Vintage crackers have a new home after auction
BBC/Grace McGroryA box of 12 unopened Christmas crackers believed to be about 100 years old has fetched £72 at auction.
It had been found in a wardrobe at John Goddard's house in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire.
His daughters, Nicky Goddard and Karen Grundy, think the crackers were given to their grandparents in the 1920s or 1930s by friends in Mablethorpe before being passed down to their parents as a wedding gift.
After the auction, Nicky said: "It was never [about] how much they were worth. The fact they were part of our wonderful family [meant that to us] they were priceless."
BBC/Grace McGroryA sticker on the side of the box described them as "Joey Crackers" and said they were "filled with party hats and caps".
Auctioneer Paul Potter described them as a "little window into time".
He said: "We were pleased to sell them but would have liked a little bit more, perhaps.
"At the end of the day, it's an unusual item [and] there were quite a lot of bids.
"The story goes on. Someone else has got them now."
Nicky said: "It would be nice to know if the new owners were ever to open them. It would be lovely to know what was actually in them.
"But to us it was another legacy and memory of our wonderful parents."
The sale was held on Thursday at Potters Auction Saleroom in Messingham, North Lincolnshire.
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