Weston Flog It!

Today I'm in the south west doing what every boy dreams of,

driving my own tractor.

Just loving this and what beautiful scenery, look at all of that.

I'll meet a man who has quite an impressive tractor collection.

More of that later but right now, as I speak, the crowds are flooding in,

so I'd better put my foot down, it's time to Flog It!

in Weston-Super-Mare.

Weston-Super-Mare has a long history as a destination of choice.

Its first holiday guide was produced in 1822.

Early visitors rented rooms or whole houses from local people.

Although the desire to bathe naked in the health-giving salt water

may have subsided, the interest in the resort hasn't.

Today, it survives as a fine example of the traditional British seaside town.

It's a beautiful, bright day here in Western.

We've got a massive queue here,

outside the Winter Gardens on the seafront.

-Are you ready for this?

-ALL: Yes.

And helping out today, our experts Anita Manning and Michael Baggott,

searching the queue for hidden treasures.

Well, everybody's safely inside, they're all happy,

big smiles everywhere, it's a packed house.

And it looks like Anita has already spotted something

so let's take a closer look at what she's looking at.

-Rita...

-Hello.

-I love them.

-I do to.

# Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. #

-These are wonderful. I'm a great Beatles fan.

-You are?

-Yes.

-Good. I'm glad to hear it.

I believe you must be as well.

Oh, yes. As long as I can remember.

Far more years than I care to remember really.

Uh-huh. So you listened to them?

-I did. All the time, constantly.

-You danced?

I did, yes, I drove my parents mad with the record player.

Did you fall in love to the music?

Absolutely, yes. And with them, yes.

-Especially George.

-Yes.

-He was your favourite?

-Yes, he was, yes.

This is a lovely wee set here, Rita.

-Yes.

-Tell me, where did you get them?

I bought them in Bristol about 11 years ago, £80 for the four.

-You had to have them?

-I did, yes.

Yeah, I did, yes.

Have they been on display in your house?

They were for a little while, but I think ten of the 11 years

-they've been in a box under my bed.

-All right.

Let's have a close look at them.

-Yeah.

-We have the four of them.

-Yeah.

And they really are soft toys.

-They are.

-They were made by an American company called Applause.

-Right.

-We have John, Paul, George and Ringo.

-Ringo, yes.

-With his...

-Drum sticks.

-Now these date from the 1980s.

I think they're 1987, I think.

-1987.

-Yeah.

-We have a little booklet.

-Oh, yes.

Each with their own little details in.

-"Beatles forever."

-Yes.

-"The Fab Four."

Absolutely, absolutely.

Now, you paid £80 for all of them?

For the lot, for all of them, yeah.

I would like to put them into auction with an estimate of £50 to £80.

-Yeah, that's fine.

-Would you be happy?

Yeah, fine, absolutely fine.

I've had a lot of pleasure with them and you know, that's fine.

We'll put a reserve of, say, £50.

If we don't make that, you can take them home back home again.

-That's fine.

-Now, if they sell...

-Yes?

-What will you do with the money?

I should probably have a weekend away somewhere.

It might Liverpool,

or it might be London where I come from.

Well, I think that would be a nice thing to do.

-OK.

-Well, I'll be at the auction.

-Good.

-We'll hope they'll do well.

-Yeah.

-And we'll have some fun.

-That's fine.

I look forward to that then. Thank you very much.

Rosa, thank you for coming in today. You've made me break my Flog It!

golden rule which is - I'll never do a piece of Moorcroft.

Look what I've gone and done. Never mind.

It could be a good thing.

So how long have you had this?

About, 40, 50 years. It belonged to my aunt.

How wonderful. And is it something that you've loved and cherished?

It's been kept wrapped up and put in the best place in the china cabinet.

-All that sort of thing you know.

-It is completely different...

-Yes.

..from a lot of the Moorcroft we see,

and a lot of the Moorcroft, and I have to say I dislike with a passion,

which is the large floral patterns.

-Bright, vulgar colours.

-I was surprised when I saw those.

We've got this, first of all, this lovely simple shape.

-Yes.

-Which, of course, is a standard Moorcroft shape,

but then we've got these lovely wheat ears

picked out in blue and green and it really is,

I think, a very successful piece of design.

-Thank you.

-I absolutely adore it.

I don't know the name of the pattern,

but I would be very surprised if it wasn't wheat ear.

That's the only thing on it!

I don't know, otherwise I would have told you.

We've got Moorcroft back stamp and signature

and we've got "potter to Her Majesty The Queen."

That's right.

I would imagine in dates,

-it's about 1925 up to 1935.

-Is it?

And it's a wonderful decorative piece.

Why, after all this time in the china cabinet, have you brought it here?

Well, my family's all grown up and things are not as easy, the girls

are having to work, the children are having to be pushed everywhere,

and I thought, "It's there, we've all enjoyed it",

and I won't let them fall out who was going to have it, so I thought I'd sell it

and they could share the money.

It's often the best way. It avoids heartache.

-Yes.

-The only defect with it

-is we've got a lot of surface crazing in the glaze.

-Yeah.

Which we can see there.

But it's a charming pot

-and I think that's well worth £200 to £300.

-Thank you.

I wouldn't be surprised if it went a bit over that.

-Oh, well never mind.

-We'll put a fixed reserve of £200 on it.

And pop it into the auction and I hope it does well for you.

Thank you very much. You've been most kind.

Thank you for liberating it from your china cupboard today.

Well, that's just fabulous.

Rosa's Moorcroft has put a smile on Michael's face.

I've been doing a bit of digging around myself.

You never know what's been gathering dust in people's attics.

What have you got?

-Is it cigarette cards?

-Yeah.

Senior service cigarette album.

Did you collect them?

-My mother did.

-Your mother did.

-Yeah.

You've got a table. What have you got?

Hey, look at that. Is it the same cards?

-No, no, I don't think so.

-Do you two know each other?

-No.

-No, no, never seen each other.

Bought this at a charity auction 20 years ago.

-And you've got quite a few in there as well.

-Yes.

-And you've got quite a few.

-Seven.

Look at that. Well, the bad news is the value's just gone down then.

If there's lots about.

As I keep searching for that rare beauty, Anita

looks like she's found something that's captured her imagination.

Stuart, I love the arts and crafts movement,

-and this is a very quiet, modest, but very stylish little item.

-Thank you.

Tell me, where did you get it?

Well, my father was brought up in Barnstable

and he acquired this in Barnstable and took

it with him when he moved to Plymouth.

It came to me ten, 15 years ago

and it's been in our display cupboard ever since.

-Have you enjoyed it?

-It's a beautiful thing.

-You like it?

-But it's time for a change.

Time to put something else in its place.

Right. Did you know what it was?

Yes, having looked at the bottom which it quite clearly states.

-CH Branham...

-That's right.

I'd come across that before on your shows.

Yes, of course. Well, as you say,

if we look at the back stamp it gives us all the information.

This arts pottery was founded by Charles Hubert Branham

in round about the late 1860s.

-As early as that?

-As early as that.

This I would put probably just at the beginning

of the 20th century and it has a slightly sort of medieval look about it.

-It does.

-Um, price-wise,

have you had it valued before?

In the bracket of £30 to £40.

Yes. It is a modest wee thing.

-Sure.

-It's a modest wee beastie.

-But a very attractive one.

-But a very attractive one.

So I would estimate it probably 30 to 40,

that's round about the price of it.

-Right.

-And to protect it we can put a reserve of £25.

Yes, I'm happy with that.

-Are you happy with that?

-Indeed, yes.

-Let's hope there are some arts and crafts fans there.

-Indeed.

Who will like it as much, and get as much pleasure from it as we have.

I hope so. thank you.

Whilst I've been busy with the crowds, Michael's homed in on a rather special item.

Let's take a look.

Lou, I've seen some wonderful noble wrecks on Flog It!,

but I think this has to take the biscuit.

What have you been doing to this wonderful bit of ceramic?

Not a lot really, which is why it's like it is.

Come on, where did you find this?

I found it in a garden in Bath, under brambles,

where my husband's cousin was actually buying the property.

-Good grief.

-And they thought it was horrible, I thought it was wonderful,

and they said if it was still there when they completed with the house I could have it.

We've had a look earlier underneath because

this weighs a ton and there's no way I'm going to tilt it up now.

-No.

-And it is quite obviously Majolica,

that wonderful lead-glazed earthenware.

It's Minton, the premiere makers of Majolica

and it's got the date code for 1862.

-1862.

-Yeah. I mean, it's just a wonderful idea for a fountain.

You've got these two cherubs hauling this fish,

I would imagine out of the river,

and it's fitted inside with a pipe so this will spew water forth.

Now, I mean, something like this is a fountain,

the trouble is it's not an outdoor fountain.

It's at a time when people have got large conservatories

attached to their houses and you would have this amongst

the ferns and leaves, gurgling away and I think a lot of this,

in fact probably all of it, is frost damage.

-Right.

-I mean, it really is in a beast of a state

which means it is a very difficult thing to value.

-Had you brought this in perfect...

-Ah, it's a dream.

..With maybe one little chip here

and a chip there I would have thought we were in

7,000 - 10,000, 10,000 - 15,000 pound bracket.

Good grief.

This piece needs a small fortune spending on it,

-and once you've done that, it's still restored.

-Yes.

So it will never be in those many thousands of pounds. I think,

my initial reaction was to put possibly £300 to £500 on it,

-but I know that's probably not really near what you want for it is it?

-No. No.

So I think let's put £700 to £1,000 on it,

let's put a fixed reserve of £700 and let's hope two people

that have got a really good inexpensive restorer, really go for it,

and it might make £1,000, £1,500 on the day.

But, as noble wrecks go, this is the best one I've ever seen

-so, Lou, thank you so much for bringing it in.

-That's OK.

And let's hope it does really well at the auction for you.

That is a big lump to cart off to auction.

Let's hope someone else sees its potential. That concludes our items.

Let's quickly remind ourselves of what's going under the spotlight.

The Branham jug.

Anita loved it.

Stuart's hoping that with a reserve of £25

the bidders will recognise its quality.

Next, the Moorcroft.

It was special enough to coax Michael out of his shell,

and with the reserve of £200,

Rosa is hoping it fetches enough to share among the family.

I wouldn't let them fall out who would have it,

so I thought I'd sell it and split the money.

-It's often the best way.

-Yes.

-It avoids heartache, doesn't it?

-Yes.

Rita is hoping to get a trip to Liverpool from her sale.

The Beatles dolls were an instant hit with Anita.

-I love them.

-I do too.

# Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. #

And finally, that 1862 Minton Majolica statue

that Lou found under a hedge covered in earth.

We'll be back at the valuation tables later.

Let's head to the Clevedon auction rooms.

Before the sale gets underway, let's go inside and have a quick chat

with today's auctioneer.

What do you think of this?

It's got to be the biggest piece of Minton

we've ever had on Flog It! I think.

It's a great piece, it's fantastic and it's very rare.

Yeah. It's owned by Lou and it was found in a friend's garden in Bath,

semi-buried under some shrubs, hence all the dirt and the damage.

A lot of frost damage, but a great find.

Do you know, I don't mind that.

It depends where it goes. Whoever buys it might want to restore it.

If you're going to pay the best part of £1,000 for a piece of Majolica like this

-it really depends whether you can live with the damage.

-Yeah.

-Have we got the money right?

-We'll only know on the day.

Wise words from a seasoned auctioneer there.

Exciting stuff. Let's get straight on to the action. It's a packed room

and first up is the Fab Four.

Rita, will we need any "help"?

Well, I might!

Guess what it is. It's those Beatles dolls.

-I hope we get £50 for these.

-I hope so.

-And a bit more?

-Yes.

-Found in Bristol.

-Yes, that's right.

-Why have you decided to sell? I know you're a big Beatles fan.

Well, I've got a lot of Beatles memorabilia anyway.

-Yeah.

-Got all their records, books, and these are dust collectors.

-Oh.

So I thought I better let them go.

-Bring them along to Anita.

-Yeah!

The collectibles market is vibrant.

-People love the Beatles.

-Oh, yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah!

Let's find out if everybody here in Clevedon likes them, shall we?

It's going under the hammer now.

We have a set of four dressed dolls depicting the Beatles,

under licence by Apple Corporation Limited.

We've got £35 on the book, give me 40.

There's four of them, of course. 40, 40, 40, £40 bidder? £40 bidder?

-40 I'm bid.

-Fresh legs.

Five and 50 behind, and 5, and 60...

-Yes.

-Yes!

-60 in the door now.

£65, your bid sir, waving the catalogue at 55. 60, anyone else?

All done then at £55.

£55! Well, that's good isn't it?

-Yes.

-Is the money going towards any more Beatles memorabilia?

It might go towards a trip up to Liverpool.

-To the Cavern?

-I think so, yes.

-Oh, enjoy it.

-I will do.

And maybe a trip on the Mersey as well.

Oh, yes, I've been on the Mersey, yes. Lovely. Thank you very much.

-A great find.

-Great, yeah.

-Thank you so much.

-I've enjoyed it.

It's time for a change and it's time to de-clutter,

according to Stuart, who's brought in this lovely Branham jug.

We're looking at £30 to £40, Anita?

-That's cheap.

-Why is it cheap though?

It's quality, it's a great name as well.

I'd like to see £60. I would, I would.

Well, I would as well, Paul, but it is just a little jug.

For all you arts and crafts lovers,

-a Branham jug.

-Little Branham, red-glazed cream jug.

What can we say for that one?

Give me £20. £20, £20, £20.

£20, £20, £20. 20 there, 2 here, 5, sir? 5, 5, 5, 25.

In the room on 25, who's got 8 now? £8.

£8, £8, £8, 8. All done, yours sir, at £25, selling on 25 then...

That was quick, and the hammer was so quiet. It wasn't a...

..but it sold. £25.

Just made it. Just made the reserve.

-Just made it.

-That's fine.

Is this the start of the de-cluttering or towards the end?

It's an important start, with something nice.

-It was a good start.

-Oh, yes, it was.

-Wasn't top money, but it was a good start.

Well, it was just in estimate, but Stuart was happy.

Let's see if Michael is on the money with his Minton piece.

You found this in a garden in Bath.

-I did. Under brambles. My husband was...

-Must've been a surprise.

-Oh, it was fantastic.

Nobody like it, I loved it,

and my husband's cousin who was buying the house,

-he said, "You can have it because we don't like it."

-Wonderful.

-It's fantastic to find these things for free, isn't it?

-I love it.

And I know it is damaged but it doesn't necessarily put the collectors off good pieces.

-If you're going to have anything in ceramics that's damaged, have Majolica.

-Mmm.

Because it invariably is, and people are prepared to restore it.

This is it, it's going under the hammer. Good luck.

It's a very unusual Minton Majolica fountain,

with the dolphin there. Who's got £500 to start me?

£500? £500 thank you, now 20. 520...

-It's promising.

-520. 520. At £500 a maiden bid, who's got £20 more?

£20 more? At £500 only, is there £20, any one of you? Yes, or no?

All out on £500 then.

-Oh, not quite.

-What are we going to do? What are we going to do?

That's very tempting.

Take it home, or re-enter it with a lower estimate?

I'm very tempted to let whoever that was have it.

I think I'm going to re-enter it with maybe a lower estimate.

OK. We'll find the bidder that put in the £500.

-Yeah, I think that's a perfectly valid thing to do after a sale.

-Yes.

-If the buyer's still interested at 500, let it go.

-Yes.

I mean, that's obviously its level.

-Yes.

-I thought initially five to seven might be,

but it's very difficult to judge.

-You certainly don't want to carry it home again.

-No!

-It's too heavy, isn't it?

-Yes, it is.

-I don't think my husband wants to carry it home again either.

-Spare his shoulders, yeah!

-Hopefully, Lou, we can have a chat to the auctioneer after the sale and find that bidder.

-Yes, OK.

You never know what'll happen at an auction,

and that's part of the fun. Next up,

Michael liked it but will anyone else bite on Rosa's vase?

Rosa, the Moorcroft vase.

Will it or won't it?

I think it will, I trust Michael.

-We've got £200 to £300 on this.

-Yeah.

-Why do you want to flog it?

-Well, I've had it years. I am 92.

You look fantastic for 92.

You've had this 50 years, it's been in the family a long time.

Yeah, well, as I say, I've got one granddaughter,

the rest of them are all over the world, so I thought,

it's sitting in a cupboard, I can't care for it, I've got bad hands now,

it would be just like me to drop it.

-Ohhh!

-So I did that with it.

-Rosa made my day.

This vase is beautiful. I think the Moorcroft collectors will be here today for this.

You were impressed with the state of it, weren't you?

-I love it. You kept it beautifully.

-Yes, you said that.

I bet you've got an immaculate house. You look after everything.

I live in a one room flat and I live on me own and I do all me housework.

Well, that's what keeps you going though, isn't it?

-Oh, absolutely.

-Keeps you busy. And you look fantastic for 92.

-Can you believe Rosa is 92?

-SHE CHUCKLES

Here we go, this is your lot.

The Moorcroft vase.

We've got 290, 300, 320 in the room.

340, 360, 380, 400.

Lady's in at 380, 400 fresh bidder,

420, 440, 460, 480, 500, 520...

-This is good.

-580. No?

550 in the front row. 580?

All done at £550 then.

-He's knocked the hammer down. £550.

-How wonderful!

You can share that out, can't you, with the family?

-Oh, yes.

-Well, that's a happy ending to the first part of our auction.

Later on we'll see just how happy Michael was about some 17th century silver.

-I fell in love with it.

-You did, I know.

I mea,n to find a thimble dated 1678 is just fantastic.

That's your kind of thing, isn't it?

It doesn't get any better.

Now, from family treasures to a treasured collection,

I'm off to play with some rather large toys over in Bristol.

As a boy I loved tractors, and do you know what? I still do today.

They're clunky, they're cumbersome, they're Steady Eddies, they get the job done.

If you look at the front of any tractor, you can see

they've almost got the expression of a little face.

They've got their own characters, that's why I love them.

And they're full of nostalgia.

Show me a boy who doesn't like tractors and I'll show you where you can catch a bus to the moon.

This is wonderful.

Do you know, a lot of us don't have anything to do with the land.

People don't know where their food comes from.

We don't get involved with planting or picking.

Maybe the odd pick your own during the summer season, getting the strawberries,

and if you haven't done that, it is quite back-breaking.

So spare a thought for the humble farmer

before one of these things came along.

People have long cultivated the soil.

Before the industrial revolution, farming was limited to the physical endurance of man

and his beast of burden. The horse, the ox and the weary farmer

toiled relentlessly over a crop

until steel and mechanical engines were available to the masses.

By the late 1800s, farm labour had become mechanised

and for the first time, increased production meant smaller human endeavour.

At last, a tireless alternative to sheer muscle power was available to food producers.

By 1910, the gasoline engine had pushed steam engines aside.

These engines were smaller and a lot more affordable and, of course,

the model for the tractor that we love and know today emerged.

There's been many revelations in farming machinery,

but none have enabled man to take such a leap forward

in harvesting our food as the way the old tractor has.

And today I've come here to meet a man in Bristol

who's got a fantastic collection of tractors.

His name's Keith Sherrell and his tractors date back to the early part of the 20th century.

And he said to me in this field...

about now. Hope I've got the right field. Yeah, any moment now.

-ENGINE APPROACHES

-Ah, there he is.

-Keith?

-Hello. Are you Paul?

-Yes, I am.

-How are you? Sorry I'm a bit late.

-That's OK.

-You've come to see my tractors?

-I have, yeah.

-Well, we'll walk on down the shed then.

-OK.

-Good drive up?

-Yes. Yes.

Keith has been working the land ever since he can remember.

If you're born into an agricultural family,

tractors and machinery are an integral part of growing up.

Keith started collecting his own agricultural machinery in 1966

and has now an impressive collection that's open to the public.

Oakham Treasures is the result of his appreciation for the utilitarian charm of the mechanical workhorse.

What an incredible space, Keith. It's a great warehouse, massive.

How big is it?

About 20,000 square feet.

-How many tractors have you got in your collection?

-About 60.

You are a passionate man about your farming equipment. What's the dateline of the tractors?

Anything from about 1920 up to 1976.

-So this is one of the earliest, this is 1920.

-'20, yeah.

It's a solid lump, isn't it? So is that the birth of the tractor?

Yes. Previous to that, it was the steam engine type.

So you're always out on the hunt?

Always on the hunt for something different, unusual.

You've got tractors from all over the world.

Yes. Plenty from America, Australian...

-Some big Aussie ones.

-Some big Aussie ones.

Beautifully displayed, the really are.

Oh, I've just spotted my favourite one, that grey Massey.

-That's a mid-1950s, isn't it?

-Yes.

I saw one for sale, the farmer was selling it, I had to ask my wife

but she said no, so I had to let the chap down.

-Well, I didn't use to ask my wife, I came home with it.

-I can see that!

-I think there's a lot more through there, isn't there?

-Yes.

Wow, incredible.

-That's unusual.

-This is a bit of a special.

It was a war-time tractor on airports and aerodromes.

It's stripped back to the bare essentials. It's small and squat.

It was basic, and that's what just made it unusual

to the one which is next to it which is an agricultural.

-Same make.

-Same make.

-You can see the difference, can't you?

-Yes.

-That's designed for the fields.

-Yes.

-So these came into their own during the war.

-We had to produce food...

-Yes.

-..for the war effort.

For those who lived through World War II, it's a different world now

to the one that existed during Hitler's ransack of Europe.

That was a time of rationing, and the steel used for arms and munitions was in short supply.

The humble tractor came into its own.

Mottos like Dig For Victory provoked a spirit that united the nation.

As 5 million British men were called upon to serve their country and fight abroad

a hole in the labour force emerged.

Around 80,000 women were drafted in to become farm labourers,

driving tractors and harvesting crops.

They worked the fields and managed the machinery,

taking the place of the men who were away fighting.

For many the smell of a tractor still brings back intense memories

of a time when they were called to work the land for the good of the nation

and the pride they felt for having served their country.

This one's interesting, this International.

It's a bit special to me because there's a photograph of me with my father on it

when I was about five years old,

and that's probably where it all started.

-Would your father be proud of this collection?

-Oh, I think so, yes.

There is just so much here to see. I could spend all day here.

Well, I've definitely rediscovered my love for tractors.

The next time you're stuck behind one on a small country road,

why not just sit back and marvel at all they've done for you.

Welcome back to our valuation day here at the Winter Gardens.

There's still so many people which means lots of antiques to see,

but right now let's catch up with our experts

and see what else they've found.

Over at Michael's table, David is keen to discover

whether his lucky finds have any history to them.

So how did you get them?

I was working on a house, oh, about 40 years ago, we were re-roofing it.

-Oh, OK.

-And the lady's husband had died a few years before,

and in the attic was his workshop.

We noticed there were some quite nice bits and pieces in there

so we said, is there anything in there you want?

She said no, she just wanted to empty the room,

so we agreed to clear out the room and not charge her.

And, you know, we would make our money on what we found in there.

These wonderful things were part of that.

-We've got B for brandy, G for gin and R for rum.

-Yeah.

So have you had a chance to look at them and look at the hallmarks?

At the time I did,

and realised they were, you know, 1808 I think it was, is it?

These are fully marked for Birmingham.

-And with Birmingham wine labels at this period, you always get a full set of assay marks.

-Yes.

-In this case the JW is for Joseph Willmore.

-Yeah, yeah.

-He made all sorts of small work.

-Uh-huh, yeah.

He made boxes, caddy spoons, all manner of things will bear his mark.

And he's quite a large firm.

We've got the date letter for 1807, 1808 on those.

-Yeah.

-So they're a pair.

Then we get this one, you had trouble identifying it?

Because there's no town mark, I couldn't work out the date letter.

Small articles at this time don't necessarily bear the town mark

-and you get stud marking. The maker is JS.

-Yeah, I got that.

-There are a couple of makers, it's probably Josiah Snatt.

-Uh-huh.

He was also a caddy spoon maker.

And that's for London 1812.

Oh, right. So that really confirms what I thought then,

maybe that one had been made up to go with the other two.

Well, this is it. Even though these are made

in Birmingham and this is made 100 miles away in London,

it's still got exactly the same script.

-Yes.

-So someone has obviously bought these

-and four or five years later...

-Yeah, decided to have a...

..commissioned that. So have you had any idea of value of them?

Not really, no.

They've just been stuck in a drawer, I haven't looked at them for the last 30 years.

Good lord. Is that why you've decided to part with them?

What's the point of sticking them in a drawer? Somebody will love them.

-Well, there's either a wine label collector, of which there are many.

-Yeah.

-Or there's somebody with three decanters.

-Well, yeah!

That's right.

-I think we should put them into auction for £70 to £100.

-Yes, yes.

Because they are interesting but fairly standard.

Put a fixed reserve of £70 on them, and on a good day they'll make over the £100 mark.

So if you're happy to do that?

-Yeah, yeah.

-Thank you so much for bringing them in.

Excellent. Lovely. Thank you very much.

-Angela, welcome to Flog It!

-Thank you.

What an interesting and atmospheric

pair of marine scenes we have here.

Tell me, where did you get them?

Found them in a loft.

My husband was third generation butcher,

and we moved in to become the third generation,

and they were in the loft when we moved in.

They could be my father-in-law's, could be his father's,

we don't know any history about them at all.

So they had been squirreled away in the loft and forgotten about.

-Exactly.

-And you came along and rescued them, Angela?

That's right, yes.

Did you like them?

Er, I felt they needed some attention,

they needed cleaning maybe to perhaps lighten them up a bit.

I don't know if it's part of the painting or part of the loft!

They are by Adolphus Knell.

He was a British artist,

and he was active in the middle to the late 1800s.

And marine scenes are what he specialised in.

And I love the atmosphere.

We have this lovely glow in yellow and red

which is reflected beautifully on the sea.

I think they're lovely. I really enjoy them.

If they came in to my auction,

on looking at them, just at the subject matter and the artist,

I would probably estimate somewhere 250 to 350.

I would put a firm reserve of 250 on them,

I think that they deserve that.

When they go to auction, the auctioneer will examine them more carefully,

but they're certainly worth £250.

Are you happy to put them to auction at that price?

Yes, I'm quite happy, thank you.

I'm sure they'll do very well, Angela, and thank you very much for bringing them in.

Well, Anita's quite taken with those watercolours

but bidding on the items she's valued isn't allowed.

And the same goes for Michael, who's excited about what he's got on his table.

Trevor, it might be inconceivable that two small items like this

would make somebody's day,

but you've absolutely made mine today, bringing these in.

Before I go and tell you more about them,

could you tell me where you got them?

-Well, this one here I think was found in the garden originally.

-Good Lord.

I can remember something about it years ago, that it was found in the garden.

Well, if we look at the ring first, which is absolutely delightful,

this is a particular type and it's called a posy ring.

And it's nothing to do with posies of flowers,

it's because they are inscribed on the inside with small poetical mottos.

-Yes.

-And in this case it says "Be constant in love,"

which is wonderful.

The other thing you can see is that there are traces of gold

inside, so originally when this was made,

the whole thing would have been mercurially gilded

-to appear as a gold posy ring.

-Yes.

And possibly, because they were up to all sorts of naughty business,

sold as a gold posy ring.

But then, of course, that brings us to the date of it,

and the date of it is really quite astonishing

because these rings are almost exclusively made in the 17th century.

-Yes.

-And I would put this no later than 1680.

So that could have been certainly put on the finger

of a young maiden during the reign of Charles II, Charles I.

-I mean, it's an extraordinary find.

-Right.

-So now we move on to this very humble thimble.

-Yes.

That came from the garden.

But this, believe it or not, is approximately the same date as that.

-Yes.

-And we can see that it's made for tiny fingers.

-Yes.

I mean, I've got chubby fingers so nothing ever fits,

but they did have incredibly small hands in the 17th Century.

So, having said all that, why have you decided to sell them now?

It's not taking up a lot of room, as you can see.

-No, no.

-It's just we may be moving into a smaller house and...

It all helps to de-clutter, doesn't it?

Just having a good sort out.

Yes. I mean, I think had they been mine,

you would have had to claw them out of my cold, dead hand,

but in terms of value, that's probably £50 to £100 as it stands.

The posy ring £150 to £250.

-I think, if you put them together in a lot £200 to £300.

-Yeah.

A fixed reserve of £200, because I wouldn't want you to sell them

for a penny less than that, and if you're happy with that,

we'll pop them into the auction and see what they do.

Hopefully, they will do well for you.

-Thank you.

-Thank you so much for bringing them along.

So with that, you're now up-to-date

on all the items going under the hammer.

Anita was taken with them,

but will someone meet the 250 reserve for the maritime water colours?

Next, those silver bottle labels.

David hasn't looked at them in 40 years.

With a reserve of £70, he hopes someone will take a shine to them.

And finally, Trevor's garden find, the 17th century silver thimble

and posy ring will be up for grabs at auction.

The auction is in full swing so it's time to take our positions

as our first item is about to go under the hammer.

We've been joined by Trevor in the nick of time

because his lot is about to go under the hammer. It's a thimble and ring.

It's a nice little lot and Michael, our expert, has put 200 to 300 on it.

-I fell in love with it.

-You did, I know.

To find a thimble dated 1678 is just fantastic.

That's your kind of thing, isn't it? It doesn't get any better.

But then when the little 17th century posy ring

came out as well I thought, "two ticks".

Yeah, both very rare things.

-Rare things.

-Hardly see them on the market.

This is the first time I've seen something like this for years.

I haven't seen a prick dated thimble,

I don't think I've ever seen one actually, so it's a rare thing.

Sewing collectors, when they want something they will pay for it.

Yeah. We're going to find out what this lot think now. Here we go.

Antique white metal betrothal ring "be constant in love",

gilded interior and a thimble, 17th century date.

130 I'm bid here, 140 now, 140 will you? 140, thank you.

150, 160, 70, 80.

190, 200 in the room, now 10, 210, 210, 210.

At £200 in the room, and 10 anyone else?

Are you all done then, selling at £200.

-That was good. Happy?

-Yeah.

Well, there's a bit of commission to pay.

But why did you want to sell these now?

-Well, we're sorting through a lot of bits and pieces.

-Having a de-clutter?

-Yes.

-And what are you putting the money towards?

More car boots and stuff like that.

-So you're going to buy more clutter?

-Probably, yes.

De-clutter to get more clutter.

I don't want to discourage people from bringing thimbles in,

-but they do need to be dated 16-something to be worth money.

-Yeah.

But no, that was super, I think, and we got them both away.

Cracking item.

That's a good result for Trevor and Michael,

but will Michael be on the money with the wine labels?

Let's find out.

David, now is the time of reckoning. We've got a packed auction room.

We've got three silver Georgian bottle labels going under the hammer.

I've seen these do well before. People collect these so hopefully,

that room is jam-packed, there's some collectors out there,

and Michael put our estimate of £70 to £80?

-70 to 100, it's come hither. I've seen them do more.

-So have I.

Really they should be making £40, but there are such a number of wine label collectors.

-Yeah.

-There's a whole circle of them.

Yeah, the wine label circle,

so we just need one or two members today and they could fly.

-How did you come by these?

-I found them up in a loft 40 years ago now.

-There weren't lots of wine labels, were there?

-No, no.

But you've managed to hang onto them for 40 years.

-You've enjoyed them?

-Yeah.

They've been in a drawer most of the time.

Well, at least you've kept them safe.

I haven't got a decanter to hang them on.

They certainly look the part in the right place and let's hope

today's the right place to sell them. Here we go.

The three silver decanter labels there

and interest with me starting with 70 on the book.

Give me 80, 80, 80 now.

80, 80, 80 now. 80, 80, 80.

80, 90, 100, bid's still with me at £90.

Give me a hundred bid.

-Oh, go on, go on.

-With me then and selling, make no mistake.

All done at £90.

-£90.

-£30 each.

That's not bad, is it? Mid-estimate there.

-You've got to be happy with that.

-Oh, yeah.

-Don't forget there's a bit of commission to pay.

-Yeah.

It's going to go towards a holiday in north Scotland so...

-Wonderful.

-Visiting the Orkney, Shetland islands.

-Lovely, lovely.

You'll enjoy that, won't you?

Yeah, exactly. Every little penny helps.

-Exactly.

-That's what we say.

Next up, something for all you art lovers, we've got oils,

maritime scenes, and they belong to Angela,

with a valuation of £250 to £350. You like these, Anita?

Yes, well they're wonderful.

And Adolphus Knell came from a family of marine painters.

I think this is the son and he lived in Bristol

for a while so we have some local interest, as well.

Good local interest. Why do you want to sell these?

Because you found these, you're responsible for saving them.

I didn't realise they were, they're not that valuable, but there's local interest.

We are selling them and we hope to get the top end of the valuation.

They're going under the hammer right now.

William Adolphus Knell, pair of oils on board, typical moonlit seascapes,

both signed Adolphus Knell and interest here

at 250, 280, 300, 320, 350, 380,

400, 420, 450, 480, 500 pound on the book.

550, 600, 650.

650, 700, 750...

Listen, it's still going on.

720, 750, 780, 800.

£1,000, thank you. £1,000 in the room.

1,100 anyone else?

-That's incredible.

-1,100, 1,200?

-Yeah.

-1,300?

No?

-All done now at £1,200 selling in the room on £1,200.

-Yes.

Yes. Brilliant.

What are you going to put the money towards?

-I appreciate that.

-What are you thinking?

I'm a bit confused at the moment.

How much Moorcroft can I buy for that?

You should phone your husband, that could be a wonderful holiday.

-He's looking all embarrassed now.

-He didn't like them.

He didn't think they would fetch that money.

Absolutely delighted, but quality comes out.

And I do admit I was a wee bit cautious there.

We won't challenge you on that.

But what a wonderful moment for Angela.

It just sums up auctions for you, they are so unpredictable.

I hope you've enjoyed this show, we've had great fun making this.

From the West Country until the next time, it's cheerio from all of us here.

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