7th Mar, 2024 16:00

An English Fairground | The John Barker Collection

 
  Lot 19
 

19

A carved wooden fairground carousel figural boss by F Savage & Co.

c.1900, King's Lynn, in the form of Boudicca,
33cm wide
12cm deep
26cm high

Take advantage of our Sworders Delivery Service. Please see 'Shipping estimate' below.

Fredrick Savage and Co., King's Lynn

Fredrick Savage had a tough upbringing.  Following his father's deportation to Tasmania for poaching, he started work as a farm labourer, before progressing to a career repairing and manufacturing agricultural machines.  He soon spotted another application for his large steam-driven machines, using the mechanics not to drive threshing engines, but instead, carousels.  Under his stewardship, the firm pioneered many new developments within the world of fairground attractions, developing larger, faster and more complex rides to captivate a growing audience, and to provide the ever-competitive showmen with more fantastical rides to dazzle and amaze! A successful ride could generate huge income with anecdotal records showing between £100 and £200 being amassed in one-penny and two-penny fares over the course of a busy day!

Savage rose to become a notable figure in his local area, serving as JP, Councillor and Mayor of King's Lynn in 1889.  He was well liked and highly regarded by his compatriots and, in recognition of his contribution to his community and to the world of amusements, his statue was erected in King's Lynn in 1892.

Sold for £400


Condition Report

Fully repainted and restored by John Barker

 

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Auction: An English Fairground | The John Barker Collection, 7th Mar, 2024

This fantastic array of captivating, colourful carvings represents a lifetime's passion, pieced together over fifty years by one of the country's most avid and discerning collectors of English fairground art. John Barker bought his first horse as a child whilst on a family holiday and has never looked back. The collection includes significant works, important pieces in the history of the carousel, and items of notable rarity and quality. 

 

 

Romany Relics

Old Days, High Days and Holidays

John Barker 

 

Purchase Information

Viewing

London Viewing | Highlights

A selection of lots will be on view Wednesday 14 - Monday 26 February at our London Gallery, 15 Cecil Court, London WC2N 4EZ, as follows:

Monday-Friday, 11.30am - 5.30pm

Saturday, 1pm - 5pm

Sunday - Closed

For more information, please contact 0203 971 2500 | london@sworder.co.uk 

 

Stansted Viewing | Auction

Viewing will be held at our Stansted Auction Rooms, Cambridge Road, Stansted Mountfitchet CM24 8GE, as follows:

Sunday 3 March, 10am - 1pm 

Monday 4 March, 10am - 5pm

Tuesday 5 March, 10am - 5pm

Wednesday 6 March, 10am - 5pm 

Thursday 7 March, 10am - 4pm

 

The auction will take place at our Stansted Auction Rooms, Cambridge Road, Stansted Mountfitchet CM24 8GE. 

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Buying a pre-loved, antique, or vintage item not only provides you with unique style and value for money but it also helps to reduce landfill, and the annual emissions of an antique or vintage piece can be as little as one sixteenth of those of its new equivalent!

Sworders is proud to be supporting the work of Antiques are Green - the movement that was founded in 2009 to promote “a greener future created from the past”. Read their fascinating carbon footprint study of a Georgian chest of drawers versus a modern equivalent here

 

Antiques are Green

 

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