Antiques Road Trip

[MUSIC PLAYING] NARRATOR: It's the nation's favorite antiques experts, with 200 pounds each-- I want something shiny.

NARRATOR: --a classic car, and a goal to scour Britain for antiques.

I like a rummage.

I can't resist.

NARRATOR: The aim?

To make the biggest profit at auction.

But it's no mean feat.

Why do I always do this to myself?

NARRATOR: There'll be worthy winners-- [LAUGHTER] --and valiant losers.

Come on, stick 'em up.

NARRATOR: So will it be the high road to glory-- Onwards and upwards.

NARRATOR: --or the slow road to disaster?

Take me home.

NARRATOR: This is Antiques Road Trip!

[THEME MUSIC] Yeah.

Would you believe it?

It's the penultimate leg of our road trip with a pair of auctioneering favorites, Charles Hanson and Catherine Southon.

Do you cycle?

No.

Maybe us two on a tandem, a bicycle made for two.

Yeah, I think so.

NARRATOR: Sounds delightful.

But instead, our pair are whisking around the countryside in their gorgeous green MGB GT, which has space for an unlikely passenger.

What is this armrest thing?

It's not an armrest.

Hey, look.

Careful!

It's a-- That is my link to history.

It's my metal detector.

That is the most ridiculous thing ever.

NARRATOR: Harsh.

Our pair of treasure hunters started the week all square with 200 pounds each.

Catherine now has 317 pounds, 80 p squirreled away.

But Derbyland Charles has taken a commanding lead, gathering an impressive 695 pounds, 64 pence.

Say hello to Catherine.

Is she treasure or not?

Is she treasure or not?

Oh.

You're beeping a bit.

That's a bit intermittent, isn't it?

NARRATOR: Faint praise, eh?

There's plenty of time, though, for Charles to scour the land as our pair scurry up and down the country.

This week, they've been meandering their way north, blasting around the midlands and the northwest.

They're headed for Congleton, in Cheshire, and will clock up 700 miles.

Today, they start off in Macclesfield, in Cheshire, and will amble their way to an auction in Nottingham.

Right, you two.

What's this trip really all about?

Time for some shopping, methinks.

Do the Hokey Pokey and you get out the car.

BOTH: (SINGING) That's what it's all about.

All together now!

NARRATOR: Oh, very good, if only in tune.

Catherine's hopping out at her first shopping stop, Sawmill Architectural Antiques.

Get out of here.

See you!

NARRATOR: It's littered with reclaimed and salvaged items.

Plenty to get stuck into.

- Hello.

- Good morning.

- I'm Catherine.

- Nice to meet you.

Jack.

Good to see you, Jack.

Well, I'm going to have a look around.

- Yeah.

- Thanks, Jack.

No problem at all.

[MUSIC PLAYING] This one's really quite cute.

A traditional antique, as such.

So this is a foot warmer.

Yes.

And you put your little tootsies on here.

And inside, you've got your-- this little metal container, and you put hot water inside there.

That's right.

Yeah.

It's interesting, and it's a great bit of history.

Charles would like that, but who wants one?

NARRATOR: Fair point.

Best keep looking, eh?

There is something to be found.

My metal detector is going off.

I can feel it.

[MAKES BEEPING NOISE] NARRATOR: Don't you start.

While Catherine's been rummaging, Charles has poodled the MGB east to the glorious spa town of Buxton, home to his first shop, Circus, Home and Salvage.

- Good morning.

- Good morning.

- How are you?

- Very well.

And you?

- Nice to see you.

Charles Hanson.

Hi, I'm Lee.

Good to see you on this busy day.

It's lovely.

What a gorgeous shop you've got.

Thank you very much.

Is there much next door, behind the curtain?

- This is it.

- This is it.

Well, I like it.

They say small is beautiful.

NARRATOR: Do they?

At least you won't get lost.

It's not full of clutter.

There's no silver.

There's no pause.

It's just a really interesting shop with a certain wow factor, and that's good.

And this other wow factor.

I love this chest.

Almost like a treasure chest, isn't it?

You've got these straps, probably in tin, which is nice and light.

I love that handle on there.

You'll see how, over the years, that handle has fallen.

Beautifully made.

If I open it up like that-- oops-- on the inside-- and what a shame.

It's got a split, just in the bottom, there.

You see the daylight through there.

But it is maybe 1830, maybe second quarter of the 19th century.

It's priced at 48, Lee.

Right.

What could be the best price?

Could be 30 pounds.

Really?

I'm going to mental note that as I continue my circuit.

I'll wave the flag for Queen and Country.

Almost goes with my jacket, doesn't it?

Yes, it does.

Here we are in middle England.

A bit of local history.

There we go.

This I quite like.

That's why I hide it away, because generally, it gets rattled a lot.

Does it give you a headache?

I'll allow you to give it a go.

Can I?

Because-- Do you know how to use it.

The reason-- I can't-- I'm a football fan, and I support Derby County.

Are you a Derby fan?

Not at all, no.

Not any sort of football.

NARRATOR: Oh my, Charles.

I'm thinking Nottingham-- this could go down quite well.

Because if you're a football fan, or if you were a fan back in the, I suppose, what?

1920s?

'20s I think, yeah.

1920s, '30s.

Rather than chant, you may have done this.

[CRANKING RATTLE] Is that wonderful?

You can see why I keep it hidden in the corner.

You want it gone, don't you?

Oh, sorry.

Maybe.

Maybe it would be good.

What could be the best price on your perhaps 1920s football rattle, Lee?

24 pounds?

Really.

24 pounds?

I'll mental note-- OK. --and continue.

NARRATOR: I hope you're remembering all of this, Charles Oh, hang on.

There's more.

Well, that's interesting.

A mother of pearl penknife.

What we look for are the more interesting multi-purpose tools within.

I would have thought it was probably made in Birmingham or Sheffield, and would date to around, what do we think, just pre-war?

Yeah, I say '30s.

It's got a bit of damage, bit of wear.

How much could it be, Lee?

20 pounds.

And that's your very best?

15.

What's that for?

Um.

I think you're holding an ear cleaner.

It's got a little scoop out of there.

Oh, yes.

Tiny thing there.

- Yeah, I'll put it back in.

- Yeah.

Probably.

Nice object.

Best price, 15 pounds.

- Oh-- - OK. Oh, no.

No, no, no, no, I'm just saying, that's the best price.

12 pounds.

Now that you've identified the ear cleaner.

Yeah.

Well, thank you very much.

NARRATOR: Yuck.

Circuit of tiny shop completed, and lots of possible.

Charles, it's decision time.

I'll buy the penknife and the box, please.

42 pounds.

Yeah?

Yeah.

That's deal one, done OK. Sold.

Thank you very much, OK?

The next thing is the rattle.

Since you've already bought a couple of things, how about 20 quid?

- How much?

- 20 quid.

20 quid.

I think it's fun, and I'd love to sort of-- 18 pounds.

Oh, don't say that.

And think, to have this in the car and just give-- just give Catherine a bit of a-- a rattle.

She'll be so annoyed.

Do you think so?

Well, I would be.

NARRATOR: As if the metal detector wasn't enough.

Please take it.

For 18 pounds, I'll take it Thanks a lot.

That's great.

NARRATOR: So Charles kicks things off with three items bought and 60 pounds spent.

Bye.

[CRANKING RATTLE] NARRATOR: How's Catherine getting on?

I love your sign.

It was one of those things that came in one of the factories we stripped.

You know, they had it laying about-- They just had it-- Yeah, we-- So it was just lying about?

Can I grab it?

Yeah, of course you can.

Yeah.

Because this is how I feel at the moment.

I feel it's very much go, Team Catherine.

That's what-- that's what I want to say to Charles.

Go Catherine, and stop to Charles.

So what's on this, then?

30 pound.

Right.

Can you do that for 20?

Go on, then.

20 pound.

- Yeah?

Yeah I'm having that NARRATOR: It's certainly a novel buy, Catherine.

It's a road trip first, certainly.

Love it.

Love it.

Love it.

NARRATOR: Meanwhile, Charles has made his way back to Leek, where just outside the Staffordshire town is the last surviving corn mill designed by an almost-forgotten pioneer of the Industrial Revolution.

Charles has come to discover why James Brindley deserves greater recognition.

David Allen, from the museum, is here to tell all.

David, hello.

Charles Hanson.

Welcome to Brindley's mill.

Wonderful to see.

I can't wait.

I'll follow your lead.

NARRATOR: James Brindley started his career building water wheels.

He designed this mill in 1752.

It was his experience manipulating the flow of water that would eventually lead him to become one of the most influential engineers in Britain.

So David, we've seen outside, and now we're seeing what that water wheel is doing.

Tell me about it.

Yeah.

The water wheel powers the main shaft, and the main shaft turns, and this is called the great spur wheel.

The great spur wheel.

Right.

And then the power is taken off by the smaller wheel, which is called the stone knot, and then that drives down into here, which turns the top of the two millstones.

May I have a go?

Of course.

Lovely.

So here is my wheat.

In it goes.

NARRATOR: Water mills had been grinding corn for centuries, but times were changing, with cottage industry being replaced by large-scale manufacture.

New factories devoured raw materials on a scale which led to a crisis of supply and presented an issue of distribution.

Brindley's talent was called upon.

He got involved with draining a mine, which gave him experience of pumping water out of a mine using machinery that would be recognizable in a mill, like power from a water wheel.

Yes.

That led him on to contacts with the Duke of Bridgewater, who wanted to build a canal to get his coal from Worsley, which is just South Lancashire, into Manchester.

Brindley's talent as an engineering genius and problem-solver led to the construction of the first modern canal.

Emerging industrial cities needed vast quantities of coal, a volume impossible to supply by cart.

However, a horse was capable of pulling 10 times more cargo if it was loaded on a barge.

When the Bridgewater canal opened in 1761, the price of coal halved overnight.

Wow.

Brindley's pioneering use of aqueducts, locks, and tunnels sparked a frenzy of canal building, resulting in 4,500 miles of new inland waterways.

How marvelous.

You can imagine the situation in the pottery industry in those days, moving pottery over potholed cart tracks, not good for the wear.

So Wedgwood realize that this canal system would be very, very good for pottery.

So Brindley is commemorated with almost, I suppose, the innovation of the canal system in England.

Yeah.

Of course, canals had existed since Roman times, but there was no canal system in England before Brindley came along.

NARRATOR: In his lifetime, Brindley used the force of water not just to power mills, but to move the materials that would power a revolution in industry.

Brindley was certainly a huge catalyst in moving the Industrial Revolution a step closer.

Without his canals, the pottery industry wouldn't have survived, the coal wouldn't have moved as quickly, the mills in Manchester wouldn't have been powered as efficiently.

And this story can be told all over the country.

He was one of the most influential people of his age.

People know Telford, they know Wedgwood, but Brindley, I think, should be ranked alongside those people.

- An unsung hero.

- Yes.

- A pioneer.

- A pioneer.

Exactly.

NARRATOR: Elsewhere, Catherine has made her way into the Peak District and to the gorgeous village of Hartington.

Her final shop of the day has a fine lie in large 18th century oak furniture.

Oh.

You can't not touch this beautiful oak.

NARRATOR: But they do have stock that's a little later and smaller.

How cute is that?

It's got a bit of woodworm to it, but a Victorian little child's deck chair.

And I think that's an original canvas seat.

I like that.

I think that's quite cute.

It's got a bit of woodworm.

It's got quite a lot of woodworm.

Oh.

NARRATOR: Woodworm and a ticket price of 80 pounds.

One to think about.

Anything else?

A little silver purse.

Let's have a looky-look.

It's got a nice clear hallmark there.

It's Birmingham.

If you think about ladies' handbags, or ladies' purses today, I mean, they're pretty big.

You've got a lot of credit cards in your purses, a lot of money, usually, in your purses, and the bags are big.

Now a lady in the '20s would have taken something like that to a dance.

She's not going to get an awful lot in there.

You're certainly not going to get any notes in there.

But you might get a little coin or two.

NARRATOR: Very nice.

Standby, there's more.

Now this cigarette case, this is Art Deco.

So we've got a Art Deco geometric design, and then you open it up, and again you've got clear hallmark, this time for Chester.

They don't light my fire, but I might just see if I can get those for a good price.

NARRATOR: There's no ticket price.

Time to check money with dealer Jan about the little chair and the silver.

To be quite frank with you, I'm going to make you an offer, because they're quite sort of run of the mill.

NARRATOR: Crumbs.

Hold the sweet talk, Catherine.

I would suggest for those, 20 pounds.

And then I'd say for that chair, I'll probably say 20 for that as well.

So 40 for the two.

Is that all right?

- Fine.

That's fine.

- OK. OK.

Put it there, then.

Thank you very much.

NARRATOR: 40 pounds spent, and just like that, shopping for the day is done.

Time for a well-earned rest.

Nighty-night!

NARRATOR: Day is dawning over the Cheshire countryside.

Hang on.

Is that Charles?

At least he's enjoying himself.

When you pick an object out of the ground, it can't say a word, but when you hold something that might be 16th century, you say, hello, welcome to this time.

You're in the modern world.

Long time, no see.

Oh, hello.

And that, actually, is a really good sound.

Has someone lost a bundle of gold sovereigns, or-- or gold guineas?

Hold tight.

What is lurking under there?

And that's it.

That is it.

What is that?

It's certainly Victorian.

It is silver plate.

It could be bronze.

It's quite heavy.

You know, it's almost-- I'll tell you what that might be, a little spool holder.

And maybe you haven't seen that for a few hundred or 50 years or so.

And that's history.

Hello.

NARRATOR: Hello, history.

Your lift's here.

I've found real Antiques Road Trip treasure.

You found something?

Yes.

A real treasure.

I'm going to give it to you.

There you are, and it's just for you.

Have a look at it.

Do you like it?

It's not-- it's not a tractor part.

I'm fairly sure romantically-- [INTERPOSING VOICES] It's not rubbish!

NARRATOR: Let's get moving.

While they're still friends, eh?

I can't believe that you just thought it was just a piece of old metal, really.

Charles, it was probably a bit of old machinery.

No, you've got to be romantic.

NARRATOR: The passion for antiques grabbed Charles yesterday, when he fell in love with three items, a 1920s football rattle, an Edwardian penknife, and an old carriage box.

Thank you very much.

NARRATOR: Leaving him a little over 635 pounds to spend.

Catherine set things off with a stop-and-go sign, a silver purse, an Art Deco cigarette case, and a Victorian child's chair.

How cute is that?

NARRATOR: Meaning she still has 257 pounds, 80 to play with today.

If you carry on in that tradition, finding rubbish like that, I'm on a winner today.

NARRATOR: The Nottingham auction is our final destination, but the first stop today is Walkerton, in Cheshire.

And they're sharing a shop, so standby.

Gorgeous, isn't it?

There you are.

We could almost play hide and seek here.

NARRATOR: Dagfields claims to be the largest craft and antique center in the northwest, so plenty to get lost in here.

Antiques that way.

I'm going this way.

What are you going that way for?

Look.

It's everywhere.

Come on, follow me.

Come on.

Trust me.

Trust me.

I don't trust you, that's the problem.

NARRATOR: Perhaps it's best you split up, you two.

It's frightening how big this antique center is.

There must be about eight to 10 buildings full of loot.

So, so, so much to see.

NARRATOR: Oh, do stop horsing about.

Sorry.

NARRATOR: Catherine's galloping ahead.

There's something here.

They've called it a large vintage dragonfly brooch, and it's either really, really horrible, or quite good fun.

NARRATOR: No risk here, then.

Sue owns the contents of this cabinet.

Hello, Sue.

I think that's '50s.

I do like the way it's been made, this sort of graduated pearls there.

The lovely sort of almost sea pearls on the wings.

That really bugs me, the way that that pearl, or plastic pearl, is off-center.

You've got 38 on it.

Yeah.

What I'd like to offer you is 20.

No.

I couldn't do 20.

No?

I'd knock 10 off.

Can we take 25?

Is that all right?

- 26.

- 26.

Go on, then.

I'm not going to argue over a few pounds.

NARRATOR: Top work.

Just a few paces from the front door, and Catherine's bagged her first deal of the day.

Now, Charles is in here somewhere.

Oh, there you go.

Hello.

How's it going?

- Good.

- Don't you know-- no-- Good.

Really good.

This is probably one of the nicest display cabinets, and just as I came in here, I just saw, in the corner, there are some [INAUDIBLE].

What are you looking at?

What are you looking at?

Don't look.

- Are these-- This is my area.

I found it.

It's now-- you know, time is marching forward.

Look.

There's some nice-- Oh yeah, oh that's nice-- tie.

That's lovely.

Go on.

Go and buy a tie.

You need a new one, dear.

NARRATOR: He's easily distracted.

What have you spotted, Catherine?

It is rich pickings, as my handsome would say.

NARRATOR: Well, dealer Sam is here to help.

Isn't that interesting?

That is a brooch in the form of a perfume bottle.

And what a lady would do is have that pinned to her dress, or pinned to her jacket, and you'd undo the top take the little glass stopper out.

Wow.

Yes.

Isn't that lovely.

Edwardian.

38.

I like that.

There's so many lovely things here.

I want to buy everything.

I love that.

Very excited here.

Now what is lovely about this.

So it is actually a baby's rattle.

That's beautiful.

And a teether, as well.

But what is lovely is that it is in the form of an owl's head, and owls are quite collectable.

This is actually really nicely done.

NARRATOR: Great spot, Catherine.

Amongst all the stock that's two gems.

The 1920s owl rattle has a ticket price of 150 pounds.

I do like it, so I might gamble on it.

Well, I can speak for Debbie.

I think she wouldn't take anything less than 100 for the rattle.

She would do the perfume bottle for 20.

Do I do it?

What do you think?

Oh, I'd be a devil.

Be a devil?

Be a devil.

- I like to be a devil.

- Do you?

[LAUGHING] Lovely.

NARRATOR: Catherine devilishly scoops up the rattle and teether for 100 pounds, the scent bottle brooch for 20, and the dragonfly brooch for 26 pounds.

While she makes off with the car, Charles browses on.

CHARLES HANSON: Come on, Charles.

Let's dig deep like you were this morning.

There's got to be something.

I love this.

On a summer day, you often see summer fruits.

And I love these because they are just gorgeous.

Crown Ducal.

Put out by Charlotte Reed.

And they are so art deco.

Look at the little beaded handles here.

They've got that almost skyscraper look.

There's a crack running down the rim here and they've been smashed.

But on that side they're OK. Against a wall you can't even see it.

Great pair of pots made by Crown Ducal [INAUDIBLE] 1935 could be yours for 6 pounds.

Isn't that amazing.

NARRATOR: Incredible.

Ignore the damage and they're gorgeous.

Charles is keen to chat to their vendor.

CHARLES HANSON: They are very damaged.

Quite right.

So I suppose when they're very damaged, obviously they are very cheap, aren't they, at 6 pounds?

Can you do much on that for me at all?

5 pounds?

I will pay 5 pounds, and they're sold.

Thanks a lot.

Great.

I'll pay you 5 pounds.

There's a lady there?

Yes?

There's 20.

I'm having 20 now for it.

NARRATOR: Cheeky.

If I may have 15 pounds back.

Right.

NARRATOR: 5 pounds spent, and off he goes.

Thanks ever so much.

Have a good day.

Enjoy the sunshine.

- Thank you.

Bye bye.

See you.

NARRATOR: Meanwhile, Catherine is 16 miles away in Stoke on Trent, the world's capital of ceramics.

She's here to learn about one man who played a particularly important role in making the local potteries so renowned.

Paul Wood is here to tell Catherine about the life of Stoke's Josiah Spode.

Hello.

Hello.

- Wow.

- Yeah.

Lovely to meet you.

Welcome to the Spode Museum Trust.

NARRATOR: By the latter half of the 18th century, Stoke was already a bustling center for the pottery trade.

Amongst this hotbed of thriving industry, one man stood out for his imaginative approach, and for one type of pattern in particular.

I can't believe the amount of blue and white that you've got here.

This is a collection we've been putting together for many, many years.

NARRATOR: Spode's blue earthenware is instantly recognizable.

It used locally sourced clay, which made it cheaper than porcelain.

In 1796, Spode made a significant development that changed the course of the industry.

This is a piece of bone china.

So what makes this so special?

The main thing was the use of 50% bone ash in the recipe, but this is the one where he actually got it right.

He cracked it.

He got the right percentage of bone ash, with English china clay, some feldspar, and it came out just beautifully white, translucent, and really very stable to fire and make.

You could put wonderful ranges of decorations on it.

NARRATOR: Spode's recipe is still used today by pottery manufacturers the world over, and it made Spode a household name.

Bone china tended to be used in, shall we say, the London townhouses of the rich.

One cup and saucer would be a month's wages for an average workman.

You're talking about very, very expensive production.

But the earthenware was used in the big country homes.

Both of these things were continued in parallel production.

The bone china developed and grew, but so did the blue.

NARRATOR: Spode's biggest challenge was meeting the demand of a public who had grown used to importing china from China.

The taste in Europe was of course being met, but very slowly, by ships bringing Chinese porcelain from the Far East, which was considered very chic, very attractive.

And there was Spode.

He developed a way of engraving the pattern so that it could be reproduced.

He'd get hold of a Chinese original, make a fair copy as an engraving, and of course that then meant that he could meet the demand that couldn't really be met from the Far East quickly enough for the local customers.

So that really upped the game and became something that the English preferred against imported porcelain from the Far East.

NARRATOR: This early form of mass production was hugely successful but still required a lot of skill.

Paul, one of the museum trustees, is here to demonstrate.

Would you have had, originally, one person doing that?

There was always a team.

There was the printer, a [INAUDIBLE] who was the most skilled person, and then they had an apprentice who would rub the pattern down.

And there was a younger, usually girl, who would cut the paper out first.

So a team of four.

And they were often a family.

The father was often the printer and the wife was the transferer.

NARRATOR: Oil based color was applied to an engraving and then onto transfer paper.

Shall I be your apprentice, then, Paul?

Yes, please.

NARRATOR: The job of cutting out the pattern, carried out by the young members of the families, now falls to Catherine Southon.

Goodness me.

I shall never, ever turn away a willow patterned transfer printed plate again.

How many of these would they have produced?

How many plates, for example.

They would have produced several hundred a day.

CATHERINE SOUTHON: Several hundred a day?

Yeah.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

Well, they're all piecework, and that was what they were paid by.

So the pressure was on all the time.

Oh my goodness.

I can't believe they made so many of these.

NARRATOR: Josiah died soon after making his pottery into a successful business, but his son saw the potential in his father's inventions, and in the 19th century, Spode was one of the largest potteries in Staffordshire, boasting 22 bottle ovens and employing around 1,000 locals.

The pioneering effort of Josiah Spode makes his early bone china highly sought after.

CATHERINE SOUTHON: I'm really, really pleased at that.

A plate produced from a 200-year-old engraving.

There's your plate.

Thank you very, very much indeed.

I shall treasure that.

NARRATOR: We'll leave Catherine to admire her handiwork.

Charles, meanwhile, has toddled down the road to Stafford, and to familiar territory for his final shop.

Hello, Ian.

Hi, again.

How are you, Charles?

I've been here a few years ago.

And you're still dealing in everything I can see?

Yep.

NARRATOR: Yes, Windmill Antiques is certainly full to the gunnels.

There's plenty of nice smalls here, aren't there.

I might look at these a bit later.

But I'm always keen to come to your top cabinet and just peer in to the counter.

You've got some good bits, haven't you, in here.

Any star finds recently?

We've got a nice little diamond and ruby leopard.

The brooch.

Pretty, isn't it?

Nine karat gold?

Nine karat gold.

What, 1970s, probably '80s?

Yep.

- Expensive?

- Not really.

- How much?

- 100 pounds.

Really?

That really is quite stylish.

Good.

I also just, away from the leopard, quite like that box there, the rectangular white metal box.

Is it silver?

No, it isn't.

But it's quite an unusual thing.

Yeah, it is.

Is it inscribed?

It is.

It's got a name on which reads F.W.

Hetford, or Hefford, of Tunstall.

So it's of local interest.

And I can't quite work out what, Ian, he'd have used it for?

[INAUDIBLE] If we just pull it apart.

Gaming counters, toothpicks.

But how peculiar.

Very strange.

This box, I'm fairly sure, must be no later than let's say 1800, 1810.

What's best price on that?

The very best on that.

To a humble man.

To a humble man.

To a humble man from Derbyshire, not Tunstall.

It would be 15 pounds.

15?

15.

That's not bad.

Not bad at all.

NARRATOR: Certainly not.

So a nine karat gold brooch and a white metal box to consider.

Anything else, Charles?

There's such a richness of porcelain.

Just by looking on the shelves, I can spot the objects which actually are 18th century, and that's what I love.

That period of the 18th century.

So on the top shelf, have a guess which one's 18th century.

NARRATOR: Uh-huh, welcome to Guess the Age.

With your host, Mr. Charles Hanson?

CHARLES HANSON: Any ideas?

That one there.

That's a Chinese porcelain coffee cup of circa 1770.

I love it because it's so noble.

It's so well painted.

It was clearly a coffee cup from a once upon a time very important set.

On this shelf, here, there is one item which is 18th century.

Any ideas?

NARRATOR: Anyone?

It's that one there.

And that's a small Chinese qianlong, as is that Emperor Qianlong ruled China from 1735 to 1799 and that's the same period.

On the bottom shelf.

Have a guess.

Have a guess.

That one there.

The pewter plate is again, I'm fairly sure.

Yeah, the touch marks are good.

And that's 18th century, circa 1770.

On this top here, there's one item that's 18th century.

Any ideas?

That one there.

It's the 18th century Chinese Qianlong tea bowl on the top deck.

This has a price.

That's 20 pounds.

The others, I can't see any labels on.

So maybe they could be bought for nothing.

Ian.

NARRATOR: How did you get on at home, then?

More to the point, what is Charles planning to buy?

I love history, as you know, and these objects go a way back.

I'm quite keen to do a deal.

What would be the best price, all in, for the leopard brooch, for the inscribed Tunstall box, and these four bits of very old crockery, and an old plate?

140 pounds.

That's actually not bad.

That's very good.

Hold on.

So the leopard at 90, a tenner for the box, and I think for the sake of history, Ian, how can one turn away four 18th century joys for 40 pounds?

Exactly.

Which makes 100 and-- 40 pounds.

I'll take that.

Thanks, Ian.

I'm really, really grateful.

NARRATOR: Top work, old chap.

A handful of items to finish up with, and shopping for the day is done.

Charles will combine his 18th century ceramics and plate with the ribbed vases to make a single lot, which he adds to the 18th century white metal box, the nine karat gold brooch, his 1920s football rattle, an oak carriage box, and the Edwardian penknife with the air cleaner attached, but cleaned, all for a total of 205 pounds.

Catherine parted with a pound more, spending 206 pounds on a large stop and go sign, a silver lady's purse, an art deco cigarette case, a Victorian child's chair, a 1950s dragonfly brooch, a 1920s teether and rattle, and an Edwardian scent bottle brooch.

[INAUDIBLE] busy shopping for our pair, but what do they make of each other's items?

Will it be stop or go?

Charles, you make enough noise as it is.

Why did you buy a rattle, as well, for 18 pounds?

Please don't use that at the auction.

18 pounds for that, though?

You've got yourself a bargain.

My favorite item of Catherine's I think is the one that is the biggest speculator.

It's the owl mounted teether in mother of pearl.

It cost 100 pounds.

It could make 250, it could make.

50.

Go, girl.

NARRATOR: Go, indeed.

The fourth auction of this trip is upon us, and Catherine and Charles are making their way to the fair city of Nottingham.

Isn't this lovely?

We are we now?

This is the River Trent.

Oh, this is lovely.

So it's just for that calming influence before the auction, just take in the water.

I could see you and I on a barge.

NARRATOR: That'd be fun.

Punting or on a barge.

No, on a barge.

That'd be nice.

Yeah.

Maybe we could do a canal road trip one day together.

Could be a bit slow, though.

NARRATOR: Yeah, no time for that today.

You're heading for the auction house at Arthur Johnson and Sons.

And it's a fairly substantial and, well, complicated complex.

CATHERINE SOUTHON: My goodness.

How many auction rooms?

I think the auction room is number two today.

- Sure?

- Yep.

After you.

- Right.

NARRATOR: In charge of proceedings today is auctioneer, Phil Poyser.

Tell us all about our pairs lots, then, Phil.

Jewelry is probably our best selling line.

The panther brooch, it is gold.

I think it's going to be what a lot of people will be looking for.

I expect plenty of competition in the bidding.

I would have thought 60 to 90 pounds on that.

The brooch and scent bottle, that's a good piece as well.

It's a sort of novelty piece that people like.

I think it's going to create a bit of interest.

I would have thought that could be 30 to 50 pounds.

NARRATOR: So here we go.

Live on the internet, and a crowd gathering.

Good luck, you two.

This is nice, isn't it?

It's a very close atmosphere, isn't it?

[INTERPOSING VOICES] Exciting.

NARRATOR: First item to get your pulses racing is Catherine's stop and go sign.

Well, I've got three commission bids on it and I can start it at 25.

25 pound bid.

CATHERINE SOUTHON: Go, go, go.

Stop, stop, stop.

40 online.

45 is with me.

At 45 pounds.

CATHERINE SOUTHON: Come on.

CHARLES HANSON: What's the hold up?

PHIL POYSER: And it goes, done at 45 pounds.

You can't grumble with that.

No.

It went a bit.

NARRATOR: Catherine starts things off with a nice profit.

Go.

Stop.

- Go.

- Stop it.

Go, Southon.

I hope it will stop.

NARRATOR: Seriously, please stop.

Time for Charles' first item of the day, his Edwardian penknife.

At 10 pound, 12.

12, 15.

15.

I got 15 in the room.

Come on that.

18.

18 bid 20.

20 pounds.

In the room, then, at 20 pounds.

Right, hammer down.

That's it.

One we go.

20 pounds.

NARRATOR: Charles is up and running, and that's one profit apiece.

I'm happy.

I'm happy.

Are you?

Yeah.

NARRATOR: Let's hope the happiness continues, and see how things go with Catherine's dragonfly brooch.

20 only a bid at 20 on this.

5, 30, 5, 40, 5, 50.

Come on.

Yes.

5, 70.

70 bid with me.

At 70 pounds.

That's really good.

75, thank you.

I have 75.

[INAUDIBLE] It is such a good thing.

It goes at 75.

CATHERINE SOUTHON: Yes, thank you.

That is amazing.

Dare I say, and now I'm buzzing like a bee.

NARRATOR: Buzzing like a dragonfly doesn't have the same ring, does it?

Cracking profit either way.

Yeah, it's a dragonfly.

Sorry about that.

But well done.

[LAUGHING] I like your style.

NARRATOR: Right, Charles.

What will the bidders make of your 18th century white metal box?

At 30 pounds.

At 30, 5.

It is a good thing.

At 35 pound.

40's online.

45's in the room.

Go on.

Sorry.

[LAUGHING] It was a hiccup.

It was a hiccup.

You can tell who it belongs, can't you?

50.

Sorry.

PHIL POYSER: 50 pound bid at 50.

55 bid.

CHARLES HANSON: Thank you.

PHIL POYSER: At 55.

And I sell in the room, done at 55.

NARRATOR: Charles causing a stir, and bagging a profit.

Well done.

To be honest, I thought that would actually do even better.

I'm very pleased.

NARRATOR: Next up is Catherine's biggest spend, the 1920s teether and rattle.

30 pound bid.

5.

35's in the room.

At 35.

Got you, madam.

40.

45.

50's in Ireland.

CHARLES HANSON: Go on, Ireland.

60 in Ireland.

65 bid, 70.

75 bid.

80.

80 pound bid.

One more?

No?

You sure?

At 80 pounds, then.

Come on, it's a good thing.

Done at 80.

NARRATOR: Plenty of interest, but sadly that's the first loss for Catherine.

It made a bit of a loss.

It was not bad.

- What's 20 pounds?

It could have been a lot worse.

What's 20 pounds between friends?

NARRATOR: That leaves the door open for Charles.

It's time for his combined lot of the ribbed vases and 18th century ceramics and plate.

At 10 pound, 12.

12 bid.

15.

18.

20.

25.

Come on.

I'm in trouble.

At 25 pound.

Bid at 25.

Stop.

Stop bidding.

Last call.

It goes done at 25.

Well done, Charles.

NARRATOR: What's 20 pounds between friends, eh?

Don't even bother with that one.

Let's just move on.

NARRATOR: Yeah.

Probably best.

Here comes Catherine's Edwardian scent bottle brooch.

Bid 20.

20, I've got 5.

25.

Bid 30.

30 bid 5.

35 bid 40.

5.

45 bid 50.

50 bid 5.

55 bid 60.

60 bid.

On my right at 60.

At 60 pounds.

It's against you online at 60.

At 60 pounds.

Done at 60.

NARRATOR: Another great profit for Catherine keeps her in the lead.

Puff your chest out, girl.

Be proud.

I'm not going to do that.

Right.

I will.

NARRATOR: Steady, Charles.

Now, the football rattle.

Will it make a noise in the sale room?

30 pound bid at 30.

OK. Add 30 bid at 30.

CATHERINE SOUTHON: Come on.

Bit of history, here.

It is history.

And I sell.

It goes done at 30.

Did you use one?

Yeah.

NARRATOR: Yeah.

The rattle gets a new home.

And Charles has another profit.

This man used one of those rattles back in the 1920s.

Really?

1920s?

I was born in 1931.

All right, sorry.

1950's, maybe.

You've just totally insulted-- Sorry about that.

1950's.

NARRATOR: Naughty.

Catherine's chance to stretch her lead, now, with her Victorian child's chair with worm.

15 only bid to start.

At 15.

That's all right.

18.

18 bid 20.

5.

30.

Add 30 pounds.

I'll take 5 now.

30 pounds.

Against you in the room and online.

And I sell at 30.

30 pounds.

NARRATOR: Yes, another profit for Catherine.

Well done, girl.

I'm really pleased.

You should be pleased.

Pleased as punch.

NARRATOR: Yeah, that's the way to do it.

Now, time for Charles's oak carriage box.

- I've got 20 bid.

- Oh, no.

PHIL POYSER: And 5.

25 bid.

30.

Online at 30.

30 pound bid at 30.

Come on.

It's a nice size, as well.

PHIL POYSER: At 30.

Online.

All that in the room at 30 pounds.

I sell.

It goes at 30.

NARRATOR: A new home for the box, but no profit for Charles.

Broke even, lost money.

Doesn't matter.

Move on.

Baby.

NARRATOR: That's the spirit.

Catherine's final lot is the silver purse and art deco cigarette case.

I can start it straight in at 50.

50 pounds?

PHIL POYSER: At 55, 65.

Yes.

Yes.

75.

Yes.

80.

5.

90.

90 bid seated.

- Stop.

PHIL POYSER: At 90 pounds.

At 90.

For the two items together.

CATHERINE SOUTHON: Go.

- Stop.

- [INAUDIBLE] I don't believe it.

100 in the room.

It's against you online, make no mistake.

Got 100 pound on my left.

And it goes, done at 100 pounds.

[INAUDIBLE] Wow, you have come to Nottingham shire to mind-- [INTERPOSING VOICES] NARRATOR: An incredible profit for Catherine.

I'm doing so well.

I want to go before it all collapses.

And I want to end it on a high.

You're making me nervous now.

Is that your tummy rumbling?

I'll buy a sandwich on the way out.

- Will you?

- Yes, I will.

What's left of yours?

If you can stay for my last lot, I'll buy you a sandwich.

Will you?

Yes.

NARRATOR: There's a lot riding on our final lot of the day, Charles's nine karat gold brooch.

At 60 bid.

5, 70.

5, 80.

85, 90.

Broken even.

CATHERINE SOUTHON: It's sure to be more.

PHIL POYSER: In the room at 100.

It's got to do a lot more.

110.

120?

120.

130 on the internet.

Go on.

PHIL POYSER: 140.

CHARLES HANSON: Go on.

PHIL POYSER: At 140 pounds, then.

Being sold, it goes online at 140.

That's OK.

I'm happy.

NARRATOR: Delirious.

A good profit for a good item.

But was it enough?

I'll buy you a ham and cheese sandwich.

Can you make it a bit more exciting?

OK. BLT.

BLT.

Come on.

OK. NARRATOR: That's it, Charles.

Last of the big spenders, eh?

Charles started out with 695 pounds and 64 p, and made a profit today of 39 pounds and 36 pence, after paying auction costs.

This takes his total to an even, and rather grand, 735 pounds.

Wow.

Catherine began with just under 318 pounds.

After costs, she made a cracking 113 pounds and 80 pence profit, giving her now a total of 431 pounds, 60p.

Meaning she wins the day but trails Charles by just over 300 pounds going into the final leg.

What a competition.

For my manor.

Thank you.

I did, I beat you in your pack.

I know.

Come on.

Yay, I've got my sandwich.

And well done.

You are slowly catching me up.

NARRATOR: Cheerio.

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