Melksham Flog It!

We're in Melksham in Wiltshire.

This town was a playground for the Norman kings.

Today, we're going to have some fun, because Flog It is in town.

On the west of the county of Wiltshire,

Melksham was once a clearing in the middle of a vast royal forest

where, for hundreds of years, England's monarchs came to hunt.

The chase is still alive and kicking.

With this queue and our experts Philip Serrell and David Barby,

we're in for a sporting chance

of uncovering some fantastic antiques.

It's 9.30, time to get the doors open. Let's see what we can uncover.

Ready to go inside? Yeah! Come on.

The people are pouring in, and some are in for an emotional ride.

I shall start crying!

Well, that was good!

Ooh, what have I done?

So, without further ado, let's crack on with the first valuation.

-Jan, how are you?

-Fine, thanks.

Jan, what are your views on this housekeeping lark?

Do you like polishing?

-I clean and polish what I have to.

-It's not in the "have to" category?

-They're not on my shelf.

-Where are they?

I found them in a box.

I thought, "Ooh!"

They've got a hallmark on the back.

-You think that's a hallmark?

-Oh. Yeah.

-That's what I see on Flog It.

-What would a hallmark tell us?

-Where it was made.

-OK. The first one...

-the leopard's head, that tells us it was assayed in London.

-Oh. OK.

-What else do they tell us?

-Then, the date.

That's that letter C.

That tells us that it was assayed in London in 1898.

-There's another two. What are they for?

-The quality of the silver?

That's that lion passant, a lion looking sideways.

That tells us that it's silver.

Then that's the maker's stamp, which is Gibson and Langman.

-And they're well known?

-They're a good firm.

-Reasonable.

The thing I like about these is there's a bit of weight to them.

-They're not hugely valuable.

-No.

-Or hugely collectable.

-Jan, there are lots of people like you...

-Don't want to clean them.

-It's work to clean them.

-With all these bits, yes.

-What do you think they're worth? Given it any thought?

-Not really.

-Ten quid?

-Well...

-Well!

-If you told me truthfully...

Have I got an honest face?

I'm not so sure. You look as though... You look a bit grumpy.

-Grumpy?

-(LAUGHING) Yeah, you did.

I'd believe you if you said £10 each.

-You want to flog them, don't you?

-I do.

-We should put them into auction with an estimate of £50 to £80.

-Lovely.

-We should put a fixed reserve on them of £40.

-That would be super.

-I have to say I think that's cheap.

-You do?

-I do.

If you went to buy these new now,

-I suspect they might cost you £400.

-Oh, my gosh!

-I'd like to own them.

Of their type, they're a very good example.

-You happy with that, then?

-Oh, yes.

-No more polishing?

-No!

-You know what would happen if I took them home.

-Back in the box.

-Yeah.

-Let's get them sold.

-Yeah.

These are quite unusual for a chap to bring in, little doll figures.

-Where do they come from?

-I believe they're my father's mother's.

When Dad passed away, we found these in a cardboard box in the loft.

My wife put them in a china cabinet, where they don't match anything.

I think they're quite charming, in inverted commas.

-I personally wouldn't want to own them.

-Nor do I.

Hence, flogging it! I find them rather fussy.

Today's fashion is for more streamlined Art Deco 1950s style.

The heyday for these

was 10 or 15 years ago.

They're known as "piano dolls".

They'd sit on pianos as decorative elements. Where were they made?

I think they were made in Germany.

There is a mark, but it's difficult to see. It's impressed.

The impressed mark is like the mark on the back of a doll's head,

for a company called Heubach.

This is the mark for 1882, 1886.

That sort of period. Heubach produced some very attractive dolls.

I like the pulling off the socks!

How many times have you seen babies pull their socks off?

There is damage.

This hand has been glued back,

and we've lost a finger.

We've got to put a price to attract people.

These will find a market. There are collectors of piano dolls.

I think if we put a price in the region of, say, 80 to 100.

Maybe a reserve of about 60? Is that going to make you happy?

-That's fine.

-Is it just a matter of getting rid of them?

-Bit of both!

-£60's not life-changing.

-A tank of petrol.

-That's about it.

-I hope, at the auction, we'll get piano doll collectors.

-So do I.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-Mary, how are you?

-All right.

-Who's this?

-My grandson, Ben.

-How old are you?

-11.

-Are you interested in antiques?

-A bit.

Hopefully, a bit more after this. What have you got in here?

-It's a ring which was left to me by my mother.

-Can I look?

-Please do.

-Do you know what this is?

-Opal. Fire opal.

A fire opal. People call these Mexican fire opals.

They're called because of the colour they transport through light.

If you move it around, you see that luminescent fire.

It's simply polished. Not cut but set into this clamp-like setting.

That's really exactly what it is.

It's an Edwardian fire opal ring.

-One of the things that amazes me is how small their fingers were.

-Mmm.

-I don't think I've got podgy hands. Their fingers were minute.

-Very slim.

-Why do you want to sell it?

It doesn't fit me, and when it did, you're frightened of losing it.

-Yeah.

-My daughter doesn't want it, so...

-You're not going to wear it?

-No!

-Certainly not.

In terms of value, we can estimate it at £100 to £150.

-Right.

-And you might get a pleasant surprise at the auction.

A fixed reserve on it of £80.

-Right.

-And let's hope it does really well.

-Say it does £150, what would you spend it on?

-Probably the grandchildren. They'd be treated.

Ben, if it was yours and it made £150, what would you spend it on?

-Probably some new football things. I love football.

-Who do you support?

-Man United.

-Blimey! Good job I don't understand football.

-I hope it goes really well for both of you.

-Thank you.

Joan, these are remarkably clean vases.

Have you taken great pride in cleaning these over the years?

-No.

-Oh.

-I cleaned them yesterday.

-Specially for us?

-Yeah.

-Well done.

-What were they like before?

-Black.

-So where had they been?

-In a cupboard wrapped up.

-Where did they come from?

-I inherited them from a relation.

-They were black.

-And remained black until a few days ago!

-Yeah!

These are unbelievably elegant.

Lovely, lovely silver pieces.

They were, I suppose, exclusively

produced for ladies who wanted delicate flower arrangements.

Maybe orchids from the hothouse.

These come from a well-to-do

middle-class home of the Edwardian period.

-Right.

-Think in terms of an Edwardian table.

Set for supper. These at either end.

-Probably, candles in between.

-Yeah.

-Today, people put candles in.

Those sort of oasis rings, then flower arrangements around.

There's a market for these.

-They're lovely.

-Yeah.

There is slight damage here and there.

Not too detrimental, but it is there.

-I think we're looking at about £60 to £80. I hope more.

-Right.

That sort of market.

-Would you be interested in selling them at that?

-I would, yes.

You're fed up with cleaning them once every 40 years?

That's right. Yeah.

I'm not certain whether we want to put a reserve on,

or whether we just let them run at the sale?

-Um... Just let them go.

-Let them go?

-Please, yeah.

-So whatever we get, you'll be happy?

-Yes. Thank you very much.

-If they don't reach that price, you'll give me "what for".

-Yeah!

-This is yours?

-It belonged to my mother, well, my mother and father.

-Yeah.

Not entirely sure when they got it or whether it was a present or...

Yeah. But do you like it?

I love it. I do love it, but...

-Why have you brought it along today to Flog It!?

-Well, we've inherited a lot of things

-since my mum passed away...

-Yeah.

-And we can't keep everything.

-Yep.

And although it's absolutely gorgeous, it's very difficult

to display, being a plate.

Right. Any why do you think I should get excited about this?

-Well, it's Lalique.

-Yeah.

-And the iridescence on it is absolutely gorgeous.

-Yeah.

And the pattern, so...

-Well, all of these designs were sort of themed upon water.

-Yeah.

And his marks, if I can just hold it up, you can see his signature just there,

R Lalique, and that's a stencilled mark.

Sometimes it's moulded so it's in relief and sometimes it's in script

as a signature. He died in 1945, and I would think that

this particular plate would date to about 1925 or there or thereabouts.

-Really? That early?

-Yeah.

I think to display these properly, rather than put them down like that,

you should actually mount them up and perhaps have a light...

-Absolutely.

-..shining through them.

This opalescence or iridescence,

if you feel the back of it, it's different levels and layers.

Yes, it's quite tactile, isn't it?

It is, but this milky colour at the back here, the thickness of the glass

-as it cools...

-Mmm.

-..clearly the thin bits cool a lot quicker than the fat bits.

-Yeah.

And that's what makes these milkier and it causes this iridescence.

So it's nothing actually in the glass?

-No, it's just the speed at which it cools.

-Right.

-OK?

So you've got here a plate by Rene Lalique, 1925, what is it worth?

Well, we really didn't have any idea.

We obviously saw the Lalique stamp, so knew that, you know...

-It's worth something, yes.

-Yeah.

I think that you should put an estimate on this of £120 to £180.

-Mm-hm.

-And I think that it could go and sell, and sell quite well,

but I think you need to put a fixed reserve on it of £90. Clearly,

if it doesn't make £90, you want it back and you should have it back.

I think it'll just do fine, particularly if we can illustrate it

-and the catalogue's on the web.

-Yeah.

-How does that sound?

-Lovely.

-Yeah?

-Sounds great.

-Good. What are you going to spend the money on?

Well, maybe a bit of a family get-together in memory of my mum.

-Oh, that's nice.

-Yeah, that would be nice.

-That's nice.

Before we head off to the auction with our first batch of valuations,

here's a brief reminder of what we're taking with us.

Passed on to her by her parents, Jo's decided

to let her unwanted Lalique plate head straight to the saleroom,

knowing that a famous name commands a good price.

We obviously saw the Lalique stamp, so knew that...

-..it's worth something.

-Yeah.

Jan's hoping she'll never have to polish those silver dishes again.

But will they clean up at the auction?

David had mixed feelings about Rob's piano dolls.

I personally wouldn't want to own them.

Nor do I.

Will Phillip be right about Mary's fire opal ring?

Will it set the room alight?

And David's definitely putting his neck on the line

when it comes to Joan's silver vases.

If they don't reach that price, you can give me what for.

I will do, yeah.

Will he end up regretting those words?

For today's auction, we're guests of Henry Aldridge & Son in Devizes.

Let's hope it's a full house and they'll be bidding on our lots.

Our auctioneers are father and son team Alan and Andrew Aldridge.

Fair warning.

We've got some real quality for you right now.

It's the top name in glass, Rene Lalique, and it's a wonderful plate.

-It belongs to Jo.

-That's right.

-What I want to know is,

why are you selling this? It's so gorgeous.

They're difficult to display though, aren't they?

And it's a bit vulnerable being glass, so...

somebody else will want it and will know how to display it properly.

-Great name.

-Lalique glass, it's the one to have isn't it?

-Yes.

-Fingers crossed?

-Yes.

Now you're going to have a big party with the money, aren't you?

Well, I don't know about a big party,

-but go towards some drink at a party wouldn't it?

-Why is that?

Well, my mother passed away last year and it was her plate,

so it'll go towards something for the family.

-The family.

-Yeah.

-Good idea.

-Fingers crossed, Jo.

-Yeah.

-This is it.

The Rene Lalique piece of art glass.

Very pretty little piece, this.

Very simple, very nice piece.

Right, 50 I've got. 50, I've got 60, 60.

70, 80, 90, 100.

110? 100, 110 seated,

120, 130?

120. 130 anywhere else quickly?

130, 140...

-More, come on.

-150?

What about 145?

145, 150, 155?

150, 150 on my left.

Any more? At 150.

£150, that is great.

-Yeah.

-Now it's down to have a good party?

-Absolutely, yes.

-That's wonderful. Thank you both very much.

-Enjoy.

-Thank you.

-I expect our invites will be in the post, Paul.

Hopefully.

Joan's playing a dangerous game.

Two silver vases, £60 to £80 valuation, but no reserve.

Oh! What have I done?

-You're obviously confident they're going to do well.

-Yes.

They're nice tapering vases for freesias or carnations.

-So why are you selling them?

-I don't like them.

-You don't like cleaning silver?

-No.

You don't have to cos they're going under the hammer right now.

385, the silver bud vases.

These are very pretty. Birmingham 1909, very elegant.

Somewhere around about £80. 50? 50 I've got. 50 I've got.

On the maiden, they shan't dwell. 55. 60.

Five? 70...?

They've reached estimate.

..at £70.

Hammer went down quickly. Blink and you'll miss that.

-I know. Gosh!

-Great estimate!

-Bang-on. Yes.

-It was, yeah.

-£70.

-Thank you very much.

Mary, Ben, it's good to see you. The tension's building.

It's your lot coming up.

-Is he a good grandson?

-Yes. He's great.

-He's the best!

-Yes, he is.

-It's an opal ring. Wouldn't suit you.

Philip put a classic £80 on this.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

-Here we go. Watch the auctioneer.

What about this little pretty? A gorgeous little fire opal.

I know you ladies like fire opals. 150 start me. 150?

100? 100 I've got.

110? 120? 130? 140? 150?

-160...?

-That's good, isn't it?

170? 170. Is there 180, quickly?

At 170. At 170. At 170, am I done?

Hammer's gone down. £170. That was quick, wasn't it?

All this waiting around for one minute.

-It was worth it.

-Yes. Very much.

Rob, we're looking at £80 to £100 for the porcelain three piano figurines.

-Which

-I

-like.

-We've seen these figurines on the show before.

-Much larger ones.

This big, to sit over the edge of the piano.

-I must say, the vogue for these was some years ago.

-Yes.

-It's not now.

-What are you saying, David?

They're slightly fussy but there are still collectors of piano dolls.

I think Rob feels the same.

-They don't suit any of the collection at home.

-Not at all.

-Under orders of the missus to get rid of them?

-Something like that.

-They've got to go. You don't want to take them back, do you?

-Not really.

We're going to find out what they make. Here we go.

Lot 120.

19th-century continental porcelain piano dolls.

I'd like £100 for these.

80? 60?

50? 40? 30?

£30 I have. £40 with me.

We're not quite close enough on this one. £40 with me?

45 anywhere else? 45, thank you.

50? 55? Thank you.

-60? 65...?

-Yes!

..Yes? Thank you. £65. 70 anywhere else?

65 in the middle of the room.

I was about to say you'll have to take a bunch of flowers home.

You don't have to now. Tell her the good news.

-Thank you so much for coming in.

-I'm pleased about that.

-So am I!

That was close.

Two silver dishes now. They belong to Joan.

-They've come from America, haven't they?

-Well, they went to...

Went to America then come back. You lived in the States.

-My husband owns a business there.

-He's still there?

-Off and on.

You were in the hurricane in New Orleans.

Yes. We had a lovely house near Lake Pontchartrain.

It had a 25-foot tidal surge.

But, luckily, we weren't flooded, cos of the levee saving it.

But the roof came off, so everything inside got wet and went mouldy.

You couldn't get to it to rip the walls out.

-That's why it went mouldy.

-Where does he live now?

In a trailer in Mississippi, just over the border.

-Are you fixing the house up?

-No.

We did do some repairs and then we sold it.

I have grandchildren here so I spent more time here.

-But you are going back?

-Yeah. And he's just been here.

-He would have been here today.

-What a story!

-It was horrendous.

-You could do with the money. Let's hope we get top dollar.

-I hope so.

-Top dollar! Oh!

-It's going under the hammer.

Again, lovely little piece. Bonbon dish and its companion.

50 start me? 40 get me away? 40.

-Good.

-50?

60? 70? 80?

At £70. 80...

-Yes!

-..Five? 90? Five?

-THEY WHISPER

100? And five?

And ten?

At 105. All going? And ten, he's back.

115? 120?

No.

-15 and gone.

-That's so exciting.

-£115.

-Wonderful.

-That's great.

-That's a good price.

Mind you, a lot of people are investing in silver right now.

-It's the time to put your money into precious metals.

-Beats bits of paper.

Beats bits of paper! It does! Beats pensions.

-I'm really excited!

-That's good.

-Yes.

I thought if I got 40 it would be wonderful. I'm really pleased!

Thanks for coming in. I hope all goes well in New Orleans.

-Thank you ever so much.

-Thank you, my love.

I'm glad you're smiling.

Later, a family face up to a tough decision.

Would you like to keep one in case it does sell?

No, cos I shall cry all the time!

The market town of Devizes lies in the heart of Wiltshire.

Just outside this picturesque rural market town

lies stunning landscape and scenery.

I'm sounding a little biased because I live in the county,

but believe me, there's no other place like it.

I'm privileged to meet an artist whose captivating landscapes

manage to portray this magical, mystical part of the world.

He does it so perfectly.

He's one of our leading contemporary artists and his name's David Inshaw.

He's perhaps known for being a founding member

of the Brotherhood of Ruralists,

a group of artists including Peter Blake and Graham Ovendon,

who came together in 1975,

reacting against the abstract expressionism and pop art

of the post-war period.

They sought to return to a more traditional pastoral style,

celebrating nature and rural life.

David's love affair with the English countryside has endured,

but how does it continue to inspire his work?

Looking at your work, I can clearly see you're a British romantic.

You love the countryside and landscape, especially Wiltshire.

Yes.

What year did you move to Devizes and did it influence your career?

Well, it did I suppose. Yes.

I moved to Devizes in 1971.

It did in funny ways, really.

The landscape has been fundamental. It's such a magical landscape.

It's near Avebury, Silbury, Stonehenge.

The Vale of Pewsey's one of my favourite places on Earth.

-Can we talk about Silbury Hill?

-Yes.

I've driven along the A4. I came there this morning.

I live three miles down the road. Is it the mystique?

It's a complete mystery. Nobody knows why it's there.

So, to me, it's an enigma.

It's constantly changing. Its shape is constant, obviously.

But in all the weather conditions, day and night, it's different.

-Every moment you see it, it's different.

-Due to the elements.

It marks the passing of time.

How many times have you painted Silbury Hill?

I painted it quite a lot when I first came to live here,

cos it did fascinate me.

And I did some quite big, powerful landscape paintings of it.

It was in the early 1970s, when David moved to the town,

that his work captured the public's imagination.

His 1972 painting, The Badminton Game,

remains one of his most famous.

That was the second painting I did when I came to Devizes.

It's all about sex and being in love with two women at the same time.

It was a personal diary, as most of the paintings are.

That's where the whole collage idea of painting comes from.

All the things in that painting come from various sources...

The texturing and layering.

..to add up to an image.

All the paintings I did in the70s

had that intensive quality.

Just like The Badminton Game, The Cricket Match is a rural scene

with astonishing, painstaking attention to detail.

The landscape is a primary character with its curved hills

looking like they might envelop the players at any moment.

David has been inspired by the work of Thomas Hardy,

particularly the way Hardy used landscapes to reflect human emotion.

Hardy was the key to it all, really.

The way he dealt with landscape fascinated me.

This path in the painting is between the River Frome here

and these on the left are the water meadows.

This is the path that Hardy used to walk along to school,

from where he used to live and on to Dorchester.

It's a magical path. I've known it for years.

I liked it best when the water meadows flooded.

It's very dramatic. The light's low and it's dark.

I started painting this and it seemed OK

but it needed something to sort of spark it.

I suddenly thought of Hardy's thrush, a poem called The Darkling Thrush

about a thrush high in a tree on a winter's day,

belting out its song in an optimistic fashion.

Hardy says, "How could this bird know more about life than I do?

"I just see the dark side of things."

So I put a thrush flying through it.

-It gave it a tremendous kind of life.

-It really does.

I like that there's no resolution in the path. It goes into blackness.

So I quite like that as well.

That's a very Hardy thing. Going into this darkness.

There's work in progress all around us, isn't there?

That's definitely finished, though.

That's definitely finished. Finished quite a long time ago.

It depicts the cliffs at West Bay, in Dorset near Bridport.

That painting depicts the death of a friend and falling in love.

The firework represents falling in love, and the bonfire the death.

They happened simultaneously, so it's a homage to life and death.

There was a series on the beach with the cliffs behind.

I've taken photographs of people on the beach, but I've used friends.

I get them in the studio, into a pose and put it in a painting.

I just collect pictures, I collect images.

I put them together in a collage-like way.

I want that feeling that, if you looked away and looked back,

it would be different, the people have moved on.

But it's frozen and I love that.

And I want to capture that feeling in a painting.

Back at the valuation day in Melksham, the queue keeps on coming.

And David's spotted something rare.

-Bob and Peggy.

-Yes.

-Which side of the family did this come from?

BOB: It came from my side.

-Right.

-We believe it belonged to my grandfather.

He worked in the china trade for a shop in Dorchester.

We think, sometime along the way, he collected that.

How long ago are we talking about, the late 19th century?

-Yes, he must have started work around 1890?

-About 1890.

-This is much earlier.

-Oh, yes.

This dates probably 100 years earlier.

-Oh, does it?

-Yes.

-He must have had some fascination, like myself, with ceramic art.

-Yes.

You know what this is for?

-We think it's for a pocket watch.

-I've got one in my pocket.

There we are.

So, to all intents and purposes, it's a miniature long-case clock.

This is an attractive piece of pottery and it is so early.

It was made in Staffordshire at the turn of the 18th and 19th century.

This would have been made for wealthy farmers,

well-to-do merchant class.

The sort of person that could afford a pocket watch.

It has a lovely naive quality.

Here we have two robed figures

with crowns or coronets.

They could represent figures of time.

We have this figure holding a little hourglass and a lyre.

The other one could represent the hours, the seconds, time passing.

We've got to talk price. Any ideas?

We thought it might be worth perhaps £100?

-Is that because of its age?

-Yes.

-We thought it was old.

-It is old.

It is quite rare. It is quite rare.

I would think we're looking at a price range between £350 and £500.

-That sort of level.

-Yes.

The auctioneer will put a reserve, hopefully you'll agree, of £300.

-Yes.

-And that would be agreeable?

-Yes.

-Would that be a fixed reserve?

I suggest it's a fixed reserve.

That's minus this watch, which goes in my pocket!

Everybody says, "What are you going to do with the money?"

Are you going to buy a real clock or what?

-Have you a large family?

-We'll spend it.

-Yes!

Chris, I'm a big shell collector.

-I spotted that nautilus from over there.

-Oh, right.

But I don't have shells with incredible pen work like that.

Tell me how you got it.

Well, it's been in the family for four generations now.

Major James Carruthers Best acquired it during his travels.

-In the mid-1800s?

-Exactly, yeah.

But look at the detail on it

and look what it attributes to, the Great Western and SS Great Britain.

-That's right. Which is very local for Bristol.

-Yes.

I think you've got something very rare.

Do you know a nautilus shell that size would

have had to have lived to about 100 years old to grow that big?

-Really?

-If you put that into a good maritime sale,

-you might get £400 to £500 for that.

-Wow. OK.

You can call me Charlotte.

Do people abbreviate your name? Do they give you another name?

They don't dare. My parents call me Carlotta.

That sounds very exotic.

I get the occasional "Shurlettes", because round here, it's...

-What do you do for a profession?

-I've got my own gardening business.

-It's a lovely area to be in.

-It is.

Around here is just a beautiful place to work.

I've a job where I make things beautiful, you have a job where you look at beautiful things.

-I'm looking at something now.

-I know.

Did you buy this recently?

I bought it about a year ago at a junk shop in Bath.

-I fell in love with it.

-Do you have a spaniel?

No, I just loves spaniels, and I have always wanted one.

I don't have room for a dog. Sadly, I don't have room for this picture either. It was a bit bonkers.

Oh, right. I think it's extraordinary.

You rarely see this type of work.

-Do you know anything about it?

-All I know is it said on the label, "Crossley mosaic."

I was interested to know what on earth a Crossley mosaic is.

-Basically, it's a form of carpet.

-Oh, right!

It was a technique that was developed in the middle of the 19th century.

-The actual finish is rather like a carpet pile.

-Yes.

I'm not certain whether in fact they produced a huge block,

-and sliced it off rather like...

-Like sticks of rock.

-Exactly.

-Yeah.

-We're talking in terms of the 19th century.

It was very industrial at that particular time.

They were trying to create new novelties.

This is one of the sort of novelties that was produced for a short period.

The only other one I've seen is a Leamington Spa art gallery.

That's in a dilapidated state.

It's quite rare to find them in this condition.

So I've found something fairly rare?

-Well, yes, for its condition.

-Yeah.

-Whether in fact it has a great demand or not...

-Yeah.

People have to have a period house, or be very, very keen on spaniels.

I think it's very nice. I can't imagine that you paid a terrific amount of money for it.

-I probably paid too much. I paid £60 for it.

-Oh, come on,

that's not a lot of money, is it?

I thought I'd pay up to 150 for it when I saw it.

Then I saw 60, and I thought, "Oh, that's half," you know, so...I don't know...

I think it's going to be in the region of

-probably 90 to 140, that sort of price range.

-Right.

-If it does more, I shall be delighted.

-Right.

Obviously, you want to cover it, because you don't want to make a loss on this.

I'm happy to put a reserve of about 75 on it.

A small profit, just to turn it over.

I thought you were going to say 150, or something like that.

There's no room for it in my house and it's a responsibility,

so let somebody else deal with it.

-What would you buy? Would you buy another image?

-This is very silly.

I hate it when people say it on this programme,

I'm putting it towards a holiday rather than another antique.

I'm going on a cruise and I can't find anyone to share my cabin with me!

So I've got to fill up the single supplement.

Well, that was an opening gambit!

-If anyone wants to come along...

-Where is the cruise going?

It's Eastern Mediterranean.

-Oh!

-Venice, Dubrovnik, Split.

-You'll enjoy it.

-I can't wait, it's my first time.

-Let's hope you get 500 for it. Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

Karen and Martin, this is a wonderful album.

Absolutely beautiful. Condition's fantastic.

You're brother and sister, so who owns it now?

-Well...

-Us.

-All of our family.

-Our brothers and sisters.

There's seven of us altogether.

-Right. Was this Gran's?

-Yes.

Who was fighting in the First World War?

-Grandfather?

-Grandfather, yeah.

-And Grandmother's brother.

Right, so there's two soldiers corresponding to their loved ones.

-Do you have a favourite?

-I do.

This one. That was my nan's name.

Rose. Ah. This one alone is worth about £7 to £9.

Look at the colours of the Union Jack.

That's a lovely sentiment.

-These were made by French women in occupied France.

-Were they?

And sold to our troops. They sent them to their loved ones.

I know that my elder sister Marcelle

was named Marcelle because of somebody

-that had helped...

-One of the Frenchwomen in the villages.

-Yes.

-She was named after somebody there.

-Have you any idea of the value?

No. We've never looked at it as a value thing.

It's a sentimental thing, but recently our mum passed away.

She was the last one that looked after it.

Predominantly, they're First World War.

A narrower market, but is sellable.

If they were topographic scenes from the 1800s to the First World War,

-they might fetch us £600.

-Yeah.

I don't think we'll get £600.

That's my gut feeling as they're predominantly First World War.

-I would like to put a value of £200 to £300.

-Yeah.

-Does that sound good?

-Yeah.

-Were you expecting that?

-Around there.

-Put a reserve of £200?

-We'd all be happy on that.

-Yeah.

Fingers crossed for over 300.

-You've got a tear in your eye.

-They are really sentimental.

-I shall start crying.

-Please don't cry.

-You can change your mind.

-We don't want to change our mind.

Some of the things are lovely.

The verses, they don't do that nowadays.

That is one of the things that is really nice.

Would you like to keep one? In case it does sell?

No. Cos I shall cry all the time.

I'm fine. I'm just a little sentimental.

-We'll see you at the auction.

-That'll be lovely.

-Yeah.

John, it's been a long old day.

We finish with a battered old sauce boat. Where's it from?

It was a present from a cousin.

They'd moved into an old house on the south coast

and found it in their loft.

It wasn't their style.

It's not really my style, but they brought it as a present.

And we've kept it in a crockery cupboard ever since,

in case they ever visit us, we've got to bring it out.

What if they watch television?

I promised them a meal if it fetches anything.

We'll come to what it might be worth in a minute.

-Do you know what it is?

-I thought it was a gravy boat.

I've looked at the marks on the bottom, I don't know the factory.

If that's what it is.

I think that we have a piece of 18th-century English porcelain.

I think this is, in all probability, a piece of Worcester.

-I think it dates to about 1755.

-Wow.

When you think that the Worcester porcelain factory

was set up in 1751.

It's right there at the forefront of English porcelain making

from one of England's greatest factories.

It's decorated in underglazed blue.

These Chinese pagodas are very reminiscent of Chinese influence.

You said there was a mark - I think that's a painter's mark.

The person who decorated this, that would have been their mark.

I think that's a lovely thing, something I'd love to own.

In terms of value, if I said £30 to £50, you'd be happy with that?

Yeah. I think so.

What meal would we get for that?

Kebab. Takeaway.

What if it made a bit more? What would you treat him to?

We'd go up the market.

Maybe we're talking an Indian, Chinese.

-What about £400?

-Now you're talking serious money.

-I think we should estimate this at £300 to £500.

-OK.

-Right?

-Yeah.

And I think that you could well find

-that it goes considerably over our top estimate.

-Really?

-Yeah.

It's becoming more and more attractive as I look at it!

-Fingers crossed that I'm not horribly wrong.

-We'd better.

The sauce boat joins the other items at auction.

But first, I'm off on my travels across Wiltshire.

Here in Devizes, the art of brewing dates back to 1885.

Now, whilst the production process

has changed over the years, the art of barrel making hasn't.

These wooden casks have been made by hand since Roman times.

However, the ancient craft of cooperage is almost dying out.

Although there are still coopers in Scotland and France,

in England only one master cooper remains.

He works here at the town's Wadsworth Brewery and his name

is Alistair Simms, and he's been plying his craft for 30 years.

So how long does it take to make a cask?

If you make them from scratch, it takes about,

for a nine-gallon size, about three hours.

If you're remaking, about two or two-and-a-half hours.

Probably make 20, 30 a year, something like that,

to keep the stocks up. There's about 700 casks in trade all the time.

Constantly in trade.

-So I guess it's more about repairing them, is it?

-It is repairing,

and we also do remaking, which is cutting the larger casks down.

We predominantly use 108 gallons,

-which we're buying in from the whisky trade.

-Right. They're these big, big ones?

Yeah. 52 inches tall, which as, you say,

has been spending up to 20 years around the whisky industry,

probably up to another 110 years.

-Yeah.

-So they're 136 years old.

We know that we'll get another 80 years out of it. So it's recycling.

We give them a service every three months, so they come in and out

of trade and when you look at them, they're like your kids.

You often see them being filled with beer and think, "I'll have to catch that one when it comes back,

-"it looks tired."

-Historically, barrels were used

for the transportation and storage of items.

Shaped with a curve or bilge, the design meant that the barrel

could be spun easily to control the direction.

Great workshop. It's like being transported back in time.

I want to do something, I want to get hands-on. What am I going to do?

I'll show you where you're going to start.

This is called dressing out, and this is levelling the insides of the cask.

Just up against there, and against your knee,

and I'll give you an apron in a minute.

-OK, What...

-And it works on pushing down here.

-That's all tar, is it? Can I have a go with that?

-You can. Hang on.

Before we do, we'd better give you a piece of health and safety equipment,

-you'd better wear an apron.

-Cor, it's a big leather apron, isn't it?

Yeah, that's nice buffalo hide.

I love that smell.

'Removing the tar inside this barrel

'really takes a great deal of effort.'

Yeah, I can see what it does now.

It makes those seams really tight and level.

-It does.

-Keeps you fit.

No, I can't do that.

-Yeah, you've got it now.

-Got it now, yeah.

-And the next job, you want to...

-Hang on, let's have a rest.

-What do you mean, have a rest?!

-Right. Next job.

'And now onto the last part of the levelling-off process.'

Loosen your wrist up.

-How did I do?

-Not bad for the first time.

-Not that bad.

-I just love working with wood.

It's good stuff to work with, isn't it?

Yeah, and even walking over the offcuts and shavings,

when you crunch them and the aromas come up.

And after all that hard work, time to put my feet up.

Well, I'd like to say that's the one I made earlier, but it's not.

Why is the art of coopering dying out?

-Dying out? It's dead.

-Is it?

-Yeah.

-It's not.

You're alive and functioning, keeping the flag flying.

There's only four of us in the country now, working.

-Not many, is it?

-No.

-In the trade's heyday, how many were there, do you think?

In the trade's heyday in 1900, Bass in Burton

had 400 coopers working for 'em, and that was just one brewery.

Do you think one of the nails in the coffin was the introduction

of the alloy casks, you know, the metal ones?

It was the biggest nail.

We were first introduced to that in the Second World War,

-when the American government brought it over for their troops.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Because...

-Way back then.

Yeah, because when the pilots landed a plane,

they rushed a cask of beer out

so the crew in the bomber could have a drink.

Well, imagine putting a wooden cask on the back of a Willis jeep,

what the beer would be like by the time it got to the plane!

-So how do you become a cooper?

-Well, I started at 16

and by the time I was 20 and a half, I had become what they call...

-Gone from an apprentice to a journeyman cooper.

-Yeah.

But you are a master cooper now, so how do you get to the next level?

A master cooper is a journeyman that's had an apprentice that's successfully come out of his time.

-You come out with a proper, old-fashioned trussing-in ceremony.

-What does that mean?

It means that you've got to make a hogshead 54-gallon cask

and then it's put in a steam bell and when it comes out,

when they're actually bending it, they chuck the apprentice inside it

and it's bent with the apprentice inside,

and then when the last hoop goes on they chuck in stale ale, stale yeast,

hops, soot out of the boiler, shavings off the cooperage floor,

they tip the cask over, take it for a trundle round the cooperage...

-You inside still?

-You inside still!

-How would I fare?

-You're all right, you'll get another go!

You'd get to the next interview stage!

I'd be the oldest apprentice in town, wouldn't I!

We can't age-discriminate now!

Now it's time to test our valuations as we head off to auction,

but before they go under the hammer, let's have a chat with Alan

-about the postcard collection.

-£200?

Alan, I spotted this album at the valuation day.

It belongs to Martin and Karen, brother and sister.

This collection of First World War photographs and postcards

has been in the family a long time with the great-grandparents

and there's six children left,

they can't divide it up because obviously, you've got to keep this album as a complete package.

It should never be split up, so I think they've put it into the sale

hoping that a member of the family's going to bid against each other and one of them can own it.

Whoever pays the most is obviously going to get it.

I've put a 2,000-3,000 come-and-buy-me on this.

We've seen a lot of albums in the past

with good-quality First World War cards like this

-and they have done well, so fingers crossed this will do the same.

-Yeah, I'd agree with you, Paul.

I think it's a lovely album. The estimate is very sensible.

It is come-and-buy-me. I actually like, at the beginning...

-Let's have a look.

-I love these.

-Sent back from sweethearts.

-Yes, yes.

-Very lovely little things.

-They are.

Beautiful. Very collected in this area.

Anything that has a Wiltshire connection

is always very, very strong.

We've got some very, very strong postcard buyers.

Have people handled this? Has it had a good deal of interest?

-I've probably had 30 people actually look at it.

-That's good, that's good.

-They can all bid against each other.

-Hopefully. Yeah, hopefully.

D'you know what, though?

Deep down, I really want it to stay in the family.

-I wouldn't let this go.

-There are a lot of things like that I feel exactly the same on.

It's been a difficult decision for the Dorset family to part with their grandmother's postcard collection

but they feel that selling at auction is the fairest way

for the six brothers and sisters.

David's got more riding on the sale of Charlotte's spaniel than normal!

I'm going on a cruise

-and I can't find anyone to share my cabin with me!

-Oh!

So I've got to fill up the single supplement!

Also, David was quite taken with Bob and Peggy's watch stand.

This is quite an attractive piece of pottery

and it is so early.

John wasn't quite so enamoured with his sauce boat...

To be honest, it's not really my style.

..but it soon grew on him.

-£400.

-It's becoming more and more attractive

-as I look at it!

-THEY LAUGH

Fair warning!

Well, we've just been joined by Charlotte,

who looks absolutely fabulous

and loves to wear vintage clothing and I think - look at that,

give us a twirl. What sort of reaction do you get from people in general?

It's actually quite nice. You feel quite nervous going out, you think,

"I'm a bit overdressed," but then everyone compliments you.

-And it's fun, isn't it?

-It's wonderful, yes!

-You always look very nice.

-Oh, thank you very much!

Now, Charlotte is just about to flog the spaniel carpet.

David, you liked this and you picked this.

I did, this is such a rich, coloured piece that I think it's an interior decorator's. Needs a new frame.

Let's see what it does, it's going under the hammer right now.

521, 19th-century wool-work of a spaniel on a cushion.

Very attractive, very, very decorative item there.

£70 I have with me.

£70 I have with me. 80!

90. 100.

100 with me. 100 with me.

110 anywhere else? Fair warning at £100...

-There we go.

-GAVEL BANGS

Yes! And there it is, look, it's right behind us.

You can say goodbye now.

Bye!

It's Worcester, it's a sauce boat -

who better to value it than our Worcester expert, Mr Worcester!

No pressure, Paul, no pressure.

John, it's a cracking item, it really is.

Why are you flogging this?

Well, we didn't know the value of it to start with, Paul.

-Were you happy with what Philip said?

-Yeah, very happy.

Now we know it's worth a few pounds, we'll never be able to use it as a sauce boat.

We'd be too frightened of someone breaking it, so it's got to go.

and now I have a pretty little piece of Worcester.

Start me somewhere around about £400?

3 get me away?

2? 150 I've got.

150 I've got. 180.

2. 220, 250.

-It's sold now.

-270.

At 270.

At 270 on the telephone. At 270.

Is there 300?

At 270.

300.

320?

340?

360?

380?

400.

Good.

420?

At 400 on the phone. At 400.

Are we all done at 400?

-I'm happy with that.

-I'm delighted.

-You've got to be happy with that.

Tell us what the money's going towards.

Er, driving lessons for my daughter.

Oh, brilliant. Hope she passes first time.

-So do I! I don't have any more sauce boats.

-Keep the cost down.

You could say time's up for the Staffordshire watch stand.

It belongs to Peggy and Bob here.

A lovely piece of 18th-century pottery.

Well, why are you selling this?

Well, really, it's just in the cupboard

and nobody looks at it and nobody appreciates it, so hopefully someone will buy it and appreciate it.

-David fell in love with this.

-Paul, of all the things in the sale...

-You could own.

-It would be this.

I love early pieces of pottery. This is super.

You had a massive collection, didn't you?

At one stage, yes, then I downsized, the whole lot sold.

Which everybody does eventually.

We downsized, but we're gradually building up again.

It is quality. And I'm hoping it really doubles the top end here.

-That's what I'd like to feel.

-Yes.

-You just don't know at auctions.

I hope it's going to take off.

This is a lovely lot, this.

Pratwell pocket watch stand.

Lovely thing.

250.

250 I've got.

300 on the phone.

350?

400.

450?

500.

550?

600. 650?

700.

-Oh, Peggy, Peggy.

-Someone's waving.

750? 800.

850? At 800 on the phone.

Is it 50 in the room?

At 800.

At 800. Any more? All going.

-Gosh!

-£800.

-I'm pleased about that.

-Good buy on a high, isn't it?

-Yes. Yes, thank you very much.

-What do you think, Bob?

-Smashing.

-What are you going to put the £800 towards?

Less a bit of commission, don't forget.

-I didn't think we'd get that much.

-No.

-Change of plan?

-Well, I'm very fond of Lalique.

-Ah!

-I was going to buy a piece of...

-There was a plate here earlier.

I don't want a plate. I like the figurines or things like that.

So possibly a nice, small piece of Lalique.

I like that. Reinvesting the money back in the antiqued trade.

That's good, isn't it? Are you going to buy a modern piece or an old?

-An old piece.

-Good for you.

It's my turn to be the expert now in this packed sales room in Devizes.

I've been joined by brother and sister Martin and Karen here.

We're selling that wonderful First World War silk card album.

It's wonderful. Are the rest of the family here?

Yeah, there's a few of them here.

Are they going to be bidding on this.

-Maybe.

-Maybe. One of them might.

-Yeah, one's definitely.

Well, we've got a come and buy me of £200-£300 on this.

I've had a chat to Alan just before the sale started.

He said, yes, good local connections.

There's people in Devizes that collect postcards, so...

and First World War ones as well. So they're going to be here, hopefully bidding on them

along with one of your brothers or sisters.

Let's hope we can get that £400 mark, which would be really nice.

-That would be nice.

-Yeah.

-We'll see how it goes.

We'll find out now cos this is it. We've got our own battle on our hands.

Lot 105, a very, very interesting lot.

First World War postcards, a lovely selection of silks.

150 I have.

160, 170, 180,

190. 200?

190, 200.

-She's bidding.

-Yeah, she is.

210, 220,

230, 240,

250, 260,

-270...

-She's keeping her hand up in the air.

-Go, girl, go! What's your sister's name?

-Bridget.

-Bridget loves them.

..310, 320,

330, 340,

350, 360,

370, 380, 390,

400. Lady in the middle, £400.

Thank you. 410. 410?

420, 430,

440, 450,

460, 470? 460 in the middle.

460 in the middle.

Fair warning at £460.

Lot's being sold.

They've gone. £460.

-They've gone to Bridget, haven't they?

-They've gone to my sister.

-Oh, bless her!

-Which is good.

They're staying in the family.

-What a happy ending.

-Yeah.

-What do you think about that, Martin?

It's nice that they're back in the family, be kept in the family.

-And it was done fair and square.

-It was. That's the only way to sort it out, with six of you.

-You don't want to divide that album up.

-No.

-It's got to stay intact to retain the value of the collection.

I'm going to call Bridget over. She's behind us. Bridget, come here.

-Hello.

-Well done, congratulations.

-Thank you.

-It's going to stay in the family now.

-It is, yeah.

-And they can come round and have a look.

-Yeah.

They'll be there for them to see.

I might put them in a nice album.

-That'd be nice.

-Yeah.

You couldn't let them go, could you?

-No.

-No, don't blame you, I don't blame you.

A bit of competition from the other side of the room.

Yes, I thought we'd have some competition, but we kept them.

-Didn't we?

-Well done.

-Yeah.

Yeah.

£460 in the middle.

-She's bidding.

-Yeah.

That's it, it's all over. As you can see, the auction's still going on,

but what a cracking day we've had.

All credit to our experts. Everything's sold and everyone's gone home happy.

But the highlight had to be Karen and Martin's First World War postcard album.

It sold for a staggering £460, but it went to another family member.

Protect your heritage, that's what I say.

Look after it and be proud of it.

So, until next time, from Devizes, it's cheerio.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd