Kidderminster Flog It!

What do an African prince, '60s musicians and carpets, yes, I said carpets, have in common?

It's not a joke, believe me!

It's the Worcestershire town of Kidderminster. Welcome to Flog It!

Lying in the district of the Wyre Forest and surrounded by beautiful, stunning countryside,

Kidderminster has long been famous for its carpet production, but that's not its only claim to fame.

It's also where the inventor of the Penny Black and the modern postal system was born.

The claim to fame doesn't stop there. Today, we're at Kidderminster Town Hall,

and back in the 1960s, the stage here played host

to many great rock acts,

including the Rolling Stones, The Who, Tom Jones, Cilla Black,

Donovan, and of course, The Kinks.

Today, we don't have anybody that musically famous,

but we do have two dedicated followers of fashion, Kate Bliss and Mr Philip Serrell.

-You don't want to sell it?

-No.

-Right, you can clear off then, you're no good!

'Philip now runs his own auction house in Malvern,

'but got his start when he took up the post of trainee auctioneer at Worcester Livestock Market.'

-I mean, they normally make 10,000 to 15,000.

-You're joking! Don't joke!

Hello. You're about bright and early.

The daughter of an auctioneer, Kate has been a regular fixture at her dad's sales since she was a toddler,

which shows you're never too young to start in the business.

Is this yours? Is it?

Well, it is now 9.30. It's time to get the doors open and make a bit of history for ourselves.

Come on, everybody, let's go in!

And what a Flog It! we've got today for you.

The former Mayor and Mayoress of Kidderminster bring a Worcester vase,

and reminisce about how they met.

-We met here actually...

-You met here?

-..at the town hall in 1966.

And then there's Stephanie, who wants to sell her grandfather's clockwork toys.

My granddad, from 1897, could remember them.

That's great that you can remember that far back.

-I can't remember to 1897!

-No, I wasn't suggesting that!

Later, we'll find out if our owners were right to flog it.

Yes, hammer's gone down.

-I'm happy. Are you happy?

-Yes.

I don't know if I can stand the tension. I'm going to fall over!

That's all to come, but right now, Philip's valuing a Worcester vase

that's been brought in by Nigel and Jenny, who've a special reason to be nostalgic about our venue.

-Married 40 years next year.

-Ronnie Biggs didn't get that long, did he?

-No.

-No, and he got two million quid!

-No, but it's a joy.

-It's a joy.

Hey, what a man. Hey, there's a... What a testament for you.

We met here actually, in the Town Hall.

-What was that at, then?

-They used to have the groups.

-Concerts, probably Tom Jones...

-The Who.

-Manfred Mann, The Who, the Rolling Stones twice here.

-We couldn't afford the Beatles, they were £1,200.

-Really?

-But the Stones were about 800.

-So, you know all this. Local historian?

-Yeah.

Definitely. Passionate about Kidderminster?

Absolutely. I was Mayor of Kidderminster, and Jenny was Mayoress.

-So you're real Worcestershire people?

-I was born in Worcester, yeah.

-That's quite appropriate, isn't it?

-It is.

-Because you know where this was made.

-Yes, yes.

-Yeah.

-How long have you owned it?

I've owned it since 1998.

My father inherited it from his mother, and then I've inherited it from my father.

Right. So why do you want to sell it?

-I've got lots of other pieces.

-Worcester?

Yes, of Worcester as well.

I had to get a cabinet to put all this stuff in. I never...

I thought having cabinets filled with stuff like this was old-fashioned, but...

So, you're starting to be old-fashioned now, are you? He's nodding his head!

That's not very politically correct, sitting there going like that?

We've got a cabinet filled with this stuff, and we... I don't even know what's in there,

-it's that bad. If we were burgled, I wouldn't know what's in there.

-Honestly, we would not...

-We've collected things...

-Don't say that on television, you might get burgled!

-But we've got a great big huge dog!

-Oh, right, OK.

You heard that, they've got a massive dog and it'll bite you, so don't go near their house.

Well, it's a piece of Worcester.

-Yes.

-And, really, in the 20th century, Worcester was renowned,

for its hand-painted wares, and they were the great exponents of the day, they really were.

You have the Worcester vase with sheep, that's Harry Davis,

and the Worcester vase with cattle, that's Stinton.

And if you get a Worcester vase with blackberries on it, it's by Kitty Blake.

And if we spin that, there indeed, that's her signature, K Blake,

and Kitty Blake painted blackberries and autumn leaves.

-It's beautiful.

-It's lovely.

-It is.

-It's really lovely.

And it's quite simple. If you look at those circles and dots just there...

Yeah.

That's just a date code, and that tells us that this was made in 1937.

Oh, right, very good.

-In terms of value, I mean, these are fairly standard pots...

-Yes.

..and you can put an estimate on that of £80 to £120.

You can put a reserve on it of £60.

If you have a good day, it might make 150.

If you have a real good day, it might make a little more.

Well, let's hope it does really, really well for you.

-All right.

-Thank you.

'Yes, fingers crossed.

'We get a wide variety of pottery and porcelain through our doors,

'but we also get unusual items, such as the shepherd's smock that Andrew has brought in.'

So, how did you get your hands on this?

Well, going back to mid 1940s when I was a young lad,

my mother used to wear it at fancy dress parties at the Women's Institute.

Where did she get it from?

Well, I believe she got it from her mother,

because my grandparents and her mother and father came from Bromsgrove round here,

-and they did have some land, I believe it was at Cookley.

-Right.

Presumably this was made, then, in the 1920s? It would correlate with your three generations going back.

-Possibly, yes.

-When it was made. It's been beautifully hand stitched.

It's 100% cotton, I don't think it's ever been worn in the field.

-I don't think so.

-But it has been made for a man,

and I can't believe that farmers and shepherds

-would have worn something like this, I really can't...

-Nor me.

-Look!

-Look at this.

-It does suit you!

-Does it suit me? Well, I don't know.

-I can't see you going down the High Street in it!

-I'd get arrested, wouldn't I?

-Yes.

-It's fantastic.

Even the cuffs, when you turn them back, look at that, sort of little tiny doily motifs.

-All the buttons have been handmade.

-Yes, beautiful.

I find this incredibly hard to value. I'm not an expert on textiles.

I've asked a few of my colleagues, and we've come up with a figure...

-Yes.

-..of £80 to £120.

-Yeah, that seems reasonable.

-Put a reserve on it of £80.

-Yeah.

-It's worth every penny.

-Yeah, I'm sure it is.

I think it belongs in a bygone museum, a local small museum...

-Yeah.

-..where young children can see and appreciate what shepherds would have worn.

Yeah.

Thank you so much for bringing this in, because it's put a smile on my face, I think it's wonderful.

'Hopefully, we'll find a new home for Andrew's mother's fancy dress outfit,

'while over at Kate's table, Ruth's hoping to find a new home for her father's toys.'

We've got our very own war game going on here. Beautifully set out.

Tell me about this lovely collection.

It was bought for my father by my grandfather,

and it's just been sitting in an attic for quite a long time, so I thought I'd bring it along today.

So, tell me a little bit about your grandfather. Did he fight in the war?

He was in the First World War, and he did get shot in the First World War, too. He survived.

Luckily, he had a prayer book with him.

-And this is what we've got here.

-Exactly.

-Because this is just incredible, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Presumably, he was wearing this at the time.

-Yeah.

And this is his catechism, his catechism of Christian doctrine, and this is the actual bullet hole.

-Yes, that's right.

-That's incredible, isn't it?

-Yes, it is.

It's a case of really, literally, a Christian doctrine, or a Christian faith saving somebody's life!

-Absolutely!

-Incredible.

So, what about the toy soldiers, do you know anything about them,

about the maker, or when they were produced?

I believe they're made in England, but they're American soldiers.

They are, which is quite interesting, isn't it?

The fact that an English toy manufacturer is producing things for the American market, if you like,

and the manufacturer, you've got the box here, so we can see quite clearly,

is Timpo Toys,

and Timpo started production of lead models like this in 1949.

It was a hollow cast production, that was the method, and we can see on this soldier here,

who has sadly copped it, that they are indeed hollow.

-He's lost his head, so you can see right inside there.

-Right.

But the use of lead stopped in the 1950s, in 1956,

and really paved the way for a huge range of plastic models,

which are still produced today, I believe.

And you've got a great little collection here.

They were produced and sold in box sets,

just like this one here, usually of six or more,

and I particularly like this little unit, which is a unit in itself, isn't it?

These three pieces, one piece, of course, is the mortar itself,

and then you've got the two figures that make up the mortar unit.

-That would have been sold as a little set.

-Right.

Then you've got lots of other different figures in their fighting stances.

This one's called Firing Standing, for instance,

and this chap obviously Crawling, and I love the detail of the barbed wire!

Why are you looking to sell it, if it's something that's been passed down in your family?

It has, yes, but it's been in an attic for quite a while, so, to raise a little cash.

Well, I think what you've got here is a lovely little set.

Sold, I think, or to be offered, as one lot.

Because of the condition I'm going to bring it down a little bit, but the box will certainly help.

-Right.

-And I think we could say at auction, an estimate of £60 to £80.

-Really?

-With a reserve, perhaps, of 50, so they don't go for less than that.

-Excellent. I'm quite surprised, thank you.

-Are you?

-Yeah.

-So, you'll want to hold on to this book.

-Yes, I'd like to keep that one.

I'm sure, because that's a story which shouldn't be forgotten about.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

Well, everybody's certainly been working flat out all morning.

It's now time to take our first treasures off to auction.

There's a few gems that we've spotted down there,

so there's going to be one or two surprises later on in the programme.

'Our first three lots at auction start with Nigel and Jenny's Worcester vase,

'which Philip gave a value of £80 to £120.

'Another 80 to 120 lot next, and that's Andrew's shepherd's smock.

'I've never seen one of these before,

'and it's in perfect condition, so I'm hoping for the very best in the saleroom.

'And Ruth didn't get a fight from Kate when she said she wanted to sell her father's toy soldiers,

'and she was surprised by the estimate of £60 to £80.'

There's plenty of cars in the car park, so hopefully it's going to be jam packed.

And this is where all our items are going under the hammer today -

Fieldings Auctioneers in Stourbridge.

'One thing to be aware of at a sale,

'is both sellers and buyers pay commission plus VAT.

'Check also for any extra costs

'before you start putting items in the sale,

'or putting your hands up in the auction house.

'On the rostrum today, we've got Nick Davies.

'Let's hope he gets some good results for our owners.'

Good luck, Ruth.

Going under the hammer, the American die-cast soldiers.

It could be a good battle for them, couldn't it? £60 to £80. They were Dad's.

-They were.

-And they were his dad's, I gather.

-I think so.

-And you have two girls.

-Two girls.

So, I know why you're selling them.

HE LAUGHS

-I do like these, though.

-It's a really nice set, and it's great that you've got the box.

-Yeah.

-Fingers crossed they're going to do well. Here we go.

We've had bids and interest. We can open at £60,

takes the other bidders out straight away. At £60.

Do I see five anywhere else in the room?

-60, well, we've sold, haven't we? Straight in.

-Yeah.

Selling at 60. Are we all sure and done at £60 and finished?

-First and last.

-£60.

-That was short and sweet.

-It was, wasn't it?

A quick skirmish for our soldiers. Are you happy with that?

Yeah, very happy. £60 is fine.

'They might have sold at the bottom of Kate's estimate, but Ruth goes home a happy customer.

'Andrew's turn next, and it's the first textile lot of the auction,

'so I'm hoping that doesn't affect its chances.'

I think it's time to test the water. I've just been joined by Andrew. A phone's constantly ringing.

Hopefully, that's coming in on our lot. It's the shepherd's smock about to go under the hammer.

It's beautifully displayed, it looks great on there, doesn't it?

-That's not too bad at all.

-Condition is very good,

and this really belongs in a bygone museum. Hopefully it'll end up there.

We'll find out, because it's going under the hammer now.

Eight is an embroidered cotton smock,

some people thought it might be a shepherd's,

and we can open this just below estimate at £70.

Do I see five in the room?

£70 on commission. 75 anywhere else? At £70 with me.

At £70 it'll be then. 75 anywhere else? All done at 70?

-Didn't sell it.

-No, it doesn't matter.

-Didn't sell it. We had a fixed reserve.

-That'll go to our museum.

'That's such a shame, but it was worth holding out for the reserve,

'as it's a beautiful piece of family history.

'Last, by no means least, is the Worcester vase.

'Will it get the local interest it deserves? Let's find out.'

I love this next lot. There's a touch of class about it,

and so there should be, it belongs to Nigel and Jenny, ex Mayor and Mayoress, yes?

-Yes.

-Hey, I love the berries, I love the blackberries and the brambles,

and I know you loved this as well, didn't you?

Why are you selling it?

Well, I inherited it, but our son Kieran is running in the London Marathon...

-Right.

-..for the first time,

and he's running for the Royal British Legion, and whatever it makes,

-I'm going to donate it to that.

-So he's in training for it, is he?

-He is. He's running the miles in the country lanes around Bewdley.

-Good luck on this one.

Well, you know, her work, Kitty Blake, autumn leaves and autumn fruits, you can spot it miles away.

It's hugely collectable, and this should really do very well.

-And he knows his stuff.

-He does.

-He does.

-Yes, he does.

-Yeah, he does.

-Here we go.

Royal Worcester posy vase. This is a Kitty Blake example.

-we've had lots of bids and interest in this.

-Lots of interest!

£120 takes all of the other commission bidders out,

£120. Do I see 130?

130. 140?

-What?

-That's what I call a really good start.

150 in the room, now. It takes the commission bidders out.

Do I see 160 anywhere else?

At £150, then. I'm selling in the room at £150, all done.

Yes! Great.

-Gosh.

-Result!

-Thank you, Philip!

-My pleasure.

-That's exceeded...

-That's a name to look out for.

-Thank you.

'Well, that was just brilliant.

'The profits are going to a really good cause, so Nigel and Jenny were right to flog it.'

That concludes our first visit to Fieldings auction rooms in Stourbridge.

We are coming back later on, but right now I want to show you a little hidden gem,

tucked away in the local countryside.

Can you imagine living here? No?

Well, not that long ago, people actually did.

For hundreds of years this soft sandstone had been carved out

to create homes for people to live in,

and the last occupants moved out in the 1950s,

but, sadly, for 40 years or so, the caves fell into disrepair,

with a combination of natural weathering from the elements, but, tragically, a target for vandals.

Look at this, carvings everywhere, and bits taken off,

but all that changed when the National Trust undertook a project of restoration,

painstakingly restoring some of the rock houses back to their original condition

as they were in their Victorian heyday.

Kinver Edge lies on the edge of the Black Country,

and during the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century,

a previously well-established iron works flourished here.

Thousands of people migrated to the area,

and some of the people who worked at the iron works lived here in the rock houses.

The upper level three-stone-faced houses have been completely rebuilt,

while the two cave houses show how the rock looked after it was left by the inhabitants.

There are two more caves like this one on the middle level,

but on the lower level, the restoration is extraordinary.

'Edwin Blunt has been site manager here for over 20 years.'

They continued to be a popular place for people to live in,

-and even became a tourist attraction.

-Oh, yes, the...

Kinver Edge has always been very popular for day trips from the Black Country since Victorian times.

The coming of the light railway from 1901 brought incredible numbers on...

on regular weekends.

The maximum was about 17,000 in one day in 1905, I believe.

-Gosh, that's a lot of people, isn't it?

-A lot of people.

And they used to sell teas to everybody.

-Did they?

-It was part of their additional income, for these were ordinary poor families.

-Yes.

And therefore any possibility of earning extra money,

-and with 17,000 visitors in a day, everybody sold teas.

-Yeah.

How many houses were here? How many rock homes?

-They... At the maximum we had 11 families living here, which is about 45 people.

-Yeah.

'Because of the popularity of the tea rooms, and the rock houses as a tourist attraction,

'a wealth of photographs and postcards exist of the outside,

'but there is a distinct lack of interior shots.

'However, the interior of one of the dwellings has been reconstructed,

'thanks to a painting of Mr and Mrs Fletcher by Alfred Rushton in 1903.'

So, what was it like living in one of these houses?

Well, they were, generally speaking, the temperature is quite even throughout the year,

-so you tend to find that they're cool in summer and warmer than outside in winter.

-Yeah.

And with a good fire going...

-Quite cosy.

-Quite cosy.

Mind you, I saw the well outside, so they drew the water from the well,

there was no running tap water.

-They relied on the wells until the pumping station was built in about 1920.

-Do they have electricity?

No. They never had electricity. They had no mains drains.

-Right up until the '50s?

-Nothing at all.

All they had from the 1920s was an outside tap.

Gosh.

Looking around there, I mean, the woman were very house proud, weren't they?

This is a nice des res, put it that way.

I mean, they'd keep the floors swept,

and the outsides clean and tidy, and the things that everybody normally did...

-Yeah.

-..in those days.

If the family got bigger, could they take it upon themselves to start digging to make another bedroom?

-Could they work inwards?

-Well, I don't see why not.

-Before 1900 there used to be three cottages in this bottom level.

-Yeah.

After 1900, there was only one family and they...

-They did just that.

-Knocked through.

And knocked through into next door, and made it into one house.

Yeah. It's a really nice feeling when you walk through the door.

They kind of hug you. They almost embrace you. There's something really nice about it.

The people who lived here were very proud, and very happy to live here.

They really enjoyed it, and some of the families lived here for 150 years, the same family, you know?

-Passed down to generation to generation?

-Yeah.

-There's no place like home, is there?

-That's it.

Edwin, thank you so much for taking me back in time and, well,

-making me feel like I'm in a holiday cottage! I've learned something today.

-Excellent. You're welcome.

That is so fascinating.

To think that people actually cut their homes into the side of this chunk of rock.

That's so resourceful, and so clever.

The Holy Austin rock houses take you back in time to a bygone era with a real twist.

'Our team work their way through the queue, valuing every single item brought in,

'and Kate Bliss has found an interesting box of tricks she wants to take a closer look at.'

Keith, first of all tell me about this lovely little leather case.

I spotted it in a shop in Coventry, an antiques shop,

and that drew my attention to the fact I just liked it,

and when I picked the case up, I realised there was something in,

and the photographs were inside, and from that point on I've just kept them together.

So, what makes you bring them today?

Because I've just had them in a cabinet for probably nearly 18, 20 years.

-I'm moving on, so I guess they've got to move on, as well.

-OK.

Well, they look like just a bunch of old photographs at first, don't they?

-Yes.

-What we've got here are known as cartes de visite, if you like, is the French term.

In English, in Victorian England particularly, they're known as calling cards, or visiting cards.

-Oh, right.

-And this arose in the 1850s in France,

where families who were fairly wealthy had their photographs taken,

and they were then transferred on to small cards and used as calling cards,

so when they went visiting, they left their card with their photograph on it.

-That's a lovely way, isn't it?

-Now, just flicking through them,

I see that this gentleman here has obviously written a lovely message on the back here,

handwritten, with a brother's love, John Butt,

-and it is the Butt family that you see, the name appears a lot, doesn't it, on the cards?

-Yes, it does, yeah.

And this one here is Waterloo, USA.

So here we have some American calling cards,

and while we're talking about America, these ones have really caught my eye.

-What's special about these is we have possibly the same gentlemen...

-Yeah.

..but in his American Civil War dress, or uniform, as a soldier,

and on the back here, which is lovely,

"Yours courteously, Sir Knight Butt, Apollo Commandery, Number 19, Indiana,"

which is lovely, so we can date that precisely,

because, of course, the American Civil War was 1861 to '65,

-and that places that exactly in history, doesn't it?

-It does, yeah.

These ones, looking through, are all English, some Coventry,

this rather impressive Victorian lady, a number of different photographers.

Babies here from the family. But what about value, Keith?

-Have you any idea?

-Not a clue.

-Well, it's always the subject as well as the photographer...

-Of course, yeah.

..who's of interest to the collector, and I think these American Civil War ones are certainly of interest.

I love the personal inscriptions on the back.

-Yes, very dear.

-Having said that, I'm going to be quite conservative.

It's a bit of an unknown quantity to me, and I think it really depends who we have at our auction.

-Yes.

-But I'm going to say, with their leather case,

-I think they could make anywhere between 40, 60, perhaps £80 to £100 on a really good day.

-Yeah.

But I think a realistic, conservative estimate would be £40 to £60, to attract those collectors.

-Yeah, that would be very good.

-Lovely. What did you pay for them?

-About £10, I think.

-About £10. How long ago?

I would think about 1984, '85, somewhere round about there.

-OK, well, we'll certainly try and get you a profit!

-That'd be nice!

'Isn't it amazing how people bring in items from all over the world?

'Although, that's not true of Godfrey's boxing poster.

'You couldn't get closer to home than this one.'

This is a boxing tournament that took place here.

-Yes.

-In this room!

-Yes.

-In 1928?

-Yes.

So, how did you come by this?

Bought it at an antiques fair about five to ten years ago, and it's been up in the loft ever since.

-Are you a collector of posters?

-No, I collect anything to do with Kidderminster.

What I love about this is the names of these people, and it's all a bit of local history.

-Yes.

-Because you've got Farrier Frank Berwick, who's from Bewdley,

and he was the heavyweight champion of India for six years.

He defeated Gunboat Jack,

I won't say what it says there, because it's not really politically correct, that, is it?

And then we've got Arthur Holes of Worcester,

and then Young Crumpton from Kidderminster fought Reg Roberts, and on it goes.

And I love this bit here, look.

Ladies cordially invited!

So I think it's absolutely brilliant,

and you've bought it primarily because you're interested in local history?

-Yes, yes.

-What else have you got?

-You wouldn't like to believe, really.

-Really?

-No, no.

Bricks. I've got crestware.

-You've got bricks?

-Yeah, with Kidderminster on.

Bricks with Kidderminster on. I bet your wife loves you, doesn't she?

If anything... We used to go all over the countryside,

and anything that had Kidderminster on, we used to buy.

I'm not going to ask you what you've paid for this, I'm going to tell you what we can estimate it at.

If this came into my saleroom, I'd go...

-..£60 to £90 estimate...

-Right.

£50 reserves, if it makes 150 I wouldn't be surprised.

-OK.

-What did you pay for it?

-Just over £100.

-So, you paid just over £100 for it five years ago.

-Yeah.

-And now you're going to perhaps sell it at a loss?

-Well, things have to...

I've been out of work for 12 months now, and...

-So it's got to go.

-It's got to go, yes.

Let's keep our fingers crossed,

-and hope we get a real killer punch, and somebody pays £150 or £200 for it.

-Right, lovely, thank you.

'So, while we leave Godfrey and Phil hoping for a knockout performance at auction,

'I've hunted out another item which, in its day, was very useful.'

Jan and Dave, what have we got here?

I haven't seen one of those for a long time.

-It's a moustache cup.

-It is, isn't it?

-Victorian.

-And you can see that.

-Yes.

Look at that. And that's where the gentleman would have a sip,

and not get his moustache covered in coffee or hot chocolate.

-That's right.

-Well, I never, look at that.

-Yeah, yeah.

-That commemorates 60 years of Queen Victoria's reign, and it's dated here 1897.

There's a bad chip there, can you see that?

Yes, there is. We had a bit of an accident.

-Did you?

-Yes.

-Someone with a moustache too bushy pushed it in?

No, not really. No, Dave did.

Actually, because this is damaged, this is only worth around £40 to £50.

-Oh, is it? As much as that?

-If... Here's a little secret, OK?

-Yes.

-Now, if this would have been '87, ten years earlier,

-I think it would be slightly more collectable.

-Oh, right.

Because 50 years is... Is a time to celebrate.

50 years on the throne would be worth a lot more money

than 60 years, or 70 years or 40 years, yeah?

So after 100 years, would that be...

-Well, they'd be dead then, wouldn't they?

-Oh! Sorry.

-Sorry.

-What do you think of guys with moustaches then?

Did he ever have one? Dave, you ever had one? No.

-No.

-You don't like them?

-Not particularly, no.

-What do you think?

Well, I absolutely love them!

Well, there you are, it's a nation divided.

-Thank you.

-And now it's time for tea.

'Well, I stand corrected. Maybe the mug could be useful for some men today.'

From something for the dads to something for the kids

and Stephanie's tin figures might be collectables now,

but they were definitely toys once.

They've been in my family for as long as I can remember, certainly.

So where have you had them at home?

I remember seeing them when I was a little girl and being shouted at

for playing with them, don't touch!

They disappeared then for a while.

My dad, this year, has gone into residential care so I got the task

of clearing out the house and there they were in the loft.

-You've unearthed them?

-I know!

-After all this time.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Have you any idea how old they are?

-I haven't.

I know that my grandad from 1897 could remember them, so...

I don't know how old they are, no.

OK. That's great that you can remember that far back, that it's passed down...

-I can't remember to 1897!

-No, I wasn't suggesting that!

Which is your favourite here?

-Which one do you like best?

-Oh, gosh.

I've got to say this one, I think. There's just something about him.

-That's interesting because he's...

-He's a proper little character.

-He is, isn't he?

-Yeah.

-That's what strikes me about all of these.

They've all got their personalities, their quirkiness, if you like.

But what we've got here are two known manufacturers, and then three,

these three figures here, could be made by a number

of different manufacturers, but let's look at these figures

first because these are by the same manufacturer.

-Any ideas what nationality they are, to start with?

-I don't, no.

-No?

I really don't know.

I just remember them from when I was little, didn't mean a lot to me then, don't know.

If you look closely at these quirky characters you can see on their hats, there's a little mark.

-Right.

-F and M.

And they stand... Those two initials stand for Fernand Martin...

-Right.

-Who was French.

They're never in very good condition his characters because they were made

from scrap metal that was scavenged from the streets of Paris, literally.

And what we've got here is the drunkard,

swigging his grog, and he's got very pink cheeks, which I love,

underneath that hat, and here the fiddler in his checked trousers here.

He's lost his cloth tunic, hasn't he?

But otherwise he's pretty good.

So, those are interesting.

Now we have three very different ones here.

And if you go a little way across Europe from France,

you come to Germany and these three are by one of the best known

German manufacturers of toys at that moment, a company called Ernst Lehmann and they only

produced novelty toys and were very well known for producing clockwork tinplate items just like these.

One of the characteristics

of the toys produced by the firm were the bright colours

and the lithographed designs and we can see that, I think, beautifully on the wheels of this cart here.

You can see the clowns printed on the wheels there.

My favourite, I think, is Paddy And The Pig, as he is known,

-riding here. And he does go, doesn't he?

-He does.

If I give him a little tweak there, with a little bit

of encouragement, there he is, riding the pig.

And I think this is lovely.

This is the Lehmann trademark, the insignia, and we have also, on the base, quite clearly,

dated 1903, so this goes right back to that turn of the century period.

So, what about value for this lovely collection?

I have no idea at all, I really have no idea.

OK.

These three are probably going to be less desirable because

of the condition and because we can't associate them with any manufacturer,

and I would advocate putting three in one lot at auction

-with an estimate of £60 to £100 on the three.

-Right.

The Fernand Martin,

I think, are super. I love them as characters.

£60 to £80 each.

And the Lehmann,

this one has an arm missing, unfortunately, so that one,

-that is going to really bring the price down.

-Yeah.

I'm going to suggest putting that together with the clown in his cart

and the donkey and I think that as a lot should be estimated conservatively at £100 to £200.

Paddy And The Pig, however,

-I think should make £100 of his own.

-Wow!

So I would estimate him probably at just under £100.

£70 to £100, perhaps,

and hope that he certainly makes the £100, if not a bit more.

-All in all, you've got several hundred pounds here.

-Right.

And I think, with the right collectors at the auction, they could significantly surpass my estimates.

Lovely, OK. Thank you very much.

-They've made my day, thank you very much.

-Thank you.

It's great having good personalities on.

What a quirky collection!

I can't wait to find out how that and our other lots do as they go under the hammer.

At £40 to £60, Kate thinks the bidders will come calling

for Keith's box of cards.

Philip was very excited about Godfrey's poster,

finding it over 80 years after it advertised a fight in the very hall our valuation day is being held.

Kate split Stephanie's clockwork toys into five different lots

and put her estimates on the conservative side.

The estimates vary from £60 to £200,

but auctioneer Nick has his own idea of what the toys could make.

I think this is one of my favourite lots of the sale as a group.

They belong to Stephanie, they were her grandfather's and he was born

in something like 1890 and they've been in the family ever since.

You don't get toys like this nowadays, completely different with all the computer games you get.

All plastic and batteries. I love the German ones.

They're great. You've got really good examples of tinplate toys of the period.

As separate lots, each lot we've got around £80 to £100 on them.

I could see the German lot, just those two alone, possibly doing 300.

-Wouldn't surprise me...

-I really could.

-Not in the least.

The cart and donkey you see quite a lot of.

The baker is a little bit more rare.

-That is quite unique, isn't it?

-It's quite unique.

And Paddy And The Pig, as he's well known, is another

rare example and the thing is about these three, well, all of them,

-there's been no restoration.

-No.

-There's never been repainting.

-Original paint.

-Original paint. All the mechanisms work.

They're toys, they've been played with, there will be chips and dinks

and small dents, but in general terms, they're not bad at all.

No, I think they're undervalued, personally. As a group lot, easily £1,000.

I'd have thought so, yeah.

Easily. Even with missing clothes and odd arms missing,

but they're great fun and when they're wound up and working

-they're great entertainment, and they were the cutting edge of the day.

-Of course.

They've got everything going for them as regards a good investment,

because you're going to wait a long time to see these again,

-and hopefully we'll get over £1,000 for this lot.

It'll be a pleasure to sell them, I'm sure.

We'll see if they do, but Keith's about to find out

if his calling cards are anything to write home about.

We've got £40 to £60 on it, Kate. Hopefully, it's going to do well.

There's some interesting ones in this, I think the collectors have spotted them.

Hard thing to value. Here we go, putting it under the hammer now.

Some English and some American examples.

Not sure how they got here.

Featuring the Butt family. Nice examples.

Where do we start them? £35? 35 anywhere?

No interest in these at £35?

Nobody coming in at 35 for the calling cards and the case?

35. 38. 40 and they're with you, sir.

40. Thank you. 42 anywhere else?

£40. The gentleman by the cash office at £40.

Are we all sure and done?

Yes, hammer's gone down.

-£40.

-£40.

-We just got them away!

-Just!

Well, that'll do.

Well, that was by the skin of their teeth

as the cards just reached the reserve.

There's a clue to what's coming up next. I hope it's a knockout.

We've got that lovely boxing poster and it belongs to Godfrey. Hello, Godfrey.

You brought it along to the right expert, Mr Philip Serrell, because he's Mr Sports Expert!

You are now, aren't you? Yeah.

-You do rugby, cricket.

-I love it.

-This is your first boxing.

But I love this, it's just such a great thing and I think, old posters,

they're so evocative and, of course, why would you keep that?

-They would have just been discarded after the event, wouldn't they?

-Yes.

Someone had the foresight to keep that and I think it'll do well.

-Fingers crossed.

-Yeah.

-Hope so.

-Fingers crossed.

We're going to find out right now.

A great bit of fun this one,

promotional boxing poster at Kidderminster Town Hall.

-There we are...

-Come on.

Farrier Frank Berwick and Arthur Holes.

I wouldn't want to cross Farrier Frank!

-I'm bid 50 on a commission straight off...

-That's good.

Do I see five in the room anywhere?

Nice bit of local interest. At £50 I'm bid on a commission.

Five anywhere else?

At £50 for the poster, then?

£50.

First and last at 50 for Farrier Frank. All done?

£50, that's good!

-I'm happy, are you happy?

-Yes. Very good.

Well done. At least we weren't left on the ropes!

'We just hit the reserve there.

'At least our items are selling, but will the tin toys which Kate split into five lots fare any better?'

We've all been waiting a long time for this.

I love these tin plate toys.

I know the condition's poor on some, but who cares?

Because they're early ones.

A lot of them are damaged so I've deliberately pitched them conservatively.

I've seen similar ones at auction making quite a bit more than our estimate,

but because of the damage, I've kept it low.

Let's find out what this lot in the room thinks, shall we? Here we go.

Lot 734, you are bidding on the Lehmann clown

and also the baker with his sweep.

We have to open the bidding at 500...

Oh, late bid. Sorry, late bids for this...

-£680.

-£680.

Straight in at 680!

£680 for this lot. Do I see £700?

-680!

-740, 760, 780, 800, 820, 840...

860, 880, 900...

920, 940, 960, 980...

Wow!

£1,000... 1,050. 1,100...

And 50... 1,200. And 50.

1,300...

-This is just flying away!

-This'll do, won't it?

-This'll do. This'll do for a start.

-Oh, yes.

Don't forget, there's four more to come.

Be still my beating heart!

And my favourite is the pig later on.

1,600, there. 1,700, anywhere else in the room

before I go to the phones?

1,600!

Adrianne? 1,700. 1,800, sir?

1,700 on the phone. Do you want to bid?

1,700. 1,800, in the room, sir?

Thank you very much. 1,700.

1,800? Helen?

£1,700 on Adrianne's phone.

At £1,700...

The hammer's going down at £1,700...

All done?

That's the first, here's the second.

We're opening at £400 for this lot, at £400.

Could I see 420? 440.

You're out. 420 there.

440 anywhere else in the room?

At 420. £420 for Paddy And The Pig.

Are we all sure and done at £420?

420, Paddy The Pig got, yes! We're on a roll, aren't we?

Here's the next lot.

This is the chap playing the fiddle. Bids and interest again.

We're starting at 150 this time for this chap.

160 there first. 170. 180. 190?

190. 200. 210...

220. 230. 240...

250. 260. 270. 280. 290. 300...

Gosh! Everyone's in love with them. Everyone!

330 anywhere else in the room?

At £320, all done and finished?

Do you know something?

I don't know if I can stand the tension. I'm going to fall over!

That's the first three - there's two more lots.

There he is, he's had a bit of a bash to face this one,

but bids and interest all the same.

This is brilliant!

This is a golden auction moment and it's not over yet!

I thought they were something good when I saw them in the queue.

We open at £200 on the drunk.

210, 220. 230. 240. 250.

260? 250. 260, sir? 270. 280.

290. 300? 310. 320?

He says no. 310, nearest me again.

320, he's back. 330. 340?

340, sir? 340. 350. 360?

350. Seated in the room at 350.

Oh, Stephanie! Did you ever think they'd be worth as much?

No idea. No, I didn't.

£350.

The hammer's gone down. Here's the last of the lots.

We have the two soldiers and we have the policeman

who has lost his arm and is naked!

-There's a fair bit of damage on these.

-Yeah.

Oh, bless him, yeah.

We've bids and interest all the same and we start at?

A large amount of interest.

We're straight in, believe it or not, at £2,100.

£2,100! Straight in at 2,100!

2,200...

I'm not joking, listen!

2,300, anywhere else?

At £2,200 for the three figures.

At 2,200. All sure and done at 2,200?

Are you finished?

2,200! Do you know something? That's taken us to a total

of £4,990! Just under five grand. Give us a hug!

I'm totally gobsmacked! Absolutely gobsmacked!

Nearly five grand for those clockwork tin plate toys

and it didn't matter about the condition,

the collectors loved them, they were so rare!

What are you going to say?

-Come on!

-I can't, I'm speechless! I'm speechless.

-I thought they were good, but not that good!

-It was a come and buy me.

Especially the damaged ones. I looked at them and I thought...

What do you need doing in the house?

-I can find something!

-You can spend that, can't you?

-Oh, yes.

-Thank you so much.

-I loved it!

If you've got something like that, we would love to see it.

'And here's how you do it...'

If you'd like to take part in the show, this is where it all starts - a Flog It! valuation day.

You've got to come to one of these. There's two ways of doing it.

You can check the details in your local press or you can log on to...

Click "F" for Flog It! and then follow the links

and you'll find the dates and the venues for our next valuation days

and hopefully they're near you.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]