The Americanised celebration of All Hallows Eve surpassed Valentine’s Day as the UK’s third largest annual retail event in 2015. After New Year’s Eve, it is now the nation’s second biggest party night in economic terms. According to predictions, this year Britons will spend £310m on Halloween’s.
Visitors to Olympia may be more interested in the range of art and antiques the week-long fair has to offer. But these pieces offer a bit of spine-tingling spirit.
1.
This mid-19th century painted birdcage is in the form of Notre Dame Cathedral. Home to a host of grotesques and gargoyles, this masterwork of gothic architecture is also said to have been home to Victor Hugo’s doomed hunchback. The birdcage is available from Wakelin & Linfield (West Sussex) for £4950.
2.
George Hyde-Pownall’s (1876-1932) Moonrise. The Moonlit River, East is an atmospheric portrayal of the Thames and St Paul’s Cathedral, which is available at the stand of Atelier Limited (Jersey) for £5000. The oil on board features a full moon and distant lights shining through a ghostly mist.
3.
Perhaps not immediately terrifying, this George table clock had a practical purpose for those who wished to avoid darkened streets, and the ghouls and spectres that might appear on them. Available on the stand of Howard Walwyn (London), this 18th century ebony veneered clock includes a dial that indicates the stages of the moon.
4.
Thomas Woodham Smith (London) brings this small Ile du Diable prisoner of war mahogany guillotine, made c.1880 in France. It might conjure up gory images of decapitation, blood and gore – but in fact this piece is a fanciful brass cigar cutter. It is available for £4500.
5.
In the middle ages, frogs or toads were thought to be the familiars of witches or wizards, and they make an appearance at the stand of Jeroen Markies (East Sussex) in the form of two French c. 1910 bookends. Made by Anoine Bofill, these bronze pieces are set on marble plinths and are available for £1650.
