Oxford Flog It!

Oxford is famous the world over for being home to Inspector Morse,

the place where Roger Bannister ran the four-minute mile

and the scene of England's first hot air balloon ride in 1784.

Oh, yes, and there's a university here too!

Oxford University boasts some of Britain's greatest architecture.

But the biggest and grandest of them all has to be Christchurch College

which was founded in 1525 by Cardinal Wolsey.

And architect Sir Christopher Wren built and designed this very impressive tower here.

It is, possibly, Oxford's most famous landmark.

For our valuations today we're in the Oxford Town Hall

which is an architectural gem.

And exercising their little grey cells in this very studious city

are our two boffins, Mark Stacey and Will Axton.

Patrick, very good. Hello. Nice to see you.

Before we look at the item, you've got an unusual name.

-Yes, I have.

-What is it?

-Praxedes.

-Praxedes?

-Where does that come from?

-It comes from Spain.

-You're Spanish?

-Yes.

-From where?

-Near Valencia.

-Near Valencia.

I'm glad you made it all this way.

Although, when we look at the items, you've travelled a lot further than that.

-Australia.

-Australia, that's it.

We've got a set of medallions issued in 1970

to celebrate the bi-centenary of the discovery of Australia.

-Were you out there then?

-Yes, we emigrated in '69.

-In 1969?

-Yes.

-For how long?

-32 years we spent altogether.

-32 years.

-Now you've come back to the UK.

-We've been backwards and forwards.

We came back four years ago for good.

Well, as far as we know!

You bought these out there?

-Just to celebrate the year we arrived.

-Absolutely.

What we've got, actually, and we've got the certificate that tells us,

is two gold coins, 18-carat gold,

with Captain Cook at the front

and the ship, The Endeavour, on the back of the smaller one.

And the national emblem of Australia on the back of the larger one.

-Can you remember what you paid for them?

-About £130.

-£130.

About 300-and-something dollars.

Well, that hasn't actually in overall terms proved to be a bad investment.

-But intrinsically, these haven't got value as medallions.

-I realise that.

-The value is in the gold.

Somebody will look at these as what they weigh and will pay a gold scrap value.

Then, of course, there's every chance

they unfortunately might even be melted down

-to make another piece.

-I realise that.

But then that's life, isn't it? We all go in the end!

-We get melted down as well.

-Exactly, we get melted down.

Why have you decided to sell them now?

We never look at them. They're stuck in a drawer.

-Sometimes you can't remember where you put them.

-Really?

-You don't get them out and have a look at them?

-Sometimes. Not often.

-Not often?

-No.

If we put them in for sale, they're quite interesting,

but basically it's the gold value. If we put them into auction today,

we'd put around 300 to 400 on them.

-Would you be happy with that?

-Yes.

-Certainly.

-With a reserve.

-Yes, we'd put a reserve of 300, with ten per cent discretion.

-Yes.

-Any idea what you'd do with the money?

-A Spanish holiday.

-Ooh, you lucky people! Got room in your suitcase for me?

-Yes.

-Yes!

I look forward to seeing you at the auction.

Tony, this is an interesting collection you've brought in for us.

How did you come by this?

Well, this was found in a trunk.

A friend was in the Norfolk regiment during the First World War,

and after he died we found these with a greatcoat and his army boots

and these were the things we salvaged from that.

I see. Well, obviously the market for militaria is strong.

The majority of the value will be in his field compass there,

which still retains its original leather case

embossed with his name, Dalton.

-Yes, Darcy Dalton.

-Darcy Dalton.

A great name. Sounds like something out of the movies.

Then moving along from that, we've got his original dog tags there.

We've got some of these matches here, these Wind Vestas.

Which it says here is "For use on motors, cycles and yachts"!

-Fancy lighting up a cigarette on a motorcycle!

-Exactly.

An impressive feat. Rolling one at the same time!

Then you've got these various cap badges.

He was in the Norfolk regiment.

And then these rather fine buttons.

And to finish off, you've got these fascinating trench maps.

-These trench maps are amazing how they sorted them out.

-So he survived the war.

-He survived.

-And lived to a ripe old age?

-He was into his eighties.

-Into his eighties, so not bad.

Then you helped care for him, you and your wife.

He'd had a batman all his life and he was looked after by his wife.

She'd clean his shoes and do everything for him to the day he died.

-He was married, was he?

-He was married.

-Because we've got this rather interesting...

-I don't know if his wife would know about that.

-It's the old...

-It's the old-fashioned condom

which the gentry used to carry about with them.

-It doesn't say anything about it. Just "silk" and "seamless".

-Yes.

He was a bit of a ladies' man, perhaps.

A ladies' man, probably on the quiet!

-There's nothing here that's going to be hugely valuable on its own.

-No.

The little compass in the original case is worth probably £30 to £50.

So I'd say, for the whole lot as a group,

you could estimate it at maybe £40 to £60,

and then see how it gets away in the sale room.

I think that's a sensible estimate.

-No reserve, and we'll see how we do on the day.

-That's fine.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

MUSIC BOX PLAYS The Theme To "The Magic Roundabout"

-Janette, David, this really takes me back to my childhood.

-Yes.

Sitting at home, at teatime, waiting for The Magic Roundabout to start.

-Where did you get it?

-At a car-boot sale.

-Really?

-About 20 years ago. And I paid £1 for it.

Good Lord! 20 years ago.

-What attracted you to it? Were you a fan of the show?

-Not really.

The lady opened the back of her car,

and it was full of toys. I took it over to my husband, and he said,

"We could keep that one."

Did you have young children at the time?

My youngest was about ten,

but my husband said, "We'll keep that for the grandchildren."

I've got a grandson, and he's 12 now, and he has played with it.

Does he know what The Magic Roundabout is, your grandson?

-You don't get it any more, do you?

-Oh, he knew, yeah.

When he was about three, he'd come running in the door.

-Grandad would say, "What do you want to play with?" And he'd say, "Magic Roundabout!"

-Really?

So he'd get it out on the floor and play for hours.

It's amazing, it's a sort of eternal appeal!

-Mmm.

-Who was your favourite character?

-I think Zebedee.

-Oh, yes. And Dougal I always liked as well.

He was always complaining.

I was never keen on Dylan - he was always spaced-out!

What this shows is the nature of collectable items.

Things like The Magic Roundabout now have become quite a cult show.

You know, amongst collectors.

Not only have we got all the pieces, but of course, more importantly,

we've got the original box.

Now, this particular toy was brought out between 1974 and 1976,

so a little after the show started.

It was made by Corgi Toys,

who originally started in the 1950s.

They're a well-known name.

The other nice thing you've got

is we've got a little spare train.

Yes. The person who bought it originally

bought the spare one so it would stay brand-new and unopened.

That's quite nice, actually,

because we've got a little bit of wear on the train.

But it's nice that you've got an original one, again perfectly boxed.

From the value point of view,

have you ever thought about what your £1 has turned into?

-We believe a few hundred pounds.

-Yes, we thought a few hundred pounds.

I think you're right. Ostensibly, one would put it in to a sale

at £400 to £600.

Something like that. With a £400 discretionary reserve.

-OK.

-And I think, if you're happy to sell it with us...

-Yes.

-..I'll look forward to seeing you at the auction.

-Lovely.

I've one thing left to say. It's time for bed.

-Hello, Margaret.

-Hello.

-Nice to see you.

Thank you very much for joining us here at Flog It! in Oxford.

You've brought this wonderful collection of military postcards, but before we look at them

in detail in a moment, can you tell us about their history?

My husband has a relative die and we had to clear the house and we found them under a bed in a cardboard box.

-Really?

-Yes.

-And no other artefacts like this?

-The furniture went to auction and, no, this is what was left.

-Gosh.

-But all in these little...?

-No.

-You looked after them?

-Well, I just put them into the cases over the weekend, really.

-Well, I'm glad you did.

They're in remarkable condition.

-And he wasn't interested in military history or...?

-I don't think so.

No, he didn't go to the war because he was on the farmland.

He was a farmer so he didn't actually go to war.

There were just coins and things we found and these.

Interesting, isn't it? Actually, we've got some early ones here.

We've got these little cards here, for example, which have these little vignettes on the front,

and if you look on the back of these, you'll see there's no dividing line.

-Mmm.

-Now, apparently, if there's no dividing line, it means they're before 1902...

-Oh, that's interesting.

-..which is quite interesting.

These ones are of interest to collectors.

I've chosen out the South Wales Borders because I'm from South Wales.

I'm representing my homeland with the South Wales Borderers.

These ones are interesting because they have all the details

-of the soldiers' pay and conditions and this sort of thing.

-Hmm.

It says, "God Save The King" underneath.

All in all, to the right military collector, we've got quite an interesting group.

-You've got a lot of them. There's over 60 postcards here.

-Yes.

-Have you ever thought about the value?

-No, never.

I think, in a sale, again if we can attract the right buyers from the internet

or people tend to sniff these things out anyway...

-It's amazing how the bush telegraph works on this sort of thing.

-Yes.

I would suggest maybe putting them in with an estimate of £250-£350.

Really?

Oh!

-Are you surprised?

-Very surprised.

-What did you think they might be worth?

-30p each.

-30p each?

-A little bit more than that!

-Yes!

But I really think they could do quite well.

We might even get the upper estimate.

-We'll put a reserve on them.

-Yes.

-Probably a reserve just below the 250, of 200 or so.

-That's fine.

We don't need to worry. If we get the collectors in there,

they should march off, dare I say!

Hmm!

This place was once described as the most beautiful village in England.

It's not hard to see why, is it? It's enchanting.

I'm in Chipping Camden in the heart of the Cotswolds.

It's absolutely idyllic and crammed with history.

If you just walk 100 metres down the high street, you'll find very fine examples

of many different periods of architecture.

It's because of its idyllic charm and wonderful location

that Chipping Camden lies at the very heart of a very important period

in the history of design - the Arts and Crafts movement.

CR Ashbee was an architect and designer,

who was influenced by the ideas and work of William Morris,

widely regarded as the father of the Arts and Crafts movement,

and, like Morris, Ashbee espoused socialist ideals

and hoped to put them into practice when he opened a design studio

in London's East End in 1988.

Many people in the Arts and Crafts movement believed that the mass production of the machine age

was a betrayal of the traditional skills and methods held by the individual craftsmen,

and that the human cost of industrialisation was far too high.

In the late 19th century, factories were terrifying, noisy places

and workers endured appalling conditions and meagre pay,

so Ashbee took men and women from the cities

and set them to work at his Guild and School of Handicraft.

Men like Ashbee found themselves spearheading a campaign

for social, industrial, moral and aesthetic reform.

So where does Chipping Camden fit into all this?

Well, in 1902, Ashbee relocated the Guild of Handicraft

from the East End of London to the Cotswolds

and with him came 50 blacksmiths, jewellers, cabinetmakers, and silversmiths

and they all ended up working in this building here - an old silk mill.

BANGING OF TOOLS

David, hi. It's a real pleasure to meet you. Thank you for taking time out to talk with us.

You're one of the descendants from the original Guild.

That's a wonderful pedigree. Tell me about your family history.

My grandfather was born in Hitchin and he grew up there

and they put an exhibition on one year

and Ashbee came down to judge the exhibition, apparently,

and saw his work and invited him to join him, so he went and joined him in London in 1900

and then when Ashbee went into liquidation,

he took over the workshop and the family's worked here ever since.

And the rest is history for you.

I've got to say, looking around your workshop, time has stood still.

Yes, it hasn't really changed.

All the tools you're using are all the tools from Ashbee's day.

They're what he brought here. Everything in this room is what was brought 100 years ago,

even the clock up there is still the same one.

We're always banging on on Flog It! about preserving our heritage and passing on these traditional skills,

-but you're doing it in essence because you're actually using the tools to pass them on.

-Yes.

I've got my son now working with me and my nephew

and Derek, who was my first apprentice, back in the '80s.

-It's brilliant. There's a next generation...

-We hope so, yes.

I noticed over there - I was being nosy and having a look around -

you've still got the original books and ledgers from Ashbee's designs.

You're still working to those but tweaking them slightly.

Some people want dead copies - others, we tweak them a bit.

-Have you noticed that the trend's turned and everyone's into Arts and Crafts?

-Yes.

People come from all over the world or email us ordering things.

Let's take a closer look at some of your work

and a few items of Ashbee's that you've selected that I've spotted in your office.

Yes, certainly.

I think your work is absolutely stunning.

-You've got magic hands, but you also have to have a very good eye, don't you?

-Yes.

Quite often, you do a design and then when you start making it, it doesn't look quite right,

so you make it to your eye, rather than the design.

If you start with the teapot, which is 1903 - Ashbee's -

if you wish to handle.

It's just the architectural detail and it's whole proportion is just right, isn't it?

Look at that.

-It's gorgeous.

-It's a nice bit of enamel in the top.

-How long would that have taken to make?

-Probably a week, ten days.

Do you make many like this now?

Er...not so many of the teapots but some of the other pieces we do copies of.

That is intriguing, isn't it? Is that a very difficult piece to make?

Well, certainly the handle, to get the twist in was we found very difficult.

You've got to make all these little hinges to pin it together on the glass.

The finial is... All those linear strands are echoing what you've done on the handle.

-How much would that cost?

-About £1,000 today.

That's not bad. And the original?

If it was original Ashbee, it would be £10,000 at least.

-That is lovely. Which is your favourite piece to make?

-Doesn't matter.

When you've finished and the customer is pleased, you get pleasure out of it.

Is it hard to let go? When you spend two weeks on it and you think,

-"That's one of the nicest things I've ever made," do you want to keep it?

-Yes.

I do quite often, but at the end of the day, you've got the overheads and the workshop.

The others have all got mortgages which they've got to pay, so it has to go.

-It's a tough life being an artist, isn't it?

-Yes, it is.

Thanks so much for showing me round and taking me back in time.

You're preserving our heritage for future generations to see.

You can come here, walk around and commission something.

-It's not a shop, is it?

-No.

-You can't just buy things off the shelf.

I've fallen in love with a heart-shaped box.

I'm going to get one commissioned and I'm coming back to buy something.

-Good.

-Thank you.

-Good. You're very welcome.

Ashbee's original venture laid the foundations for a tradition of craftsmanship

that continues in the Cotswolds this very day.

It's almost auction time again,

and here's a quick reminder of all our items.

Shakespeare wrote, "All that glitters is not gold", but these sovereigns are!

Tony's WWI memorabilia, complete with standard issue condom,

is a real slice of military history.

Mark was enchanted by this 1970s game

of the children's favourite, The Magic Roundabout.

And Margaret's military postcards, dating from the 1900s,

are certain to catch an enthusiast's eye.

For today's auction we're in Watlington

at Jones and Jacob fine art auctioneers.

We've got two auctioneers overseeing our lots,

Francis Ogley and Simon Jones.

Attention, you lot! We've got the military cards just about to go under the hammer.

Will you be sad to see these go?

Not really, because they were in my loft for six years.

They were left to us from the family,

and we chucked them in the loft.

We got a valuation that you were happy with.

£250 to £350. We'll get that top end, will we?

I hope so. It's not usually my sort of thing,

but these are very interesting,

and some are very early - pre 1900 -

so I've been assured by our military consultants

that these are rare, so I'm hoping we might see a surprise.

-Well done, Mark.

-We might go marching on to victory.

-That would be great, wouldn't it?

-It would.

We're about to do battle now, cos it's going under the hammer. Here we go.

Lot 185 is the First World War regimental and military postcards.

What can we say for these?

250 for them?

200 to start me... 200 I'm bid.

Straight in, at 200.

You all happy at £200?

For the postcards, at £200.

All done then, and finished at 200.

We'll settle for that! A big smile there!

Considering they've been in the loft, and there's no attachment...

I'm a little disappointed.

You know auctions - you need two people to bid against...

We didn't have that extra person to run it up a bit.

But it's gone, and that's the main thing. We're here to flog it!

-What are you going to spend £200 on?

-It's going towards a holiday for my husband and I.

-We have separate holidays at the moment.

-Do you?!

-Why - you not getting on?!

-He's a motorcyclist,

so he plays with his bike and I go on holiday!

'Next up, Tony's WWI collection.'

-Lots of memories here?

-There is.

In this trunk there was the old greatcoat with the buttons,

the other boots and even the spats.

And something else - he was a bit of a ladies' man!

We found a condom going back to them days!

Yes, so...

We got a cute valuation. There's a lot here. We're hoping for 40, 60.

But we've seen this kind of thing on Flog It! do really well before.

It's always collectable, WWI, WWII memorabilia.

It gets picked up on the internet as well. The Americans are big on it.

To be honest, I think the compass on its own is worth our estimate.

It's going to sell. I'm quite confident it should do it.

The compass should help it find the right buyer.

-That's the main object, isn't it?

-Yes. Yeah.

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

Lot 124, the T Cook and Sons prismatic compass

and First World War cap badges, trench maps etc. 40 to £50?

-75.

-75 is good to start with.

-Phone bid.

-75 I'm bid. 80. 80.

-85?

-At £80 then, I'm bid. 85. Coming to you on the phone.

85. 90.

-95?

-A phone bidder.

-100.

110.

120.

-Good price.

-It is.

All done at 110. It's on the phone. Against you all in the room at £110.

All finished. All done.

-What will you do with £110?

-We went on holiday last week and bought some vases.

I thought it was old clothes, chucked 'em down

and broke three of them so I've got to replace them!

-He's in the doghouse!

-I've helped get you out of trouble.

-Yes!

-All thanks to the old colonel!

-Exactly!

-He done us all a favour!

-The Great Escape!

-Nice one.

Now, this lot is really interesting because it's a collectable, it's an antique, it's commemorative,

but we're flogging it for its scrap value.

I've just been joined by Praxedes and Michael.

We've got those lovely medallions - two of them - commemorating Captain Cook, value £300-£400.

-Mark said that scrap gold, 18-carat gold's worth that alone.

-Yeah.

When I had a chat to the auctioneer - bring our expert in on this - he agreed with you.

-He said that the scrap value of those once you'd weighed them is about £400...

-Yes.

-..450.

They're going to breeze that estimate. We certainly are going to flog them.

-Well, I hope so, I hope so.

-This is it.

It's going under the hammer. Good luck.

365 - the two gold souvenir medallions.

200th anniversary, Captain Cook.

-300 for those.

-480.

-480.

-Someone's shouting out, "480!" straight in.

Have 480. On commission at 480.

500, anyone?

They're selling to the commission at 480.

Anybody in the room? At 500, if you want them. ..All done.

-Happy?

-Very happy.

Nearly 500 quid, all but. What are you going to put that money towards?

-To our Canary Island holiday.

-Oh!

-Christmas time.

You've not really settled in England. Can't wait to get away again.

Boing! It's time for bed! That jogs a memory.

It's the game of the Magic Roundabout.

I was a big fan. I loved the spaced-out rabbit.

-Dylan. "Yeah, man."

-Oh, did you?

-Yes.

-He wasn't my favourite.

-He was my favourite.

Ermintrude the cow, with the flower, that went from one side to the other.

It was valued at £400 to £600,

but we've had a word with the auctioneer,

and you think you would like a bit more, so you've upped the reserve

-to £500.

-Yes. My daughter was a bit put out when I got home,

and she wanted me to keep it,

so I thought, "Well, I'll put the reserve up."

-I don't mind if I take it home.

-It's awful if we sell it for 500 or 600.

I don't know if we'll be happy or sad.

Nor do I! It's make-your-mind-up time.

It's about to go under the hammer. This is it.

Lot number 109. It's the Corgi Magic Roundabout Playground,

complete with all the figures, and there's a spare train in there too.

-That should help it chug along(!)

-MARK GROANS

What can we say, 500 or 600?

300 then, to start me. 200 if you like.

200 I'm bid. 220? At £200 then... You all happy at 220?

240, 260, 280.

At £280. All done at £280.

290, 300, 320,

340, 360, 380, 400.

-420, 440?

-This is good! They like it!

490, 500 with you. At £500.

520 anywhere? £500 then, it's way on my left.

£500. In the door, at £500. All finished?

What a good result. Well, it's not going home!

But 500 quid is, less a bit of commission.

-Yes. We're happy with that.

-What are you going to do with that?

We're hoping to go to Australia to see my sister. I haven't seen her for 35 years.

-Have a nice glass of Australian wine on us, when you get there.

-I will.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-Lovely to meet you.

We're coming to the end of our day in Watlington.

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

Our experts have had their work cut out. It's been a tough day.

But all credit to them. Join me next time on Flog It,

when we put more theories to the test. Until then, it's cheerio!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]