Watford Flog It!

I'm in a small town with a lot of attitude, like the president of its football club, Elton John.

It's a small town with a massive heart and a huge, big queue.

Today I'm in Watford.

Elton John's been associated with Watford FC for more than 30 years

and there's still a great bond between him and the town,

but we've got our own Rocket Man, expert Mark Stacey,

and the beautiful Candle In The Wind, Catherine Southon,

who'll help me sort through this massive queue today.

We really have our work cut out, so let's get on with it.

# Like a lusty flower

# Running through the grass for hours

# Rolling through the hay, oh

# Like a puppy

# Like a puppy child... #

-Good morning, Bertie.

-Good morning, sir.

Now, I love this claret jug. Can you fill us in on the history of it?

Well, I had it left by a very dear friend of mine

who died a few years ago,

and I think it had been in the family for quite a number of years.

When I received it, it was pretty well blackened - you could hardly realise what it looked like.

But I worked on it hard, and that is the result of what you see today.

So you spent a lot of time polishing all this silver up to get the detail out.

Yes, I'm very interested in all this kind of thing and...

Are you a claret drinker yourself?

-Reasonably.

-You like a drop of claret?

-Yes, I do.

Well, it is lovely, and I think if we look at the piece,

we've got this lovely cut-glass base with these rather nice little sort of panels of birds and flowers.

-I see.

-That's the first indication that it's very Victorian.

-Hm.

We've got a hallmark here,

which shows that all these pieces on here are silver,

and the hallmark is for London, 1883.

-1883.

-So it's well over 120 years old.

-Yes.

What I like, if we look closely, Bertie,

we've got these lovely little panels here with the diamond band there,

and a space here to put your initials or family crest on

and this rather nice metalwork handle here with the nice scroll.

And as we turn it around, when we come to the lip of the jug,

we've got this rather nice mask head going across the top there.

And it's a lovely-looking piece. And what made you come and see us today?

I've been watching your shows, and I was rather interested, and then I heard somebody

-telling me that it was coming to Watford, so...I thought about bringing it along.

-Fantastic.

I'm glad you did, because it is a very commercial piece.

If we were putting this into auction, I think we'd put it in with a sensible estimate

of something like...£600-£800 with a £600 reserve

and let those claret drinkers out there have a bit of a fight for it.

And we'd certainly make between those two figures

-and maybe even a little bit more on a good day.

-Yes.

Now, would you be happy for us to do that?

Yes, I think I would, yes, because I'm 84 now...

Gosh, you don't look it, Bertie.

My years are coming to an end, and I'm not married,

so I've got no-one to leave it to, really, only my brother,

but, um...I don't think he would be interested

in the claret side of it quite so much.

-Thank you for leaving it with us. I look forward to seeing you at the auction.

-Yes.

Let's hope we'll raise a glass afterwards and toast the success.

-Good idea, I'll take you up on that.

-Thank you, Bertie.

Lourdes, this is fabulous, absolutely beautiful,

it really jumped out at me in the crowd.

So where did you get this beautiful vase?

I inherited this about 11 years ago from a friend of mine.

-Right, lucky you.

-Yes.

-Now, when I first saw you, you said, "This is a piece of Moorcroft that I've got,"

but it is actually Morrisware.

Now, the reason we know that, if we just turn it over...

we can see on the bottom, it's actually stamped here Morrisware,

which is a type of style that was done by Hancock and Sons.

Now, Hancock and Sons were founded in the late 19th century,

but this particular piece would date to probably early 20th century, so sort of 1910, something like that.

If you can see there, that's the signature of the designer,

which was George Cartlidge.

It is a really beautiful piece, I just love the colours.

Wonderful stylised tulip design.

It's very much in keeping with Arts and Crafts, and William Morris.

-Why do you want to sell this lovely item?

-I don't want to break it

because I'm going away to settle down.

-Where are you going to?

-I'm going to Sri Lanka.

-Not something you want to take with you?

-No.

-It can break very easily.

Have you any idea how much it's worth?

Well, maybe £300.

I would say I'd probably put an estimate on of about £300-400, but I really hope

there's a lot of people like me in the crowd at the auction

that go mad for it and it makes a lot more. You want to sell it?

-I do, yes.

-So I think we should probably put a reserve on of about 250, how does that sound to you?

-OK.

-All right?

-Yes.

-Let's put 250 on.

-I hope they illustrate it in the catalogue, and I really hope it runs away.

-OK.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

Grant and Sarah, thanks for bringing the piece of furniture in today.

It's made my day, anyway. It's very important to you, this piece.

-It's been in your family a long time?

-Yes, it has.

It...got given to my nan, and then my nan passed down to my dad, and my dad gave it to me and Grant.

It was for our house, but we don't have a house yet, so hopefully the money will go towards the wedding.

-So that's gonna get you down the aisle?

-Yeah.

I've heard a lot of reasons why people want to get rid of antiques. That must be the best.

It's an occasional tea table, did you know?

No, we thought it was a card table.

Very much like a card table, but a card table would have baize inside as you open this the leaf up,

which I can show you now, because it's got a lovely gate-leg action.

The two back legs swing back, and if I open this up,

you can see...now you've got an occasional tea table for four people.

It's a really functional, practical piece of kit. It would have been built for...

let's say the town houses, where space was slightly smaller

and you needed to bring something out when you had a few guests in.

Right, the construction of the table.

The legs are all turned in solid Cuban mahogany.

And they're beautifully turned with this decorative spiral,

but the construction of the table is made out of a softwood. It's a pitch pine.

So all the mahogany you see, all the satinwood and all the ebony,

which is here, is just a veneer

which has been glued to the softwood, which is very common,

because pitch pine was plentiful, and it's a cheap wood.

This has all been imported, the hardwoods.

It's quite expensive, so rather than use it in the solid form,

they cut it down and used it in very fine sheets, in a veneer form.

And here we've got ebony, here you have a satinwood,

and here you have two mahogany leaves.

I mean, it is, in fact, a very tidy and practical piece of kit.

-OK, value.

-Yeah.

Well...I think this should sell for around about £500-600.

Brilliant. We're raising money for the church. It'll cost us about £600 to pay for the church,

so if we sell the table, job done.

If somebody only bids £550, would you be willing to take that?

-I think we'd be willing to take that.

-Yeah?

-OK, we'll put a fixed reserve of £550 on this.

-OK, then.

-Hopefully we'll get the £700 mark.

-Brilliant!

It's freezing!

Sue, thank you for bringing along this rather attractive meat dish.

Where did you get it from?

My aunt died last year, and we had to clear out her bungalow,

and we found it hidden away in the back of the loft.

We thought it was slightly unusual, so we thought

-we'd bring it here.

-What did you think was unusual?

-Well, the fact that it had got a rather deep dip there.

-Right.

It's called a well and tree dish, rather than just meat dish,

because we've got this little well and all these indentations

which is where your juices would run down from the meat

and then all collect in this well at the bottom.

Making me feel a bit hungry, just thinking about that!

It's a very typical pattern.

It's a copy of a Spode pattern called the Italian pattern, which they did in around 1818,

but I think this is probably later.

It's gonna be circa 1830, something like that.

-Quite old.

-It is quite attractive, with these wonderful blues here.

The Spode would have been a lot paler, but this is a lot deeper,

the colours here are a lot deeper. Probably made in Staffordshire.

But it is an attractive piece. It needs to be hung on a wall.

-It's got the things on it.

-Not to be put in the back of a loft.

It's rather too big for me, I think.

It doesn't go with a modern house, I felt.

-So you've never used it for your Sunday roast?

-No, no, no.

Why are you wanting to sell something like this?

Well, it's part of an inheritance several of us have got to share,

so we'll sell it and share the money out, I think.

-Have you any idea how much it would be worth at auction?

-Not a clue.

It's not going to be a huge amount of money.

It is a very common pattern.

I would say it would be worth something in the region of £60-80,

-with a reserve of 50, and if it makes more, then we'll be happy.

-Yeah, that's brilliant.

This type of traditional pottery is still popular with the bidders,

so let's get it straight off to the auction room, along with the more modern Morrisware vase,

Bertie's claret jug and the stunning tea table,

which should set wedding bells ringing for Sarah and Grant.

Doing the honours today at Tring Market Auctions is auctioneer

Stephen Hearn, and I can't wait to find out what he's got to say.

This is an interesting lot. It belongs to Lourdes.

A bit of Morrisware, early 20th century, sort of 1910, somewhere around there.

£300-400, and it's in really good condition.

Yes, it's a great example.

Good piece of Hancock and Son, becoming even more popular.

-It's been popular for a number of years.

-It is lovely.

-It is a lovely piece.

-Is that the sort of thing you'd like to own?

I would, yes, I think it is.

-It's big and bold.

-And that's what everyone wants nowadays.

-That's what they're looking for, and not only here - it's a big seller in the States.

-Is it?

-Could you see this going to America?

-I certainly could, yes.

-Is that a grin on your face?

-Does that mean there's interest from the States?

-There is interest from all over.

-So we've got global warming!

-Global warming on the very big piece.

So what do you think, then?

-Double estimate.

-Double?

Six to eight.

-And that's going overseas.

-I think there's a fair chance it will, yes.

He's being bold about something, very bold.

Who says we never dress up on Flog It?

Just look at Bertie, look at that!

That is fantastic, you put me to shame.

-Doesn't he look smart?

-Incredibly smart, and he did on valuation day as well, you know, Paul.

-You need to smarten yourself up a bit.

-I know, I'm a bit scruffy, ragged around the edges.

What a claret jug, though.

It is a nice one, isn't it?

Why are you flogging it? It's too good to... It's too good to flog.

I'm 84 now, I'm a bachelor.

I haven't got any children, so I've got no-one to leave it to.

Now, one of my researchers told me you were in a movie.

Oh, yes, I was, but how did you know that?

Ah, see, our BBC researchers, they're good at their job.

-What was the movie?

-In Which We Serve.

And who was in that?

-John Mills...

-John Mills, wow.

-Noel Coward.

-Noel Coward?

Yes, Noel Coward.

-He's mixing with all the big stars, aren't you?

-Only the best, you know.

Did you get an Oscar?

Oh, and I was dressed up as a German officer and things like that,

but I think I said one word, and that was, "Fire the gun,"

or something, but that was about all.

Wonderful, what an experience.

-Yeah, rather nice.

-You've loved this claret jug, cos you've polished it a lot.

Yes, I've got feelings for it.

I think this is going to do the top end plus - it's quality.

It's very good quality, and I would love it to do the top end.

I would love it to make about 1,000, actually, but, you know, we'll see.

What about this one? Victorian and etched 1883.

Are we going to start at £500 for it?

500? 400? Yes, at 400, we are there.

400 I am bid, then. 450 I'm bid, at 450.

500, at 500 bid.

At 500...and 50, at 550.

At 550... At 550, 600 we're bid.

At 600 we're bid now. At 650 bid, at 650...

At 650...and seven now.

At seven bid for it. At 750, is it?

At 750... At 750 I'm bid, 750.

780 now, 780.

-Good, steady...

-780.

At 780... At 780...

Surely one more... 800, there you go.

At 800 I'm bid for it now.

I'm feeling nervous for Bertie.

820, I'm bid, 820... And 50?

Are you finished?

At 820, you're all out down here?

I'm selling away from you. It's sold, then. I'm selling for £820.

-Happy?

-Yes, very happy.

-Oh, lovely.

I hope somebody appreciates it.

-I'm pretty sure they will.

-Yes.

-I'm pretty sure they will.

-Yes.

-It's been loved by you, and it'll be loved by them as well.

-Thank you.

Sue's Staffordshire meat dish is under the hammer now.

This was retrieved from the corner of a very dark loft.

-Absolutely.

-How long had it been stuffed up there?

-Forever, I think!

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

-It is, you'd need a large piece of meat on there.

A hell of a big bit. We're looking for £60-80, I think we're gonna get that.

Hmm, it might be a bit difficult, but you should be all right.

-Oh, Catherine, come on, think positive!

-I know, I know.

-We don't want to put it back in the loft.

-Definitely not.

-It's going under the hammer.

Now we've got this little Italian pattern meat dish with the well.

I think we ought to get £70 for it.

50, then, to start? Shall we do 30?

-We're happy with that.

-..40 I'm bid, then.

45, your turn at 50.

-Blue and white has taken a bit of a duck right now.

-Has it?

At 70 we're bid, at £70...

Are we stopping? At £70...

-Well, that's good.

-No more?

At 70, then, I'm selling, for £70.

Fantastic, the hammer's gone down.

-He started at 70, and we've ended on 70, mid-estimate.

-Very good.

What's that 70 quid going towards?

I've got to share it with the family, so it'll be a curry, I think.

Sarah and Grant have been looking forward to this moment for the last four weeks.

It's now auction time.

-Feeling a bit nervous?

-Very.

Yeah, so am I, I put the valuation on this.

It's a lovely bit of brown furniture, as we call it in the trade, but it's a gorgeous Scottish occasional table.

-We need this money for the wedding.

-Pay for the church.

-£600 will pay for the church, won't it?

-Yes, it will.

Let's hope we can get a bit more.

It's going under the hammer now.

Cross-banded mahogany fold-over card table,

possibly Scottish table, and a nice one too.

What about 600 for it? 600, 500, 300 bid for it.

At 300 we're bid for that little table, at 300 we're bid for it.

At 320 I'm bid for it, 350 bid?

380 bid, yes, at 380. 400? At 400 bid...

Oh, come on, I'm so nervous.

At 450 bid for it. Yes? 480 I'm bid for it. 500?

500 I'm bid for it.

520 we've got bid for it.

At 550, and 80 is it? No more?

-At 550, then... At £550.

-HAMMER

-Oh...so close. We did it, didn't we?

-Well, it's gone.

It's gone. Not the top end,

but we've sold it. That will help.

That will help immensely.

-Good luck on the big day and congratulations.

-Thank you.

Forget Moorcroft, you should buy this one. If you're not in the room right now, it's too late.

We're flogging a little bit of Morrisware that belongs to Lourdes.

I had a word with the auctioneer earlier.

He thinks this might be the little surprise of the whole day.

We've got £300-400 on this, haven't we?

Which will come in very useful if you're moving to Sri Lanka.

Why are you going to Sri Lanka?

-To settle down there.

-Yeah? Had enough of...

-Had enough of UK.

-Had enough of Tring!

-Yes.

-Really?

-Yes.

-What do you do here?

-I work as a nurse.

-You work as a nurse.

Will you retire in Sri Lanka?

-Yes, definitely.

-And what part of Sri Lanka?

-Colombo.

-Colombo, the capital?

-Yes.

-Oh, I envy you!

-Thank you.

-And I wish you all the best with this bit of Morrisware.

It is lovely, a beautiful design, I really hope it does well.

It needs two people to bid this up to that sort of money, and we're going to find out right now.

Fingers crossed!

Good piece this is, very popular at the present time.

There you are, where do we go on this one?

Are we going to get towards for £500 for it? 500, 200...

Starting at 200, are we?

And there's a phone line that I can see next to the auctioneer's rostrum.

-Oh, right, OK.

-At 280 I'm bid for it, 300 we're bid.

-At 320, I have it at 350. At 350...

-Up, up, up.

380 I'm bid, at 380.

400 I'm bid, at 420.

-450, 480...

-He's got a strong bidder on the phone.

500 I'm bid, then.

At 500 bid, at 520... 550 bid.

580, is it? At 580...

-600 we're bid now.

-Wonderful, it's wonderful.

It's like ping-pong, backwards and forwards.

This is getting exciting, I love it.

At 620... At 650, give them time, no?

-At 650...

-650.

680 I've got it, at 680 it's left.

He's missing a bid over here.

-Come on!

-At £700.

-I want it to go faster!

-At 720, surely? At 720 I'm bid.

-720!

-At 740.

750. 780. At 780 on the right, £780.

I'm selling. In the room at 780.

-It's going for £780.

-That's fantastic.

-Well done.

-£780! I think that's between your estimate and his!

-Yeah!

-So we'll settle for that.

-Well done!

-A lot more than you were expecting!

-Yes.

-Definitely.

-What's the first thing you'll do when you get there?

-Spend it!

-Spend it!

I'm leaving Hertfordshire and travelling into London itself.

One of my favourite parts is the East End.

It's always been a vibrant place of great cultural diversity.

That's still true today. But another East-End custom has stood the test of time -

and that's boxing!

There's a great tradition of Cockney kids using the ring to make their fame if not the fortune.

It goes back to the days of England's bare-knuckle boxing champs,

like Jack Broughton and Daniel Mendoza in the early 1700s.

Then, bouts lasted several hours and the winner was the last man standing.

It became obvious that these fighters needed more protection during these brutal prize fights.

More rules were needed and mufflers were introduced

as a forerunner to the boxing glove, to protect the fighter's hands.

So take it away, go on!

MUSIC: "Eye Of The Tiger" by Survivor

300 years later, the art of boxing is still being taught to youngsters in the East End,

instilling discipline and offering them a sense of purpose and inspiration.

I'm here in England's most famous boxing club.

It's the Repton Boxing Club in the heart of the East End.

It was founded in 1884 for underprivileged boys to develop their boxing skills.

Since then, it's bred many champions, among them, world welterweight champion John H Stacy

and gold Olympic medallist Audley Harrison.

But the East End doesn't only produce great boxers.

In the 1930s, it also produced England's most successful boxing promoter - Jack Solomons.

And that chap is very well known to Chas Taylor who, when he's not driving black cabs around London,

is busy collecting boxing memorabilia.

-Hi, Chas.

-Hi.

-So what can you tell me about Jack Solomons?

Well, Jack Solomons came from the East End.

He was a fishmonger but he loved boxing.

And he became Britain's premier boxing promoter.

He was the main man, without any shadow of doubt.

What I want to know is, what's in the box that says "Jack Solomons" on it?

Well, nothing's in the box at the moment, but that was Jack Solomons' glove box.

And that was part of boxing history before TV took over boxing and kind of spoiled it.

And a lot of people have ideas!

The tradition was at title fights,

the gloves were carried out to a fanfare of trumpets

and the gloves were in the box that was carried into the ring

and the two different trainers would come up,

select the gloves, and then they would take them

and take them back and glove the fighters up in the ring.

And the atmosphere was building up in the arena as the boxers

were putting their gloves on and lacing them up.

And that was the atmosphere then.

-You can feel the tension now, you describing it!

-That's how it was.

And so many British title fights and world title fights,

the gloves were carried out in that box.

-Sugar Ray Robinson and Randolph Turpin's gloves were carried out in that box.

-Wow!

It's a battered old box, but it's got history to it.

-And it's probably one of your top pieces, I would imagine?

-Yes.

What else have you got here? Lots of programmes and books.

First, tell me about the belts, because they've caught my eye.

-They're early English middleweight belts.

-OK.

Middleweight championship belts.

The first one there was won by a man called Ted White.

He was the British middleweight champion in about 1884.

And this other one was also for

the British middleweight championship in the 1880s,

won by a very good boxer from Birmingham

called Anthony Diamond - Tony Diamond.

-These are pretty rare, aren't they?

-Extremely rare, yes.

If I had to win one of them, I'd like to win the early-Victorian one.

-That's very ornate, isn't it?

-It is, isn't it? It's all solid silver.

-Gosh!

-Fantastic.

Tell me, have the gloves changed much throughout history?

Oh yeah, they've had to change. If you look at these early gloves,

I mean, there's nothing of them, compared with today's gloves.

These had horsehair in them.

And this pair of gloves was worn by Bruce Woodcock

when he fought Tammy Mauriello in Madison Square Garden.

-When was that?

-1946.

Gosh, a bit before my time, that one!

I know Henry Cooper and Muhammad Ali and Joe Bugner!

-Whose gloves are these?

-That pair of gloves, they were worn by Bruce Woodcock as well

when he fought for Jack Solomons' version of the Heavyweight Championship of the World.

-When he fought Lee Savold.

-And here's the programme!

That's the programme. In 1948.

Joe Louis retired and so Jack Solomons said,

"That's all right, I'll promote a heavyweight championship myself".

And he had Bruce Woodcock fighting the American Lee Savold.

-Bruce lost, unfortunately.

-Are these programmes collectible?

-Very collectible, yeah.

-Just like football programmes?

Oh yeah, yeah. Probably more so.

When you collect, you just collect everything.

-Even, that is a book of matches from Jack Dempsey's restaurant.

-Oh!

-In New York?

-Yes.

-But what's this?

-The shoe polish there?

-This is a tin of white shoe polish with Muhammad Ali promoting it!

This is very valuable now. These go for about £100 a tin!

-Really?

-..For one of these.

I was waiting to get his autograph one day outside a hotel in London.

I took two books down for him to sign and I waited outside this hotel for three hours.

And he finally came out, Muhammad, and I politely went up to him

and said, "Would you mind signing these two books for me, please?"

He signed them both and then I said, "I'm a big fan of yours," I said,

"I've just got this tin of shoe polish..."

He looked at it and smiled with that glint in his eye, you know?

And cos this was a white tin he went,

"You know," he said, "I got paid twice as much to promote that white tin of polish

"as I did for the black!"

And everybody around him was laughing, you know?

Is this getting harder to collect as the years go by?

Yes. There's more people collecting and we're all trying to get it.

But it makes it exciting and interesting and you meet a lot of friends through doing it.

And you swap stuff and you boast about what you've just found, obviously!

-Have you got a houseful now?

-I've got a house full! Absolutely!

Thanks very much for showing us just a small part of the collection.

Back at the valuation day, our experts have been busy hunting down some more fascinating collectibles.

-Hi, Suzanne.

-Hello!

What a wonderfully Gothic object you brought in. Where did you get it from?

I inherited it in 2001 when my mother passed away.

It was in a tea chest wrapped in newspaper

with other objects that I remembered from my childhood.

But I have no recollection of this at all.

We think that it may have been my grandmother who bought it.

She used to go to sales, large country house sales,

after the Second World War and pick up curiosities.

And perhaps it was something that she bought.

What happened to all these objects you inherited?

Well, the ones that I was sentimentally attached to, I've kept and they are at home on display.

But the majority of them went into Bonhams in 2002 and we got rid of them.

And did you try this at that time?

We did, and we didn't get a single bid on it!

-Nobody was interested in it!

-Nobody at all?

I wonder why? What sort of estimate was on it at the time?

-I think it was 500.

-About 500?

That might be the reason why.

It's a very interesting object.

Its German, in actual fact.

It's actually by quite a well known designer called Berthold Muller,

who specialised in these sort of novelty items of silver,

often copying things from the Renaissance,

miniature versions of Renaissance pieces of art.

When we look at this piece,

we can actually see that the top comes off and slides off like that.

And the wings actually open.

-And it's really quite a sort of Gothic monstrosity, isn't it?

-Mm.

Here we've got a full series of German hallmarks,

as well as an import mark for Chester around about 1906.

Oh, right!

-So it's 100 years old!

-Although, I think it was probably made 20 or 30 years earlier than that.

-So maybe 1880, something like that.

-Right.

You've got this sort of half-bird, half-creature.

A sort of griffin's head here, serpent's tale,

sort of phoenix body and then this classical beauty on the top.

So I suppose you could keep anything you want in it

or it is just a decorative cabinet piece, I suppose.

There are collectors for this sort of thing.

And if I was putting it into sale today,

I would probably suggest something around the £300 to 400 mark.

And put the reserve at the low end

-with a bit of discretion for the auctioneer.

-OK.

-And let's just see if it flies on the day.

-OK. OK.

And if we got a good price for it, what would you do with the cash?

We're making a retirement move to Wales within the next few months,

so something for the new house.

Wonderful! I look forward to seeing you at the auction.

Let's hope we don't scare the bidders away with it!

I hope not! Thank you.

So tell me about these?

Where did they come from?

An aunt of mine had them. She died and left them to my mother

who died and left them to my brother.

And then my brother died and left them to me!

I understand why you want to get rid of them pretty quickly!

-That's right.

-I think they're cursed, don't you?

-I do!

Oh dear!

Now who's this lovely little pussy that you brought along today?

-My pussycat!

-Your pussycat. Where does he come from?

He came from my Aunty Alice.

-You were given him when you were...?

-Two years old.

-It looks like he's been very well played with.

-He has, yes.

-Or she? Is it a he or she?

-Oh, he's a he.

-He's definitely a he?

-He's definitely a he.

-What's his name?

He hasn't really got a name.

-He's just my cat.

-And he's been really loved?

-Yes.

-And played with.

-That's right.

D'you know anything about him?

-Not really, no.

-You knew who he is by?

-The maker?

-He's Steiff, yes.

We know that he's by Steiff

because he's got the infamous button in the ear.

We see lots of teddy bears coming on the market and of course,

they did make other sort of cuddly toys.

I haven't seen a cat before.

And then when you move his tail of course...

his head moves as well.

Oh look! He's a little moving cat!

Oh, he's lovely! What a sweet little pussycat!

When did you actually receive him?

-1933, actually.

-1933.

-So it was probably new when your aunt bought it.

-Oh it was, yes.

-She wouldn't...

-She wouldn't have bought you a second-hand cat.

Oh no. She was very particular.

D'you know anything about Margaret Steiff,

-the maker of these bears?

-No.

Margaret Steiff began producing bears from the early 1900s.

And in 1903 we see the very early cuddly toys

with a button in the ear.

But they had a little elephant symbol,

a little elephant emblem rather than the name Steiff.

Then later on, she began to actually put the name Steiff on the button.

This actually does have the name Steiff,

so we know of course that it's later.

Another clue is that these eyes here are actually glass.

So that dates it to post-First World War.

Because the very early ones have the black boot button eyes.

-Now do you have any ideas on value for this?

-Not a clue. Not a clue,

being it's a cat, you know.

This is in quite poor condition.

But I think we should probably put around £100 to £150.

But I really hope he makes a lot more than that.

I mean, Steiff is a fantastic name.

It's recognised all around the world.

If it's illustrated in the catalogue

and a lot of people see it, let's hope it does more than that.

-But we should ask...

-It's unusual.

-He is unusual.

-You love him, don't you?

-I do!

-Why are you selling him?

-Well, there you are.

-The children are not interested in him so, you know, he might go to a much better home.

-He might well.

I hope he does. I hope he's loved as much as you love him.

-Hi, Robin.

-Hello, Mark.

I love this! I'm having a real sort of Gothic day today, actually.

And this is another sort of Gothic-inspired piece, really.

Give us the history of it.

Well, I bought it at a charity auction about three years ago.

I've loved it from day one, but my wife absolutely hates it!

So I've decided, you've come to town, I'll get rid of it.

So tell me why you were attracted to it?

I just fell in love with it.

It's unusual and I've never seen a piece of Doulton

-with a handle like that on it!

-No, quite right!

I mean, when you see pieces like this, the first person you think of

is Mark Marshall who was a designer for Doulton

who did a lot of these grotesque animals as handles,

big serpents going around the vases, that sort of thing.

There were other designers who did similar work,

but he's the main protagonist for this type of ware.

We've looked at the marks.

The marks underneath don't correspond to any one we know.

It's worth looking just at the body.

We've got this nice sort of ovoid body. And these sort of cherubs.

And I've never seen them looking so butch!

They must go to the gym every day!

But it's a very, very interesting piece.

Made probably around about 1880, something like that,

give or take 10 years.

Are you interested in selling it?

Oh yes. I will sell it.

And if we got a good price for it, would you put the money towards another collectible?

No. I've just bought a new fishing rod, and I need a new reel.

Something very practical for you?

-Yes.

-So you paid £210 for it.

You paid about the right price, I think.

I would say, if we were putting it in for auction, 250 to 350.

But it will be with this note of caution -

if two people really want this, then it could go a lot higher.

I wouldn't be surprised if there was a lot of competition,

that it didn't make £400 or £500.

That would be lovely. You'd get a very expensive reel for that, I should imagine!

I look forward to seeing you at the auction.

And let's hope there's a few more Goths out there!

Mark's certainly been attracted to the Gothic items today,

with the Doulton jug and the odd German box catching his eye.

And I'm sure some lucky bidder will pounce on the adorable Steiff cat.

So now it's time to get straight back to the auction room in Tring.

Now, I want to give you a few tips on buying an oak coffer.

This is a very good example because it stands high off the ground.

It's built on styled legs. Now originally,

in the 18th century, this would have sat on a very damp stone floor.

The legs would rot, they get cut down over a period of time and evened up.

But this is an excellent example. It stands really high off the ground.

Tip number two -

lift the lid up and examine the hinges.

This has got split-pin hinges which literally go through the back frame and through the lid

and the pin opens up and you separate it like a staple to hold it fast.

Tip number three - they would always have a candle box.

Here is the little box.

You keep your candles in there and it's the tallow from the wax which repels all the moths.

Because this would have been a blanket chest, full of linen,

and the moths would love to eat that.

And lastly, it's not been over-polished.

This is its original patina.

It's got a lovely sort of dry look to it that will take a good polish.

And the patina will just shine.

It's from the 18th century. It's English.

And if you can pick this up for 500 quid, that is a fantastic investment.

Robin, you brought some quality in today.

A bit of Royal Doulton - it never lets us down on Flog It!

We're looking at 250 to 350. I love what you are selling this for.

You want to put the money towards some fishing equipment?

-I certainly do!

-I think that's a very good exchange, Mark Stacey, don't you?!

I'm a fisherman, he's a fisherman...

He's a Royal Doulton lover!

I don't... I'm not into fish, Paul!

I don't go fishing at all.

Well, you're missing out! Where do you fish?

-The Tawe in Carmarthenshire.

-Biggest fish you've caught?

-12 pounds seven.

-I bet that put up a fight!

It certainly did! On a trout rod.

Wow! Let's hope we get top money for you today, 350 plus.

It's a great name. It's in good condition.

And there is a band of dedicated collectors here, so I'm hopeful.

Will it get the top end today?

I hope so, Paul. It should do. It's a good piece.

Fingers crossed! This is it.

Now we've got 2012, this Doulton Lambeth ewer.

Got the Dragon handles with it.

And that very unusual cherub decoration to it.

Where do we go on this one? Are we going to get 250 for it?

200 then? 150? 150 I'm bid, am I?

150 has got it. Thank you. 150 I'm bid, then. 150 bid.

160. 180. 200 I'm bid.

220 I'm bid. At 220. And 50 is in.

At 250 now. At 250 I'm bid. At 250.

At 250's bid.

At 250. 80 now? No more.

250 then. You're out front.

Sold and done. Right then, going.

I'm selling. For 280. At 280.

At 280.

-300.

-Right at the very end!

-300.

-The phone's come in.

-At 300 then, yes or no? No?

I'm selling then at £300.

That put up a fight, didn't it?!

Not as much as a 12 pound salmon, but it will get the reel.

Yes, it certainly will.

-Well done, Mark.

-I'm pleased, right in the middle of the estimate.

Very, very good. Well done.

They took the bait!

Bert and Betty are now in place to see what, your childhood memories just flutter away!

I've got to give you a tough time over this.

You've had this Steiff pussycat since you were two years old.

-That's right.

-Why are you flogging it?

-I've grown out of it!

I know you've grown out of it! But that is your childhood memories!

It's been with you all your life. It's probably the one item

-that you've had longer than anything.

-It is.

-Yes, it is.

-You're right.

-And now it's going!

-You know more about me than I do!

-What d'you think, Betty?

-I think he can get rid of it!

-You've given him permission?

Yes, this is it. If it had been perhaps a lady's cat.

But a man thinks, well,

-get rid of it.

-The thing is, have we got the estimate right?

Is it purr-fect?!

-Oh no!

-They get worse!

They do, don't they? Let's hope we get the top end - £150 to 200.

It's going under the hammer now!

We have a Steiff soft toy cat, 1930.

There you are, 1689, the soft cat.

These are always desirable.

There we go, what about £100 for it?

-Yes, £100 straight in.

-We've done it.

-Straight in.

120. 130. And 40.

-And 50. 160.

-It's really going up!

Great make. I mean, it's as good as you are going to get.

It's going to go mad, isn't it?

220 I've got now. At 220...

At 230.

He wants a very good home. £240.

It is a lovely cat.

-250.

-He's on the phone.

-260 I've got, 270.

Is it going to be £280? You've got plenty of room for it...

Yes, £280!

£290 to bid. At £280, one more?

No? At £280, then.

Yes, you have a new cat.

At £280, then.

-Perfect!

-Oh, that's really good.

-£50 we thought!

-You thought you were going to get 50 quid?

Aw, what a lovely surprise!

That's fantastic, I'm so pleased.

I'm pleased it made a good result. There are a lot of memories there.

-Yes, well...

-280 quid, there's a bit of commission but what are you going to spend that on?

New set of bowls. Green bowls.

-Oh, you go bowling, do you?

-Yes.

-You both bowl?

-Yes.

-Aww...

-So I might get a set as well!

-Good, I hope you do!

I've been looking forward to this, Suzanne. Have you?

-Yes, quite excited about it.

-Now is the moment.

We got some German silver going under the hammer,

with a valuation of £300 to £400, put on by Mark Stacey.

I had a look at this earlier, it reminds me of the roadrunner.

It could be a Victorian version of the roadrunner. Beep beep!

-Sort of!

-Couldn't it? Sort of?

-It's a bit odd.

It is a very odd thing.

Very Gothic. But I like it, I think it's got a charm.

I like it, it's quirky and that's why it's hard to value, I think.

I know it's been in auction before, it failed to get the £500 mark.

Mark's put £300 to £400 on it.

Let's hope we get that because she's moving to Wales, my favourite part of the world!

-Yes, that's right.

-What part of Wales are you going to?

-Near Carmarthen.

-Oh, how pretty.

-Let's get you there. This is it.

-OK.

There it is, nice interesting piece.

A good Victorian talking piece.

What about this? Where're we going to go?

£400 for it. Nice little interesting piece.

£400? £300?

-Yes! At £300, thank you.

-£300 there.

Yes! It's good! Yes.

300 I'm bid. 350 I'm bid.

They're bidding next to you.

...£400, higher bid? £420 I'm bid for it.

-At £450, yes, £450...

-Gosh!

-£480...

-Terrific.

-At £480, £500 is bid...

-It's done its £500.

-Absolutely.

Oh, that's wonderful! It's terrific!

-..£550. £580.

-Look, someone's on the phone.

-Yes, I can see.

-..£620 now, no?

-£620, I've got it.

-Oh, gracious!

You lose it. At £620, then.

At £680, gonna be £700 bid.

£720 bid.

-Oh, another one!

-At £750...

They are fighting over this.

At £780.

-Yes! £780!

-Absolutely fantastic!

I'm over the world! It's terrific!

Oh, I'm ever so pleased.

Did you see how quick that hammer went down on the last bid?

-Doosh!

-Straight down.

-It just goes to show, doesn't it?

Couldn't get £500 a year or two ago.

That's right. And now we got £780. That's terrific!

-That'll help towards the move.

-It will, buy something nice with that.

-Plant something up in the garden maybe.

-Absolutely.

Watch it grow. Think of Flog It!

-Absolutely.

-Terrific, thank you.

What a marvellous day we've had here at the Tring auction rooms.

Lots of high flyers.

My personal favourite had to be the Steiff pussycat,

he was so worn out and tatty but he reached the purr-fect figure of £280.

Burt was very happy to sell him.

Personally, I would have kept him for the rest of my life.

Join me for lots more surprises next time on Flog It!

For more information about Flog It, including how the programme was made,

visit the website at bbc.co.uk/lifestyle

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd 2007

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