Book excerpt: From the mythical artefacts of the ancient world to saucy seaside postcards, The Antiques Magpie explores the wonderful world of antiques and collectables. With Antiques Roadshow regular Marc Allum as your guide, go in search of stolen masterpieces, explore the first museums, learn the secrets of the forgers and brush up on your auction technique. Meet the garden gnome insured for £1 million, track down Napoleon's toothbrush, find out how to spot a corpse in a Victorian photograph – and much more. This book is for anyone who's ever been fascinated by what relics of the past tell us about history – and what they are worth today.