Penzance Flog It!

Penzance is the first port of call for many sailors who've just made an Atlantic crossing.

That's where we've dropped anchor today on Flog It!

Penzance dominates Mount's Bay, which extends from Lizard Point all the way to Land's End.

It has the biggest fleet of fishing boats in the south of England.

Today we'll be fishing for some of your special items to take to auction later on.

Casting their nets are our experts, Philip Serrell and Jethro Marles.

-So, me beauties, what have you found?

-Oh, arr, m'dear!

-Something proper 'ere.

-And you?

-I'm afraid I need an interpreter.

-You're both from here.

-We are.

I'm sure Philip will survive. The Cornish are very hospitable!

As everyone starts to settle in, let's look at what they've brought along to flog.

-How are you doing? Who's this?

-My son, Jack.

-Shake hands.

Well done, Jack.

-What do we reckon to these, then? How long have you had them?

-6 weeks.

-Did you buy them in a shop?

-From a charity shop.

-How much did you pay for them?

-I paid £12.

-Was that for the three?

For three, yes.

-What were they asking for them?

-£12.

-So you didn't knock them down?

-No, no, no.

-What do you know about them?

I've done a bit of research on the internet.

-They're by RD Sherrin.

-Yeah.

-That was a Mancunian who painted scenes of Exmoor and Dartmoor in the '50s.

-Yep.

-That's as much as I know.

-They're not great works of art. They're furnishing pictures.

And they would be designed to complement a room, complement a piece of furniture.

Just to dress a room, to furnish a room.

You can see they are signed here.

If we just lift this one up...

this is signed here. You know this better than I do.

-Probably somewhere locally?

-I would say that's north Cornwall.

-North Cornwall?

-Yeah.

At auction, these aren't a pair. If we look at the size, this one is slightly smaller.

You've got to put what we term a "come and buy me" estimate on.

-OK.

-£30-£50.

-And my "come and buy me" estimate on this would be £20-£40. How does that sound?

-Good.

Can we shake hands on that, Jack? Come on, then. Good man!

Doreen, I have never valued a teddy bear on Flog It before.

We've seen a lot, if you watch regularly,

-but I fell in love with him. What's his name?

-Just Teddy.

-How long have you had him?

-Since 1937.

-1937?

-Yes.

-When you were a little girl.

-Yes.

-Any evidence to this fact?

-Yes, I've got two photographs here.

Oh, isn't that lovely?

-The teddies are bigger than you are!

-Yes, I know!

-He seemed large at the time.

-He was brand new.

-Yes.

-He's obviously upset you in some way. You're casting him out.

-Not really.

Being my age, I think that perhaps someone else could appreciate him, perhaps a collector.

I've only got him wrapped in a pillow case in the cupboard.

-How can you do that? Poor Teddy!

-Yeah.

He doesn't like that. Well, he is in lovely condition.

The plush that you've got on here. Lovely condition.

How much is it worth? Well, who's made it? We can tell from the label on the base of his foot here.

-Chad Valley.

-Yes.

-Chad Valley were making teddies like this between the wars to begin with.

Teddies were the first thing they made.

Little things to look out for are a hump on the back.

Early teddies had this hump. This one doesn't.

-And you can date it exactly to 1937?

-Correct.

He moves all his arms and limbs perfectly. There's a hard spot here.

-Is that a growler?

-It should be.

-I don't think he is growling.

Let's have a little go.

-I can't hear anything.

-It used to.

-Did he?

-Yes.

But with these teddies, it's down to character.

-Definitely.

-And this teddy has got character.

Sure you wouldn't regret selling it?

Well, I've decided I will. I made my mind up.

I won't ask again. What's he worth?

Well, teddies like this can do quite well sometimes. It depends on size, how rare they are.

The label tells us all about him. It's an original label.

I think he'll make around £150.

-OK.

-If we put a reserve at 150, estimate his value at £150-£200 in the auction...

-Yes.

-Should we give him a go?

-Yes, we could.

-I've got one grandchild and would give the money to them.

-And they could then buy a toy.

They like to save, so put it in their savings.

-You wouldn't give them the teddy?

-No! In this day and age, they don't seem to have teddies.

Sorry, Teddy. It's time to go.

-Linda, it's good to be back on home turf.

-Oh.

-And what a wonderful thing to look at!

The last time Flog It was here, we filmed at the Penlee House Gallery.

-Oh, yes.

-And it was full of Newlyn copper work.

What a lovely salver. Basically, it's a tray. How did you get it?

It's not mine, it's my son's. And he bought it at the Bath and West Antique Fair.

He's in the army in Dorset. He can't get down, so he asked me.

This, basically, was started off by a guy called John Drew Mackenzie.

He was the chief instigator of Newlyn copper. And it follows that Arts and Crafts ethos

of hands-on applied metalwork. Doing things by hand.

The good old craft way.

All of this is hand-hammered, done through a mould and hammered the other side.

-You can see the little marks.

-Yes.

-And the technique is repousse.

It was very popular until the 1920s.

For that whole period, they called it the Industrial Class.

Fishermen were making these wonderful wares and Newlyn copper work always had fish

with shells, lots of bubbles.

-Seaweed.

-Fish swimming through.

It's in very, very good condition.

Drew Mackenzie died in, em, 1918.

And the latter pieces have always been stamped "Newlyn". After 1920, they were stamped Newlyn.

-It's very small. There it is!

-That is tiny, isn't it?

-Yes.

I'm really pleased that's quite small. A lot of the wares, like ashtrays, are quite small

-and there's a huge "Newlyn" on the back.

-It distracts.

-This is discreet.

-And it's a whopping great piece.

-It is.

-Any idea what it's worth?

No. No idea.

I think... I think we could get somewhere in the region of £400-£600 for this.

-I'd like to put a reserve of £400 on it.

-That sounds good.

-Fingers crossed. Will we see you at the auction?

-Yes.

-Can't wait to watch this go under the hammer.

-Chris and Andy, are you local Cornish people?

-No.

-Where are you from?

-Stourbridge.

-So you've moved down here?

-No, we're on holiday.

And you've brought a field telephone! Why have you brought a field telephone on holiday?

-We knew you'd love to see it.

-It's not your mobile phone?

-No!

-It's a bit big for that.

-We're up your way next week!

-I know!

It would have been so much easier. How have you come by this?

I used to work for a university in Birmingham. They were throwing it out and I salvaged it, basically.

-Why?

-My husband used to work in telecomms.

-I was a telephone engineer.

-And I was in telecomms,

-so I was sort of interested. He keeps all sorts of strange things.

-I'm not sure the nation's ready.

-He's got what?

-He's got his old GPO codes

from when he started in telecomms.

So you've got your GPO codes. I'm pretty cool about that.

Whatever people do in the privacy of their own homes is fine by me. Joking apart,

this brings back two great TV moments for me. Hold this while I crank it. The first is

cranking that up and it's Jonesey, Captain Mainwaring, out on manoeuvres somewhere.

-Stupid boy.

-"Don't tell him your name, Pike!" I think it's absolutely brilliant.

-The other one for me is Blackadder.

-Right.

-With Melchett.

"Over you go, Blackadder." And I just think it's great.

It's a bit of a talking point. Are there wires? Got to be wires.

The telephone line connects to these two terminals at the front.

They'd run that to another set like this.

And then you'd lift the receiver, wind the handle and that would ring the bells on the other machine.

Pretty good stuff. You can tell me more than I know. Can you tell me what it's worth?

I haven't the faintest idea! None whatsoever.

You are in excellent company.

Right.

-£30-£50.

-Right.

-Reserve £25. I haven't got a clue. How's that?

-Yeah.

-I have to say, we need to find two people in Cornwall who want to buy a field telephone.

Might be a telephone bidder.

-Shall we have a go?

-Why not?

Our first set of lots are packed and ready for the auction.

David bought these three pictures in a charity shop for £12.

They're local. Can someone show Doreen's teddy the light of day

for something between £150 and £200?

And I just love Linda's Newlyn copper tray. It's a beauty.

And, finally, Philip couldn't believe Chris and Andy brought this!

It's in the sale at £30-£50.

Yes, you've guessed it. It is now time for the auction.

We want some hammer action. We've left Penzance for Lostwithiel.

Our auctioneer is Ian Morris. He's somewhere among the bidders.

Let's catch up with him and find out what he thinks about our owners' items and our experts' valuations.

So what do you think of these? They were brought in by David.

We've got two Sherrins, RD Sherrin. One of Dartmoor, one of Exmoor.

Now we've got a valuation of £30-£50, which is really cheap, actually, for the two.

Nice furnishing pictures. He paid about 15 quid for them.

Well, since that happened, he came in yesterday and he wants a lot more now.

-He's changed his mind?

-Yes. The figure he's put on them is closer to £200.

Now why has he done that?

-He doesn't like them, wanted them to go and was happy with the valuation. Second thoughts?

-Must be.

-Would you be confident in getting him that £200 anyway?

-No. I've got to say no.

These kind of paintings which are of moorland scenes.

-They're quite bland.

-They need an animal in the foreground.

-No animals,

no birds, no figures. So...

What would you have valued these?

I would put something in the region of £40-£60, £50-£80 each.

So maybe £80-£120 the pair.

So we are a bit out, a little low.

-Yes, I would have thought you were very conservative.

-Which has made him think, "Hang on, that is cheap."

If you catalogued these at £200, people will go, "Trade stock."

-And not bother to come back.

-So where does it leave us?

-Will we sell? Or will they be going home?

-I think we will struggle.

Well, David has upped the ante.

Can we get £200 for the two smaller paintings? And another £200 for the larger one? We'll wait and see.

Right now, we hope to flog the biggest mobile phone in the world.

And possibly the heaviest! Chris and Andy, I had a chat with the auctioneer.

We thought it'd sell for £30, so Philip was spot on. Let's hope we get that top bid of £40-£50.

-What have they brought on holiday this time? A photocopying machine? An old calculator?

-No...

-We passed this time.

-But this is a great bit of recycling. It was being thrown out.

-We've got nowhere to display it. It would be lovely if we had a big house.

-Exactly, yeah.

-Or it would make a nice bookend.

-Wire it up.

-We've only got one, so we can't talk to each other.

Best not to talk to each other.

Let's find out what the bidders of Lostwithiel think of it. Good luck.

Field glasses in a painted green box.

What say we for the field telephone? £30 away? £20 to start me?

£15? Just give us a call. £15.

At 18. 20.

-22. At £22. £25, bid with me now.

-That's it.

At £25. 28 to get on. 25, then.

-He's selling.

-£25.

-Yes.

-Paul, ask him.

-I know what he's doing!

-Ask him.

-What are you going to spend 25 quid on?

-Petrol going home!

Straight home.

-Hang on. There's commission to pay at 15%.

-It'll get you to Bristol.

-Yeah.

-It's not too bad.

-That was a bit of fun. A great day out.

Talking of provenance, we've got a Chad Valley teddy bear belonging to Doreen,

-but we've got photographic evidence of you with it. You've had this since 1937?

-Correct.

A lot of history there. A lot of memories.

-You always called him Teddy?

-Yes.

If we make a note that he's called Teddy, that will help the buyer.

What's really nice is whoever buys this little ted gets the photograph as well. That's so important.

Provenance adds to value. But I want you to take it home. It's going under the hammer now.

We have a Chad Valley teddy bear.

Original Chad Valley label to paw.

Can I say £150 away? 150? £100 to start me?

£100 I'm bid. I'll take 110 to get on. At £100.

110. 120. At 120.

130? At 120. At 120.

130, I think, at the back. 140.

150. At 150, at the back.

-At 150. 160? All done, then?

-He's selling at 150.

-Yes, he's sold it.

-That's OK, Paul.

-Teddy's gone.

-That's OK, Jethro.

That's sad, I think.

It should have been more, but I'm quite happy.

What will you do with £150?

After the expenses, I'll put the rest in my little grandson's savings account.

-How old's he?

-16 months.

-16 months? How sweet.

-Hope you enjoyed it.

-I have.

-What a wrench to part with Teddy, though.

This is my favourite lot of the sale and I feel quite confident.

Linda, good to see you again. Fingers crossed for your son.

It's a wonderful Newlyn copper tray. £400-£600. I had a chat to Ian, our auctioneer, earlier.

He would have liked £350-£450, but that's typical auctioneers.

But it's quality. It is quality. I love it.

-And I just hope so many bidders in this room get excited by it.

-I do, too!

-This is it.

-The fine Newlyn copper.

-A lovely twin-handled tray.

-That looks great.

£400 away? 300 away to start? £300 I'm bid on the book.

At 300. 320 to get on? At £300.

At 320. At 350.

At 380 now? At 350.

I'll take 360. 360. 370 At 370. At 370.

-I'm a bit worried.

-At 370. 380?

Done at £370.

-Not sold?

-No. One bid away if he was going up in £20 lots.

-He'd have sold it at 390.

-He'll have to build a shelf to put it on now!

I'm pleased we put a fixed reserve of £400 on it. It's worth that.

-I know.

-Auctions, don't you just hate them sometimes?

I've just been joined by David and young Jack here

-with a little pussycat. What's his name?

-Pussycat Miaow.

-Sorry?

-Pussycat Miaow.

-Pussycat Miaow? Aww.

That's a great name. You've got two lovely Sherrins.

-Quite small. One of Exmoor, one of Dartmoor. Correct?

-Yes.

With a valuation of £30-£50 put on by Philip Serrell.

But since the valuation day, you don't know this and I've only just found out,

you've come in here, Jack, and said, "I'm putting the reserve up...

"to £200."

-I did, yes.

-That is a massive jump.

What have you found out that Philip doesn't know?

What I did was I went online and quite easily found out all about the artist and his work.

-Teddy's in the way! Pussy!

-And what his work sells for.

They're very much furnishing pictures and I wish you well, but...

That's a brave punt, a £200 reserve. I had a chat with the auctioneer.

He thinks they'll struggle as well.

So well, fingers crossed for you. And for little Jack.

£200 is a lot of money. I hope you do it. Going under the hammer now.

Already showing. Two watercolours.

Can I say 150 away? £100 away? £100.

At £100. 110. 120. 130.

140. 150. 160. 170.

180. 190. 200.

At £200. At £200. 210?

At £200. Are we done? £200.

Yes! He's sold it!

Jack lost interest during bidding. He's playing with his cat.

£200 has just been secured. Hats off to you. Fantastic.

-Thank you.

-One more to go.

RD Sherrin. Watercolour. Moorland.

What'll we say? £150 away?

£100 away? £100 I'm bid. 110.

120. 130.

140. 150. 160.

170. 180. 190.

200. At £200. At £200, at £200. 220 now?

-Bang on.

-£200.

That is a sold sound! The hammer's gone down. £200.

-A total of 400 quid. You bought these for £15.

-12.

-£12!

-I think you sold three pictures with one bidder! A real bit of luck.

-Yes, definitely.

-That is fantastic. What is £400 going towards?

-That will go towards Jack's Christmas.

-There he is down there.

He's going to enjoy that. My word.

That's a result. Well done.

We've had some cracking results so far. It's a shame the Newlyn copper tray didn't sell.

There is plenty more hammer action to come later on in the show.

Talking of hammer action, I've been told Newlyn copper is still being fashioned today.

Let's go and check it out.

Newlyn has always been one of the country's most important fishing ports and it still is today.

Back in the 19th century, when the weather was really bad,

fishermen couldn't earn a living. But all that changed in 1888

when John Drew Mackenzie arrived. He was an artist and illustrator.

He took pity on the fishermen. He taught them handicraft skills.

He set up the Newlyn Industrial Class to teach those skills.

The fishermen were used to handling copper as they often used it for boat repairs.

It was readily available and became the material of choice.

However, the skill and creative influence needed to produce fine pieces of art

was down to a chap called John Pearson, who came here in 1892.

He taught at the Industrial Class for seven years.

He was a very skilled copper worker

and soon the Newlyn workshops were making wonderful things.

I'm going to find out if anything's changed over the years.

The man I want to meet is principal craftsman Mike Johnson. And he's in here!

-Mike, I'm sorry to stop you in mid-bash.

-Not at all.

You are actually fashioning this into shape.

-What are you working on?

-It's a font for Trinity Church.

It's part of a commission - font, lectern, communion table, benches, the whole lot.

-Oak and copper furnishings.

-What brought you to Newlyn?

I moved down about 16 years ago to work with my uncle, initially,

on films, making suits of armour. But my passion was always copper.

-Newlyn copper.

-Newlyn copper. So I moved away from the film work and into copper full-time.

You were obviously aware of Drew Mackenzie and John Pearson.

-And you collected Newlyn copper.

-Yeah, I started late, in the '80s.

But it was beautiful work, exquisite work, and affordable. Now...

Very collectable. That kick-started the passion.

Talk me through how you take a sheet of metal and get it like this.

That's nearly the finished process. I'll start you from scratch.

-Here's a couple of big persuaders.

-Right.

-Feel the weight of those.

-Gosh!

-So, basically, you let gravity do the work.

-Exactly, yeah! Let gravity do it, not you.

-Start from the end and work your way around.

-It's a noisy old job!

Very noisy! Exactly!

Work your way around the bowl.

-And so on, until you get the whole bowl completely dished.

-It's so pliable and soft.

Next stage, once it's dished up, is to remove all the dents you just put into it.

I'll hammer away.

This is incredibly clever.

-And the longer you hit it, the harder it's getting.

-Absolutely.

And if you want it softer again, heat the metal till it's red hot,

-drop it in cold water...

-And then you can work on smaller little fishes, impregnations of seaweed...

-Exactly, yeah.

-OK, what's the next stage? How do you get it to reflect all the light and bounce?

-I'll take you back to the font. To help bounce light up through the water and give it...

-Sparkle.

We've gone for really fine ball peening. There's about two days of work putting in the little ripples.

That's literally a ball peen hammer, the round section of the hammer. Hundreds of thousands of those.

Absolutely, yes. In the zone!

-But it's like the skin of an orange now.

-Absolutely.

-Wow.

I know you're influenced by Drew Mackenzie and Pearson. Are you frightened to put fish on?

Yes! Because Mackenzie's designs were so exquisite.

And so, whatever you try and do in a contemporary sense, it's looked at in that context.

You're either looked at as trying to be generic or that you're trying to copy or mimic.

Let's look at your stamp, your make.

This looks like the godfather of the Arts and Crafts movement, Archibald Knox.

There is a Knox influence. Definitely Knox.

-Can you see through them?

-Yes. They're old megaphone glass lenses.

Done in reference to monstrances, but with really simple materials.

In the past, they were diamonds and rubies and gold, donated by wealthy families to the church.

I've used really simple, down-to-earth materials,

partly to reflect the craftsmanship that went into the cutlery first.

I think you've succeeded!

-There's an old washing posser.

-Oh, yes!

-Do you get asked to do a lot of commission work?

-Yes.

These pieces have gone into Liberty's, there's stuff in the local galleries down here.

-A lot of commission work.

-You can't go wrong with Liberty's.

Very flattering, exactly.

But Mike doesn't only work to his own designs.

He's about to restore a landmark, made by the original coppersmiths.

I've got the copper galleon here off the roof of the fisherman's mission.

-One of Newlyn's most important pieces.

-Hence all the weathering.

It's been up since 1911. This was an early Newlyn copper piece.

-That's an iconic landmark.

-It is.

-I'm surprised it wasn't stolen!

-It's a long way up!

-You'd have to be very keen!

-So what have you to do?

It needs stripping. It's been gilded and painted over the years.

We'll carefully strip it all back to copper, re-gild it and re-rig it.

A lot of the rigging is quite tatty. Ready for its next 100 years.

-And you'll put it back up?

-Yes.

Well, that was a real delight. It's wonderful to meet experts in their own field.

Time to catch up with our very own experts at the valuation day.

And I think it's this way!

-Now, Trevor, you have brought along... Do you know what these are?

-No, I don't, really.

These are magic lantern slides.

-You did know that?

-Well, I know they're quite old.

Over 100 years, I should say.

I think they probably are. How did you get them?

-They just dropped in with the family.

-They've come down from your mother and father?

-Yeah.

You don't know back beyond that?

Pre-war... Pre-war, mind you, pre the 1914-18 war.

-But...

-No cameras, see.

-Exactly.

-It's the latterday video show.

-Yeah.

Each one is bound in a mahogany frame.

It would go on the magic lantern and a strong light went through.

The image was projected onto the wall. We can see here an image

of humanised pigs doing things.

Here we've got the donkey being a bit stubborn, not going to market.

And you've got the man cracking the whip, and the other pigs pulling.

-Yeah.

-You've got six magic lantern slides. That's not many.

When you go out for an evening, you'd expect to see quite a few

and with these comical ones, somebody's got to tell the story.

With a bit of music going on as well. And here someone has stolen a fish - he's a poaching pig.

And someone's cracking the whip after him. So all these little slides would have had a story.

-What a wonderful evening's entertainment.

-I see what you mean.

-The condition isn't brilliant.

Well, they are. They're unsoiled.

-Well, yes...

-One of them's got a crack, but I got a new glass for that.

You're a good salesman, Trevor. Anyone buying these would see what they could do with the bad ones.

-As I said, it only just needs pushing out and they'll never...

-Exactly.

As far as value's concerned, have you got any idea?

Well, I thought...

Perhaps £20... £20 each, say £60 for the set.

-You thought £60 for the set.

-Yeah. About that.

-That's around about right. Shall we put a reserve at £40.

-Yes.

-Actually, I don't want 'em back.

-You don't want them back?

-No.

-But you wouldn't be happy if they sold for a fiver.

-No.

Shall we say £40 as a reserve? And if they don't sell, you can try on another day.

-I think that's fair enough.

-I do.

-And we'll give it a go.

-Yeah.

-Let's see what happens.

-Anne, how are you doing?

-Fine, thank you.

-Where did this come from?

We bought it about four years ago from an antiques centre.

An antiques centre? I won't ask what you paid for it...yet.

I think it's a great thing. We've got a little lever at the back.

Press it, the stork bends down, the top slides open

and his beak opens, up comes a little ratchet from underneath, which I guess holds a cigarette.

-Mm-hm.

-A really non thing now!

And up he comes with a cigarette in his mouth.

It's a cigarette dispenser. I think it's made out of tin plate.

It's got "Made in England" on the base with a load of patent marks. I like this.

It's stylistically quite sort of Art Nouveau, Arts and Crafts.

It's about 1900, 1910, I would think. But in my eyes,

from there up it just loses the plot a little bit.

From there down, it's pure Art Nouveau, Arts and Crafts, but this bit...

It's like they made this box and thought, "How do we finish this?"

And they've put this stork on top. That's my view. Now, valuation.

I've never seen one like it. I think that I would estimate it at £200-£400.

I think we...put a reserve on it of £200.

-And now I'll ask what you paid.

-I think it was about £160.

£160? In an antiques centre?

-Yeah.

-It'll be interesting to see if it does show you a profit.

But I just think it's a really good thing, a thing of the moment.

-Why do you want to sell it?

-Well, we live in an old barn now.

It really doesn't go. It's all granite and this against the granite just doesn't do anything.

-It's a great thing in its own right.

-Yeah.

-We'll put it in the auction.

-Yeah.

-And let's hope it has a wealth warning, not a health warning.

-That'd be good.

Peter and Della, you have made me break my cardinal rule.

I was never going to do Troika because everybody else has,

but this is a little bit different.

This little piece of Troika, signed on the bottom by the artist, Alison Brigden,

is a perfectly genuine article, produced out of the Newlyn factory in the mid-1970s.

I would say 1976, 1977, but you don't see many Aztec masks!

-How long have you had it?

-27 years.

-So that must be when it was made.

-We bought it in 1979, but it was made a bit earlier.

-In the '70s sometime.

-Exactly.

-It was bought in St Ives.

-I don't believe it was made there. Was it?

-Newlyn. That's where it would have been.

They moved from St Ives up to Newlyn and everything was made there.

So how much would this have cost when you bought it?

It was under £10, but I can't remember exactly.

We wouldn't have paid more. We couldn't afford it.

To me, I know it's 1970s, but you could think it was earlier.

That stylistic thing. People going to a foreign country, it's sort of an Aztec mask anyway.

I wonder how many of this model are out there. I have seen a couple quite recently,

but prior to that I haven't seen any at all.

-I've only seen one in an auction catalogue. Not in the flesh.

-And what estimate was on that one?

Er, £400-£600.

-Do you know what it made?

-No. That was a long time ago.

And the market changes. Just to show everybody...

Troika. AB. Alison Brigden.

And on the back, it's decorated.

Unlike a lot of early antiques and pieces to go up against a wall,

I suppose this could go in the window so that you could see one side and then the other.

-Two totally different patterns.

-Exactly. So why are you selling it?

Well, we're always worried about it getting damaged.

When the children were small, it was hidden away. On show, but safe.

We moved a few years ago and have nowhere safe to put it, so it's out of sight.

It is a little bit top heavy. It's been around 20-odd years

-and it is in good order.

-No marks.

-No damage.

So...what do I think it might be worth today?

It's a little bit of a finger in the air job. Which way is the wind blowing?

But I think you should get over £800.

-£800 would be the right sort of reserve level.

-Right.

I'm hoping you might get into four figures. I'm hoping you might get £1,000.

And on a good day, maybe £1,200.

-But, realistically, put a reserve at £800.

-Yes.

-Estimate £800-£1,200.

-How do you feel about that?

-Fine.

-Give it a go?

-Yeah.

-Let's see if the buyers are out there.

So we're ready for some saleroom magic once again.

With a reserve of £40, will Trevor's antique slides cast a spell on our buyers?

Is there a market for Anne's cigarette dispenser? Or are we all too healthy now?

And, finally, some Troika! Peter and Della's mask is far from the usual square vase.

Right now, a bit of magic - six magic lantern slides with Trevor.

Not a lot of money, but a lot of interest, hopefully.

£40-£60 on this. Let's hope we get that top end.

-Why are you getting rid of?

-Well, this is getting rid of me, not me getting rid of this.

I shan't outlast it!

-Let's hope we find someone in love with this.

-They're quite charming.

Not in brilliant condition. We are going to have to hope for a bit of a following wind.

-But let's see what happens.

-I'll follow it wherever it goes.

I'm sure you will, Trevor.

It's going under the hammer now. Good luck.

Six 19th-century magic lantern slides with colour decoration.

Pigs in rectangular mahogany frames.

There we are. £40 away? £30 away?

£20 I'm bid. At £20. 25.

£30. At £30 I'm bid. At 30. 35? 35.

£40 for the slides now?

At £35. 40? We're nearly there again at 35.

Leave them go at 35.

£35. He didn't sell.

We've got a fixed reserve on of 40.

-Eh?

-You're taking them home, Trevor.

-The little pigs are going all the way home.

-I'm taking them home?

-Yeah, they're not leaving you now.

-Oh.

-You look after them. Love them a little bit longer.

-Glad to see you.

-And you. Haven't seen you for a long time. He used to take me to school!

-Really?

-Yeah.

-He went to the same school as my son went.

-Oh, I see.

-So you were the taxi.

-If it was raining, I had to take my boy

-and I used to see him struggling along.

-With my satchel!

I absolutely love this next lot. It belongs to Anne, not for long.

-Not with a price tag of £200. Who have you brought along?

-My partner Neil.

-Hi, Neil.

-Hello.

Smoking is not PC, but I don't think in this case it will deter the bidders.

-A modern smoking accessory is a good cough.

-Shame it didn't have Liberty's name attached to it.

But nevertheless, we'll get you your money back. I think you paid the right price.

-Right.

-It should raise a stir. I know the auctioneer loves it.

Fingers crossed, here we go.

Lot 260. Art Nouveau pewter cigarette dispenser.

Style of Knox or Liberty. Lot 260. What do we say for that?

£200 away? 150 away?

150 I'm bid. At 150.

160. 170. 180.

200. Is it 10? At £200.

210? Are we done? Selling at £200.

-£200. Hammer's gone down. We'll settle for that.

-Yeah.

-What will you put £200 towards?

-A holiday.

-Where do you fancy?

Australia.

My word! That's a long way away!

I was just about to say, you live in a beautiful part of Cornwall.

It's very hard to choose somewhere to go on holiday.

-That's right, but we have a B&B.

-That's hard work.

So it's nice to go away out of season.

Well, enjoy Australia.

Well, we've just been joined by Della and Peter. Jethro, what do you expect to see in Cornwall?

-Pasties.

-Yes!

Apart from that - Troika!

And we have a classic Troika mask. A great valuation as well.

-£800-£1,200. Which you bought for how much?

-Well, it was under 10.

Why are you flogging it? It's not peaked yet and these are very rare.

I know, but it is very fragile.

-It's beautiful, but it has a very slim base.

-This is why not many have survived.

There's a premium on them. We've sold chipped ones for £600-£800.

Quite recently I saw one sold for just over £600.

But this is a lot of money for a piece of Troika. Not many make around £1,000.

-But it is a rare piece.

-And we're in Cornwall.

-Yes.

A face mask there. £800 away? £600 away?

£600. The bid's with me. At £600. I'll take 20.

At 620. 650. 680.

-700.

-We're off!

750. 780. 800. 820.

-850. 880.

-It's sold. It's going.

-£900. The bid is with me.

At £900. And 20. 920.

At 920. My bid is out.

-Come on.

-At 920. Done?

£920.

Yes! The hammer's gone down at £920.

-We'll take that.

-Good mark up.

That's a very good profit. Less a bit of commission - there's 15% commission to pay.

What will you do with the money?

-I think we'll probably go on holiday.

-Where do you fancy going?

Our oldest daughter's just gone out to Dubai. Our youngest daughter lives nearby, which is great.

-So I think we might see the other one.

-A trip to the Arab Emirates.

-Possibly.

-A bit of sunshine.

Well, enjoy it, won't you?

What a day we've had in Cornwall. The auction is still going on.

It's all over for our owners. Troika does the business again!

Proper job! Until the next time, cheerio!

Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd - 2007

Email: [email protected]