All the fun of the fair at auction
12 August 2024 Bonhams is offering the extraordinary fairground memorabilia collection of Ross Hutchinson. Formed over 40 years, it features a wide range of figures, carvings, ride seats, games and posters.
The fairground memorabilia collection of Ross Hutchinson was formed over 40 years and will now be offered at Bonhams.
A live sale of 150 lots will take place on September 10, with a further online sale of another 139 lots ending on September 11.
Hutchinson has always been fascinated with fairgrounds and spent his career working with antiques and vintage rocking horses, before establishing a toy museum in Lincoln in 1989, which he ran with his wife.
German carver Friedrich Heyn is considered to be one of the first major carousel figure manufacturers after he established his factory in Neustadt an der Orla in 1870. This Dobby galloper from c.1900 is one of 10 lots attributed to him at the Bonhams online sale. It is estimated £600-800 at Bonhams. View the catalogue entry for this carousel figure.
“In 1977, the Whitechapel Gallery mounted a show The Fairground which amazed me with its display of forgotten objects and art,” he said. “Dealers and collectors took interest and started looking for surviving pieces. First to strike me were the signs with their swirling fonts and gaudy colours.
“Then as a few carved pieces started to appear on the market, I began to really see the quality of the Victorian fairground art, carvings by skilled men working in the tradition of ships’ figureheads, tobacco shop figures and church decoration.
This English carved and painted juvenile carousel ride figure of a bear, attributed to John Anderson, is thought to date from c.1910-20 It was formerly in the collection of the Tussaud's collection of fairground art. It is estimated £1200-1800 at Bonhams. View the catalogue entry for this carousel ride.
"Most of their work has been destroyed, and their names forgotten, with carvings burnt for the gold leaf finish. It has taken me more than 40 years to gather these baroque survivors together, uniting sets and pairs.”
This pair of carved and painted organ figures is thought to be possibly Italian and made c.1910. With the figures holding aloft lotus flowers, wearing dresses profusely decorated with scrolling fronds and adorned with mirror and coloured glass, the lot is estimated £2000-3000 at Bonhams. View the catalogue entry for this pair of figures.
Though one of the earliest recorded fairs was Bartholomew Fair in 1133, it was in the 18th and 19th centuries that the funfair came into being. They were attended by rich and poor alike and grew in the late 19th century and early 20th century when the first mechanical carousels were introduced.
This English painted fret-cut plywood fairground sign reading 'A Hundred S'miles Per House' is attributed to Edwin Hall and dated to c.1950. Hall was the leading paint shop foreman at Orton & Spooner in the first quarter of the 20th century. This sign is estimated £500-700 at Bonhams. View the catalogue entry for this fairground sign.
An English folk art model of The Paramount Travelling Bioscope from c.1950 is included in the Bonhams sale. With the rectangular tent with figures and decoration depicting a Bioscope, it is estimated £400-600. View the catalogue entry for this model.
