Antiques Roadshow guest gobsmacked by value of grandad's toys she thought was worth £50

Daily Mirror

16-07-2025

An Antiques Roadshow expert gave an impressive price for a Wind and the Willows toy set despite no proof of its origins.
An Antiques Roadshow guest was taken aback by the real value of her grandad's toy set.
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The BBC show visited Aston Hall in Birmingham, where Hilary Kay was enchanted by a guest's colourful toy set depicting characters from a beloved children's tale.
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She exclaimed: "I feel as if I've stepped into a scene from The Wind and the Willows.
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"We've got all the characters there and we've got the caravan and the horse. It's absolutely charming. Where did it come from?"
"The author Kenneth Grahame was a patient of my grandfather, who lived in Goring-on-Thames," the guest revealed.
Kay noted: "Which works very well, of course, because Kenneth Grahame, the author of The Wind and the Willows, lived in Cookham which is just down the road from Goring."
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The guest also presented a nostalgic black and white photo of her grandfather with her mother on his lap, which caught Kay's attention.
Describing the toys, Kay said: "They're flat cut wooden characters, beautifully painted and articulated with steel pins so they can move.
"And they are of a type which makes me think of a particular maker which is a company called Talford Toys.
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"Talford Toys sounds like this massive enterprise. It was two sisters.
"Two sisters who lived in Talford Cottage in Reigate, set up Talford Toys."
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The guest shared a personal connection: "When Kenneth Grahame had this one made for my grandfather, he had one made for himself as well,".
Kay then pointed out an unexpected character among a set: Winnie the Pooh.
She quizzed with a smile: "Please tell me why Pooh Bear has muscled in to The Wind and the Willows?"
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The guest, chuckling, responded: "Well apparently, Kenneth Grahame really liked Winnie the Pooh so he just added Winnie the Pooh."
With a playful tone, Kay continued: "And hoped that your grandfather would love him as much," which the guest confirmed.
Handling the figure carefully, Kay admitted: "I'm going to take my life in my hands and pick him up and hope I can put him down again.
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"Winnie the Pooh here, we can see he's articulated. He can move his head, he can move his little arms, his legs."
Kay didn't have the best news, however, as she revealed: "I've checked on all the feet which is where the name would be written and there is no name. So no proof of Talford Toys but I do know that Talford Toys made a Pooh bear set."
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"Of course, the characters in Pooh Bear were illustrations by Ernest Shepard, just as he was the illustrator of The Wind and the Willows. So there is a link there."
Then came the valuation itself: "There is quite a following as far as the collectibility of these toys are concerned.
"And the little figures can fetch £100, perhaps £200 a piece so my feeling is, including Pooh who is really enjoying his time by the river bank, I would put the estimate at perhaps £1,000 to £1,500."
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The revelation floored the guest, who could barely utter anything beyond her astounded question: "Really?"
Kay expressed gratitude to the guest for sharing a slice of history: "So thank you for bringing to life that wonderful time in the 1920s and 1930s on the Thames in Berkshire."
The delighted owner responded with a beaming smile: "How exciting. Thank you Hilary."
Reflecting on the experience later, the guest confessed: "I honestly thought it was going to be worth about £50, because I thought it was made by a local craftsman and it had been played with by my mother's family and me when I was little. So it's quite exciting."
Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.