Corby Flog It!

Today we're in Corby, once a major centre of the steel production industry.

It's now a thriving town whose population is set to double in the next 30 years.

Judging by the looks of it, at least a third of Corby's population

have turned out at the Willows Arts Complex,

which features our two experts today, Jethro Marles and David Barby.

With so many people filling up the hall,

our experts are very busy fishing around.

It looks like David's made a catch.

Ian, I'm fascinated by these,

but more particularly the history behind them.

-It is unusual to find a pair.

-Yes.

Who do they belong to? Are they family heirlooms?

Yes, they were first left to me by my grandmother.

I observed them as a youngster back in the 1950s.

I was always fascinated by the blue elements to them.

When she died, she left them to me rather than my parents.

I suspect, because of the age of them, they were her parents' items.

So we're going back to your great-grandparents?

They would have been married about 1860?

1860, 1870, somewhere round about there.

That falls in line with the date of manufacture of these objects.

They would have been used for, as indicated by the finials on the top, fish contents.

You might have had fish in oil in one

and maybe in the other one a concoction like a terrine,

which wouldn't require cooking.

Say kippers, herring that would have been combined with butter

and then smeared on a gentleman's toast.

Would that have been always for any particular meal?

I think, basically, either for supper

or maybe one of those gigantic farmhouse kitchen breakfasts,

which would have been rather nice.

They're splendid objects.

They would have been put on the table to impress.

I love the colour combinations, these rich blues,

greens that run into the blue and the well-modelled fish.

I have had the look to see if there's any mark

and there's no mark whatsoever.

If these had been by George Jones, you're talking in the terms of £1,000 plus,

but they're not.

If you're looking for a mark for Minton, a similar price range.

There's not.

What you've got to think in terms of, in Staffordshire,

there were hundreds of pottery factories

all producing similar and this could be a lesser factory,

although the colour inside, which is this brilliant pink,

is rather indicative of pieces by George Jones.

I'm looking at these from the point of view of not being George Jones.

Have you any idea as regards price, in your own mind?

We've discussed it with people in the past at other auction houses,

but basically speaking they say it's the price of the beholder to a certain extent.

Somewhere between maybe 200 and £400.

I think you've hit the nail on the head, quite honestly.

You're well prepared.

I was going to be a little bit closer and say £200-300.

My reason for this is because the market for majolica in this country

has slightly slowed down.

If we say £200-300,

I'd like to see them do more and I'm sure they will.

I'd rather play the conservative game with this.

-Sure, come and buy me!

-Absolutely!

I'm available!

-Now, Jan, you don't seem like a girl that would play with a train set or are you?

-No.

-You're not a tomboy?

-No, no.

-Where have these come from?

They were my husband's and then my boys had them.

His father was into trains, he was a train driver...

Was he? One of the old steam trains?

He used to work for Stewart and Lloyd's, one of the shunters.

I live down in Devon and we actually have a steam railway down there.

It's lovely to see it.

I'm always interested to see these old Hornby sets

when they come in for auction.

-They have been in the attic for some while, haven't they?

-Yes.

You can tell by the rusting of the staples on the box.

Once you get inside, to a collector, this is fantastic.

You've got your locomotive, your rolling stock there...

You've got the track and this is O gauge,

which is the standard gauge and the most popular size of this period.

I'm not a specialist in this sort of thing,

but I think you're talking about the 1950s, that sort of period.

There are a lot of very old boys who still like to play with their trains.

-There isn't anyone in your family you think would like to keep it and use it?

-No, no, the two boys, no.

You haven't just got this one set, you've got this other set as well.

That's slightly different.

You've got the passenger moving locomotives here

and then you've got the cargo moving locomotive over here.

You can be doing all sorts in your little set-up.

You could be moving pig iron around or people around

and your imagination can run wild.

In those days, that was what this was all about,

letting your imagination run wild.

-What's it worth?

-I haven't a clue.

There is a bit of damage.

This coal truck there is a little damaged on the wheel.

Apart from that, it looks in reasonably good order.

Yes, it is.

The trains go well and everything.

-Cos you wind it up, it's all clockwork.

-It all works.

What are they worth?

I would say for the two sets,

you're gonna get something between £80 and £120.

-What about a reserve at £80?

-Yes, that's fine.

Hopefully, we might find another little boy or a big little boy,

who will put his hand up in the auction.

Yes, that'd be lovely.

Right now, the one you've all been waiting for.

That's what it says here on Carol's promotion of the Rolling Stones getting Out Of Our Heads.

Were you waiting for these guys a long time?

No, I wasn't. I was waiting for Dave Berry to come on

who was on the programme lower down.

-I see this was a concert.

-Yes.

-Held in Kettering.

Yes, at the Granada.

That was a regular occurrence.

What date are we talking about?

January 9th, is it? 1965.

It's a long time ago.

-So you had the pleasure of seeing the Rolling Stones?

-I did. Yes.

-Big fan of the Rolling Stones?

-Afterwards I was.

You had no intention of going to see them to get THEIR autographs.

-No.

-You were a big Dave Berry and the Cruisers... ..who I've never heard of.

-Haven't you?

-No.

They used to wear all black and used to put his microphone down the back and sing.

You did the right thing, getting the Rolling Stones' autographs.

I did, I realised that.

This is with the original line-up with Brian Jones.

-That's right.

-A tragic accident happened and he was found drowned in a swimming pool.

I'm very lucky to have Brian Jones on it, really.

They're all there, Charlie Watts.

Yes, Bill Wyman.

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards on guitar.

I think whoever buys this will actually get the guillotine out

and square off the edges and just square off the top

and frame it up with this cut out as well underneath it.

I realise I shouldn't have put the Sellotape in,

but when you're 15, you don't think of these things.

-You've had this since you were 15?

-Yes, 40 years.

Why do you want to part with it now?

Whatever money I get, I shall go on holiday with it.

-Have you seen these sold on Flog It? before?

-No, I haven't.

Well, I did a valuation.

-We did one in Wiltshire.

-Yes.

Rolling Stones on a signed promotion package just like this

with all of their autographs.

-It got £850.

-Gosh, really? I was thinking more on the lines of £100.

Although the quality was slightly better.

We had a lovely letter from the local police which were policing the event.

-This needs a little bit of work doing to it.

-Yes.

Some of the autographs are upside-down which devalues it

because you like to see all the autographs facing the same way.

At least they're all in pencil, which is good because pencil doesn't fade.

-Oh?

-If these autographs were written with ink or Biro,

over 20 years, they would start to fade.

-Pencil will never fade.

-That's good.

-It's Mick Jagger that's written upside-down.

-Naughty Mick!

I think still £600-800.

Excellent. I'm thrilled to bits.

-We'll put a reserve of £500.

-Really?

-Gosh, I'm over the moon.

-That's fantastic news.

-Are you happy with that?

-Yes.

Let's hope we can get you some satisfaction.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

BOTH SING: # Ida, sweet as apple cider... #

-Are you as sweet as apple cider, Ida?

-Yes, I certainly am, David.

So you have this wonderful Scottish lilt.

Did you come to Corby because of the industry?

Yes, my husband came to work in British Steel and I moved with him in 1963.

You collected these when?

When my husband was alive, we started buying small jugs

as souvenirs from holiday and we graduated into antique fairs.

When he died, I decided that I didn't want to do it any more.

These ones don't have any particular sentimental value

so I decided I would bring them along today.

These are beautiful examples.

You've got two Worcester ones, which are absolutely superb.

Then this one in front which is a lovely Doulton one.

If we look at this one, at the very end here,

this is a Worcester one in the form of a tusk.

-Oh, I hadn't realised that.

-It's very much in the Oriental mould

and if you look at the decoration there, Oriental flowers

and then we've got butterflies at the top here.

Also this gilt handle, this banded decoration all the way around,

is typical of Oriental wares.

The date of that is round about 1897.

Much collectible, very nice piece.

This one here, a bit later,

probably tucked into the beginning of the 20th century.

This is Worcester blush ground.

If you look at that very white, ivory ground,

then look at this here, you can understand why they call it blush.

It's yellow ground with a slight apricot tone.

The beauty of this is the floral painting.

We bought it because of the thistles on the side,

that was the reason why we chose that one

because of our Scottish origins.

That is such a lovely piece.

The third jug you've brought along, which is the one in the front,

that is a Royal Doulton piece.

The whole concept of design is Victorian.

That unusual shape almost, I think, expensive perfume bottle.

The design is partially hand-painted but there's a transfer design

and then it's infilled with colour by hand.

Three very beautiful, but individual jugs.

Now we've got to put a price on these.

Either the auctioneer is gonna sell them as one lot

or they're going to be sold individually.

-We'll leave that to the auctioneer's discretion.

-Yes.

-With this jug, I would anticipate a price between £90 and £120.

-Yes.

This one, I would anticipate a price in the region of about £80 to £100.

Oh, yes.

And your Doulton one, probably thinking in terms of £45 to £60.

Would you be interested at that sort of level?

Yes, certainly, I can't remember what we paid for those two.

Certainly, that one is more than we paid for that.

That would stand you in good profit?

Yes, that's my Scottishness coming out, there is a profit.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much and thanks for the song.

Thank you!

Well, we've been rocking and rolling in Corby today.

We've got Hornby train sets and a nice pair of majolica fish boxes,

a selection of hand-painted jugs

and topping the bill for me,

signatures from the original line-up of the Rolling Stones.

For today's sale, we've skipped over the border

from Corby in Northamptonshire to Market Harborough in Leicestershire.

We're at Gilding's Auction Rooms, a father and son-run operation.

Today's auctioneer is John Gilding.

All done?

I love this lot, it belongs to Jan.

Not for much longer, I think, because this one will steam ahead.

Hornby train set, all boxed, it's all there.

The condition is good.

Value - 80 to 120 for the lot.

-Well, wouldn't it be a snip if you managed to buy it for that?

-Oh, yes.

-It's definitely going to double its price.

-Do you think so?

Yes. I would have thought it would be 80 to 120 per box.

-Sounds good to me.

-It's in very good condition.

-Has there been much interest?

Yes, a lot of interest. We've got a lot of Hornby in at the moment.

There's bound to be the collectors and excited boys,

the little old boys!

What is it about railway memorabilia? It is big business.

It's huge. I suppose it's because it's never going to be back again, is it?

-No. Just going off the rails. Well done, John.

-I like that.

Will the bidders of Market Harborough like the train set?

We'll just have to wait and see. First up, it's the three jugs.

Ida, it's great to see you again and I love that horsey badge.

-Isn't he super?

-He is wonderful.

The auctioneer has split your three items up.

We've got the two Worcester jugs up first, followed by the Doulton one.

This first one is worth a flutter. It's got butterflies all over it.

There was a butterfly flying around this morning.

£90 to £120 we need for this.

Let's see if we can get it. David, will we get that top end?

It's quality, quality, quality.

Worcester is still very collectible.

The second lot is the smaller of the jugs, it's the floral one.

We are looking at £80 to £100 for that one.

-Yes.

-Which I know David is absolutely in love with, aren't you?

The technique is entirely different to the other one.

-It is indeed.

-This is beautifully painted on a blush ground.

Let's hope this butterfly flies away, shall we?

-I hope so indeed.

-Let's get that top end, £150.

This is it, Ida, good luck.

I have a wonderful piece here.

You're all out at £65. 65 had a bid, 65 for the jug.

70, 5, 80, 5, 90.

Outside at 90.

£90, I'm bid. Are you all done?

You're out. 5, 95, 100 and 10.

120, 130.

We are inside this door at £130.

Are you all done? Finished and sold at 130.

It peaked your top end, that's great. Well done.

Right, next one. We're looking at 80 to £100.

It's the slightly smaller one, floral pattern. This is it.

Another lovely Worcester jug here, please.

I'm bid 65. 70, 5, 80...

Gentlemen, you're both out?

85, 90, 5...

On the dresser at 95.

All done? Finished and sold at £95.

That's mid-estimate.

Now we're looking at £45 to £60 for the Royal Doulton one.

This is different and £28 bid.

On commission, 30, 5...

40 in the room. 42.

45, 48, 50, 5.

Girls, you lose it, then at 55 in the doorway. At £55, sold.

That is a sold sign.

If we add those three up, it's £280.

That's absolutely marvellous.

-That is a brilliant result.

-I'm thrilled.

-I'm so pleased he decided to separate them.

-Yes.

-I think he got more money for them. He knows his market.

-Yes.

What are you gonna put that money towards?

I'm going on holiday to the North Cape through the Arctic Circle.

It'll help to finance my holiday.

-Fantastic.

-What a wonderful experience!

-Yes.

-I'd love to do that. I'd love to do that.

You know that old saying, "a rolling stone gathers no moss"?

We've got all five of them - signed autographs.

-That puts the value up, doesn't it?

-Definitely.

-600 to £800 is what we want, Carol.

-Excellent, that sounds good to me.

It does to me as well. We have sold them before on the show and got £850.

Let's hope there's no difference in Market Harborough.

If you can find it on the internet,

you can sell it anywhere in the world.

That's right. Yeah.

Let's hope we get a smash hit here today. Good luck.

A poster cutting, pencil signed from days gone by.

£220 bid on commission.

220, I'm bid. 220. 240, 260, 280, 300.

£300, I'm bid.

At £300 I'm bid, at 300, do I see 20 anywhere?

At 300 and I'm watching you all carefully.

At £300, are you all done?

You're quite sure?

All finished and away at £300...

I have to withdraw that lot, ladies and gentlemen.

Not a smash hit here today.

-No.

-I'm very, very sorry, Carol.

-Quite all right, I've enjoyed the day.

-I'm gonna stick by my guns.

We've sold exactly the same thing on Flog It before.

OK, the autographs were all up the same way.

We got £800 plus for it.

I think it was in Cardiff, I can't remember where it was.

I said to you 600, the lower end

-because some of the names were upside-down.

-Yes.

-Don't ever sell them for anything less than £600.

-OK.

It was the wrong auction room on the wrong day.

Yeah, I'll take your advice.

I've just been joined by Jan and we have that lovely two-box set of Hornby trains going under the hammer.

Valuation, 80 to 120.

Let me bring our expert in here.

We had a chat to the auctioneer earlier

and he said these should fly away.

He would put 80 to 120 on each box and he's hoping for £300.

-They could go off the rails.

-Let's hope he's right.

These are in immaculate condition.

They don't look like they've been played with.

-You should store them away again.

-They were stuck in the loft.

It's too late, you can't withdraw them now.

Now is the time we're gonna sell them. This is it, good luck.

-If they go for more money, Jethro's promised a little dance.

-Oh, good.

Here's a lovely couple of boxes of train sets.

Here we go, I have to start the bidding at £160.

-Oh, brilliant.

-160, I'm bid.

All out in the room? £160 I'm bid... 160, do I see 70?

180, with me at 180.

You're still out in the room at 180.

£180, are you all done?

Sold and away at £180.

Bang! Hammer's gone down.

Come on, give us a little wiggle.

# Oh, it's a little dance... #

-How about that?

-Good result, eh?

-Good result.

-Thank you both very much.

What will you do with £180?

-I'll give it to my two boys.

-Yeah?

They played with them and basically they didn't want them.

-How old are they?

-20 odd!

One's just got married last year.

Give it to your little boys!

Now, we've got a little fishy on the dishy.

It's the majolica fish plates. They belong to Ian.

£200 to £300. A lot of money.

These have been in the family three generations.

Are you sad to see them go?

Fish dishes don't fit in our scheme of things at the moment.

We're downsizing.

-It's the tip of the iceberg for us.

-You saw these when you were a little boy.

-Surely there's lots of memories?

-I got other things from my grandmother.

-OK, good.

Hang on to those, then.

Someone who would like those little dishes is Mr B here.

I like 19th century ceramics.

-You do.

-These are the epitome of 19th century invention,

particularly in the ceramic world.

They'll appeal to the American market and there's American buyers here today.

They're going under the hammer right now.

Lot 50, the majolica fish boxes.

The sardine boxes, if you like.

They look like sardines on the top.

You're all out, please.

Bids start with me on commission here at £200 for the two.

-£200 I'm bid.

-That's good.

At £200 I'm bid. 220, 240, 260.

£280 I'm bid. 280 bid.

At 300 on the telephone. 320.

320, I'm bid. 320, 340.

340 on the telephone. At £340.

At £340. Are we all done?

All out in the room. Sold at 340.

£340, Ian.

That will help my daughter go to New Zealand

for her university education.

That's where the money's going.

-Why's she going to New Zealand?

-She decided to go to university in New Zealand.

-She's going to do her degree out there in the South Island.

-Lovely!

-That's where the money's going.

-What a lovely place to go!

Sounds very good.

-South Island, New Zealand.

-He's biased cos he's been there.

Talking about places to go, that majolica,

-do you think that went to the States?

-I think so.

-I'm very pleased.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you very much indeed.

-Thank you.

On Flog It, we tend not to see a great deal of furniture

which is a shame as it's my particular passion.

I guess it's difficult to bring to valuation days because it's bulky and heavy.

Not far from here, there's a castle.

It's called Rockingham Castle and it has the most stunning collection of furniture.

While I'm in the area, let's go and check it out.

William the Conqueror ordered a castle to be built here between 1068 and 1071. You can see why.

It's a superb, defendable vantage point with far-reaching views across five counties.

Many medieval kings came to Rockingham Castle -

Richard the Lionheart and his more unpopular brother, King John, to name just two.

King John would have certainly enjoyed hunting in Rockingham Forest, of which little remains today.

In the Tudor period, Henry VIII leased the house to Edward Watson -

a direct ancestor of the present owner who still lives here today.

Rockingham Castle has dozens of rooms.

I've decided to pick on just one and I'm in it now, the Great Hall.

Obviously, it's changed over the centuries, but it's still the hub and core of the house today.

The furniture here is absolutely exquisite.

I love it, because it tells the history of the house

through the evolution of furniture design and styles.

To help me decipher it all is one of the tour guides, Basil Morgan.

-Basil, thank you for spending time with me.

-Good to see you.

Where does my history lesson start?

Well, I thought with this trunk of King John, about 1210.

He came here more than any other king, probably about 15 times.

-Was that to hunt in the forest?

-And to put down baronial revolts.

He was always chasing barons. This is obviously his treasure chest.

He was here three weeks before he died and, this was left behind.

Now, that is some strongbox. That is all hand-wrought and hand-hammered.

I love these rose head rivets here.

It's got, interestingly enough, five locks. There would have been five different key holders, I guess.

Absolutely. The middle one has the actual lock for that period.

Yes, so it does. Look at that! The original padlock.

-I guess it's too much to ask if you've got the key for it.

-Alas, no!

Lost long ago. Wow!

1210. This one next to it looks slightly later.

Yes, this one belonged to Henry V, who was the last king to come and stay in 1422.

Are these his coat of arms?

Yes, his coat of arms of England and the coat of arms of France as well, since we ran France at that time.

Original paintwork, that's lovely!

But that has certainly caught my eye, Basil.

You know I love my oak furniture. Tell me the history of this.

It looks 17th century.

Well, this is the table that James I, who was the last king to visit,

is supposed to have dined at when he came in 1619.

It's a very fine piece of furniture.

Obviously, refectory tables in a great hall would have been massive, everybody would have dined at them.

It looks like a side server or as you say, used as just a private table for the king himself.

It's constructed of oak - probably Welsh oak.

I love these very simple, gun barrel turnings. They're quite austere.

There's no fanciness about them.

A cracking table, absolutely cracking table.

It feels so nice as well.

-That could tell a few stories, couldn't it?

-I should think so.

Basil, there's a date up there, 1579.

-What's that all about?

-That was the date when Edward Watson, the first owner, finished this room.

-And the motto?

-The motto - "A house shall be preserved and never

"will decay where the Almighty God is honoured and served day by day."

Now, this piece of furniture brings us up to the Commonwealth.

Cromwell would not have liked this chair, would he?

No, and he - his local commander, Lord Grey of Groby -

captured the castle in the 1640s and were here for about three years,

during which time they destroyed most of the outside - the keep - and of course most of the furnishings.

Cromwell, he would have chucked this out.

He would have used much more heavy, robust pieces of furniture.

He wouldn't have liked this chair, because the royalty loved it.

This was very fashionable from Charles I onwards.

This is quite interesting - the barley twist.

You can tell it's an early one, because it actually tapers, it gets narrower at the top.

That's something to look out for on 17th-century pieces of furniture.

Looking up there, there's a screen and that's obviously 18th century,

because there's a chinoiserie look to that which Chippendale adopted.

In the 18th century, the family didn't live here.

They had another house in Kent called Lees Court and a town house in London.

The estate was really put under an agent and they just came up occasionally to hunt.

Yeah.

Here, we've come up to the Victorian period, haven't we?

These are Victorian chairs.

From the early 19th century, begins the family's long naval tradition from the Napoleonic Wars on.

And they inhabited the castle again from 1836.

You can see the difference between the Victorian craftsmanship

and something from the 17th and 18th century.

The carving is cruder, it's much sharper

and there's too much of it.

For me, it's just a little bit too busy.

What a fascinating history this place has.

-Basil, thank you very much for showing me around.

-Thank you.

Isn't it wonderful how different pieces of furniture that come from

different periods of our history, when you put them side by side,

they complement each other, but they also tell a fascinating history of Rockingham Castle?

So, now back to Corby where another piece of furniture is revealing its history.

Now, usually, our Flog It valuations are carried out at a blue table.

But today, you've brought along this brown, round table.

What do you know about it?

Not a great deal.

It was given to me by a friend

about 25 years ago, something like that.

-Just a gift?

-Just a gift.

-So had you taken a shine to it?

Yeah, I'd always liked it.

When I sort of set up home on my own, she just sort of presented it to me.

What a lovely thing to do!

It was really nice, really nice.

When you look at this table, it's quite elegant, isn't it?

-It is, it is. Yeah.

-What do you use it for? What have you been using it for?

It's been in a corner with the kitchen door open, virtually hiding it.

I really felt that it's time to part with it.

It needs to be in a house that's going to use it so you can sit around and have tea.

-Exactly.

-Tea and cakes.

-Exactly.

Now, essentially, when you look at a table like this from a distance,

you wouldn't know how old it is,

-because it's in the style of an 18th-century table.

-Right, yeah.

With this simple, circular top, this lovely, balustrade column support

and these very slender, pad feet.

-Typical late 18th century.

-Oh, right.

-In design.

-Yeah.

But it's not as old as that.

This is a late-19th-century copy.

-Middle to latter part of the 19th century.

-Right!

Something to look for with table-tops like this...first of all,

around the edge, is it the original edge?

They often get cut down. This is nice and simple.

It looks like the original edge to me. No major damage at all.

I don't think that's been ground down. That's original.

Is this top made of one piece? Because that's really good if it is, but, no, it's not.

It's actually made of three planks.

You can actually see the joins, just beginning to sort of show

with age as the wood warps and splits up a little bit.

Now, let's tip it up and have a look underneath.

Now, it doesn't have its original clip.

-No, no.

-Why's that, then?

Well, because when I had it, there was nothing there at all.

If we stood anything on one side,

-it flipped.

-Not a brilliant idea. Not a brilliant idea.

Is it a table of any means?

Sometimes they call them breakfast tables, sometimes it's a tea table.

-Or is it just an occasional table?

-It's exactly that.

It's designed to have this tip-up top, so you could put it on the side.

It doesn't take up any space. You just bring it out occasionally.

That's why it's called an occasional table. There you go, a lovely thing.

I like it. They're not uncommon.

I think it will make over £100.

I'm hopeful it might make £150.

-Oh, yes, good. That would be nice.

-That would be nice.

-That would be nice.

If we put it into the auction, I think if we encompass that figure of 150 in an estimate and say,

120 to 180, on a good day with a following wind,

maybe it might make a couple of hundred pounds.

What about a reserve? Should we say 120?

That would be good.

-I think 120 firm reserve.

-Yeah.

-OK.

If not, I'll find a corner for it.

-Mary...

-Yes.

-Have you ever seen, No, No, Nanette?

-No, I haven't.

-Well, there's a wonderful song, Tea For Two.

-Oh, lovely!

-# Tea for two... #

This is the sort of service that would have been used at that period.

Sort of 1920s-1930s.

The Jazz Age period.

And who did this belong to?

-My mother-in-law.

-Mother-in-law.

-Yeah.

-And was she a Jazz Age baby?

Well, yes, in her younger youth!

Because this is by Clarice Cliff.

So many people know about Clarice Cliff.

What I'm constantly amazed by it is that shock of design. This is the Rhodanthe pattern.

I find the colours' contrast, with the oranges and yellows,

visually exciting, which is so reminiscent of that particular period.

Just tell me, why don't you like it? Obviously, you don't. Otherwise you wouldn't sell it.

Well, I do like it, but I'm getting very nervous about washing it and using it.

-You don't take it up to your husband for breakfast in bed in the morning?

-Definitely not!

Right.

The market for Clarice Cliff is still strong, but I think

there's indications that possibly it's not as popular as it used to be.

And there are other makers and designers which are coming to the fore.

So, when this goes up for auction... it's going up for sale at Gilding's.

It's got a very, very good name.

I think we should do quite well, but I want to put a figure on that is going to attract buyers.

Yes.

I think we should put a price...

round about an estimate of 250...

to 350.

Yes.

And hopefully get more and I think we shall do.

If we put the higher figures, you're going to blow it.

So we take into account present state of the market,

particularly for Clarice Cliff, and also the consideration

this is in lovely, lovely condition and it's going to be quite stunning in the auctioneer catalogue.

On the website, we're going to sell it for a good price.

-But we want to be sensible.

-Yes, I agree.

Mary, short but sweet.

-Thank you very much indeed.

-Thank you.

This is a lovely oil on panel in a superb frame.

-Is it yours?

-Yes, it is, yes.

I think, personally, looking at this, this is a classic case of the frame

is probably worth more than the picture itself.

The chap that painted it apparently is quite well-known for his peaches

and he's caught the texture of the peaches and the grapes as well.

He's famous for his peaches and his grapes.

Was he a grocer(?) I don't think there's a lot of value in this.

It does need a lot of restoration.

If we take this lovely oil on panel out,

you've got to a frame, which is easily worth £150, £180.

It's an early one. Look at that!

It's early 19th century.

It's wonderful. It's good weight.

There's a lot of relief

here in the gesso work. It's plaster

actually laid onto the pine frame and then it's been gilded.

What you could do is go down to your local glass shop, get some mirror

cut, a nice bit of bevelled glass, put it in it and, hey presto, you've got something nice to look at.

Now, Joan,

-this...

-JINGLING

-..is every Flog It sound recordist's nightmare.

-Hooray!

Yeah. They are really quite noisy actually when people wear them, these charm bracelets, aren't they?

We used to have a girl in our office, every time she came up the stairs,

you knew it was her, because you could hear her charm bracelet going. So have you collected these charms?

No, my mother did.

Right. And what about the bracelet?

That looks a little bit older.

That was my father's 21st birthday gift.

-It was an Albert that they had across the chest with a pocket watch.

-That's it.

-It was an Albert chain?

-Yes.

-That's named, of course, after Prince Albert, who made them popular.

Aren't you a bit sentimental about it, then?

-Why are you thinking of selling it?

-I don't like jangly stuff myself.

I gave it to a friend and I said, "You don't wear it." She said, "No, I don't like jangly."

So she's given it back to me and we'll split the money if there's anything to come.

Right. How much are you going to get, that's the question? Let's have a little look at it.

There are a few charms on here which are fairly...I wouldn't say common, we see them a lot.

For example, the £5 note one.

Now, you've got to a £5 note, a £1 note and a 10 bob note.

On the side, it says, "In emergency, break glass," because you've got the glass on the front.

If you're short of a fiver, you could just break it.

-That's the theory.

-Shall we share?

-Shall we open it now?

-Why not?

And look at this little box here, look.

Two little love hearts on the front.

You open it up and inside you've got that little engagement ring...

-It's sweet, isn't it?

-And the little wedding ring.

That's actually quite an unusual one. That's quite a nice one.

You've got lots of others as well.

They weigh quite a bit.

So there's a certain amount of gold value, but today,

in the early 21st century, they are becoming fashionable again.

-I think that this bracelet should make over £400.

-Good, thank you.

-So, you'd be happy to put them in an auction with a reserve at 400?

-A reserve at 400, yes.

I think an estimate of 400-500 would be a fair guide to anybody who wants to buy them.

You're not going to feel sorry to let it go?

-No. I'd rather somebody enjoy it than it lie in a cupboard.

-Yeah.

-I shall give some to the air ambulance fund as well.

-That's nice.

-It's a good cause.

-Yeah.

-Lovely. Let's hope we get a good price on the day.

-Fingers crossed.

So, let's see how lucky we are at the auction with Joan's charming gold bracelet and the Victorian

occasional table and, lastly, the 1920s Clarice Cliff tea set for two.

£2, I'm bid. At 4. £4.

We have a lovely Albert chain going under the hammer right now.

-£400-£500, Joan.

-Yes.

And it must have a charmed life, because there's lots on there.

-And these were Dad's and your mum's? She collected the charms.

-Yes, she collected the charms.

-There's a lot of money is worth on there, and you don't like wearing it, it's too jangly.

-It's too jangly.

Far too jangly. £400-£500, Jethro. It's a lot of money.

There's a certain value in the gold.

You use that as your base price.

Hopefully they're going to make within the estimate which is more than the gold value.

Gold is doing well at the moment. So, I'm happy it will make the estimate.

-Charms and charm bracelets with half a dozen charms are popular at the moment.

-Sad?

No, no.

-Just happy to see it go now?

-Yes.

-Let's hope we can get you £500.

-Hope so.

-This is it, good luck.

-Thank you.

Weighs extremely well.

What would you say for that? 500?

I'm bid 300 on commission.

All the gold here at £300 I'm bid.

320, 340.

360. 380, 400. And 20.

-£420.

-420(!)

At £420, I shan't dwell if you've all done. £420, away.

That's a good result.

-That was a fair price.

-Thank you.

£420. What are you going to do?

I feel a holiday coming on, but I need a new washing machine.

-That's very important.

-Very mundane.

-You can't do without a washing machine.

Right, now we have some furniture on the show.

We don't get a lot of furniture. It's only occasionally we get it, because obviously it's bulky to carry.

This is quite fitting, because it's Pat's occasional table. Yeah?

-That's right.

-£120-£180 we want for this.

-Getting excited?

-Very, very.

-It's been a long wait today, hasn't it?

The room is absolutely jam-packed. It's packed full of bidders.

I think we can get a little bit more than Jethro's top end.

I'm secretly hoping for £250, I don't know about you, Jethro.

I wouldn't put that limit on it.

It's a lovely colour.

It's not very old. It's only a Victorian piece.

It's got everything in its favour.

I've got good vibes for this one.

I can feel a dance coming on.

I sold the last one.

We're going to find out right now. Here we go. Ready, this is it.

An occasional table.

Here's a lovely little table.

The bidding starts with me at £110.

110 I'm bid. 110, 120, 130.

-140. 150. 160...

-This is good, this is very good.

-..170, 180. 190.

It's got a beautiful colour.

OK, it's climbing well.

-210, 220.

-They've got a phone bid.

That's always a good sign.

230, 240.

250? On the telephone, £250. 60?

£260 with Brenda. All done.

Finished and sold at £260.

-Yes!

-Isn't that good news?! He's done a little dance.

-You were going to do it as well. Shall we do it together?

-No!

What are you going to put £260 towards?

At the moment, not sure. I don't think I'll have any difficulty.

No, there's always bills to pay, isn't there?

-Holidays.

-Holidays, saving up.

-Treat yourself, won't you?

-Yeah, I will do.

Mary, you were saying earlier, you get so nervous using your Clarice Cliff tea set...

-I do.

-Are you getting nervous now?

-Yes, I am.

-Very. £250-350, we need.

It is unusual.

David loves the teapot.

-I think that's where the value is and you do as well.

-Yes.

Why were you getting nervous using it?

Well, my hands are getting a bit dodgy...

They're not, are they?

At least you had a go at using it.

A lot of people just put them in a cupboard and look at them or put them in a box and don't look at them.

-It's time to sell, is it?

-Yeah, I think so.

David... These are going to fly away, aren't they?

One hopes, Paul, one hopes.

-One hopes.

-Don't predict the market.

What I like about it is it's such an intimate tea service for two people.

We've never had Clarice Cliff on the show that hasn't sold before.

LAUGHTER

That's tempting providence, isn't it?

Ooh, ooh!

It's Clarice Cliff. This is it. Good luck.

I have to start the bidding at £320.

340 in the room.

-Short and sharp.

-£340. I'm bid 340.

360. 380?

380. 400 on the telephone.

A phone bid, that's good.

440.

Thinking about it then, on the telephone now, at 440. 460.

480.

£480 on the telephone, once.

All done, finished and sold? 480. I shan't dwell.

Their hammer's gone down. 480.

What are you going to do with that?

Well, I want the kitchen redoing.

It will go towards the tiling, I guess, or a new worktop.

Yes. A new worktop. Definitely.

-Yeah.

-Yes.

-What sort of kitchen would you like?

Is it going to be a hi-tech or a country one?

No, more hi-tech than country.

Don't like the country look, then?

No, not really. We live in the town, so...

OK.

It's not in vogue, is it, the country look? It's all hi-tech.

Minimalism and all that jazz.

That's why you got rid of the tea service.

It will all come back, don't you worry. It will all come back.

-And you'll still be in business.

-Oh, yes, exactly!

What a fabulous day with some great results!

Clarice Cliff has done it again, crashing through the top estimate and exceeding all expectations.

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 and we'll see what we can do for you.

Till the next time, goodbye.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd - 2006

E-mail [email protected]