Isle of Wight Flog It!

Today's location is often referred to as the Garden Island.

It boasts some of the most spectacular scenery in the UK, inspiring artists and poets alike.

Welcome to Flog It!, from the Isle of Wight.

The Isle of Wight has been a popular holiday destination for decades.

The '60s and '70s proved to be a golden age for those looking for the traditional British seaside holiday.

Well, I've just spotted two people enjoying the scenery in the marina.

Hang on a minute.

That's our two experts... Will Axon and Kate Bateman.

Hey, come on, guys.

We've got work to do.

And this is where we're getting down to business today.

The Cowes Yacht Haven. We've got a massive queue here.

It looks like there's lots of people taking a break from the beach

due to a bit of inclement weather.

Well, it's 9.30, it's time to get them inside.

I'm quite excited to see what you lot have got, so let's get the doors open.

-Yeah.

-CROWD: Yeah.

-'And as I get everybody into place...'

Come on, Sylvia, let's get you to a seat.

'..here's a sneak preview of what's coming up on today's show.

'We'll meet Matt and Ian and their intriguing salvage

'and the auctioneer and I agree it could be something special.'

Well, this is definitely the one to watch later on and I can't wait for this to go under the hammer.

But first, ready to start us off, is Will and he's led Bill and Avis

over to his table with their fantastic Cornish pottery.

Which one of you is responsible for these two pieces?

-Well, my wife is, actually.

-Is she?

We were looking for a cottage

in St Ives, and going in the estate agents

and we saw the shop with... there were three potters in there.

-They all had a section.

-Yes.

And I rather liked these cos they were unusual cos everything was round and striped and brown and orange.

-And these stood out for you.

-Yes.

I couldn't see how they were made because they're such an unusual shape.

Yes. So you made the decision to buy them and Bill, did you agree with this decision?

-Yes.

-Something that you like as well?

-I probably paid for them.

-Oh, really.

-She chooses, you pay.

-As long as they were under a fiver, he didn't mind, you see.

So you paid less than a fiver for these.

Well, these probably don't need any introduction to yourselves or to the viewers at home.

They're obviously two pieces of Troika pottery.

You've already mentioned St Ives, Cornwall.

That's where it was established in the 1960s.

Drawing influences as we've said many times before, on the abstract artists of the time.

Ben Nicholson, Barbara Hepworth.

The Cornish landscape.

It was a form of sort of art pottery of the time, shall we say.

You mentioned about how they're made.

From as far as I understand it,

these are made in slabs and then constructed

and then the actual designs, themselves,

are either incised out or built up on those slabs.

Are they still on display, proudly, in your home?

No. We're looking for a painting so if we get any money we'll put it towards a painting.

Excellent. What sort of painting?

-Seascape.

-Seascape. Well, let's see. Your investment of...

under a fiver, you say.

Let's say £4 each, shall we say.

You bought them back in the '70s.

-Yes.

-Yes. In the '70s. Well, let's put a 0 on the end of your original investment.

Shall we say sort of £40-£60 each, which would translate for the two, sort of £80-£120.

Around that £100 mark, I would say, for the two.

Are you happy with that? It was your original layout, Bill, £4 apiece, so are you happy with that?

I'd be happy with that. Yes.

-I think let's reserve them at £80 cos they've got to be worth that, haven't they?

-Yeah.

And fingers crossed on the day, we get some money to put towards

a wonderful seascape to hang in your modern home, now.

So, Mike, we're in a yacht club.

You look like a seafaring kind of fellow. Are you a sailor?

I was a sailor. I still am when I get the chance but I don't own a boat any more.

OK. You've brought something in that's not related to sailing, at all.

You've brought this fantastic snuff box. Now, what do you know about it?

It came from my mother.

And prior to that, from my grandmother.

OK.

And we always assumed that it came from her great grandmother.

OK. There's a name on the top which might give us some clues.

It says "R Bidmead Tunley" and then you've got the date 1856. You said, maybe,

your grandmother had it?

-Yes.

-Do you think it was given from a Bidmead to her?

-Possibly.

-Could have been.

-Possibly.

-But no history of the Bidmead name.

-No.

-No. OK. If we open it up...

-..this is a surprise.

-Well, indeed.

We've got powder inside.

But it's always had powder in.

Ever since I've known it, put it that way.

OK. Well, it's not a powder compact, needless to say. It's a snuff box.

-Yeah.

-And what's even nicer for me is I look inside for some magical little letters...

"N M." Now, do you know who that's for?

-Not the slightest idea.

-I do. It's Nathaniel Mills.

-Really.

He is a fairly well-known Victorian snuff box maker.

He's known mainly for what are known as the "Castle Top" boxes.

So, ones with views of various castles and views of cities and things.

Sadly, they make a lot more than his plain ones.

This hasn't got any decoration apart from this name on the top.

And often, when you get stuff that's inscribed with somebody, it tends to

lower the value because clearly, it means nothing to the new buyer. But it's still a great maker.

Have you any idea what you think it's worth?

-I haven't got a clue.

-No idea.

-But you're willing to part with it?

-Yes. Yes. I'm 80.

You don't look a day over 50.

Eventually, it's going to happen.

And there'll just be a sale and it'll all disappear into...

and I might just as well use it.

-OK.

-Have a bit of fun with it now.

-OK. Well, I think it's probably worth somewhere between £150-£250.

-OK.

It might even do more on a good day but I think that's about the figure we would be hoping for at auction.

-OK.

-Would you be happy with that figure?

-Yeah.

If we were putting a reserve, I would put it just below the low estimate.

-I'll leave it to you.

-So about £100 reserve.

-Yeah.

-I think that's got a really good chance of selling.

-Good.

-If you're happy to send it to the sale, we'll give it a go.

-Absolutely.

-See you there.

-See you there.

-Aye, aye, Captain.

'And as I keep an eye out for a gem,

'Will has already found a jewel.'

So, Robin, you brought in two very different pieces

of Poole pottery for us. Are they both yours?

No. This one's mine and that one's my nephew's.

He's asked me to sell it. He lives on the mainland.

Oh, he lives on the mainland, not on the island.

-Not on the island. No.

-So he's come over on the ferry for us to have a look at and sell for him.

-Yes.

And you own this one here.

-I own this one here. Yes.

-OK. Well, let's have a look at them now.

This one's going to be the later example.

So we'll look at the earlier example here.

This is a typical Poole charger, typical colours.

Designed by Truda Carter.

And if we turn it over, let's have a look at the back which tells us more about it.

We can see here a rather interesting stencil. We've got W T L & S...

1939 and the date.

So I suspect that I've seen these before and these are chargers that

-have been produced and commissioned by a firm called Lamb & Sons.

-Yes.

These were pieces that they were having produced and stencilled on the back and given away as,

-shall we say, corporate gifts.

-Yes.

How's it come to be in your nephew's hands?

Has he got a connection, perhaps, with someone who was presented this?

No. I believe he bought it at a boot sale.

Did he? Well, we hear that a lot on this programme.

Any ideas what he paid for it?

Wouldn't have been any more than about £50, I should imagine.

Well, you're suggesting that he may be a bit tight or a bit mean...

-Knowing Michael, yes.

-Really.

-Well, he's done well if he bought it for that.

-Yeah.

And we move on to this one here, the later Poole vase.

This one here, I don't know hardly anything about it.

-I found it in a skip.

-Did you?

-Yes.

You've done well cos I mean the condition looks good, as well.

It is. It's beautiful.

It's bright. It's brash.

It's this sort of flaming oranges and reds with this almost,

-It's almost like... They're like mistletoe leaves.

-It does look like that. Yes.

I think it's sort of mistletoe and then you've got the middle berries, that sort of thing.

-So there's going to be at least 50 years between them.

-Yeah.

-Same firm.

Do you have any idea which one's going to be worth more?

I'd imagine that one there is going to be worth more than this.

I mean, generally, when you're in this sort of business, the older the better...

unless you are talking about specific 20th century designers and signed pieces.

And what sort of value does your nephew expect it to be valued at?

-I don't really know.

-No.

-He just said sell it.

-Did he?

-Yes.

-I might come in really low then.

But I would say that the Poole charger, on its own,

is going to be worth in the region of £100-£150.

-Do you think he would give us the go-ahead with that?

-Yes.

-Good.

-And then the Poole vase which is your find...

-Yes.

..what I'd like to do is put it with the charger.

Makes an interesting lot. Two pieces, perhaps, for the price of one, so it's bound to find a buyer.

-Do you think he wants a reserve or shall we just let it make what it makes?

-Just what it makes.

Oh, he's my kind of guy. I like that. As an auctioneer, we like no reserve.

Puts a bit of pressure on me though cos I'm hoping it's not going to go for less than £100.

So it's down to what it's going to make on the day.

I predict 100-150, but we shall see.

-So, Libby, you've brought in a little girl.

-Yeah.

What can you tell me about her?

She's a piece of modern-day Lalique.

-Right.

-I bought her 13 years ago at the Liberty shop in London.

-Do you like it?

-I liked Lalique at the time and I wanted to get a piece

and I was made redundant and I used some of my redundancy money on her.

-Oh, you splashed out.

-Yes.

-OK. Well, let's have a closer look at her.

She's, basically, petrol-blue. She's sort of Vaseline glass.

So quite sort of oil-slick effect on her.

And she's, basically, a very nubile young maiden.

On the back, as well, if we have a look at the back, you can see that it does have the Lalique France

inscription on it so, obviously, that tells us where it's come from.

She is quite small and clearly the older Lalique piece, the 1920s, 1930s pieces,

make a lot of money. There's lots of collectors out there.

There are quite a lot of these paperweight-sized ones out there.

They do fish and all sorts of different designs

but she's pretty and I think anyone that wants to get into a niche of starting to collect

the lower end of Lalique, this would be a nice starting point.

So what would the money go towards if you did sell her?

It would go to Cancer Research UK.

I lost three family members to cancer last year.

-So this is a close to your heart cause.

-Yes. Very. Yes.

-Right. OK. So, anything we can get would be good.

-Yeah.

What did you pay for her?

I bought her 13 years ago at the cost of £75.

Right. OK.

In terms of valuation, she's not going to have made that money back again.

But I think, at auction, you would expect an estimate of between £40-£60

and you'd put a reserve slightly lower than that, so maybe a £30 reserve, 40-60 estimate.

-Would you be OK with that?

-Yeah. Yeah.

-Yes.

-I'd be fine with that.

-So anything we can get will be a bonus.

-Yes.

-Brilliant.

Well, we've had a busy morning, so far, and guess what,

it's time to take our first excursion to the auction room.

Here's what's up for sale.

Avis couldn't resist these two Cornish vases.

-I probably paid for them, though.

-She chooses, you pay.

As long as they were under a fiver, he didn't mind.

Avis made a smart buy as Will sees the two pieces of Troika making £80-£120.

The silver snuff box, belonging to local mariner, Michael.

Aye, aye, Captain.

Kate revealed the maker is the 19th century silversmith,

Nathaniel Mills, and gave it a price tag of £150-£250.

We're selling this duo of Poole pottery, belonging to Robin and his nephew.

Will thinks the charger is the star that will get this pair sold.

And finally, Libby's Lalique figure.

Kate valued it at a mere £40-£60.

But could this little lady be about to send shockwaves through the auction?

I'm tingling.

-Thanks very much, driver.

-All right.

There's nothing like arriving in style, is there?

Today, we're the guests of Island Auction Rooms, here in Shanklin,

and this is where we find out

exactly how much our antiques are really worth.

So let's get inside before all the action starts.

I must show you this. It's so exciting. We're on an island.

We're surrounded by sea.

There's lots of maritime history here. And look what I've spotted.

I'll show you...

Hasn't that got the wow factor?

It's called a sailor's valentine.

This sailor would have been on a voyage,

maybe taking two or three months at sea on a big old tea clipper.

And he's collected these seashells to relieve the boredom over those three months.

He's made up this diorama for his sweetheart back at home.

Condition is fantastic.

You'd expect to pay something between £1,500 and £2,000

for a diorama like this, circa 1850. It's beautiful.

Now, let's get the sales started.

Today's auctioneer, Warren Riches, is already on the rostrum ready to sell our first lot.

It's the Troika, belonging to Avis and Bill. It's great to see you.

I think Will's put a bit of a come-and-buy-me on this one.

-Do you?

-Well, it's two lots. We've got the vase and the cube.

Both have got to do £50 or £60 each, surely?

Well, there's a lot of talk, that Troika's in and out of fashion again,

so I've tried to keep it realistic. You don't want them back, do you, once you decided to sell them?

-Bill, I don't think you were ever too keen on them, were you?

-Not really. No.

-No.

-So, £40 each, they've got to be worth that, haven't they?

-Of course they have.

Troika. Cuboid vase with marks to the base

together with one other.

It's coming in at...

-65.

-..65. 70, anywhere?

70. Five. 80. Five. 90. Five.

100. 110. 120. 130. 140. 150.

160. 170.

170. Someone had their arm up. 170. 180...

-180.

-Yeah.

-..190. One more?

180, then. It's £180 in the centre.

Are we all done at 180? All done.

-Yes. £180, Avis and Bill.

-Excellent.

That's good. That's very good.

And that was a good investment for £5 back then, wasn't it?

That's what it's all about, really.

-Now, you can go off and go hunting for that seascape you want, can't you?

-Yes.

We can, indeed. Have lunch, as well.

What a perfect day, that's all I can say.

55. And 60. And five.

70.

Next up, a snuff box, just about to go under the hammer.

And at £150 to 250, it should be a pinch because it's by Nathaniel Mills, top maker.

And it belongs to Michael, here.

-It is.

-It was your mum's, wasn't it, I gather.

-Yes.

Yeah. Why are you selling this?

-Money.

-Money.

-Yeah.

-Brutally honest, but fair enough.

-Yes.

-And a little birdie's told me...

-Yeah.

-..congratulations is in order.

-Yes. Indeed.

-Come on. Tell us why.

Great granddaughter.

-A great granddaughter.

-Yeah.

And what's her name?

-Izzy.

-Izzy.

-She's in New Zealand.

-Oh, is she?

-Yeah.

-Well with the proceeds from the snuff box,

-you can send her a lovely present out to New Zealand for her.

-Indeed.

Silver snuff box. Engraved decoration.

Birmingham hallmark for 1850 with a maker's mark for Nathaniel Mills.

Nice little snuff box. Someone start me at £80.

70. Five, anywhere?

Five. 80. Five. 90. Five. 100.

110. 120. 130. 140.

140. 150. 160. 170.

170.

170, in a new place. 180.

Good maker. 190. 200. 210. 220.

In the centre, the lady seated, at 210. We're selling at 210. All done.

Yes. How about that? £210. That'll make a cracking little present.

-Yeah. Lucky Izzy.

-Exactly.

And hopefully, if you can save up a bit more, you can get out there and see her one day soon.

Next up, an old Flog It! favourite. A bit of Poole pottery.

A vase and a plate and the motto here is, don't skip it,

put it in an auction room because it is worth money.

-And that's exactly what you've done, haven't you?

-Yes. I have.

Yeah. Well, done to you, Robin.

We've got a valuation of £100-£150.

That's right. We've got sort of an earlier charger and then a later Poole vase

which is a bit more sort of modern and a bit more stylish, but again, we've gone for a no reserve

cos things you find in a skip don't owe you anything so you might as well get what you can for them.

This is classic recycling.

You can't get greener than antiques really, can you, cos it's not second-hand,

it's fifth, sixth, seventh... 20th-hand even.

Good recycling. And somebody's going to take pleasure in this.

Decorative Poole pottery plate with marks to the base, dated 1939,

together with a Poole pottery vase.

Two bits together. Nice lot. Someone start me at 40. £40, anywhere?

40 bid. Two, can I say?

40 in the centre and 42. 44. 46. 48.

50. Five. 60. Five. 70. Five.

80. Five. 90. Five.

100. 110. 120. 130. 140.

One more?

One last one. You said that last time. 140. 150.

-Yes.

-In the centre and selling at 150.

Top end. £150.

-Satisfied with that.

-Got to be, haven't you?

-Yes.

-Classic recycling.

-That's what the antiques industry is all about, isn't it?

-Yes.

55. And 60. Five.

70.

Next under the hammer, we've got quality. A top name in glass, Lalique.

Now, I've just been joined by Libby and our valuer, Kate.

You're selling this because all the money is going to charity.

It's a fantastic cause. Tell us about it.

Yes. It's going to Cancer Research.

Yes. I lost three family members to cancer last year and my uncle in the last two weeks.

Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. Let's hope we get top money.

We've got £40-£60 on this.

-Yeah. Cautious estimate.

-Cautious.

-Hopefully, it'll do better.

-Let's see if the bidders can help us out on this one.

Small Lalique glass ornament. Kneeling nude female

with the engraved signature... showing there. It's a nice thing.

We've got interest level at...

-45.

-45 here. 46, anywhere? 46. 48.

50. Five. 60. Five. 70. Five.

80. Five. 90. Yep. And five.

-100. 110. 120. 130. 140...

-Fantastic.

-..150.

No. 140, then. It's a gentleman in the centre, at 140. 150, anywhere?

150 in a new place. 160. 170.

-180. 190...

-I knew it would do that.

-..200.

Yes. 210. 220.

230. 240.

250. 260. 270. 280. 290.

One more? No. 280, then. £280 on the left.

280 and selling. All done.

I'm tingling all over.

That is absolutely fantastic.

-All that money is going to Cancer Research. How do you feel about that?

-Brilliant. Brilliant.

-Yeah.

-I'm shocked.

Now, before we head back to the valuation tables in Cowes, come with me for just a few minutes

up the road to meet an award-winning artist whose paintings prove small IS beautiful.

The story of miniature paintings dates right back to the 1500s, but their popularity really flourished

in the 17th and 18th centuries when they became fashionable with the monarchy.

They were the photographs of the day and traditionally, a king

would receive these small portable paintings from far and wide in order to choose a prospective wife.

Rumour has it that King Henry VIII was very pleased

by a miniature of Anne of Cleves, but when he met his fourth bride in the flesh,

the King felt that the royal artist had flattered Anne a little too much.

Painting miniatures is by no means a dying art.

I'm here, today, to meet Elizabeth Meek. Hi, Elizabeth.

-Hi, Paul.

-Great to see you.

'President of the Royal Miniature Society, she's been painting miniatures for over 20 years.

'But her career as an artist very nearly didn't happen.'

-Incredible. Really good. Big fan of your work.

-Thank you.

So, did you go to art school?

What made you become an artist?

As a child, I was just passionate about drawing all the time.

I spent most of my childhood drawing to the detriment of my schoolwork.

And I had said I wanted to go to art college but it was just not possible

so I went to be a nurse in London,

but I still had that need to draw and I spent all my off-duty days making

my colleagues sit down and sit for me so I could sketch them and draw them.

And finally, after about six years of nursing, I decided that I really did want to be an artist.

That was what was inside me, although I loved being a nurse,

so that's what I did and just taught myself and worked doggedly.

The detail is absolutely incredible.

You've obviously got great eyesight.

What attracted you to becoming a miniature portrait artist?

My drawings were always larger than paintings...

but always quite detailed. I've always gone for some more detailed work, that's just my natural bend.

And it just happened that I was in a bookshop one day and I saw a book on sale.

It was reduced from 45 to £5 and I just bought it cos I thought it would be a bargain.

And I was flicking through it, it was all about miniatures.

I'd never heard of miniatures.

Knew nothing about the history and it was from that moment I thought gosh, I'd love to have a go at these.

And were you successful? Did it happen straightaway for you?

I discovered the Royal Miniature Society and within two years,

I was exhibiting with the Royal Miniature Society.

And then started winning awards pretty well after that.

After two years, you were winning awards!

I probably, overall, won about... I'm not quite sure, but about 20 awards for my miniatures.

-Unbelievable.

-Now I'm President of the Royal Miniature Society.

So having gone from a completely self-taught unknown,

I ended up being the President.

That is an incredible achievement, isn't it?

-Is a lot of your work now commission-based?

-Yes.

Most of my work is commission-based. It's my bread and butter.

I usually have a backlog of people waiting for me to do their commission.

And do most people want the portrait done in the traditional manner

like these in an old acorn frame, you know, head and shoulders?

It varies. Some people like to have the little ovals.

I can do slightly larger ovals.

-I can do rectangular.

-Three-quarter length.

-Whatever they want.

-Talk me through some of these because you've travelled a lot.

-I've travelled a fair bit.

Actually, this was the first miniature I ever did.

-Oh, really?

-Yes. I was in Rhodes and she was sitting right at the back of this sort of cafe place

selling old tablecloths and I just thought she had the most wonderful little old apple face.

-Oh, she has!

-Yeah.

-So round, but it's just so happy.

And just a really happy face and I just thought she was absolutely stunning.

So these two were actually in my first miniatures.

He was a swimming pool attendant where I used to go swimming.

-Incredible.

-This man was a very interesting man.

When I lived in London, he was always dressed in the most extraordinary clothes

and he was a great character, so I asked if I could do his portrait.

-You capture the very essence of the moment.

-That is the most important thing for me.

I don't want a photograph.

-I want to capture the personality and character.

-Yeah.

And when I'm doing my commissions, that for me, is absolutely imperative that I spend a bit

of time with people, just discovering who they are and what they're about.

And do you go out and about on the island here, finding subject matter?

When I go out on my walks for a bit of a recce for a subject,

I'm looking for a really interesting face, people who are wearing vibrant clothes,

anybody that captures my interest at that moment.

It may not capture other people's and they may not see what I'm seeing but just somebody that I want to paint.

So let's start the process off, where does it all start with a miniature?

I start by going in my studio which is my sacrosanct place which I don't really like people going in.

And I put my classical music on which gets me nicely calm and relaxed

and I sit down at my easel.

And take my Ivorine and my very small brush.

I use tiny, tiny brushes, four noughts, and lay on my paints.

And have my magnifying glass. I've only actually just started using a magnifying glass all the time.

With old age, the eyesight's going a bit.

I'm very, very careful in my studio not to create any dust.

That is one of the things that is most detrimental to your miniature.

I would probably just make somebody sit for an hour and a half, something like that, maximum, cos they've got

to sit absolutely dead still and that's quite hard.

My portraits take about 90 hours.

When a client comes to you for a commission, what do they want, what do they ask you for?

They want, obviously, a very good likeness, but sometimes they want to be flattered a little, too...

so, softened, shall we say?

-Can I have a look at the studio?

-Yes. Of course.

-So, come this way.

-Very nice.

Very nice.

I pinched the dining room but that was the best room for me.

-It's got good natural light.

-It has. Yeah.

-What's on the easel? What are we looking at here?

That's one of my favourites.

-OK.

-And it's won me awards.

This one was a guy I saw in Tunisia and it's just never worked for me. It's very flat.

The colour's not right. I struggled with that one and it shows. I've never exhibited that anywhere.

So this is kind of a good example of what you think is a great sitting and one that you're not happy with?

Yes, and I was very unhappy. I've never exhibited that anywhere.

I'm sure you don't have many that you're not happy with.

I don't have many but there's the odd one or two and I mean, you can't create a fantastic one every time.

-No.

-It just doesn't happen.

-But as long as you're sort of relatively happy...

-Consistent.

-Yeah.

-These are definitely antiques of the future.

-Oh, definitely.

And we have massive collectors, but of course,

there are the antique miniatures which go like hot cakes, as I was told by somebody at Bonhams.

And they sell out at their auctions.

And one recently went for 1 million.

-And who was that of?

-It was a George Washington.

So the sitter is very important, as well.

I think it is. Yes. Possibly.

-Have you had any famous clients lately?

-I've done work for the Prince of Wales,

-Princess Michael of Kent.

-Were you nervous when you were painting Prince Charles?

I was excessively nervous, yes, but he was very, very nice.

He was very reassuring and he understood.

-He was happy, was he?

-He was very happy. Yes, he was.

Good for you. I would be as well, I think.

I think you're a remarkable talent, you really are.

Elizabeth, thank you for showing me around your house and your studio.

It's been a real pleasure and an eye-opener.

Elizabeth's incredible skill and patience has enabled her to capture the most exquisite miniatures,

a technique that dates back some 500 years

and hopefully that legacy is now going to last another 500 years.

Well, small being beautiful is a lesson that Kate is adopting back at the Cowes Yacht Haven.

-Doreen, you've brought in this lovely brooch. What do you know about it?

-Not a lot.

-Just that it was my mother's.

-Right.

And I don't know where she got it or anything but it was a present,

obviously, from my father to her, at some stage.

And I don't ever recollect her wearing it.

-Right.

-I had thought about making it into a pendant.

-Right.

-And maybe if somebody likes the thing that they could perhaps do that anyway.

-Convert it.

-And convert it.

-But I'm not a brooch person.

-Right.

-So I'm happy for it to go.

-I wouldn't have thought you were a local person, either.

I detect a bit of an accent.

Yes. I'm Irish.

You're Irish. Not from Cowes, at all.

-No.

-Have you been here long?

-Ten years on the island.

-Well, you've not lost the accent.

-No. But about 40 years in England.

Oh, pretty much English now.

-Not Irish any more.

-Yes.

-Brilliant. OK.

So this is a classic Belle Epoque pendant, which basically means "beautiful time".

It's late 19th century, very early 20th century and probably Continental. And it's lovely.

I mean, it's a classic style of the late 19th century. Quite ornate.

You've got sort of little trefoil three little leaves here,

surrounded by rubies and the little pendant pearl at the bottom.

-It's not marked but it is gold.

-Yes.

-I've had a quick look at it.

Now, you mentioned you had taken it to a jeweller?

No. A friend of mine who was looking at some other stuff that I was selling had a look at it and said

that it was all rubies. He wasn't sure about the large one.

-That was the only thing.

-He thought it might have been replaced?

It is a slightly different colour.

Yes. And he wasn't sure about it.

-That's all he could tell me.

-OK. Well we can have a closer look at that and we'll

-let the auctioneers look at it if it goes to sale.

-Yes. Yes.

Any ideas pricewise?

Well, I don't know what it's worth but I thought perhaps around 200?

Right. OK. They're difficult because, obviously, they're not everyone's taste

-so they are a bit out of fashion.

-Yes.

-And as you say, they're not very wearable.

-No.

-But, I think that's about right.

-I mean, an auction estimate would probably be £150-£250.

-Good. Yes.

So, maybe £150 reserve?

I think that's a good idea to put 150 less and then hope, hope...

-Hope for more.

-Hope for a little more. Yes.

-Hope and pray.

-Yes. A little more.

-OK. But will you be sad to see it go?

-Yes, and no.

-Right.

-But then I've got this and other bits, as well.

-I did notice that. This is a fantastic ring, as well.

-And really unusual. I mean, I think that's absolutely fantastic.

-Yes.

-Was that hers, too?

-Yes.

-She used to wear this a lot.

-Brilliant.

-Yes. Yeah.

Well, we're not selling that one. Let's concentrate on this one.

-Hopefully, the next time you see it will be in the sale.

-I hope so.

Linda, you've made my day, you really have.

-Have I?

-Yes. It's put a big smile on my face, today.

I love this. So tell me a little bit about it.

-Well, I went to an exhibition in North West London and it was all of Scottish artists.

-Yeah.

-And I chose that one.

-How long ago was that?

-About 25 years.

-Oh, you've had this 25 years.

-I have. Yes.

-You've had it on the wall and enjoyed it.

-Yes. In various houses.

-Did it come off the wall, today?

-It did. Yes. And I dusted it first.

Well, I think this is charming.

-Big, big fan of this kind of thing...

-Yes.

Because it's timeless. It can go in and out. And the old little twee cottage...

-it can go in a contemporary apartment.

-Yes.

It can sit anywhere and it's a good furnishing size, as well.

But it's signed, Alexander MacBride.

But the subject matter...

it's just so romantic, a bluebell wood.

I can see why you fell in love with it.

-Yes.

-Can you tell me how much you paid for it? Can you remember?

-No. I can't. It was a present.

Right. OK. I've looked him up in the art index guide

which is something everybody uses to do their price comparables by.

-He has got form. He's sold in auction before.

-Yes.

And most recently, 2007 and it was a watercolour.

Not far off this size. About 250-350 mil.

And it realised a price of £520.

So I think if we put this into auction, we give it a price guide of £300-£500.

Put a fixed reserve at £300.

Invite some bidders in and I'm sure it's going to get somewhere around the top end of that estimate.

-How do you feel about that?

-Yes. I'm happy with that.

-Are you sure?

-Yes. I am. Yes.

-What would you do with the money? Would you reinvest it in modern art?

-Yes. I would.

And something more modern. Yes.

I have a modern house now so it'll fit in with that.

-I'd love this to do £500. I know it's worth £500, but we can't really start at £500.

-No.

We have to draw them in, give everybody a chance of buying this and hopefully,

they'll bid each other out. We'll get the auctioneer to put a picture in the catalogue.

We'll get it on the internet and hopefully, we'll find a buyer in Scotland

and you'll make top money at auction.

-I'm looking forward to it.

-Yeah. So am I.

Well, Matt, Ian, I'm not even going to pretend that I know what this is

on the table in front of us, but it certainly caught my eye.

Basically, what you've got in front of you is the heart of a paddle steamer.

This sat in front of a big triple expansion steam engine, the biggest type of engine you get in a boat.

-Yes.

-And an engineer would stand here.

You've got levers coming out and he's controlling the engine and driving the boat with this board.

-Which is why you've got these... astern, stop, ahead.

-That's right.

-So this here is the reversing for the stern lever.

-Yes.

This is the throttles, the speed of the boat.

And these are the valves and the drains for the engine, itself.

So this whole console controls...

-The nerve centre of the paddle steamer.

-That's right. Yeah.

And you're telling me that there was one locally and you rescued this from it. Is this right?

On the River Medina, in Cowes, or just up from Cowes,

we've got the PS Ryde and that's the last cross-Solent paddle steamer that exists.

She's a terrible wreck now.

-The boat's due to be scrapped in the next year or so.

-Is it?

Yeah. And we operate a paddle steamer called Medina Monarch and it's the smallest one in the world.

It's only one of three working paddle steamers that carry passengers in this country.

-And we were given the opportunity to go in and have a look for spares.

-Yes.

-And we came across this.

This was just lying about the ship.

All of these panels, which are separate, had been attacked by vandals.

-Yes.

-And they'd been dripped on by rusty water for decades.

-Yes.

And they just look like big black lumps of metal. They would mean nothing to anybody.

But we're nerds and we knew what it was.

-So yours is the paddle steamer, the Monarch?

-Yeah.

-And she's in use today.

-Yeah.

-She's sort of seagoing?

-She runs trips daily.

-Really.

-And we're raising money, at the minute, for a brand new boiler.

At the moment, she's under steamed.

She's all right for the river but a bit more steam and she'll go further, so we've got £15,000...

-That's the cost of a boiler, is it?

-..to raise for a new boiler.

-15,000.

-Yeah. Hard work but we'll do it.

-I don't know what something like this is worth.

-Will we make £1 million?

I hope so and I'm sure the auctioneer hopes so, too.

I know he's had some results in the past but I'm not sure he's had a £1 million bit of brass

going through his sale rooms.

But, I mean, we've got to put an estimate on it, haven't we?

So I'm going to say £50-£100 cos I think, at that sort of level,

-people are going to be saying, "I fancy that."

-Worth a punt.

-It's worth a punt.

And if you've got someone who really knows what it is and what it's worth to them, then

they're going to be prepared to pay no matter what the estimate is.

As a reserve, I think let it make what it makes.

I think, you know, yeah, let it find its level and hopefully, we could get what, from a tank of diesel...?

Tank of diesel would be lovely.

-And you could go right up to perhaps a full refurb if it sells really well.

-I've just done that.

-Have you?

-Well, it'll help pay for it.

-A new boiler will be fantastic.

A new boiler. That's what we'll call it. We'll say the boiler fund.

So the boys' maritime salvage completes our line-up heading off to auction.

Matt and Ian need to top Will's estimate of £50-£100 to get a new boiler for their paddle steamer.

And it may not be a seascape but I think this charming watercolour by Scottish artist, Alex MacBride,

should appeal to the islanders.

And finally, Doreen is happy to part with her mother's brooch.

I'm not a brooch person, so I'm quite happy for it to go.

So, will we find a brooch person amongst all these bidders.

Well, it's now time to find out.

Next up, something for the ladies. A wonderful diamond brooch.

It belongs to Doreen. We should do the top end, shouldn't we, 250?

It's not everybody's cup of tea, at the moment, but the quality's so nice,

hopefully, the workmanship will show out and it'll sell.

If it doesn't sell, you told me that you might get it sort of broken up and turned into something else.

I might have it put into a pendant, possibly, if it doesn't sell.

-It's a good idea really, isn't it?

-There's no point it sitting there in your cupboard, is it?

-No. No.

An attractive lady's diamond and ruby brooch

with single pearl and diamond pendant drop. £100 bid.

With Tim. 100. 110. 120. 130.

140. 150.

160. 170. 180.

190.

200. 210. 220.

All done at 210 and selling at 210.

Good estimate, Kate.

-£210.

-That is fantastic.

-That's great.

-Yes.

-What are you going to do with that?

Pay off my overdraft.

Hey, we've all got them, haven't we?

-Well, yeah.

-Pay off some of it, anyway.

Time's are hard at the moment.

-Yes.

-CONTINUES LAUGHING

Next up, we've got the bluebell painting by Alex MacBride and it's

got to be one of my favourite things of the sale, Linda.

-Absolutely love it and I know you do.

-Yes. Very pretty.

-We had to prise it off you, didn't we?

-You did.

Well, let's find out what the bidders think. Let's give this one a go.

Alex Macbride. Painting of bluebell woods.

Signed in the lower right-hand corner. Someone start me at 140.

-140 here. 150 anywhere?

-Cor, we've going in low.

150, can I say? 150.

160.

180. 200. 220. 240. 260. 280.

300.

320.

£300. Bidder in the corner and we're selling at £300.

Gosh! I had such high hopes for that one but it has gone so that's good news.

-Yes. Yeah.

-Yeah. Thank you so much for coming in and making my day with that, anyway.

-Thank you.

Right. Time now for that reclaimed control panel. Before it goes under the hammer

let's find out what the auctioneer thinks of it.

It caused the wow factor at the valuation day.

-We've emailed images and we've got telephone lines booked so I'm really hopeful.

-OK.

Can you speculate what this might go for on a good day, full steam ahead.

-Full steam ahead. £400-£600.

-Really. That much?

-Yeah. I hope so. Yeah. I think the level of interest...

it should reach the upper limit. Yeah.

Well, that's good news but ultimately, it's now down to the bidders.

Well, Will and I are certainly in awe of these two young men, Matt and Ian, because they're helping

-to preserve a very special piece of maritime history, here on the island.

-We are.

And this great big lump of brass that you wheeled into the valuation day is being sold

-to raise money to do up your paddle steamer. Is that right?

-It is. Yeah.

-So how did you come about buying her in the first place?

-I saw it on the internet for sale.

-I'd had too many glasses of cider and bought a paddle steamer... as you do.

-As you do.

Well look, here we go. It's going under the hammer. Good luck, guys.

Old paddle steamer cast iron and brass engine room control panel.

Lot ten. It's been illustrated.

Lots of interest throughout the country.

300. 300 on a commission. 300. 310, anywhere?

310. 320. 330. 340. 350.

360. 370.

380.

390. 400. 410.

420.

-430...

-That's great.

-..440.

450.

460. 470.

-480...

-It's a lot better than 50 quid.

..480. 490. 500?

500. 520.

500 here. 520, anywhere?

520, phone bid. 540. 560.

560. 580.

580. Yes. 600?

All done at 580?

600. Back in. 600. 620.

-620. 640. Is the phone bidder out?

-Are you out?

Come on. Come on. Come on.

All done at 620 and selling at £620.

Yes! £620.

-That's got to make you feel good.

-Yeah.

-Good for you.

Brilliant. I'm chuffed for you.

That goes a big way towards that finance, doesn't it?

-It does. That's really good.

-Thank you very much.

Thank you. Thank you. It's been a real pleasure.

That's what it's about, preserving a bit of maritime history.

I hope you enjoyed today's show here on the Isle of Wight.

You could say it was all plain sailing.

So 'till the next time, it's cheerio.

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