Retired Cabinet maker turned woodcarver Harold Pepper, dedicated his late years to carving wooden statuettes of fascinating notorious characters. Many of the figures, which average about twelve inches in height, are of Ipswich and East Anglian interest, and include an embellished base with a short history about their achievements or misgivings. Over 135 of these curiosities will be auctioned at Lockdales Auctioneers on February 17th during the two-day Fine Sale.

 

Harold Fredrick Pepper (28/8/1896 – 27/3/1983)

Ipswich born Harold Pepper resided at Cardigan Street. He enlisted into Kitchener’s army in World War I and served in the War Department during World War II, returning to Ipswich in 1946 where he became a cabinetmaker. In the 1960’s he started carving figures depicting interesting historical characters. He continued to make these figures up until his death in 1983.

 

Hand-making his own set of intricate tools necessary for this chosen hobby, Harold Pepper successfully set about carving his first historical figure, embellishing the base with a short history of the character. It was the start of what ended up as a collection of over 150 pieces

Wrote Harold about his work, “Generally, they are not famous heroes of the past, but lesser-known characters of by-gone generations. It was essential that these little people should be correct in detail and the attainment of this accuracy entailed a great deal of research which itself added further interest to my already absorbing hobby”