Oh, for the love of. [ laughter ] ambrose a priest . Hes already an ayatollah. Its not funny padraig. Indeed it is not, the state of poor niamh. Father. Could i have a word . Sure. Am i right; youre an educated man . Well, yeah. All right. Is it true that satellites can see the warts on your nose if they had a mind to . Well, i dont know about the warts on your nose but something the size of ooh, i dont know, a sheep maybe. Thank you, father. Youre welcome. [ knock at door ] niamh . Niamh . I dont care anymore. I dont care if he becomes a priest or a publican. I want nothing to do with him. Nothing wrong with being a publican. I didnt mean ah, shut up. Its a shame about the reception. Therell be a reception. I want my reception. Niamh. I want my reception i want to say thank you to my friends who gave us presents and then give them back. Niamh. And then id like to dance and get drunk and fall over. Well, its hardly a wedding reception. Thats what itll be called hardly a wedding reception. Well talk about this tomorrow. Up to bed. What . Youre not going home to an empty house. I havent finished my drink. Thats not very nice. Come on. I dont think ill be inviting you to my reception. Well talk in the morning. Come on, now. How is she . Shes asleep anyway. What i said to you before, i i was out of line. Its no problem. You know what this is all about, dont you . What . With ambrose. Well, i know what hes told me. Yeah, thats what hes made himself believe but thats not the real reason. No . No, no. Hes lost his bottle. Ambrose . Ambrose . [ knocking ] shut up mr. Quigley, will you keep it down, please. Is my daughter with you . What . Hes been pushing like mad to get niamh to the altar. Now shes agreed suddenly hes thinking oh, im getting married. I bet im right. Let the gard deal with it. Hes not a priest yet. If you wouldnt mind . Let ambrose deal with it. Its ambrose thats being throttled. Where is she, huh . [ all shouting ] brian, for pitys sake. Its all right. He has every right. Oh, ambrose. After im finished with him, im coming for you no, youre not. Youre going home. And keep the noise down before you wake up your daughter. Where is she . [ fr. Clifford ] assumptas looking after her. All right, all right. Okay. Okay, lads were fine now. Ambrose. Come on, brian ill walk you home. Dont do this on me, come on. Heyhey good man yourself. Im asking you to change your mind. Why . Because i think youre acting precipitously. Precipitously . Hastily. Ah, right. You think i should wait until ive no customers want the stuff, instead of just one. Has Brendan Kearney been on to you . Please. I understand how you feel. Oh, good. But theres a Public Relations problem here. Let him drink bottled. I still have that. For us, not for him if it ever got out that an irish pub stopped taking draft so i have a proposition for you. Well give you the stuff. What . Only until the tourist season starts. After that its back to normal, okay . Can i get you something . Yeah, get us a bud. Did you sleep all right . I dont know i was unconscious. Did i have a lot to drink . Oh, yes. Will i make you a sandwich . No, thanks. Look, about the reception. No, no. Forget it. I dont want to forget it. I meant it. I want to have it. Oohhh. Not on the carpet. Father, the days are gone when a priest could just think something and itll happen. Youre overreacting. Youre overreaching. All i said was that i didnt think this was a good idea. Whats going on . Niamh. You coming tonight, father . Is this really what you want . Why not . A reception without a wedding . Where am i gonna get a husband at this notice . I dont want you to get hurt. I dont want ambrose to be hurt. Ambrose . Hes very confused. Okay here . Wherever you like. Would you look at that . Pint of the same please, assumpta. Last time i had a pint of that stuff was the day my daughter was born. Right tab starts now. Good man, brian. Oh, no. [ music playing ] thats lovely. Oh, thanks very much. Help yourself, why dont you . Its very nice thank you. [ pounding ] [ singing ] [ applause ] ladies and gentlemen ladies and gentlemen please, come on, a bit of hush. Okay. Well, theres no point in pretending that this is the joyful occasion it was suppose to be. On the other hand, some of us do have a living to make. And this is still a reception even if it isnt quite what brian had in mind. And er being a reception, niamh would like to say a few words. So come on, niamh, its all yours. [ applause ] up you come. This seemed a good idea at the time. Hardly a wedding reception. Although i dont think father clifford agreed. I know my father doesnt. Thank you all for coming and thank you for all your presents. I dont know who gave what exactly but theyre here when you want to collect. Its okay. Its okay, its fine. Ill be all right. Theres something i want to say. A lot of you have been immensely supportive. I know what most of you think of ambrose. Ive heard some of it, and ive said the rest meself. But give him a chance, would you . Hes not a bad man. Hes not a cruel man. Hes just. Confused. So take it easy on him, okay . Just let him work it out. Thank you. [ music playing ] you have got to do something. Why me . Because he listens to you. I wish you had. This reception wasnt my idea. And what am i supposed to do . Oh, well, you could try disabusing him of this stupid priest idea, for a start it is just possible that his vocation might be genuine. [ sighs ] yeah, all right, i agree with you. I am not trying to ridicule the priesthood. Today. Can we agree that someone has to do something . You mean me. Look. This. Statue st. John. You can say it. Are you sure its him . With the words st. John chiseled beneath his feet, im sure. Then lie. What . Be economical with the truth. Its an english tradition, isnt it . Its a sin to tell a lie. Oh, please. Says who . I cant remember. Thats more like it. Hell never get to heaven if he breaks her heart. Dionne warwick, right . Mmm. [ music playing ] good band. Hmm . At fitzgeralds. Oh. And assumpta was worried that might be a bit noisy. You only get married once. Do you think im mad . No. You think im wrong, though. Yep. Easy to say. Yeah. And if i was you and that had been the stone head of oh, i dont know st. Francis of assissi then id probably wanna chuck my job in too and become a vet. Im not trying to mock you, ambrose. I dont think youre right. But. It didnt happen to me. Im not feeling what youre feeling. What . You saved me a speech anyway. Did i . It was more of a pep talk really. You would not believe the amount of people going to get married who suddenly get cold feet. Its not that they dont wanna go through with it they just start to get these terrible feelings of doubt. You know. There goes my freedom, am i ready for this . I mean, you probably felt the same thing yourself before. Anyway. You know, i once read somewhere that a man who fears love. Fears life. And i thought thats it. Thats exactly what it is. A man who fears love, fears life. And once you know that suddenly commitment doesnt seem terrifying anymore. And why would you want to cut yourself off from one of the richest experiences that life has to offer . Anyway. Oh, by the way you were wrong about the patron saint of priests. What . The patron saint of priests is john the evangelist. I know. Well, the statue that nearly hit you was john the baptist. Anyway, im getting cold. [ singing in background ] will you marry me . Probably. Can i kiss you . Okay. [ guests applauding ] would you like a drink . Glass of stout. [ singing in background ] [ knock at door ] hello. Am i in the wrong hut . [ phone ringing ] yeah. Mr. Quigley, shes here. Your one. [ smack ] oh, god. What was that for . For dumping me you faithless bastard. That was 25 years ago. Yeah, it still happened. Ah, rosarie. Come on. How could you . Well, you went away. For the weekend. Give us a look at that. No, dont touch it. Is it sore . Your mouth is bleeding. Yeah, well. I had it coming. You had far worse than that coming. But you went away to queens. Oh, no, that was after. No, you were always going to go. Yeah, well, i would have come back. Sorry about your wife. Yeah. Will there be anything else, mr. Quigley . Are you still here . Apparently. Go on. You all right there, eamon . Grand, thanks. Good man. Im not staying, brian. No . No, my husband might wonder where id got to. Ah. What did you think id joined the nuns . Spose not. You have a family . Yeah. Three young men. Thats great. Fulltime job, id say. No. I have one of those too. Good morning ambrose. Morning, father. Beautiful day. Thats assumptas van. I believe so. She was a great comfort to niamh when she needed it. Well, sure. Theres good in everyone; isnt that right, father . Well, professor. Is there a lesson in all this . Its too late for the learning wouldnt you say . Anyway, i dont teach these days. Oh. What do you do . Well, at the minute im heading up a Research Project for the european union. Go away. Fascinating. We can use the money. And what is it . Well, its monitoring the output from a satellite. I mean, youd probably call it counting sheep. What . Nothing. Its just. Exactly as i remember it. Peaceful. Still. You did what . Hang on, it was his decision. Which he hardly took alone you know how rare vocations are these days father, ambrose isnt a priest, hes a policeman. Naturalborn coldhearted ruthless. Theres good in him. Im not saying that there isnt. Im just saying at his job, hes a zealot. Better out there on the street than in the confessional. Okay, take it away. How did you get here . I drove, of course. Right. Morning. Thats a good job out of the way. Absolutely. Keeps you fit. Yeah, i can see youre rushed off your feet. Listen, i can be called out any time of the day or night. I know. Youd wake me up to tell me. Hows niamh . Oh. Getting back her selfrespect. Giving ambrose a hard time. Father, when two people are meant to be together theres no force on this earth thatll keep them apart. I mean, you can delay the inevitable like ambrose did. Or you can help speed it up like you did. We did. Huh. If its meant to happen, itll happen. Thats a bit homespun for you. I was trying to make you feel better about losing a live one. Oh, before i forget. What . Its for the church roof. What . Thank you. I dont know what to say. Dont say anything. We got through an awful lot of stout last night. Another coffee . Why not . Captions by midwest captioning des moines, iowa this isnt the kind of backdrop you usually expect from the antiques roadshow, but a hundred years ago, construction began here on a ship that even today is remembered as one of the most tragic episodes in our history. And it all started here. Welcome to the roadshow in belfast. Its often forgotten that belfast was once the home of a major shipbuilding industry. Between 1909 and 1911, two giants were under construction right here the olympic, and her sister ship, the titanic. 3,000 men were employed in the titanics construction, and an incredible 3 million rivets were used to hold the steel plates together. It was before the days of health and safety and the work was often dangerous, resulting in over 200 accidents and 8 deaths. The titanic has left her footprint now cast in history. It was in these offices that Thomas Andrews, chief designer of harland and wolff conceived the idea of the titanic the largest passenger cruise liner in the world. Little has changed. Its easy to imagine Thomas Andrews walking through these doors. Into the main entrance hall. Past reception. And down the stairs. Many of the features found in these offices bear a remarkable resemblance to those on the ship like these. And finally, through to the drawing office, where the designers and technicians of the titanic wouldve been scrutinizing the details and drawings of the ship. Amazing to think that it happened just here. Today, the roadshow is based in the very birthplace of the titanic the nowredundant drawing offices where Thomas Andrews first conceived the design. Im hoping we might see some Hidden Treasures from the ship. Lets see what we unearth. So, what weve got here are two rather interesting dublin 8day longcase clock movements. Yeah. Theyve obviously been sitting around for a long time, because theyre very much in the rough. Where have they been . Theyve been in an attic for the last 20 or 30 years. And theyre obviously something youre rather fond of and hope to restore one day. Yeah, id like to restore them at at some stage, alright. At some stage. Do you have any cases for them or not . No, unfortunately, i have no cases for them. I would suggest to you that, uh, theres very little point in doing anything on the restoration side until you have a case, because. In all honesty youre going to spend many hundreds of pounds on each of these. Yeah. Um, and so my evaluation might rather disappoint you. I dont actually reckon these in the current state at more than, say, a couple of hundred pounds each. Okay. Tell me, what else have you got . I brought this little clock here. Little tiffany co. Clock. Little tiffany clock. Was that in the same attic as the two longcase movements . No, that was in on top of a fireplace. On a mantle. Its been there as long as i can remember. Well, its a slightly different animal than the two longcase movements, isnt it . Yeah. Gosh. It is absolutely charming. Um, as indeed you say, signed tiffany. Swissmade, so the movement wouldve been made, obviously, in switzerland, and the case looks to me to be very, very french, and theres a tiny little mark i can just see there which is the french silver mark. Now, let me just see if theres any other marks anywhere. Oh, hang on, have you noticed all these marks along this bottom edge . No, i didnt notice them. Right, um. Theyre london import marks for 1909. Whoa. So. We tend to think of tiffany as being a new york retailer, yeah. But of course, at that stage, they also had a shop in regent street. Number 221. And with the import marks through london the case, which wouldve been made in france, has come in to be retailed by tiffany of london, not new york. The clock is absolutely charming. This some would say magenta, some might call it plum enamel against a very, very nice machineturned ground and the whole thing decorated with little floral swags and a border of white enamel, as well. So, you were disappointed with my evaluation on the longcase movements. Yes. What do you reckon that . I dont know. I wouldnt. I wouldnt have an idea of what it would be worth. Well, if you popped that into auction now, i think thats gonna make between £5,000 and £6,000. chuckles thats brilliant. So, does that sort of swing some roundabouts . Yes, definitely. Great. Thats absolutely brilliant. Thanks very much. Not at all. Its a lovely, lovely thing. Well, i suppose you might expect this come to belfast and youll find a bell. Indeed. And where does this one come from . This one, i think, comes from china possibly india. My grandfather was a doctor on board ship, and, uh, he brought this bell back from his travels probably in the 1920s. You say he brought it back from his travels. Its not the sort of thing you put in your suitcase with the souvenirs is it . Not really. Its massive. It is, and its very heavy. And where does it live in your house . It actually sits on our balcony. Out outside. Yeah, i hope its a strong balcony. I hope so, too. Its an amazingly weighty object. I mean, even if we forget the evaluation in terms of an antique im afraid to say that bronze because its made of bronze is becoming a more and more desirable commodity even as a melt value. Really . So, its its a substantial bit of bronze. It is amazing how many people went to the far east and brought back a bell. It seems to be, you know the trophy to bring back. But you havent actually mentioned the country from which this really comes. Well, im not sure. My grandfather was in both india and china so im really not sure. It doesnt come from either. It comes from japan. Oh, really . Oh, thats interesting. Japanese bells basically are the same shape as chinese bells but theyre slightly more enclosed, but they have their origins way, way back in the chinese bronze age. Thats where they can all be traced back to, but this is a very traditional japanese temple bell. And bells are magical instruments. It certainly is. They dispel clouds they raise the spirits. Right. Because when we strike it i borrowed one of the hammers from our crew here when we strike it, what do we hear . loud ringing chuckles now, how many notes are there . My goodness, i dont know. Theres buuumm. Uhhuh. And then theres a third above dadaaaa. Can still hear that. And then theres a fifth. And then, above the octave, there are lots and lots of notes hanging on in there. There are about 30 notes coming off this bell. My goodness. And then the bottom note, the hum note which is low oooohh. These are magical, magical instruments. This wouldve lived in a monastery. It wouldve played an important part in buddhistic life. Its inscribed with the date that it was commissioned by whom it was commissioned, how much it weighs and the name of the monastery. Now, the shape is absolutely typical. It doesnt change for several hundreds of years so its very difficult to date this object purely on its appearance. When you look at the text in there, there will be a cyclical date. We would need to look at that quite closely. Yes. Id guess that cyclical date would translate from the mid19th century. Very good. In terms of its antique value, people dont really collect bells. Its just a fantastic decorative object for a large space, yes. So im going to say that its probably somewhere in the region of £3,000 to £5,000. My goodness. Thats much more than i thought. That is a lot more. So, we can say going, going. Gong. rings youve got all three . Amazing. Yes, yes. Isnt that wonderful i mean, theyre practically never complete like that. Thats wonderful to see the little pieces that go inside a belleek candelabra. What a splendid piece. Do you know anything of its history . Nope. I inherited it 4 years ago, but i dont know where it was bought or anything else about it. Right, so youre not a collector of belleek. No, im not, no. No. Of course, belleek is so closely associated with the white clay found at fermanagh in northern ireland. The factory discovered this wonderful white clay in the 1850s, and realized it would make nice porcelain, and invented a whole new form of ceramic art just using white together. The factory founded well, 150 years ago, and it invented the use of porcelain shells. I mean, when you look at these little objects somehow, white porcelain it feels like a seashell, doesnt it . Yes, yes. And you see these examples. But the little liners no marks on those. I mean, thats normal on this piece. They didnt bother to mark the little liners. But underneath it will have the mark, wont it . Yes, and i mean, its such a clear sign of the factory. Youve got the tower that stood on the side of lough erne, youve got the harp and the wolfhound, and those are the the features that put together for a local speciality and what we dont know is the name of the modelers of these. I mean, i think i mean, in a way im sure they employed local people. It was very much a local families worked there. The didnt bring in great sculptors from abroad. They used irish local clay local workmen, to create a lovely art form, and i think, um what is he holding . Um, looking there, hes a cherub candelabra so hes the cherub and, uh, i suppose this is a big branch of this is coral leading up there and on the top weve got, um, well sea urchins. Theyre sea urchins, arent they . So, those sea urchins forming the nozzles for the candlesticks and the little liners can sit in there on top, completing the shape. And weve sort of gone into a table centerpiece. Yeah. So, you just inherited it . Yes. What do you think its worth . I have no idea. Has it been valued in the past . In 1974, it was valued at £125. All right. A long time ago, but, um, you know that was that was a fair value then, but of course, today youve got to be. £3,500 to £4,000. Yes . Thats very nice. It sums up belleek it sums up northern ireland, and i love it very much. Thank you. So, here i come to belfast and what do i find . A lot of american objects. Mmhmm. Now, how did you come to have them . Well, i inherited it when my mother died, and it was all my stepfathers material. These were toys he played with as a child. So, in the 1920s . Yeah, 1920s, and these were made some by his mother and some by his grandmother, which would take us back into the 19th century, but i dont know which. All i know is, thats probably or i was always told that was the oldest, but that was all i know. Yes, these are very typical of well, all over america but particularly from the south. I mean, the last time i saw quilts like this it was in savannah georgia. Well, this is from south of atlanta in georgia. Yeah, i mean, so these these women got together it was a very social thing they got together with lots of people in the community and made lots of made quilts. Phenomenal hand work in these quilts, i mean, an amazing amount of work. They just look machinemade, but theyre obviously not. All handmade, and you can see that, you know, theres some very old fabric here. Like old shirts and all sorts of bits and pieces. Exactly, they were made they used whatever they had, and the backings you know, obviously here from flour sacks so this was very much utilitarian life in the southern states. These quilts today um, in the states because theyre very keen on their folk art there are going for around 1,000, so, £500. Mmhmm. But these fascinate me too, i mean. I think i think we all want to see if these work, dont we . So, shall we get the donkey to move . Shall we see what he does . Okay, we wind him up and. Off he goes. Look at that. Notice his ears . Look at his eyes. Do you see how they move . Yes. So, here with his box there hes probably going to make about £100. But in the states for three times that. Really . Theyre much more popular. Even without the box. Even without the box for this one because this is a lovely action. It would sell because of its good action. Do we get this one going, as well . Yeah, this one will knock the donkey flying. Let me take the donkey away. Look at that. chuckles this one goes forever. laughs star performer that pilot. Earlier on, we saw the offices where Thomas Andrews the chief designer of the titanic drew up the drawings for the ship. He also designed the sister ship of the titanic the olympic, there and im delighted to see youve brought in this picture. This is the olympic, here. Isnt it . Yeah, yeah. And youre related to Thomas Andrews. Hes your great uncle, is that right . Great uncle. Great uncle. Do you talk much about your great uncle tommy, as you call him in the family . Well, we do, yes but years ago it wasnt talked about much, cause it was all supposed to be such a dreadful thing. In the whole of belfast, it wasnt really talked about. And of course, he was on the ship when it went down. Yes, he was. He was with the harland and wolff group that were there to sort of see all the problems, if there are any. And there were i think they were almost all lost. All the the group the group from harland and wolff. And its an emotional thing for you to talk about, isnt it . I know. What about you . I mean, Thomas Andrews is your greatgreat uncle. Have i got that right . Its now getting a bit more distant but as a child it was all very recent and raw for us that we didnt talk about it as a family. And when we went to sunday lunch with our grandparents it was something that we just didnt talk about. But now, were recognizing the industrial achievement of the launch of these ships. When belfast contributed a lot to the empire as the second city and theres no doubt liverpool and glasgow also contend with that role but theres no doubt belfast contributed a lot. And of course, the building of this ship, too the olympic. Yes, yes. Were any of your family at the launch of the titanic . My father was at the launch in 1911 when there were hundreds of wedges wooden wedges keeping it on the slipway. The slipway was all greased to make it slide down, and these all had to be knocked out at exactly the right moment. And he, aged about 8 7 or 8 knocked one of the wedges out. Quite a thing for a 7 or 8yearold to do. Yes, yeah. Can you imagine, the towering thing above him. Yes, and he always remembered that. I bet. I bet he did. I was going to say this is as good as but im going further. This is actually the best. Revival piece of 1900 to 1910 that you would ever wish to see. There isnt anything better. Thank you. It is painted on satinwood in the style of Angelica Kauffmann, this was a revival from 1900 to 1910, and it continued for a while after the first world war. Just for a while. And so, we can narrow it down to the First Quarter of the 20th century. It it is just wonderful. Everything about it is good, except except chuckles what happened . My son had a felt tip pen, and when he was about 7, decided that he wants that so he put his mark on it. laughs well, what happened to him . Well, i think the only thing that i could do then was to ask him to do the hundred lines to say i must not write on the table. And sorry, dad. Aw, look at that. chuckles well, ill tell you, whatever i say about that, this is the most magical story. You must never touch that mark, and never lose that. No, no. Its been there. Gosh, well we talk about heirlooms and things, you know having stories that are beyond price. That is that is absolutely priceless. Dont ever try and take that off. A it would be very difficult, and b it adds to it. It does. It does, indeed. It does, indeed. Now, so, weve got this wonderful piece of satinwood furniture which is, in style a copy of the 1780s. 1780s . Right. When Angelica Kauffmann was working and painting on this type of furniture in exactly this classical style. This is perfect 1780 1785 revival. Okay, so, lets open it up. Now, this is quite heavy. Yes, indeed. Wow, lookit. Like aladdins cave. And theres more john. Okay. If you pull out that side, ill do this one. Look at this. Thats clever. Wow. Look at that. And, of course. It wouldnt be complete. Oh. Oh that frightened me. It locks. Yes, theres a stop there, huh . Gosh. These are all silver. All silver. So, have you looked up the date . I looked up the date and they were in london, and theres two hallmarks. Right. One is 1921 and ones 1922. So, well, they wouldve been made in the same year because the date letter changed in london in may. All right. So, if they were halfway through making this collection, then that would be it. Well, its 1922. Its perfect. Yes, its the bit after the first world war, rather than, lets say from before. But look at theres everything here. Theres little nail pickers, and nail files and glove stretchers and button hooks and brushes. Well, and a jewelry compartment in here. Jewelry in the drawers. Again, in through there. Wow. Its a london made piece. Okay. No question about it. Made by one of the great makers. Holland sons or various other people come to mind. This was made for a very, very wealthy family. One thinks of sort of someone like rockefeller you know . Their london apartment. Something like that. Its just fascinating, and they never lost a bit, and it has been used which is charming. So, you know it would be fine to do a bit more research. If we can find the maker, then we can trace, really, the limited number of clients that they had, and we could probably get a little further with it. That would be very interesting. Be nice to do. That would be. So, how did you come by it . My father bought it in dublin 30 years ago in 1978. I wonder how much he paid for it. Well, i recall somewhere between £4,000 and £5,000. Right. That was a lot of money. It wouldve been in those days. Yes. It was a lot of money. A lot of money. As a piece of furniture. Complete as it is, it was a pretty good investment. Today, on the market. £30,000. £30,000 . Wow £30,000. Thank you very much. Thats all right. Im sure my son henry will be very pleased and with his mark on it, i think hes gonna have to have it. Oh, his mark i forgot that. Wed better make it £32,000. He will be he will be very pleased. Excellent. Thank you, john. Thank you very much. Wonderful. A joy to see. Where on earth did you get this . Um, its one of a collection of Beatrix Potter ornaments that ive bought from my mother over the years for birthday presents, christmas presents saved up my pocket money and bought them for her. So, this was when you were very young . Yes, yes. Gosh. And this is, uh Beatrix Potters figure of the duchess. Yes. By beswick, or beswick. Im never quite sure which of the two it is. So, you just walked into a china store and bought it new off the shelf . Yes. Fished out your. Few pennies that youd saved up. Various ones. From your pocket money. Thats it. Collected them up various birthdays and special occasions. Do you know how much you paid for this . I think about 7 and 6 pence. 7 shillings and 6 pence. In old money. In old money. In very old money, yeah. Do you realize this is the rarest of the beswick Beatrix Potter figures . Well, i knew it was a bit different to the others, but thats all i know about it, so. You know it just didnt sell very well. If youre um, i suppose its black. Not as colorful. Not as popular . And it just wasnt as popular as the other models so, fewer were sold, and fewer were made, hence the rarity. 7 and 6. Yes. Which is about £30 now. £30. Yeah. So, £30 to £1,200. Good grief. laughs not bad, is it . Though, well itll have to go back in a private place in the mantelpiece there. Goodness me. Well, you were obviously a wise young investor. Guess so. Im amazed. both chuckle what i like about a good landscape is the way your eye could almost go for a walk into it. Yeah, exactly. Do you enjoy this at home . Oh, yeah. Ever since i was a kid i always found a lot of mystery in this painting. So, how did it come into your life . Oh, it was my great uncles. Its been in the family, im sure, for 90 years at least. I dont know before that. My fathers 82 and he always remembers it being in their living room. And since ive been about 4, ive always admired it. All right. I always thought there was a great deal of mystery to it, and, uh so, i wished one day i could have that. And when i got the chance to own it, i grabbed it with both hands. So, do you have any idea about the picture, and what it represents and who the artist is, and all that sort of stuff . I know the artist Thomas Creswick. Hes an english artist uh, born around the early 1800s. I think he died before he was 60. And do you think it is a work by Thomas Creswick . I hope so, yeah. This is a painting painted in the 1830s 1840s, and it is indeed by Thomas Creswick who is an important a very important landscape painter, in his way. And what it shows is a tradition a tradition that started in the 18th century that goes absolutely to the heart of the romantic movement. Its the idea of finding a cottage or a dwelling within a wood. Thomas gainsborough was the first to do it with his cottage door series of pictures. And then in the late 18th century the theme became a little bit more bold became a little bit more bawdy, and a little bit less romantic, and you got outside the alehouse door with people like george morland. And then in the 19th century, another poetic sentiment starts creeping in and that is sentimentality about ancient architecture. And if you look into the eaves of that house, and you look into the roof you can see that its been lovingly done by someone whos aware that the medieval past is disappearing, as well. So, youve got a curious fusion of englishbritish preoccupations that are manifest in this particularly good example of a 19thcentury landscape at the beginning of a period of change in attitudes toward painting generally. Here was a man who really knew how to convey realism in nature, but also combined it with more lofty, romantic ideas. So, let me ask you do you have any idea of its value . I mean, have you had it valued . No, and ive had it in my ownership and my parents ownership for just over 30 years and when we got it probate the valuer then said only about £200. £200. Which is what i had to pay for it, and he offered me a little bit more than that for it and i said no, ive always wanted to own it and im not selling it. Well, i think at auction i would estimate this picture at somewhere between £6,000 and £8,000. Mmhmm. And then i would, um see it once it was cleaned and restored and represented on a gallery wall at £9,000 or £10,000 at least. So, you actually have made a very good choice from your uncle there. Yeah, i did. chuckles im glad even more glad now. I dont know if i should put it back up on the wall. laughs oh, fantastic. Its incredible. When you look at a picture like this, you just really realize what an absolute icon of the 20th century Elvis Presley really was. I mean this is him in his absolute prime. Yes. His hair, clothes its just everything about him. The young elvis was such a greatlooking chap. He just shouts 20th century, and i still think today, hearts across the world flutter when they see him. Who took these photographs . I took them myself. I remember the name of the camera a vitomatic 2e. Oh, my goodness. Were you quite a photography fan . Well, uh yes and no, but, uh im glad they all came out. As i say, in those days well, it just goes to show, i mean, these are fantastic quality pictures. Were you used to taking photographs of megastars at this point . No. I could well imagine. I hadnt met anybody famous at that point in my life. So, he was the first and, well. Yes. And the greatest no doubt. So, how on earth did you get to meet one of the icons of the 20th century . Well, i was doing my National Service in the british army. We were stationed up near the dutch border in munchengladbach. And elvis was down in the american section, so, uh, we decided to go down there on the offchance of seeing him, maybe, you know, at a distance. And sure enough, it worked out very well. So, do you remember the year, or the month even, that this happened . Yeah, he did, uh 1958 to 1960. I think it was in january and he was getting out in february, yeah. Okay, so gosh, he mustve been quite keen to get back home, i suppose. Yeah. As were you, no doubt. And he had just met priscilla, so he was a very happy man. My goodness, yes. Im sure he couldnt wait to get back. So, how many how many pictures do you have here . I think theres about 6 altogether yeah. About 6 altogether in this large color format. Im taking it that this i reckon thats you. Is it . Am i right . Thats me when i was a young man and and i had hair, as well. And youve also got some autographs in the back. Yes. So, you asked him to sign some pieces. These are fantastic, too. I mean, again thats a great shot. Absolutely great shot. I think with these pieces here, theyre obviously staged. There are a number of these out there but obviously, not signed. I think youre going to be looking at £300 to £400 each for these pieces. All right. Theyd be popular with any elvis collector or specialist or fan today but i think the real interest is of course these pieces. And im sure they have many happy memories and youre not going to, uh no. chuckles no, its a it was a great moment in my life. I could well believe it, and not many people could have had that. I think, for these pieces, youre looking around £1,000, £1,500. Theyre just great photographs, and any elvis collector would just love owning those and sticking them up on their walls. And to be quite honest seeing these today im all shook up. Yes. chuckles this is the sweetest little box. Where did where did you find it . Um, my fatherinlaw gave it to me. Um, he acquired it in a in a charity shop. In a charity shop . Yeah, himself. So, presumably for very little money. Very little. A few pounds. Well, theres the date. Martha hindel, simmonstone, 1770. So, this is creamware, which is a creamcolored earthenware, and it is made in 1770. Now, the name martha hindel is a local name to lancashire. This is made, uh this is from lancashire. And simmonstone is very near burnley
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