Carvers and Manufacturers
Illions Looff Stein/ Goldstein Dentzel
During the golden
age of carousels, several companies were manufacturing the machine in the
United States. Many of the companies (see below) were major manufacturers each
turning out a hundred or more carousels, but many were small and made only a
few. Some of the minor carousel manufacturers not listed below are Owen and
Margeson of Hornellsville, NY (now Hornell, NY),
Gottfried Bungarz Stage, Wagon and Carrousele Works in Brooklyn, New York, Gillie, Godard and
Company in Tonawanda, NY, and The Queen City Carousselle
Company, the Gem Novelty Company (later named the United States Merry-Go-Round
Company) and the Cincinnati Merry-Go-Round Company all in Cincinnati.
There were many
skilled artisans, most European immigrants, carving horses, menagerie animals,
rounding boards (crestings, shields, rims, cornices)
and facades in the United States. Several carvers often worked for a single
company and many carvers moved from shop to shop or supplied figures to more
than one company. Most figures were not signed, the carvers were never indexed and records have been destroyed or lost. Thus, it is
often “pure guesswork” assigning figures to specific carvers. Many carvers such
as Charles I. D. Looff were also manufacturers who
made the complete machine while other carvers such as Marcus Illions teamed with another company that made the platform,
frame and machinery. Illions and William Mangels had
a relationship that resulted in several carousels. The W. F. Mangels Company,
E. Joy Morris, M. D. Borelli, T. M. Harton, Fred Dolle, Henry Dorber and
Kremer’s Carousel Works made carousel platforms, frames and mechanisms, but all
their figures were supplied by either private artisans or by artisans in their
employ.
Major carvers and
manufacturers are listed alphabetically by last name below.
Charles
Carmel
Charles Carmel,
born in Russia in 1865, immigrated to the United States in 1883 where he
settled in Brooklyn, NY. As a carver, trained in his homeland, Carmel easily
found employment in Charles Looff’s and Willam
Mangels’ carousel shops. During his time with Looff,
Carmel met another master carver, Marcus Charles Illions,
who was also working there. Carmel left the Looff
Carousel Company when Looff moved to East Providence,
Rhode Island and joined the employ of Solomon Stein and Harry Goldstein. In
1905, Charles Carmel left Stein and Goldstein and opened his own carving
facility at 202 Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn. Carving independently, until 1920,
he sold his horses to carousel frame manufacturers including William Mangels,
Stein and Goldstein, Frederick Dolle and M. D. Borelli, the Murphy brothers,
and the Philadelphia Toboggan Company. Carmel’s figures are found primarily on
mixed carousels with figures from other carvers.
Charles
Carmel
Often borrowing from the styles of other
carvers such as Marcus Charles Illions, Charles Looff and Stein and Goldstein, Carmel had very high
standards and his horses appear realistic with windswept manes and are
beautifully decorated. They are liberally adorned with fish scale blankets,
feathers, tassels and armor. Trappings, bridles and saddles were often adorned
with jewels. (It is thought that the jewels may have been added by platform
manufacturers such as Borelli since Carmel did not like jewels and used them
very sparingly.) Their stature has been described as powerful, strong and
aggressive. Secondary carvings such as eagles, rabbits and game birds often
adorn his horses. The flowing mane and batwing saddle became two of his own
signature design innovations, although due to his adoption of the numerous
traits from other carvers, Carmel’s horses may be difficult to distinguish.
L. A Carmel horse from
Rye Playland, Rye, New York; R. A Carmel horse at the New England Carousel
Museum in Bristol, CT
Charles Carmel died of cancer in 1931 (or
1933), but his legacy lives on. His work may currently be seen on carousels at
Rye Playland in Rye, New York and at Knoebel’s Grove in Elysburg, Pennsylvania.
The carousel in New Haven, Connecticut is a mixture of horses some of which are
Carmel’s.
For further reading:
Dinger, Charlotte. 1983. Art of the
Carousel. Green Village, NJ: Carousel Art, Inc. ISBN 0-914507-00-1
Manns, William, Stevens,
Marianne, Shank, Peggy. 1986. Painted
Ponies. Millwood, NY: Zon International Publishing. ISBN 0-939549-01-9
http://carousels.org/Carvers_Builders.html
http://gesacarouselofdreams.com/about/carousel-background/
http://www.silverbeachcarousel.com/about-us/carousel-history
http://www.carouselmuseum.com/business.html
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/where-have-the-carousel-animals-gone-antique-merry-go-rounds-fight-extinction/
Frank
Carretta
Frank Carretta
immigrated to Philadelphia from Italy as a fourteen year old boy to live with
friends after his father died. Carretta
found work first as a cabinetmaker in a furniture factory but found little
stimulation from the trade because he was unable to use his fertile
imagination. Carretta joined the Philadelphia Toboggan Company in 1903 but only
stayed a few months before joining the Dentzel
Company where he worked for six years before rejoining the Philadelphia
Toboggan Company in about 1912 where he became a master carver and continued to
work until the 1940s. His horses were large, powerful, elaborate and intricate
in detail.
Frank
Carretta
Carretta loved
carving horses because children liked to ride horses better than menagerie
animals. In an interview, Carretta said: “What better thing can a man do than
make children happy?”*
Some of the horses
on the Philadelphia Toboggan Company #80 carousel in Holyoke, Massachusetts
were carved by Carretta. The chariots on the Philadelphia Toboggan Company #85
Paragon carousel in Hull, Massachusetts were probably carved by Carretta.
One
of the chariots of the Paragon carousel, Hull, Massachusetts, probably carved
by Caretta
*This quote is
from an article we located on Google Images. The source of the article is
unknown, but seems to have been from an interview of Carretta by Edwin W.
Teale.
For further
information:
Dinger, Charlotte. 1983. Art of the
Carousel. Green Village, NJ: Carousel Art, Inc. ISBN 0-914507-00-1
Hinds, Anne Dion. 1990. Grab the
Brass Ring: The American Carousel. New York: Crown Pub.
Hopkins, Roland.
2006 Convention visits
Minnesota and the Dakotas. Carousel News
& Trader, November 20, 2006.
Salvatore
Cernigliaro
Salvatore “Cherni”
Cernigliaro (1879-1974) was a cabinet and furniture
maker from Italy who specialized in carving ornamentation. He immigrated to
Philadelphia in 1902 (or 1903) at the age of twenty-three. He found employment
with the E. Joy Morris Carroussel Company. In 1903,
when the company was sold, Cernigliaro found
employment with Gustav Dentzel. Although the Dentzel carousels had a variety of menagerie animals, it
was Cernigliaro who introduced cats, ostriches, pigs
and rabbits. Cernigliaro was given free rein to
innovate new designs. He carved the entire animal including decorative flowers,
straps, and drapery and introduced secondary carvings such as beautiful cherubs
to the Dentzel Company. He was the first to carve
armor. Cernigliaro
is credited with inventing the Arabian horse. While with the Dentzel Carousel Company, Cernigliaro
worked closely with Albert and Daniel Muller with whom he became very close
friends. When the Dentzel Carousel Company
temporarily closed after Gustav Dentzel’s death in
1909, Cernigliaro worked for the Philadelphia
Toboggan Company, carved propellers to aid in the war effort and tripled his
weekly wage. After the war, he went back to work for the Dentzel
Carousel Company. Soon after the Dentzel Carousel
Company closed in 1928, Cernigliaro moved to
California to teach the art of carving.
Salvatore
Cernigliaro
A
cat from the Pullen Park, Raleigh, North Carolina carousel probably carved by Cernigliaro
For further
information:
Dinger, Charlotte. 1983. Art of the Carousel. Green Village, NJ:
Carousel Art, Inc. ISBN 0-914507-00-1
Fraley, Tobin and
Gary K. Wolf, Carousel
Animals: Artistry in Motion. San
Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2002.
Fried, Frederick. 1964. A Pictorial
History of the Carousel. Vestal, NY: The Vestal Press Ltd. ISBN
0-911572-29-5.
The
Salvatore “Cherni” Cernigliaro Letters. September, October and November, 2004 The Carousel News & Trader. http://carouselhistory.com/the-cherni-salvatore-cernigliaro-letters
Weedon, Geoff and Richard Ward. 1981. Fairground Art. London: White Mouse Editions, Ltd.
Andrew
Christian
Andrew Christian
(circa 1825-1871) was an American toymaker who started his business, Andrew
Christian & Sons, at 65 Maiden Lane in Brooklyn, New York City circa 1856.
The manufacturing was located at 87 - 93 Mangin Street in Brooklyn.
In
the area business directories, the company was listed variously as a maker of
toys, hobby horses, spring horses, perambulators, carriages, cabs, rocking
horses, propellers and sleighs. The earliest reference to a Christian carousel
is 1870. It is thought that Christian and Charles Dare (see below) worked
together for a year beginning in 1867 or 1868 during which time the Watch Hill,
Rhode Island carousel was manufactured.
An
Advertising Medal. From: Benjamin, William and Barbara Williams. 2016. Andrew
Christian and Charles W. F. Dare. Carousel History. http://carouselhistory.com/andrew-christian-and-charles-w-f-dare/
After Christian’s
untimely death in 1871, control of the company was assumed by Hoffmire, Kelsey
& Cornwell. By 1876, Charles Dare (see below) is listed as occupying the
Mangin Street buildings. Thus, it is probable that Dare purchased the Hoffmire,
Kelsey & Cornwell company.
From:
Benjamin, William and Barbara Williams. 2016. Andrew
Christian and Charles W. F. Dare. Carousel History. http://carouselhistory.com/andrew-christian-and-charles-w-f-dare/
A
Christian horse from the Watch Hill, Rhode Island carousel
For further
information:
Charles
W. F. Dare
Charles W. F. Dare
(1834 - 1896) was originally (circa 1858-1859) a manufacturer of children's toys, primarily carriages, rocking horses and
carousels. Dare may very well have been the first carousel manufacturer
in America. In 1867, his retail/manufacturing
business was at 47 Cortlandt Street in Manhattan and listed as
selling/manufacturing hobby horses. Dare
probably produced his first carousel between 1867 and 1875. Determining
the date that Dare made his first carousel is complicated by the apparent interchangeability
of the terms “hobby horse” and “carousel horse”. By
1872 and 1876, manufacturing was at 62 Kent Street in Brooklyn and 87-93 Mangin
Street in Brooklyn, respectively. The manufacturing location of 87-93 Mangin
Street shows the connection between Andrew Christian and Charles Dare who
previously occupied the same site. In 1884, the name of the company was changed
to C. W. F. Dare Company. By 1889, Dare was concentrating on carousels (Dare
referred to them as “carousals”) and had established the New York Carousel Manufacturing Company at 234-236 Kent
Street in Brooklyn after the C. W. F. Dare
Company was found to be insolvent. In 1890, the New York Carousel
Manufacturing Company acquired the assets of the insolvent C. W. F. Dare Company.
Two years after Dare’s death in 1896, the New York Carousel Manufacturing Company was also
insolvent.
Dare
Company Letterhead
Dare is credited with designing and popularizing the county fair
style of carousel: simple, plain, sturdy, light weight and easily portable and
storable. The carousels were manufactured for travelling the countryside to
county fairs, carnivals and special events. His “flying horses” were mounted on
chains and rods so that as the mechanism rotated, centrifugal force would allow
the horses to “fly” outward. The Flying Horses Carousel, a National Historic Landmark, located in Watch
Hill, Rhode Island is an example. Dare also made swinging platform carousels
and traditional platform carousels.
Note center metal rod (white) and rear chain (white). From the
Watch Hill, Rhode Island carousel
The Dare Flying Horses carousel at Watch Hill, Rhode Island
Dare horses and figures have been described as crude, primitive
and “toy-like”. All of Dare’s horses have a characteristic martingale on the
breast. His figures had real horsehair tails and manes and leather saddles and
ears. Many of the horses manufactured by the Dare Company were most likely
carved by Andrew
Christian, who originally specialized in the production of rocking horses.
Christian’s rocking horse style, with its outstretched front legs, can be seen on the Flying Horses Carousel in Watch Hill, Rhode Island. The
company also produced menagerie animals and platforms on which the horses could
be mounted. The Flying Horses Carousel in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts on Martha’s
Vineyard, also a National
Historic Landmark, is an example of a Dare platform
carousel. The carousels at Watch Hill and Oak Bluffs are thought to have been
built in 1876.
The Dare Flying Horses carousel at Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts
Although the only totally “Dare Carousels” still in operation
are those located in Watch Hill, Rhode Island and Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, a
carousel in Brenham, Texas features Dare horses on a C.W. Parker manufactured
carousel.
The company closed in the late 1890’s. Charles F.W. Dare died in
1901.
For further information:
Fried, Frederick. 1964. A Pictorial
History of the Carousel. Vestal, NY: The Vestal Press Ltd. ISBN
0-911572-29-5.
Manns, William, Stevens,
Marianne, Shank, Peggy. 1986. Painted
Ponies. Millwood, NY: Zon International Publishing. ISBN 0-939549-01-9
Weedon, Geoff and
Richard Ward. 1981. Fairground Art.
London: White Mouse Editions, Ltd.
Benjamin, William and
Barbara Williams. 2016. Andrew
Christian and Charles W. F. Dare. Carousel History.
http://carouselhistory.com/andrew-christian-and-charles-w-f-dare/
www.http//:papermatters.blogspot.com
www.http//:cityofbrenham.org
www.http//:mvpreservation.org
Gustav Dentzel
Gustav Dentzel was born in Germany in 1840 and immigrated to the
United States in 1860 (maybe as late as 1864). His father, William Dentzel, was a carver of carousel horses in Kreuznach, Germany, and Denzel learned the craft while
assisting his father. William Dentzel had a carousel
in Germany as early as 1837-1839. Gustav Dentzel
settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and opened a business as a cabinet maker
at 433 Brown Street.
Gustav
Dentzel
In 1867, while not
making cabinets, he made a small traveling carousel with seats (no horses)
suspended by chains from a center pole. The power to rotate the carousel was
supplied by a human. He traveled with the carousel until 1870, when he decided
to manufacture them full time and referred to himself as a “Carroussell
Builder”. After discovering that Americans liked his carousel, he changed the
name of his company to G. A. Dentzel, Steam and
Horsepower Caroussell Builder (note change of
spelling from “carroussell” to “caroussell”).
The spelling was later changed to “carrousel”.
Dentzel was the first to supply steam power to
a carousel in the United States. He moved his company to Beach and Fairmont
Avenues in Germantown, Philadelphia. His
first carousel was set up at Smith’s Island on the Delaware River in
Philadelphia in 1870 and was so successful that he dismantled it and moved it
to Atlantic City, New Jersey. Dentzel travelled from
town to town selling tickets to the ride. The
company’s name was later changed to the G. A. Dentzel
Company. Dentzel not only carved and manufactured the
carousels, he also operated several in amusement parks. Dentzel
primarily manufactured park model carousels.
G. A. Dentzel, Carroussell
Builder
According
to Daniel C. Muller, the early horses of the G. A. Dentzel
Company were designed by Johann Heinrich (John Henry) Muller, Daniel’s father,
who had immigrated to America in 1881. Dentzel is
known for his very realistic, life-like, gentle appearing, graceful and
beautiful carousel animals. The Dentzel horses were
never jeweled. Not only did Dentzel carve horses, but
he also carved a variety of other animals including domestic cats, tigers,
lions, pigs, rabbits, frogs, ostriches, and giraffes. From 1903, although he
hired several German and Italian immigrant carvers, Dentzel’s
chief and master carver was Salvatore Cernigliaro who
created “lavish trappings of flowers, bells, bows, and intricate halters,
straps” (Dinger, 1983) and “elaborate drapery” (Fried, 1964). Cernigliaro also introduced whimsical animals to Dentzel’s menagerie carousels. Dentzel
also employed other carvers such as Harry Dentzel,
Gustav’s nephew. When Johann Heinrich Muller died, Dentzel
employed Muller’s sons, Daniel C. and Alfred. Daniel C. Muller is recognized as
Dentzel’s most talented, imaginative and gifted
artisan.
The Dentzel platforms make use of mirrors and other decorations
which add to their appeal and beauty. Often, each horse/figure in a row were of
similar colors. Most of Dentzel’s carousels were
built as special orders and included the special specifications of the
purchaser.
Note the similar colors on this row of horses from the carousel
in Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania.
In
1900, Dentzel manufactured his first electrified
carousel using the overhead crank and gear mechanism allowing for jumping
horses.
Dentzel died in 1909, but his sons, William and
Edward ran the company until it closed in 1928, when William died. The stock
was purchased by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company. Edward moved to California
where the fifth and sixth generations of Dentzel
carousel makers continue the family tradition. William H. Dentzel
III sustains the art by accepting a few projects which focus on carousel
making, history and restoration. His younger brother, David, has carved several
large animals, some wooden carousels and a selection of items for collectors.
L to R: William Dentzel, Edward Dentzel, Salvatore Cernigliaro
From Carousel History:
http://carouselhistory.com/gustav-and-william-dentzel-co/
From a ca. 1920 Dentzel flyer
Approximately
two dozen Dentzel Carousels remain in operation. Three
are preserved in museums. Others are thought to have worn out from use or have
been dismantled and due to the unique style and wonderful craftsmanship, sold
separately to collectors.
For further
information:
Dinger, Charlotte. 1983. Art of the Carousel. Green Village, NJ:
Carousel Art, Inc. ISBN 0-914507-00-1
Fried, Frederick. 1964. A Pictorial
History of the Carousel. Vestal, NY: The Vestal Press Ltd. ISBN
0-911572-29-5.
Manns, William, Stevens,
Marianne, Shank, Peggy. 1986. Painted
Ponies. Millwood, NY: Zon International Publishing. ISBN 0-939549-01-9
http://carousels.org/Carvers_Builders.html
http://www.carouselmuseum.com/business.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dentzel_Carousel_Company
http://dentzel.weebly.com/
http://carouselhistory.com/gustav-and-william-dentzel-co/
Frederick
Dolle and M. D. Borrelli
Thanks to the
wonderful research by William Benjamin and Barbara Williams, we know a lot
about Frederick Dolle (1858-1912), a North
Bergen, New Jersey manufacturer, operator/owner of carousels as well as
amusement parks and other operations. Dolle was the brother-in-law of Charles Looff.
It
is not certain when Dolle entered the carousel business, but by 1906 he was
manufacturing carousels. His business went by several names including F. Dolle’s Carrousel Works (1907), Dolle’s Carousel Works
(1909) and Dolle’s Carrousels (1910). Although it is not known if Frederick’s
bothers, Rudolph and Henry, were partners in the business, it is known that
both brothers were involved with amusements including carousels.
Rounding board from the Dolle carousel at the
Silver Beach Carousel museum in St. Joseph, Michigan.
Dolle eventually
became partners with Mario Domenico (Domenick) Borrelli (1893-1969), a 1907
Italian immigrant, who first started working with Dolle as a ring boy for one
or more of Dolle’s carousels. The Dolle carousel
operation built the platforms and mechanisms, but the horses were carved by
Charles Carmel. Borrelli is credited with adorning the Carmel horses
with jewels. The partnership continued with Frederick’s wife, Elizabeth, after
Dolle died in 1912. M. D. Borrelli’s younger brother, Vincent, assisted M. D.
and Elizabeth in the business. When Elizabeth died in 1935. Borrelli purchased
controlling interest and continued the business.
It is
not known how many carousels were manufactured by Dolle, but Benjamin and
Williams have identified at least eight parks that had Dolle carousels but
estimate that as many as two dozen carousels were manufactured by Dolle and the
Dolle/Borrelli partnership with at least one going to Manila, Philippines and
perhaps one to Sydney, Australia.
For
further information:
Benjamin, William and Barbara Williams, Mr. Frederick Dolle: A Look at a “Carousel King” in his
Heyday. Carousel News & Trader, January 2010.
Benjamin, William and Barbara Williams, M.
D. Borrelli and His Role in the 20th Century Amusement Industry. Carousel
News & Trader, May 2010.
Benjamin, William
and Barbara Williams,
M.D. Borrelli, MFG of High Grade Carousels, Carousel News &
Trader, May 2010. http://www.carouselnews.com/
May-2010/M.D.-Borrelli-MFG-of-High-Grade-Carousels.html.
M. D. Borrelli Bejeweled Fun Forest Carousel, Carousel History, July 3,
2015.http://carouselhistory.com/fun-forest-carousel-wa/
Allan Herschell
(Armitage-Herschell) (Herschell-Spillman)
Born
April 27, 1851, Allan Herschell, in 1870 along with his parents and brother, emigrated
from their native Scotland to Buffalo, New York where the young Herschell found
work as a foundry foreman. Trained as a molder, in 1872, at the age of twenty,
Herschell partnered with James Armitage, bought out their employer’s equipment,
moved their company to North Tonawanda and founded the Tonawanda Engine and
Machine Company. Their primary products were farm machinery, steam boilers and
steam engines.
Allan
Herschell
In
1883, with a diagnosis of lung disease and recommendation from his physician to
abandon boiler manufacturing, Herschell designed and built his first carousel,
the steam riding gallery. His inspiration for building a carousel came after
visiting New York City and seeing an operating carousel (probably a Dare
carousel) in 1882. His first carousel, completed in 1883 or 1884, was powered
by one of his steam engines. The engine was outside the carousel and rotated
the carousel on a track via a belt. The horses were simple and plain and
modeled after Dare horses. His early carousels were supplied with a simple
mechanism that rocked the horses back and forth. By 1886, Herschell had built
three steam riding galleries. Popularity of the machine spread rapidly throughout
New York, and in 1887, Tonawanda Engine and Machine Company evolved into the
Armitage-Herschell Company, Inc. producer of steam powered carousels. In 1890,
sixty carousels were sold. A year later, the company was producing a carousel
every day.
In
1901, due to financial problems, Herschell left Armitage-Herschell and with his
brother-in-law, Edward Spillman, purchased Armitage-Herschell in 1903 forming
the largest manufacturer of carousels in the United States, the
Herschell-Spillman Company. The company produced small, easily transported,
steam powered carousels, some with menagerie animals and storybook characters
as well as intricately designed and decorated horses.
Herschell
Spillman Co.
In
1913 (or 1911) due to ill health, Allan Herschell retired from the
Herschell-Spillman Company, but the company continued without Herschell. By 1914, with the aid of a carving machine,
the Herschell-Spillman company had evolved into the production of large,
permanent, park model carousels of the Country Fair design with jumping horses
and a variety of menagerie animals. Eventually, the permanent carousels were
populated by more decorated and intricately carved figures and chariot sides
resembling a combination of Coney Island and Philadelphia styles. Illions even supplied the horses for one of the
Herschell-Spillman platforms.
In
1915, on his own, Allan Herschell reentered the carousel business and founded
the Allan Herschell Company in direct competition with the Herschell-Spillman
Company. Although he later added other rides for adults and children,
Herschell’s main foci were roller coasters and his signature portable, easily
dismantled and packed carousels which could be quickly disassembled and
transported from town to town by traveling carnivals. The first carousel made
by the Allan Herschell Company, the No. 1 Special, completed in 1916 is still
at its original site at the factory in North Tonawanda, NY. Herschell also made some large, more ornate
park models with scenery panels and decorative rounding boards, jewels and
mirrors. Through the years, the style of the Herschell figures changed
significantly.
Since
materials were less available with the onset of The Depression and the need for
stronger and more durable figures, cast aluminum legs were added to the wooden
bodies in the 1920s. Eventually, all aluminum horses were used. Weedon and Ward
described the evolution from all wood to a mixture of wood and aluminum as “…an
era in American carousel history [that] quietly ended”.
Herschell
was the largest manufacturer of carousels in the United States, producing over
3000 carved wooden machines, which were not only shipped throughout North
America, but also to distant destinations including South Africa, India and
Tahiti. The carousel shipped to Tahiti is reported to have been fueled with
coconut hulls instead of wood.
The simple style of the Herschell horse.
There
were no specifically acknowledged carvers noted, although research shows that
Herschell himself was never a carver.
In
1920, the Herschell-Spillman Company was re-organized to become the Spillman
Engineering Company (see below), continuing with the production of carousels
and other amusement rides which had been added over the years. Both Spillman
Engineering and the Allan Herschell Company remained in North Tonawanda, New
York for a time, manufacturing similar rides in a competitive manner.
Allan
Herschell retired in 1924 (or 1923) and died in 1927. In 1945, the Allan
Herschell Company purchased the Spillman Engineering Company, and remained open
until 1970 when it was sold to Chance Manufacturing in Wichita, Kansas.
The
Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum, located at 180 Thompson Street, in North
Tonawanda, New York has been open to the public since 1983. The Museum offers
guided tours, lectures, demonstrations and wood carving lessons at varied skill
levels. There are approximately 148 Herschell carousels still operating in the
United States and Canada.
For
further information:
Dinger, Charlotte. 1983. Art of the Carousel. Green Village, NJ:
Carousel Art, Inc. ISBN 0-914507-00-1
Fried, Frederick. 1964. A Pictorial
History of the Carousel. Vestal, NY: The Vestal Press Ltd. ISBN
0-911572-29-5.
Manns, William, Stevens,
Marianne, Shank, Peggy. 1986. Painted
Ponies. Millwood, NY: Zon International Publishing. ISBN 0-939549-01-9
Weedon, Geoff and
Richard Ward. 1981. Fairground Art.
London: White Mouse Editions, Ltd.
http://carousels.org/Carvers_Builders.html
http://www.carouselmuseum.com/business.html
http://carrouselmuseum.org/site/wp-content/themes/twentytwelve-child/research-forms/FindingAid.pdf
http://internationalindependentshowmensmuseum.org/vintage-carnival-rides/allan-herschell-carousel-company/
http://theoldmotor.com/?tag=herschell-spillman-company
http://www.nthistorymuseum.org/Collections/herschell.html
Friedrich
Heyn
Friedrich Heyn in
Germany was initially a carver, but later manufactured complete carousels. He
is mentioned here because one of his carousels resides in Storyland in Glen,
NH.
A
Heyn Horse
Marcus
Charles Illions
It
is not precisely known when and where Marcus Charles Illions
was born. Some accounts state that it was in Vilna, Lithuania (then part of the
Russian Empire) in 1865 (some accounts say1874). At the approximate age of 14,
he immigrated to England via a brief stay in Germany and found employment
carving unfinished Frederick Savage circus wagons for Frank Bostock. Frederick
Savage was a manufacturer of carousels and circus wagons. In 1888, Illions immigrated to the United States. Illions continued to develop his carving skills with
Charles Looff beginning about 1890. By 1892, Illions opened his own shop at 747 Dean Street in Brooklyn.
Around 1899-1900, Illions was hired by William
Mangels to restore Feltman’s Looff carousel that was
damaged by fire. William Mangels, an inventor and manufacturer of amusement
rides, had a shop in Coney Island on West Eighth Street. Mangels perfected and
employed the crank and gear mechanism to raise and lower the horses making a
new style of carousel horse, the jumper, possible. This allowed Illions to experiment with the jumping pose. In 1909, Illions opened, along with his daughter and four sons, the
M. C. Illions and Sons Carousell Works at 2739 Ocean
Parkway in Coney Island, Brooklyn.
The
relationship between Mangels and Illions resulted in
several carousels in the New York area, many of which are still in operation.
One carousel was Feltman’s at Coney Island that operated from 1905 until 1964.
Although the Mangels/Illions relationship did not
last long, Illions continued to manufacture carousels
using parts and mechanisms from Mangels. M. C. Illions
and Sons Carousell Works produced carousels from 1909 until 1929 when The
Depression took its toll but continued to recondition and repair them until
1945. The company produced only fifteen large, park style carousels and not
more than six smaller, portable carousels. M. C. Illions
and Sons Carousell Works produced at least one set of horses for Allan
Herschell, three sets for the Prior and Church racing derbies and smaller
horses for the Pinto Brothers, a local company producing street kiddie
carousels for the Coney Island area.
Marcus
Charles Illions
Illions was a highly innovative
carver. He loved horses and kept a stable with up to four horses so that he
could ride them often to study their motion and mannerisms. He would also visit
local racetracks to study the horses.
Illions originated the
Coney Island style, and the original Illions horses
are of the archetypal flamboyant Coney Island style, tame and complete with
jewels and 22 carat gold and silver manes and adornments. A later style of
horse was more powerful, spirited and animated and characterized by flying,
flowing manes and long thin heads. Although he employed other craftsmen
including many family members, Illions carved all the
heads of the horses himself. M. C. Illions and Sons
Carousell Works carved very few menagerie animals except as special orders.
After 1910, the company did not produce any menagerie animals.
Marcus
Illions, standing with hammer and chisel, in his
shop. From Weedon and Ward, 1981.
Unlike most
carvers, Illions usually signed his carvings. The New York Times referred to Illions as “the Michelangelo of carousel carvers”. At one
time, ten of Illions’ shop’s carousels operated from
Brighten Beach Park to West Twenty Seventh Street in Coney Island. Besides
carousel horses, Illions also carved ornate organ
fronts and various sculptures. The Great Depression sadly took its toll on
amusement parks, and his company closed during that period. Weedon and Ward
(1981) described Illions as the “most flamboyant and
innovative of all the Coney Island carvers”.
Illions died at the age
of 78 in 1949, financially devastated.
A
typical Illions horse (L) and a child’s barber chair.
Note gold manes.
For further
information:
Dinger, Charlotte. 1983. Art of the
Carousel. Green Village, NJ: Carousel Art, Inc. ISBN 0-914507-00-1
Manns, William, Stevens,
Marianne, Shank, Peggy. 1986. Painted
Ponies. Millwood, NY: Zon International Publishing. ISBN 0-939549-01-9
Weedon,
Geoff and Richard Ward. 1981. Fairground
Art. London: White Mouse Editions, Ltd.
The Coney Island
History Project
http://www.coneyislandhistory.org/hall-of-fame/marcus-charles-illions
Carousel History
The National
Carousel Association
http://carousels.org/index.html
http://www.guernseys.com/Guernseys
New/images/Carousel Online Catalogue
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Illions
George
William Kremer
George William
Kremer was born in Germany and immigrated to the United States in 1884.
Although his original profession was a glassblower, by 1892 he was operating a
carousel at North Beach Park, Queens, New York on the present site of LaGuardia
Airport. By the early 1900s, he was listing his profession as a carousel maker.
Although not a carver, Kremer operated, manufactured, repaired and
reconditioned older carousels often outfitting the frames with new figures.
Kremer made the rounding boards and scenery panels for his carousels. Kremer’s
Carousel Works which was located near North Beach in Queens, New York, produced
at least six carousels, only two of which are still operating: the Grand
Carousel at Knoebel’s Amusement Park in Elysburg, Pennsylvania and the Lakeside Carousel in Lakeside Park at Port Dalhousie in
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.
For Further
Information:
Pennsylvania Magazine
Baver, Kristin. Knoebels Grand Carousel: 100 Year Old Park Gem receives a
Makeover. Pennsylvania Magazine, Volume
38, no 3, May/June 2015. http://www.knoebels.com/ data/uploads/contentblock/PAMagazine_
KnoebelsGrandCarousel.pdf
Amusement Today
Rutherford, Scott.
Knoebels celebrates Grand Carousel’s 100th
anniversary. Amusement Today,
November 2013, Vol. 17, Issue 8.2.
http://www.amusementtoday.com/backissues/at_november_2013_web.pdf
Carousel News and Trader
William Benjamin
and Barbara Williams, The Carousels of North Beach Amusement Resort, Queens,
Long Island, New York. Carousel News and
Trader, May 2013, http://cld.bz/w9Rl0Zt#13/z.
Carousel History
Benjamin, William and Barbara Williams.
History of North Beach, NY. Carousel
History, March 10, 2015,
http://carouselhistory.com/the-carousels-of-north-beach-long-island-new-york/
Charles
Leupold
Charles Leupold
was a master carver, who with his son, Charles Frederick Leopold (anglicized),
operated a carving shop in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The elder Leupold served
as the head carver for the Gustav Dentzel and Daniel
Carl Muller companies. Both father and son carved for Muller, the Philadelphia
Toboggan Company and E. Joy Morris. All
the horses on the eight carousels produced for the Long family, amusement park
owners and operators, are reported to have been carved by Charles Leupold.
For
further information:
Carousel History
The National
Carousel Association
http://carousels.org/index.html
David
Lightfoot
David Lightfoot
was a carver for the Philadelphia Toboggan Company.
David
Lightfoot and son.
The Long
Family (Edward, Arthur and George)
The Longs were English immigrants who
manufactured eight carousels between 1876 and 1903. Charles Leupold probably
carved all the horses on the eight Long carousels. At least one of the
carousels seems to be extant and in storage probably in Easton, PA where it
last operated. Members of the Long family restored carousels and owned and
operated amusement parks. Descendants of the Long family continue to own and
operate the one remaining Long amusement park, Seabreeze Park, near Rochester,
New York.
Charles
I. D. Looff
Charles Looff was one of the most famous carvers of carousel
horses. He was born Karl
Jurgen Detlev Looff, in Denmark in 1852. Looff immigrated to the United States in 1870 and changed
his name from Karl to Charles. Apparently, immigration officials became
confused between the old German “J” and mistook it for an “I”. Thus, his name
became Charles I. D. Looff. Upon arrival in Brooklyn,
Looff found employment as a carver in a furniture
factory and as part-time ballroom dance instructor.
Charles
I. D. Looff
From scraps of left-over
wood from the furniture shop, Looff began carving
animals. He carved, painted, mounted the animals on a circular platform
completely without assistance and in 1875 – 1876 installed the platform, complete
with its animals, at Lucy Vandeveer's Bathing Pavilion (name was later changed
to Balmer’s Bathing Pavilion) on West Sixth Street and Surf Avenue on Coney
Island. This became Coney Island’s first amusement ride. With the success of
his Coney Island and other carousels, Looff opened a
factory at 30-37 Bedford Avenue and Guernsey Avenue in Brooklyn.
Looff officially started his
business in 1875 in Brooklyn, New York.
He developed the elegant, flamboyant Coney Island style of carousel
horse, showing motion with slender legs. His horses were “jolly” with “bulging
nostrils”, “exposed teeth” as if smiling and real horsehair tails. Looff’s horses never appeared aggressive or threatening,
reflecting his gentle personality. His horses were more flamboyant that those
of other carvers and adorned with jewels, silver, gold and the American flag
motif. Many of his horses were armored. It may have been Looff
who invented the armored horse. Many of his horses had secondary carvings such
as birds, rabbits, foxes and cherubs behind the saddle. The carousel structures
themselves exhibited mirrors, which in combination with reflected light,
enhanced the experience of motion. Showing his patriotism, many of his early
carousels were fitted with panels with the likenesses of famous Americans.
A typical Looff secondary carving behind the saddle. Also note
jewels.
Looff carousels often
displayed other animals such as tigers, lions and dogs (one of Looff’s favorite), camels, bears and sheep.
A Looff menagerie animal
Note the
slender and gentle nature and jewels of this Looff
horse from Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
Looff hired many master
carvers including John Zalar, Marcus Illions, John
Mueller, Charles Carmel, Solomon Stein and Harry Goldstein. Most of the
chariots were carved by Charles Looff, Charles I. D. Looff’s oldest son. He installed three more carousels on
Coney Island, in addition to his first, at Lucy Vandeveer’s Bathing Pavilion.
Charles I. D. Looff was a builder as well as a carver, having carved
and built 50 carousels as well as other amusements, including Ferris wheels,
roller coasters and fun houses. Looff and his son
Arthur built the Santa Monica (California) Pier in 1916. Looff
also designed and constructed many of the buildings that housed his carousels.
By 1900, he owned and operated several carousels.
Looff’s original factory was in Brooklyn,
New York. In 1895-1896, he moved it to Crescent Park in Riverside, East
Providence, Rhode Island, where he had built a second factory. He eventually
moved his factory to Ocean Park, California and then to Long Beach, California,
in 1910.
The Looff family at Crescent Park in Rhode Island
Looff’s son, Charles, was also a
master carver and supplied many horses to the Looff
company.
Over the years, Looff and his family built several amusement parks,
incorporating in them their own created rides including scenic railways, fun
houses and various thrill rides. The Giant Dipper Roller Coaster at the Santa
Cruz Beach Boardwalk and the Santa Monica Hippodrome, as well as his carousel
in East Providence, Rhode Island have been designated as National Historical
Landmarks.
Crescent
Park, East Providence, Rode Island
For a while, Looff was the sole supplier of A. Ruth und Sohn band organs
in the United States.
Looff died in 1918 in
Long Beach, California. Frederick Fried (Fried, 1964) described Looff as “doubtlessly…the first of America’s great carousel
carvers”.
For further information:
Dinger, Charlotte. 1983. Art of the Carousel. Green Village, NJ:
Carousel Art, Inc. ISBN 0-914507-00-1
Fried, Frederick. 1964. A Pictorial History of the Carousel.
Vestal, NY: The Vestal Press Ltd. ISBN 0-911572-29-5.
Manns, William, Stevens, Marianne,
Shank, Peggy. 1986. Painted Ponies.
Millwood, NY: Zon International Publishing. ISBN 0-939549-01-9
http://carousels.org/Carvers_Builders.html
http://carouselhistory.com/charles-i-d-looff-carousel-archives/
http://www.carouselmuseum.com/business.html
http://carouselproject.wikia.com/wiki/Charles_I._D._Looff
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crescent_Park_Looff_Carousel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_I._D._Looff
http://www.millikanalumni.com/Pike/PikeLooff.html
http://www.millikanalumni.com/Pike/?pikeLooff.html
https://www.kcet.org/departures-columns/when-the-hippodrome-was-hip-the-looff-carousel-and-the-era-of-seaside-amusement
http://www.historyofcarousels.com/carousel-history/charles-i-d-looff/
William
F. Mangels
William F. Mangels
was born in 1866 (or 1867) in Germany
and immigrated to the United States in 1882 (or 1883) (maybe as late as 1886)
settling in Brooklyn, New York. He soon became involved with inventing,
engineering, repairing and manufacturing shooting galleries and amusement rides
specializing in carousels. He started manufacturing carousels in 1910. His
Coney Island machine shop employed about 12 people manufacturing the machinery
for the carousels. He was not a carver himself, but he employed several very
talented and well-known carvers, including Marcus Illions,
Charles Carmel, Solomen Stein and Harry Goldstein to supply horses for the
platform/frame mechanisms he manufactured. He is credited with devising the
first crank system in the United States in 1907 that would allow the horses to
rise and fall – the jumpers or gallopers. His mechanism was an improvement over
the English mechanism previously invented by Frederick Savage. One of his most
famous carousels is the still operating B and B carousel at Coney Island. He
also invented The Tickler (1906) and The Whip (1907), his most famous
invention. His last rides were designed for children some of which are still in
operation at Coney Island, New York, Ocean City, Maryland and at other
locations. He earned the nickname “The Wizard of Eighth Street”. Mangels died
in 1958 at the age of 92.
W. F. Mangels
Sign on the Mangels/Illions Carousel in Saratoga Springs, New York
Mangels
Kiddie Ferris Wheel at Trimper’s Amusements, Ocean City, Maryland
Mangels made
aluminum horses cast from wood originals for at least some of George B. Marx’s wagon
mounted carousels including Children’s Delight. A good example is the carousel
outside the Virginia Discovery Museum in Charlottesville.
The
Virginia Discovery Museum, Charlottesville
George
B. Marx Wagon Mounted Carousels
1920s
Mangels Metal Kiddie Carousel with 16 Houses and 2 Chariots
at
Trimper’s Amusements, Ocean City, Maryland
1920s
Mangels Fairy Whip for Children
at
Trimper’s Amusements, Ocean City, Maryland
Mangels
Fire Truck Ride
at
Trimper’s Amusements, Ocean City, Maryland
Mangels
Kiddie Boats at Trimper’s Amusements, Ocean City, Maryland
For Further
Information:
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_F._Mangels
History
The National
Carousel Association
http://carousels.org/index.html
Brooklyn Public
Library
Shope, Leslie, 2009,
W. F. Mangels and his “Amusing” Career: http://brooklynology.brooklynpubliclibrary.
org/post/2009/08/31/WF-Mangels-and-his-Amusing- Career.aspx
Green-Wood Historian
Blog: Richman, Jeff, 2014, Amusing the Masses – With Your Help!
Manns, William, Stevens,
Marianne, Shank, Peggy. 1986. Painted
Ponies. Millwood, NY: Zon International Publishing. ISBN 0-939549-01-9
Edward
Joy Morris
From 1895 to 1903,
Edward Joy Morris (1860-1929) was a Philadelphia manufacturer of various
amusement park rides including several carousels. His company was the Morris
Chute Company with offices on Walnut Street and factories at Callowhill and
Ludlow streets in Philadelphia. It was not known until 1989 when research
discovered that Morris manufactured carousels that had been previously
identified as Philadelphia Toboggan Company carousels. Morris sold his business
and inventory to the Philadelphia Toboggan Company in 1903. The Philadelphia
Toboggan Company used about 200 of Morris’s horses and menagerie figures on
many of their early carousels dating to as late as 1907 (#14). There are no
intact Morris carousels still in existence. Individual Morris figures can be
found on early Philadelphia Toboggan Company, Muller and Dentzel
carousels.
Morris was
instrumental in developing the roller coaster as he introduced several safety
features including new wheel and wheel mounting designs which allowed the
coasters to run faster and safer. After selling the business in 1903, Morris
travelled around the country promoting, installing and running his Figure Eight
Toboggan Slide which he had patented in 1894. At least 250 Figure Eight
coasters were installed in North America.
For further
information:
http://members.neaapa.com/news/details/lions-and-tigers-and-bears-oh-my-history-of-the-carousels-at-quassy-05-02-2016
National Carousel
Association: http://carousels.org/Carvers_Builders2.html
Daniel
Carl Muller, Alfred Muller, (The Muller Brothers)
Daniel Carl Muller was born in Germany in
1872. The family of Johann Heinrich (John Henry) Muller, a close friend of Michael Dentzel,
Gustav Dentzel’s father, immigrated to the United
States from Germany in 1881 or 1882 and settled in Brooklyn near Coney Island.
It is thought that Johann Heinrich Muller found work in the shop of Charles Looff and carved some horses for Looff’s
carousels. In 1888, Johann Heinrich Muller moved his family close to Germantown, Pennsylvania, the home of
the Gustav Dentzel Company and his close friend,
Gustav Dentzel. Soon, Johann Heinrich Muller and his
two sons, Daniel and Alfred, were hired by Dentzel
and worked for Dentzel after school, honing their
carving skills. Daniel was more focused, talented, attentive to detail and
artistic than his brother and went on to gain formal training at the Pennsylvania
Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. At the Academy, Daniel Muller further
developed his artistic skills. Through this training and experience, he became
one of the greatest and most artistic of all carousel horse sculptors. Daniel
Muller is recognized as Dentzel’s most talented,
imaginative and gifted artisan.
Daniel
Carl Muller in Gustav Dentzel’s shop in the early
1900s.
When Johann and his wife died in 1890, Dentzel
“adopted” Alfred and Daniel and were raised by him. Around 1899 - 1900, the
Muller brothers had had enough of Dentzel’s gruff
behavior, and to the consternation of Dentzel, left
the Dentzel company and began carving for the
Philadelphia Toboggan Company. They may possibly have also been carving for
others as well. In 1902 (or 1903), they opened their own D.C. Muller and
Brother Carousel Manufacturing Company and continued to supply horses for the
Philadelphia Toboggan Company until about 1907 when the Philadelphia Toboggan
Company decided to have all their carving done in the company. They also
supplied horses for some lesser known carousel platform and mechanism
manufacturers such as T. M. Harton who operated a minor carousel company in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The brothers also opened the U. S. Caroussell and Amusement Company that operated the
carousels built by the brothers.
Both Daniel and Alfred were carvers. Although Daniel gets much
of the attention, is the focus of carousel historians and most of the horses
are attributed to him, it is not always known which brother carved which horse
and some of the Muller horses attributed to Daniel may have been carved by
Alfred. The brothers built 12 to 16 carousels between 1903 and 1917, but seemed
to be unable to compete with the larger, more successful manufacturers such as Dentzel, Looff, the Philadelphia
Toboggan Company, and Herschell-Spillman. It was thought by some critics that
the Mullers spent too much time creating each figure. Avoiding fantasy, for the
most part, the Muller horses are described as perhaps the most realistic of all
carousel horses. Weedon and Ward (1981) said that Muller relied “much more on
the statuesque form of the animal than on the extravagances, trappings and
embellishments.” Daniel Muller is
especially famous for his military horses with military saddles, bedrolls,
bugles, canteens and military tack. They were also often decorated with ribbons
and flowers. Regrettably, none of the military themed carousels are still in
existence. Some of the horses remain, however, in museums such as the Please
Touch Museum in Philadelphia. Muller also carved other figures such as deer,
lions and tigers.
A Muller military-style horse on the Forest Park carousel in
Queens, New York
D.
C. Muller and Brother Shop
D.
C. Muller and Brother Shop 1908
A
Muller military style horse from Forest Park, Brooklyn, New York
Two of the D. C. Muller and Brother carousels are still in
existence, one in Forest Park, Queens, New York and the other in Cedar Point,
Ohio. After their company closed in 1917, the brothers carved for the
Philadelphia Toboggan Company and other carousel manufacturers. In 1918, Daniel
and Alfred joined the company of Gustav Dentzel’s
son, William Dentzel, and continued to work there
until it closed in 1928 when William died. Together, Daniel Muller and William Dentzel are said to have created some of the finest
carousels ever produced. Daniel Muller died in 1952 at age 79.
For further information:
Dinger, Charlotte. 1983. Art of the
Carousel. Green Village, NJ: Carousel Art, Inc. ISBN 0-914507-00-1
Manns, William, Stevens, Marianne, Shank, Peggy. 1986. Painted Ponies. Millwood, NY: Zon International Publishing. ISBN
0-939549-01-9
Weedon, Geoff and
Richard Ward. 1981. Fairground Art.
London: White Mouse Editions, Ltd.
http://carouselhistory.com/d-c-muller-carousel.com
http://carousels.org/Carvers_Builders.html
http://www.carouselmuseum.com/business.html
http://www.pjs-carousel,com/history.html
Timothy
and Bartholomew Murphy
The Murphy
brothers were partners in carousel carving and manufacturing in New York,
Connecticut, Rhode Island and Louisiana. Timothy was born in 1872 and
Bartholomew in 1871 in Cork, Ireland. The brothers were employed as carvers by
Charles Looff in 1886 when Bartholomew was 15 years
old, and Timothy was 13. Timothy worked as a foreman in Looff’s
shop when Looff moved his operation from New York to
Rhode Island. He was fired circa 1895. The brothers started their own business
carving horses, chariots and menagerie animals in 1895.
Timothy
(left) and Bartholomew Murphy in 1909. From the Historic New Orleans
Collection.
By 1903, the
Murphys were manufacturing carousels in New York City. In 1904, the Murphys
formed a partnership with William Nunley with whom they ran several amusement
parks in the New York City area. One of their companies was The Rockaway Whirlpool Company. By 1906, the
Murphy brothers started an amusement business at Savin Rock, West Haven,
Connecticut, where they continued to manufacture carousels but also were
involved in the theater (Nikelet Theater) and food
concession business. Most of their carousels were constructed from figures
carved by other carvers although Timothy was an excellent carver. It is thought
that Henry Dorber made the frames for the early
Murphy carousels. Dorber later manufactured frames
for Stein and Goldstein. Bartholomew Murphy moved to New Orleans in 1910 where
he manufactured and operated carousels and amusements.
There are two
carousels in New England with Murphy horses at Lake Compounce
and Lighthouse Point Park in Bristol and New Haven, Connecticut, respectively.
For further
information:
http://carousels.org/Carvers_Builders.html
Benjamin, William
and Barbara Williams, 2012, New Discoveries and Further Insights: The Murphy
Brothers,
Carousel News
& Trader, August. www.carouselnews.com.
The
Murphy Brothers and their Carousels, The
Carousel News & Trader, Volume 27 (8), 2011.
William Norman and Spalding Evans
In 1891, in Lockport, New York, William Norman and
Spalding Evans purchased the Pound Manufacturing Company, renamed it the Norman
& Evans Company, and started selling their unused electricity generated
from waterpower to neighboring companies. With a prime location at the foot of
the locks on the Erie Canal, the Norman & Evans Company became a power
generating company supplying their neighbors on the north sides of Main and
Market streets with electricity via long cables.
In addition to generating power, the Norman & Evans
Company also manufactured engines,
derricks, ditching machinery and steam-powered carousels. In July1891, their
first merry-go-round was installed in Lockport. A subsidiary of Norman &
Evans Company was established as The American Merry-Go-Round and Novelty
Company. The company made more than a hundred carousels. The company closed in
1905.
For further information:
Geise, Scott.
2015. Uncovering the Mill Race, No. 14: Steam and
electricity. Lockport Union-Sun &
Journal. March
8, 2015.
Manns, William, Stevens, Marianne, Shank, Peggy. 1986. Painted Ponies. Millwood, NY: Zon International Publishing. ISBN
0-939549-01-9
Charles
Wallace Parker
Charles
Wallace Parker was born in 1864 in Griggsville, Illinois.
His family moved to Kansas when he was 5 years old. It was in Kansas that
Parker started his own amusement business. He first purchased half interest in
a striker strength tester, the High Striker, and later full interest in a
shooting gallery machine. He decided to enter the carousel business after
witnessing the joy of his daughter as she rode a department store carousel in
Abilene, Kansas. Parker purchased a portable Armitage Herschell track carousel
in 1892. Before he started to make his own carousels, he would buy used Dare
and Armitage Herschell carousels, restore them, and sell them as Parker
carousels.
Two
Strength Testers from the Parker Carousel Museum, Leavenworth, Kansas
With
two partners, he formed the C. W. Parker Company in 1892 and traveled
throughout the mid-west with his portable carousel. By 1894, he had bought out
his partners. Realizing that he could improve on the Armitage Herschell track
carousel through innovative construction and design, Parker built his first
carousel in 1894. Later in 1894 (some reports say circa 1900), he opened the Parker Carnival Supply Company in Abilene. After operating
for 2 years, the name of the company was changed to the C.W. Parker Amusement
Company. By 1905, Parker owned 4 travelling carnivals in the Midwest. Parker
built all the machines, including the railroad cars to carry them. He supplied
various carnival equipment and railroad cars to other travelling carnival
operators. In 1911, due to a property line dispute with the City of Abilene, he
moved his company to Leavenworth.
Charles
Wallace Parker
Photo
from the Dickinson Country (Kansas) Historical Society
The C.W.
Parker Amusement Company specialized in and is most famous for portable Country
Fair carousels, or “Carry-Us-Alls”, as Parker
advertised them. Although most of his carousels were small, compact, portable,
and designed for carnival use, he also produced 5 larger carousels. Parker was
not a carver but was involved with most aspects of the business.
His fantasyland
horses were brightly painted with colors including pinks and purples. Even the
larger carousels were composed of relatively small horses. Over the years, his
carousel horses evolved from the simple Armitage-Herschell type to the fancy
Coney Island type and became longer in stature. His horses have been described
as “long sinewy creatures with long leg muscles carved in interesting shapes.
Their heads were thin, long and sensitive” (Fried, 1964). Parker’s horses
eventually developed a characteristic style with “violent motion, with legs
stretched almost horizontally, nostrils flaring, head held down and sideways or
flung high with mane wildly tossing, even bulging” (Hinds, 1990). After 1900 or
so, Parker used a carving machine with the detailed work completed by his
carvers.
Every carousel produced
early by Parker had a horse named “Belle”, characterized by her bowed head and 3 tendrils of mane pulled across the neck on
the larger machines. She always had a bunch of grapes on her hip, and
originally a lily and a bell behind the saddle. The later Parker horses often
had carvings of flags, ears of corn, Native Americans, men of the Wild West,
pistols, lariats and other interesting objects behind the saddle. Many of his
horses were shod with metal shoes stamped “11 worth” or “C. W. Parker Leavenworth
Kansas”. Unlike other carvers and manufacturers, Parker often used jewels that
were not faceted. Many of his horses were adorned with garlands.
An ear of corn behind
the saddle of a 1913 Parker carousel in Leavenworth, Kansas.
Horse Shoes on a Parker Horse in the Parker Carousel Museum, Leavenworth,
Kansas
Parker used a variety of carvers, many of whom
were German immigrants. There are no records as to the carvers’ names.
Although menagerie animals have been seen in
photographs of the Parker factory, it is not known if they were carved there.
Apparently, there are no menagerie animals on any of the surviving Parker
merry-go-rounds (Dinger, 1983).
The Parker horses were made with glue but
without dowels. Consequently, the horses were not very sturdy and durable and
could not withstand the rigors of a travelling show.
Dwight David
Eisenhower, later to be President of the United States, worked in Parker’s shop
as a boy.
Parker produced
approximately 1,000 carousels in his career, 16 of which continue to operate.
One of the more famous, the “Parker 119” or the Burnaby Centennial Parker
Carousel is located at the Burnaby Village Museum in Burnaby, B.C.
Parker died in
1932, but the company continued to be run by his son, Paul, until it closed in
1955.
A
1915 Parker horse at the New England Carousel Museum in Bristol, Connecticut
Although Parker is
best known for his carousels, the company manufactured a
variety of other amusements including shooting galleries and Ferris
wheels.
A
Parker Superior Wheel at Crossroads Village in Flint, Michigan
A
Ferris Wheel Under Construction
For further
information:
Dinger, Charlotte. 1983. Art of the
Carousel. Green Village, NJ: Carousel Art, Inc. ISBN 0-914507-00-1
Fried, Frederick. 1964. A Pictorial
History of the Carousel. Vestal, NY: The Vestal Press Ltd. ISBN
0-911572-29-5
Manns, William, Stevens,
Marianne, Shank, Peggy. 1986. Painted
Ponies. Millwood, NY: Zon International Publishing. ISBN 0-939549-01-9
Weedon, Geoff and
Richard Ward. 1981. Fairground Art.
London: White Mouse Editions, Ltd.
http://carousels.org/Carvers_Builders.html
http://www.carouselmuseum.com/business.html
www.kansastravel.org/caroselmuseum.htm
http://dkcohistory.blogspot.com/2011/02/amusement-king.html
http://firstcitymuseums.org/carousel_pages/hist_cwparker.html
The
Philadelphia Toboggan Company
Henry B. Auchy, a
successful produce and liquor businessman, and Louis Berni, an importer of band
organs, in 1899 in response to the increasing demand for carousels made a
carousel under the name of Grey Amusements Company and installed it in Chestnut
Park in Philadelphia. Auchy and Chester E. Albright
collaborated to manufacture carousels in 1903 and established the Philadelphia
Toboggan Company (PTC) in 1904. Since neither Auchy
nor Albright were carvers, the company hired carvers. Two of the first carvers
for the young company were Daniel and Alfred Muller. Since the names of the
carvers were not recorded, it is not known who many of the early carvers were,
but when the company bought the company owned by E. Joy Morris in 1903, as many
as 200 of Morris horses were used on Philadelphia Toboggan Company carousels
manufactured from 1903 to 1907. Because of this, some of Morris’ carousels were
originally misidentified as Philadelphia Toboggan Company carousels. The
Philadelphia Toboggan Company specialized in roller coasters but also continued
to manufacture carousels. The company eventually added skee
ball machines to its line of amusements.
When the Muller brothers left in about 1907 to
form their own company, the Philadelphia Toboggan Company was left without a
master carver. The early Muller replacements were not very successful since
their horses were poorly proportioned, and as a result, the demand for PTC
carousels declined. When John Zalar was hired in 1915, his exciting and
well-proportioned carvings revitalized the company. Charles Carmel also
contributed to the company’s revitalization as he started supplying horses for
the Philadelphia Toboggan Company from his own shop in Coney Island. When Zalar
was forced to retire in 1923 because of poor health, Frank Carretta continued
to develop the Zalar style. Other carvers to work for the Philadelphia Toboggan
Company are Leo Zoller, Charles Frederick Leopold, Charles Carmel, David
Lightfoot, and Salvatore Cernigliaro. Samuel High
purchased the company in 1919. By 1925, the number of full time employees
dedicated to carousel manufacturing was two: Frank Carretta and Gustav Weiss.
After 1925, PTC did not produce any new horses. Instead, they used refurbished
horses from other carousels and unfinished old stock. In 1929, the Dentzel Company closed and was purchased by PTC. PTC hired
many of the Dentzel employees.
Many of the Philadelphia Toboggan Company
figures had secondary figures such as cherubs, women or animals carved into the
bodies, and figures and objects behind the bed roll. Early, the company carved
menagerie animals, but after 1907 all the figures were horses. PTC was one of
the few companies that carved magnificent Roman chariots.
In 1909, Auchy
patented the friction drive to rotate the carousel. Some of the original
friction drives are still in use today.
The company’s history indicates that 87
carousels were manufactured, but some histories indicate as many as 94. The
confusion may be due to renumbering when the carousels were returned to the
company for refurbishing and/or carousels manufactured by other companies but
refurbished by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company. The company manufactured
stationary carousels that were installed in parks in buildings that the
Philadelphia Toboggan Company often designed and portable ones that could
easily be moved throughout the country. The company stopped making carousels in
1933 (or 1934) to focus on coasters and is still in business as Philadelphia
Toboggan Coasters, Inc.
Henry B. Auchy
For further
information:
Dinger, Charlotte. 1983. Art of the
Carousel. Green Village, NJ: Carousel Art, Inc. ISBN 0-914507-00-1
Manns, William, Stevens, Marianne, Shank, Peggy. 1986. Painted Ponies. Millwood, NY: Zon International Publishing. ISBN
0-939549- 01-9
Weedon, Geoff and
Richard Ward. 1981. Fairground Art.
London: White Mouse Editions, Ltd.
Philadelphia
Toboggan Coasters, Inc.
http://www.philadelphiatoboggancoastersinc.com/history.php
Carousel News
Thomas
Prior and Frederick Church
It is thought that Prior moved to California in 1911
and that Church followed him there at about the same time. The Prior and Church
partnership resulted in the establishment of the Venice Amusement Company.
Among other amusements, the company designed and manufactured racing roller
coasters (two tracks side-by-side), traditional roller coasters, and carousels
referred to as racing derbies. When Thomas Prior died in 1918, his son Frank
assumed the presidency of the company.
Prior and Church patented the Great American Racing
Derby in 1913. The first derby was installed in Ocean Park in 1916. The derbies
were several rows of 4 horses abreast and rotated very fast. The horses would
move ahead and then back. No one could tell which horse would win since the
cables crisscrossed underneath the platform. Prior and Church may have made as
many as 18 derbies.
Neither Tom Prior, his son Frank, nor Frederick Church
were carvers. It is thought that the horses of the racing derbies were probably
carved by Theophilus Williams who by 1915 had started his own woodworking
company, the R. C. Amusement Company, in Denver, Colorado. The company
manufactured thousands of horses that were shipped around the world. Williams
also worked for C. W. Parker. Most of the horses on the two extant racing
derbies resemble Parker horses and were probably from Williams although some on
the Rye Playland racing derby resemble the work of Marcus Illions.
Horses on other Prior and Church racing derbies may have been carved by artists
other than by the Williams company or Illions.
The Prior and Church relationship ended in 1928.
Church moved to New York where he continued to design amusements from Rye
Playland. Some of the Prior and Church amusements still exist including two
racing derbies at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio (formally at Euclid Beach in
Cleveland) (1921) and one at Rye Playland in Rye, New York (1927). Fred Church
died in 1936.
For further information
William R. Benjamin, Ph. D.
and Barbara Williams, 1913. Racing Derbies Revisited – Part
1 – Introduction: Meet T. W. Prior and F. A. Church.
Together they patent the Great American Racing Derby, December 30, 1913. Carousel History, October 13, 2015. (An excellent 6-part article!!)
https://carouselhistory.com/racing-derby-revisited/
Jeffrey Stanton, 1998, Prior and Church - Roller Coaster Designers, https://www.westland.net/venicehistory/articles/church.htm
Frederick
Savage
Although Frederick
Savage did not manufacture carousels in the United States, several of his
carousels known as Savage Gallopers were imported to the United States. One of
his carousels is at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey.
Frederick Savage
was born in 1828 in Hevingham, Norfolk, UK. Savage
was primarily an engineer/machinist who first designed and manufactured simple
farm implements. Later, his company/factory in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, UK,
manufactured steam engines to power farm equipment and fairground amusements
including carousels. It is not known who carved the early horses for the Savage
company as he probably purchased them from independent carvers. Two of his
carvers/suppliers were the renowned John Robert Anderson from Bristol and
Charles John Spooner (1871-1939) from Burton-on-Trent. Both Spooner (with George Orton) and Anderson
manufactured carousels in the UK. Savage later employed his own carvers.
From
Weedon and Ward, 1981
A
Spooner horse at the New England Carousel Museum in Bristol, CT
Although he was not
the first to build a steam powered carousel which was displayed at the Aylsham
Fair in Kent circa 1865, he certainly saw their potential and started to
manufacture similar ones shortly thereafter. His innovation was to place the
steam engine in the center of the carousel providing for a smoother ride. The
use of steam as a source of power permitted the manufacture of larger
carousels.
Frederick
Savage in his mayoral robes.
By 1885, Savage
was manufacturing platform carousels, the Platform Galloper, which employed the
overhead crank and gear mechanism invented by Robert Tidman of Norwich, UK and
improved and perfected by Savage that provided the up and down or galloping mechanism
that made the carousel experience more exciting. Savage also invented the
lateral sliding mechanism that allowed the horses to slide outwards ten to
fifteen degrees on the platform due to centrifugal force as the carousel gained
speed. Savage’s company survived until 1973.
Plaque
on one of Savage’s buildings.
The
above two photographs are from: http://www.kingslynn-forums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=16&start=75
By 1900, Savage’s
company employed 400 people.
Savage was a justice
of the peace and mayor of King’s Lynn from 1889 to 1891. Savage died in 1897 at
King’s Lynn, Norfolk, UK.
A surviving Savage
Galloper with Anderson and Spooner carved figures resides at Six Flags Great
Adventure in Jackson, NJ.
For further
information:
Fried, Frederick. 1964. A Pictorial
History of the Carousel. Vestal, NY: The Vestal Press Ltd. ISBN
0-911572-29-5.
Lynn Museum, West Norfolk
http://www.museums.norfolk.gov.uk/view/NCC095974
Engineering
Timelines
http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=791
National Fairground and Circus Archive
https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/nfca/researchandarticles/fairgroundrides
Dingles Fairground Heritage Centre
http://fairground-heritage.org.uk/learning/swings-and-roundabouts/
King’s Lynn Forum
http://www.kingslynn-forums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=16
Spillman
Engineering
When Allan Herschell
left the Herschell-Spillman Company in 1911, the company was reorganized to the
Spillman Engineering Corporation. The company continued to produce smaller,
simple, portable carousels, but in 1920 started to make several models of
larger permanent, elaborately decorated, jeweled and artistic carousels
available with a variety of menagerie animals. The early Spillman Engineering
carousels were modeled after the Allan Herschell style, but eventually the
company evolved their own style. Unlike Allan Herschell’s designs, many of the
Spillman Engineering horses had secondary carvings. Spillman Engineering
started using aluminum heads and legs in the late 1920s and in 1930 produced an
all- aluminum horse. The Allan Herschell Company purchased Spillman Engineering
in 1945.
For further
reading:
Fried, Frederick. 1964. A Pictorial History of the Carousel.
Vestal, NY: The Vestal Press Ltd. ISBN 0-911572-29-5.
Manns, William, Stevens,
Marianne, Shank, Peggy. 1986. Painted
Ponies. Millwood, NY: Zon International Publishing. ISBN 0-939549-01-9
Solomon Stein and Harry Goldstein
Solomon Stein, born in Poland in 1881(or 1882),
and Harry Goldstein, (original name is Harry Mandel), born in Russia in 1867,
immigrated to the United States in 1903 (or 1904) and 1902, respectively. Stein
immediately found employment as a furniture carver for Wanamaker’s Department
Store. Both Stein and Goldstein, as many others in the carousel field, were
also carvers of ladies’ combs. Goldstein also found employment as a carver of
models for a maker of molds. It has been speculated that Stein may have worked
for Looff for a short time. In 1905, Stein and
Goldstein met when they began working in the William F. Mangels carousel factory. They also free-lanced for
Marcus Illions.
Solomon Stein (L) and
Harry Goldstein
After honing their carving skills during their
two-year employ with Mangels, they opened their own carving company in 1906 (or
1907) to supply horses to other manufacturers in cramped quarters at 44 Boerum
Street in Brooklyn, New York. In 1912, along with Henry Dorber
who supplied the mechanical mechanism, they formed Stein, Goldstein and Dorber Company. They were first located at 128 Hopkins
Street in Brooklyn but soon moved to larger quarters in an old trolley barn on
1455-1459 Gates Avenue. Stein and Goldstein carved the heads while other
carvers provided the bodies. When Dorber left the
company in 1914 to operate one of the Stein and Goldstein carousels, they
reorganized to Stein, Goldstein, The Artistic Carrousell
Manufacturing Company to make complete carousels. At this time, Stein and
Goldstein continued to supply carvings to other companies. They supplied
Mangels with horses until about 1912. The carvers used machinery produced by
other manufacturers including Mangels.
Early Stain and Goldstein horses are known for
their large, nearly life size, musculature stature with large teeth. Since
their horses are often in aggressive stances, some have described them as
“fierce”, “frightening”, “angry” and “snarling”. Weedon and Ward (1981) said
they traded “grace for strength”. The Stein and Goldstein horses sport large
buckles and are elegantly and elaborately adorned with beautiful flowers,
garlands and ribbons. Some of their horses are armored with chain mail, fish
scales blankets and fringe. Later Stein and Goldstein horses were smaller and
appeared less aggressive. Stein and Goldstein did not carve menagerie figures.
Stein and Goldstein produced the largest carousel on record, with a diameter of
60 feet and 6 rows of horses accommodating up to 100 people. In all, they built
17 carousels, 11 of which they owned and operated. There are 3 remaining in
operation today.
Note the beautifully
carved flowers on this carousel horse from Hartford, Connecticut.
Stein and Goldstein also carved the mirror
frames and various decorations adorning each of their carousels. One very
popular Stein and Goldstein Carousel still in existence can be seen in Bushnell
Park, Hartford, Connecticut. Another Stein and Goldstein carousel is in New
York City’s Central Park.
From
the carousel in Hartford, Connecticut
In the 1920s,
Stein and Goldstein carved circus and carnival figures as well as wooden horses
used as a child’s barber chair and horses placed outside various stores and
barber shops.
Stein
and Goldstein child’s barber chair
Solomon Stein died
in 1937. Harry Goldstein continued to operate a carousel, amusement parks and
arcades until he, too, passed away in
1945.
For further reading:
Dinger, Charlotte. 1983. Art of the Carousel. Green Village, NJ:
Carousel Art, Inc. ISBN 0-914507-00-1
Fried, Frederick. 1964. A Pictorial History of the Carousel.
Vestal, NY: The Vestal Press Ltd. ISBN 0-911572-29
Hinds, Anne Dion. 1990. Grab the
Brass Ring: The American Carousel. New York: Crown Pub.
Manns, William, Stevens,
Marianne, Shank, Peggy. 1986. Painted
Ponies. Millwood, NY: Zon International Publishing. ISBN 0-939549-01-9
Weedon,
Geoff and Richard Ward. 1981. Fairground
Art. London: White Mouse Editions, Ltd.
Zimiles, Murray, 2007, Gilded Lions and Jeweled Horses: The
Synagogue to the Carousel, Jewish Carving Traditions, Lebanon, NH: Brandeis
University Press.
http://carousels.org/Carvers_Builders.html
http://www.carouselmuseum.com/business.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Park_Carousel
U. S. Merry Go Round Company
This Cincinnati based company, originally
named the Gem Novelty Company, manufactured a few carousels. There are only two
still in operation: Albion, PA in Borough Park and one at the National
Cathedral in Washington, D. C.
John
Zalar
John Zalar
(Zahler, original spelling) (1872 or 1874-1925) was a 1902 immigrant from
Slovenia (some sources indicate Zalar was from Austria) where he developed and
honed his artistic and sculpting skills. With his unique skills, Zalar easily
found employment with the City of New York. He probably started carving for Looff as early as 1904. In 1911, Zalar moved his family to
Rhode Island to work with Looff full time. When Looff moved his operation to California in 1914, Zalar move
his family to California. When Zalar’s
wife died in 1915, Zalar returned to the northeast where he found employment
with the Philadelphia Toboggan Company. He carved for the Philadelphia Toboggan
Company from 1916 (or 1915) to 1923 (or1925). Due to health reasons, in 1920,
Zalar returned to California with his family, but continued to carve horses for
the Philadelphia Toboggan Company in a backyard shed until 1923. Zalar died in
1925.
John
Zalar in the California Looff Factory, 1914 or 1915,
from the Zalar Family Collection.
Zalar’s horses had
a distinctive style with expressive eyes, flowing
manes, tucked heads, flared nostrils, aggressive open mouths, and defined
musculature (Gardner, 2013). Some of the horses on the Philadelphia Toboggan
Company #80 carousel in Holyoke, Massachusetts are attributed to Zalar.
For further
information:
Dinger, Charlotte.
1983. The Art of the Carousel. Green
Village, NJ: Carousel Art, Inc. ISBN 0-914507-00-1.
Fraley, Tobin and
Gary K. Wolf, Carousel
Animals: Artistry in Motion. San
Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2002.
Fried, Frederick. 1964. A Pictorial History of the Carousel.
Vestal, NY: The Vestal Press Ltd. ISBN 0-911572-29-5.
Gardner, Richard, Kings Dominion Carousel PTC #44 -
A Historic Masterpiece of Joy and Regret. Carousel
News and Trader, Saturday, 27 April 2013. http://www.carouselnews.com/Feature-Current-and-Historic-Stories-2011-2013/Kings-Dominion-Carousel-PTC-44-A-Historic-Masterpiece-of-Joy-and-Regret.html.
Weedon, Geoff and
Richard Ward. 1981. Fairground Art.
London: White Mouse Editions, Ltd.
Williams, Barbara.
1980. John Zalar, “The Master Carver”. Merry-Go-Round
Volume 7, no. 2.
http://www.carouselcorner.net/Articles/MerryGoRoundup/Merry_Go_Round_Up_Vol-7_1979.pdf
Williams, Barbara and Brian Morgan, John
Zalar, PTC #65, and PTC #66.
http://www.carouselcorner.net/Articles/MerryGoRoundup/Merry_Go_Round_Up_Spring_1995_03.PDF.
Leo
Zoller
Leo Zoller carved
for Charles Looff and the Philadelphia Toboggan
Company. He was the first master carver for the Philadelphia Toboggan Company.
Zoller’s horses were large with long snouts, close set eyes and often in a
jumping stance. Zoller carved all 70 horses and the four chariots on the circa
1908 Philadelphia Toboggan Company #17, the largest carousel in the United
States, at Six Flags in Atlanta, Georgia. Zoller was paid $1,932.49 for the carvings. The horses were so
big, the legs had to be shortened so people could mount them. Zoller also
carved all 43 horses and the two chariots for the circa 1909 Philadelphia
Toboggan Company #18 now at Carousel Center Mall (Destiny USA) in Syracuse, New
York. It took Zoller a year to carve the horses for which he was paid $1000.
Zoller carved for the Philadelphia Toboggan Company until about 1911.
A
Zoller horse from Philadelphia Toboggan Company #18
For
further information:
Hinds, Anne Dion. 1990. Grab the
Brass Ring: The American Carousel. New York: Crown Pub.
The National
Carousel Association
http://carousels.org/index.html