6 Double-Sided Wombwell & Whitelegg Victorian Exotic Animalier Tole Panels, 1891

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Set of Six Double-Sided Victorian Tole Cartouche Panels by Whitelegg & Sons for Thomas Wombwell’s Menagerie (12 Paintings)

Menagerie Signs … Read more Set of Six Double-Sided Victorian Tole Cartouche Panels by Whitelegg & Sons for Thomas Wombwell’s Menagerie (12 Paintings)

Menagerie Signs – for TW Monogram for the Whitelegg & Sons
England, 1891–1899**

A rare and museum-caliber ensemble of six double-sided Victorian tole cartouche panels, together presenting twelve original hand-painted images created in England between 1891 and 1899. Executed in richly decorated tole (painted sheet metal) and shaped in ornate cartouche form, these extraordinary panels originally formed the principal showfront signage for a late-Victorian Thomas Wombwell Travelling Menagerie menagerie and scenic-ride attraction.

Each sculpturally formed panel features elaborate scrollwork, winged Egyptian Revival ornament, and the distinctive TW monogram, identifying their use with the Thomas Wombwell Travelling Menagerie—one of Britain’s most important and longest-running show families. The elevated collaboration is raised higher, and examples retain the painted lower scroll for Whitelegg & Sons, the premier Manchester/Blackpool scenic-art studio responsible for many of the finest fairground façades of the 1890s.

The Wombwell Menagerie in the 1890s

Captain Fred Wombwell, one of the dynasty’s most celebrated Victorian showmen, died in 1889. However, the lion acts he made famous—and which became synonymous with the Wombwell name—remained the central identity and primary draw of the menagerie throughout the 1890s. Contemporary photographs from the Wombwell Family Collection show Captain Fred with his lions, illustrating the precise type of star attraction advertised by painted showfronts of this kind.
As a result, lion imagery became the hallmark of Wombwell advertising during the decade in which these panels were produced, making the lion cartouche among the most iconic and desirable subjects in Victorian fairground art.

The Complete Set: The group includes

Two major attraction title cartouche panels:
“The Ride of the Nineties” and “The Gayest Ride of the Fair”—signature 1890s scenic-ride slogans closely tied to the decade.

Ten exceptional animal portrait panels:
Lion, Elephant, Bison, Gnu, Puma, Wild Cat, Condor, Parrots, Monkey, and Baboon—each surrounded by elaborate Victorian scrolls and expressive scenic brushwork typical of Whitelegg’s best period work.

Executed in oil on shaped tole with original riveted hanging brackets, the panels retain superb 19th-century patina and the dramatic coloration characteristic of the late-Victorian fairground aesthetic. Fully intact double-sided sets with both Wombwell provenance and Whitelegg workshop attribution are exceptionally scarce; comparable examples are held only in specialized museum collections such as the National Fairground Archive and Dingles Fairground Heritage Centre.

A comprehensive Victorian shopfront of exceptional quality, rarity, and artistic merit. Ideal for advanced collectors of British folk art, designers seeking high-impact architectural elements, hospitality interiors, or museum installations.

Origin: England
Date: Circa 1891–1899
Attribution: Thomas Wombwell Travelling Menagerie (TW); Painted by Whitelegg & Sons Ltd.
Medium: Oil on tole (painted sheet-metal) cartouche panels, double-sided
Images: 12 original paintings (6 physical panels)
Condition: Authentic Victorian surface patina from fairground use; vivid remaining color; structurally stable.
Provenance: Private Palm Beach collection; originally part of Thomas Wombwell Travelling Menagerie & Rides See less