Portsmouth Flog It!

Here we are in Portsmouth. Much of the old city was destroyed by bombing

during the Second World War including Guildhall, which was renovated in the post-war years.

Today, it's home to Flog It!

The Queen reopened the rebuilt Guildhall in 1959.

We've got a queue that snakes around the corner.

It's 9.30am. We should get them inside.

The honours are down to our very own "Flog It!" queen Anita Manning

and her Prince Charming, James Lewis.

-Will you do the honours?

-Of course.

Let's do it and get them all in.

Portsmouth has come out in force. Anita has found something magic.

Robert, I can imagine hours of endless fun

-looking at these slides through a magic lantern.

-Yeah.

Tell me, where did you get them?

They're my wife's.

They were used to entertain her when she was small.

They were my father-in-law's, and this kit came out of his flat when we cleared it some years ago.

From what I've been told this morning by some people, many of the slides are probably much older.

They may have been used for entertaining HIM. He was born in 1907.

Now, your magic lantern has seen better days!

Has it ever! ANITA LAUGHS

This has very little value.

It wasn't the best of quality. I've seen some beautiful ones,

which are brass bound, with beautiful oak trimmings.

The lenses are good, though, which is what matters.

-I think the value here lies in your slides.

-I understand that.

Now, we have about 12 or 15 boxes of slides

from Victorian times, up until the '30s and some classics.

We have the Disney ones here.

This will make it interesting.

These three here are of particular interest,

and these are older ones as well.

Whereas these are stills, what you've got here are the movies.

And, if we can pick one up, the slide would be put in...

..and what you've got is a crazy bearded Scotsman

brandishing weapons...

And if you pull this slide back, there he is...

shooting someone with a pistol.

So, late Victorian, early Edwardian but it's super. I love it to bits.

-You don't use them at all?

-No.

Have they been in the attic or a cupboard or...?

They've been promoted from the roof to the corner of a bedroom, in a box.

-Robert, it's time to get rid of this stuff.

-That's the idea!

When my son has to clear out my house, there will be one thing less for him to hump out to the car!

Let's sell them, let them go on to collectors

let them get the pleasure of it and let you get the dosh.

They are not worth a huge amount of money.

Robert, I'd like to put a value...

-of 100 to £150.

-Yes.

Would you be happy to sell them at that?

Yes, I'd hope they would do better.

I'd hope they would do better as well. I tend to estimate conservatively.

So, 100 to 150.

A reserve of 100 with discretion.

I'll be there on the day to cheer them on and hold your hand.

-That will be fine.

-We'll see you on the day, Robert.

-Lovely. Thank you.

-Thank you for bringing them in.

-Thank you.

Robert, you've bought a Pratt in for us. I'm not being rude, but that's what we're looking at.

A piece of Prattware.

Prattware, made in Staffordshire. The factory started in 1818,

they were making this sort of thing throughout the 19th century,

but this is as good an example as you'll ever see.

Has it been in your family since new or was it something you found?

It's been passed down through my family, through my parents.

I think it came from my nan originally.

Well, of all the makers and designers, you've got a very good example.

J Austin.

-Two signatures. Have you noticed both?

-I only noticed the one.

-You hadn't noticed the Austin one?

-No.

OK.

The other one, the obvious one, T Webster, 1834.

Thomas Webster was the artist who painted the original subject.

The original oil painting would have been painted by Thomas Webster, but J Austin

would have taken the original oil painting,

converted it to an engraving that could be printed on to pottery and porcelain.

This is known as The Truant. There's a school lesson going on inside, and he's late.

The interesting thing is if we turn it over,

it's not the standard Pratt mark. It says, "F&R Pratt and Co, Fenton.

"Manufacturers to HRH Prince Albert."

Never, ever seen that mark before.

So, we refer to the bible.

The bible of marks. This is a book by Geoffrey Godden.

It's the book on pottery and porcelain marks of Great Britain.

Turn to this page here, look under Pratt, here's the mark.

It says, "Rare printed mark, 1847 to 1860.

"Found only on the fine quality Etruscan pattern vases and fine printed wares."

So, it gives a good example of its quality. So, value.

I've seen them with cracks making £10 or £15.

But this is a really nice one. I think this should make £60 to £100.

-Is that all right?

-Yeah.

-Saying that it's something that's only transfer printed

by a fairly standard portrait factory in Staffordshire, that's not bad.

1847 to 1860 in date. A good thing.

-Very interesting.

-Shall we sell it?

-Yeah.

-Let's take it to the auction and flog it.

Michael, I thought we were going curling for a minute when I saw this from a distance!

-But we're not, are we?

-No.

-This was for talcum powder.

It's beautiful. Tell me how it came in your possession.

It belonged to my mother.

When she passed away, it came to me.

It was given to her, she told me, by an admirer. A gentleman who was very wealthy.

She told me he collected anything to do with Napoleon.

She told me it had belonged to the Empress Josephine.

We've got the fleur-de-lis.

But we don't know who the coat of arms is.

I suspect this was made for somebody and that was their coat of arms.

Paul, are these fleur-de-lis? I can't see without my glasses.

The glaze has slightly run, but I think they are.

I've got my Sherlock Holmes in my pocket.

-Oh, yes, they are.

-Why do you carry that about?

My eyesight is weak. I'm antique myself!

It's cheaper than buying specs, I suppose!

-It's elementary, dear Watson.

-Absolutely.

C'est la vie!

On at the reverse, we've got Sarreguemines, the name of the company.

The factory was based on the river Sar,

and this really is a French version of majolica, in a way.

The company was set up by Paul Utschneider.

-You can see the U and the S.

-His monogram.

His monogram is scribbled through it.

It makes it look messy, but it's not.

That was the back stamp.

-The firm dates back to round about 1770s.

-Yes.

It made its wares up until 1920.

This is quite rare. To think that this was full of talcum powder

with a big powder puff.

-My mother kept small jewellery in there.

-That's a nice idea.

It's in very good condition.

I put the date on this at around...

-1880 to 1900.

-As late as that?

-Yes.

-It's late Victorian.

-Is it? Not earlier?

I'd like to think it was 1815, to correlate with Josephine and Napoleon, but it's a bit late.

-I thought that was doubtful.

-A little bit doubtful.

-If I said to you this might reach around £50 to £70?

-As modest as that?

-Not much, is it?

-No. Not a lot.

You couldn't buy that for 50 quid today, could you?

No.

But it's got to go to a collector because there's not much use for it.

It's OK to go ahead with that, Paul.

Happy to do that? 50 to £70.

A reserve of 45.

See what happens.

Oh, dear. I haven't upset you, have I? I haven't ruined your day out on "Flog It!"

-You've queued for six hours to be told...

-No, not at all.

..it's not that item that Josephine would have owned from 1815.

I was suspicious about that. To quote dear old Napoleon, "Not tonight, Josephine."

Sadly, not tonight, Michael.

Vera, a Beatles belt!

-Did you buy it in Carnaby Street?

-No.

Tell me, where did you get it?

Well, my husband, um, at work, he had a workmate,

and he said, "Would you like this belt for one of your boys?"

-That's how I came across it.

-Did the boys wear it?

-No.

Were they more interested in the Rolling Stones?

-Yes, more likely.

-So, where has it been? Who's been wearing it?

Nobody's been wearing it. I rolled it up,

and put it in a jar, and forgot about it.

-So it's been there since...

-1964.

-1964.

-Yeah.

-And what made you pull it out?

-I was doing the cupboards

to take to a car boot. And I saw it there,

and I gave it to my grandson. He wanted it, so I gave it to him.

So when I see "Flog It!", I asked him if he still had it,

-and brought it...

-It might be worth a couple of bob!

-Yes.

It would be for him, anyway.

Well, there is an increasing market in this type of memorabilia.

It's never been a thing of high quality,

but then, these things weren't.

I would say it's in good condition, cos it's been in a jar

-for 40-odd years!

-Yes.

What about price, Vera?

If you were taking it to a car boot sale, what would you sell it for?

-I wouldn't take it to a car boot!

-You wouldn't?

-No.

I think, if we estimate it between £30 and £40,

it will appeal to Beatles collectors

in the room, but it will also go on the internet,

so we're appealing to a wider market, and it will find its own level.

-Are you happy to sell it at that price?

-Yes, please.

Let's put it to sale, let the market decide, and let's hope that it does very well.

Let's have another look at what we have to tempt the bidders.

There's no doubting the authenticity of the Beatles belt.

Vera put it away in a jar, in 1964!

The rare mark should convince the bidders of the quality

of the Prattware plate.

Michael's mother's powder bowl wasn't all he thought it was.

It was made too recently to have belonged to Napoleon's Josephine.

But it's the age of the slides that should attract interest

in this magic lantern.

Here we are at Baffins Hall - a lovely old converted chapel,

in the historic town of Chichester - for our auction.

It's home of Henry Adams Auctioneers. Let's go and see today's auctioneer, Leslie Weller,

and see what he's got to say about some of our owners' items,

and our expects' valuations.

This is interesting. I've never seen one before,

so I had to get expert advice, so to speak, to put a valuation on it!

We all concluded £30, maybe, but I've stuck my neck out,

and said £50, with a bit of discretion, and hopefully get £70.

It belongs to Michael. It's a powder flask.

And it's feminine, and quite beautiful. I do like it.

It's certainly very interesting.

I've not come across this before,

but it's interesting because, first of all, the fleur-de-lis scattered all over it,

and quite an interesting coat of arms on the top.

I think it will sell. Um, it's...

I would have thought very late 19th century.

But it's the powder blue, it's the whole look, the shape,

everything about it just says quality.

You're so right.

That's what collecting's all about -

recognising something because of the quality.

It's its beauty. And that's not a lot of money.

If someone can spend £50 to £70 on that, I think they've done well.

-We've done well too!

-I agree.

-Michael will be pleased.

-Good.

Vera, we're just two lots away from flogging, hopefully, your Beatles belt.

£30-40. The pressure's on, isn't it? The pressure's on!

Will we do it? We need pop pickers in the audience.

We need old Beatles fans. Are you an old Beatles fan?

-I am. I love the Beatles.

-I was the Rolling Stones myself.

Good luck. Where did you get the tan? Have you been on holiday?

On holiday and in the garden.

-Where did you go on holiday?

-Tenerife.

-Lovely.

-Do you go there every year?

-No.

-First time then?

-No, second. Really enjoyed it.

It's going under the hammer now.

Lot 236, the black leather belt with a picture of the Beatles

in the buckle, and I'm bid £10 for the commission bid.

10. 12. 15. 18.

20. 22. 25.

28. 30.

At £30. I'll take 2 again. At £30.

At £30. Selling at 30.

-Brilliant. I'm ever so pleased.

-So am I.

-You get slightly worried,

-because we're in a fine art and antique sale...

-That's right.

..and this is pop memorabilia.

-But we did it. Just proves you can put things in most sales.

-Yes.

-Happy with that?

-Yes, thank you.

-That'll buy a few drinks.

-No, it's for my grandson.

-Really?

-What are you going to buy him? Or just put it in his piggy bank?

-Yes.

-What's his name?

-Lewis.

-Lewis, there you go. 30 quid.

THEY LAUGH

Next up, Robert's Prattware plate is about to go under the hammer.

We're looking at £60-100, somewhere around there.

Let's hope we can get over that! Why are you flogging this?

This has been in the family a long time - part of your heritage.

It doesn't fit into what we've got at home and it's just been sitting in the attic in newspaper.

At least it's been protected,

-so it's not been damaged.

-It hasn't.

-Condition, condition, condition.

-That's what we always say on Flog It.

-Absolutely.

-It's got everything about it.

-It's really nice.

Now we come to lot 169,

the mid 19th century Prattware plate,

-and lots of interest here. I shall start at £50.

-Good.

-55.

60. 65. 70. 75.

80. 85. 90. 100.

110. 120. At £120.

I'll take 30, quickly. Selling at 120.

Well, we did it. We got 120, just over the top end of the estimate.

-What are you going to put that towards, less the bidder commission?

-My daughter's saving up for a car...

-Is she?

-So that'll help her a bit.

-Her first car?

-Yeah.

What a lovely dad!

-Good result.

-Fantastic. That's good.

My turn to be the expert, with Michael's powder bowl.

I said £50-70. Had a chat with the auctioneer earlier.

You know this. Michael doesn't. But Leslie there said he likes it.

It's got class, it's got quality.

He's not seen many before.

-He agrees with the value.

-Oh, right.

That's good, isn't it? Have you brought the magnifying glass?

-He goes everywhere with it.

-My Sherlock Holmes.

-I've got my eye on you.

-Have you got your eye on anything here?

I'd love to, but I'm not going to. I've got enough br... objets d'art.

-You nearly said bric-a-brac.

-Nearly! I nearly did.

And now we come to an unusual lot,

the circular bowl and cover, and you'll start me where?

£30. 30 to start with? 20.

20 I'm bid. £20.

And 2. 25.

28. 30. £30.

-At 30. I'll take 2 again.

-It's struggling.

-It is, isn't it?

32. 35.

-Come on, bidders.

-I'll take 8.

£35. Have you made up your minds? I'll take 8 anywhere, quickly.

-Didn't sell.

-No. Well...

I'm so surprised.

I'm really surprised.

I don't particularly want to take it back, but I can put it into another auction.

I think the best thing to do then is to leave it with the auction house and re-enter it into another sale.

Hopefully we'll work up some magic with this magic lantern and slides.

We've got a valuation of £100-200.

I've just been joined by Robert and his wife Annie, who couldn't make the valuation day.

I understand that the magic lantern's been stored in the bedroom and you want to get rid of it.

-Happy with the valuation?

-Yes.

Let's hope we get that top end.

Let's put some pressure on our expert. We've seen them do well.

It isn't a particularly good lantern but the slides are interesting

-and we have three lovely moveable ones.

-We're going to find out now

because they are going under the hammer. This is it.

The magic lantern with a collection of boxed and other slides.

I'm bid £80 to start.

85. 90. 100.

110. 120. 140. 160. 180.

200. The bidding's on the gallery at 200.

At £200, or I'll take 20 quickly. I'm selling at 200.

-Nice round figure.

-That was good.

Who decided to flog it then?

I did. It had been in my family for 60 years

-and I think it's time they went to somebody who could show them as a slideshow.

-And enjoy them.

Just got fed up looking at them. What will you put the £200 towards?

I'm sure my grandson will benefit!

Thank you so much for coming in.

-Now...I want you to do something for me.

-I'm here to be used.

-Good.

I want you to spend the next 24 hours in an intensive study

-of Chinese pottery.

-Chinese pottery?

Yes, Watson. British Museum, London Library, plenty of the night oil.

-Now come along.

-I...I...

-There's not a moment to lose. Hurry!

To the British Museum.

I've come, not to the British Museum, but to Portsmouth Museum

to do a bit of my own detective work concerning Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,

creator of perhaps the world's greatest private investigator.

The character Sherlock Holmes was conceived here in Portsmouth

and this inspired one of the world's leading authorities and leading collectors, Richard Lancelyn Green,

to leave his entire collection of Arthur Conan Doyle memorabilia

to Portsmouth City Council.

And there are well over 40,000 different items in his collection.

And he left them on his death in the year 2004.

This is just one

of the 500 boxes it took to bring the entire collection here.

You can imagine 500 of these stacked up on top of each other

and they weigh an absolute ton.

There's been plenty of unpacking so far and there's more to do, and more cataloguing to do.

I'm going to talk to the collection director, Dr Neil McCaw,

to find out exactly what they've found so far.

Portsmouth City Council must have been so delighted

-when this collection came here. Do you think Arthur Conan Doyle would have approved?

-I think he would.

Portsmouth was the place where he wrote the first two Sherlock Holmes novels.

This is a first edition of the very first Sherlock Holmes novel,

-so it's the birthplace of Sherlock Holmes.

-Yes.

What brought him to Portsmouth? He trained as a doctor in Edinburgh.

He did. Then he moved to Plymouth and tried his luck there with a friend of his, but they fell out

and Conan Doyle decided that he'd go it alone as a GP,

so he took a coastal steamer to Portsmouth, with a little money and nowhere to live, and had a go.

And made a jolly good go of it. I gather he was a bit of a sportsman.

Yeah, he was gifted in a number of sports. We've got some boxing gloves.

He was a very gifted heavyweight fighter. He was also a cricketer.

Here's a picture of him when he was playing against WG Grace...

-That is WG Grace.

-It is, who he famously bowled out at one point.

-Did he?

-He did.

-I see you've got some skiing pictures here.

One of the things Conan Doyle is also famous for is he introduced

skiing into Switzerland as a pastime, as a sporting activity.

Obviously people in Switzerland were aware of skiing before he was there,

but he, with a couple of friends, introduced the idea that skiing could be a leisure activity.

And there he is there, look.

-Wrestling with a ski.

-Yeah!

PAUL LAUGHS

Like many celebrated people, Conan Doyle felt he was famous for the wrong thing.

The Sherlock Holmes stories were something he knocked out when he had to pay the bills.

He considered his important books were his historical novels

and his science fiction, like The Lost World.

That's why he killed Sherlock Holmes off to start with in the late 19th century,

cos he was just of fed up with him.

But then the pressure of publishers offering him a huge amount of money,

he brought him back to life.

Now, is it true,

was he into spiritualism?

Yeah, he was. He first went to a spiritualist church when he lived in Portsmouth

but it wasn't until after the Great War, when he lost a brother and he lost a son,

-that he became really interested in contacting...

-The other side.

-Yeah.

And this continued for the rest of his life

and he became the leading advocate for spiritualism in the world

and even after his death, they held a seance at the Albert Hall

with the hope of bringing Sir Arthur back. His family were there

and 6,000 other people turned up and they left a chair empty on the stage

-with the hope that Arthur would turn up at the end of the evening.

-Did he?

He wasn't available. HE CHUCKLES

Neil, do you have a favourite item in the collection?

There are a number... I suppose my very favourite is this here.

This is a letter from President Franklin D Roosevelt

accepting membership to the American Sherlock Holmes Society.

One of the most interesting things about that is that it's dated 1942,

so right in the middle of the war when you would have thought

-Roosevelt would have been interested in other things...

-Yeah.

-..he's most interested in Sherlock Holmes.

He says at the bottom,

"I've had to give up cruising on the Potomac. I sometimes go off the record on Sundays

"to an undisclosed retreat.

"The group of cabins that shelter the Secret Service men is known as Baker Street."

Oh, brilliant. How about that.

The scope of the collection is absolutely huge. It's monumental.

What sort of value would you put on it?

Well it's very difficult to put a monetary value on it.

The individual items are very valuable.

This first edition is probably as valuable as a small house.

But the real value of the collection is that it's kept together,

that it isn't hived off individually,

-that in its entirety, it's at its most valuable.

-Yeah. Another great thing is that it's here,

so future generations can appreciate it and come and look at it and marvel over it.

Neil, thank you very much. It's been a pleasure.

Back at the valuation day, our very own sleuths have found plenty to investigate.

Whenever we're talking about Art Deco and glass

the combination of Art Deco and glass means one name - Lalique.

And that's what we have here.

We see lots of Lalique on "Flog It!"

We all know the history - he used to be a jeweller, worked in France.

He started to make glass in the 1920s and this is a piece that you see regularly

in the auction rooms.

Tell me, is this a family piece?

-Is it something you've had a long time?

-Yes, it's my mother's. She's had it in her cupboard for ages,

for as long as I can remember. Yes.

At the end of the day, it's a piece of moulded glass.

But it's the design that's so fantastic about it.

-It's very clever.

-Incredibly clever with these four big over-sized scallop shells.

This opaque glass. Lovely colour.

And here we have a pattern called "coquille".

A pattern that was made in the 1930s,

and probably the most common of all the Lalique patterns.

It's also signed,

"R Lalique". Lalique died in 1945.

After he died, it was marked "R. Lalique" and R in a circle.

So this is in his heyday, height of popularity.

What do you think it's worth?

-Um, I don't know. No idea at all.

-No?

-No.

If we put £180-250 on it, would that be OK for you?

-That would be lovely.

-Yeah?

-That would be lovely. Thank you.

I like to see a smiling face after an evaluation.

Jolly good.

Why are you selling it?

Um, my mother is having a little clear-out.

Um, she's getting on and she wants to have a holiday,

she wants us all to have a holiday in Wales.

-OK.

-And, you know, a big family holiday like we used to years ago, when we were younger.

Well it's a good bowl and, really, if we can't sell a bit of Lalique

then we can't sell anything. So fingers crossed on the day and I'm sure it'll do well.

-Let's take it along and see what happens.

-Right. Thank you.

-See you there.

-Thank you very much.

Angie, a Double Diamond works wonders!

Is this going to work wonders for us?

I hope so.

THEY LAUGH

Now, one of the things I like about Beswick is that the designers

-had a sense of humour.

-Mm-hm.

And that's what this wee chap is all about.

Tell me, where did you get him?

Um, well he was in my husband's grandmother's cottage

and unfortunately she passed away and he inherited it.

So where has it been? Has it been on display?

Only in a glass cabinet for years.

-So it's never been used?

-No. Not at all.

Have you ever tasted Double Diamond?

-No.

-Are you a gin and tonic woman?

-No. Maybe vodka and coke.

-All right.

Well, as I said before, he is Beswick.

Now, he's not an early Beswick, but he is characteristic in that he is a lot of fun.

I would say 1950s, 1960s - that sort of period.

And he's certainly very charming, also functional - he's a water jug -

and Beswick is very popular at the moment. It's one of the things which is hot.

This we would put under the title of an advertising item,

and there are people who collect that type of thing.

Why do you want to sell him? He's a family piece, is he not?

Well no, not really, because we've got so many pieces...

-You've got so much junk?

-Yeah, to get rid of, actually.

ANITA LAUGHS

But he's just sat in the cabinet doing nothing and I've got some of my mother's stuff to replace him anyway

to go in the cabinet.

Now, Angie, he's not rare,

but he's a good factory, he is collectible.

I would like to put the value at between £60 and £80.

Would you be happy to sell him at that?

Yes, it would be marvellous.

I think we'll put him in the auction, we'll put a reserve on say, 55 on him

just to protect him.

-That's lovely.

-OK?

-Yes.

-So thank you very much for bringing him in.

He's a lovely wee chappy.

Jeanette, when I came down to Portsmouth

I was hoping to find something nautical, something of naval interest

and I'm not sure about this.

Let's take the lid off and have a look.

What can you tell me about that?

Many years ago, I did gardening for a very old gentleman

and just before he died, he gave me that.

Which I've really loved, but now I've moved into a granny annexe with my daughter and her family,

um, I don't have it on show or anything, and I feel it should be of interest to someone,

so here I am.

-I think it's lovely.

-Do you?

It's one of these things that from the outside

-it just looks like a tatty little circular box...

-Mm-hm.

..that could have nothing or something inside.

And you take the lid off and there we have this watch glass in the top.

If you hold it, it has this convex...

-glass on the top.

-I've never noticed that before.

Just a little detail.

Much, much, much better than having just a flat glass.

And then offset to the centre is this pivoting compass.

But it's not a compass in the true sense.

It has "evening", "morning"...

"night" and "noon".

And it has this little indicator arm in the same way

-as you would have an indicator arm on a sundial.

-Right.

And look at all these little places around the outside.

Fascinating.

This is an enamel dial on the side

and that's enamelled as well.

What an interesting thing!

I found it fascinating. When he actually gave it to me

he had several things on like a little dresser thing,

and he said to pick any one I'd like.

And I thought that was, although didn't really know what it was,

-I thought it was quite fascinating.

-It is.

It's really, really interesting.

And the more you look at it, the more interesting it becomes.

And inside the cover there's a paper label.

It says twelve months of the year with its times...

"Slow and fast" it says to each one.

-I suppose date-wise it's gonna be...around 1800.

-Is it?

This is George III, made in box wood.

The outside's in box wood. It's lovely!

Has a real feel to it, too.

Estimate - just as an object, that is gonna be worth £70-£100.

-Mm-hm.

-Is that all right for you?

Oh, absolutely.

-I'd pay £70 for that.

-Mm.

-I think a lot of other people would.

-I'm sure you're right.

It's a really interesting object.

70-100, but I might come up with something totally different on the sale day.

And before that, I'll do some research

and I'll contact the sale room and we'll discuss it

and see if we can do some more work on it.

And we might have a change of estimate before the sale.

-It's a shame just to be at home in a drawer, isn't it?

-It is.

-It's so interesting.

-Lovely.

-Thanks for bringing it in.

-Thank you, James, very much.

And now for a quick recap.

Sue's classic bit of Art Deco design, the Lalique bowl,

should do really well.

Anita's hoping the Beswick Double Diamond water jug

will work wonders for Angela.

Further research into the mysterious dial

has convinced James to put a higher valuation of £200-£250 on it.

But will Leslie, our auctioneer agree?

Leslie, this has to be one of my favourite lots of the whole sale.

You know I love treen. And you love treen as well.

It belongs to Jeanette.

She was given this by a man who she used to garden for.

I don't know exactly what it is. You have to help me pronounce it.

-I believe it's called an equinoptical.

-Yes.

An equinoctial dial.

Um, basically, it's a compass

and around the edge you've got the names of all the major cities

in the world.

Having got the compass you can then tell exactly what the time is

in each of those.

-It's great for somebody that wants to do a lot of travelling.

-Exactly.

And a pocket one, too.

It's absolutely brilliant. I adore it.

What sort of money is this gonna do?

Will it eclipse that 250 top end?

-I've never seen one before.

-I've seen ONE before.

They're not very common.

I know they've got one at Greenwich for instance.

Let's hope the collectors in this sort of thing

will actually see it either on the internet or through a catalogue,

-or through the grapevine...

-I'm sure it's been advertised.

-It has.

All points of the compass, north, south, east, west.

Well done! Yes!

No, it's a good item.

And I hope that it will make the top estimate.

It's difficult to say, because there are no records of them being sold

-in the last few years.

-Could this be a little sleeper?

I think it could be.

Sue, I'm hoping Lalique collectors are here today.

We love this glass. We've seen it on the show many a time,

and it's always sold, so there should be no excuses today.

£180, £220, £250, somewhere around there.

Yeah, should be about there. Makes the same every single time.

-Fingers crossed!

-Why are you flogging the Lalique?

It's my mother's and she's having a massive clear-out.

Downsizing.

So, we thought we'd try and see what we could do.

Start with the Lalique. You're starting with the best.

Good luck, Sue. This is it, it's going under the hammer.

A Lalique opalescent circular glass bowl

and £100 to start me.

80 I'm bid.

85, 90.

95, 100, 110? 120?

At 120. I'll take 30 for the next bid.

130, 140.

-At £140.

-Ooh!

-I'll take 50 for the next bid.

At £140. Bidding there at 140.

-Not sold.

-Didn't sell.

That is the first piece of Lalique I have ever valued that hasn't sold.

-Oh!

-In 15 years!

That is incredible.

-Did we have a fixed reserve of 150?

-150, yeah. But it's worth that!

-Yeah.

-There's no question of that.

-Gosh!

-Bidders weren't here. That's all.

It was the only piece of 20th century glass here.

There was no other Art glass at all.

No other Art Deco at all, so...

-Try it in a specialist sale, I think.

-We tried.

Look after it. Take it home and put it in another sale

in a few months' time.

-If you put it in a sale locally...

-We've got a few other items,

-perhaps we can do that all together.

-Don't re-enter it straight away.

Because people might think it's doing the rounds.

All right. We'll do that. Thank you very much.

Just been joined by Angie and our lovely expert in the nick of time.

We've got that Double Diamond water jug going under the hammer.

-Ever drunk the stuff?

-No.

We need £60-£80, so good luck with this.

It's going under the hammer right now.

The Beswickware Double Diamond water jug.

What more could you want?

Cheers all round, if this one goes.

£30 then. 30 I'm bid. And 5.

40, 45. 50, 55.

Lady's bid at 55.

I'll take 60 for the next bid. 60.

Thank you, 60. 65? 65.

At 65. The lady's bid again.

At £65. At 65, and selling at 65.

Fantastic! The hammer's gone down. Well done, Anita.

Bang on mid-estimate. £65, were you surprised at that?

-Yes, I was.

-Brewing memorabilia is very collectable, isn't it?

What are you gonna put that money towards?

It doesn't actually belong to me, it's my husband's jug.

He inherited it, so he might take me out for a drink or something on it...

A little bit of supper maybe!

To treat you, you've done all the hard work.

That's fine.

Angie, thanks very much for coming in.

This next lot is a real gem

and I'm so pleased for Jeanette for bringing it in.

I've learnt something - an equinoctial dial

or equinocial dial. I think you drop the C in it.

-Do you? I don't know.

-You drop out a C.

Equinotial, equinotial, something like that.

Who knows? I don't. Write in and tell me, please.

It's an absolute little gem.

-Hopefully we're gonna get that £280 mark.

-It's lovely.

It's good treen with a scientific instrument.

I had a chat with the auctioneer earlier.

We all agree with your valuation,

but we do feel, if two people really get carried away on this,

collectors of scientific instruments or treen objects,

it really is a lovely man's toy. It's a desktop toy, isn't it?

It could do the £400-£500 mark.

On the valuation day, I think I put £70-£100 on it to start with,

and the more you looked at it, the more you feel it -

the wonderful colour, as you say it's got the rub.

The rub, the touch.

And you can tell the time all around the world from wherever you are!

-As long as the sun's shining.

-Magnificent!

-It's just a fantastic object.

-It's a real gem.

Thank you so much for bringing it in. I'd never seen one before.

Nor me. I'd never seen one.

-And this is the beauty of "Flog It!" You learn so much.

-You must do.

Right now, we're gonna learn exactly what it's worth,

right now, right here in Chichester.

Good luck. It's going under the hammer.

This small rare 19th century travelling equinoctial dial -

there we are, showing to you on the left there -

and you'll start me at £80.

80, I'm bid. 80 and 5?

£90. 95?

100, 110, 120.

130, 140, 150.

160, 170, 180.

190, 200. 200. £200?

210, 220.

250, thank you. 250.

260, 270, 280.

290. 290 I'm bid. 300. 310?

-320 with me.

-They want it!

330, 340, 350 with me again.

360? 360.

At 360, the gentleman's bid then.

At 360? 370, thank you.

370. £370.

Selling at 370.

Yes! 370.

-That is brilliant!

-It is!

-That is almost double your estimate.

-That's brilliant.

Ever so pleased for you. Ever so pleased for you.

All right, isn't it?

What will you put that money towards?

Because we've had our garden reorganised,

we want to buy a stone dog, a garden ornament.

-Not a real one?

-No, not a real one.

-They like gardens!

-I know.

-Like a big stone one! A tall statue.

-A massive one.

Hopefully that'll go part of the way in getting that,

-or most of it, you never know.

-It'll go part way to getting it.

-So, delighted!

-Every time you look at that,

you can think of that little scientific instrument.

As you can see, the auction has literally just finished,

and what a cracking day we've had.

Some mixed results, but I've gotta say,

the smile on Jeanette's face was absolutely out of this world,

with that treen dial - see, I've got away without saying its proper name,

selling for a staggering £370.

That made the news, reaching the four points of the compass.

Join me next time for plenty more surprises 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

E-mail [email protected]