Blackburn Flog It!

This Lancashire town has been home to lots of famous people and played host to many as well,

including Mahatma Gandhi and Italian violinist Nicolo Paganini,

but today it's Flog It's turn. Welcome to Blackburn!

Home-grown talent includes Russell Harty, Superbike champion Carl Fogarty

and fashion designer Wayne Hemingway. And a well-known face was Labour's Barbara Castle,

who was the town's MP for more than 30 years, becoming Baroness Castle of Blackburn in 1990.

I wonder if we'll find any famous names linked to today's antiques.

There's only one way to find out - get along to King George's Hall, our venue for today.

Where I'm joined by Adam Partridge and Michael Baggott,

who are already rummaging through all the bags and boxes in search of some big names.

No prizes for guessing where I am, but what does Accrington have in common with New York?

Well, here's a clue. It involves another famous name.

In fact, it's a German name associated with our first item, as Michael is about to reveal.

-Betty...

-Yes.

-These wonderful, rather in-your-face copper vases!

-They're not something you'd walk by.

-No, they're not.

-Are they family things?

-No, just got them yesterday.

-You got them yesterday?

-Yes.

-How did you get them yesterday?

-Each Saturday we go shopping in different towns.

-We got them near Wigan yesterday.

-In antique shops...?

-A charity shop.

Oh, my word. Charity shops. Still, I say that,

but charity shops now can be quite expensive.

Can I ask the rude question, the one everyone's asking at home? How much?

-£10.

-Good grief. They say there are no more bargains, but I think they are out there.

-We found one yesterday.

-I think you did. Well, if they were nothing more than a pair of decorative

copper and brass vases, £10 is still too little to pay for them,

but we can see this wonderful Art Nouveau form.

We've got these sensuous, naturalistic whiplash handles,

with all these tendrils going off.

And then we've got, I have to say, a machine-done rather than hand-hammered finish.

And again the foliate stems,

the handles are echoed there.

If we turn them over, we might be lucky. 125.

-That's the pattern number. And we've got a little ostrich in a diamond. Do you know what that means?

-No.

-No idea.

-Not that they were made in Australia!

-It's an early mark for the WMF factory. The Wurttemberger Metallwaren Fabrik.

-Yes.

So they're German. There were made in about 1900, 1910.

The only downside is that everybody loves the highly-polished pewter from WMF. It looks like silver.

The mixed metals, the copper and brass, is not so keenly sought after.

-Oh.

-But when you've only paid £10 for them, you haven't got to worry.

I think bearing that in mind, I would put these into auction at...

-£60-£100.

-That's lovely.

-Let's put a fixed reserve on of £50, so they don't make any less.

-If they go for that, you've quadrupled your money.

-Yes.

-That's a good return.

I think they should do really well. They've got a lot of style.

-Let's hope on a good day they make £100.

-Lovely. Thank you very much.

-Welcome to Flog It, gentlemen. You're...

-Sidney.

-And...

-Will.

-Sidney and Will. Are you related?

-Yes, we're brothers.

-Excellent.

You've brought in this tea service. A joint inheritance, is it?

-Yes.

-Well, it will be. My mum's still alive.

I didn't like to jump the gun. But if you're two brothers with a tea service, it must be a family thing.

-So it's Mum's.

-Yes.

-OK. And how long has Mum had it?

-70 years.

-70 years. How did she get it?

-She was given it by an aunt.

-OK.

-On her 16th birthday.

Do you know where the aunt got it from? Have you tried to trace it?

Well, my mum's told us the story that it was brought as a gift for the family

by an Irish horse dealer, who came over supplying Liverpool Police with horses.

-Oh, really?

-A gift to the family.

-That's a very plausible story.

It is Irish porcelain. The Belleek factory.

-Yep.

-Famous for its translucent qualities.

-It is.

-And that it's easily breakable! I'm not going to demonstrate that...

-I hope not!

But the translucence of it. It's really very fine bone china.

-And on the bottom here you've got the Belleek mark.

-Yep.

It's the second period black mark. They've evolved through the ages

and turned from black to green. This is post-1891 because they've added Ireland on.

Without Ireland, it's pre-1891.

This is your second period, so it's in the collector's bracket for an old piece there.

-Any idea what it's worth?

-Em, well...

-Possibly 300 plus?

-Yeah. I think that may be slightly hopeful.

-I was thinking £200-£300.

-Right.

-I think that's probably a realistic starting point.

-Does that sound all right with you?

-Sounds fine, yes.

I do advise a reserve of 200. I think any less than that and it's probably best to...

-My mum wouldn't want it to go too cheap.

-Don't upset Mum.

-Definitely not.

-Will she do anything specific with the money?

-Home improvements. It'll go towards some improvements.

-Well, it's a lovely shape, lovely design. Let's hope it finds a good home at the auction.

-I'm sure.

-Thanks for coming.

-Thank you.

-Don't you just love him? I've got three sisters here. Help me with the names.

-Josie.

-Josie.

-Susan.

-Susan.

-Pauline.

-And Pauline. Three in the family or more?

Five of us altogether. We have another sister and a brother.

-OK. So all five of you played with this bear at some stage.

-Albert.

-He's called Albert?

-He is.

We've started with Albert's good side. He only has one ear.

We used to ride him as children and we used to use his ears as handlebars, unfortunately.

-So one fell off.

-Somewhere along the line, yes.

It's a good job this ear is intact. Because that's the ear with the all-important Steiff stud.

-You know it's there.

-Yes.

-You pointed it out to me.

It's just inside there.

Where is it? Just there.

And that says Steiff on it. That puts the value up. It's the Rolls Royce of teddy bears.

He's got all the attributes you want of a good Steiff bear.

Good colour, that cinnamon colour. He's got his hump still.

He's got his original glass eyes. He's got a great long nose.

There's one little surprise left. He's still got his growl.

-Yes.

-Who wants to pull it for the last time?

For the last time!

-BEAR GROWLS

-Maybe you'll get a go in the auction room as well.

Now this is, I would say, 1950s. Would that correlate to when you had it?

-Somewhere around there?

-I think so.

Late '40s maybe? '50s?

-He was at Grandma's.

-It looks it. The wheels on this

and that H framework look to be typical 1955, somewhere around there.

-I think we'll put him into auction, if it's OK with you, with a value of £200-£300.

-Right.

-Hopefully, we'll get that top end.

-Yes.

-Great.

-And all the money will be divided up?

Yes, we'll probably go out and have a nice meal.

-That would be nice.

-I'm feeling sorry for him now. You're off to a new home, mate!

If I turn him round, do you feel guilty now?

-Now we've got his bad side. He'll feel grumpy cos he's on camera.

-BEAR GROWLS

Jo, I suppose I should say, "Stand and deliver!" You've brought this along today.

Can I ask what you are doing with such a gruesome weapon as this?

I found it, after my dad died, in the bottom of his drawer.

Not really sure where he got it from, but it might have been left to him.

-So down through the family.

-Could be. We'd never, ever seen it.

-It was never put on show.

-Any idea when it was made? Where?

All I know is it's probably an 18th-century officer's pistol.

-That's what I've been told.

-Not a bad punt.

The Pirates of the Caribbean have something similar!

We all learn from film and television. It's slightly later than that period.

It's early 19th century. And the reason we can tell

is sometimes we're lucky and the trigger guard is made of silver with a full set of hallmarks.

In this case, all the furniture of the trigger guard, escutcheon plate, housing for the ramrod,

they're all in brass, but all nicely engraved. If we look at that first,

we've got a little sunburst there. And then we've got trophies.

We've got the Union Jack and a drum and trophies of war.

-What's most important, we've got the name HW Mortimer.

-Right.

In terms of early 19th century gunmakers, if we compared it to cars today,

-Mortimer were the Ferrari...

-Ooh!

-..of gunmakers.

He was working at 89 Fleet Street in London.

And he was gunsmith to George III.

So he was pretty much top of the tree.

This, having said that, isn't one of his best pistols.

-It's by a very, very good maker, but...

-One of the more basic range.

-A basic pistol.

The other thing is it has got quite a lot of faults. We've got quite a bit of corrosion here.

We've got a few knocks and, most importantly,

the bit wot holds the flint, that makes it go bang, isn't there any more.

This is a flint lock pistol that would have fired a flint

-on that strike plate with igniting powder there.

-OK.

-Any idea what it's worth?

-No.

-A ten-pound note? Twenty-pound note?

-Probably 50.

-£50.

-Because of the heaviness of it.

-I've got my wallet... No.

I think we should certainly put it into auction, with that name,

-for £200-£300.

-Right. OK.

-We should put a fixed reserve of £180 on it.

-OK.

-And let's hope it stands and delivers at the auction.

-Great.

I think we've found some cracking antiques today. It's time we put our valuations to the test.

So I have left the valuation day and I've walked, on foot, across the border into Yorkshire

and we've found ourselves at the Calder Valley Auction Rooms.

It's an old converted mill house and look - we ARE here today!

On the rostrum is auctioneer Ian Peace. While I get in position,

I'll leave you with a quick rundown of all the items going under the hammer.

Our owners have usually owned their antiques for quite some time, but not Betty's £10 copper vases.

They're not something you'd walk by. Are they family things?

No, I just got them yesterday.

By contrast, brothers William and Sidney's Belleek tea seat has been their mum's for 70 years.

But now she needs the cash.

Sisters Susan, Josie and Pauline grew up with their bear, Albert.

We used to ride him as children and we used to use his ears as handlebars, unfortunately.

-So one fell off.

-Somewhere along the line, yes.

But the vital Steiff tag had survived!

Another great survivor is this early 19th century pistol belonging to Jo,

made by another famous name, HW Mortimer.

If we compared it to cars today,

-Mortimer were the Ferrari...

-Ooh!

-..of gunmakers.

Let's hope it puts our bidders' wheels in a spin!

First up today is Betty's charity shop find.

It's those two lovely WMF vases, the copper ones. They're stunning.

Michael, you put £100-£200 on these. How much did you get them for?

-£10.

-£10! You see, it IS all out there. In Wigan?

-Yes. A charity shop.

-Do you go there often?

-We go to different towns every Saturday.

-Do you?

-To the charity shops?

-Yes.

-I couldn't get the precise location!

-We need the postcode.

-We do.

-Can you make much money from doing that?

-Well, we usually buy what we like.

-Oh, I see.

-And you keep it.

-And keep it.

-This is the first thing you're selling.

-You got this the day before our valuation day.

-Yes.

-Let's hope we get that £200 top end.

It's WMF. It's quality.

A pair of Art Nouveau design beaten copper vases. There we are.

Who'll open me at £50?

50 I'm bid. At 50.

55. 60.

And 5. 70.

And 5. 80. And 5.

85. The lady's bid at £85. Have you all done at £85?

-Sold.

-Fantastic. All for a tenner.

-Did you polish them up like that?

-No, Billy did.

-You've got to give him £10 for that.

-They are gleaming. Aren't they?

-Stunning.

Look, congratulations, Betty. There is commission to pay, whether you buy or sell.

-But I think that's a nice meal out for you and hubby.

-That's true.

I've just been joined by William and Sidney, selling the Belleek.

It's early and we've got £200-£400 on this. Why are you selling this?

We've just moved from a large farmhouse to a house half the size.

-And my mum daren't wash it.

-No! You can't wash or clean Belleek!

-It's a bit of a liability.

-So we've decided to let someone else enjoy it.

-OK.

Lot 603. A Belleek porcelain 15-piece tea service.

Attractive teapots included. Lot 603.

Open this at £100, then. £100.

At 120. I have 140. 160.

180. And 200.

At £200. 10 anywhere? It's going for £200.

At £200. First and last time.

It's gone. That was short and sweet. Straight in and straight out.

-Not a lot of competition, but it's gone.

-Someone else can enjoy it.

-And have the problems cleaning it!

-That's what you really mean! Be honest.

"I want someone else to enjoy it." You just don't want to take it home!

Now it's my turn to be the expert. We've got two of the three sisters, Josie and Sue.

Unfortunately, Pauline can't be with us. Couldn't get the day off work.

But we do have Albert the Bear! And he's looking stunning.

Oh, dear. This is a sad moment, parting with things like this.

I wouldn't do it, but I know you've got to split the money up, so poor old Albert goes under the hammer.

Right now.

Now we have Albert the Bear, the Steiff push along plush bear.

I'm opening this at £100. At 100. And 10. 120.

130. 140. At 140. 150.

160. At £160. 170. At 170. 180.

190. At 200, do I see?

At £190. At £190. At £200. At £200.

210. At £210.

At the back of the room at 210. Are you all done?

It's selling at £210. First and last time. ALBERT GROWLS

Awww! He growled as he went. Oh, brilliant.

Oh, dear. Isn't that lovely?

Just within estimate. A bit of damage held it back.

-The ear, the tail. But otherwise...

-Great.

-He did well.

-And I'm sure he's gone to a lovely home.

-I hope so.

-Poor old Albert!

-I know.

-He's off on a new adventure.

-Absolutely.

So, as the battered Rolls Royce of bears trundles off to a new home,

it's time for the Ferrari of guns to go under Ian's hammer.

In the firing line right now is Josephine with her sights set on £200-£300 with Dad's old pistol.

-It's a nice old find, actually. I know Michael loved this. It's by Mortimer, isn't it?

-Yes.

It's by the best maker. A really nice thing. I'm under pressure - if it doesn't go, you have a gun!

-It stands alone here. Fingers crossed it has been spotted. Good luck.

-Thank you.

-Here we go.

Next we have the antique flint lock pistol by HW Mortimer.

I'll open this at £100. At 110. 120.

130. 140. 150.

160. 170. 180. 190.

200. And 10. 220.

-230. 240. 250.

-It's the name. A great name.

280. 290.

-300. And 10. 320.

-Well done.

-£320 here.

On the phone at £320. Your bid, then. It's selling.

Great maker. One to look out for.

You've got a lot of money now. What will you spend that on?

-I'm at uni, so...

-It'll come in handy! What are you studying?

-3D design. Jewellery making.

-Wonderful. Good luck with the career afterwards.

-Thank you very much.

That's what a great name does for you. Later, Michael's excited by an anonymous hospice donation

with the great Moorcroft name attached.

The shame is these star cracks.

Somebody's used them as a vase, dropped something slightly heavier in and it's just pinged.

Will this pair ping with the bidders or will the cracks put them off?

Later we'll find out.

Remember that puzzle I set you earlier? What does Accrington here have in common with New York?

It's got something to do with this building - the Howarth Museum and Art Gallery - and an umbrella.

What I'm talking about is this - Tiffany glass. It's the largest collection outside of New York.

It's the biggest in Europe, but how did it end up here in Lancashire?

And what's it got to do with an umbrella? All is about to be revealed by curator Jennifer Rennie.

-Hello. Thank you for inviting me.

-Thank you for coming.

-How did this magnificent collection get here?

It's all down to a young man called Joseph Briggs who was an apprentice designer.

When aged 17, he went off from Accrington to seek his fortune in America, landed in New York.

Briggs was coming out of Tiffany Studios.

Coming from Lancashire, he had his umbrella on him, and it was raining.

Up drew this horse-drawn carriage and out stepped this very well-dressed man of about twice Briggs' age.

So he was able to step forward and offer his umbrella to this gentleman for shelter.

And so they got talking and that's this incredible chance meeting.

-One minute either side, it would never have happened.

-It was a complete fluke.

'So if you're going to share your umbrella with anyone, pick a great man like Louis Comfort Tiffany

'when he is looking to expand his business and experiment with glass.

'After this chance meeting, Briggs was given a job by the great man,

'working in the stained-glass workshops.

'Briggs already knew how to draw, having been an apprentice designer in the cotton industry,

'so he used to stay late and make mosaics from bits of leftover glass.

'This impressed Tiffany and Briggs became head of the mosaic shop

'and was made a director when Tiffany retired in 1918.'

-Did Briggs ever come back to Accrington?

-Yes, he did. He made one return journey only in 1900.

He brought his family back and, at this point, the owner of Haworth Art Gallery, Hollins Hill...

-This house.

-Yes. ..William Haworth, an important cotton manufacturer,

met with Briggs and he at the time was thinking about an art gallery for Accrington

and I'm sure they discussed the Tiffany coming back to Accrington.

-Having a collection brought back here, so everybody could enjoy.

-Absolutely.

'Louis Comfort Tiffany was one of the most important and influential American artists

'of the late 19th and early 20th century.

'A leader of the Art Nouveau movement, his work is held in high regard.

'The collection in Accrington consists of tiles, vases, samples and mosaics.

'The company designs all kinds of objects for the home,

'but the popular imagination associates Tiffany particularly with their lamps.'

You've got two beautiful millefiori vases. That's a technique adopted from ancient Venetian glassmakers.

Yes, Tiffany adopted this technique from Venetian makers.

-The paperweight one?

-Yes. He very much made it his own.

This is the thing that he did that other glassmakers didn't do, the way he used these techniques.

How do you achieve...? You see on the small vessel, you see the flowers.

They're in layers of glass.

-That's correct.

-Two different layers. The white one is even deeper.

-Yes.

So how do you get that?

Well, the glassmaker has started off with some orange glass,

then he's dotted the surface with white flowers,

then gone back to the kiln for more orange glass,

then put more white flowers on, all the time blowing a little bit,

going back, putting the white flowers on for the second time...

-You just get one chance at this, don't you?

-Absolutely.

There's only so much control you have

because the final shape of the flowers depends on the amount of blowing, the amount of air,

so the ones on the outside are more perfectly formed and are pure white,

whereas the ones inside are a sort of beige colour,

-so it's a good demonstration of the technique.

-It's a very good example.

-The larger vessel is the same technique.

-Absolutely the same.

-But it's harder.

-You don't get the same amount of layering.

In both examples, there's only so much control that the glass blower had.

-That's typical of the Arts and Crafts Movement.

-Absolutely.

The idea that the material should play a part does help people understand very clearly

what it is that Tiffany did that's so special, why we rate him so much as a glassmaker.

'Tiffany glass is hard to date.

'All the research and development was done at the beginning and the designs tended to stay the same.

'His hand-made pieces have "Favrile" stamped on them.

'Tiffany patented Favrile glass in 1880 and he derived the word from the French for "hand-crafted".'

This is a cracking example of Tiffany iridescence. Where did he get the idea for the technique?

Well, he was inspired by visits to archaeological sites around Rome

where glass had been buried for thousands of years. It's pitted.

-It has this iridescent effect.

-It goes like that.

The surface is damaged slightly and you get this lovely, iridescent effect.

That's the thing that made him want to make glass in the first place.

-That's a lovely effect with the sort of the lava.

-Yeah.

The idea with this is that the lava is actually coming out of a volcano

which is a very ambitious idea for what is just a domestic object, and they're very rare.

We're fortunate to have two very fine examples of lava glass vases here.

What's special about this vase, apart from the fact that it's just so incredible

and it does capture the beauty of nature so well?

It's a flower-form vase. There were quite a lot of them made around 1900

and this particular one is inspired by the convolvulus flower

which, as you know, closes at night in the dark and opens in the morning.

It's marvellous the way that movement is implied in the top of the vase. There's this lovely, irregular...

-It's quite fluid, isn't it?

-It's very fluid.

It's very reminiscent of the movement that the actual flower makes.

This is an aquamarine and I'd love you to explain quite simply to me how this is made

because it looks incredibly complicated.

The piece is made in three parts.

There's a central core and round that there's an extra piece of thick glass, like just-roll pastry,

before you roll it out, and the fish are inserted into that and then arranged around the central core.

It's at that point you have problems with temperature control and you get explosions.

It's very, very difficult to make. This was completely unique.

It's very big for an aquamarine.

-And incredibly rare, I would imagine.

-Very rare indeed.

One came up in America about three years ago with a slightly longer neck,

so it's not totally unique any more, sadly, but they're very difficult to make.

It's just beautiful. I love the little bubbles.

It's almost as if there's seaweed moving. You can see it in the water.

Yes, it's very lively. Again it's like nature. It's like you're looking at actual water.

Jenny, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and your passion with me today.

-You've taught me something.

-Thank you for coming.

I'll now look at Tiffany glass in a different light.

This is just hand-blown, molten glass using techniques that have been around for thousands of years,

but there is a combination to this - sand, lime and soda, fused at high temperatures,

but in the hands of one genius artisan.

Back at our valuation day, Adam is in period with Tiffany with another beautiful Art Nouveau item.

This one is our second find today from Germany.

-Welcome to Flog It, Michael.

-Thank you very much.

-I love this mirror.

-It's an absolute beauty. Where did you get it from?

-A dear friend gave it to me about a year ago.

Why would you want to sell something as nice as this?

-It's basically just to find out if it's worth anything.

-OK.

-And then go from there, really.

I can tell you a bit about it as this is one of my particular areas of interest.

I nearly said "expertise", but that sounds arrogant.

This is a piece of Art Nouveau metal ware.

The Art Nouveau period was the turn of the century, about 100 years ago,

and this design here is typical stylised designs of the Art Nouveau period.

-Right.

-Now, this one was made by a firm known by the initials of WMF.

It's a big firm from Germany that was established in the 19th century.

They made a lot of these wares at the end of the 19th, beginning of the 20th century, in pewter.

In silver plate as well.

They also made cutlery. There was a whole metal ware business. They became a massive business.

-There's a lot of this stuff around on the market and it's quite highly prized.

-Right.

-Have you got any idea what it might be worth?

-I haven't got a clue, no.

-Now what you've said...

-You think it's better than 50 quid?

-Maybe.

Yeah, it is better than £50.

I would put a wide range on it. I think it's going to make £200 to £300.

I'm going to put 200 to 400 because it could just go on a bit more than £300.

I've handled a lot of this stuff and sometimes it does pretty well.

I think that's a sensible guide and you shouldn't sell it for less than £200.

Even if it doesn't go in this sale, it doesn't mean it's not worth £200.

It's worth that. We'll put a reserve price on it, so it doesn't go for less.

-Are you happy with that?

-Yes.

-Let's get on with it.

-No problem.

-Thanks.

Dawn, you've brought in these two very austere vases today.

Where did you get them from?

I work for East Lancashire Hospice and we were donated them anonymously.

Somebody just walked into the hospice one day and left them for us to do what we want with.

And you thought, "Ah, Flog It is in the area!"

Yeah, we realised that they were worth perhaps a bit more than the average donation.

-Right.

-And at the same time, we realised Flog It was in the area,

so it was a good opportunity to see what they were worth.

Anybody that's watched Flog It might be screaming at the screen what these are,

but let's satisfy ourselves and turn it upside down.

There we have the signature - W Moorcroft, designer.

What's very interesting is this Florian Ware mark.

-That's fairly early in his production.

-OK.

These are going to date to about 1905, that sort of date?

So, fairly early on. The shame is that they've got these star cracks on the bottom.

Basically, somebody has used them as a vase, dropped something slightly heavier in

and it's just pinged.

They're Honesty pattern because of all the honesty over it.

But what's nice is this very porous, vermiculated finish.

-Yeah.

-Which we don't see on much Moorcroft

and it's a sort of early experimental glaze, if you like.

They're decorated in the round and the colour scheme is quite pleasing.

-Do you like the...?

-Yeah, it's quite modern.

-Yes, quite classic almost,

the sort of dark and light blue.

And it's a very pleasing shape.

So they win, apart from the star cracks, in quite a few areas -

nice and early, unusual pattern, unusual finish.

-Right, OK.

-And also we've got a pair.

And to the best of my knowledge,

they haven't been chipped, so they're fairly good.

The only damage is where you can't see. If you're going to have damage, that's where you want it.

When they were dropped off and you said they're worth more than the usual charitable donation,

-did you have any idea what they might be...?

-We thought over 100. £100, £150.

Bearing the damage in mind, but they're a large pair, they're early and they're a rare pattern,

let's put them into auction

with £700 to £1,000 on them.

-Right.

-Let's give the auctioneer a bit of discretion with the reserve. Let's put the reserve at £600.

-Yeah.

-If two people really get behind these,

we could be cracking through the top estimate.

-So, hopefully...

-Excellent.

-..for you, for me, today, and for the hospice, we'll do really well.

-Absolutely.

-You're happy with that?

-Absolutely fantastic. Really happy.

-No pressure on the day then(!)

-No, absolutely not.

-Thank you for bringing them in.

-It's been good.

-Marjory, welcome to Flog It.

-Hello.

-How are you?

-Fine, thank you.

You've got a lovely pair of watercolours here by a well-known artist called Rowland Hill.

-Where did you get them and what can you tell me about them?

-Not much.

They belonged to my grandmother.

And they were always on the wall in the living room.

-You remember them then?

-Yes. I don't know how she got them.

-When you're a child, you don't ask the right questions and then it's too late.

-Isn't that always the case?

Lots of people agree with that. So many people you meet, "I wish I'd have asked Grandma this."

-That's right.

-Then it's too late and the history's gone.

Rowland Hill - do you know anything about him?

That he was Irish and that he was successful in France, rather than here.

-OK.

-I just went into the reference library in Blackburn and looked him up.

-Good.

Rowland Hill was born in 1873

and died in 1952,

so these were sort of later in life perhaps.

-What's that one there? County Antrim, is that Murlough Bay?

-That's it.

Then down here we've got Fair Head in Ballycastle.

A very pleasant pair of coastal scenes, both 1936.

And both in pretty good order.

I think we've got a little bit of fading on there

and a little bit of damp, but he's quite a desirable artist.

He appears at auction quite regularly, which makes them quite an easy thing to value

-because it's all about comparing with what they've made before.

-Yes.

I think I would say they're probably worth £200 or £300 each,

so I will put £400 to £600 as an estimate on the pair

and they might make a bit more than that. How does that feel to you?

-A very pleasant surprise.

-Did you not think they were worth as much as that?

-No.

I think that if they don't make £400, you should have them back,

so we'll put a reserve of £400 because I really think they're worth that

and I'm hoping we get a nice little surprise for you and they make a little bit more.

-Thank you for bringing them in and I'll see you at the auction.

-Yes. Thank you.

It's time for our second visit to the auction room.

As well as Marjory's beautiful Rowland Hill seascapes, we're taking Dawn's two donated Moorcroft vases.

She thought they might be worth between £100 and £150.

Let's put them into auction

with...£700 to £1,000 on them.

Right.

And last but not least, Michael's stylish WMF Art Nouveau mirror.

Which item is your money on to bring in the biggest return?

It's time to take these pieces across the great divide - the Lancashire-Yorkshire one,

and head back to Calder Valley Auctioneers near Halifax.

I've just been joined by Michael and Adam, our expert, and we've got a WMF mirror going under the hammer.

-It's got the look, the name, the condition. Ready for this?

-I am.

We can't debate about it any more. It's down to this packed saleroom.

Hopefully, someone's going to put their hand up and it will go for £400 maybe.

Good luck, Michael. Here we go.

Lot 440, the Art Nouveau, WMF,

oval frame mirror there being shown.

150, I'm opening. 160. 170.

180. 190 there. At 200 on commission.

210. 220. 230.

240. 250. 260.

-270...

-This is more like it.

-280. 290.

300. 310. 320.

330. 340.

No? At 340, fourth row. At £340.

We're selling...

-Brilliant. We're happy with that.

-Yeah.

-Well done. £340!

-That's brilliant.

-That's very good. Thank you for bringing that in.

'And now something for all you fine art lovers - Marjory's Rowland Hill watercolours of the Irish Sea.'

Our expert put £400 to £600 on this. Why are you selling these?

These should be on your wall at home in the sitting room.

They were, but we've moved from a family-sized home to a tiny bungalow and there isn't space.

I think they'll go to a new home round here. They're going under the hammer now.

Right, Rowland Hill, the two Irish watercolours there.

What am I bid on these?

£200 anywhere? £200.

220. 240. 260.

-At 280.

-They're struggling. That's unbelievable.

£300. All done at £300? At 300.

Are you all done, ladies and gentlemen, at 300?

I'm so sorry. At least you protected them with a reserve.

Maybe it's worth getting in touch with a few auction rooms in Ireland.

-Send them some images and see if they want to take them in.

-Right.

-At least they've not been undersold.

-Exactly. Thank you, Marjory. I'm ever so sorry.

-Thank you very much.

'I can't believe those Rowland Hill watercolours didn't sell

'and now everyone's rather nervous about our last lot, namely Dawn's donated pair of vases.

'Although cracked, they are quality items and are inscribed with one of the best names in the business.'

It's Moorcroft. It's a pair of vases. They belong to Dawn.

We've got a valuation of £700 to £1,000 and they're Macintyre period, so they're early 1900s.

That's what the collectors love. All the money's going to charity. Give the charity a plug.

It's East Lancashire Hospice based in Blackburn

and it provides palliative care for Blackburn, Darwen and Ribble Valley.

-Fantastic. We need top money for this.

-We've got to do really well.

-But it's the name, isn't it?

-Yes.

It's a name that we know and love. We know Moorcroft and we know that size with Moorcroft matters.

If it's a miniature, it's a lot of money, if it's big, it's a lot of money

and it's a wonderful, big pair of vases with an unusual pattern, so it's got everything.

It's got a star crack in the base, but we'll say that in a quiet voice,

so the £600 reserve reflects that.

And hopefully, people will judge for themselves.

We've seen it before. We've been cagey with our pricing and we've seen Moorcroft go through the roof.

Let's hope it happens today.

A fine pair of early 20th century,

Macintyre Moorcroft vases. The Honesty pattern there.

Lovely looking. What am I bid for these?

Do I see £400 to open? 400 I have.

£400. At £400. At 425.

425, 450. 475.

I have 475. 500. And 25.

550. At 550. 575.

At 575. At 600. At £600. Any further bids?

625. 650.

675. 700. And 25.

750. 775. 800.

And 25. 850.

850... 875, a fresh bid.

900. And 25.

950. 975. 1,000.

-We've done 1,000.

-1,025. 1,050.

And 75. 1,100. And 25.

1,150. 1,175.

1,200. And 25.

1,250. 1,275.

-1,300.

-Wow!

-And 25.

-Don't you love these moments?

1,375. 1,400. And 25.

At 1,425, central back.

At £1,425. Are we all done?

1,425 at the back there...

-£1,425! Congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

All that money is going to the hospice. How do you feel?

-That's really good news.

-What's going through your mind?

-I can go back to work safely.

Walk in tall and go, "Yes, I've done it!"

Michael whispered in my ear. I said, "What do you think it'll do?" We didn't want to build your hopes up.

-Guess what he said?

-1,400.

-Well done. Well done, Michael.

-I'm so pleased for you.

-Thank you very much.

If you do put these things in attractively, people get excited

and it's a good result at the end.

What a fabulous day we've had in the Calder Valley! Dawn, you're going back to your hospice a proud lady.

-Give us a plug one more time.

-East Lancashire Hospice in Blackburn.

-Michael, thank you so much.

I hope you've enjoyed today's show.

There'll be plenty more surprises in the future. Keep watching. Cheerio.

Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd 2010

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