Worthing Flog It!

This is the Pavilion Theatre in Worthing,

the best location in town with a view to die for.

It's played host to every variety act you could think of,

but today, something really special is taking place in there.

Welcome to Flog It!

Well, here I am on the promenade at Worthing, down on the south coast.

But where are all the people? I'll tell you where they are.

It starts here. That's the end of the queue.

Hundreds have turned up laden with bags and boxes

full of antiques and treasures for our valuation day.

We've got experts on hand.

They all want to know what it's worth,

and when they find out, what will they do?

ALL: Flog It!

On the stage today, David Fletcher's a gentleman auctioneer,

who started out selling livestock.

Now he's a dogged expert on antiques.

-Not signed?

-I don't think so, no.

Were it signed, it would be of some value.

The other half of our double act is Michael Baggot.

Good morning.

He did his first antiques deal at 11 and hasn't looked back since.

Good Lord, look at that! Unbroken.

You've never yielded to the temptation to open them? Very good.

Coming up, Janet's got something scary to show me.

Imagine finding that at the end of the bed, waking up one night.

Michael thinks he might be on to a winner.

18.

Gladstone, historic Prime Minister.

A little scrap of paper bearing that great man's signature.

That is of collectable interest.

And a tiny piece of Doulton has David playing cat and mouse with Carl.

You're going to make a profit but I don't want you telling me you want £300 for it.

It's not going to make £300.

-Although you think it might, by the sounds of it.

-Definitely.

-OK.

Find out later what David thinks it's worth and who's proved right at auction.

Look at that. Game on.

Everybody is now safely seated inside the Pavilion Theatre and it looks like a full house.

So, are you ready for Act One? Well, I am, most definitely.

Our curtain-raiser today is a theatre playbill, brought in by Cindy.

-She's with David.

-Hello, Cindy.

-Hello.

Every now and then we see something which gives us an insight to a bygone age.

-And by George this does, doesn't it?

-It does rather.

It advertises a series of events

to be hosted by the Royal Dramatic College

-at the Crystal Palace in 1865.

-Yes.

Now the Crystal Palace was built in 1851 for the Great Exhibition.

Now, how did you come by it?

I did a little cleaning job for a lady that was retired.

And she had this on her wall. When she had to move into a residential home,

she offered it to me along with a couple of other bits.

The list of events it describes are fantastic.

One of the ones which caught my eye was Wombwell's Menagerie.

Wombwell's Menagerie was well known. I would have expected them to be top of the bill.

And they advertise lions, tigers, panthers, bears.

"The lion weighs from 7 to 800 lbs

"and is allowed by all who have seen him to be the finest in captivity."

-They don't hold back, do they, these Victorians?

-No!

They think they've got something good, they tell you.

But just to make sure we don't get too light-hearted about all this,

-there is a lecture here on comparative anatomy.

-Right.

So after you've been to Wombwell's circus

and you've seen the amazing brothers and the gypsy cave and the fairy post office,

you can take in something a little more cerebral

and go off to a lecture on anatomy.

Fantastic. The Victorians loved this sort of thing.

-I notice that the occasion or event took place on Saturday and Monday, not on Sunday.

-Not on Sunday.

-That's interesting, isn't it?

-Church day.

-Sunday being a day of rest, exactly.

-It's printed on silk.

-I think so, it's got a shine to it.

-And that suggests it might have been sold as a scarf, perhaps?

-OK.

Otherwise, why not just print it on paper?

I don't think it's hugely valuable.

In fact, if you're thinking in terms of selling it,

-you should be prepared to sell without reserve.

-Right, yes.

I hope the auctioneers will agree with me that we should estimate it at say £20 - £30.

But I wouldn't want to put too high an estimate on it because

-in the great scheme of things it doesn't have that intrinsic value that collectors like.

-No.

-Would you be happy with that?

-Very happy.

And the lady who owned it would like that, do you think?

She'd probably say, "Go on, Cindy, see what you can get for it."

Good for you, Cindy, we love a determined seller on Flog It!

It's all in here. Hang on.

What's in there?

This is the bit I like, where people open the boxes. It's the reveal.

Look at that!

-It was presented to a person who used to work at Hoover.

-Right. OK.

That is a copy of one of the first automatic washing machines.

-That was presented to him as a leaving gift.

-Was it?

-That's never, ever been used.

-How lovely.

Well it is lovely, but sadly not coming to auction.

But this little gem is. Michael is entranced by the silver jug belonging to Pam.

It wouldn't be a Flog It! for me unless I saw a lovely bit of silver,

and you kindly obliged by bringing this jug along.

Where did you get it from?

It was a gift from an elderly neighbour and friend.

-Have you got any idea how old it is, where it was made?

-No idea whatsoever.

Most silver should have a set of hallmarks. And we've got the hallmarks there.

Sadly the central mark, which is the maker's mark, was just lightly struck when it was punched

because it's on a curved surface.

So rather than hitting the punch down flat and making a good impression,

-they've just caught the edge of it.

-Yes.

I can't make that out but about half of these jugs were made by David Mowden,

who was working in London, so there's a very good chance it's by him.

What we have got, struck nice and clear though, the sterling mark,

and we've got the crowned leopard's head which is the London town mark.

And most importantly the date letter, which is a Gothic A, and that's for 1756.

Oh.

-So you've actually got a little George II silver tripod cream jug.

-I am surprised.

And you've got these little cast squat feet,

and this leaf cap scroll handle.

And what's most attractive is this lovely scalloped and waved rim.

It's actually one of the cheaper bits of silver you could buy in the 18th century,

there's not a great deal of weight to it.

You can imagine these handles being cast in quite a large number, as were the feet.

The nice thing about yours is that it's come down in perfect condition.

I'd say half of these were got at during the 19th century

and the Victorians had a delight in chasing them with flowers and berries and figures.

At the time it was jollying up something that was completely out of fashion.

But of course it ruins the Georgian original for collectors.

And we've got the original owner's initials on the base there.

-I'd never noticed that.

-Any idea of its value?

-No idea.

As I say, they were made in relatively large numbers,

and this is the sort of thing that someone would buy who is just starting to collect silver.

It's very much entry level.

Let's put £100 - £150 on it.

-Let's put a fixed reserve of £90. It won't go under that.

-Good.

But I'm sure a collector will love and enjoy that, so let's hope it does really well for you.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

As this is a theatre, I thought I'd do my next valuation right on the stage here

so we can keep an eye on what's going on behind us.

I've been joined by Janet.

We've got something that will appeal to the macabre, somebody with a wacky sense of humour.

And it's right here. Janet's holding it.

That is pretty wacky, isn't it?

What is a lady like you doing owning something like this?

Well, a lady that lived near me, I was friends with her and her husband.

He died, and I used to go and visit her.

She was throwing several things out and this was amongst it.

She said it was her grandfather's, and he did sail a ship.

-Obviously it caught your eye.

-It did, although it's not nice to look at, for me,

but I thought don't throw that out. I'll have that.

Well, it is a little vessel for holding tobacco, isn't it? That is definitely pear wood.

Definitely. And this is turned on a lathe, as you can see.

The little frog's applied afterwards.

The inside has been hollowed out on a lathe and then they've left this length of pear wood

as it came off the branch and then they've chip-carved a wonderful skull. Look at that.

All the teeth have been carved by hand into the pear wood.

-And this is bone, by the way.

-I did think ivory.

-This little snake weaving through the eye sockets.

But where the inspiration came, well, I don't know.

Somebody that had a fascination for pirates and voodoo.

Gosh, all sorts of spooky things.

-I love it but I wouldn't have it in my house.

-No.

Where has this been in your house?

-It's in the shed.

-I was going to say, not in the house.

-No.

-Definitely not. Shed, garage, anywhere but the house.

-Yes.

-Imagine finding that at the end of the bed.

-I know.

-Waking up one night and going, "Ooh!"

-Yes.

-Any idea of its value?

-No, not really.

Well, I think if you put this into auction we should be looking at £100 - £150.

Because it's so out there, someone will like this. They really will.

-Shall we call the valuation £100 - £150?

-Yes.

-Put a reserve at £100 and see what happens.

-OK. Yes.

-Let's say goodbye.

-Yes. Goodbye!

I hope I've got that valuation right.

With unusual items like this, it's all about a gut feeling.

Well, we found some real gems. I think we've got one or two stunners,

and we could have a few surprises. So let's get straight over to the auction room,

have a chat with the auctioneer and see what the bidders think.

And here's what we're taking with us:

Cindy's Victorian theatre playbill dated 1865 and printed on silk.

That 250-year-old silver cream jug belonging to Pam.

And Janet's tobacco pot with its carved skull.

She kept it in the shed because it was so scary.

For our auction we're in Horsham,

but before the sale I had a chat with auctioneer Simon Langton

to see what he made of the Victorian playbill.

I love this kind of item and I wondered if it was going too cheaply.

It's absolutely beautiful. Condition is superb, just looking at this.

We've got a valuation of £20 - £30 on this.

It's done well to last as long as it has. These things were throw-aways at the time.

This has been nicely framed. It's a good example of its type.

You've got the date. Some really peculiar names, all these people of their day.

Surely this has got to be worth more than £20 - £30?

-Well, there's nobody really famous on there.

-Ah.

You haven't got Buffalo Bill, Sir Henry Irving, people like that.

-OK, it is the Crystal Palace.

-Yes.

-But it's perhaps the third act as opposed to the first act.

-Right.

-So 20 - 30 is about right.

-Yes.

We won't be seeing any more topping the bill.

-I wouldn't think so. That's showbiz for you.

-That is showbiz.

And our playbill is the first item under the hammer.

Cindy's decided at the last minute to put a £20 reserve on it.

And it looks like she's brought the whole family along to the sale.

My daughter Kylie and my granddaughter, Lily.

-How old's Lily?

-She's a year a week tomorrow.

-Bless!

-Hiya. Hello.

-Lily!

-Lily!

What are we selling? Well!

So you've had this in the family quite a time.

-I've had it about 15 years actually.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

And did you have it on the wall?

-Yes, I did.

-You did for a bit.

-My husband quite likes it.

-It's your husband that's instigated the reserve is it?

-Yes.

-OK.

-That's fair enough.

-He said to me, "Actually, I quite like it."

-He said, "I'll give you £20."

-Did he?

-OK.

We had a chat about it. The auctioneer liked it, there's lots of history there.

The thing is, if you had somebody in your family,

past generations that actually performed in a play that was there,

you've got to buy it, no matter how much it costs.

It's an important piece of social history.

Let's find out what happens. Here we go.

240 is a Victorian silk programme there.

Royal Dramatic College at Crystal Palace.

Numerous names of amusement and fun.

What do we say for it? £20 for it?

Ten then. Come along now. I'm bid ten at the back.

12. 14 you going. 16. 18 is it?

At £18. 20 and two now, sir.

22 right at the back. All done. Selling at 22. All done are we?

Lily nearly put in a late bid there. "Over here!" she said.

Yeah, that's right.

Well done, David. Spot on. Thanks for bringing the family in.

And a wonderful piece of social history.

Not exactly a fortune but a spot-on estimate. And it's gone.

Next it's that 1756 silver cream jug belonging to Pam.

Why are you selling the cream jug now?

-It sits in the back of a cupboard.

-Does it?

-It does.

-That's what happens to silver when you don't want to polish it.

-If it's not loved.

But, the fact that Pam hasn't polished it means it's got this lovely patination to it.

-This is a pure, clean...

-It's honest, that's what they say in the trade.

-Very honest, very clean.

-That's your favourite word. Honest condition.

It's honest, guv. It's really honest.

I tell you what, it's a good time to sell silver as well.

Despite what other people might say, it's a very buoyant market.

-Happy with all that?

-Yes, very.

-Shall we now find out what the bidders think?

-Yes, please.

OK. This is the real test. Here we go.

840 is the George III 1765 cream jug.

There it is. Handsome jug.

-I'm bid 70 and five, 80 and five, 90 and five.

-Straight in. Sold.

Ten, 20, 30, 140. 150. Are we all done and selling now?

At £150. Done at £150 are you?

-£150.

-Wonderful.

-Top end.

-How about that?

-Very pleased with that.

Obviously there is commission to pay, here it is 15% plus VAT.

-Wonderful.

-That's a bit of spending money isn't it?

Yes, we're going on holiday very shortly.

-So it's towards the kitty.

-It is.

-Going anywhere lovely?

-South of France.

-Are you? Do you speak any French?

-Un petit peu.

-A little bit. OK.

Thank you for translating, Paul. That's the extent of my knowledge.

Superbe! Now something that should attract the attention of some hard-core rock'n'rollers.

Busy salesroom. It's jam-packed and I'm on the lookout for Keith Richards.

I know he's in this room somewhere. I wish he was.

He's the sort of character that would buy this next item.

I was the expert for it, I've just been joined by Janet, the owner of this lovely old skull.

-We've got to sell it. You don't want it back in the house.

-No.

-And all the money has got to go towards the cats.

-Yes.

Tell us about the cats.

-I've got a stray, and my own cat, but I do feed two others that come to me.

-Do you?

The word's got around now. All the cats are telling each other.

-"Get down to Janet's. There's free grub."

-Yes.

Well, let's see what this skull does, shall we?

I really want this to sell but I'm having my doubts right now. Here we go.

Lot 660 is the curious tobacco jar in the form of a skull. Here we are.

Bit of Eastern excitement there for you.

What do we say for it? £100 for it do we say?

-I'm bid £100 straight in.

-Straight in.

Do I see 110?

At £100 then. And ten. 120. 130. 140.

Yes, we've done it. We've done it. Ever so pleased.

At 150 now.

Selling now at £150. Are we all done, are we?

-I'm ever so chuffed at that.

-Bit more exciting than I thought it would be, that.

-I did have my doubts. When I arrived at this salesroom I thought, "Hmm, No".

-Yes.

But, all credit to Simon, he's found the buyer. That's what it's all about.

Top end of the estimate and off to a new home.

While we were filming down here in Sussex I just had to go off and explore

the country retreat of one of our greatest female novelists.

Take a look at this.

This very pretty unprepossessing house in the village of Rodmell

was home to one of the greatest writers of the 20th century.

It's Monk's House and it was Virginia Woolf's country retreat.

Virginia Woolf is the most famous British writer of the 1920s and 1930s.

Her work and her life are closely associated with women's rights.

But she was a tortured genius who took her own life at the age of 59.

Virginia Woolf suffered from severe depression,

and throughout her lifetime she experienced several nervous breakdowns.

But during that period she never stopped writing - novels, journals, letters, diaries.

And together with her husband, Leonard, she founded the Hogarth Press,

which published works by authors such as TS Eliot and DH Lawrence.

Virginia and Leonard were members of the infamous Bloomsbury set,

who soon adopted Monk's House as a regular retreat.

They were intellectuals, artists and writers

and the place was decorated in avant-garde style by various members of the group.

Monk's House was acquired by the National Trust in the 1980s.

For the last ten years it's been looked after by Jonathan Zoob and his wife Caroline.

-Very pleased to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

Do you know, as soon as I walked in to this house, it embraced me.

-Yeah.

-It really did. It's like a mini Charleston. I love the artwork and the colours.

It's a treasure trove of the whole spirit of the Bloomsbury Group.

And not just the paintings. They painted every surface.

That's just like Charleston. The table's been painted, the lampshades.

There's a packet of cigars there. Are they yours,

or is that a prop?

No, those are the cigars that Virginia is known to have smoked.

She would have sat there in that chair in front of the fire,

the obvious place in a very cold, damp room like this.

You've been here ten years, you can build up a picture of her.

Tell me a bit about the woman.

Well, she was a genius and obsessed with words.

All her life she was focused on writing -

it could have been letters to a friend,

or her diaries which she kept every single day.

And of course her great works, the novels.

She also was reviewing books, so she was just surrounded with words.

I think she was writing at a time when men had all the political power and the wealth.

Yeah. She was a proto-feminist in an era where that wasn't really fashionable.

She wrote A Room Of One's Own about how she didn't just want to be an ordinary housewife,

but that she wanted to have the space and freedom to devote herself to her work.

Throughout the 1920s, she had a very close relationship with Vita Sackville-West.

Well, she was somebody who was maybe quite confused about her sexuality.

She certainly explored some quite intimate relationships with other women.

Not just Vita Sackville-West but also the famous composer Ethel Smyth.

I think this was part of the whole Bloomsbury experience, that they were experimenting

in many of the ways in which they led their lives.

Monk's House was a retreat from the busy, chaotic London life.

But Virginia's real retreat was the rambling garden,

complete with orchard, which became an inspiration to her.

In 1934, Leonard built this writing lodge especially for her.

It's a marvellous writing studio - writing shed, in fact.

It must be the most famous one in the world if you're talking sheds.

It certainly is one of the most, and it's something that a lot of people come to see here.

Where was she when she wrote those famous words of To The Lighthouse,

and the paper that she wrote on, this blue paper.

Apparently she had bad eyes and didn't like white paper.

Just think how many famous people, 80 to 100 years ago, would have sat here

under the canopy of this chestnut tree.

They loved to come down here to work, but they entertained here as well.

There are photographs of the Bloomsbury Group assembled

on this very bit of terracing.

People like EM Forster, TS Eliot, all came here and were all photographed here.

Despite her lifestyle and open relationships,

Virginia Woolf's heart belonged to Monk's House,

and the man she shared it with, Leonard.

And he did support her in everything she did, a loving man.

And they had a great friendship right throughout their lives.

Yes, and she, when she died, said in the letter that she left,

"You have been the best husband that anyone could have been,"

because she didn't want him to feel guilty about, "If only I had done this for her."

After Virginia Woolf's death, Leonard continued to live here until his own death in 1969.

This humble little house really does embody the spirit

of one of the 20th century's greatest writers.

It illuminates her life, and it's definitely well worth a visit.

Welcome back to the Pavilion here in Worthing.

There's still plenty of people, plenty more valuations to do,

so let's catch up with our experts.

Michael is with one of his fans.

Susan, thank you for bringing in this wonderful fan today.

Where does it come from?

Actually it belongs to a friend of mine.

-She was here this morning but had to leave for an interview.

-Oh, no!

So I am her representative.

-Do you know where she got it from?

-It belonged to her mother.

We don't know how long her mother had it.

Well, first things first, we've got a box,

and everyone knows experts love boxes.

And intriguingly,

it seems to have little fragments of 18th-century writing inside.

-Oh, really?

-And it wasn't uncommon for these little papier-mache cases in the 18th century

to be made from old bill heads or notes.

They would stick them together and build up a case from that.

-So that's a very encouraging thing to see.

-Oh, wonderful.

And then we've got this sort of stamped paper applied to it.

Originally this would have been a bright colour, a wonderful thing.

-Unfortunately you've got no top or bottom.

-No.

And it's protected this wonderful fan.

We've got ivory staves and guards.

We've got these flowers and scrolls and bars.

And then we've got these very simple pierced staves.

And that's another good feature because a lot of the 19th-century fans are very elaborate.

-A lot of the 18th-century ones, it's a much simpler form of piercing.

-Right.

I've got to say, I'd probably place this on the turn.

So late 18th, early 19th century.

And then we've got this wonderful Chinese paper,

which has all been cut with the most delicate scrolls and then all hand painted.

You can imagine when this was pristine and new.

-Beautiful.

-The colours would have leapt out of it.

This would have been a brilliant white,

an absolutely stunning thing.

It was of a quality that we couldn't easily get to in the West.

We could make better fabrics than they could, but they were phenomenally expensive.

What the Chinese have always been very good at

is making delicate and intricate things in a large scale.

So there was probably one chap that did staves

and just pierced those, and there was probably someone that just did the cut work,

and someone else that painted the flowers and someone else that painted the figures.

-So you've got mass production of very high-quality items by hand.

-Right.

So Susan, why has your friend decided to part with this lovely fan?

Well, it's been sitting in a drawer, I believe,

and I don't know if she has any particular use for it.

Right, well, the language of fans has gone out a little bit now.

-This is so delicate.

-We've got a few little breaks and tears here.

So that's all going to affect the value.

Did your friend say how much she thought it might be?

She didn't know.

-Right.

-That's why she entrusted it to me.

I hope it's a good one.

Big responsibility. Well, I think

-we would be safe at saying £150 - £250.

-Lovely.

With a fixed reserve of £150.

-If you're happy...

-I'm happy, I'm sure she will be.

-She'll be happy.

Let's hope we'll all be happy at the auction.

-Thank you so much, Michael.

-Pleasure.

OK, everyone happy?

As we're on the coast, I'm searching hard for items with a nautical theme.

That's quite nice. I like that.

It's either French or Low Countries, Belgium.

Lovely Dutch gaff-rigged barges at the end of the day, look.

Moonlight coming down, but look at the water shimmering, beautiful.

Unfortunately it's not dated. It looks like 1920s or 1930s.

A lovely picture which the owner wants to hang onto.

But that's not the case with our next item.

David is with Carl, and a rather small rodent.

Where did you find him, in the skirting board?

Well, no, I bought it at a table-top sale on Hayling Island.

Let me tell you a bit about him,

and then you can tell me what you paid for him.

He's Royal Doulton, as you know, because he's marked Royal Doulton.

It also says, which is good, "flambe",

which refers to the type of glaze.

I suspect it was made at some stage in the 1920s.

Yeah, I think so, yeah.

I'll be honest, I've never seen, and I've seen quite a few,

a mouse sitting on a cube like this.

It's marked with a little painted W there,

which I think refers, if anything, to the painter.

In other words, the chap who just painted the mouse's eyes.

That's the only decoration on the mouse, really.

Why are you selling him?

Hopefully to make money.

To make a profit.

-Tell me what you paid for it.

-They were asking £3,

but as with most of the things I buy, I knock the price slightly

and paid £2.

£2. You must be an antique dealer's nightmare.

They've got something on their stand,

they're giving it away for £3 and you're only prepared to pay £2.

-You don't know till you do the research.

-OK.

Let's talk money and I'll tell you what I think it'll make.

You'll make a profit, but I don't want you telling me you want £300 for it,

because it's not going to make £300.

-Although you think it might.

-I definitely think it might.

-Do you? OK, I'm here to be proved wrong.

-Yeah, right.

You probably know more than me.

I think he's going make between £150 and £200.

Probably realistic, yeah.

That's realistic, and even if he makes bottom estimate, that's an enormous profit.

So let's go for that, with a reserve just below £150.

-Say £140?

-Yeah, that's brilliant.

I hope you prove me wrong.

You never know.

David's not often wrong, but I have a funny feeling about this one.

Watch this space.

Meanwhile, Michael's about to open the pages of history.

He's looking at a book brought in by Frederick.

Frederick, thank you for bringing this very imposing tome to my table today.

We've got half-calf binding but we've got to see what's inside.

Oh, that's not a good start.

That's not a good start.

-We've got lovely watered silk.

-It gets better.

Oh, wonderful, we've got an autograph album.

Where did this come from?

It came from my father when he died. We found it amongst his possessions.

And we've got, which is a joy, a little index here that someone has painstakingly written,

and this purple ink tells me they probably did it around 1870-1880,

when this colour of ink was the fashion.

It's beautifully written. We've got Marquess of Blandford, Marchioness of Blandford,

Duke of Marlborough, Earl of Abingdon.

So there's a lot of the nobility in here.

Unfortunately, whilst some of the dukes and duchesses were important people at the time,

today they're not tremendously valuable signatures.

It's really like getting the Beckhams' signature now.

Over time, I don't think that will weather terribly well.

But here's a name: Mr Gladstone,

and we've got there in comments, "Premier".

Historic Prime Minister, great 19th-century figure.

That's number 18, they're all numbered.

If we quickly flick through,

-there we've got 15, 17, 18.

-There we are.

Gladstone. A little scrap of paper bearing that great man's signature.

Evidently cut off a letter that was sent to somebody,

probably a personal letter, so that was saved.

That is of collectible interest.

It's politics, and politics never goes out of fashion.

If we leaf on through...

Crikey, it's absolutely stuffed with early documents.

-Lots of bishops, I think.

-Lots of bishops.

-They're not so popular now.

-Probably not.

Letters, oh, if we had time to go through this.

-We've got half of a valuable stamp.

-Is it really? I didn't know that.

-Where's the other half?

-Not there.

-Oh, right.

-Which means it's not a valuable stamp.

-Oh, right.

There's a lovely one, we've got the signature Joseph Paxton.

He was the designer of the Crystal Palace, a massive figure in 19th-century architecture.

Well, I mean, it's just an amazing collection.

The only downside is that, having quickly leafed through it,

there are only a few big names in it.

-Have you ever thought about its value?

-Not really, no.

I think, being realistic,

we'd want to put an estimate of possibly £200 - £400 on it.

Maybe put a fixed reserve of £170 which you wouldn't go below.

I think the auctioneer would be delighted to put it into auction

and hope there's a gaggle of signature collectors there.

Get lucky on the day, as they say.

-Thank you for bringing in a wonderful piece of our history.

-You're welcome.

Britain's social history, cut and pasted.

If you've got any unwanted antiques and collectibles,

bring them along to one of our valuation days.

You can pick up all the dates and venues on our BBC website.

Just log on to bbc.co.uk/flogit. All the information will be there.

If you don't have a computer, check details in your local press.

We'll be coming to an area near you, so dust down your antiques and bring them along.

We're off to the auction house now, and here's what we're taking.

That 19th-century fan with ivory staves, brought in by Susan.

Frederick's book full of autographs of the great and good, from bishops to politicians.

And Carl's £2 bargain buy, the tiny Royal Doulton Flambe mouse.

It's already generating heat in Denhams auction rooms.

120, 130, 140, 150...

Auctioneer Simon Langton has some exciting news.

We're now going to turn a £2 buy, hopefully, Simon, with your help, into a £200 buy.

This little Doulton mouse belongs to Carl.

He got it at a car-boot sale for £2 a year or two ago.

Well, there's been a tremendous amount of interest in our mouse.

There are one or two bids on the book and two phone lines.

So we are going to turn £2 into £200 a bit later. Or even more?

We're certainly in with £200, you never know. He is in great order.

This flambe is very trendy, very in at the moment.

-It's a hot little lot.

-Wow.

That's not to be squeaked at. It is all out there.

You just have to get up early and look out for little things like this.

Down to business, and first under the hammer is the fan, brought in by Susan.

Jenny the owner couldn't make the valuation, but she is with us now.

You couldn't make it because you were having a job interview.

-How did it go?

-The interview went OK, but I didn't get the job.

-I'm sorry.

-She's a fabulous stage manager.

-Stage management.

-In theatre?

-Yes, in theatre.

-Oh.

-They missed out on you.

-I felt so, but hey, that's life.

Well, the money will come in useful. £150 - £250, we've got to do that.

-Well, we have.

-Yeah.

If everybody here recognises what a good fan it is.

It's the only one in the sale,

and often you get better results with collectors in specialist sales.

So we've protected it with a reserve.

-Are the fan buyers here today?

-We're going to find out.

Hopefully they can find it on the Internet.

-I'm hoping that we have some bids.

-So am I.

-Fingers crossed.

-Yes.

Or a phone bid at least. Anyway, let's get on with it.

Here we go, this is it.

900 is the 19th-century fan, with the original box.

Just being held up there for you.

Handsome fan. Could do with one on a day like today.

Do we say £100 for it? 50, then.

40, I'm bid 40. Come on.

And two, 44. 46.

-Too low.

-50.

And five. 60. And five. 70.

At £70, then.

-Oh, come on.

-That's it at £70.

At £70, then. Going home, I'm afraid. £70.

Away it goes at 70.

I'm sorry about that, but that's auctions for you.

You can't predict what will happen. The buyers weren't here.

If two collectors had picked it up, £300 would not be unreasonable.

So it goes on to another day.

Put it into a textile sale,

specialist with other fans, you won't have any problem.

-That's the plan.

-We'll go from there. Thank you.

Good advice, Michael. That fan survives to sell another day.

Let's hope he does better with his next valuation -

Frederick's autograph album, valued at £200 - £400.

Did you ever think of taking the most important ones out and having them mounted?

I don't like breaking books up.

There was a Dickens signature in there which I think my father cut out and sold.

We found a hole. We found a hole.

Oh, wow!

I don't like breaking books up.

I think maybe an academic or somebody would enjoy it.

Probably, but I imagine the trade would pick this up

and take the knife to it.

They would, but it's got to be the specialist autograph trade.

If they picked up on it on the Internet, it will go.

But it's the only autograph item here today.

So if they haven't done that, don't be disheartened.

It won't be that much of a space on the shelf.

What filled me with dread was David came up behind me and said, "You are brave doing that."

-That's probably the kiss of death.

-We've got £200 - £400 on this.

Let's find out what the bidders think right now.

Lot 300 then, the autograph album,

containing numerous notables of the 19th century.

Aristocracy, ecclesiastical, etc, etc.

Am I bid £100? And ten?

120, 130, 140.

150, 160, 170. 170 standing now.

Are we done with selling now?

At £170, going to sell at 170 then.

-We just got it away.

-We just put it away.

I thought it would go at the bottom end, to be fair.

It's gone, it's gone, that's a good thing.

That's the top end as far as I'm concerned.

-Any end is good.

-You didn't want to take it home.

-No, no.

-I've got a lot more at home.

-Brave man.

That was a close one.

Autograph albums are always hard to value, but Michael was spot-on.

Now it's that tiny Doulton mouse that was swooped on by sharp-eyed Carl.

This guy has got eyes like an eagle.

HE LAUGHS

-At a table-top sale?

-On Hayling Island, yeah.

-I bet you couldn't believe your luck.

-I couldn't.

I thought it was worth 100 when I see it, but er...

And the owners were there with a £2 price tag?

-They wanted £3 and I knocked them down.

-You didn't!

-I always do.

That verges on being mean.

That is a bit mean. That's very mean, I've got to say.

Never pay what they're asking.

Even if you knew it was worth £100?

Didn't you say, "Take the money," and walk away and put it in your pocket?

Gosh, well let's see if we can turn it into £200 plus.

The auctioneer says it could fly away.

I think it probably might.

I hope it does. I might be embarrassed.

But even if it's within estimate, it's still a bargain.

-Secretly, what are you hoping for?

-£500.

Are you? Have you really done some research?

Well... I reckon it might do three, I don't know.

-Well...

-We shall find out.

-We're going to learn something.

It's an early one, like, so...

Let's find out what the bidders think right now.

480 then is the Royal Doulton Noke's flambe figure of the mouse.

Bids of which there are several, start us then at £200 and 20.

240, 260, 280, 300.

-300 straightaway!

-And 20.

With me at 320, looking for 340.

340 I've got. 360.

Two phonelines.

400.

And 20.

440.

-Crikey!

-460.

480.

500.

-And 20.

-The percentage this profit is.

£500 left-handed then.

Are we all done and selling now? At £500.

Are we done with it at 500? You going 20? And 20. 540.

560.

At 540. Are we sure we're done at 540 now?

At 540 left-handed, all done at 540, going to sell at 540, yes?

Well done, you. I hope you feel guilty for knocking them down £1.

It might not have made anything. You don't know till you've sold it.

-What will you do with the money?

-I don't know.

I was going to buy a couple of pet rats, so I'll put it towards that.

-Will you?

-Yeah, rat's cage, yeah, pet mice or rats.

That's the first time in ten years I've heard somebody say they're going to spend it on rats.

Thank you so much for bringing that along.

If you've got anything like that, we'd love to see it.

-We know what it's worth now.

-You ought to join the team, really.

A great result for Carl.

Those overlooked items at boot and jumble sales are rare,

but they are still out there, so keep your eyes peeled.

We've had a cracking day here in Sussex.

It was a bit of a roller-coaster ride, but that's auctions for you.

Do join me again soon for many more surprises.

But for now, from Sussex, it's goodbye.

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