Fantasy Island Amusement Park proudly presents to you, our patrons, a Classic, Turn-of-the-Century Carousel, custom designed for Fantasy Island by Chance Rides, Inc. of Wichita, Kansas. Featuring the famous Bradley & Kaye molds of horses that date back to the early 1900's. We hand picked the outside row of animals to be representative of the various styles of the master carvers of a bygone age.

The topmost horse and gold balls were added by Fantasy Island to bring back the authentic look of the Victorian carousel. These features are rarely seen today.

In 1974 Marriott's Great American Theme Parks wanted to present to the public an authentic carousel reminiscent of an era that had all but disappeared. Leb Brown approached David E. Bradley with this awesome task. Fortunately for all of us today, 'Dave' Bradley's love of the carousel's history caused him to assemble and duplicate exactly the beautiful workmanship that had been so long ignored. Faithfully recreated in fiberglass, the carousel horses presented to the public proved to be immensely popular and inspired many people to want to know more about this neglected piece of Americana. In 1986 Chance Rides, Inc. acquired these precious molds.

The Bradley & Kaye horses have the finest pedigree. They date back to the great era of carousel carvers. Craftsmen like Marcus Illions, Charles Looff, Charles Carmel and Gustav Dentzel. The molds for the Bradley & Kaye figures were taken directly from hand-carved, turn-of-the-century, American carousel figures. Each figure requires many hours of hand finishing and delicate paint work before it is ready to take its place in the ranks of this cherished American tradition.

Basic American Carousel Horse Designs

Despite revisions in design and a changing and expanding market, three basic styles remained intact over the years.

The Philadelphia Style is represented by elegance and realism, with a touch of fancy, as incorporated in the Dentzel and the Philadelphia Toboggan Company horses. Philadelphia style horses were realistic. From the veins carved into perfectly shaped heads to the careful positioning of each well-formed leg, the wooden reproductions mimicked real animals. Natural poses captured the toss of a mane or a powerful gallop with the faithfulness of a stop-action camera. If it were possible, the carvers would have added the smell of the stable and a high-pitched whinny to their creations.

The Coney Island Style encompasses the spirited carvings of Looff and his proteges, M. C. Illions, Charles Carmel, Solomon Stein, and Harry Goldstein. The horses were flamboyant and stylized. Often, unusual objects such as cherubs, eagles and roses peeked from under saddles or arose from painted hides. Coney Island animals exhibited the most fanciful or romantic ideals. Skilled craftsman took ornamentation to the edge of reality.

The Country Fair Style was usually a simpler styled animal. These country cousins traded cumbersome adornment for simplicity and greater mobility. Fantasy Island's representative Spillman Engineering horse, though in the country fair style, departs from this simplicity and is a superb example of their craftsmanship. This horse was carved for a permanent park installation and not the usual traveling carousel.

"Carousel" the Word's Derivation

The word Carousel/Carrousel is derived from 'carosello', the old Italian word meaning "little war". This describes the Arabian game Spanish crusaders witnessed and brought to Italy. They saw skilled horsemen tossing and catching clay balls loaded with scented oil. The losers of this game were quite evident and carried their defeat with them for days.

The form of this game found its way, by means of royal emissaries, to the court of the French king, Charles VIII, and was soon transformed into an event of magnificent pageantry called 'carrousel'. By 1662, when Louis the XIV held "Le Grand Carrousel" in a square still referred to as "Place du Carrousel", several other games had been added. One of these was the medieval sport of ring piercing once played by the Moors. It called for great concentration and excellent riding ability, for the participant had to pierce a small ring with his sword while riding at full speed. To practice for these events, models of horses were placed on beams that encircled a central pole. Power was supplied by a horse or servant while the riders attempted to spear the ring hanging outside the perimeter of the horses. This practice machine soon became popular with other members of the court including ladies and children. As local craftsmen began to produce these relatively simple devices they found that demand was not limited to the nobility.

The popularity of this ride spread throughout Europe, appearing in both small local parks and in such places as Tivoli Gardens. However, the weight and size of the carousel was limited by the strength of the power source. It was not until 1870 when an Englishman named Frederick Savage put steam power to the "roundabout" that it took on the stature that we know today.

The most distinguishing characteristic of English carousel animals is that the outer or "romance" side is on the left. This is because English carousels travel clockwise. American and other European carousels travel counter-clockwise, allowing riders to grasp for a brass ring with their right hand. The English carvers realized that if their carousels went counter-clockwise, riders would tend to mount their steeds improperly, and as any equestrian knows, a horse must always be mounted from the left.

The First Carousel

In it's Simplest form, the carousel entertains its patrons by spinning them around a turning pole while they cling to the end of a rope. Although it is not known exactly when these devices were first developed, a game of this sort appears in a Byzantine Bas-relief from 500 AD. Accounts of these rides continued to filter into Western Europe from travellers who had ventured east, but it wasn't until the 17th century that the beginnings of the modern carousel first appeared.

Catching the Gold Ring

Spearing a ring has been a part of the carousel tradition since its earliest appearance. Competing Arabian and Turkish riders trying to catch perfume-filled clay balls eventually inspired the French to catch gold rings with their lances. This sport was, in turn, adapted to amusement devices that became popular in Europe by the late 1700's.

In America, catching a brass ring for the free ride, was part of the carousel's allure. Unfortunately, in today's liability insurance atmosphere, this feature has all but died out.

United States Carousels
There is evidence of carousels in United States as far back as 1825. But it was not until 1867 that the seeds of the American carousel industry took root, when a young man named Gustav Dentzel built his first carousel.

In the mid 1880's the newly developed electric trolley had a profound effect on the amusement industry. When the major American cities built this new form of public transport, they did their best to plan for future expansion by constructing the trolley systems well past the city limits or out to a natural barrier such as a beach or river. The trolley companies soon found that they needed something to entice hesitant riders to use their system on a regular basis. What better enticement to pique their interest than some form of entertainment situated at the "end of the line". These areas proved to be ideal locations for amusement parks, since the land was cheap and access was easy. They began to spring up all over the country acquiring the befitting name of "Trolley Parks".

With the creation of trolley parks the carousel industry flourished. At that time, the carousel was the only sophisticated ride available. The golden age of carousels lasted form 1880 to 1930 when the financially crippling depression put an end to this uniquely American art form.

Menagerie Figures

The popularity of animal figures on the early carousels is not hard to understand, when you remember that during the early history of carousels, the European clientele were mainly from an agricultural society. The American carousels occasionally represented animals but they never attained the wide popularity of their European counterparts. Still, their was a fairly large representation of animals that were included on the American carousels during their heyday, such as: bears, buffaloes, camels, cats, chickens, deer, dogs, donkeys, elephants, frogs, giraffes, goats, hippocampus', kangaroos, leopards, lions, mules, ostriches, panthers, pigs, polar bears, rabbits, roosters, sea dragons, storks, tigers, wolves, zebras, etc.

Strangely enough, with the immense popularity in the United States of cartoon characters such as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, etc., there is no American Examples of this type of carousel figure! Mexico and Europe though, seem to have been more impressed with this uniquely American contribution, and have many representative examples that have appeared on their carousels.

The Carousel Animal

Those magical childhood moments spent whirling through a myriad of lights while perched atop a fiery steed remain as precious memories throughout life. Yet, if those memories are examined closely they may not tell us that those horses were ornately carved with flying manes or that they moved up and down. Were they even horses at all? Perhaps some were fanciful rabbits or ferocious lions or tigers, or even snarling monsters from the sea. Since, as children, these details were superfluous to the enjoyment of the ride, they tend to fade with time. However, with the renewed interest in carousels, many people are not only rediscovering these details but are for the first time seeing the artistry that went into making these finely crafted carvings from our past.

The selection of horses on Fantasy Island's carousel were carefully chosen to offer an array of carving styles from the most talented artists of the time. The styles vary, just as the personalities of their creators did, leaving future generations with a legacy of flashing hoofs and flying manes.

Throughout the history of the carousel, the horse has been and continues to be its most popular animal. When people remember riding a carousel, they invariably recall sitting on a horse. This is not too surprising since over eighty per cent of the animals carved in America were horses.

Animals other than horses first appeared in the late 18th century, but it wasn't until Charles Looff introduced an assortment of creatures on his first carousel in 1876 that these figures began to be popular. Soon carousels throughout both Europe and America had a variety of animals leaping among the horses.

Despite Looff's early start, the two companies which were to become best known in this field were Dentzel and Herschell-Spillman. Dentzel created very realistic and intricately carved animals, sometimes captured in dramatic poses, while Herschell-Spillman is noted for a wide variety of animals ranging from frogs to storks to zebras. Since each animal was hand carved, no two are identical. The master carvers who created these marvels of the midway were proud of their work, and that pride shows in the exquisitely crafted detail. Detail that went beyond the creation of a mere ride, but was a medium of expression for true artists who sculpted in wood. Most of the skilled carvers were immigrants of European descent and their patriotic pride in their new homeland was very often represented in their work.

When these animals were first constructed, their creators had little idea how they would be abused over their lifetime. To fully comprehend how carousel animals have suffered, it must be understood that their primary function was as part of a ride -- a device to attract and entertain the public while making a profit for the operator. If an animal was damaged or came apart, the economics of the situation dictated that repair be as swift as possible. This led to the use of nuts and bolts, nails, screws, tin and fiberglass patches, and anything else that would hold. These types of repairs coupled with as many as ten to fifteen layers of paint gave many animals the appearance of being ready for the scrap heap.

By the late 1960's many people began to discover the rich cultural and artistic heritage embodied in the carousel. Attempts were made to restore both fully operating carousels and individual animals to their original splendor. This process involved stripping the old paint, removing all foreign substances like metal or plaster, replacing missing or rotten parts, and building up worn surfaces to their original height.

Community awareness and concern has prompted the rehabilitation and maintenance of many local carousels, while both private collectors and museums have painstakingly restored thousands of individual animals. This enthusiasm has come none too soon, for of the 3,000 to 4,000 wooden carousels that once graced this land, there are now fewer than 275.

Several organizations have formed over the past few years, offering information about carousel history, carving styles, and repair techniques. These groups give carousel enthusiasts and collectors an opportunity to restore and retain an important piece of Americana while allowing others to explore those childhood memories of riding through a world of fantasy on their favorite animal.

What Happened to the Horse 'a Gender

<>dd>During the early years of the golden age of horse carving, the talented carvers tried to emulate live horses as realistically as they could. The carousels created during this period had stallions chasing the mares as nature dictated. But this was in the Victorian age and the ladies were offended by this blatant sexual display. Bowing to this pressure, the stallions were gelded. Even to this day, carousel horses are created without any apparent gender.

The American Beauty Rose Story

One poignant moment in the long list of interesting facets of carousel history deserves to be mentioned. Floral designs have long been a part of the decorations that the carvers utilized to beautify their creations.

The first usage of the American Beauty Rose as a decorative item seems to have been originated by Samuel A. Robb. A Brooklyn carver, originally famous for his cigar store Indian carvings, took up carousel horse carving as a logical expansion of his craft. When his young wife died, he placed a single red American Beauty Rose on some of his creations as a memorial to their love.

English Word Contributions

The word "headman" and the phrase "go for it" have their roots in the carousel industry.

"Headman", which now means leader or chief, is derived from the practice of a carousel company reserving the head and neck of a horse for the master carver of the firm to complete. The apprentice carvers would be allowed to carve the rest of the animal.

"Go for it", which means to give something your best effort, was a common expression used to prod a hesitant carousel rider to try and catch the brass ring. This required the rider to stretch out and reach for the ring which was at the end of a wooden arm. At times this effort occasionally caused the rider to lose his balance and fall off his horse or possibly break one of his fingers when he misjudged. It is no wonder that this feature of modern carousels has been eliminated because of the excessive liability claims that seem to plague our country.

The Carousel Artisans

When you look at the animals on Fantasy Island's carousel, remember that they quite literally represent the period during which they were carved. That period from 1870 to 1920 is the age of the immigrant. During that era in history, when the industrial revolution had finally arrived from England, we, as a nation, truly felt that this was the land of opportunity. Nine million immigrants in thirty years arrived at our shores and, like children, they too believed in a dream. Their vision was of living their lives free from the constraint of a ruling class, free to try for something better.

From this immigrant horde came the men who carved horses, with skills and concepts born in European roots. We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to someone like Frederick Savage of London who had so much to do with improving the mechanism that made it all possible. His improvements made larger and more elaborate rides feasible. Carousels were being carved in England and Germany in fair sophistication before they became popular in America.

What a unique amalgam is this carousel! It is a mechanical device, a product that joyously expresses its industrial roots. Propelled by electricity, a conglomerate of meshing gears makes this wonderful machine go round and round. If you ride a carousel without the overriding sounds of the band organ music, the voice of the machine is clearly heard. Decorating the outer rim of this metal tribute to the foundryman's skill, are the remnants of a period of handicraft, of skills that were being driven out of existence by manufacturing and retail trade. When the railroads reached small-town America, the craftsman was turned into a merchant, selling the products of the big city's factories. The carousel gave employment to a small group Of artisans and gave them an opportunity to continue to express their feelings through their artistry. What they expressed was that they lived in America.

Unfortunately, the carousel industry began to fade away in 1920. The production of Looff's horses ceased when he died in 1918. Stein & Goldstein moved on to other endeavors, and Carmel's shop went out of business. Mechanical carving devices became popular with Dentzel, the Philadelphia Toboggan Company and Spillman Engineering Corporation. Only Illions carved by the old methods, but even he could not survive the depression and closed in 1929. William Dentzel died in 1928; the remains of his company were bought by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company. Many of the carvers did what they could by repairing or recarving parts for operating carousels, but work was scarce. Although the Philadelphia Toboggan Co. ceased making carousels in 1934, they continued building amusement park rides and are today one of the leaders in the industry.

Carousel Animal Master Carvers & Companies

Gustav Dentzel (circa 1905) - Carousel Animal #10

Gustav Dentzel pioneered the modern carousel in America. Talented men followed his lead, including Marcus Illions, Charles Looff, Charles Carmel, and the carvers of the Philadelphia Toboggan Company and the Spillman Engineering Company. Their creations became the centerpiece of hundreds of amusement parks and trolley company resorts across the United States and Canada.

Dentzel arrived in America in 1860 at age 20, settling in Philadelphia where he opened a cabinet shop. Carousels were not unknown to Gustav, for his father, Michael, had carved and assembled one of his own in Germany in 1837. Michael travelled with it from town to town making a modest living selling tickets to the ride. It was not surprising that his son's plans were to follow the same path. After building his first machine, Gustav Dentzel took it to several towns making money from its operation. This venture proved so successful that he changed the name of this company to "G. A. Dentzel, Steam and Horsepower Caroussell Builder --- 1867". Despite the name he continued to operate the horse driven machines for most of his income. It was nod until 1880, when steam power caught on, that the popularity of the rides began to increase. By this time, a competitor had entered the market, Charles I. D. Looff.

Charles I. D. Looff (circa 1911) - Carousel Animals #6 & #9

Charles I. D. Looff joined the carousel industry with his first machine in 1875, carving a menagerie of animals from scrap wood gathered from the furniture company where he worked. He opened a shop in Brooklyn and soon turned out his second carousel, much more refined than the first, and installed it at Coney Island. Looff's creations, like Dentzel's, were reminiscent of the German style of carving. Both the Looff and Dentzel companies paralleled each other in design and production until the mid-1880's when the newly developed electric trolley had a profound effect on the amusement industry.

As with many manufacturers, the seeds of competition are nurtured within the parent company, and so it was with the carousel industry, particularly with Looff. As business increased in the 1890's, his staff of carpenters, carvers, and painters also increased. Among the forty talented craftsmen were four young carvers who where to later form their own companies: Carmel, Illions, Stein and Goldstein.

Charles Looff created horses in a simpler but more elegant style. The legs of Looff's jumping horses were slender and graceful and were always portrayed with a great deal of motion. In order to depict a greater sense of realism, several carvers, including Looff, designed manes with cut through openings. Although such manes produced dramatic effects, the difficulty and length of time involved in the carving process limited their use.

About 1905 Looff started making saddles that resembled a scoop. This design left a good sized space beneath the cantle which Looff filled with a variety of gargoyles, flowers, cherub heads, and other miscellaneous carvings.

The production of Looff's horses ceased when he died in 1918.

Marcus C. Illions (circa 1923) - Carousel Animal #4

Within five years of his arrival in New York in 1888, Illions' reputation as a master carver spread throughout greater New York. He not only carved animals for Looff but created sculptures in both wood and stone for churches and other office buildings. He also created highly ornate facades for circuses and carnivals.

In 1900 Illions was offered the job of refurbishing a fire-damaged Looff carousel at Coney Island. The enthusiasm he had for the job is apparent as this machine had the fanciest and most spirited animals yet produced in the industry. This flamboyant interpretation characterized Illions' style throughout the life of his company.

Many companies were switching to simpler animals and carving machines, but Illions' creative talents and belief in the traditional methods drove him to produce even more ornate horses than before. Throughout the life of the company, Illions maintained strict control over quality and design. The carving of faces and manes he reserved for himself, therefore, the head was almost always the focal point of the horse.

Stein & Goldstein (circa 1912) - Fantasy Island's Logo

When Solomon Stein and Harry Goldstein formed their partnership they had a clear idea of the style they wanted to create. It was defined by Long bodies with wide saddles, huge buckles, and deep relief flowers. But probably the most distinctive traits are the Roman nose and the almost Asian eyes that grace these beautiful animals. As with several other contemporaries, Stein and Goldstein used fish scale blankets, and lots of fringe.

Stein and Goldstein were among the few carvers to own and operate most of the machines they produced. Because of this, their production was limited to only 15 carousels between 1912 and 1925, when they turned solely to operating. Full Stein and Goldstein machines are rare today. Among those in operation, is the one in New York's Central Park which contains some of the largest horses ever carved.

Fantasy Island's logo horse is typical of the craftsmanship for which these two gentlemen were noted.

Charles Carmel (circa 1914) - Carousel Animals #5 & #8

When Charles Carmel first opened his own factory, he borrowed freely from the distinctive features of the animals of Illions, Looff, and Stein and Goldstein. Some examples are the feathers, fish scale blanket, bedroll, and tassels. Then, with some ideas of his own, he captured the essence of a carousel horse in the expression, proportions and flow of the mane. He went on to create what many consider to be the classic Coney Island style horse.

Of all the Coney Island carvers, Carmel's creations were the most realistic. This may be due to the proximity of Carmel's shop to the stables of Prospect Park which offered a wide assortment of horses for models.

Unlike most of his competitors, Carmel disliked the use of glass jewels, but ironically, many of his animals fell into the hands of M. D. Borelli. Borelli was a frame maker who bought animals from Carmel, then studded each animal with hundreds of jewels, sometimes obliterating the carving.

The unusual batwing saddle, seen on some of Carmel's creations, is a typical example of the creativity that this artisan was capable of achieving.

Carmel created horses exclusively for frame makers who would construct whole machines and put their name on the finished product. As far as is known, Carmel's name has never appeared on a carousel, nor is there a signature horse (a horse carved with the initials or name of the maker) existing.

Spillman Engineering (circa 1924) Carousel's Lead Horse! - Animal #1

Formerly in a partnership with the Herschell-Spillman Company, Alfred and E. 0. Spillman reorganized in 1920, under the title of The Spillman Engineering Corporation. They relied on many of the old Herschell-Spillman Company designs. They created primarily simple traveling rides, designing their animals to be easily lifted and transported, but they also built several carousels designed with a permanent location in mind. One of these was at Lincoln Park in Los Angeles, California where it burned in 1976. Fortunately, they removed one of the animals before the fire consumed the rest of carousel. Fantasy Island's lead horse (the fanciest horse on the outside row) is a faithful reproduction of that horse.

Philadelphia Toboggan Company - Carousel Animals #2, #3 & #7

The Philadelphia Toboggan Company was originally formed in 1900 by Henry Auchy and Chester Albright for the purpose of manufacturing amusement rides. Mr. Auchy's desire to include carousels in their new product line drove him to search out and hire some of the best carvers available. After producing several experimental carousels, Auchy and his partners decided to go into full scale production. The earlier rather plain horses with sweet expressions were transformed into larger, fancier creatures by 1910; and by 1914 they had developed into more muscular, compact animals bearing ornate trappings. Their last carousel, #89, was produced in 1934. Within several years all the other companies had either gone out of business or were producing simplistic, machine-carved animals.

Epilogue

The demise of the hand-carved carousel animal came slowly over a period of twenty years in three distinct stages. When the age of mechanization produced a device which could rough carve the heads and bodies from a preset pattern, many carousel manufacturers began producing animals of identical design. Although a number of carvers were put out of work it was nonetheless a boon to the industry. When the depression arrived, the demand for carousels declined sharply. The companies that survived either ceased making carousels, or like Allen Herschell and Parker Companies, produced very simple machines. The final blow came in the 1940's with the widespread use of aluminum and the advances in the casting process. The last of the wooden steeds were carved as patterns for aluminum horses. Most of the traveling carnivals that now appear at local fairgrounds have metal carousels produced by the Chance Manufacturing Company which bought out the Allen Herschell Company. Many of the fine examples of carving from the golden age of carousels have been copied in fiberglass and are beginning to appear on machines in parks across the nation.

THE END

Bibliography

    Dinger, Charlotte
    Art of the Carousel
    Carousel Art, Inc., Green Village, NJ 1983

    Fraley, Tobin
    The Carousel Animal
    Zephyr Press, Berkeley, CA 1983

    Fried, Frederick
    A Pictorial History of the Carousel
    Vestal Press, Ltd., New York 1964

    Manns, William / Shank, Peggy / Stevens, Marianne
    Painted Ponies
    Zon International Publishing Co., Millwood, NJ 1986

    Weedon, Geoff and Ward, Richard
    Fairground Art
    White Mouse Editions, Ltd., London, England 1981

    Fantasy Island Amusement Park would especially like to express its sincere thanks to Charlotte Dinger, author of "Art of the Carousel" and Tobin Fraley, author of "The Carousel Animal".

    Thanks also to:

    Geri Bradley - Bradley & Kaye
    Mary Fritsch - American Carousel Society
    Gail Hall - National Carousel Association
    Robert Hall - Chance Rides, Inc.
    Samuel H. High III - Philadelphia Toboggan Co.
    Fern M. Florimont - Fantasy Island Park.
    Lise Shannon - Great America Theme Park
    Duane Wiechman - Chance Rides, Inc.

    A Brief History of the Carousel

    Sometime in the 1100's, Arabian and Turkish riders played a raucous game on horseback. They took it very seriously...so seriously that on-looking Italian and Spanish crusaders described the contest as a "Little War", or "Garosello" or "Carosello", respectively. The Crusaders brought the game back to Europe where it became an extravagant display of horsemanship and finery that the French called "Carrousel".

    A major event of the "Carrousel" was the ring-spearing tournament in which a man would ride his horse full tilt, lance in hand, toward a small ring hanging by brightly colored ribbons from a tree limb or pole. The object? To spear the brass ring!

    About 300 years ago, A Frenchman got the idea to build a device to train young noblemen in the art of ring-spearing. His device consisted of crudely carved horses and chariots suspended by chains from wooden spokes radiating from a centerpole. This was probably the first carousel as we know it.

    By the late 1700's, there were numerous machines built solely for amusement that were scattered throughout Europe. The devices were small and light, their size and weight limited by what could be cranked by man or pulled by horse. These limitations were removed with the invention of the steam engine. The power of steam made possible the elaborate carousels of today.

    Gustav Dentzel pioneered the modern carousel in America. Of German descent, Dentzel opened his carving shop in Philadelphia in 1867. Many talented men followed his lead, including Marcus Illions, Charles Looff, Charles Carmel, and the carvers of the Philadelphia Toboggan Company and the Spillman Engineering Company. Their creations became the centerpiece of hundreds of amusement parks and trolley company resorts across the United States and Canada.

    Few of the old carousels of Europe could match the product of these American craftsman. Ingenious men, their carousels became bigger and more elaborately housed. Animals and chariots were more beautifully carved and styled. There were war horses, parade horses, Indian ponies, and horses straight out of a child's dream. Animals of the jungle chased those of the plains and the farms and forests. Dogs, cats, teddy bears and mythical beasts graced the American carousel.

    The golden age of the American carousel paralleled that of the trolly companies, 1880-1930. The great depression of the 1930's saw the demise of the wooden horses, and the trolleys soon likewise disappeared from The American scene.

    Fantasy Island proudly presents to you a Classic Turn-of-the-Century Carousel. We hand picked the animals for this carousel to be representative of the various styles of the master carvers of a bygone age!