Spooner, Charles, 1871 - 1939
Biography
Charles Spooner was born in Burton-on-Trent in 1871.
Charles was a wood carver in the brewing industry, where he made drays and handcarts.
Charles married his first wife in 1894, who died at childbirth soon after, and he was left to bring up their son Jack, while pushing the business forward. This year Charles became involved in the supply of decorative carvings for the the Orton firm, which turned out to be defining moment in his life, as three years later he married George Orton's daughter Rose Ann (Annie), becoming Orton's son-in-law.
Charles initially split his time between working as a subcontractor for Orton producing most of his carved work and working directly with the showmen and other ride manufacturing companies. The quality of his carving gained him high respect and recognition in the trade and he became the main supplier of mounts for roundabouts for showmen across the country.
He produced a wide variety of figures for roundabouts including the traditional galloping horses and more exotic animals such as ostriches, bears and lions, as well as topical figures that reflected the political climate of the day such as centaurs of famous generals during the Boer War and later WWI themed carvings.
In 1925 Spooner merged his business with Orton, forming Orton, Sons and Spooner Ltd. Here he continued focusing on the embelishement of fairground equipment and living quarters now working exclusively for the company. By 1914 Charles stopped designing and carving and became a travelling salesman for the company.
Charles Spooner died in 1939.
Found in 25 Collections and/or Records:
Business Records, 1860 - 1975
Various documents related to the business operations of Orton and Spooner including order books, correspondence, contracts, account books, product specifications and wage books.
C. J. Spooner Business Card, c1900 - 1959
Business card for C.J. Spooner, designer and carver.
David Braithwaite Collection
This collection contains photographs taken by David Braithwaite from the 1950s and used towards his publications alongside older images collected from other sources as well as business records, monographs, articles, correspondence, newspaper cuttings, advertising material, bibliographies, catalogues, programmes, films and some other miscellaneous items.
Design for Column's Capital, c1875 - 1899
Design for a heavily decorated column capital, signe C.S. Spooner Burton on the shield. Pencil on paper.
Design for Column's Capital, c1875 - 1899
Design for a column capital showing a woman's torso, birds and profuse folliage, signed Spooner Burton. Pencil on paper.
Design for Column's Capital, c1875 - 1899
Design for a column capital showing a woman's torso, birds, profuse folliage and other animal shapes, signed Spooner Burton. Pencil on paper.
Design for Scenic Ride Entrance, c1900 - 1910
Design of a scenic ride entrance showing column designs in the shape of a man in military outfit riding a rearing horse and a man in Beefeater's style outfit and heavily decorated freize, signed C.J. Spooner Buton on Trent. Pencil on paper.
Design for Scenic Ride Frieze, c1875 - 1899
Design for the frieze and column capital of a scenic ride showing folliage and flower decorations, signed C.J. Spooner Burton. Pencil on paper.
Design of Rearing Horse Column, c1900 - 1920
Design for a column in the shape of a man in Middle Eastern military attire on a rearing horse, signed C.J. Spooner Burton on Trent on reverse. Pen and ink on paper.
Drawing for the Design of Hippodrome Ride, c1920 - 1939
Design for ride frontage showing procenium and three different types of column designs, signed C.J. Spooner Swan Works, Burton on Trent. Pencil on paper.
Drawing of Ride Frontage Design, c1920 - 1939
Sketch for the design of a ride's procenium showing the freize and top of columns which imitate tree branches, signed C.J. Spooner Burton. Pencil on paper.
Drawing of Ride Frontage Design, c1920 - 1939
Design for ride frontage showing procenium, columns with foliage decorations, shields and garland, signed by C.J. Spooner, Swan Works, Burton on Trent. Pencil on paper.
Drawing of Ride Frontage Design, c1920 - 1939
Design for a ride frontage for Wilmots with columns and foliage and shield decorations, signed C.J. Spooner Swan Works Burton on Trent. Pencil on paper.
Drawing of Roundabout Decorative Frontage, c1875 - 1899
Half section of outside decorations for roundabout with heavily decorated columns, frieze and hand rails showing cherubs and profuse folliage, on top scroll C.J. Spooner, Design Carver, Buton on Trent. Pencil on paper.
Drawing of Show Frontage Design, c1920 - 1939
Design for a show front with foliage decorations and columns signed C.J. Spooner, Burton. Pencil on paper.
Drawings for Capitel, Mirror Frame and Show Fronts, c1875 - 1939
Highly finished design drawings for capitel, mirror frame and show fronts including the Jelly Wobble, Chas Relph, Shamrock, Noah’s ark, The Frivol, Arthur Holland’s Jack & Jill slide and half section of outside decoration for roundabout.
Original Artwork, c1900 - 1929
Drawings and designs used for the decoration of fairground rides.
Orton and Spooner Collection
This collection contains a large selection of archives from the Orton and Spooner Company. The collection comprises photographs and cabinet card images showing carved work, structural work and classic painted work, 4 boxes of notes, invoices and clippings, 8 drawers of plans and blueprints, 2 folders of ride specifications and order forms, accounts books and a library of source books showing turn of the century art used by the artists in the company.
Photographs, 1880 - 1950
Black and white photographs and negatives of fairground rides, living wagons, transport, fairground organs, carvings and other artwork from the Orton and Spooner company. Also contains some photographs of employees and showmen.
Plans and Sketches for Fairground Rides and Shows, c1875 - 1939
Plans and sketches for rides and shows including swings, trusses for roofs, sleepers and railings for G. Green scenic, specifications for sleepers for M & E Hill, design for abreast gallopers crack, entrance plan for Thurston, platform galloping action, boxing boards for C. Heal, chimney centre and joy wheel.