Whilst we were in Covent Garden (1984-2000) Cabaret Mechanical Theatre was one of Sir Nicholas Goodison’s favourite shops. This article from The Times in 1997 details some of the automata that he loved.
Sir Nicholas sadly passed away in 2021. Over his lifetime, starting at age 19, he amassed a magnificent collection of over 900 toys, puppets and automata.
Roseberys London have an upcoming Fine Art and Decorative sale on 21st February which includes 60 lots of toys and automata from the Goodison Collection.
You can view the sale collection here starting from Lot 91.
Here are some of our favourites.
Lot 117 – Two classic Peter Markey pieces. A muscle man & A kissing couple in Markey’s signature bright colours.
Lot 123 – Lucy Casson, Running Wild Pigs. Brilliant example of Lucy’s skill with wire mechanisms and tin animals.
Lot 124 – Wonderful selection of Ron Fuller toys, including the clever high-kicking ladies version of a pecking hen toy.
Lot 125 – A Paul Spooner piece, Life, Love and Death which is beautifully simple. (It’s also included in the Japanese Paul Spooner Book.)
Sir Nicholas Goodison noted: “In the top compartment (‘Life’) the girl’s belly moves, in the middle (‘Love’) the bed cover heaves above the lovers, in the lowest (‘Death’) nothing moves in the grave mound. There is something poignant about the limp winding handle of the grave. “