Door bell
Charles Paget Wade (Shortlands 1883 - Evesham 1956)
Category
Machinery and industrial devices
Date
Dec 1914
Materials
Oak, boxwood, elm, canvas, paint and metal
Measurements
567 mm (Length)177 mm (W)430 mm (H)
Order this imageCollection
Snowshill Manor and Garden, Gloucestershire
NT 1339351
Caption
Charles Paget Wade (1883–1956) filled Snowshill Manor in Gloucestershire with remarkable objects from around the world, often collected from local antiques dealers, but also things he had made himself. His skill as an artist and craftsman is clear from thousands of surviving sketches, paintings and objects, including this wonderful, mechanised doorbell, which would have been mounted above a door. Inside the small, rectangular cabinet is the scene of a European marketplace. When a visitor opened the door, this would power the mechanism and set in motion a music box and tiny figures. A canvas belt helped the figures, including toy soldiers and horses, move across the market square. Conservation work has revealed a secret door in the side of the case, with a window and tiny net curtain. A verse painted on the case reveals that Wade made the piece in December 1914, around five years before he purchased Snowshill. The playful doorbell reflects Wade’s love of provoking wonder and surprise among his visitors.
Summary
Doorbell - Wooden cased toy theatre which was one of Charles Wade's doorbells. Wooden case, painted black with hinged front. Metal brackets on the back for hanging on the wall. Small door with red wooden handle on top left corner, opens to reveal small window with curtain. Inside door painted red with Latin inscription. Two stamped, painted metal lions holding banners with Latin inscriptions are attached to the back and stand above the case. Front panel has a large opening to show an old street scene of Tudor-style buildings with wooden figures on wires attached to a belt below through a slot. Below, two heraldic shields and inscription are painted, reading ‘We were made by our master’s hands to hang upon his wall And every wight who ope’s the door kindly frees us all. We are little painted figures from the dear romantic past. But we’re better off than he is for we shall always last, And ever do the pleasant things he taught us by his art. And when the shadows lengthen and mortal folk depart A gorgeous galaxy of ghosts throng the haunted room. We’ll watch their nightly revels until the crack of doom’. Front panel hinges open at its left side, revealing the belt pulley mechanism under the street scene which moves the figures and plays song on a music box mechanism, and an inscription, painted in white which reads ‘Charles Wade made me December 1914 being the first year of the Great War.’It was positioned above the door and every time the door was opened the figures, attached to a belt, precessed and music was played on a small music-box movement inside.
Provenance
Given to the National Trust with Snowshill Manor in 1951 by Charles Paget Wade.
Makers and roles
Charles Paget Wade (Shortlands 1883 - Evesham 1956)