Wilmslow Flog It!

Welcome to Flog It!, the show where our team of experts value your antiques and collectibles.

-Would you be happy to sell them at that?

-Yes.

-You'd be delighted to sell them at that.

-Yes, I would.

And if you like what you hear then we'll whisk you and your items off to auction.

-What are you going to do with all of that?

-Spend.

-Spend, spend, spend.

-In a word, spend it.

-That's what I like.

Today, Flog It! is in the northwest county of Cheshire just south of Manchester.

We're in an area known as the Golden Triangle, made up of three

affluent towns, Alderley Edge, Prestbury, and Wilmslow.

And the area is well known for its famous footballers

and TV soap stars for local residents.

And of course with locals like that around it's no wonder the area is

peppered with fabulous bars, restaurants, and boutiques.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed today that some of the rich and famous may turn up at the valuation day.

We may even see a Ming vase or a Faberge egg.

And this is where we're hunting for treasures today, the Wilmslow Leisure Centre.

Helping me out are our two experts,

Anita Manning and James Lewis, working hard already.

I've got a great crowd around me here, all hoping

they've got something worth, well, possibly half a million. Have they?

We don't know, we'll find out.

If you're happy with the valuations these guys are going to give you, what are you going to do?

-ALL:

-Flog It!

-Exactly.

Well, my watch now says 9:30; your clock says, oh, 6:00!

But I think it's time we got everyone to the blue tablecloth and let's see what we've got.

Now everybody's seated inside,

we can get the show under way and it looks like James has already spotted something.

Let's take a closer look.

I think St Bernard dogs are famous for going and rescuing people in the wet and windy weather, aren't they?

-Yes.

-And the cold. Unfortunately they haven't got a nice big keg of rum around their neck.

They are St Bernards, aren't they?

Well, I've always they were, yes.

Are they something that's been in the family a long time?

Yes, they used to belong to my grandmother.

Ever since... oh, probably five or six year old,

I always remember them and always saying that I wanted them.

-Yeah.

-Well, she passed away when I was about 13 or 14.

They then went on to my parents who then have given them to me.

Well, nobody particularly likes them in the family except for myself,

so they're always stuck up in the loft wrapped away.

-You're allowed something out of you like, surely?

-No.

-Dust gatherers, I'm told. So...

-It's a hard life.

So I've brought them along because you always wonder whether they are

worth anything or are they just cheap porcelain dogs that people used to buy.

Well, let's have a look for you, see what we can find out.

These would have been made in Staffordshire between 1850 and 1880, something around there.

The coats are moulded, and if we have a look down the centre of the dog

you see a mould line, and that's where the dog has been made in a mould

and the two halves have been put together.

The eyes have been...

set in, they're glass eyes,

and they're similar to the little eyes that you had on dolls of the same period.

The decoration is sprayed on rather than hand painted, which gives this quite a soft look.

When we're talking about pairs of Staffordshire dogs,

the ones we think about are the pairs of Staffordshire spaniels

that my grandmother, my great-aunt in Wales,

all had them on the hearth, and they're worth very little.

These, they were cheaply produced in their day

and they're not hugely valuable now.

I've got a suspicion that you don't actually want to sell these, do you?

No, not really. But my partner, she just doesn't like them.

Wouldn't she like them, having been shown all over 30 countries all over the world, millions of people?

-I would hope so.

-They'd be the famous family dogs then.

-They would be. Yes.

I'm thinking about coming at this from a slightly different perspective.

I think they're worth £30 to £50.

-So if they sold for 60, they've done really, really well and they've made more than they're worth.

-Yes.

So the theory is if they sell for £60 then great, they've done really well.

-If they don't sell at £60, then great because you've got them back.

-Yep.

And hopefully, having been on telly, she'll allow you to put them out.

They will be on the hearth then for everybody to see.

-So we'll have to put 60 to 100 on them.

-OK.

At this rate, they might make 200 and make me look really silly.

One would hope so, yes.

Welcome to Flog It!, and it's an absolute delight to see this

smashing Victorian Albert and pocket watch.

Where did you get them?

It was left to me by an elderly gentleman that I was very close to,

and I believe that it belonged to his father.

-Right. And you've brought a photograph along today.

-That's correct, yes.

-Do you wear these when you're going on a night out, Bill?

-Certainly not, no.

Not your style? Not your style, though they are very desirable.

-This watch here is what we call a half hunter.

-Right.

And that's because the front plate here has the inner half removed

and the little glass panel put in,

and it means that you can tell the time without opening your watch.

-Yeah, just the glass.

-It's very simple, it's just an easy device.

This is what we call an Albert, which is a watch chain,

and as we can see in the photograph,

this would be attached to a buttonhole.

We have two clips here, one possibly for your watch and another one for a little fob.

-Here, this little fob here looks like a football medal, Bill.

-Hmm.

Do you know anything about that, did this gentleman have anything to do with football?

Only that he was an ardent fan of Bolton Wanderers,

and did go watching them an awful lot.

And there is a little trophy on the coin there,

and Bolton Wanderers first won the FA Cup in the '20s.

-Yes. So this would be a commemorative fob for that time.

-I would think so, yes.

Because this Albert would date from maybe the 1880s

right up to 1910, 1920.

In the '30s, pocket watches went out of fashion and were replaced by wristwatches.

So we've got a very nice item here, it's in very good condition and the weight is good.

This is a good time to sell this type of item, Bill,

because the gold metal price is high,

and what that is doing is pulling up the price of items made of gold.

-On your Albert and watch, I would put them as one lot.

-Uh-huh.

-And I would estimate them £200 to £300.

-Right.

-Would you be happy to sell them at that?

-I would, yeah.

-Thank you for bringing them along, it's always nice to see good items.

-Thank you.

-I'll see you at the auction.

-You certainly will.

While our experts are busy at the tables,

I'm sort of diving in and out of the queue and I've just bumped into somebody

-who's carrying something rather interesting. What's your name?

-Tregony.

-That's a place in Cornwall, isn't it?

-It is.

-It is a little village.

-Yes, indeed.

-Where's this from then?

Well, an old chap gave it to me.

Knowing that I do a lot of animal rescue work, he thought it might come in handy.

-I've always thought that it was something like a cat carrier but I don't know.

-It's not.

-It's a First World War messenger pigeon carrier.

-Is it?

Yes. It's a rare little thing and it's a bygone.

-And this would have saved somebody's life, you never know.

-No.

A few pigeons like this would have got a message across to somebody and

hopefully done a bit for the war effort.

I think you should hang on to this because to put it into auction,

we've got to put a value on it of around £15 to £20.

I don't think it's going to get that.

-No.

-It's a bit too tatty.

Yes, well my husband said it was a case of either flog it or bin it, but I think I'll keep hold of it.

It's too good to bin, isn't it?

-It's too good to bin. You could clean it up.

-Right.

But I don't know how you could use it in the house.

-Dried flowers sticking out of it?

-Yeah, you've got to be creative.

You could put dried flowers, but isn't that fascinating?

That's the great thing about valuation day, you never know what's going to turn up.

-Thank you very much.

-Wonderful meeting you as well, and your lovely Cornish name.

Sheila, about half an hour, 45 minutes ago, one of the off-screen valuers came over and said,

"James look, some marbles, Victorian ones, they're interesting, aren't they?" I said, "Oh, yes."

All I can tell you, they're marbles.

I haven't got a clue what you do with them.

The reason I got them out was because Paul Martin went to the Marble Museum in Devon.

Martin! Paul Martin, where is he?

-Marbles.

-You've been to a marble museum, I hear?

-Yes, I have.

-I need to watch Flog It!, tell me about these.

-They're Victorian marbles, aren't they?

-Which ones?

These swirly ones here.

-What are these?

-They're slightly earlier, early 1800s.

-So they're nearly 200 years old?

-Yeah, you've got a nice little collection there.

-And there's three ways to flick a marble and I've forgotten which is which now.

-You must remember one.

-Someone was doing this earlier.

-Yes. Yeah...

-How on earth does that work?

I'm not sure, you flick it from...like that.

Oh, I've not seen that before.

Whoop... WHOOP!

THEY LAUGH

Oh, dear, it's gone.

Well, I've learned something.

I used to play things like shove penny at school, but never marbles.

They're handmade but they're never spherical because there's a part of the top there,

and a little pontil at the bottom, and where the pontil's snapped off,

they're ground down, so do you see they're slightly off...

off circular from that side.

Yeah, they're flatter there than they are there.

And there is a really good market for them.

I have sold them at auction before and they always do quite well,

but normally you would put them into a specialist toy sale.

It's the toy buyers that tend to go for them rather than the glass buyers.

-Have you ever played with them?

-No.

-Did you play with them as a kid?

No, I bought them when my children were little from school fetes,

and I liked them so much I thought it was a shame to play with them

so they've been in the cupboard ever since.

-Your kids never played with them?

-No.

-You are mean.

-I know. They played with the ones that were ordinary ones like that.

Did they know you had these?

No.

So, what are they worth...? Erm...

if we look at how many of these we've got.

OK, I reckon we've got £25-£30 worth there, another ten there, £35 to £45.

-Very good.

-Is that all right?

-That's fine.

What did it cost you at the school fete?

-Pennies.

-Pennies.

You've done all right.

I have to say I wasn't expecting to be talking about marbles today.

No, and I want to lose mine now!

We've found some cracking items this morning and now it's time to put our valuations to the test,

and this is where we're doing it, courtesy of Adam Partridge Auctioneers and Valuers,

near Congleton, south of Wilmslow.

The auction is about to start so I'm going to go inside and catch up with our owners

cos they'll be feeling nervous, and leave you with a quick rundown of all the items

we're putting under the hammer.

Pete is sending his inherited St Bernard dogs off to auction as his partner isn't keen on them,

but I don't think Pete will be crying if they don't sell.

Will the bidders fall in love with Bill's Victorian half hunter watch and Albert chain?

Anita thinks they could do well.

And finally, Sheila bought her marbles from a school fete.

I know these'll hit the spot. She's bound to get a good

return for her money as she only paid pennies for them.

And now it's time to find out, as Sheila's marbles are first to roll under the hammer,

and auctioneer Adam Partridge is already in full swing.

Someone who's definitely not losing their marbles is Sheila

because she's selling them right now and right here.

We've got a collection of Victorian marbles, haven't we, and we've put £30 to £50 on them.

-Since the valuation day you've now put a reserve on them.

-Yes.

You feel you didn't want them to go for nothing?

-No.

-I don't blame you in a way, was James talking into no reserve?

-Yes.

-That old auctioneer's trick?

-I was trying.

-Fingers crossed anyway.

-What was the reserve?

-We've got £25, haven't we, on these?

-Cor... Nah, should be fine, shouldn't it?

-It should roll away.

We're going to find out in just a moment, here it is now.

Lovely lot now, lot number 40, around 79 marbles.

Victorian and other marbles,

and we've got a range of interest as well.

-Ooh, ooh, ooh.

-I'm bid £35.

-Yay!

-Straight in.

-45... 55, 60 bid...

At £60, any more... five, 70...five,

-80... £80...

-Fantastic.

-That's brilliant.

£80 there... Only £1 each, £80...

Any advance now, £80 and selling at £80.

-Fantastic.

-That's good.

-Didn't need that reserve, did we?

-No.

Do you know that shows how important it is

to put it into the right sale, he's got toys everywhere.

-It is the best sale to put them in, they've done it brilliantly.

-Well, done, Sheila.

Thank you.

Wow, we've got off to a brilliant start and Sheila's made a fantastic return on her marbles.

Now let's see if James can do as well with his valuation of Pete's St Bernard dogs.

Well, so far so good, and now this brings us to the dogs, yes, the pottery dogs,

the two St Bernard ones, which James valued but brought along here by Pete.

Now you had your eye on these, didn't you, as a nipper?

Yeah. Nobody else in the family likes them but me.

So I've now decided to sell them.

They are nice dogs, they're great dogs, obviously a lot cheaper than

real St Bernards, we'll put it that way.

-We had a deal, didn't we?

-We did.

That if they don't sell, they've got to have them on display.

-So in a way, we're hoping they won't sell.

-Yeah.

Let's see if they go walkies.

Next lot is number 303,

pair of Victorian pottery models of St Bernard dogs.

What do we say for those, £100...

£50 then, £50 the St Bernards...

-Bid me 50.

-Come on.

-Start with 50...

£50, the St Bernard dogs.

Who'll start me 30 then?

30 I've got, £30... and five now, £35...

and 40, and five...

and 50...

No, I'm afraid they're going to have to be passed.

-They're going home.

-Well, done. Congratulations!

-Brilliant news.

-I'm so pleased they're staying in the family.

Really pleased, has he lost a bet? Excellent, well done.

You've got to be pleased.

Well, I am. I don't think the missus will be but that's another matter.

Going under the hammer we've got a Victorian gold pocket watch with a fantastic Albert chain,

-and I think the value's in this chain, Bill, don't you?

-Certainly.

Let's hope we get your top end, Anita, because you loved this chain.

The chain was good, a double Albert, and the people will like that.

We'll find out exactly what this lot think right now cos it's going under the hammer, good luck.

Next lot is 644, it's a 9-carat gold Albert chain,

with a fob as well.

Over 36 grams in weight here, it comes with a gold-plated

half hunter watch and interest starts with 200...

210, take 20... 220, 230... 240, 250... 260 bid, 260...

Any advance, at £260...

Are you all done at 260? Anyone else now?

At 260, you're out on line we're selling in the room, at £260...

All done now, and selling at 260.

I think we're all smiling.

-We're all smiling.

-Excellent.

I'm so happy for you, it's such a good result.

Well, that concludes our first visit to the auction room today,

we are coming back later on in the show so don't go away because there will be one or two surprises.

And later at the valuation day, we'll meet Linda, a lovely lady

but, tut tut tut, I don't think she's been watching Flog It! often enough.

-Me and my husband were tidying the house out.

-So this might have gone to the charity shop?

Until this neighbour said it was Troika, and we're like, "Ooh, what's Troika?"

Thank goodness Linda has antique-savvy friends to look out for her.

But before I go back to the valuation day to join up with our experts

to find some more antiques to go under the hammer,

I'm popping in to nearby Manchester to check out the most glorious Edwardian building.

We've all heard that phrase, haven't we, "they don't build them like they used to"?

What I'm referring to is this magnificent, striking, Edwardian building, just look at it.

What I love about this is the fact that its location

is in a typical part of suburbia of Manchester -

ordinary buildings, some new builds as well, but when you look at that facade,

in it's brick and terracotta sort of fashion, you think "Wow, what was that built for?"

We're about a mile and a half from the centre of Manchester and this extraordinary building

is called Victoria Baths.

It was created with the intention of keeping the locals clean and fit.

It was built by Manchester Council and completed in 1906 at a cost of around £60,000,

which was a lot of money, today's equivalent is around £4 million.

I couldn't imagine a public swimming baths being built to this specification today, could you?

It's absolutely magnificent!

In its day, this build had no expense spared on it.

In fact the Lord Mayor at the opening ceremony of Victoria Baths actually said

this is a water palace that every citizen of Manchester could be proud of.

And do you know what, he was right, wasn't he?

Sadly, the baths aren't open to the public any more, they closed in 1993 due to spiralling running costs.

But the good news is a trust was set up to preserve this fine building,

and I've been told the inside is as sumptuous as the exterior

and I've been lucky enough to have my own private tour today by trust member Gill Wright,

so I'm going to get inside and soak up this architectural dream.

Gill, hello.

-Welcome to Victoria Baths.

-Thank you for inviting me.

I tell you what, the exterior facade is setting me up for I don't what, but I want a big surprise.

Well, you've come to a beautiful building.

-The first thing that strikes me is there's three entrances, why?

-That's right.

Well, Victoria Baths was built in three sections

and there's three distinct parts of the building with an entrance for the Males, First Class,

the Males, Second Class, and then the Females.

-When you say Males, First Class?

-That was the men and boys who could afford to pay more for their swim.

-They got a better size pool?

-They got the most ornate entrance hall, the one we're in now.

-They got the largest swimming pool, and we think they also got the freshest water as well.

-Did they?

It's said that the water was put into the first-class pool, pumped out, filtered, aerated

put into the second-class pool, pumped out, filtered, aerated and put into the females pool.

-No,

-really? That's what they say.

Gosh, I can't wait for my tour.

Do I have to pay to go through the turnstiles?

-Do you want to see the rest of the building?

-I'd love to.

I'll follow you, Gill.

It's got the wow factor.

Is it usual for every Edwardian public swimming pool to have this spec of build?

Well, councils were very proud of their public provision often,

in terms of things like baths and washhouses, because it was about improving public health.

But it was unusual to have a building so ornate as this.

You see in the level of opulence that was usually put into things like town halls,

here in a public baths, so it is a pretty unique building.

So where are we now, Gill?

-Originally this used to be the area that housed the First Class Males wash baths.

-OK.

So as you come in, there's rows and rows of baths along here?

That's right, separate cubicles, each one with their own bathtub.

I would come in here in the first-class bath.

-I could run my own bath, could I?

-That's right.

Unlike the second-class customers who had their water controlled by

the attendant, so you only got one fill and that was probably it.

Of course, providing baths was a really important function of the building.

We think of it as a swimming pool, and indeed it was for swimming, but providing ordinary private baths

was an important function at a time when hardly anyone had bathrooms in their own homes.

And even up to the 1960s, there were something like 20,000 houses in Manchester didn't have bathrooms

then, so it was still an important public facility in terms of bathing right up until the 1960s and '70s.

Can you imagine having a bath here in this room?

It would be very luxurious, better than you'd have in your own home.

Not just a physical cleansing, it'd be more of a spiritual one.

-I mean just look at the place, it's like a temple.

-Definitely.

So which pool is this?

This one's the Females pool.

This is quite a decent size.

Well, it is, actually. In 1906, it was quite unusual to give the women

and girls a full 25-yard pool, but that's what we've got here.

It is narrower than the second-class and the first-class, only 30-foot wide,

but it's the full competition length of 25 yards.

Not a well known fact but Britain lead the way in the development of competitive swimming

in the early 20th century, and here at Manchester, because we had a gala pool

with good spectator seating, it put Manchester in a position

where it could host very important national and international swimming events.

But also, in the winter months they would drain the gala pool and floor it over,

and it would be used as a venue for things such as dances.

-Dances were very popular here for many years.

-Oh, lovely!

And many people in Manchester still remember the dances that were held here in the early 1950s.

They also used the dance floor to play bowls on, indoor bowls.

Well, they certainly made great use of the space, didn't they?

I would imagine just coming here would feel like a really special event.

-You mentioned Turkish Baths, can we go have a look at those?

-Yes.

We're coming through into the Turkish Bath Suite.

The Turkish Baths has a suite of rooms and what's interesting to think is although we call

them Turkish Baths in Britain, technically they're Roman Baths.

They're heated with hot air and this is the tepidarium,

which is warm, then there's the caladarium, which is hot, and the laconicum, which is even hotter.

So it's rising levels of dry heat.

-So you swap between the three of them?

-You work your way up.

People have their own way of taking a Turkish bath but quite often you work your way up.

You certainly wouldn't go straight into the hot room.

-Yes, let's go there.

-Go and see the rest of the hot rooms?

So this is the rest room.

Yes, it's often the most ornate of the rooms, the most decorated

room of the Turkish Bath Suite, and certainly you can see that here.

What would it have been furnished with, reclining chairs?

Yes, or even beds. There were cubicles at the side with beds in,

because at the end of the session you come in here to cool off

and get your body used to normal temperatures again,

but you're in a really, really relaxed state.

It was a case to lie down and people would often fall asleep, even in middle of the day.

But there'd also be attendants who would come and offer you tea and scones.

-Doesn't it sound wonderful?

-You're certainly being looked after when you take a Turkish Bath.

I love the stained-glass windows as well, it catches the light beautifully here.

They really are unique.

We were very lucky, the glass was very intact, so most of the glass you see is the original period glass

but they've been completely re-leaded and new window frames,

-and really brought them back to their former glory.

-You've done a terrific job.

We're really pleased with restoration phase one, and it makes us even more determined to go on

and restore the rest of the building and to get the Turkish Bath Suite back in public use.

And that's good because that was what the building was for,

wasn't it, for the public to enjoy it every day.

Absolutely, it was built for the public good and we want it restored for the public good.

Long may it continue, Gill, thank you so much.

-Thank you very much for coming.

-You've put a smile on my face.

Well, we're back at the valuation day here at the Wilmslow Leisure Centre,

and as you can see there's still hundreds of people down there.

There's no rest for our experts. Let's join up with them and see how they're getting on.

Linda, some people love Troika, some people hate it.

I love it and I'm delighted to see this collection here today.

Tell me, where did you get it?

It was my uncle's.

He died a couple of months ago and me and my husband were tidying the house out

and we didn't even know what Troika was until his next-door neighbour came in.

We were packaging it up to send to the Animal Shelter charity shop.

-So this might have gone to the charity shop?

-Mm-hm.

Until this neighbour said it was Troika, and we're like "Ooh, what's Troika?"

And then she came round and said you know it may be valuable or whatever, so we decided to keep it.

Excuse me for mentioning this but there's a smell of turpentine off that one!

Well, my husband was actually using that one to put the paintbrushes in to clean them each night.

So that's why it's got a smell to it.

-Don't tell me any more, don't tell me any more. I

-know.

Let's have a look at the objects because I love them and I find them very interesting.

Troika of course started in the 1960s, it was a sculptor, an architect, and a potter.

-They made these objects in St Ives in Cornwall.

-Right.

The pottery only produced items from 1963 to the early 1980s,

so it was a short period.

The first of the items made in St Ives were monochrome,

they were white, they were grey, they were black,

and they weren't too popular.

In the 1970s they moved to Newlyn.

-Right.

-And they started to sell in Heals, Selfridges, and Liberty's.

These were prestigious outlets and they started to develop

this colour range and it became very, very popular.

We have a variety of shapes here and if we look at them,

we have this Celtic cross here.

Now many of the Troika designs were based on Celtic myths, Celtic shapes,

-Celtic sculptures, and this is good example.

-Yes.

This one, it's called a slab vase, and if we look at it,

we see that's it's probably been influenced by the craggy landscapes

of Cornwall, the rocks, the gravels, the mines, and so on.

This one is a cube vase,

and this probably a little marmalade pot,

and we have an ashtray here.

It's quite a nice collection from the 1970's range and would have sold to the tourist.

I would put an estimate of them cumulatively between £200 and £300.

-Would you be happy to sell them at that?

-Yes.

You'd be delighted to sell them at that!

To sell them at that, yes, I would!

We'll put a reserve of say £150, they'll do better than that,

-the reserve's really only to protect them.

-Right, OK.

£200 to £300, reserve of 150,

-and you'll be glad to see them out of your house.

-I will!

-But thank you for bringing them along.

-You're welcome.

-because I love them.

-You buy them!

Fine tone for such a small body.

-Does it work?

-It does.

-Does it?

Well, we'll see what we can do.

Good luck today.

-Bill, great to see you.

-Thank you.

-This wasn't destined for Flog It?

-No.

-This was destined for somewhere else, are you going to admit where?

Yes, I admit I was going to take it to tip.

Why on earth would you take this to the tip?

Just got fed up with it and lost all interest in it.

Well, let's have a look at what it is.

It's a George IV, so that's 1820 to 1830, could be almost William IV 1830-1835, tea table.

They often came in pairs; one was baize-lined for playing cards,

the other one, if you open it up,

plain mahogany for drinking tea.

Although it's not in the best of conditions at the moment, it's still, in my opinion, worth restoring.

We've got this quite a deep frieze and here is the bracket carved in the form of an acanthus leaf.

Then look at the quality of the veneer going down here, it's rich, it's wonderfully tight grain,

and it's quality mahogany you'd get on the back of a violin, so often called fiddle-back mahogany.

Then we have this rectangular dished sockle

and these wonderful hairy paw feet, I think they're lovely.

So this is a piece of furniture that has been around for almost 200 years

and for me, it would be a crying shame to see it on the tip.

What did you pay for it 40 years ago, do you remember?

£45.

-Did you? That was a lot of money then, that was a week or two's wages, wasn't it?

-Yeah.

I don't think you'll get an average week or two's wages for it today.

The top is suffering from what we call smiling.

It's warped and buckled, but if that was steamed

with a big heavy weight, you clamp it in the middle,

-that could be put back.

-Right.

-You've got bits of veneer missing from the corners,

and it isn't as saleable and as fashionable as it once was, but these things come back.

I always say that if something's out of fashion, it's just about to come back.

-Yes.

-And this, I think, will be a fashionable object again very soon.

But at the moment,

£100 to £150, something like that,

but goodness me, it's better than on a skip, isn't it?

It is, yes, a lot better.

-You don't want it back do you?

-No.

-So zero reserve, let's just sell it.

-Yep.

-See how it goes.

Welcome to Flog It, and you've brought an interesting

wee lot of silver objects for us to look at today.

Tell me, where did you get them?

These two are my husband's and he inherited them from his father

when he died, and that I inherited from my mum,

and it belonged either to my grandmother or my great-aunt.

-So it's come from two separate sides of the family?

-Yes.

I think this is a sort of feminine thing,

and I think these boxes are a wee bit masculine.

Absolutely, I agree with you there.

Let's look at what we have.

We have two vesta boxes, and a vesta box is a container for matches

-and often has an abrasive strip to strike your matches.

-Right.

This one here was made in Birmingham, 1902,

and on the front here we have the Bond of Empire,

which may have had something to do with Chamberlain

-and what was happening at the time.

-Ah, right.

This one here quite different,

it's Continental and quite possibly French, it does have a French feel,

where we have two little cherubs in a garden,

but my favourite piece is this silver Art Deco compact.

Again it was made in Birmingham, and it's from 1921, which was

-just at the beginning of the Art Deco period.

-Right.

It's machined silver with this wonderful Art Deco geometric motif,

and it reminds me of cinema, the Odeon, America,

glamour, and so on and so forth.

So it's quite a varied but an exciting wee lot.

Tell me, have you any idea of value on these little boxes?

I have no idea, but at a guess I would think these

would be worth about £10 a piece and that one maybe £20 to £25.

You're not bad at this!

Don't think I'll make a living at it.

Auction valuation I would say perhaps, if we put it in at...

50 to 80, would you be happy to sell them at that?

Yes, very happy.

Very happy?

Well, let's hope we get the higher estimate.

-That would be good.

-Thank you so much for bringing them along.

I love these objects, particularly that compact, and I'm sure they'll do very well at the auction.

Well, thank you for helping me value them!

'It's now time for our final trip to the auction room but before we see our items go under the hammer,

'I caught up with Adam Partridge, today's auctioneer,

'to see what he thought about Anita's valuation of the Troika collection,

'which we saw just a few minutes ago.'

OK, we've got some Troika brought in by Linda.

It belonged to her uncle and she wants to sell this,

and it was originally valued at £200 to £300 for the whole lot, but I know you've split them.

Yes. Well, of course, I've split them into three, being that one, that one, and that one.

Yeah, and that's a good little starter's level really.

-Entry-level collection.

-Then you get interested, you learn a bit more about the artist.

Yeah, and you trade those in to get one of those.

Exactly, that's what it's all about, always trade upwards. I like this a lot.

This is the rare piece, the Celtic Cross design.

I've sold so much Troika over the years, you've seen a lot of it,

-have you seen one of these before?

-No.

-OK, it's that rare.

-I think it's going to make £300 to £500 probably.

This is the next best, smooth-sided slab vase, so that one I've put in 60 to 80,

-because that makes that the 200 to 300 already.

-Sure.

-But I think it'll make more than that.

Yeah, that'll do about 140, won't it?

Yeah, should do over 100, and then these should do 100.

-Easily.

-Your common one's there, the cube planter with no feet, the ashtray, and the marmalade pot.

I'm very excited about these, it reminds me of home.

I think you should get on the rostrum now and, as they say where I come from,

-do a proper job, my handsome.

-D'rectly.

-D'rectly, yeah you've got it!

'I think Adam was right to split Linda's Troika into three lots,

'and we'll soon see if they stir up any interest

'in the auction room later on.

'Joining Linda's Troika is Jan's collection of inherited silver,

'two vesta cases and a compact.

'And finally, Bill's tea table is going under the hammer.

'James convinced Bill to put it into the sale with no reserve,

'but anything it makes will be a bonus,

'because it was heading for the tip.

'Let's find out now how it fares.'

-Well, good luck, Bill, that's all I can say. You deserve it.

-Thank you.

I've just been having a chat to Bill and we've been saying the whole world right now is going on about

recycling, you know, but the antiques trade have been doing this all their lives.

There's nothing greener, is there, than buying and selling antiques,

especially wood because you can't grow the trees fast enough.

-You can't.

-So good on you.

You bought this table 40-odd years ago, it's early Victorian, it's Cuban mahogany.

-It's going to sell, we've got a value of £100 to £150 on it, and I know you've got no reserve.

-No.

-Because you were going to throw it.

-Throw away.

But someone else would have picked that out of the skip and got it for nothing,

so at least you're making them pay for it today. OK, good luck.

75 is a Victorian mahogany tea table with a rectangular swivel top,

the usual type Victorian mahogany tea table, I am bid £100 in...

take ten on £100, take ten now on £100...

any advance on the tea table at £100, ten...

120, 130... no, 120 here...

-selling now 120, all done 120... I need 130, 140... 150.

-Late legs.

160... 170, one more it's yours...

160 here, he's going to think I've run him up, bid another one,

160 here, 170 if you want...

at 160, cos he accused me when he left the bid, at 170...

thank you very much, I'm very grateful

and so are our contributors, 170 right at the back now...

170 and we sell.

You won't regret it.

-Great.

-£170.

That's a good result, and a good estimate, James.

Yeah, I'm very pleased with that.

That's a lot of mahogany, you couldn't make that table for probably £1,500 today.

Great value.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

-Well done, go and buy some more antiques now.

Right now it's Janet's turn,

and we've got a small collection of silver just about to go under the hammer.

There's three little items in this lot, a couple of vestas

and a powder compact, which Anita put a value on of £50 to £80.

It's a great time right now to sell precious metal, silver or gold,

the prices are well up at the moment, it's just over £9 an ounce scrap value.

-Not bad.

-So it puts the price of the antiques up as well,

and I there's a lot of silver bids today so good luck.

Lot 510 is an Art Deco-style silver compact,

also an Edwardian vesta case and a Continental vesta case.

Three in the lot, 510 is the number.

Start me £50... £50 this lot, 30 bid...

five now, at £9... five, 40...

five, 50... 45, take 50 somewhere...

at 45, 50 anywhere...

at 45.

-Come on.

-Take a 50 surely.

45 it is then... at 45, well there's the trouble with a fixed reserve.

I can't believe that it didn't sell.

Do you know, we were £5 short,

-because with a fixed, you put a fixed £50 reserve.

-Yes.

If you'd used a bit of discretion...

It would have gone, yes. Never mind.

But you wanted £50, didn't you?

I think it was probably worth that.

Ever so sorry, we tried our hardest.

You tried your hardest. Maybe we'll try it in another auction.

Yes, you could, or you could have a word with Adam afterwards and see

who the bidder was at £45 and if you do change your mind, he'll sell it at £45 for you.

-Oh, he can do that?

-Yes, he can.

'That was a disappointing result for Jan's collection of silver.

'Let's hope Anita has better luck with her valuation of Linda's Troika.'

Well, so far so good, but right now I feel like I'm back in Cornwall,

that's because I'm surrounded by Troika,

and I've just been joined by Linda who's brought in this fabulous collection.

Now originally we've had all these five items as one lot,

valued by Anita, but Adam has split them up into three lots.

I'm delighted with that. He is an auctioneer after my own heart.

Yes, which means more money for Linda, definitely!

And you didn't know what you had, did you?

-No, not at all.

-You'd never heard of Troika?

-No.

-And we've been banging on about it for the last nine years or so.

-Anyway, right OK, this is the good news. We do see a lot of it.

-Mmm.

-But we haven't seen the Celtic Cross ever before.

-Right.

Now that's quite rare, very unusual.

Let's find out what they think of it, shall we, in Cheshire.

Here we go, it's going under the hammer, good luck.

OK, we've got some Troika now,

245 is a Troika Pottery Celtic Cross vase.

Interesting and rare vase this one, Lot 245,

decorated by Simone Kilburn.

Will they want it?

Bidding starts here 180... 190, bid take 200...

at 190 bid, 190... 200, and ten...

220, 230... 240, 250... 260, your bid is at 270...

280, 290... 300, 320...

I like it, 340, 320 on the phone...

320, any advance on this cross vase here...

320, are you all finished now...

320, on the phone this time 320.

-Yes!

-OK, we're hoping at around £100 for the next lot,

that's the top end.

246 is a Troika Pottery slab vase this time, with smooth sides.

-This is very nice.

-Right.

I've got two bids of 90... is there 95.

I'd like to see this do 150, 160.

Take 100... 110, 120... 130, 140...

150, 160...

170, 180...

190, 180 on the phone... Any advance on this one 180, all done...

same buyer on the phone at £180.

Yes!

-I should be keeping count of all this.

-Isn't that wonderful?

This is a good little group as well.

We're looking for £100 on this group.

Three in the lot, Lot 247, and I've got 150...

160 here, is there 170? 16-... 170, 180... 190.

-Condition was so good on these pieces.

-200 on the phone...

£200 this time, 200 all done...

210, 220... 230, 240... 250, 260...

270.

This is the start of a very good collection for somebody.

-Would be, yeah.

-290...

I'm glad somebody will have the pleasure of it

-because I just didn't appreciate it really.

-300...

320, £300 on the phone now... 300 with the same buyer again, £300...

all done on these three pieces at £300.

Yes!

Well done that man on the rostrum, he did us proud.

Do you know everybody in Cornwall will be going,

proper job, Adam, proper job?

-Linda, guess how much that is.

-I don't know.

£800. £800 and hopefully all that will be going down to Cornwall.

-Oh, good.

-What will you do with all of that?

-Spend it!

-Spend, spend, spend.

-In a word, spend it.

-That's what I like.

I hope you've enjoyed watching the show, we've had a fabulous time here in Cheshire.

There are more surprises to come on Flog It so keep watching, won't you.

But until then, it's cheerio from all of us. Bye-bye.

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