The More the Merrier Flog It!

Welcome back to Sherborne Castle in the beautiful Dorset countryside,

and to another special edition of Ten of the Best of "Flog It!"

This magnificent house has been in the same family

for nearly 400 years and it contains a splendid collection

of antiques and artefacts that you'll find throughout

this superb building, collected over the generations.

And that's inspired me for my theme for today's programme.

Over the years, we've seen many a collection come through

the valuation day doors that have delighted our experts,

so today I've picked out 10 of my favourites to share with you.

So sit back and enjoy my collection of collections.

This is definitely a case of the more the merrier.

'My first pick takes us back to Chelmsford back in 2007,

'when Sylvia's wonderful collection of silver

'put a smile on David Barby's face.'

This, for me, is a true "Flog It!" moment.

-There's something outstanding on this table.

-Me!

THEY LAUGH

-But it's where it all came from. It came from the attic.

-Yes.

How long have they been in the attic? 25 years?

-Must be. Must be 25.

-Goodness me!

This little piece here is very nice indeed.

That dates from 1775.

But during the Victorian period, somebody's put this chase

-design all the way around, and that's spoilt its value.

-Ah.

It makes it very attractive but it takes away from its original form.

So that's a nice little piece but only probably about £80 to £100.

Right.

The salts, here, are typical sort of salts of the late 19th century

and a set like that might only realise £60 to £100.

These beautiful serving spoons. Very ornate.

Collectible but not of a great price.

-Probably round about 50, £60.

-Oh.

The one I love is this tankard here, that dates from 1750.

-And it's hallmarked for London.

-Right.

I also like, on the handle,

with this little kick at the bottom in the form of a heart.

-Isn't that beautiful? Really is.

-Yes.

-And this nice flanged foot.

That's super.

I reckon that will be worth somewhere between £700 and £900.

-Lovely.

-£700 and £900.

The outstanding piece is this little teapot at the front.

Yes. I noticed you fitted the bits inside.

Now we wouldn't have thought of that.

Well, this is called a picnic teapot.

So inside, we have a milk jug and then a sugar basin.

Oh, right.

And it was designed by a very, very important maker

called Christopher Dresser.

Now, Christopher Dresser had his designs

executed in silver by a company called Hukin and Heath.

And he designed this little teapot.

Now, I reckon that, at auction,

will sell for something in the region of about,

wait for it,

£800 to £1,000.

-So you've got a marvellous find from the attic.

-Yes.

And I reckon between £2,000 and £2,500 for the whole.

-Oh, that's lovely.

-Is that OK?

-That's lovely, yes.

I hope nobody else comes and says they want a share, hey?

I hope so.

What did Clint Eastwood say? You've made my...

-Day.

-Absolutely!

-Thank you very much.

-And you've made my day as well.

'David was clearly thrilled by that collection.

'Now we are going back to Ely in 2009,

'when Elizabeth Talbot found a colourful set of jewellery.'

You've brought a veritable treasure trove of micro mosaic here, Helen.

Now, it's not uncommon to find one

but it's uncommon to find a little collection.

What's the story behind these?

They belonged to my aunt.

A friend of hers used to buy them for her.

I think she picked up one or two herself, from second-hand shops. OK.

I've had a quick look through and it strikes me

that most of them seem stylistically

to come from about the 1950s, maybe 1960s.

They're Italian in origin.

Some of them are actually souvenirs from Roma, from Rome.

Did she travel around and abroad, then?

-I think they were all bought in this country.

-Right, OK.

Micro mosaic is a form of decoration,

making tiny miniature mosaics

out of cut pieces of glass.

Very much in the tradition from Roman times,

when mosaics were used for walls and other ornamental items.

It was very popular for use in jewellery. Victorians loved it.

One on its own is quite nice

but when you see such a lot together,

you can then appreciate all the different designs and patterns.

It's nice to see you have a couple here that are set in ivory,

pierced ivory, and you've got several in gilt mounts.

And these three, which are rather charming, the musical instruments.

This one was my aunt's favourite, I think.

I think she was really pleased when that one was found

because she used to play the cello.

But no, I think it's rather magical to have so many together.

The Victorian nineteenth-century examples

are the ones which make the most money these days.

We've seen them sell on "Flog It!" quite successfully in the past.

I think, realistically, as a collection sold together,

they would sell for round about £70 to £100.

-£70 to £100.

-Gosh. I didn't expect that much.

-Did you not?

-No.

I don't really know what I thought.

-I'm pleased it's come as a nice surprise.

-Yeah.

Would you like a reserve on them or see how the market...?

I'll be guided by you, really. I don't really know.

If you're happy at 70 to 100, it came as a surprise,

but we don't want to give them away, if we put a reserve of £50 on them and then at least that

gives them a chance to sell, but realistically.

What would you do with the money, then?

There's myself and a cousin on that side of the family

so we thought we'd have a family meal out if we got something for them.

At £50, you should have a good meal.

-At £70, it could be an even better one.

-Even better, yes.

'Let's hope the bidders thought the same at auction.

'James Lewis was very excited to see this next special collection

'at Balbirnie House in 2010.'

Ian, are these things from your childhood

or things you've been collecting?

No. These are definitely from my childhood in the 60s.

So you were a really good boy who put them back in their boxes.

I have to turn you, all mine ended up in the sandpit.

Did you have to save up your pocket money and buy them yourself?

I seem to remember getting them bought me for Christmases and birthdays.

-Oh, really?

-Yeah, probably too much for me.

Whoever bought them for you bought them well

because you've got two of the best names

in the toy world, really.

Dinky and Corgi. Dinky, of course, is the first.

The factory started in about 1908 and about 50 years later,

1956, the Corgi toy was launched.

Whereas Dinky were very interested in copying models

of actual vehicles,

and the copied them very, very well, in great detail.

Where Corgi benefited was they got the contract to copy

things like The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'s car,

the Batmobile, the James Bond Aston Martin.

All of those very collectible ones are the movie ones

and that's what Corgi specialised in.

You've got a total cross-section here.

I reckon the best one of all is this.

The large Dinky Supertoy Leyland eight-wheeled chassis.

I think that's a great thing,

with these three blocks

and each one of those is detachable,

very easy to lose.

I think that's the best.

I think that's a pretty good one

because it's still in original packaging without any dents at all

to this plastic, which is great.

And again, we've got the police fast response car, there.

As a whole, I think we should put them in as one group lot.

-Are you sure you want to sell these?

-HE LAUGHS

-I have doubts.

-Do you?

No thoughts about passing them on to kids or relatives or anything?

No because really, to me,

they were my childhood and the ones I have allowed

my children to use have been destroyed,

so it's not good to see that.

-They're more like me than you.

-In the sandpit.

-Exactly.

OK, I reckon an auction estimate of £150 to £250.

That one is worth 80, 120.

That one's worth 30, that one's worth 30.

I think it should make the top end of that.

'I wish I'd been a bit more careful with my cars.

'Now for a collection I particularly remember,

'because I was the one who valued it.

'It was in Cardiff back in 2005,

'when Anne showed me her quirky collection of character jugs.'

You brought along your whole family, by the looks of it.

Do you collect these little character jugs?

No. My grandmother collected them and she left them to me in her will.

-Do you like them?

-I think they're very decorative but not my taste.

That's a very polite answer, isn't it?

Thousands of people do like them, though.

This whole characterising of a drinking vessel or a jug

dates back well into the 14th century with the Bellarmine jars,

the earthenware jars made in the Rhineland, and you had a little

face of Cardinal Bellarmine on it and he used to get drunk a lot.

A little fat figure. They'd decorate the bottle with him.

In Victorian times, Toby jugs were really, really popular.

This whole thing has carried on right until the present day.

Doulton do make Toby jugs but these are an extension of Toby jugs,

character jugs.

There's one here which,

I think, is probably the most collectible.

That's Merlin the wizard.

He's also got an owl on him and the decorators really do like owls.

There's a few early ones, here, there are some 1940s ones,

most of them are 1960s, and I think their value is round about £20 each.

-OK.

-Really, there is a table full here of about £420.

That's a lot better than sitting in my loft, isn't it?

Did you think they might be worth that much?

I thought they'd be worth something but I didn't think that much.

Purely because of their volume. I don't think they're that collectible

when you see one by themselves and you've got him

on your mantelpiece or shelf, it doesn't look right.

You've got to have them in volume like this to make them work.

-Shall we flog them, then?

-Yes, yes. My grandmother wouldn't mind at all.

Can you make it to the auction?

-No. I'm afraid we're on holiday.

-Where are you going?

-Tenerife.

-Very nice.

-My daughter, I think, will come along.

That's fitting. She might just run off with the money.

I hope she's still there when we get home!

'Anne's daughter made the sale and I'll show you later how they sold.

'Here's a reminder of my selection which went under the hammer.

'Was it worth Sylvia digging out her stunning collection of silver from the attic?

'Helen was happy to get shot of her colourful set of jewellery.

'Ian's pristine assortment of toy cars.

'And Anne's collection of character jugs, which I split into five lots.

'We're off to Colchester to see what happened

'with Sylvia's fabulous collection of silver.

'It was split into eight lots so we're going to pick up the action

'after the first six lots had been sold.

'Already, Sylvia had made a very impressive £1,210.'

Next up, the teapot. Christopher Dresser teapot.

-They've separated all the items as well.

-Lot 217.

The Victorian silver picnic tea set.

This now has been confirmed that it was designed by Christopher Dresser.

Tea set, here.

-£500, start me, somewhere.

-We're in.

500 now, five. I have down here, at £500. 520.

540. 560. 580.

600. 620.

640. 660.

680. 700. 720.

-This is good. This is good so far. This is fantastic.

-£740.

I have down here. Now at 740.

760, anywhere? At £740.

I'm going to sell it. All out, 740.

Yes! We're certainly riding on the crest of a wave.

There's one more left!

The early George II silver tankard.

-£700 with me.

-700, straight in.

720. 740. 760.

780. 800. 820.

840. 860.

880. 900. 920.

We might need to get you a chair halfway through this!

1,000. 1,100.

-1,200. At £1,200.

-Sylvia!

-At £1,200.

I'm going to sell it. Are you bidding?

-1,300.

-Yes! Go on, buy it.

At £1,300. 1,350? 1,350.

Make it 1,400? I'm going to sell it.

-1,400.

-1,400! Yes! This is definitely a purist item.

-At 1,450.

At 1,450, is bid, down here, now, at 1,450.

1,500 at another place. 1,500.

Make it 1,550? No.

-1,500, seated. Are you all done?

-GAVEL FALLS

-Yes!

-£1,500.

Sylvia, all credit to you, my love,

for hanging on to this

and not putting it into a charity shop or down a car boot sale.

-That's where it was going to go.

-I can't believe that!

Do you know how much we've got?

You're looking, our researcher is holding up a piece of paper,

he added it up for me.

£3,450.

-Very good.

-In your attic.

I'll have to have another look up there!

'Fantastic result for Sylvia.

'Now we're off to Stamford for the sale of Helen's micro mosaic jewellery.

'Elizabeth really rated them but what did the bidders think?'

Going under the hammer is jewellery that belongs to Helen.

There's some lovely things there. I love the micro mosaics.

We're looking at 70 to £100 put on by our expert, Elizabeth.

Why are you selling them now?

They've always been in the box and nobody in the family liked them

and I'm never going to wear one.

-You would, wouldn't you?

-I would, some of them.

They are different. Some I don't like but some are charming.

Since I've been looking at them more closely,

-I've got interested in them.

-Too late now!

-I know.

-It's far too late now.

-I did keep one.

-Elizabeth told me. I think that was wise.

I think it's a nice little memento.

Lovely collection of brooches. 23, in all. Nice little collection.

Put them in at, what, £50.

50 I'm bid.

50, 5. 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85.

90, 95. 100 here.

100, 110, 120, 130.

140, 150. Oh, go on. One more.

At 150.

160, 170. You in on the net, 180? 180 on the net.

Back with you now, 190? 180, here. Madam, how badly do you want them?

Tell him.

180. Still over here at 180. You're out down here.

At £180, I sell on the net at 180, 190.

Oh, brilliant, I'm ever so pleased with this.

I think it's the micro mosaics.

200, 210. 220. 220, 230.

Helen, we might need a seat at this rate.

250 in the room. Goes in the room at £250.

Net, you've got to go 260 if you want it.

All done at £250, I sell here. Goes at 250.

-That was lovely. A sweet result, £250.

-Pleased, are you pleased?

Yes, it's going to be a very nice meal, that night.

Brilliant. That was a lovely surprise for everyone.

Now to Scotland, where the sale of Ian's immaculate car collection

went under the hammer in Edinburgh.

Good luck. That's all I can say and you deserve it

because you looked after these.

Boys and their toys, it's time to say goodbye. Wave them goodbye.

We've got some Corgis and some Dinkys,

boxed as well and in good condition.

That's where the value is. £150 to £250.

-It's nice to see, isn't it?

-It's all about condition, that's the thing.

-Most people, most kids just...

-Throw the box away.

I used to do that with my cars, get them on the floor,

go like that then throw them into the wall and watch them bounce.

Let's see what the bidders think, shall we?

They're going under the hammer now.

A very interesting collection of model vehicles.

I have various commissions on them and we start them at £150.

150.

150, who is going on at 150? 160.

Telephone bids.

180, 200, 220.

240, 260, 280. 280, 300.

320, 340.

360, 380, 400, 420.

440, 460, 480, 500.

520, 550.

Gosh!

580.

I'm shocked.

You bidding? 600. 600.

-In the room at £600.

-James, this was a come and buy me.

Anyone else like to go on at 600? Selling at £600.

-£600!

-Is that all? Knew it all the time.

-Wow!!

Give us a handshake for that. Oh dear, I just wish I had my cars.

Marvellous. That really brought back some childhood memories for me.

Now, we're off to Wales

for the sale of Anne's huge collection of character jugs

and I always get a bit nervous when my neck is on the block.

Remember Susan?

Well, she's now on holiday in Tenerife

but I have her daughter, Eleanor, and mother-in-law, June.

Yes, got it right. Anyway, we've split the lots into four groups, OK?

We've got the first one coming up now.

It's just about to go under the hammer.

How come mum didn't invite you away on holiday?

Oh, I just embarrass her. I'm too good looking for her.

-Probably.

-Here it is, good luck.

Lot number one, first out of the four.

There are five Royal Doulton character jugs in this one, lot 424.

140.

-At 140, 150.

-This is it, this is really good.

160? At 150, the gentleman at 150 now. At £150.

-Are we all done at 150?

-Fantastic.

-That's much better.

I was thinking £100 for each lot, kind of thing,

but that's really good.

That was sold for £150, this is now the second lot.

150. At 150, 160.

Oh, this is even better, this group.

-Are we all done at 160?

-Yes, 160.

Fantastic. £310 so far.

Third lot to go, third group now.

130, 140, 150.

At 150, the gentleman there. 160 with the gentleman.

At £160, are we all done at 160?

Yes, another 160.

Six character jugs this time, lot 427.

Well, we've got £470 so far. This is the last lot.

100, and 10.

120, 130, 140, 150.

Great, come on, another 160.

170. At 170, 180.

At 180, the gentleman here at 180 now.

At £180, are we all done at 180?

That was the best result so far. Gosh, they loved them, didn't they?

They absolutely adored them! You didn't like them, did you really?

I didn't really see them much, they were in the attic.

-Not really do a lot with them.

-The attic!

-That is a grand total of £650 if my maths are right.

-Wow. Oh, wow.

Above my estimate. I was thinking maybe 450, somewhere around there.

Are you going to ring Mum up and tell her?

I think I'd better have, yeah,

otherwise she will be annoyed with me.

Yeah. What's she going to do with the money, do you know?

I think she's going to buy some silver photo frames, three,

for me and my brothers, and then when she goes, we'll have them.

Then come and flog them here!

Wasn't that a great result for Anne?

The collectors were out in force that day.

I always feel so privileged to see such beautiful private collections

like the ones here at Sherborne Castle.

Now, back in 2003, I interviewed an extraordinary collector

who had a passion for, well, absolutely everything.

To this day, I've not come across anything like it,

so be prepared to meet Eric St John-Foti,

where more is definitely the merrier.

Ah, hello, yes. Can you put me through to Downham 251, please?

Putting you through now, caller. Right then.

What does this tin of mustard and these old telephones have in common?

I'll tell you.

The first telephone exchange in England started in Norfolk

and it linked the Colman's mustard factory in Norwich to their offices in London.

This old telephone exchange is just a small part of Eric St John-Foti's

collection, here at Hermitage Hall in Downham Market.

Eric doesn't just collect old phones.

It would be fair to say he is truly a collector's collector,

so just what have you got, Eric?

Oh, cars,

carriages,

carts,

oh, and a Concorde engine.

Eric, it's a truly remarkable collection, isn't it?

It's unbelievable. I mean, we're sitting here in a room totally dedicated to Nelson.

There's about 300 rooms here and if you put your collection

together in one long line, it spreads over a mile.

-It does indeed.

-That's bonkers, isn't it? That's bonkers collecting.

How did it all start?

Well, it started of course with the last war,

because in those days, people just didn't throw things away.

I've always been blessed with three things.

Number one, I've had the room to keep things.

I've never thrown anything away.

Number two, I've had the means to do it, thank God.

Number three, which is most important,

I've had a wife that lets me.

That's very important! Without it, you can't collect.

Most people that collect specialise in one area, but you don't.

-There's no rhyme or reason?

-That's not it.

You see, sometimes a lot of people collect correctly.

You see, collections shouldn't be

just amassing a lot of material things.

Collection should be preserving something from the past,

something that you're passionately fond of

or passionately interested in and a lot of memories.

If you've got that, then your collections will be a success.

We've ended up in a room dedicated to Nelson and Trafalgar. Why's that?

Well, it's very important

because Nelson spent part of his education in Downham Market.

-He actually learnt to sail on the river just outside here.

-Just there.

Just there.

Can you point out a few special things in here that you really like?

Well, there are one or two very special things, you see.

In 1805, at the Battle of Trafalgar, there wasn't photography,

so how did people cope?

If they had someone important abroad or in a battle,

they used to carry supplies of plaster of Paris with them.

If the famous person was killed,

then they immediately put grease on the face,

they put the plaster of Paris over it and made a mould,

and from that mould, it was like the negative, in effect.

This is the origin of the death mask.

We have, of course, got Nelson's death mask there.

This is a Queen Mary mask, with his eyes closed.

Another thing which I love are the letters, because over there

we've got letters written by him,

-and you'll see there's two different handwritings.

-Why is that?

It's because those ones were written before he lost his right arm,

and the others were written after he'd lost his right arm.

That one there, he says how proud he is to be a Norfolk lad

and he presented to the Mayor of Norwich,

his sword which he had just won in battle.

That sword is still in Norwich, in the Castle Museum in Norwich.

What's your most treasured possession?

It doesn't have to be value-wise, but for personal reasons.

The most sentimental thing, I think, are the two cinema seats.

We got married 54 years ago,

and on our honeymoon in Lynton and Lynmouth,

we went to the cinema and we saw Wuthering Heights

and we sat with our arms round each other

in the first two seats in the circle.

Years later, the cinema was going to be demolished

and the seats I gave to my wife on our 50th wedding anniversary

and presented them to her,

and they are my two most treasured things in the collection.

Eric's collection is so diverse,

you never know what you're going to see next.

Turn the corner and you find yourself

in a fully functioning Victorian cobbler's.

Eric, this really does show, doesn't it, without explaining,

your whole ethos on collecting,

because one item like this is not really worth a lot of money,

but when you see it in situ like this, how it should be,

it's so rich in tapestry.

Well, that's what it's all about,

and this is exactly as it was in Victorian days, and in fact,

when the gentleman died who had it, he'd run it for 50 years.

We took photographs, even down to the pieces of leather on the floor.

I can see that.

It's exactly as it was, and that's why it's so important

for people to come in and get that image of the past.

The thing with collecting, it's got to be something that's from the heart.

You don't have to have money to collect.

There something you can collect which will give you memories,

and it's the memories, so important, and you've got to connect yourself

with the past, preserving it for the future.

Have you ever thrown anything away?

I've never thrown out anything in all my life.

My wife complains bitterly about it!

That's my top tip on collecting - don't throw anything away.

I see my shoes are ready. Thanks, Eric, I'm off now.

And I've still got those shoes, you know.

Now, back to our valuation day.

In Birmingham, 2002, Nigel Smith was delighted to meet Bert

with what has become a Flog It favourite.

I think most people looking at these initially will recognise

what they are, Clarice Cliff.

-But you've been sent on an errand today, have you?

-Yes.

-Who sent you?

To try to sell them, my wife.

She says she's poorly but I think she's camera-shy.

-She doesn't fancy being and television?

-I don't think so.

-But you've got licence to sell, have you?

-Oh, yes, definitely.

Extremely good, and has she had them...

-She's had them for quite a few years, actually.

-Right.

I think some of them belong to her mother and some of them to relations.

Clarice Cliff is one of those things

that goes from strength to strength in the salerooms.

Clarice Cliff was one of the pottery ladies of the '20s and '30s, really,

along with people like Charlotte Rhead and so on.

She was a designer rather than a potter so she was

a designer and worked for Wilkinson's of Stoke-on-Trent,

and the subsidiary of that factory in the Newport Pottery.

Her most collectible designs are those Bizarre Fantasque patterns

introduced in the late '20s, really. Those are the ones

that tend to make the most money.

What we've got here, we've got a collection of Crocus pattern.

The downside is that the Crocus pattern is one of the more

common patterns made by these factories.

-You've got a substantial amount of it.

-Very good.

The one impostor is that one. That's a copy.

Now what I would suggest is selling those as a group.

We can put the toast rack in just to sort of bolster the lot.

The most commercial item is going to be the conical caster, I think.

That will easily on its own be worth £100-150,

probably a bit more.

Then, these individual pieces - £60-80 there.

£60-80 and so on.

I would suggest putting a group estimate of 300-400 on those

and probably a reserve of around 250, if you would be happy with that.

I think that's a sensible sort of area to pitch them at

and I think you should sell well at that.

These teawares, lesser value, really.

I would suggest putting an estimate of 100-150 on those as a group,

and put an £80 reserve on just to protect yourself,

that would be sensible.

-Right.

-What a wonderful assortment of Clarice Cliff.

Now, before I show you what happened at the sale,

here's a quick look at some of my other favourite collections.

At Warrington in 2006, Anita Manning loved

Christine's impressive assortment of papier mache and wooden animals.

Who said that Flog It! was hard work?

I've just had the best time in my life playing with all these animals.

What a wonderful collection!

They made £370 at auction.

Carol's watches had been collected over many years by her father.

Michael Baggott valued them at £150-250.

This, I think, you can immediately tell is the earliest,

because of the size of it.

It basically should be a pair-cased watch, so if we open it here -

that's lovely. That's something collectors look for - watch papers.

Amazingly, they fetched over £1,500.

And this quirky collection caught my eye in Coventry, back in 2008.

Look at that! There is about 100 spectacles here.

-And who are you going to be?

-I'm going to be Dame Edna.

-Dame Edna.

So where did you pick these ones up?

These ones we had when we used them for display in the window.

They sold for a very respectable £190.

To Skegness now, where in 2008, David Barby was delighted to value

an unusual selection of ethnic jewellery.

Well, Dee, you've travelled the world, haven't you?

No, not me.

-Not you?

-No, my grandmother.

Well, she travelled the world, didn't she?

No, she was born in India.

Her parents lived in India. Her father owned a tea plantation.

This is quite a sort of eclectic selection of objects.

I can see that she may have travelled to India.

This little bracelet here with lacquered detail.

This little necklace with the carved flowers. This may be Indian.

This certainly is Indian. That's an extraordinary little thing.

It's like a little mace.

-It's got holes at the end and you put your pins in there.

-Oh!

This is a buckle and a broach with a red lacquer centre.

-That was produced in China.

-I've never heard of her going to China.

These lovely carved ivory pieces, which include a little mirror,

a shoe horn, and then these exquisite buttons.

They are rather frightening because each is a carved baboon head,

so can you remember those as a child?

Yes, I can,

and they were sewn onto a cardigan that my mother had made for me.

Really?

My grandmother used to cut them off every time

the cardigan went for washing and then sew them back on again.

I was never frightened by them!

But the most amazing piece is this bangle here,

which although it's not marked gold, I think is gold.

It's set with turquoise and ruby.

The most wonderful sort of snarling snake's head.

Now, that's horrifying.

-It is horrifying, isn't it?

-Yes.

But this was a sort of fashionable bracelet

to be worn by Victorian ladies.

A lovely collection. Why do you want to sell them?

I don't do anything with it and I thought,

what's the point in it being there?

The bracelet is too small.

I think with the jewellery, it ought to be sold maybe

as one lot of ethnic jewellery,

and this bangle probably sold separately.

OK, So when I say ethnic jewellery, obviously the Indian pieces

and the ivory sections here, and these pieces,

I think they'll realise somewhere in the region of about £60-100.

Wow, there's a thing.

-When we come to this snake bracelet, not everyone's choice.

-No.

But I think it's fantastic.

I think this is probably going to sell for about 80-160 on its own.

-Oh, lovely.

-So you'll be happy with that.

-Don't forget, this is all part of your history going.

-I know, I know.

-I've got other stuff as well.

-Have you really?

Dee seemed very pleased with David's estimate

and we had all our fingers crossed for her.

Finally, there's no telling when or where something interesting

is going to turn up, as Kate Bliss discovered in Kidderminster in 2009.

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

Have you any idea how old they are?

I haven't. I know that my grandad from 1897, remembered them,

so I don't know how old they are.

OK, well, that's great, that you can remember that far back.

-I can't remember to 1897.

-No! I wasn't suggesting that!

But what we've got here are two known manufacturers.

If you look closely at these quirky characters,

you can see on their hats, F & 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.

What we've got here is the drunkard swigging his grog,

and he's got very pink cheeks which I love underneath that hat.

Here, the fiddler in his checked trousers.

He's lost his cloth tunic, hasn't he, but otherwise he's pretty good.

Those are interesting. Then we have three very different ones here.

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.

They only produced novelty toys and were very well-known

for producing clockwork, tinplate items just like these.

My favourite, I think, is Paddy and the pig, as he is known, riding here.

-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.

I think this is lovely. This is the Lehmann trademark, the insignia.

We have also on the base, quite clearly, dated 1903.

This goes right back to that turn-of-the-century period.

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-£100, on the three.

-Right.

-The Fernand Martin, £60-£80 each.

And the Lehmann, this one has an arm missing, unfortunately,

-so that one, that is going to really bring the price down, unfortunately.

-Yeah.

So, 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-£200.

OK.

-Paddy and the pig, however, I think, should make £100 on his own.

-Wow.

And I think, with the right collectors at the auction,

-they could significantly surpass my estimates.

-Lovely.

They were difficult to value and I can't wait to show you

what happened at auction a little bit later.

But first, here's a quick rundown

of my final selection from the archives.

The Clarice Cliff pieces owned by Bert's wife promised a good result.

Dee's ethnic jewellery collection was an exciting find for David.

And Stephanie's unusual clockwork toys had us all quietly optimistic.

First though, to Birmingham

and Bert's Clarice Cliff was about to go under the hammer.

-Now, your wife sent you along to the valuation day, didn't she?

-Yes.

All that Clarice Cliff,

Nigel's split it up into two lots. Why did you do that, Nigel?

Well, we've put the tea wears in one lot

and the non-tea wears in another lot.

-That was the idea. So, more attractive like that.

-Yeah.

-I think it should do very well. Hope so.

-We're confident still.

-Yeah, I hope so.

-Are you?

-Yes.

I'm hoping so, anyway.

316, Clarice Cliff.

Six pieces of Clarice Cliff Bizarre Crocus Pattern,

including sugar sifter, etc.

And we're starting at £550. 50 to my left.

550 on the book.

600, 700.

800, sir.

-820.

-Did you think that...?

840's back. 860.

-Crikey.

-Goes to the gent at 840.

-Very nice.

-840, fantastic. Fantastic, Bert.

Over to our expert, Nigel, here.

Absolutely delighted. What a price.

That is a good price. Doubled our top estimate.

It did, didn't it? It did.

-Second lot's not quite so sparkly, is it?

-No.

Bizarre Crocus Pattern.

280. 290.

300, 310.

£300 it is. Do I see 310? 310, new bidder. 320.

330, 340.

330 in the room, now. 330 the room.

-330, we're done.

-Oh, my.

-330, brilliant. That's done it.

-That's paid the commissions as well.

-Paid the commissions.

After commission, that's about £1,000. Fantastic. Well done.

Very nice.

June will be really pleased. I bet she won't sleep tonight.

It never fails. And Bert was delighted.

To Grantham next,

for the sale of Dee's collection of ethnic jewellery.

Ethnic art is something to invest in right now.

-It's hard to value, put a price on.

-Absolutely.

Well done, David.

-The first one's coming up, the snake.

-Yes.

Lot number 45 is a Victorian hinged snake bangle this time.

No hallmarks on it,

but a fabulous-looking item on 60 in the room.

-That's good.

-180. 190 on the net. Two, 220 now.

-This is very good.

-They like it.

-Yes, they love it.

-It is beautiful, actually.

Another bidder, 360 now.

-360.

-What? 360.

-Any more bids?

350 is a fresh bidder.

-500. 550.

-It's ethnic.

-600.

650, now. At 600 I'm bid.

At 600, in the middle of the room, then, last call,

going at £600.

-Wow.

-Would you like a seat?

-No.

-And well done that man, Colin Young, as well.

-Yes.

He really teased the bids out of people.

£600 for the first item,

which we were hoping to get around about £80-£100.

And now, we're hoping for 60-80 for the next of the lots.

What shall we say for this one? Start me at 35. Bid 40, 45.

-Anything now is a bonus, really.

-65 bid.

70 bid. Five bid. 80 bid. Five now, surely. Thank you, 85.

Oh, topping it up now, Dee.

100. 10 now, do I see? Thank you. 110. 120, 140.

140, 160? 160 now. Do I see 160?

At 140, last call, then I'm selling, make no mistake, at 140.

-Brilliant.

-Gosh.

-Thank you.

-Gosh, those are the moments we love, actually.

-Gosh.

I told you were going to be in for a few surprises today, didn't I?

And I think it's made Dee's day here, don't you?

-Oh, it certainly has.

-It's made your year.

What are you going to put all that money towards?

I've no idea, but I'll spend it.

That was fabulous. Dee's grandmother certainly had great taste.

And finally, we head to Stourbridge to see what happened

with Stephanie's wonderful collection of clockwork toys.

I love these tinplate toys.

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

-because they're early ones.

-A lot of them are quite damaged,

so I've deliberately pitched them fairly conservatively.

I've seen similar ones at auction making quite a bit more

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

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

Lot 734, you're bidding on the Lehmann clown

and also the baker with his sweep.

-£680.

-Straight in at 680.

900. 920, 940, 960, 980.

Wow.

-1,300.

-This is just flying away, isn't it?

-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.

-£1,700.

-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.

Do I see 420? 440?

You're out. 420, there. 440 anywhere else in the room?

We're all sure now, 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.

250, 260, 270. 280.

290. 300. 310.

-320.

-Everyone's in love with them.

-At £320. All done and finished?

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

OK, that's the first three. There's two more lots.

And we open at £200 on the drunk.

210, 220, 230, 240.

-Did you ever think they'd be worth as much?

-No idea. No, I didn't.

£350.

Oh, hammer's gone down. Here's the last of the lots.

We have two soldiers and we have a policeman who has lost his arm

and is naked.

-A bit of damage on these ones.

-Yeah, his arm's missing.

Bless him, yeah.

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

-Straight in at 2,100.

-2,200.

I'm not joking, listen.

2,300 anywhere?

£2,200 for the three figures.

At 2,200, all sure? At 2,200. 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!

Totally gobsmacked. Absolutely gobsmacked.

Nearly five grand for those clockwork, tinplate toys.

It didn't matter about the condition. The collectors loved them,

they were so rare.

Well, that was just extraordinary.

We thought they'd do well, but not that well.

And poor, old Stephanie, she was absolutely speechless.

I love it when that happens, when we make somebody's day.

Well, that brings us to the end of today's programme.

I hope you've enjoyed our little trip down memory lane,

looking at some of my favourite collections.

Do join me again soon.

But, until then, from a sun-kissed Sherborne Castle,

here in Dorset, it's goodbye.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd