The Sir Nicholas Goodison Collection of Automata & Moving Toys (lots 91-160)
Sir Nicholas...

The Sir Nicholas Goodison Collection of Automata & Moving Toys (lots 91-160)

Sir Nicholas Goodison (1934 2021) was a well-respected businessman, scholar, patron of the arts, polymath (he held a Ph.D. in Architecture and Art History), and philanthropist. He had a remarkable presence in the two worlds of banking and the arts; he was a highly respected chairman of the London Stock Exchange (1976-1986), chairman of the TSB Group (1988-1995), and deputy chair of Lloyds TSB (1995-2000). Outside of his finance, Goodison chaired leading cultural institutions such as the Courtauld (1982-2002), the Art Fund (1986-2002), and the Crafts Council (1997-2005).

The collection includes hundreds of traditional mechanical and hand-operated toys from many countries, ranging from commercial toys dating from the 1950s onwards, to major contemporary pieces by leading modern British makers. These mechanically minded artists share a delight in the absurd and the ridiculous, creating toys which occupy the strange, shifting ground between folk art, kinetic sculpture, toy-making, satire and mechanics.

Alongside the humorous mechanical sculpture are a large number of toys many of them traditional in design and made in countries all over the world, some hand-crafted, some mass-produced, which either move by themselves (once set off) or can be made to move by anyone with a hand or two. They were all collected by Sir Nicholas over a fifty year period from 1953 during his extensive travels throughout the world.

Tony Mann, 1927-2013, Wooden Waves with White Words, a hand wound-automaton, painted wood, hardboard, wire, metals, cotton fabric, string, signed to the front of base Tony Mann 05 and under the base Tony Mann 05 Wooden Waves with White Words, 40cm high, 61cm wide, 31cm deep

Sir Nicholas Goodison noted: the eight wave pieces rock to and from, driven by a Meccano wheel connected by band to a smaller Meccano wheel on the main shaft. The left end of the eight waves have the painted words Swell, Swirl, Splish, Squish, Swoosh, Slap, Splosh, Splash, all indicative of the wetness of ocean sailing. The right hand ends have the words Squall, Sparkle, Spume, Shine, Salt, Sun, Spray, Surf, other characteristic of the open ocean. The yacht rides on the Swoosh/Salt wave, connected to it loosely by screw and rolling owing to a wire connection to an eccentric pin on the drive wheel at the rear. Thus it rolls as well as pitches, but the single-handed yachtsman looks undismayed. The gulls ride freely, attached by wire and with weights to ensure that they ride on the waves convincingly. The purpose of the red-topped post is not clear, but at least the yacht has cleared it, one hopes to port

Provenance: Purchased Tony Mann, British Toymakers Guild, Oxo Tower, London, November 2006.

Note: Tony Mann, 1927-2013, worked for 20 years as an industrial designer before turning his creative energy into automata. Each is a one-of-a-kind piece and show his love of bright colours.He was voted Toymaker of the Year by the British Toymakers Guild for both 1987 and 1988.

Roseberys do not guarantee the working order of any automata or toy.