By Andrew Stowe, of Auctioneum: I’ve written a few times about our affiliation with the world of British Comedy – we’ve sold everything from Ronnie Barker’s handwritten ‘Fork Handles’ script to Tommy Cooper’s famous Fez. But there is one programme in particular that attracts more bidders than any other: Only Fools & Horses.
You may remember, back in 2021 we held the official Only Fools & Horses 40th Anniversary Auction – and sold many items from the show including props, scripts, costumes and even a certain three-wheeled van! Since then, we’ve regularly sold iconic items from the series. Perhaps most notably, are several bottles of the fictional ‘Peckham Spring.’ As I type this, we are a few days away from selling the fourth bottle we have discovered.
The 1992 Christmas episode ‘Mother Nature’s Son’ saw Del-boy ‘discover’ a natural ‘spring’ on his recently acquired allotment – in reality it was a hosepipe linked to a nearby tap. The success of the ‘spring’ led to the Trotter family flat being transformed into a bottle plant where thousands of bottles of ‘Peckham Spring’ were filled from the kitchen tap and sold to members of the public. The episode ends when it is discovered the bottles glow in the dark due to a recent chemical spillage in the local reservoir.
Around two-hundred bottles – both empty and filled – were specially made for the episode by the production team, and anyone lucky enough to be present in the studio during filming were sent home with one as a souvenir. Around fifteen bottles have been sold at auction over the years, and there are around another ten or so known in private hands. They are rare, they are desirable and they are important pieces of comedy history.
What is a bottle of Del-boys ‘Peckham Spring’ worth? Well – they tend to sell for anything from £2,000 to £5,000 depending on provenance and condition. I think Del Boy would be proud, don’t you? If you have a bottle of Peckham Spring – get in touch!
For more details see: https://auctioneum.co.uk/