Fells Waxworks

Fells Waxworks, Trongate courtesy of The Mitchell Library, Glasgow

This wonderful photograph came to us recently from Laraine Fell, whose Great, Great Grandfather was Mr Fell of Fells Waxworks located at 101 Trongate. The building is the slightly faded section on the righthand side of this photograph from circa 1901. In 1904 A.E. Pickard arrived in Glasgow and purchased the waxworks from Mr Fell who was retiring. The museum had some strange and bizarre objects. At the entrance there was an automaton of a laughing cavalier and a wooden staircase that led the visitor up to a series of rooms over three floors. The exhibits included taxidermy, some living animals, Egyptian mummies, tableaux in wax of the most popular characters of the time, and strange objects in jars including a two headed sheep.

In 1906 A.E. Pickard took over the management of the Britannia Music Hall two doors down and renamed it the Panopticon. For more about that, though, please see our history page.

Cheque written by A.E. Pickard for the purchase of Fell's Waxworks