Todmorden Flog It!

Today's show comes from the heart of the Pennines, Todmorden in Yorkshire.

Welcome to "Flog It!".

We're holding our valuation day in the wonderful town hall

in the centre of Todmorden.

It's nice and quiet in here at the moment, but all that is just about to change.

THEY LAUGH

That's because we've got this magnificent queue outside -

hundreds of people hoping they'll get chosen

to go through to auction, and their item makes the bidders' pulses race.

Here to make sure we don't miss anything is our team of experts,

-headed up by Catherine Southon...

-It's just interesting!

-..and Adam Partridge.

-4,000 badges! Not bad.

THEY LAUGH

Oh, you are beautiful! Mwah!

Ooh! Well, it is 9:30. It's time to get the doors open,

get the show on the road. Are you ready? Let's...

-Flog it!

-Come on! Follow me!

PAUL LAUGHS

Coming up on the programme, Adam gets personal.

-Who's your favourite expert?

-You are!

Very good answer!

'I make some new lady friends.' Anthea, give us a twirl.

-Remember that?

-PAUL LAUGHS

'And Catherine...' Easy, tiger!

-'..gets down to business.'

-It's in superb condition.

-Exactly. And quality always...

-Sells.

Let's get on with the action. Everyone is safely seated inside.

It looks like Catherine is our first expert to the table.

I must say, I love the uniform. Can I try the hat on?

-Yes, of course.

-Everybody loves an officer and a gentleman.

Let's take a closer look at what Catherine's spotted. Over there.

John gets us off to a galloping start

with his collection of comical figurines.

-So, who do these belong to?

-Well, I bought them for the wife,

my wife Anthea.

Right. These are quite modern, as you probably know.

They're 1980s, and designed by Norman Thelwell.

And they're all rather cute, these little figures...

-That's why she loved them.

-..on ponies. Is she a horse-rider?

Oh, no. She's not into horses, but she took a fancy to these.

So you bought one for each birthday, or...

Something like that. Christmas, birthday, and just got up the set,

back in the, as you say, the early '80s.

-What a nice man you are!

-Oh, I know. I'm brilliant, aren't I?

-Brilliant.

-Very nice.

Well, as you know, Beswick is very collectable,

as long as they are in perfect condition,

no breakages or anything like that, no cracks.

For example, I'm looking at this one in particular,

because there is a slight little fault on the jacket.

It's hardly worth talking about, but it's there, isn't it?

But even so, they do pick up on these little things.

-With Beswick you have to be -

-Spot-on.

-You do have to be spot-on.

The thing is about Beswick as well,

people look at the marks very carefully,

and see whether they are an earlier mark

or perhaps whether they were redesigned

at a later stage, because you might get one that was done in 1981

and then again they remade it in '82,

perhaps with a slightly different colourway, for example,

a slightly different-colour jacket, something like that.

So that really depends on the price.

But you do get a lot of people going for these,

even though they are still very modern.

Now, the big question value-wise. I would have thought, in the '80s,

-you paid quite a lot for these.

-I know it probably broke my heart.

THEY LAUGH

Probably about 20-ish, I think, maybe even...

I know it was a lot. It was a treat, a good treat for my lady wife.

So how does she feel about you selling them now?

They've been on the cupboard for a long time,

and we've come along to see all this, and yourself...

Oh, thank you! You're so kind.

And it's been lovely just to see how it goes on.

We nearly watch every antique programme going,

so to a certain extent we've got a fair idea what they're worth.

-I think the thing to do for this is to split them in half...

-Lovely.

..and sell them as two separate lots at £100 to £150 each.

-How does that sound?

-That sounds pretty good!

-Happy with that?

-Yeah. We've been here and seen you,

and all the rest of it. And it's been gorgeous. It's been brilliant.

THEY LAUGH It's been really brilliant.

Great to meet you. Thank you, John. I'll see you at the auction.

It looks like Catherine and John have started their own mutual-appreciation club there!

Geoffrey found this unusual item cleaning out a room

for the charity he works for.

Now, then, you've brought something that's quite a curious item.

-It is to me, as well. Yeah.

-I like having a stab

at these wacky things here.

Obviously it's got lots of writing that tells us...

"Society of Arts", "best guinea set",

"blowpipe apparatus".

Yeah, some sort of experimental thing.

Some sort of experimental thing, by JT Letcher of Truro, Cornwall.

Now this dates this, I would say, to 1880, 1890.

We've got all sorts of apparatus here,

and I think it's for analysing minerals.

-Right. Right.

-If we lift that tray out...

-Yes.

-There.

Oh!

And we've got all these little tubes in here.

-And, um...

-These, all things in these.

-In here as well, there's a little tin.

-Yeah.

-So, those have got things in 'em?

-Yeah, they've all got something in.

Platinum, tin foil, all sorts in there.

So it's some sort of home experimental kit,

a mineralogist's...testing kit.

-Yeah.

-You've decided to sell it, I suppose?

-Yes, because no use for us. No.

-You're not into your minerals?

-No.

-THEY LAUGH

-Any idea what it might be worth?

-I don't know. No.

What would be the least you'd sell it for?

-Anything.

-So we'd put it in with no reserve?

-No reserve, yeah.

-Well, I think estimate 50 to 100.

-Yeah.

-No reserve on it.

-No.

And I'd be interested to see what the auction house calls it!

THEY LAUGH

Can I have a cup of Earl Grey? Got any?

-No!

-You caught me having a cup of tea.

It's thirsty work, valuing antiques. I've just been given a coffee.

Liz, thank you for bringing these trophies in.

It looks like somebody in your family was a winner. Who was it?

-It was my great-grandfather.

-And this is him here, is it?

-Yes.

-What was his name?

-Arthur Wills.

Ahh! So, these are trophies for breeding the best heifer?

One's for the heifer and one's for the dairy.

-Is that your grandfather?

-Yes, it is.

-What a proud man! And who's this?

-That's my father, Richard Wills.

What lovely family social history! You are a lucky girl. You know that?

-Yes.

-I know you want a valuation and you might be selling these,

but let's talk about that later.

Let's just look at the silver trophies.

There's the assay mark for Birmingham, the anchor.

There's the lion passant, telling us it's sterling silver,

-and the capital Z. So that was made in 1924.

-Yes.

So this was purchased as new in 1924,

and then engraved. It was won in 1926, AW Wills, and in 1927.

So that's nice. And this one - a lot of weight here.

-And there you are, look.

-Yes.

-This is lovely.

-You should be proud of this.

-I am.

-It's your granddad, isn't it?

-Yes.

-Bless him!

What else have you got here? You've got a rose-gold watch chain.

-Yes.

-Which is very, very nice.

Nine-carat gold, with two nine-carat gold medals.

-Yes.

-Again, "best dairy beast". I like that "best dairy beast"!

-HE LAUGHS

-1928, and "best heifer".

THEY LAUGH

Isn't that fantastic! There's a fair bit of weight there.

-There's three ounces there.

-Certainly is, yes.

That's worth around...

£700 to £900.

Mmm.

But I think sentimental value is worth twice as much to you.

I would put that into the auction with a value of £250 to £350,

-with a fixed reserve...

-Mm.

-..at 220.

220. Right. Yes.

This one I'd put in at £300 to £400,

with a fixed reserve of maybe 280.

Right.

I think you'd be silly to sell them,

because that's the sort of figure you're going to get.

Yes. Sentimental value.

Big question is, are you going to sell it?

I don't think I will today, thank you.

Oh, bless you! I'm so pleased you said that.

This is something to be proud of. It goes all the way back to 1924.

-I envy you, because I don't have family history that old.

-Mm-hm.

I'd be dead chuffed with this if I owned this.

-Thank you. Yes.

-Look! The one that got away!

This isn't "Flog It!" any more, is it? This is "Keep It!"

-Thanks for coming in anyway.

-Thank you very much.

Marion has brought in a striking table centrepiece

for Catherine to have a look at.

Marion, welcome to "Flog It!", and thank you for bringing along

this amazing, very flamboyant table decoration.

I'm sure you're aware that these are actually called epergnes.

They just really shout for themselves.

They speak for themselves, and they epitomise the Victorian era

in every way. Tell me about it. Where did you get this from?

Well, it belonged to my father.

It was a prize which he received for a cycling race

-in southern Ireland.

-Right.

-But I landed up with this, so...

-You say you landed up with it.

-THEY LAUGH

-I can tell you're not that keen.

-No, not at all.

-It's not the sort of thing you'd think a cyclist -

a male cyclist - would like to receive. Did he like it?

-It's never been on display.

-It's never been on display?

-Not even when I was a child.

-Oh, what a shame!

-It was always put away, yeah.

-That's such a shame!

That would account for its condition,

because it is in absolute perfect condition.

They are so incredibly fragile,

but I can't see any cracks, any chips or anything on this.

-No.

-It is in absolute superb condition.

The way it's been made is quite beautiful.

It's been crimped at the top,

-and also, this has been overlaid...

-Yeah.

-..around the sides.

This has been trailed around, the clear glass,

and then hand-crimped. It's all hand-made,

and it really is beautiful, if you think about the work

that's gone into that. But not something that interests you?

No, not at all. Um, I live in a modern house,

and obviously it wouldn't look right.

-Have you any idea on values?

-Well, I saw one recently,

but it had four flutes coming off rather than three.

-Right.

-And that was going for 695.

Right, OK. That's quite a price.

I think the fact that it had four trumpets rather than three

-makes it more valuable.

-Having said that,

I don't know if it was in as good condition as this one is.

I'm afraid I'll have to come down a little bit from that.

I would suggest putting this in at £200 to £300.

-OK.

-Would you be happy to sell at that?

-If it's worth 300 rather than 200.

-Yes, I know,

and I think if we can put it at a 180 reserve,

-I think that would be sensible.

-Er... What about a 200 reserve?

-200?

-Yeah.

-If you want it at 200, we'll do it at 200,

-so we won't sell it, then, below £200.

-Absolutely. OK.

-And I'll see you at the auction.

-Thank you.

-Thank you, Marion.

Thank you.

We are now halfway through our day, and you've just seen the items.

I think there's some real gems there.

Let's put those valuations to the test.

We're going to the auction rooms in the Calder Valley, where anything could happen.

So, we have three items going under the hammer -

the Thelwell Beswick figurines John bought for his wife,

the box of scientific instruments

which Adam thought could be for analysing minerals,

and that huge Victorian epergne, made from cranberry glass.

This is where we're putting all our owners' antiques under the hammer,

the Calder Valley auction rooms. On the rostrum,

the man with all the local knowledge, Ian Peace.

Hopefully it's a full house and we get great results. Fingers crossed!

First we're about to find out

what the bidders make of Marion's father's unusual trophy.

Our centrepiece for today's show has to be that wonderful cranberry epergne -

-if you like that kind of thing, and Marion doesn't. Do you?

-No.

You live in a modern house, don't you,

and this would just not look right in a modern house.

I can understand. It's been in a box.

It's a thing you either love or you hate. It's one of those.

-There's no in-between.

-It's a great colour.

-It's the right colour. Condition's good?

-Fabulous, yeah.

Fabulous. I think it'll go. £200 is not a lot of money for that.

-Right.

-We're going to find out. Ready? Fingers crossed! Let's do it.

The large cranberry glass epergne.

Delightful piece there, and remarkably good condition.

What am I bid on this? A couple of hundred? £100?

-£100. Thank you. £100. 120. 120.

-We need a lot more than that.

140. At £140.

-We're getting there.

-At 140. 140.

-At 160.

-Not sure.

-At 180.

At £180. Anybody else, now? At £180.

-The epergne, at £180.

-Fixed reserve of 200.

Any further bids? We're just short of the reserve at 180.

Do I see a further bid? At £180...

-Marion...

-First and last time, then. 180.

-I'm ever so sorry.

-Oh, don't worry. I can take it home, can't I?

-Is it going back in the box?

-Back in t'box.

-THEY LAUGH

-You said that beautifully.

-"Back in t'box."

-HE LAUGHS

Sadly, the crowd here today

just weren't keen on that piece of classic Victoriana.

Will we fare any better with our next item?

This is a real curio. Scientific-instrument set maybe,

blowpipes for enamelling, and you found it clearing out an almshouse.

-That's right. Yes.

-Do you work there?

-I'm a warden.

-A warden. Nice job?

-Yes, yes.

These curious objects... It's a difficult thing to price.

It is. I think it's worth £100.

I think it's probably for analysing minerals.

-Good Cornish maker! You'll like that.

-Ooh, proper job!

-Proper job.

-Sounds like Redruth to me. It's going under the hammer.

The late-19th-century...

wooden-cased Cornish scientific blowpipe apparatus

by a fellow called Letcher of Truro.

Right! What am I bid for this lot here?

50? 40?

30? Start me where you like. £20?

20 I'm bid, thank you. £20 I'm bid.

Any further bids? At 20. 22.50.

22.50.

25. 27.50.

£30.

32.50.

35.

37.50. £40.

42.50.

At 42.50 bid.

Any further bids? At 42.50, then.

£42, 50 pence. It's gone.

Crept through.

-Every little helps.

-What are you putting the money towards?

-The almshouse.

-Oh, that's lovely. That is nice.

-Going to buy a chair for the garden.

-Oh, are you?

-All being well, yeah.

-Excellent.

-Thank you so much for bringing that in.

-I love those curios.

-Sorry it didn't make more.

I thought it might have done getting on for 100.

That's auctions for you. It's gone.

It was a strange amount, but it sold.

Now it's John's turn to find out if his figurines will romp away

with a top price.

Something to brighten up the day! I'm surrounded by red.

I've just been joined by John and Catherine. Good luck, John.

We've got the Beswick horses going under the hammer,

-two separate lots, each bought for your wife.

-Yeah, they were.

Why have you decided to sell, or why has she decided to sell?

We've both decided to sell. We're downloading again,

like everybody else, but also we wanted to meet you lot.

-Oh! What a nice excuse!

-What more can you say?

Had a chat to the auctioneer earlier.

He said should get the top estimate, plus a bit more.

As you know, the dapple greys always fetch more than the bays.

Interesting, that, isn't it? So you bought well.

-I think so, yeah.

-Well, the dapple greys, obviously.

Let's find out what the bidders think.

Let's hope they don't fall at the first fence.

Lot 319,

the Beswick Thelwell bay equestrian figures,

Kick Start, Pony Express and Angel On Horseback.

Charming little group there, lot 319.

Might be going home with lots of money!

-I'm going to open this at £70.

-I thought he said £7.

-So did I. So did I.

-I have 70.

And 80. Do I see 80? And 90. At 100.

-110. 120.

-Commission bid.

At £120 on my right.

£120. Are we all done at £120?

130 at the back of the room.

140. At 140.

At 140.

At 140, then. He says no.

£140 on my right. All done.

£140! That's good news, cos that's the bays.

The dapples should fetch more. They're up right now.

Three more Beswick Thelwell figures.

Again, the same subject matter. These ones are in grey.

The three dapple greys.

I'm going to open this at, er...

at £90. At 90.

100. 110.

At 110.

At 110. 120.

120. 130, sir. 130.

140. 150.

At 150 in the middle.

£150.

All done at £150, then?

Hammer's gone down. £150. That is a good result!

-It is.

-Really good result. Happy?

-Yeah.

-And Anthea? Where is she today?

-She's just across there.

-Anthea, give us a twirl.

-Remember that?

-THEY LAUGH

-Nice to see her, to see her, nice.

-To see you, nice.

THEY LAUGH

What will Anthea do with the money? Treat herself?

We could do with some new boots, cos we go walking a lot.

-Oh, do you?

-Yeah. Walking in the Dales.

Oh, lovely. And they're starting to leak, are they?

They let water in when you're going through wet grass.

It keeps you fit and healthy, doesn't it?

It gets you out and about, from the towns into the valleys and hills.

-He's right.

-Keep walking.

-Thank you so much for coming in.

-Thank you.

-Top money.

You're a star. Thank you.

That concludes our first visit to the auction room today. So far, so good.

No big surprises, but do stay tuned, because we'll come back later

and hopefully there will be one or two big surprises.

While I've been up here filming, I took the opportunity

to see an art exhibition in a gallery just in nearby Halifax,

which is in a converted mill. Take a look at this.

This magnificent building in the centre of Halifax

was once home to the largest carpet manufacturer in the world.

It's been refurbished now and is now a complex of design studios,

offices and galleries, and today I'm here to see the work

of one of the 20th century's greatest graphic artists.

Abram Games was born of Latvian parents in Whitechapel, London,

in 1914, and was effectively self-taught.

His career spanned six decades, and he was responsible

for some of the most remarkable graphic images

ever produced in Britain.

It all started in 1936.

He left St Martins school of art after only two terms,

his only formal art training, so he really was self-taught.

He went to work as a junior in a graphics department,

and helped his father as a photographer's assistant,

but his breakthrough came in 1936. While still working as a junior,

he won a competition to design a poster for London County Council.

This was the launch. It gave him the confidence

to start what would be a flourishing career.

He went on to design for Shell, and as you can see in this poster,

introducing airbrush technique for the first time in his work,

which he developed from his photography background.

The 1940s, the war years, and an important period in Games's career.

To date, he has been the only official wartime poster artist,

and between the years of 1941 and 1945,

he designed 100 posters for the War Office.

There are hundreds here I'd like to talk about,

but this one has caught my eye - the ATS.

It's the Auxiliary Territorial Services.

It's designed to get women involved in the war effort,

working on the home front. This one's known as the Blonde Bombshell,

and I don't have to explain that, with luscious red lips

that you just want to kiss. Games's philosophy was "maximum meaning"

with "minimum means", less is best. You can see why, can't you?

It's so impactive.

The 1950s, a very prolific time in Games's career.

There was a feel-good factor going on in the country.

Not only had we had the Festival of Britain,

but also the government was encouraging people to go out and spend money, get out on holiday,

and what better way to do it than by train? Look at this!

Maximum meaning. You don't really need any text.

Just look at the picture! You're seeing Britain by train,

and if you look out the windows, you see all the counties.

Absolutely love that. And then on to the '60s, '70s and '80s,

bringing art to the masses, and this is where I can remember him,

growing up in London, touring the Underground,

and seeing all his posters as I go up and down the escalator.

This stunning touring exhibition, comprising of over 70 posters,

sketches, and other product designs,

was curated by Games's daughter, Naomi.

THEY LAUGH

You've got to be so proud of your dad.

He was head and shoulders above everybody else in the game.

Thank you for saying so. We're very proud of him,

-my brother and sister and I.

-Did you ever get involved

in his artwork, try and do some doodles for him?

He worked in a studio in our house, and we grew up with his work.

And when he designed a poster, he would show the children,

and if we didn't understand it, he would tear it up and start again.

-Really?

-Because if children didn't understand,

-nobody would.

-So you were one of his biggest critics!

-And my mum.

-And your mum!

-HE LAUGHS

Tell me about those early years. Why did he only spend two terms

at St Martins? Because they've turned out many great artists.

He didn't believe in art schools. He realised, after two terms,

that the students were much richer than he was - he was very poor -

and they lost their individuality. They didn't think for themselves.

-No.

-They looked at magazines, and they didn't think.

-And he became very anti-art college.

-It's probably a silly question,

-but did he have a favourite poster?

-He was often asked,

"Which are your favourite posters?" He designed 300 posters at least,

and he said, "They're all my favourite. They're like my children."

But one was the war poster

for "your talk may kill your comrades",

that actually had a self-portrait on it that Abram airbrushed.

And that's the talk spiralling out of control.

I know he wanted to go off and fight, didn't he?

But he ended up being the official war-poster artist.

Well, the Second World War was a war that Abram believed in.

He was Jewish and he was a Londoner, and he wanted to fight.

He went to his superiors and said, "Send me back to the front line."

And they said, "No. What you're doing is very important."

-Too valuable to the nation.

-It's too valuable,

and that was a great source of pride to Abram,

because he didn't realise his posters were doing a good job too.

Incredible.

Fighting with a pen rather than a gun.

-The pen is mightier than the sword, isn't it?

-Exactly.

-Yeah.

-Did you follow in his footsteps at all?

I was trained as a graphic designer, but I couldn't compete with him.

That was the problem. A very hard act to follow, so I gave up.

But you've helped put this exhibition together.

That's what I do now. I look after his work.

SHE TALKS UNDER BACKGROUND MUSIC

Seeing students make notes and look at things and copy things...

Abram would be smiling down now. He's left a fantastic legacy.

-Oh, he has.

-And I'm so proud of him.

-It doesn't get much better than this.

-Thank you!

-Thank you so much for meeting me.

-My pleasure. Thank you. Thanks!

Welcome back to the valuation day here in the town hall.

There's a lot going on still. Our experts have their work cut out.

People keep piling through those doors.

Let's find out what Adam Partridge has been up to.

He's looking at a figurine brought in by mother and daughter

Jean and Lorraine.

-Good afternoon, ladies.

-Good afternoon!

You've come to "Flog It!" today with this lovely Royal Dux figure group

-of two dogs. Very nice indeed. Do you like them?

-I like them.

-Why don't you have them out?

-I haven't got room for them,

and I've got a silly cat that might knock them over.

-A scatty cat?

-THEY LAUGH

-Lorraine, do you like them?

-Yes, but I've got two scatty cats.

-Oh! So quite an irony, isn't it?

-It is.

Dogs injured by cats. Obviously you can tell who made them,

because underneath we've got that unmistakeable pink triangle there,

-the Royal Dux mark.

-Yeah.

Bohemia, or the formerly known as Czechoslovakia, that sort of area.

And Royal Dux made a range of figures

which are very distinctive. They've usually got this greeny-gilt base,

all types of animals, and shepherds, shepherdesses,

figures of all kinds.

And it's quite popular stuff.

Condition-wise, I think you're in pretty good order.

I did notice a couple of things,

where we've got what we would call light hairline cracks

across there, little one there.

-Yeah.

-And there's a little one there.

-You watch "Flog It!" a bit?

-We do, yes.

-Who's your favourite expert?

-You are.

-Very good answer!

Just before the valuation. That's a very clever answer!

There was a little bit of hesitation, but we'll forgive that.

In which case, what do you think it's worth yourself?

-Any idea?

-I wouldn't like to say.

-Four figures would be nice.

-Four figures?

-Like £28.50?

-THEY LAUGH

Four figures would be amazing, actually.

I've sold loads of Royal Dux, so it's not a hard one to predict.

I think without the slight condition issues,

it would make 200 or 300.

Bearing in mind we've got minor issues there,

I've reduced it a bit, and I suggest a reserve of 150,

estimate of 150 to 250.

-That's fine.

-Sound all right?

-Yeah, that's fine.

-Sounds reasonable.

-Sounds reasonable?

-Yeah.

Thanks for coming. I'm looking forward to seeing it.

Thank you.

-What did you do for a living?

-Not a lot.

-Not a lot.

-You enjoying yourselves?

-Yeah!

Not half!

-How long have we been married, love?

-57 years.

-And still in love!

-Oh, yes.

-Where have you been all day, then?

-Queuing to get in here.

Gosh, there's more people coming in.

Without the general public, we wouldn't have a show to make,

and if you want to know what's going on behind the scenes, just log on to our website.

Click onto bbc.co.uk/flogit and all will be revealed.

-It's lots of fun.

-I didn't really want to be on the telly.

You didn't want to be on telly? Ooh, it's a bit late now, isn't it?

-Flog it!

-THEY LAUGH

Patricia has brought in a projector with slides to show Catherine.

Tell me, where did you get this from?

-I bought it from a farmer near Haworth, the Bronte country.

-Right.

And he was clearing an old barn out, and I paid £30 for it.

You paid £30 for it. Right. OK. Let's just have a little look at it.

Made in Germany. Probably dates from the early part of the 20th century,

1920s, that sort of date. Now, the glass slides here...

-Let's just have a look.

-Right.

Let's just put them in front of our special light we've got here,

and we can see here, these cute little figures

of gentlemen playing instruments and ladies dancing,

really quite nice scenes. Are they all quite similar?

-Yes, I think they are.

-Right. So, we'll put that here.

-Windmills and things...

-Yes.

-All of a similar sort of nature.

Sometimes these are hand-painted, but I think these are transfers.

-Yes.

-Looks like there should have been another couple here.

-It does.

-We're missing a couple of slides.

-Have you ever had this working?

-Yes, I've had it working once.

There was smoke coming out of the top of it,

and a white screen up on the wall. We got gassed with the fumes,

-so we stopped using it.

-Right. Because the way that it works is,

you would put some paraffin inside and then light it,

and then you mentioned that the smoke all came out of the top.

And you would put your glass slides in here.

There are people who collect magic lanterns.

It's actually got a really big following.

-There is the Magic Lantern Society.

-Oh, is there?

People go crazy for lanterns,

but they're really interested in collecting novelty ones.

I've sold on in the shape of an Eiffel Tower...

-Oh, yes?

-..Buddhas and things like that.

But this is really, you know, a small example,

-a child's toy, really. It's probably a child's magic lantern.

-Yes.

-Now, you say you paid £30 for it.

-Yes.

That's probably quite a lot of money to pay for it,

as I wouldn't expect it to make a lot more than that at auction.

I would suggest putting a pre-sale estimate on of £40 to £60.

-Right.

-Thank you for coming along, and I hope it does well at auction.

-So do I. Thanks very much.

-Thank you.

Adam was pleased to see Malcolm and Barbara,

who brought in an item very close to his heart.

I grew up with violins. Both my parents were violinists,

and I used to play quite a bit. Tell us about your violin-playing.

Well, I got this when I was about 11,

from a great-uncle,

and he just picked that up and he said,

"You can have that, if you're going to learn."

My sister used to make me go in the garden shed and do it.

-So you weren't allowed to practise in the house?

-No.

I wasn't very good, obviously.

This is a typical German factory-made violin,

which will date from the turn of the century, 1900 or thereabouts.

This front is known as the table, made of pine,

as is always the case, pretty much always,

and on the back... Well, it's a very flashy back,

with this inlay on it, isn't it?

Um... This is made from maple, two pieces of maple.

So this looks very ornate,

and we've also got carving round the scroll,

which is not on every violin.

So it's one that's been made to look really very smart.

There's a label inside. Most of them tend to say Stradivarius...

-I wish!

-Most of them that say Strad aren't anyway.

But this one, it says the Apollo violin,

which is a trademark name, so it's an instrument,

whilst it looks very flash, it's not particularly valuable.

-It was one that was made for the student.

-Yes.

-Yes.

But it's nice. It's in good condition. There's no cracks.

Cracks are the crucial thing. Cracks on this table here

affect the resonance, cos when you play,

you get a little bit of a vibration. Same thing on the back.

I'd say it hasn't been played very much in its life.

So, you happy to let it go?

-You're not going to take it up again?

-No.

-Sure about that? How about you, Malcolm?

-No, no!

-Definitely not!

-Well, I've given you a few clues.

It's not a Strad.

It's not going to be tens of thousands.

-It's probably going to be 50 to 100.

-Yes.

-That's fine.

If it doesn't make 50, I'll come and give you some lessons

in my garden shed, so no-one can hear.

-THEY LAUGH

-Thanks a lot.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

This is where it gets exciting, my favourite part of the programme,

because you never know what might happen, and, fingers crossed,

there may be surprises. We're going over to the Calder Valley,

and leave you with a quick rundown of the items going under the hammer.

Boxed and ready to go, we have the Royal Dux Labrador figure,

the 1920s magic lantern with slides,

and finally the German violin,

which looks as though it hasn't been played very much!

I can feel the tension rising. It's auction time!

And look at this! A packed saleroom, lots of wonderful antiques,

all the ingredients of a classic auction. On the rostrum,

the man with all the local knowledge is Ian Peace.

Before the sale gets underway, I had a chat with him

about one of our items, and this is what he said.

At £60, then. 60.

Isn't this lovely, this toy magic lantern?

It's all there. I absolutely love the box and paper label.

Patricia bought it from a farmer.

We've got a valuation of £40 to £60.

She rang me up and said, "Ooh, look, I've found these additional slides,

children's slides." "Ooh," I said. "Bring them down."

And in my opinion it's actually well and truly enhanced that lot,

possibly by double. There's a new auction estimate of 80 to 100,

and I think the reserve is now 75 with slight discretion.

Very pleased that this lady took the trouble to come across on the bus

all the way from Burnley, in the rain, to bring this.

-We took her back to the bus stop.

-Did you? That was kind of you.

That's what I call an auctioneer earning his commission!

'We're about to discover whether those new slides will make all the difference.'

-Thank goodness you found them!

-I did.

Have you spent many hours looking at them?

-No. I've had them about 20 years.

-Did you ever look at them?

Not in detail, but I have seen them on the projector.

-We did have it going once. We did take them out.

-Good luck.

-Thank you. I'm so pleased about the slides.

-So am I.

Let's find out what the bidders think.

Plenty of collectors would love to get their hands on this.

We're going to find out right now.

The early 20th-century German portable magic lantern,

plus ten boxed slides, Three Little Pigs, etc.

-Rather nice little lot, this.

-So sweet!

And... Right. Let's have an opening bid, please,

of £50. 50. £40.

Thank you. 40 I'm bid. £50. £50. 55.

55. And £60.

-Keen bidding.

-And 65.

And 65. And £70. 70.

I have £70. And 70.

Any further bids? 75?

At £70, then, the back of the room. We're selling at 70.

Are there any other bids? At £70. At £70, then,

back of the room...

The hammer's gone down. £70. You've said goodbye.

Oh, are you a bit upset about that?

I thought it would've gone for a little bit more.

So did I, to tell you the truth.

I loved that lot. Shame it didn't make a little bit more,

but Ian used his discretion and sold it.

Now, let's see how we do with Malcolm and Barbara's violin.

Malcolm and Barbara, it's great to see you again.

This violin was in the family a long time, wasn't it?

-Great-Uncle used to play?

-Yes.

-Did you ever try and play?

-Yes.

-And? Any good?

-Not very successfully, no.

Well, you brought it to the right person to have valued,

-because Adam plays.

-It's a tricky instrument.

It's a nice instrument for a student to pick up

-at that sort of price.

-A student's violin.

Fingers crossed. Ready? Let's make some music. Here we go.

516 is the early 20th-century German violin

with the carved scroll, and it's got the bow and the case there.

And we've got a couple of commission bids here.

-Oh, that's good.

-And a phone bid. Are you connected?

Good. I need to open this at...

Somebody's keen!

..£80. £80 bid. £80 I'm bid. At 90.

At 90. At 100. 100.

And ten. 120. At £120.

At 120.

130. At £130. Any further bids?

At 130.

We're selling at 130. First and last time at 130.

-That's what I call right money.

-That's right money!

-THEY LAUGH

-Happy with that?

-Very.

When it comes to violins, Adam certainly knows his stuff,

even if he was a tad cautious with that valuation.

Now let's see if he was right about the Labrador figurine.

Next up, the Royal Dux Labrador, and it's got to go,

because the two scatty cats that Jean has at home

don't get on with it, do they? They don't like dogs, cats, do they?

-No.

-Not even a Royal Dux dog!

What do you think about this, Lorraine?

-Well, I've got a cat as well, so...

-Is that scatty as well?

-Well, yeah.

-So you're a cat person and not a doggy person?

-No, no. Any animal, really.

-Any animal? OK.

That's purely the reason it's got to go, then, is it?

Well, it's been hidden away for about 40 years, so...

-That's a good enough reason.

-It's time to give it a good home.

If it's hidden in a cupboard for more than three years,

-I think it's time to go.

-Out it.

-Have a good clear-out.

-Get it sold.

-Bring it to one of our valuation days and flog it.

It's the early 20th-century Royal Dux group

of a pair of gun dogs following the scent.

Right. Good looking piece, 528.

Two phones booked. I'm going to open the bidding at £100 on this.

£100. At 125.

-125. 150.

-Top end! Come on!

150. 175.

175. 185. 190.

195 on commission.

195. 200. £200.

I'll go in tens. 210. 210. 220. 220.

-Great!

-230.

240.

250.

260.

270. 280.

290. 300.

£300. They're out as well, so it's £300 to the lady in the room.

All done at £300?

Yes! The hammer's gone down, girls. £300!

-You've got to be pleased with that.

-We are.

-Very pleased.

Does something tell me that the cats are going to get the money?

-What are you going to do? Pamper your cats?

-We might do.

-They're pampered enough!

-Buy another one?

In unison, "They're pampered enough!"

"My turn now."

We're going to treat ourselves to something to remember the dogs by

-and remember my in-laws by.

-Oh, nice sentiment!

-Yeah.

-It's a decent price, that.

Just over the top end of the estimate is about the right money.

-Yeah. Yeah.

-Quality, as well, wasn't it?

-Lovely.

-Quality always...

-Sells.

Well, it's all over for our owners. The auction is still going on,

but we've had a fabulous time here. Everybody's enjoyed themselves,

and I hope you've enjoyed the show. Join me again soon

for more surprises in auction, but for now, from the Calder Valley in Yorkshire, it's goodbye.

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