Windermere Flog It!

It's 10? miles long, one mile wide and 219 feet deep, and it's England's largest lake.

Today, "Flog It!" comes from Windermere.

Apparently the word Windermere comes from the Scandinavian

for a lake of a man called Vinand. Our two experts, who I bet

have also been called strange names in their time, are James Lewis and Adam Partridge.

So let's see what they can find at today's venue, the Lake School.

Well, it looks like James and Adam have a lot to get their teeth into.

But before we take a closer look at all the items they've found, we need to get this massive queue inside.

And it looks like Adam's showing his musical side already with his first item.

Good morning, Rebecca. Good morning, Adam.

Good morning, Thomas.

Now, what can you tell me about the banjo, please?

Not much, to be honest. My father-in-law

heard us talking about "Flog It!" coming and fetched it down for us to bring.

My husband remembers not being allowed to play with it when he was little, and sneaking a go.

And apparently, my father-in-law had it when he was a child, as well.

Well, I'm the "Flog It!" man with the musical instrument reputation.

I do violins and banjos and cellos and that sort of thing.

And it's a lovely instrument, in good condition. No cracks, no scratches.

It probably hasn't been played an awful lot.

I shouldn't imagine it has.

In a lot of these, this substance here gets torn. They often get replaced.

You've even got all the strings, although that doesn't make much difference to the value.

But it looks in lovely condition. I wish I could play it.

If it was a violin, we'd empty the room in seconds.

But, unfortunately, I can't really play much of the banjo.

We've got a book that goes with it that tells us it's a tenor banjo.

You've got different types. Quite a large model.

And the maker there, Jedson, marked on the top.

It's got a bird's eye maple back.

Sometimes they have a metal back that's engraved. But I do like this one.

So he's told you to bring it along.

Is that because he wants to get rid of it? Yeah, I think he wants the space. He's had enough of it.

So he's said, "Don't come home with it"? Pretty much!

What do you think it might be worth?

No idea. We don't want you going home saying,

"It's worth 80 quid," and him saying, "I didn't want to sell it for that."

Well, he should have told me, shouldn't he?

OK. It's a bit of an old favourite of ours, the estimate of 80 to 120.

Oh, yeah. We get teased about it a lot.

But I think it's appropriate on this occasion. OK.

A reserve of 80. If it doesn't make 80 - it's worth that - then take it home and try it again on another day.

They're popular, quite collectible, but never make a fortune.

Is that OK? That's brilliant. Are you going to give him the money if it sells?

It's going to the young 'un. Thomas gets it. Excellent.

One way or another. Well, he's been very well behaved so far.

It's boring talking to so-called antiques experts.

He's been very good. Thanks for coming along. Thank you.

And see you at the auction. OK. Thank you very much.

James, this is the smallest thing I've seen so far today on "Flog It!"

It's a lovely little thing. Tell me about it.

Well, my eldest brother gave it to me about 15 years ago.

He'd buy it in a sale, an auction sale.

That's about all I really know about it. Do you know what it is?

Yes, I knew it was a vinaigrette.

Yes. Absolutely. If we open it up...

It's a lovely piece of silver.

It's called a vinaigrette

because we have a grille here, and if we lift the grille, inside we find an old bit of shrivelled up sponge.

And that would have been soaked in aromatic vinegar.

Imagine you're a middle- or upper-class gentleman

and you have to go in to your local town or city, and the people there are just a little bit not like you.

And they smell slightly. And you're walking down the street

and you'd take your vinaigrette out and go...

And it would literally be there in your pocket to cover the smells

of the local city and the lower-class people that didn't have a bath.

And I know it's not politically correct to say it, but that's exactly what it was for.

They're fantastic comments on social times really, on...

the way the world was back in 1827 when this was made.

Vinaigrettes became popular in the 18th century.

You find most of the ones we see today in the auction rooms were made between 1780 and 1830.

So this is the end of their production, really, the end of the height of their production.

But the good thing about this is, if we open it up,

the two initials there - NM, for Nathaniel Mills.

Nathaniel Mills was the king of snuff box, vinaigrette and card case makers of the 19th century.

He's most famed for his "castle tops", things like this with a scene

of Warwick Castle or Windsor Castle or something like that.

And those castle top pieces are highly collectible.

They're worth ten times a normal one like this.

But even having said that, the quality of the work really does shine through here.

We have every type of work you could possibly have with silversmithing. We've got the casting here.

We've got engraving and chasing around this little rectangle -

the vacant cartouche there for the owner's initials.

If we open it up, the grille is pierced. The inside is also gilded.

We've got silver, silver gilt, we've got piercing, we've got engraving, we've got chasing, we've got casting,

all in that little tiny piece of silver there.

It's wonderful. So now your brother's given it to you - you've had it 15 years - why do you want to sell it?

Well, at the present I'm 90, but at the end of December I'll be 91.

You look good on it.

Well, I wake up every morning, so I know I'm still here.

I know that feeling!

What do you think it's worth? Haven't a clue.

Would you be pleased with ?100? Oh, certainly.

I think that's what it's worth.

If we put 80 to 120 on it, something like that.

They're not as hot as they were. But I think it'll do well.

Yes, very good.

Fran, you've got me going. I was getting excited.

I thought we'd got some decorative art, some copperware, from the Keswick School. But it's not.

When you get closer, you can see it's from the Newlyn School. It's full of fish and bubbles.

So how did you come by this? It's a wonderful...what's known as a chamber handle candlestick.

In a local charity shop. Really? It was just sitting on the counter.

Oh, dear! OK. Tell me - how much? ?1. Wow! How long ago was this purchase?

About three months. Three months. You see, it still is out there.

Yeah. Normally I go and buy beads. And I found this on the counter.

I come from Cornwall and the Arts and Crafts movement down there,

the decorative arts, working with copperwares, well that's where it all started,

in the Newlyn School, around about 1880, 1890, by John Drew MacKenzie.

He was an artist and he felt very sorry for the local fishermen.

In times of bad weather, when they couldn't go out fishing, they had no money, he taught them skills.

He taught them fretwork and carpentry, and then got them on to metal wares.

And that's where the golden age really started, when the local fishermen

were using these traditional skills, these applied methods, using punches and hammers and creating...

..the shape. Yeah.

All that's hand hammered with a little, tiny hammer.

And that's what Newlyn is famous for - the fish, the bubbles and the seaweed.

They did sign their wares then. This is a slightly later piece, because it's stamped "Newlyn".

They tended to stamp their wares after about 1920.

Drew MacKenzie died in 1918

and I think this was made possibly in about 1930 to 1935.

It's absolutely lovely.

It really is. It's got a nice feel when you hold it. Yeah, it has.

It's well balanced. Obviously this is the drip tray.

Somebody's tried cleaning this.

You can see they've left polish all over it in splashes and it's dried.

That will slightly devalue it. Yes.

But at the same time, it hasn't been polished to the hilt.

It's not gleaming, which is a good thing,

because the purists who collect this type of thing like the copper to be tarnished and dirty.

I think it's beautiful. So you paid a pound for this? Yes.

What do you think it's worth? Not sure. I had an offer of 50.

50. Well, I'm pleased you didn't take it.

And I had an offer of 100, unseen.

?100, unseen.

Right, OK. We're getting closer.

I think we could safely put this into auction with an estimate starting at ?180. Really? 180? Yes.

And it might just get 250. Really? Yeah. Will it go in a catalogue?

Yes. And on the internet.

And I'm sure this might even sell to someone in Cornwall. Oh, that'd be good.

Good morning, Helen, good morning, Geoff. Hi.

You've brought something that clearly appeals to my taste -

the Art Nouveau movement - lovely thing.

What can you tell me about this object?

Well, we bought it back in the '60s, when the kids were little.

It cost me ?16, which was a fair old whack of my wage. I'm sure it was.

What attracted you? It's not an Art Nouveau shape,

but it was an Art Nouveau design, which I was into, and I thought I'd buy myself a nice piece of it.

We bought that not knowing much about it.

We've recently discovered it was by Frederick Rhead. That's right.

But we only saw that in a book quite recently, so I was quite surprised.

I thought that'll give it some value. This is marked for Wardle Pottery.

Yes. End of the 19th century, Frederick Rhead was art director there.

Yeah. 1899 - 1900. And I think Charlotte Rhead...his baby sister?

His sister. Actually, they say it's possible that she actually did some of the tube lining on it.

She worked there as a tube liner. That's only possible. Yeah.

Well, it's a nice idea, isn't it?

A very appealing design, good colour, good condition for its age.

There's a little bit of a nick on the base, a bit of a chip.

I think that was always like that.

We used to keep an aspidistra in it. But now we don't use it. Because of that and the crazing,

we thought it could be dangerous to have something heavy inside it,

so it's now hiding underneath the sideboard rather than on top of it, so we thought we'd sell it.

You're changing your style, aren't you? Yes.

All the '60s teak furniture we threw out we're discovering again.

So it's a '60s house now?

Not quite. It's a sort of everything house at the moment!

'50s, '60s, '70s - you name it, we've got it.

Well, there's a bit of a renaissance of that period.

Antiques of the future. We're seeing that sort of thing make a lot more, sometimes, than genuine antiques.

Yeah, I feel quite sorry, some of the stuff I took to the skip. And you're buying it back now?

30 years later. Any idea of the value?

Well, as long as it's more than 16 quid. Yeah, yeah!

But the equivalent. I suppose if it's ?100 or thereabouts, we'll be quite happy with that.

You've hit the nail on the head.

In the book there was a similar one at 400 or something. Yeah, but the book prices are...

Book prices are always optimistic, and that's the sort of insurance, retail, perfect condition etc.

I reckon this at ?100 to ?150 estimate, a reserve of ?90 to stop it going for less.

That would be fine. Hope we get it away somewhere between, or ideally at the top end of that estimate.

I don't think it's going to shock us and make much more than that.

I don't think they're particularly popular any more. No.

But I really like it so, hopefully, others'll really like it.

I showed it to a couple of colleagues here and they went, "That's nice."

All you need's two people.

They can have it for 200 if they want! Yeah!

We're about halfway through our day, which means it's time to put some of those theories to the test.

It's time for our first visit to the auction room,

so here's a quick recap of all the items that are going to go under the hammer.

Rebecca's father-in-law heard "Flog It!" was in town,

so he dug this banjo out of the loft for her to bring along today.

Hope I'm looking as good at 90 as James does!

He brought in this silver vinaigrette which I think

might do a little better than James Lewis's valuation of ?80 to ?120.

My Cornish roots certainly make me appreciate Fran's Newlyn candle holder,

and finally Geoff and Helen seem to have made a shrewd investment

with this jardiniere they bought for just ?16 back in the '60s.

Penrith Farmers are our auctioneers for today's proceedings.

Let's go inside and catch up with the man with the gavel,

the man with all the local knowledge, Alan Atkinson.

OK, Alan. Now, this is my valuation.

I'm the Cornishman,

this is Newlyn Arts and Crafts copperwork,

and I know you love your Keswick School.

Yes, we do. You're from up here.

I put 180 with a bit of discretion on this,

which takes it down to 150.

But I'm hoping it'll do that 180, 220 price range.

It needs a bit of cleaning.

That's not going to put the buyers off!

I think we might struggle on that. Do you? Yep.

Will the Keswick collectors be just too curious...

They collectors won't take that.

They won't take that? No, not whatsoever. No.

They collect Keswick and that's it.

I'm still pretty sure that's going to sell.

It's on the internet, there's a lot of collectors for this.

When it's been out on three internet sites,

we might find there will be people coming for it, but it won't be Keswick collectors.

We need someone that loves the Newlyn School, someone from down in Cornwall.

Nice bit of stuff down there.

Proper job. Proper job, yeah!

We'll find out in a minute just who's right.

But first it's Rebecca's banjo going under the hammer.

Let's see if we're playing the right tune.

We've got a 20th century banjo, brought in by Rebecca. Whose is it?

It's my father-in-law's, he sent me with it.

Did he play it well?

I don't think he played it. That's why I've brought it.

It looks in perfect condition. I was musing over it with the auctioneer.

I know you've looked at it and strummed it and plucked it,

and thought, "That's nice." 80 to 120.

We think it could do a little bit more, maybe 120 to 180.

Yeah, possibly. Good make.

A lot of these things, that's the right area, between 100 and 200.

So, you have the old 80 to 120 favourite.

Come in and buy me, it's a good encore.

I think it's going to do well.

Lot 632, the tenor banjo.

There we go. I've ?70 bid. 70 bid.

80. 80 bid. ?80.

90, 100, 110.

110. At ?110 bid.

Anywhere else? At ?110 and selling, all done at ?110.

Bang in estimate. Yeah.

Well done. Thank you very much. That's not bad, ?110.

He'll be happy with that. Oh, yes. You're happy.

Everybody's happy. What are you going to put the money towards?

We're going to invest it for our little baby.

Grandfather sent it down for him. Set up a little bank account.

Yeah, something like that.

That's nice. Hopefully in a few years there will be a couple of grand. Yeah, you never know.

This is a "Flog It!" story we all love, and it belongs to Fran.

So does the item, that lovely bit of Newlyn copper, the chamber candlestick.

Bought, tell us where again? In a charity shop for a pound.

And that was only a few months ago.

Yes, about three months ago.

And I've put ?180 on it because I love Newlyn copper

and I am from Cornwall, and it means a lot to me.

Now, I had a chat with the auctioneer,

and because he loves the Keswick School, he thinks I've overcooked it slightly.

Yes, I did wonder

whether it would sell up here.

I'm going to stick by my guns. I have to, really.

I still wants that 180. We've got a bit of discretion on it, it could go for 160.

So, fingers crossed. Fine.

You'd still be happy. Very happy for a pound!

Exactly. Here it is, it's going under the hammer now. Now?

The Newlyn copper chamber candlestick there,

and it's stamped Newlyn as well.

I've ?100 bid. ?100.

At 100. 100 bid.

?100. At ?100 bid.

And 10. 110.

At 110. We're struggling. 110.

?110.

It's not going to sell. At 110...

Not sold. No sale.

Do you know what you've got to do? Send it to Newlyn.

Yes. Parcel it up, pick it up from the auction room later on,

save wasting a trip coming back.

Take it home, get on the phone to a few auction houses in Cornwall,

tell them what you've got,

send them a photograph and send it down. I'll do that.

Well, here I am, surrounded by Jameses.

James our owner and James our expert.

But we have that wonderful Nathaniel Mills little silver vinaigrette, good Birmingham maker.

80 to 120, that's James's valuation. I've had a chat to the auctioneer.

Now, you don't know this, but he said, good valuation,

but it will do the top end. It'll do around 150, 180.

Hope so. Should do. It's quality, and we've seen them do that before.

Happy bunny? Really happy.

What will you put the money towards?

It'll probably go towards a party.

A party. I don't blame you!

I might buy a bottle of champagne.

A good old knees-up! Lot 197, the vinaigrette.

I've ?100 bid for it.

And 10. 110.

120, 130, 140. ?140 bid.

At 140. Come on, bit more.

?140 the lot. 150, 160.

160. At ?160 bid.

?160 the lot, at 160.

The hammer's gone down. We'll settle for that.

That's fine, isn't it? ?160, James.

Better than being tucked away in that cupboard. Exactly.

And the chances are, it's so tiny, it might just get lost.

Yes. Thanks very much for coming in.

Enjoy your 91st birthday and I hope that party goes really well.

Fine. Thank you. It will.

What I want to know is, where is the aspidistra?

We have Helen and Geoff, and the jardiniere is just about to go under the hammer.

Were you happy with the valuation? We got ?100 to ?150 on that.

Yes. Yes, the valuation is fine.

Why are you getting rid of it? It's in the Arts and Crafts style, you absolutely love that.

We've had it 40-odd years and it's time for a change.

We like a lot of different things. Do you? OK.

Lot number 30, the jardiniere by Rhead.

I have ?50 bid. 50, 60. ?60 the lot. At 60. 60 bid.

70, 80, 90. ?90 bid.

100, and 10. 110.

120, 130. This is good.

130, 140, 160... 160.

180, 200.

200...and 20.

250. 250.

280, 300.

320, 350.

380, 400.

?400 in front now. At 400, I'm selling. At ?400.

The hammer has just gone down.

Helen, if you knew it was that valuable,

would you have liked to have kept it?

Maybe! Maybe.

Well I think Arts and Crafts are still all the rage at that sort of price.

Brilliant. Thanks so much for coming in.

Adam, what a price! That's a great price.

They had two phone bidders, the internet's picked it up.

You know, a "come and buy me" estimate usually works very well.

Keep investing in Arts and Crafts. And Art Nouveau. And Art Nouveau.

I'm going to buy a jardiniere! He's going to...!

Bodes well for my collection, too! I'm really pleased for you.

Thank you. OK, cheers.

It's been to the top of Everest and to both the North and South Pole,

and it's also an essential item in the ration kit of the British Army.

Now, I bet you can't guess what I'm talking about, can you? I'm going to give you a clue.

You see the town below me just down there?

Well, that's Kendal. Yeah, you've guessed it.

We're talking about Kendal Mint Cake and here is what it's all about.

There are only three companies that make the mint cake here in Kendal -

that's Quiggins, Wilsons and Romneys, which I'm at now.

One person who knows all there is to know about mint cake is John Barran.

He's going to talk me through the manufacturing process.

Kendal Mint Cake was supposedly developed by a Kendal confectioner called Joseph Wiper.

Whilst he was making some glacier mints, Wiper took his eyes off the cooking pan

and when he looked back, he discovered the mixture had become cloudy and grainy.

The Kendal Mint Cake was born, and because of its high energy content,

Kendal Mint Cake was taken on Shackleton's 1914 trans-Antarctic expedition

and was eaten on the top of Mount Everest by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953.

If you could smell the aroma in this room, your eyes would be smarting too.

There's such a strong smell of mint,

and I'm sure these guys will never get a cold during the winter.

John, pleasure to meet you. Hi, Paul.

Do you get used to the smell,

because honestly, my eyes are smarting and my head is pounding.

If I go away for a week and come back, I would be in the same situation.

It would be running down my face.

It certainly clears your sinuses, doesn't it? It does.

When did it really hit the scenes, then? When did it become big?

Probably about 1915, something like that, when they started taking it on expeditions.

That's when people realised it did have a good energy source from the glucose.

It's been a lot of expeditions.

We advertise it in some of the climbing magazines as well.

And you can keep up the demand?

Yes. It's always there.

It's in supermarkets. We supply some of the supermarkets, but we still do all the little shops, yes.

And do you export all over the world? Not as much now, no.

We used to do a lot, but we supply to the Army for army rations

and things like that, so it goes all over the place.

It ends up around the world, put it that way. It does, yes.

A simple mixture of water, glucose and sugar is used to make the mint cake.

This is mixed and heated for ten minutes until poured.

Will you talk me through some of the process?

The process at the moment, we have just poured out the mint cake into these copper pans.

Again, these are what they used to use, the old copper pans.

This is the secret mix. We shouldn't be filming this.

But this is where the mint gets added, and now Jamie, this is called the graining.

We grain the side of the pan.

If we didn't do this it wouldn't set.

So, he has got to do this to the right consistency to get it to set.

OK, so what happens after that?

Once Jamie has done that and grained it,

we will put it onto the trolley and we will pour it out into the slabs.

Shall we do that? Yes. There are lots of trays.

There is.

So, Tony is now ladling this out.

Yes, he is.

In years gone by they used to just pour it out by hand, but now

with health and safety we have to just ladle it out into the moulds.

This is still hot. Very hot.

It would take your skin off in a matter of seconds if you happen to dip your hand in, yes.

How long will this take to set?

This just sets naturally. Not long.

Probably about 10 to 15 minutes.

And then it's safe to handle and take out the moulds.

Can I have a go at pouring some?

I'm not going to let you, because I don't want you

making a mess of my floor, so what I have got here is some children's sized moulds. OK.

So, I will let you pour it out. I'll just show you how it's done.

You just go along and pour into the moulds.

Not so bad at all.

You've got the job. Got the job, have I?

So, what, in about ten minutes' time, this should be set? Correct.

I'm going to eat some of my own handiwork.

We were talking about Sir Edmund Hillary earlier, and the fact that

every great explorer would have this in his pocket.

Has it lost any popularity because of all these new energy drinks and bars that have come out?

It is hard to tell. I would say maybe a little bit.

There is still a lot of climbers who want to take it with them.

One of the advantages that mint cake does have over the other energy drinks and things like that

is that it doesn't freeze, it doesn't melt, and it's also good for your digestive system.

Exactly, the mint would be.

It's got the history with it, which is very lucky.

It's the British tradition.

That's what it's all about. And it keeps well, that's it, like you say.

How many of these little trays do you guys do a day?

Boilings, we'll do probably about nine or ten boilings a day.

What does that equate to in bars?

In bars, probably... Again, depending on what size we make them into,

but you're looking at about 7,000 bars a day.

7,000 bars a day!

My word, it is popular, isn't it? In the small ones, anyway.

At what stage do you bash this out, or turn it over and spring it out?

Any time now. Are you going to flip one out for me?

Yes, we can do that for you.

That's how easy they come out. And that's how easy it is.

And what happens to them now?

They will be taken across onto another bench to cool for another 20 minutes,

and then they will be broken up into the various different sizes.

And then put into their packets? That's it.

And then, ready for testing.

That's what we like. There we go, John, it's perfectly set now.

It is, yes. Are you going to do the honours? Yes, I'll let you try.

Break it out, there we go.

That's lovely. Nice and minty. Mmm.

I just need a cup of coffee now! That's it.

It's time to get straight back to the valuation day and I think the Lake School is in that

direction about 15 miles away if I run in a straight line.

And with a bar of Kendal Mint Cake that size, I reckon I can jog it in 15 minutes.

Tony, I have to say, whenever I see a bit of wood in the queue I pounce on it.

You're as keen to flog this as me.

You were first in the queue. What time did you get there this morning?

About 7.10am. Oh, I was still in bed!

This is really nice.

What we actually have here is an Edwardian mahogany stationery and desk companion.

Something that you could have on your flat writing desk.

If we just look at the front of here, there's a nice light

colour in the centre and it sort of warms up as you get to the outside.

And where the grooves are here, that line there's got 100 years of dirt, because

this piece is about 1900-1910, so it's been around a long time.

Is it a family piece?

It did belong to my father-in-law but my wife asked him when she was

a little girl if she could have it sometime in the future.

And eventually, after we'd been married for 10, 15 years he brought it and gave it to us.

He made her wait then! Yes, he did make her wait.

As far as my mother-in-law was concerned, she knew that my

father-in-law kept secret documents of some description in there

and it was always kept locked and she never had the key to it.

She tried to break in with a knife. Hence the scratches on the front.

Ah, that's what this is all about. Well, let's have a look.

Luckily it's unlocked now so it's a little bit easier to get into.

So if we undo these three doors here, it really is

very nicely fitted. We've got these sections here for stationery, we've got the date

apertures at the top, and those can be changed by turning these little knobs on the top there.

Here we have an aide memoire so you can put all the things you need to do

for the day or the week on there and rub them out when you're done.

In the base here, it's seen better days this piece, really,

because if you look at it from the outside and it's not too bad,

but this handle

is not good. This is a writing slate but it's sadly come into two parts now.

Yeah.

There we are, tooled leather, been split, lost its hinges. Do you have those hinges somewhere?

They'd deteriorated so much I didn't think it was worth keeping.

Well, they can be replaced, it's not too bad.

Overall, it's not a bad thing.

The things that are wrong with it are fairly straight forward to put right.

So with all those family memories why does you wife... Does your wife know you're going to sell it?

We used to live in an old house but we've moved into a modern bungalow and it's just stuck

in the wardrobe doing nothing. Let me talk about value.

It's not greatly valuable because there are so many people wanting to sell them.

But if that was done up and sorted out it would be,

you know, a few hundred pounds in a retailer's shop, so taking into consideration... Oops, there we go!

..the damage, the scratches and the fact that we're selling it by auction, I would say ?80 to ?120.

Might make ?140, ?150 on a good day.

Yeah. So is that OK for you?

Yeah, that sounds OK. You need to put a reserve on it.

A hundred. Fine. Let's put 100 to 150 on it as the estimate. ?100 reserve, let's see what happens.

OK.

What a fantastic collection of pens.

How long have you been collecting these?

Oh, as long as 20 years.

20 years, and where have you been getting them from?

Oh, anywhere that I come across them.

Job lots at auction sales and junk shops and anywhere I see them.

Have you got a favourite? That one, I think it's quite attractive.

It is attractive. A lot of them are very attractive, aren't they?

This is a Conway Stewart. Yes.

We've got a lot of different manufacturers of pens here.

Big names like Parker, Schaffer, Waterman's, Swan, all sorts.

I quite like these marbleised ones as well. Yes.

You've got a couple in their boxes as well.

This is a nice one here, the Waterman's one, still in the box

and this one's got 14-carat gold mounts so quite a nice pen that one, the Waterman's one.

So that's, you know, some value in its own right.

This one's a Swan and I believe this one you've had for the longest.

I think I had that when I was 11.

This one was your school pen? Yes. Well, that's lovely, isn't it?

Still in pretty good condition, you must have looked after it. Yes.

Didn't chew the end or anything. No.

And a lot of these even have 14-carat nibs as well, the majority.

A lot of them, yes. You've also got a few pencils.

There's a collection of propelling pencils, including one of these old advertising pencils.

And you've got two silver pencils as well. Yes.

So, what made you collect pens? I don't know.

I think people kept finding them in their cupboards and just adding them to my collection and saying...

Right. I must admit I've hung on to

a few pens that I've found here and now, I've probably got a few but nowhere near as many as this. No.

What was the most reasonable one?

Erm, there must have been some that were 50p but some that were two or three pounds. 50p.

So, they've all been between 50p and a couple of pounds? Probably. Right.

It's a nice collection. A lot of collectors out there.

I think it's probably going to make ?100 to ?150.

What do you think? Lovely.

Is that what you thought or...? Wonderful, yes. Yes? Yes, brilliant.

And we'll put a reserve maybe just below at 90. Yes.

Well, that's great, thank you very much for bringing them along, it's a good collection of pens. Thank you.

Now Warren, you don't seem the sort of bloke who would wear a brooch like this. Thank you.

So, tell me, how do you come to have it in your possession?

I actually found it when I was shopping in a department store.

Golly! Hand it in or did you just whip it straight into your pocket?

No, I did hand it in yes, definitely. Did the right thing?

Three months later I got a call to say nobody had claimed it

and if you wanted it it was yours, so... Wow!

Fantastic. How long ago?

I've had it about nine years.

Because it was an old thing even then. Yeah.

Do you know much about it? I don't, no.

Well, whenever we look at this sort of silverwork, it's very stylised but based on foliage.

These leaves are known as honesty leaves. Right.

And it's a typical motif of Art Nouveau silverware.

And when you find it in this combination of blue and green enamel as well, that's typical 1900 to 1910,

somewhere around that date. And having looked

at the hallmark, it's the Birmingham hallmark for 1909.

So, when you found it, it was an 80-year-old brooch somebody dropped.

Yeah. You found an interesting thing.

Good. A maker called J Fenton of Birmingham. Yeah.

When we look at this sort of work, we think of Charles Horner.

He is the most famous of all the Art Nouveau silversmiths. Right.

And this sort of combination of enamel and silver you think in terms of Liberty.

If it was a larger piece you'd think in terms of Archibald Knox.

But this maker, still fairly well-known, but not one of the most well-known. Yeah.

Don't want to give it to a girlfriend or wife? I gave it to the wife

but it's been in her jewellery box for a good nine, ten years.

And she's never worn it? She's not interested, really, so...

Oh, what a shame because that would polish up beautifully.

I think it would. It looks a bit dull at the moment so...

But a slight rub with a silver cloth and that would shine.

Bring it up, yeah. OK. So, no point in keeping it then?

Don't think so. Let's sell it. 80 to ?100.

Oh, very nice. Is that all right? It sounds good. Can't be bad.

Can't be bad at all.

Let's hope Alan can keep up the good work at the auction in Penrith.

James loves Tony's mahogany bureau but feels the slight damage might just hold the price back.

Margaret's been collecting pens and pencils for over 20 years.

Adam thinks someone should get a good deal with his estimate of 100 to ?150.

And they say honest is the best policy and it was for Warren.

He found this enamel brooch at a department store, handed it in

and James thinks he should be rewarded with at least ?100.

I love this, Tony. A mahogany bureau from the early 1900s.

It's got the look and it hasn't been on display, has it?

No. In your house? No. It's been in the wardrobe.

Yes. It's been prised open with a knife as well.

We're looking at 100, ?150.

I'm pretty sure we're going to get the top end of that.

It's quality all the way and it's a bit of functional kit.

I would keep things in it, use it.

And so would you, I know. It's a desk top toy.

It's wonderful. I mean I really like it.

If it was mine it wouldn't be in the auction. No.

So, actually... Plenty of people here, aren't there?

Exactly. It's here to sell at that sort of price.

Why are you selling it?

My wife got it left to her by her father and it's been, like I say, stuck in the wardrobe.

It's not on display.

Can't you put it anywhere in the house?

Visually, it's quite stunning. She's found somewhere now.

It's too late. Too late.

Tony, good luck, it's just about to go under the hammer.

We can't think of things like that now. This is it.

Lot 467, the very nice stationery cabinet-cum-desk there.

Rather nice one. I have ?100 bid.

120, 150, 180,

200, ?200 bid,

?200 bid, at ?200 I'm selling. 220.

Oh, 220.

240, 240, ?240,

all done at ?240.

Yes, that's a sold sound.

The hammer's gone down. Good result.

Quality always sells.

What are you going to do with that? 240 quid less some commission.

Well, it's my wife's so she doesn't know what she's going to do with it.

Save it for a rainy day, pay some bills.

If it hadn't sold, she wouldn't have been disappointed, anyway.

Cos she's now found a place for it. Yeah.

Margaret, is it time to say goodbye to those pens and pencils?

Have we got that value right, 100 to ?150? I hope so.

We're about to do battle in the auction room and find out if the pen is mightier than the sword.

?150 top end, that's what we want. There's a lot there.

If you divide them by the amount of pens, it works out reasonably so...

Yeah. Fairly reasonably.

Exactly. Oh, you sounded a bit disappointed then.

Well, we'll see.

There's a lot of collecting there. Yes.

Good luck. They're just about to go under the hammer.

Lot number 494, collection of pens and propelling pencils,

the whole lot of them there.

Various bids, I've ?70 bid, 70,

80, 90, 100 and 10, 120, 130, 140.

Oh, they love it. They love it, they love it.

160, at ?160 bid.

160, 180, 180. At 180, 180.

With Janet now at ?180, I'm selling now, all done at ?180.

I like the sound of that.

180! Happy with that?

Yes, thank you. Yes. That is brilliant, isn't it?

Yes. Lots of memories, well worth collecting over a period of time. Yes.

It doesn't financially hit the pocket straightaway.

You can collect over a period of years.

And when you sell, there's a nice reward. Yes.

Now, we're going to do it classic bit of recycling.

I've just been joined by Warren and we have that lovely honesty brooch.

And you are an honest guy, as well.

This brooch, found in a department store tne years ago, was handed in.

Nobody claimed it. I bet you thought it was your lucky day. I did, yes.

But the missus didn't like it. No.

And then "Flog It!" came to town and the rest

is history because our expert, James, has put 80 to ?100 on this.

Not bad. Not bad at all. Will we get any more?

It might make top end and possibly a bit over.

We'll see. We'll see. It's full, isn't it?

It's packed. Jammed full of bidders and they're not sitting on their hands, which is a good thing.

I'd like to see 120. I'd like to see just a bit over his...

We'd all like to see more, wouldn't we?

That's what we're pinning our hopes on. Good luck!

Lot 154. The honesty brooch.

A nice one there.

Various bits of interest.

I have ?100 bid. 110. 120. 130.

Ooh! See!

150. 150 bid.

160. 170.

180. 190.

I think this was a "come and buy me" from James. 200.

220.

240.

?240. 240 on my right now with the gentleman. ?240.

Yes! 240 quid, Warren! That's fantastic!

A lot better than ?100.

I knew it all along!

Wow! Wow, wow, wow!

Well pleased with that. What are you going to do with that money?

I think the wife will spend it on some jewellery.

Is she? Something that she does like and can wear. Exactly.

Is she here today? Yeah.

I bet she enjoyed that. She'll be well pleased.

Just as we all did.

Say no more.

The auction is still going on but it's all over

for our owners and we've had a marvellous day up here in the Lakes.

If you've got anything you're unsure about that you want to flog,

bring them to a valuation days and we'll see what we can do for you.

Details of up and coming dates and venues you can find on our BBC website.

Just click on to bbc.co.uk/lifestyle.

If you don't have a computer, check the details in your local press and we'll see you soon.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media - 2007

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