.

Get the flowers for the wedding. Let's see if we can get £200.

It's going under the hammer right now, this is it.

Lot number 125, again plenty of interest.

-Lots of interest.

-Yep.

-Shelly eight piece tea set.

We're on the phone as well and I've got one, two,

three, four, five, six commission bids.

-Six?

-You see, Shelly will do the business.

340 starts me.

Yes! 340 straight in.

350, 360,

370, 380, 390.

They love it.

-Yeah.

-400, 420,

-440, 460...

-Yes!

480, 500.

Bit of wee damage, you were saying.

-Might hold it back.

-Hasn't made any difference.

On that phone at 520, are we all done?

At 520, 540 on the other phone.

They love Shelly. They just love it.

540 all out. £540 on Caroline's phone, at 540.

The hammer's gone down, that is a sold sale £540. Put it there.

Are you happy?

-Yeah.

-Will your wife be happy?

Now she will be.

Your daughter will be.

That's wonderful, Paul, I'm so pleased.

What a great result.

-I wasn't expecting that.

-No, nor was I. You weren't.

I was maybe a wee bit cautious.

I won't comment.

10. Anybody else for another fiver?

-£80.

-That's it, it's all over.

What a great day we've had here from the Boldon Auction Galleries up here in the North East.

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 find details of up and coming venues and dates

on our BBC website.

We'll see you there. 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

Email [email protected]