Harrogate Flog It!

Today, Flog It! has come north to the largest county in England. We're in beautiful Harrogate.

Throughout Harrogate, you can see fine stunning examples of Victorian and Edwardian architecture,

which just dominates the town and all this was due to Harrogate's emergence as a leading spa resort.

Towards the end of the 19th century, people flocked here.

Today's venue is the Cairn Hotel, which was built during that period.

Right now, it's time to dip into the well of antiques

that the good people of Harrogate have brought to our venue today

and, as you can see, it's a jam-packed ballroom.

To help us with this awesome task, of sifting through hundreds of antiques, we have today's experts,

Thomas Plant and James Lewis.

Kath, tell me about the scissors you've brought in today and why you've brought them in.

The scissors actually came out of a box of rubbish

in my husband's aunt's house, after she died earlier this year.

I brought them in cos... purely intrigued with them.

Not been able to work out what they're for, where they come from, how old they are, anything.

-All I know is they're made out of some kind of base metal cos they're rusty.

-Yeah, like a steel, yeah.

They're just different to anything I've ever seen.

-They're not like scissors.

-They're not.

You've got this articulated handle here,

where your fingers go in, but they weren't made overnight.

-They've been nicely made.

-Somebody's put a lot of work in.

Mmm. And open like that, they look quite vicious.

Yeah.

If I was to take a wild stab, I'd say they were finishing scissors and they were 19th century.

-And they were probably European.

-That's a good age.

I think they are. They've got some age. I think they really are quite interesting.

When these are joined together and you've got a sharp point here...

-Stitch unpickers?

-Yes. You can grip with them cos they're textured or worked.

The decoration makes me think that they're not just utilitarian.

They were made probably as quite an expensive accessory.

So, if we were to sell them, he'd be happy because they were his aunt's, for us to put them into auction?

Well, when his aunt died, she said that the things in the house she wanted to go to charity -

she wanted to go to the Heart Foundation.

If they've got a value to them and they go into auction,

then I think he would be happy if the proceeds went to the Heart Foundation.

I reckon they might be worth between, I don't know,

30 and £50, with a reserve of 20, something like that...

-and see what happens.

-I'm sure the charity would be happy with whatever.

Now, Phil, Beverley, this is a classic piece

of Mintons Victorian pottery that you can imagine

in the most fantastic of Victorian interiors. Do you love it?

-Yeah. Not really.

-Oh.

Has it been hiding in the back of a cupboard for the last...

-It's been in the loft for 17 years.

-It hasn't!

-Yep.

Well, that answers the question of why it's here, doesn't it?

I love this design.

It's by one of the most prolific and successful factories of the Victorian period - Mintons.

This takes all of its influences from the Arts and Crafts movement of the 1870s and '80s.

You can imagine this in one of these great Victorian parlours,

full of furniture, with heavy drapes, with a big aspidistra in it,

with the William Morris wallpaper and the fabrics. Oh, it's great.

-Love it. But you don't?

-No.

-I shouldn't be so enthusiastic, really.

I think it's fantastic.

It's got everything that you associate with that period.

It's a faience glaze.

Now, Minton launched this faience ware at the 1855 Paris Exhibition and they were revolutionary

in their designs. And this, if you look at the flowers on the side, they're fanciful,

they're out of somebody's imagination. You wouldn't find one of those in your garden.

And the colours. This bright yellow and the pink and the green.

Who on earth would ever have thought about putting it with this rather weird turquoise blue?

But it works. It does work, but it's a strange combination.

If we turn it over,

there we have the mark.

There we are. Mintons England.

We know its date, cos if you have a look, you've got Minton

but it's got an S on it.

And the S was added to form Mintons rather than Minton in 1872.

So, it's going to be that sort of period, 1870, 1880.

So, having said all that, having said that you hate it,

having said that I love it, we've got to come to a value.

I reckon we ought to put an estimate of £150 to £250 on it. Reserve of 150.

If it doesn't make that, stick it back in the loft and bring it out in a few years.

Pat and Eric, thanks so much for coming into the valuation day today, bringing in some maritime arts.

Gorgeous watercolours. We're very landlocked here in Harrogate, so where do these come from?

They were drawn by an artist called Ernest Harwood.

Yes, they're all signed, aren't they?

He was head of the drawing office at Vickers Armstrong, Barrow in Furness, which is a shipbuilders.

-Ah...

-So that's how...

-So, do you originate from Barrow in Furness?

-Yes, I do.

So, how long have these been in the family, because some of them are dated. This one is dated 1938.

That one is slightly earlier, isn't it?

This one was...

painted in 1931 and given to my mother as a Christmas present.

And the other two were painted in 1938 and given to my parents as a wedding present.

They've been in the family ever since.

Really, so your mother knew the artist?

Oh, yes. He was a family friend of my grandparents.

In fact, I can vaguely remember him when I was a child.

Obviously, you've inherited them from your mother then.

They were passed to me when my parents died. They've just been up in the loft ever since.

-You don't like them?

-I like them. I think they'll deteriorate if they're in the loft with nowhere to put them.

They will deteriorate. You're very lucky there's no foxing or damage to them, at the moment.

When you look at these lovely tea clippers,

you can imagine them, can't you, making that arduous voyage, sort of all around the Cape of Good Hope,

bringing back lots of spices and teas and things like that.

They're in full sail. He's got everything right about the ship,

but he doesn't understand landscape but, in this case, seascape.

He's got the sky, the sea, he's got no movement there.

It's not gelling properly.

Yet, the vessels themselves I think are fantastic.

As a child, I was told they were original ships.

I've no doubt. This one is and this one even has the name, "Favell".

-And they are gorgeous. I particularly like that one.

-This is my favourite one,

-this one in the storm.

-Yeah, weathering the storm.

That one kind of puts me off going to sea, that one.

You don't see all the vessel. They are signed "to Marjorie".

-That's my mother, yeah.

-That's your mum, in't it.

-And this was at Christmas, was it?

-1931, yeah.

1931. And that's your mum.

The condition is very, very good. The vessels are great.

I think realistically, if we put them into auction,

we should put a come and buy me, if you really don't want to keep them any more.

-Let's put a value of 100 to £200 on them, and I'd like to get the top end of that.

-Yeah.

We'll put a fixed reserve of £100. That's not bad value, really.

Somebody else could really appreciate them, cos they look nice on a wall.

John, tell me about these vases and how you've come to acquire them, please.

Both of them were passed down to me by my mum.

I think her auntie had them previously, my great auntie.

She was a tanner when she was younger,

but she went to work for quite a wealthy man in Blundellsands,

which is a very...still a very opulent and affluent area of Liverpool.

And eventually, she married him.

-Right, so she came to work in his household?

-Yes.

-So it's a bit like Upstairs Downstairs?

-A little bit, yes.

He travelled quite widely, travelled the world.

-I think they went on the liners, on the ships.

-On the ships, yes.

Which from Liverpool it would have been an easy thing to do.

Would have been very, very easy.

This is where he probably got this from, one of the cruises when they went to Japan.

This dates from

that sort of period, 1920s and I like this one very much.

It's lovely, it's restrained, it's got great decoration.

You can see these gilts, lines and clouds against the blue.

And down here, this raised white sea or wave design.

If we turn it over,

it's got some marks here.

Can you see that mark there?

-Right.

-That's Mount Fuji isn't it?

It's certainly Japanese.

Exactly, Japanese.

I think it's called, if I get this right cos it's a difficult word, fukoama or fugiyama.

or something like that.

I think it means mountain river.

I would have thought it's got to make £80 to £120.

It's got to, it's a nice thing.

So that's that one.

This one here looks very similar doesn't it?

Similar decoration.

But this is English and this is from the same period, the 1920s and it's Carlton ware.

-OK.

-What's interesting about this is it's got the Persian design.

So here we have probably the Shah in a temple...

..palm trees, Persia.

Quite popular now, this Art Deco.

I would reckon at auction,

should make between £100 and £200.

It's a nice thing that.

Would you be happy to sell them?

-Yes, I would. At that price!

-Good.

We have a bit of something for everybody in our first batch of items going off to auction.

Cath's finishing scissors were found in a box of rubbish,

I hope we get a good price as the money is going to charity.

Hopefully James won't self-combust with his enthusiasm for the Minton jardiniere,

especially as Beverley and Phil hate it.

And surely there must be a bidder for these three nautical watercolours?

Where else could you get three original paintings for around £100?

And finally, John has brought in two beautiful vases from different ends of the world.

Which one will prove popular with the collectors?

This is where we put all our expert's theories to the test.

For our sale today we've come to the market town of Malton.

Our auctioneer is Andrew McMillan.

321 thank you...

A Minton Jardiniere and we are looking for £150 to £250 and it belongs to Beverly here.

-Where's Phil?

-He's working today.

He can't get time off? So who have you brought along?

-My daughter. What's your name?

-Catherine.

Catherine, I've got to say twins maybe? That's good for you.

You look like peas in a pod.

Do you share the same hairdresser?

-Yes, we do.

-Great hairstyles.

Why are you flogging this, this is a cracking piece of kit.

-It's awful!

-But it's your heritage?

-Do you like it?

-Yes.

-She don't mind it.

-But you want to flog it, you'd rather have £250?

-Yes.

-Yes!

That's what we're here for, we are here to flog it, good luck.

Lot 140, the Minton Jardiniere, there it is.

It looks very good.

A couple of hundred for it. £100 quickly. Thank you 100 I'm bid.

Do I hear 10 anywhere? £100, 110, 120, 130, 130,

140, 150, 150, 160, 160, 170,

-180, 180, 190, 190, 200, 210...

-This is good!

-210.

220, 230, 230, 240, 240, 250, 260...

250 upstairs, at 250, do I hear 260?

250 anyone else?

250, it's going all done at £250.

-£250!

-Well done.

What are you going to do with that?

Buy some air tickets to go to Gibraltar.

-Is that where you're going on holiday?

-Going to see my daughter.

To see your daughter in Gibraltar?

-A twin sister?

-No.

-But I bet you all look alike?

-We do.

I've just been joined by Pat and Eric.

It's my turn to do the valuation.

-We've got those three watercolours which were signed by the artists and your mother knew them?

-Yes.

I've put a value of £100-200 on them.

I've had a chat to the auctioneer before the sale, off camera.

He said I think they might struggle.

He's made me doubt myself, he really has.

But I said, there are three of them I think they're fine and they look great together.

They look nice when they're on the wall.

They'll decorate a wall for £100 and hopefully we will get the £200.

So I'm going to disagree with him here.

Wish me luck.

This is it.

530, the three maritime and watercolours, £100 for them?

50 bid, 60, I'm bid 70, 70 I'm bid, 80, 90, 90, 100, 110...

110, 120, 130, 140, 130 again at 130,

do I hear 140 now? 130 for three of them.

At £130, anybody else quickly?

130, away they go at £130.

Thank goodness for that! £130!

-That's better than going back in the attic isn't it?

-Yes, yeah!

A touch of the Orient now, the lovely Japanese vase.

Valued at 80-120, it belongs to John, it's good to see you again.

-Who have you brought along with you?

-This is my wife, Rose.

Hi, Rose. Bodyguard?

Bodyguard, a lot of money.

-Expecting lots of money, will we get that top dollar?

-I don't know?

It's one of these favourite auction estimates, 80, 120, because to be quite honest with you, I don't know.

But we do know Thomas is absolutely in love with this and would love to buy it.

I really like the shape and the style and if I was allowed to, I would probably have a go.

Lot 80.

The Japanese vase.

£50 for it.

30? Right oh, 30 I am bid, do I hear five anywhere?

£30 the opening bid of 30, do I hear five quickly, 35, 40, 45, 45, 50, 5,

55, £50 bidding at 50 anyone five quickly? £50, anyone else?

£50 it is going, anyone else?

All done and selling away at £50.

It just struggled at £50.

That was rotten luck, Rose.

It can go home but there is another auction room on another day,

but it's your second lot now and it's the Carlton ware vase.

Let's hope we get that 100-200 on this one. Tommy?

I've got more hope for this one and I've got more experience in selling Carlton ware and Persian ware.

Rather than selling mountain river Japanese porcelain!

That was a bit of a punt.

50 for it.

50 I'm bid, thank you five, £50 bidding at 55, 60, 65, 65, 70,

75, 75, 80, 85, 90, 85 in the corner, 85, 90 there, 95, 100.

We've just sold it.

100 at the back now, £100. Do I hear five anywhere?

100 anyone else?

All finished at £100.

Yes, just did it. One out of two ain't bad as they say.

They did it, Thomas.

This next lot is definitely at the cutting edge, 19th century finishing scissors.

They belong to Cath who looks absolutely stunning.

-Thank you.

-Give me a twirl, look at this.

You have upped the reserve on the scissors from £20 to £25?

Yes, because they are for charity and to be honest if they don't go

for a reasonable amount for charity, I'd rather give the charity the cheque myself and keep the scissors.

OK, that's a good call.

I think you're right with the valuation and I'm pretty sure these are going to sell for £30-35.

-I hope so.

-Of course they will. They're quality.

290, the little scissors, they are interesting. Lot 290, the scissors.

At least he said that.

20 I'm bid, 22, 22, 25, 25, 28, 28, 30, 32, 32, 35,

38, 40, 42, 45, 45, 48, 48, 50.

50, 5, 60, 5,

70, 75, 75.

Yes, 75, 80, 85, £80 at the back.

Anyone five quickly? £80, anyone else, 85, 90.

This is fantastic.

Lady's bid, any more? Selling at £90.

Yes, £90!

Definitely at the cutting edge.

-That was brilliant.

-It was, chuffed.

£90 going to charity straightaway.

-Well chuffed.

-Good for you.

Well, so far so good but don't forget there is plenty more auction action to come later on in the show.

But this is thirsty work, I fancy a cup of tea and when you're

in Yorkshire there's a famous old tea room that you should visit.

And here we are, Betty's Tea Rooms.

And I must say, it looks rather agreeable.

There are six Betty's Tea Rooms and you'll only find them in Yorkshire.

This one is in the centre of Harrogate.

It was the first to be opened in 1919, and it still retains all its old charm and character.

It's steeped in history and really does take you back in time.

Not only that, but you really are spoilt for choice.

Because there's over 300 types of cakes, biscuits and chocolates,

not to mention 50 different varieties of teas and coffees.

All this produce is made at Betty's Craft Bakery a couple of miles away from here.

Earlier on today, I went there to meet to award-winning confectioner Helen Barker.

Hi, Helen. Pleased to meet you. Now, you've been given the task of teaching me to decorate a cake.

I like eating them but I've not decorated one before, apart from a Bakewell tart.

-OK.

-How long have you been here?

Eight years next July.

Crikey, you must have decorated every cake that's come out of here.

I've decorated a fair few of them, yeah.

The story of Betty's starts at the turn of the century when a young Swiss confectioner, Fritz Butzer,

left his native Alps and travelled to England, inspired by a dream of building up his own business.

He travelled to London. Unable to speak a word of English, he got so confused by the hustle and bustle

of the capital's train stations that he ended up in Harrogate.

Why Harrogate?

Well, it was a bit of a mistake, really.

He got on the wrong train and ended up in Yorkshire.

Where was he intending to go, do you know?

Brighton, but he ended up in Yorkshire.

Well, I guess Harrogate was a safe bet. Another tourist town.

Yeah, with the Turkish baths and nice gardens. A very nice place to visit.

Right, OK. What happens next anyway?

Once we've done this we take the rum syrup.

-That's what I could smell!

-Yeah.

Mmm! Well, apart from vanilla and chocolate and almonds.

After that I'm just piping a bulb of vanilla.

It looks like flexible grout.

Despite Butzer's bad geography, the beautiful countryside and clear

air of Yorkshire reminded him of his native Switzerland.

So much so that he decided to stay.

Soon, he started calling himself Frederick Belmont, chocolate specialist,

using the French version of his name which he thought sounded more sophisticated to the English ear.

Where did the name Betty's come from? Why's it called Betty's?

There's mystery surrounding that.

There's quite a few different reasons why it could be called Betty's.

Betty was quite a popular name back in the 19th century so it could be named after that.

There was also a doctor's surgery next to the first shop, where the doctor's daughter was very ill.

So Frederick Belmont decides to name the shop after her in memory of her.

But overall it is quite a mystery, really.

-Next, just place the cauliflower in the centre of your leaf.

-Right.

And then just pick up in your hand

and just fold in the marzipan leaves.

Just moving it around gently in your hands.

It looks pretty good.

-It does, yeah.

-How many of these would you have to make a day?

We make them twice weekly and make about 500, twice weekly.

And it's all done by hand so it's quite a long job.

Yeah. It is, isn't it? Why are you resisting machinery?

We want to keep the bakery as craft.

-We could do everything on machinery but you lose...

-The personal touch?

Yeah, definitely. So we have a few machines in here but everything else is mainly done by hand.

-Right. OK, it's my turn. Shall we go back to stage one?

-Yeah.

Right.

Not as pretty as yours.

The right shape.

The affluence of Harrogate, coupled with the quality of Belmont's cakes

made Betty's an immediate success.

-When the Yorkshire Post paid a visit they wrote:

-"There were the fanciest of cakes with names so strange that

"they would have to employ an interpreter to tell people what they mean.

"bouton dough, battenburgs, ganache meringues.

"I bet if you went into Betty's and asked for a bun they would send for the police."

So, what is the bestselling cake?

It would be a fondant fancy and a vanilla slice.

Sounds complicated.

How many of those a year would you sell?

-Probably about 70,000 fondant fancies.

-That's a lot.

-It is a lot, yeah.

-That's a lot of baking.

Right, OK. Tops of the cauliflowers are on.

I'm not as delicate as you. There.

There we are, it's as simple as that.

It's not that simple, is it?

-No.

-Helen, you're a great teacher. Thank you so much, I enjoyed that.

I think it's time to sample my wares, don't you?

With a cup of tea over at Betty's Tea Rooms.

Hello.

My word. I am spoilt for choice, aren't I?

I recognise those.

Thank you very much.

That's my handiwork. Well, you know what they say, don't you?

The proof of the pudding is in the eating. So here goes.

Not bad at all.

Not bad at all, even if I say so. Very good.

And after all these cakes, I could do with a good walk

back to valuation day, where I might find an enthusiastic James Lewis.

Now, I had a chance to look at this book earlier.

It is a wonderful book, isn't it?

This is a must for any trainee pharmacist or doctor.

It is, of course, Culpeper's Complete Herbal.

It's a great read.

My parents have got one of these.

And as a young boy I spent many, many years looking at it.

This one is dated 1816.

The original Culpeper's Herbal was published in 1653.

That, of course, is back in the times of Cromwell.

Oh, gosh.

And this sort of thing, those were the times when the witch trials were going on.

So being involved with herbals is quite a dodgy thing in those days.

But this is a wonderful book.

It's in its original binding.

All of that is original. It's got the frontispiece here, Nicholas Culpepper, MD,

author of The Family Herbal.

This one, as we say, is 1816.

And if we flip all along through, it's got these wonderful coloured plates in there. Look at that.

Each one of these is hand-coloured.

-Yes.

-And all the way through.

Look at those.

Aren't they super?

-Have you ever read it?

-No, I haven't. I've read little bits of it today, actually.

I found it quite fascinating.

Quite funny.

I've put a few little markers in here, if I can find them.

Just some interesting things

that I find really...

You know, people would go to a florist today.

-I am a florist.

-Are you?

-Yes.

-What do you do with your white lilies?

Usually make them into an arrangement or put them in a vase or use them for funerals.

White lilies, this is what you should do with them.

"An ointment made from the root of the white lily,

"mixed with dogs' grease is excellently good for scald heads.

"The root, roasted and mixed with a little hogs' grease,

"makes a gallant poultice to ripen and break plague stores."

Even if you're not a book collector, you can have great fun with it.

Well, yes. I'm just realising today how much fun.

What's it worth? £80 to £120, £100 to £150.

Something like that. What shall we put?

Let's put £100 to £150 on it.

-Reserve, £100. If it doesn't make that, have it back.

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

-That's fine.

-Is that OK with you?

-Yeah, that's lovely.

-I love it.

You've brought something really interesting.

It's not often that I can see something and think,

"I'm flummoxed but I'm really fascinated by what you've brought along." Tell us how you came by it.

A junk shop in Harrogate.

I saw it, liked it, I told Ann about it and she went back a month later and bought it for me.

-And how long ago was that?

-In July of this year.

-Let's have a look. This is obviously copper.

-Right.

Um, and, er, it's a copper bowl.

But what is interesting is you've got this articulated fish in here.

And articulated just means that it moves.

Then on the top you've got a dove. On the handle we have a dove.

And round the rim of it, here, it's got what we call Athenaeums.

Athenaeum, the pattern is called Athenaeum pattern.

What's fascinating is that there's a stamp at the base of it.

Now, I've got a little blue light here, a torch.

You see, if I shine it, you can see there's a little oval stamp.

That oval stamper is not written in our script.

It's obviously an Arabic stamp.

So my feeling is that this is probably from the Middle East.

But from a part where Christian... It's definitely a Christian item.

It can't be Islamic.

Because of the representation of animals.

In the Islamic law, animals cannot be represented in art or pictures of form.

Obviously, those two subjects, the fish is a big Christian symbol.

And the dove of peace you see very often as well.

If I had to stake age on it, I'd probably think 19th century.

-19th century?

-I would have thought so.

Tell me, how much did you pay for it?

-£15.

-£15? Right, OK.

Well, that's not bad at all, is it?

I think you're going do better than your £15.

I'm quite happy to put it in at £30 to £50.

-I think it's very interesting.

-Great.

Obviously, it's not a huge amount of money, for £20.

But if we've got you £20 or £30, what would you do with it?

I would put a little hand on that.

-Oh, really? Is that what it costs you.

-We don't know yet.

-We don't know what it would cost.

Obviously, it's come off.

So I would see if I could get a hand put on that.

I like that. You're going to use the money to restore another antique. Super.

Max, Janet,

is that your normal, trendy young person's headgear or something for me to value?

-That's something for you to value.

-Let's have a look.

It really is a fabulous thing.

-Is it yours?

-It's my nana's.

-And where did you get it from?

-It was my late father-in-law's and it was given to him by the dustbin man who found it in a dustbin.

-No!

And he was interested in history and so that's why he got it.

What a wonderful story!

It really is a fantastic piece of history. Do you know much about it?

-No, not really.

-Where's it from? What country?

-Germany?

There you go, you did know.

It is, it's German.

It's known as a Pickelhaube. But Pickelhaube is a slang term.

It means pimple helmet. That's what it actually means.

These were used by the German army, right the way back from Prussian, the Franco-Prussian wars in 1870,

right through to 1939.

They stopped being used in wartime, really, in the First World War.

They're difficult to date because they didn't really change in design that much.

This one, I feel, is probably around turn of the century.

It could well have been used in World War I.

It's got this wonderful, big brass badge on the front.

You can imagine the soldiers would have been there in the trenches,

polishing away to keep it sparkling.

But the good thing is, you've not touched it.

You've not polished it, you've not rubbed all the character away. Here we have the German inscription.

If we translate it, "With God for King and Fatherland."

With God for King and Fatherland. And "FR" in the centre.

I think that basically means that was for a Field Regiment.

It's probably an artilleryman's helmet.

But it's a wonderful thing.

These are scarce to find in good condition like this.

You've got the Iron Cross with it as well.

The Iron Cross, you see lots of those. That's the Second World War one.

So it's a different period to the helmet.

-They both come from the dustbin?

-Together, yes.

The story goes that the helmet had some newspaper in it that had blood on.

Whether this is just an elaboration, I don't know.

-That's a horrible thought, isn't it?

-It's terrible.

-I think they're winding you up with that.

Because, if we turn it upside down, there it's got all of its original leather.

And that is an important part of it.

If the leather's replaced inside, it does devalue the helmet.

Two little holes here.

Just there and there.

And they would have had little plumes coming out of the top.

It's good. It's a good thing. Now, what's it worth?

-What do you think?

-I don't know.

-What would you sell it for?

-£100.

-Would you?

I think it's worth more than that.

I think that's worth £300-£500.

-Whoa!

-That is a really good thing.

500 would be a fantastic result for it.

I think it will end up selling for 300, 350, 380, something like that.

Little Iron Cross as well, that's worth 25 quid.

Put the two together and I think it will do jolly well. Do you want to sell them?

Um, it's Nana's choice.

-Yes. You don't want it.

-I'm not...

-No. Right. We'll sell it.

Max has got lots of other things from his grandad, haven't you?

-Yep.

-Yeah? Wonderful.

What a cracking day we're having! The room is still jam-packed.

Everybody has been working flat out.

Right now, it's time for our final visit to the auction room.

We found some cracking gear, so let's get it under the hammer and get it sold.

Here's a quick recap of all the items we're flogging.

James loves Noeline's book of Culpepper's Herbal Remedies.

It even used to be essential reading for him as a child.

Bill and Anne will be hoping for some profit on their copper cup

to help repair one of their other antiques.

The World War I German helmet was brought in by Janet and grandson Max.

The memorabilia collectors should spot the quality.

Before the sale restarts, let's see what auctioneer Andrew McMillan has to say about the helmet.

At £30...

This is an unusual lot. Maybe you've seen quite a few of these before.

We've seen a few. But not in every sale.

I think once a year on Flog It! something like this, a German First World War helmet pops up.

One with a spike on the top. We've got a cross as well.

Janet brought this in to the valuation day with her grandson, Max.

It belongs to her father-in-law.

He was given this by somebody that found it in a dustbin.

-Really!

-Yeah. We've got absolutely no history to it.

-Right.

-But we've got a valuation of £300 - £500.

-Right.

-And it's in very good condition.

-Not bad, is it?

-No.

-It's lost a bit of paint.

It should be black all over.

Apart from that, it's very good, considering it's been round about 90 years or whatever.

-I think your experts have got the value spot-on really.

-Yeah.

I think it's going to be 300-400, rather than 400-500, probably.

Simply because there's a little bit of a problem with the condition.

But it should be perfectly saleable.

Where is the market for this? Is there a strong sort of militaria collecting body around here

or will it go to a private home?

It will almost certainly be a collector.

-Yes. It's an odd thing to have in the house, isn't it?

-It is really, yeah.

We get a lot of buyers for militaria.

Medals, uniforms, all sorts of things. Amazing, really.

-So, hopefully, this will go.

-Yep. At 300-400 rather than more.

OK. Erring on the side of caution.

-We have the complete rescue remedy for you right now, don't we, Noeline?

-Yes.

Culpepper's Book of Herbal Rescues.

This means a lot to you. It's been in the family a fair bit.

£100-£150, top end we might get for this. Hopefully a bit more.

-Fingers crossed.

-Why do you want to sell this?

Is it because our wonderful expert here has got the most amazing tie on today?

-He didn't really talk me into it.

-Talked you into it.

-No.

It's been sat in a cupboard at home.

-I've got two sons. They're not interested.

-It is a lovely thing.

-It's great.

-It's great, it really is.

-Really good fun.

It's one of those things you can go into your back garden,

-find all the bits and bobs that are in the book...

-And put it into use.

See what happens. You might never live again.

It is the kind of book that I would leave out permanently so I could just flick and browse through,

-while I was having breakfast, and learn something.

-Yes.

310.

Culpepper Complete Herbal.

There it is, £100. 50 I'm bid, 5.

£50 I'm bid at £50 only. 5 I'm bid.

60. 5. 70.

65 bidding now. 65 anyone? 70?

-65. Anyone else, quickly?

-Yes, come on!

75. 80. 85, 90. Are you there, sir?

No. 85, it's against you at 85.

Anyone else quickly? 85, it's going.

All done at £85, then. On we go.

-It doesn't matter.

-I don't believe that.

-It didn't sell.

-Did it not?

-I don't believe it. No, it didn't. 85. It didn't sell.

-Take it home and enjoy it.

-I'll start reading it now.

You should, actually.

For the next lot, auctioneer James Stevenson has taken over the gavel from Andrew McMillan.

I've just been joined by Bill and Anne.

We've got that lovely Eastern copper cup just about to go under the hammer. £30-£50.

Why do you want to flog it?

-I want to repair my...

-You want to repair your bronze.

Do you know anything about this bronze figure that he's got to have repaired?

He brought it out on the valuation day. It popped out.

-He said this is what I'm going to do with the money, get this arm repaired.

-Right, OK.

Lot number 212 should be the Eastern copper bell.

The interior fitted with a little articulated fish for you.

Bidding 50, 40, 30, 20. 10.

£10 bid. 10 bid.

12. 15. 18. 20. £20 bid.

Come on - a bit more.

22. At 22, at 22.

£22. Anybody else? £22. At 22. At 22.

Selling at 22...

The hammer's going down, yes. £22.

-Will that cover the cost of the repair?

-Just about.

Just about. And you've had it done.

-Well, let's have a look.

-Yes.

The arm was missing.

-It's been put back on again.

-That's incredible.

-He made a good job of it.

-That's not bad, is it?

That's a great repair for £30.

It just goes to show it can be done.

That's a great story.

What are you going to do with the money?

It's already spent on the repair.

Six is the smaller one on top.

I've just been joined by Janet and young Max here,

-who's managed to wrangle a day off school, haven't you?

-Yeah.

-It's a bit more fun, isn't it?

-Definitely.

-What's your school?

-Leeds Grammar.

-Leeds Grammar. Give them all a wave.

-Hello.

-Who's your best friend?

-Er, Rafi.

-Rafi, OK.

He'll be jealous of you now. Now Max is on telly.

We've got this First World War helmet. It's about to go under the hammer.

The valuation's 300-500. Were you happy with that?

-Delighted!

-A big surprise. That's a lot of money. Who's going to get the money?

It'll all go into the family, won't it?

Max is looking around quite proudly thinking, "Look this way!"

Hopefully we will get that top end. Let's ask our expert.

-Will we get that top end?

-I don't think we will.

If it does, it's done really well.

What I've done is I've put it at a high estimate.

Not a "come and get me" estimate, so if it doesn't make that, then don't worry about it.

I've seen them make 180, 200, but they've been tired, they'd been repolished.

Yours is as good as they come - it's wonderful.

-498, the Pickelhaube.

-Come on, Max, this is it.

And the Iron Cross to go with it. There we are.

Lot 498. 200 for it. 200, I'm bid. 210 now. £200 the opening bid.

And 10. 220. 230. 240. 250. 250. 260.

270. 280. 290. 290. 300. 310. 310.

320. 330. 330. 340.

330 on my right. 330, do I hear 340?

350? 350. 360. 370.

-There's more, there's more.

-390.

390. 400. 410.

420. 430. 420, any more?

420. It's going at £420.

-The hammer's gone down. That's sold. £420.

-Delighted!

That is a fantastic result!

I'm tingling, I'm tingling - you must be.

-That was worth a day off school, wasn't it?

-Definitely.

-Have you got auction fever now?

-Yep.

-Do you want to come back for more?

-Yeah.

You'll have to persuade them to sell lots more things.

It was a fun day out, wasn't it?

-It was a super day out.

-That's what Flog It! is all about.

The auction's still going on but it's over for our owners

and everybody has enjoyed themselves.

We've had a great day here and I hope you've enjoyed the show too.

So, until the next time,

when we put many more experts' theories to the test, it's cheerio from Yorkshire.