Liverpool Flog It!

Today, we're in one of the most thrilling and vibrant cities in the North-West,

famous for its creativity, comedy and culture.

Flog It! is in Liverpool.

MUSIC: "Live And Let Die" by Paul McCartney

As a city, Liverpool is diverse, energetic and exciting.

Situated by the River Mersey, the docks are central to Liverpool's history,

with the best-known being the Albert Dock,

the largest single collection of Grade I listed buildings in the UK.

The city's role as a major port in the British Empire means that many of its finest buildings

were built as headquarters

for the shipping firms and insurance companies.

The Pier Head is perhaps one of the most famous iconic images

on the city's skyline and it's dominated by

the Royal Liver, the Cunard and the Port of Liverpool buildings.

Together, there's over a century of heritage between them

and they're still fully functioning.

They're known locally as the Three Graces.

Later on in the programme, we'll be looking at

Liverpool's fascinating maritime history, but for now,

it's anchors away and let's get on with the show.

And gracing us with their presence today are our two experts,

the fabulous Mark Stacy and the gorgeous Kate Bateman.

Today's venue is St George's Hall, right in the centre of the city,

and by George, do we have a fabulous queue here,

on a gorgeous sunny day.

I can't wait to find out what's in all those bags and boxes,

so let's get the doors open and get Flog It! going.

So, as the crowds rush in to this great hall, let's see what Kate

has uncovered from this Liverpudlian treasure trove.

Tony, you've bought in this vase. What do you know about it?

All I can tell you is that I bought it from a jumble sale,

approximately about 25 years ago, so when I was about eight.

A jumble sale. What did you pay for it?

I paid less than £1 for it. No more than £1.

It's quite a weird thing for a small boy of eight or so to buy.

-What attracted you to it?

-I've no recollection of buying it.

I just know at that time, I bought a lot of things,

spent most of my pocket money on junk.

-On junk.

-On junk.

-This is an item of junk.

-Yeah.

OK. Do you know anything else about it?

-I know it's Troika. I know it comes from Cornwall.

-Right.

I know it's featured a lot on Flog It!

It is a favourite of our Paul Martin.

I have to say, I disagree with him on this.

I am not a big fan of Troika.

It just doesn't float my boat, but you obviously liked it.

I don't particularly like it, actually.

I have no feelings about it, at all, actually.

-Ambiguous on the whole subject of Troika.

-Yeah.

That's probably the best way to be, I think, on Troika.

So, it's quite highly decorated.

Obviously, it's Troika and if you didn't know by looking at it,

it's got all the details on the bottom.

LT is the initials for Linda Taylor,

who is one of the artists that works there.

And, obviously, it's graffito decorated,

so scratched into the wet clay before it's fired

and you've got all these different sort of

highly-painted geometric designs. Quite funky.

All different on each side.

Pricewise, £60 to £90 is a fairly normal estimate for something of this size.

And the condition's good.

It's obviously quite a mark-up from £1.

-Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah.

-So quite a good investment.

-Yes.

-I want to know what else you've bought.

-I'll have to have a look.

-Have a rummage.

-Is that the kind of figure you'd be happy with?

-Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah.

-Reserve-wise, what's the least that you'd take for it?

-Maybe about £40.

What will you do with the money?

I'm going to spend some of the money on the garden

and also, I'm going to treat my mum to a bunch of flowers

because she thinks I gave it her many years ago but I don't remember.

-You're not going to be tempted to buy more junk, are you?

-Absolutely.

-You'll be at the next car boot, out there with £1.

-Yes.

-You've clearly got a good eye.

-Thank you.

-Shall we give it a go at the sale?

-Yeah. Absolutely.

-Thanks for bringing it in.

-Thanks very much.

Now it's time for something of a change - a lovely pocket watch.

Catherine, you've brought this lovely item in. Tell me about it.

This was my late father's.

He was an avid watch collector -

marine chronometers, anything.

Anything scientific or with a mechanical movement.

Yes, but it had to be working.

-If it didn't work, he didn't want it.

-Or he spent a lot of money doing it up, I suppose.

To restore it, he spent £400

and nearly two years of a man's time to restore the watch.

He wanted to see it working.

-Well, he was quite determined, cos £400 is quite a lot of money and that was some time ago.

-1979.

-Good Lord. Unfortunately, of course, we can't add that on to the value of the watch...

-No.

It doesn't work like that. What I can tell you about it is, it's by a very good maker,

and it's going to date to the sort of second half of the 18th century,

so it's a nice George III period piece.

The case is engraved with this lovely design here.

The face has got a few cracks in the enamel but it's a very typical face for this maker.

What I like, also, about it... If we close it up and have a look at it...

the glass here is bevelled and faceted

so when you actually look, you get a sort of almost like

an insect's eye view of the face and it's very nice.

-And of course, it repeats.

-Right.

So when you press it like that... WATCH DINGS

Now, what that will tell you when it chimes like that,

it'll give you the how many quarter pasts...

-quarter past, half past, quarter to and then the last two are the last hour.

-Oh, right.

So you know that it's, you know, the time is coming up or has just gone.

That's the first time I've actually heard it.

-Oh, really? You've never been tempted to squeeze the top?

-No. No.

Well, the thing with these, of course, is the gentleman would put this

by the side at night on a watch stand, so when he woke up, he maybe didn't want to light his candle,

so he'd press that and it would at least give you an approximation of the time.

What I would say to you as well with this, this is the central bit of the pocket watch.

It would have been enclosed in an outer case...

either a full case to make it a full hunter, or a glass open face to make it a half hunter.

So you are missing that bit.

Now, value.

£400-600 would be my suggestion to you, with a reserve of 400.

And, hopefully, it'll knock up a bit on that. How do you feel about that?

I'd just like the watch if it went to somebody who'd appreciate it.

Well, it's certainly going to go to either a specialist dealer or a specialist collector,

so one way or other, it's going to go to somebody who's going to appreciate it slightly more than sitting...

-..In a drawer.

-..for 30 years.

-I look forward to seeing you at the auction and let's hope it chimes the right note at the sale.

-Thank you.

-Wendy, this is a fabulous postcard album.

-Yeah. It's very musty.

I know. It's...

-It's got that smell.

-Yeah.

Fresh to the trade, they say.

I think the collectors are going to like this

because it's not been through the auction rooms or an antique shop before.

-Never. No.

-No, which is great.

-And if you read, originally, it came from an old friend of ours.

-Her name was Mabel and she lived in 150 Great Homer St, Liverpool, which doesn't exist any more.

-Oh, really.

-It's all been bombed down now, pulled down.

-This is the beauty of postcards like this from the early 1900s.

-It captures social history which has been lost.

-Yeah.

-And that's why individual images are so highly sought after...

-I see.

..because these buildings don't exist.

Well, whoever put this album together has obviously travelled to all the right destinations,

-sort of towards the end of the 1800s, early 1900s.

-Yes.

So they're topographic scenes you expect to find in a lovely album.

They've toured all of North Wales, look.

Going through Snowdonia, Betws-y-Coed,

-We've got Colwyn Bay.

-That must have been the old original pier.

-Yes. That's not there now.

-No.

You see what a wonderful document it is of past civic history, can't you?

You can see why the collectors want things like this.

They've gone throughout Derbyshire, Shrewsbury, Durham.

We're going to London, touring Buckingham Palace, Blackpool.

Oh, look at that one of Southport.

-Isn't it beautiful?

-Now that really does sum up the 1920s.

Yeah. It's lovely, isn't it?

Look at that. I think this will do quite well in auction, I really do.

It's a full comprehensive topographic sort of overview of all the right places

and I think this should do somewhere in the region of sort of high 300s.

That's what I'm hoping. Can we put this into auction with a value of £225 to sort of £325...

-with a reserve on at 225?

-Yes.

-Can we do that?

-Yes. That's fine.

-Fingers crossed.

-Yeah.

-Fingers crossed we get that top end.

-OK. Thank you very much. Thank you.

-Andy.

-Hi.

-Welcome to Flog It. You've brought me these two Doulton figurines in.

-They're a study of contrasts.

-They are.

-I think it's fair to say.

-I know which one's my favourite.

-Is it this one, by any chance?

-Definitely.

-Yeah. You've got two very different styles from the same factory,

so you've got the flower seller's children, here, which is quite an early piece.

Lovely colours. Probably early 1930s.

And then you've got Old Father Thames here.

He looks fairly ancient, but in terms of a model, he's not very old.

-No.

-Probably a 1980s. Some people like this one.

-Yeah.

I think what you've got is much more collectable on the terms of this one.

We always moan about condition on these things.

I'm going to play devil's advocate here and have a whinge, and you've got a few bits missing.

You've got a few little chips and cracks and things on the flowers, which you expect. They all fall off.

It's in pretty good condition other than that, though. You've got no heads off.

-No.

-Fingers are fine.

-No.

-It's a nice piece. Why would you be selling it?

I want to take the daughter and the wife down to Great Yarmouth

to see two good friends of ours who run a hotel down there.

-And fed up of dusting it.

-Well, I don't mind looking at this one.

I just want this one to go, you know.

This is a strange piece. I mean, it's not going to be everybody's cup of tea.

In terms of pricing, I think the best thing to do is put them in two separate lots

-because they'll appeal to two different kinds of people.

-Right.

And this one is the lower figure.

-Maybe an estimate of £40-50 on him.

-OK.

-And this one's slightly more collectable, so £100-150.

-Right.

Would you want to set some reserves on them?

On this one. I wouldn't like to see it go for less than 100.

OK. So put a fixed reserve of 100, cos, obviously, if it doesn't make that, you can always have it back.

-Of course.

-Brilliant. Well, I'll see you at the auction.

-OK. Yeah.

-Fingers crossed it will go.

Let's get the excitement going. We're going to make our way over to the auction room in Mold

and leave you with a rundown just to jog your memory of the items that are going under the hammer.

Kate's not a fan of Troika,

but having paid the price of just one English pound, how will Tony's vase fare under the hammer?

It is a favourite of our Paul Martin.

I have to say I disagree with him on this. I am not a big fan of Troika.

Catherine wants her father's pocket watch to go to a good home. How much will she pocket at auction?

-You press it like that.

-That's the first time I've actually heard it.

-Oh, really?

Will Wendy's album of just over 250 postcards gain a stamp of approval?

-It's very musty.

-I know. It's got that smell.

Fresh to the trade, they say.

And Andy is expecting a decent figure for his Royal Doulton figurines, but will he get it?

And this is where we're putting all our experts' valuations to the test,

in Dodds Auction Rooms, in the heart of Mold.

There's an air of excitement and anticipation, all the ingredients you need for a classic auction.

Who knows what's going to happen, but we're going to find out.

And the man with the all-important gavel in his hand today is auctioneer Anthony Parry.

First up, Tony's £1 piece of Troika.

£60-90. Kate here doesn't really like Troika, do you?

If I said here's 50 quid, would you go out and spend it on Troika?

-Not a chance.

-Not a chance.

-Not a chance. No.

In fact, there must be insanity in your family cos you're mad to buy something like that. Honestly.

No. I think Troika is really lovely.

-It's a matter of taste though really, isn't it?

-Well, exactly.

-And lots of people like it.

-I think it's quite ugly.

-I'm not really a fan of Troika.

-A man after my own heart.

-You're outnumbered.

-I know.

I'm flying the flag here.

So we're going to find out what the bidders in Mold think.

It's going under the hammer right now. Fingers crossed.

Right. Nice little Troika vase.

30. 40. 50. 60. £60. 60.

-60. 60. 70. 80. £80.

-Oh, wow.

80. Going to have 90? No. £80. 80.

80. Anybody else? £80.

85. 85. 85. 90. Five, is there?

90. All done at £90 then?

We've finished at £90?

Well done. Well done for you.

-I had a really nice time.

-What next? You can spot the next thing.

-I'm going to root through the rest of my drawers and see what I've got.

-Brilliant.

160. 160.

And next under the hammer we've got a silver-cased verge pocket watch belonging to Catherine and Peter.

We've got a value of 400-600 put on by our expert, Mark Stacey.

This is real quality, and was it your father...?

My father bought it. Yes.

And since then, the watch has just been kept in a little green box in a cupboard.

Well, that's one of its virtues, really, the fact that you've looked after it. It's not been damaged.

It's still working. It's in mint condition.

-This is true.

-And it's superb.

-It's lovely. It's a very good maker.

-Yeah.

-We've looked it up. It's sort of mid to late 18th century.

-Exactly.

-So we've put a sensible estimate on it and we protected it with a reserve.

-Good.

-So fingers crossed.

-Something for the purists.

It's definitely the oldest thing in the sale. Let's hope the bidders fall in love with this. Here we go.

We've got a very nice Verge pocket watch here to start off with.

200 I'm bid. £200.

200. 225. 250. 275. 300.

£300 up there. 300. 300. 25 is it?

All done at 300? 325. 350. 375. 375.

-375. 375. 400.

-Yes. We've got four.

-400.

400. Take ten up here if you want.

£400 is there. All done at £400?

Missed no-one?

We just did it - £400.

-That's a good result.

-Yes.

-It's a good result.

Right. It's my turn to be the expert today and I've been joined by Wendy, who's looking absolutely fabulous.

-You really do. Love the scarf.

-Thank you very much.

-Bit of Marilyn Monroe and some other film stars there.

-Yeah. Ava Gardner.

Talking about photographs, we've got lots of photographs and postcards, really...

-Yeah.

-..just about to go under the hammer with your album.

-And I think there's about 240 odd in total.

-Yeah.

We've got a value of £225-325.

Let's hope we can find a new home today. Here we go, Wendy.

It's going under the hammer.

Lot 100 now. Lot 100 is the album of 264 photographs.

-What shall we say for that? Nice album.

-Come on.

50 I'm bid. £50. 50. 60. 70.

80. 90. 100. And ten. 120. 130. 140.

150. 150. 150. 160 is it?

150, not much money, that isn't. 150. 150.

All done at £150 then?

We finished?

It's worth a lot more than that.

I'm pleased we put a reserve on, that's for sure.

They're easily worth over £200.

So I think the best thing you can do is - no-one in the room wants them today -

take them home, keep them at home for three or four months,

and if you decide to sell them, then put them in maybe to a different sale.

-You can definitely come back here if you want.

-Yeah.

Watching other valuers value these postcards and I've done them myself and they've been fetching £300-400,

so there's no reason why those ones shouldn't.

Well, I've just been joined by Andy and Kate, our expert here.

We've got two Doulton figures to go under the hammer.

We're splitting the lots. The first one is the flower seller.

-Yes.

-Very collectable. We've got £120-150.

-Yeah.

We've upped it slight from that 100.

-I think that was the wife, wasn't it?

-It was the wife.

-Saying, "Come on, we want a bit more than that."

-She must be obeyed.

-Right. Yeah.

-Don't blame you there.

And the other one for £40-50.

Less popular. Hardly any colour, just a bit of gilding on that one.

-This one's Old Father Thames.

-Yeah.

Yeah. Hopefully, we've got the collectors here. It's a great name.

Let's just hope the price is right.

-Well, we'll see.

-We will... right now. Here we go.

We come onto the Royal Doulton section now.

165, the flower seller's children.

A nice one there. 50. Thank you. £50. 55.

-60. Five. 70. Five.

-Started low.

75. 75. This is not much money. 80.

Five.

90. Five.

95.

£95. 95. Who's following it up? 100.

And five.

And ten. 115. 120.

-This is good. Well done. We've sold it.

-120. And five, is it?

120. 120's close to me.

120. Are we missing anybody?

-120, it's gone.

-Brilliant. First one down. Here's the next one.

165A. Old Father Thames.

30 years.

20. £20. 20. Two. 24.

£24. 24. 24. Where's six?

24. 26. 28. Have one more, Michael.

30. £30. 30. 30. 30. I'm very grateful to you for that.

£30. 30. Two, is there?

All done at £30 then?

-That's not bad, is it?

-No.

-£150.

-So I think the wife will be really happy.

-Yeah. I hope she is.

-That's something towards that trip.

-Yeah.

Coming up, we go from minor to major, with Royal Doulton.

It cost a fortune to post, but can Tam find an over the top price for his vase from down under?

-It must have cost you a fortune to have it shipped over.

-Just over £300.

-Good Lord.

# From Liverpool to Bristol a-roving I went

# But a stay in that country well, it was my intent

# For drinking strong whisky like other damn fools

# So not need transported back to Liverpool... #

The docks have always been central to Liverpool's rich history

and the most famous of them all being the Albert Dock here,

which Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, gave his name to.

Its heyday was the second half of the 19th century,

but within a fairly short period of time, it became obsolete, spiralling into decay and disuse.

Once considered a blot on the landscape, some 30 years later,

it's now become the jewel in the crown of Liverpool's rejuvenation.

It's now a global tourist attraction...

with museums, restaurants, bars, luxury apartments and offices to visit. So, let's go back in time.

How did it all begin?

Until the early part of the 18th century, vessels used to unload upon open quaysides,

but they were at the mercy of thieves and smugglers.

Ships' contents were taken to around 200 bonded warehouses scattered all over Liverpool

and, consequently, the government found it very difficult to impose customs' taxes.

When St Katherine's Dock opened in London, in 1828,

it was the first enclosed dock with quayside warehouses.

Ultimately, a much better port system to control tax evasion.

The Albert Dock was based upon this pioneering design.

I've come to Liverpool's Maritime Museum to meet Stephen Guy to find out more about this amazing dock.

Who was behind the design and when was it built?

Jesse Hartley... he was...an engineer.

He had no experience, really, of port engineering, but he created this role which he fulfilled in Liverpool,

and he designed and built this dock and, of course, it worked tremendously well.

-Yeah.

-But, really, if you were going to choose a place to put a port, Liverpool isn't it.

The engineers had to overcome these problems with the tides and with the docks,

and he created the template for dock engineering throughout the world.

By February 1845, the dock was ready to receive its first ships,

but it was only on the 30th July 1846 that Prince Albert formerly opened the docks.

It was truly a grand occasion.

It was the first state visit by a member of the British royal family to Liverpool

and it was a time to celebrate. After all, Liverpool had arguably the world's first

fully-enclosed fireproof and theft-proof system of dock warehouses.

When you look around you, everything you can see, apart from the modern frontages etc,

is original Victorian engineering at its very best.

-It really is.

-It's incredible because this is the largest group of Grade 1 listed buildings in Britain.

It's amazing and it's all done by hand.

You know, look at all those bricks, all laid by hand, all that cast iron,

granite, sandstone, and it's a great place to be.

-It is. It feels good, doesn't it?

-It does. Yeah.

Now, is that part of the original mechanical loading system?

Previously, it was blokes hauling ropes.

-Pulleys and tackles.

-Push and pull, push and pull, labour intensive.

-So that really did speed things up.

The machine changed. I mean, this was the industrial revolution, you know.

This was a major change, and so, obviously, you could shift cargos so much quicker.

-What were they unloading?

-All sorts of things were brought in from all over the world.

-It must have been colourful and vibrant and the smells would have been wonderful.

-It was.

In Victorian times, the smells of the spices, the smell of the cotton, the smell of the rum, the tobacco.

Everything was incredible and the characters, of course, they would have been all round here.

-Yeah.

-You know, tremendous characters, including Jesse Hartley was a great character himself.

You can imagine him shouting, "Get on with this," you know.

-He was the ultimate foreman and he either altered or built every dock in Liverpool...

-It's incredible.

..during his time. He was a colossus.

And I guess it employed in its heyday thousands and thousands of people.

-This area down here would have been total noise, the clanking of machinery.

-A hive of activity.

Total hive of activity.

# As I walked out one morning fair down by the Liverpool docks

# Heave away, me Johnny Heave away! #

Although the dock prospered hugely, slowly the demands of ships began to change.

Consequently, a downturn in the life of the Albert Dock was almost inevitable.

Why did the docks go out of favour? What was their demise?

Well, you can make all the great plans for a dock, but, really, what happened was the ships got bigger.

Right. OK. And I guess access is quite tight here.

Well, you look at the lock gates.

-Yes.

-They weren't able to predict how big ships were going to go.

They couldn't predict the leviathans of the sea which were coming,

but a simple thing like the lock gates not being big enough

really sounded the end for this dock as a major dock in the town.

What happened in the 20th century then?

Throughout the '70s, this was a very, very bad area.

Nothing was happening here and the dock board crashed. It went bust.

-It went bankrupt. And at about that time, there was an accident here, where a ship rammed the gates.

-Here?

Yeah. Rammed the gates to the Canning Dock and because of the state of the dock board at that time,

there was no repairs done.

So what happened was, this area became tidal.

All the tide came in and it silted up, so if you'd look behind you here,

you know, 30 years ago, it was just a mass of silt.

I mean, the Piermaster's House over there, the warehouse round the back there, they were ruined.

It was a very sad time for Liverpool.

But it was Michael Heseltine who spearheaded turning around the fortunes of the Albert Dock.

In the early 1980s, the newly-elected Conservative government

appointed him Environment Secretary, and under his guidance, the Merseyside Development Corporation

was set up to take over the responsibility of regenerating and redeveloping Liverpool South Dock.

Thank goodness it's been preserved cos this is Liverpool's social history, isn't it?

It's all here. It's a world history.

-These buildings are really quite symbolic of that.

-Yeah.

And so the transformation slowly began to take place.

With new plans for leisure usage, the docks had a new lease of life.

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, this place has now become a huge tourist attraction,

giving you a sense of connection to the past to Liverpool's glorious maritime days,

but also offering the city inspiration for the future.

Back now to the valuation day at St George's Hall and Mark has his eagle eyes on a collection of silver.

-What a lovely group of silver and you've brought lots of pieces in to show us which is fantastic.

-Yes.

But we've chosen this little group as a mixed lot

-because they're all of a type, aren't they?

-They are. Yeah.

The designs are not the same, but very similar.

Well, a lot of them are quite lightweight silver.

This is actually quite a good weight, this little bonbon basket, I suppose.

You know, you'd use it at the end of a table, in a bygone era really,

when you had maids to do all the silver cleaning for you.

This one is hallmarked for London, 1895.

And then this is Chester, 1901, I think, isn't it?

So they're all from that sort of general late-19th century, early-20th century period.

And we've got a little mustard pot and two pepperettes there.

-We've decided to put them in as a group lot and you're happy with that.

-Yes.

Now, they're a nice little group of pieces. Where did you get them from, Michelle?

-I bought them off the internet.

-Off the internet.

-Yeah.

Are you a dabbler on there? Do you like it?

Well, I had hoped to be a dabbler, but it's not working out.

Oh, dear. I'm sorry to hear that. You need an awful lot of money you know, these days, to be a dabbler.

-I found that out.

-What did you pay for the group? Can you remember?

-Probably about £120-130.

-Well, that's not too bad.

I mean, I think I would probably suggest putting them in at 100-150,

with a reserve of 100. And then, hopefully, they'll drive a little bit towards the upper estimate.

So you're happy with that then? You're happy if we put £100-150 on it?

That would be fine. Yeah.

-And why have you decided to sell them with us now?

-I just need the money.

-You need the cash.

-Well, we all do at this credit crunch time, don't we?

-We do.

I wish I had some things to flog.

Mike, you've bought in this wonderful painting.

What can you tell me about it?

-Well, it belonged to my father.

-Yeah.

It hung over his mantelpiece for about 40 years and I've inherited it essentially. Yes.

Right. There is a little bit of background about this history.

It's a fairly well-known painting.

It's a copy of a Rubens, which has got a very long-winded title,

Night Scene With An Old Lady With A Basket And A Candle. As you can see, you can tell she's uplit

as if she's got a candle out of the shop here and she's uplit by the light of the candle.

And it's a very beautifully painted thing. If you've not hung it, do you not like it?

Well, some people say it's a bit spooky.

My father was fond of it, but if I can get a fishing rod and reel out of it, I'd rather catch a trout.

Right. OK. Obviously, we all go on about the subject matter.

This was part of a large painting that has a young child in the same picture,

and that's a nice contrast between young girl and old crone.

But it's still a beautifully painted thing.

If you look at how well it's done, it's not signed so we don't know who did it

and it's certainly a copy, a late-18th, early-19th century copy of the original Rubens.

They've left quite a lot of thick paint, which is known as impasto, here on her forehead you can see.

And the uplighting's wonderful.

And all of this darkness is called chiaroscuro which is shadow.

It's a really dramatic painting. I don't think it's spooky.

I think it's lovely.

The original sold at auction recently for £2.4 million.

-Wow.

-I would love to say, "Here it is, another one."

-I'd love you to say it, too.

This painting, actually, this particular one is a known copy

so it has been catalogued as a known copy of this original. I think...

a cautious estimate would be £700-900.

-I mean, would you be happy with that or what do you think?

-Well, it'll find its own value, I guess.

I think what you're saying is probably right and I'd be happy to go with that.

So maybe if we put a reserve of 700,

we can put a guide price of maybe straddling the £1,000,

so maybe 800 to 1,200 as the guide price in the catalogue.

And then hope it makes about the £1,000 mark.

-Yeah. Smashing.

-Hopefully a new fishing reel for you.

-Hope so.

-Or two.

-Hello, Tam.

-Hello, Mark.

-Now, who's this charming young lady with you?

-That's my daughter, Keeley.

-Hello, Keeley.

-Hello.

-And what did you think of dad's huge pot?

-Horrible.

-Horrible.

-Yeah.

-You don't like it at all. Does it give you nightmares?

-No. It's just the horrible colours.

-The youngsters don't appreciate these things, do they?

-No.

But it is a real corker, isn't it?

-It's an absolute beauty.

-I've never seen a Doulton vase of this size

-by, of course, the famous Hannah Barlow and Frank Butler.

-That's correct.

I mean, an amazing combination.

I think we ought to look at it straightaway, really, the quality of it.

We've got a very typical frieze in the centre of the horses and the cattle.

And then it's flanked either side, top and bottom, by this wonderful glazing on the top of it,

the green and the blues, by Frank Butler.

Again, a top notch Doulton designer, so you've got really two leading names.

I haven't even had the courage to try and pick it up, but I'm sure it's marked underneath - Doulton.

And I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't made for some sort of ceramic exhibition somewhere.

Now, tell me, where did you get this pot from?

Actually, I bought it online from an auction in Australia.

It must have cost you a fortune to have it shipped over.

It cost just over £300 for shipping.

-Good Lord.

-Yeah.

-Now we've got to think about price.

-We know Keeley wouldn't give her pocket money for it.

-No.

-But I'm sure she'll be happy to know the value.

-I would suggest maybe putting it in at a £2,000 to 3,000 estimate, with a 2,000 fixed reserve.

-That's fine.

-But five or six years ago, we probably would have been saying £3,000 to 5,000.

-Without doubt.

But that's the nature of the beast, isn't it? Are you happy with that?

Yeah. That's fine. That's fine.

I think I almost saw a smile with Keeley then when she heard the 2,000 figure.

-Do you like it more now that it's worth that much money, Keeley?

-Yeah.

Thank you very much for bringing it in, Tam.

Ranging from small to large, here's a quick reminder of all the items heading off to auction.

Michelle hopes she can polish off a decent profit on her silver collection.

-Why have you decided to sell all of this now?

-I just need the money.

-Well, we all do in this credit crunch time, don't we?

-We do.

I wish I had some things to flog.

Can Tam find a giant price for his giant vase?

We know Keeley wouldn't give her pocket money for it, but I'm sure she'll be happy to know the value.

And, finally, will Mark's dark, Ruben-style painting brighten up the saleroom?

And before it goes under the hammer, I've found a few minutes to sit down with Anthony to get his opinion.

-Now, would you like this on your wall at home?

-At home?

-Not in the sale room.

-Not in the sale room.

No. I wouldn't like it at home. It's a very dull-looking picture.

I find a lot of Rubens are quite sort of spooky.

This is after Rubens, obviously.

-Yes.

-It's A Night Scene With An Old Lady Holding A Basket And A Candle.

It belongs to Michael. He doesn't like it. He keeps it in bubblewrap.

-Oh, right.

-So he wants to sell it to buy a fishing rod and a reel.

Oh, I think we might manage that, a fishing rod and a reel out of it.

-But you haven't heard the valuation.

-Oh, right.

-OK. 800 to 1,200.

-There has been a fair bit of interest in it.

-Has there?

-Yeah. We've had international interest in it, as well.

-Good.

-So, hopefully, it'll make money.

-Fingers crossed.

-Fingers crossed.

-Could we double the top end?

-Oh, don't be greedy.

Fingers crossed, Michelle. We're going to find out and so are you

because all the silver collection is just about to go under the hammer.

We're selling it because...

-got to pay some bills, haven't you?

-Got to pay a lot of bills.

Fact of life, we've all got them and we all have to pay them, Mark.

-We do.

-We've got a top end of the estimate at £150.

And there's a lot of silver here, bonbon dish, all sorts of things, mustard pot.

Nice little mixed lot, actually. Should appeal to the trade buyers,

-cos there's a lot there, or private collectors who want to furnish their little silver cabinets with it.

-Yeah.

All different assay offices so there's something for everybody.

And I know they've been wrapped up at home ready to go for a long time.

-Yeah.

-Let's hope this is the day, shall we?

Good luck, both of you. Here we go.

36. A mixed collection here.

A mixed collection of silver, a swing-handle basket.

Three ounces. London hallmark. Bonbon dish. Chester, 1901.

A pair of pepperettes. Birmingham...

-It's a long list

-It is.

-He's getting out of breath describing it.

Sheffield, 1889. Five items.

-Have you got them all, Mike?

-Yes.

-Right. What shall we say for those?

50. Thank you. £50 the lot. 50.

Five. 60. Five. 70. Five. 75. 80.

Five. 85. 90. Five.

-100. Five. 110. 115.

-Oh, good.

-120. 120. 120. 120. 120. 120.

-A bit more.

-Five, is it?

All done at 120 then? We finished at 120. Are they gone?

-120. That's not bad.

-It made estimate.

-It's going towards those bills, that's for sure.

-Absolutely.

-You're happy?

-I'm relieved.

It's after Rubens, it's a wonderful oil on canvas and I know you love this.

-Yes.

-And I know you want to sell it.

-I do.

-And I think, I just think, we've got a new home for it somewhere here in Wales.

I had a chat to Anthony, the auctioneer, before the sale started.

Well, he said he's had quite a bit of interest.

There's been a lot of viewings.

-If you could just find a signature in the bottom right, that would be quite helpful.

-Just a bit.

-No. It's beautifully painted and I love it.

-Why do you want to sell it?

-Well, it's a legacy for my father and it's got to be split three ways.

-OK.

-It's got to go.

It's an easy way of dividing up the value then, isn't it, really?

-Quite.

-It's hard to value unless it goes into an auction like this where everyone has the chance to buy it.

I think the talking's over with, don't you? We can't really say any more about it.

We all love it and we're going to find out what the bidders here in Mold think of it. Here we go.

It's going under the hammer.

After Peter Paul Rubens, I wish it was Peter Paul Rubens.

The study of the old lady. Part of A Night Scene Of The Old Lady Holding The Basket And The Candle.

The original was sold, as we've got in the catalogue, for 2.4 million,

in 2004. So there's a chance for you all now to have a Rubens.

What shall we say for it?

We won't ask you for 100,000 to start.

500. Thank you. £500. 500.

£500. 500. 500. 550. 550. 550. 550.

600. £600. 600.

£600. 600. 600. And 50.

650. 650. 650. 650.

£650. 650. 650. Where's 700?

£650 then. All done at £650?

-Not enough, is it?

-No.

-Are we finished at 650?

I'm really surprised.

-So am I.

-Oh, dear.

-Oh, dear.

-Oh, well.

-What a shame.

-You're taking it home.

There was somebody on the phone, wasn't there, as well, but they didn't want to be pushed.

-That was the highest bid on the phone - 650.

-Was it to the phone?

Yeah. Yeah. If someone was in the room pushing that,

the phone bidder may have gone 750, 800, which would have just sold it.

-Yeah.

-Which just goes to show you can't get it right all the time.

-No. That was so close.

-It was.

What I would do if I was you is have a word with the auctioneer after the sale...

-he'll have the phone number of the phone bidder.

-Right.

They might be able to see if he's prepared to go that one bit extra to get it to the reserve.

-Yeah.

-It's worth trying.

-It is.

-Ask him. Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Ask him cos it's so close.

-Yeah.

We're looking for £2-3,000, the Royal Doulton.

It's made by Hannah Barlow.

It's absolutely gorgeous. It belongs to Tam. Why are you selling this, Tam?

It's just that it's a big, massive lump and I just really haven't got room for it.

I've had it about 2½ years now and I think it's just time to sell it and move on to something else.

-It is big, isn't it?

-It's huge.

-Where's it been at home then?

-Stuck in the corner, basically.

-Stuck in the corner.

-Yeah.

-What, on the floor?

-On the floor.

-On the floor.

-On the floor.

-Not a good way to display something like that. No.

-No.

But it is kind of the wrong size, isn't it, really?

That's the only thing it's got its downsides on.

If you were a collector at a very big house and you had a big jardiniere stand to put it on or something,

-in the corner of the room, and you really wanted to appreciate it, that's fantastic.

-Yes.

But I love the combination of the Frank Butler border and the Hannah Barlow and I agree with you,

I think it's an exhibition piece, but it's fingers crossed because it's a specialist market.

Which means it could be a lot rarer.

-It's a one-off.

-Yes.

-How can you do your price comparables? You can't.

That's what auctions are all about. This is what makes this so exciting.

Right now, it's going under the hammer.

-We're going to find its real value. Good luck, both of you.

-Thank you.

181. Are you showing it? You're not even picking it up. 181.

We've got this heavy jardiniere, the Hannah Barlow decorated one.

Doulton Lambeth, 1885.

Never seen one that size before. £500. 500. 500. 600.

700. 800. 900.

1,000. 1,100. 1,200.

£1,200 there. 1,200. 1,200.

-We're a long way off.

-Yeah. We are, a bit.

30. 50. 40. 50. 50. 50. 60.

50. 70. 50. 80. 50. 90. 50.

Yes.

One more.

1975. Was it you?

Go on. 1,975. 1,975. 1,975.

-Great year.

-Are you going to fill it up for me? 1,975. It's going.

At 1,975...

Yes. We've done it.

I think the auctioneer's going to make up the extra £25

because it was fixed at £2,000, but what a great result.

I'm pleased with that, cos I didn't have high hopes, in fairness.

-I thought it was the wrong sale.

-You were getting the wobbles this morning, I could see that.

I had the cobbles this morning, I can tell you.

Your reputation was on the line.

Oh, it's been on the line for some years.

Naughty boy.

Look, that's great, isn't it? What are you going to do with the money?

I'll reinvest it into something nice, another piece of pottery, probably.

-Something smaller.

-Yeah. Definitely. Something lighter.

-Yes. Yeah.

Well, that's it. It's all over and what a cracking day we've had.

It's wonderful to be back here in Mold. Anthony Parry, on the rostrum, has worked his magic.

I hope you've enjoyed the show, so until the next time, from Mold, it's cheerio.