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's Gender
    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.

    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.