I have always loved Norman Wisdom. There was something wonderfully British about him. Give him a flat cap, an ill-fitting suit and a stage, and somehow disaster became comedy gold.
So I’m particularly excited that Hansons Auctioneers will be bringing a remarkable collection of Norman Wisdom memorabilia to auction in Derbyshire this November.
When you handle a collection like this, you are not simply looking at objects. You are looking at a life and in Norman’s case, an extraordinary life.
The most instantly recognisable pieces are, of course, the ‘Gump Suits’. We have two of them coming to auction, and I think they perfectly capture Norman’s genius.
The original suit dates from 1948 and is estimated at £3,000-£3,500. It includes the brown tweed two-piece suit, cotton shirt, tweed tie and original flat cap worn by Norman between 1948 and 1953. It is framed and boxed alongside a photograph of Norman with two other giants of comedy – Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.
I love that photograph. You have three masters of physical comedy together in one frame. Norman was the little man, Laurel and Hardy were legends, and between them they could probably have caused complete chaos in a dressing room without saying a word.
The second Gump Suit was made by W. Snape & Son of Wolverhampton in July 1953 and was specifically made to copy the original. It is estimated at £2,500-£3,500 and was worn during Norman’s remarkable run of films at Pinewood Studios, including Trouble in Store, One Good Turn, The Square Peg, Follow a Star and The Early Bird.
The Gump Suit is almost a character in its own right. It was never supposed to look glamorous. In fact, it looks wonderfully hopeless. But put it on Norman and suddenly an ordinary tweed suit becomes one of the most recognisable costumes in British comedy.
Then we have the silver. And when I say silver, I mean silver.
One Edwardian presentation tray weighs around 5kg and measures approximately 72cm across. It was made by Lee & Wigfull of Sheffield in 1906 and is estimated at £4,500-£5,500.
It was presented to Norman by theatre impresario Bernard Delfont in 1953 to celebrate his “wonderful record breaking run” at the Prince of Wales Theatre in Paris to Piccadilly.
Norman may have played the little man, but these enormous silver tributes tell a rather different story. He was a giant of British entertainment.
There is another substantial silver tray, estimated at £3,000-£5,000, presented to Norman by theatre impresario Tom Arnold following his record-breaking Robinson Crusoe season at the Palace Theatre in Manchester in 1959-60.
I can imagine Norman looking at these enormous trophies and thinking: “Where on earth am I going to put those?”
There is also a beautiful silver salver depicting Norman as a laughing jester, estimated at £1,000-£1,500. It was presented by his friends at the Rank Organisation at a luncheon in his honour at The Dorchester Hotel in 1959, and comes with the original menus and photographs.
For me, one of the most fascinating pieces is actually one of the humblest.
It records Norman’s very first professional engagement in 1945. There is a surviving flyer for the Collins Music Hall revue The Successful Failure, alongside Norman’s original handwritten script, complete with stage directions and prompts.
He had persuaded theatre manager Lew Lake to give him a chance. Norman’s Monday night appearance went down well, earning him £5 and a week-long engagement.
Just think about that. Five pounds!
That was the beginning of a career that would make him one of Britain’s biggest comedy and film stars.
We also have a Wedgwood Jasperware plaque marking Norman’s British Film Academy Award for Most Promising Newcomer in 1953, a Garrard silver Jester award after he was named Weekend Mail Comic of the Year in 1956, and a ‘This Is Your Life’ red book from his second appearance on the programme in 1987.
There is even a rather wonderful Olds American trumpet, complete with mouthpieces, reeds and accessories. I’m not sure whether Norman was as good a musician as he was a comedian, but I rather like the idea that even the trumpet has now joined the auction circuit.
And then there is Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.
A signed photograph of the legendary pair, estimated at £800-£1,200, is dedicated to Norman with their good wishes for his future success. They had been touring in London when they stopped to see Paris to Piccadilly at the Prince of Wales Theatre.
Norman apparently heard that they were in the audience and went looking for them during the interval.
That is exactly the sort of story I love. Three comedy legends, one theatre, one interval and a meeting that has now become part of Norman’s story.
What strikes me most about this collection is the journey it represents.
Here is a young man earning £5 for his first professional appearance. Then come the Gump Suit, the films, the packed theatres, the awards and those enormous silver tributes celebrating record-breaking performances.
Norman had an extraordinary ability to make audiences feel that they knew him. He was the underdog, the chap who tripped over his own feet, the little man who somehow always got himself into trouble.
But behind the mayhem was a hugely disciplined and talented performer.
At Hansons, we are privileged to bring collections like this to auction. We have handled important British comedy memorabilia before, including collections associated with Morecambe and Wise, and it is wonderful to continue that tradition.
This Norman Wisdom collection has everything I could want from a comedy sale: laughter, history, nostalgia and genuine star power.
Most importantly, it has Norman.
And I suspect there will be quite a few people hoping to take a little piece of that story home with them this November.
