650 Million Brings Instant History

I was just alerted to the fact that the 1927 Dentzel Carousel from Rock Springs Park is for sale for $650.000. It had been for sale on-line by the Brass Ring Entertainment Company of Burbank, CA, but as far as I know this is the first time it has appeared on eBay. The description includes many interesting facts and features.


This is the whole Dentzel carousel from Rock Springs Park in Chester, WV. It measures 50 feet in diameter with 48 replacement animals. The trim is still all in original paint. It is a deluxe machine with a full ceiling kit from the factory (a very rare upgrade from the Dentzel factory). The only other deluxe original paint Dentzel machine is Glen Echo Park in Maryland owned by the Federal Government. This machine is the only one in private hands and was the last carousel ever made by the Dentzel carousel company in 1927. It has only operated in one place its whole life and has been in storage since the 70's. The picture of the whole machine was taken just prior to its removal. The original animals were sold off in the 90's. We are offering the machine with a complete set of new Dentzel horses and menagerie pieces. Being sold in “as is” condition as removed from the park and the animals needing paint. This is a true piece of American history on a budget. This machine in complete with the original animals fully restored would be in the 3 to 4 million dollar range. Even with replacement animals restored this is still a 2 million dollar machine when finished. We can provide a full restoration if needed. You can see our work at carousel.com we have been performing museum restorations on carousels for over 30 years. Most of the replacement animals are pieces made from the famous Dentzel Lagoon carousel from Knotts Berry Farm. The pieces were made from molds taken from the original animals. Some of the finest animals ever made by the Dentzel company. This machine brings instant history to any location it goes.

Dick Bowker Postcard

Friend, Dick Bowker, was a huge collector of postcards, but he also made a handful of his own, not too flashy, black and white images surrounded by a white border. Some of these cards were printed for the Three Rivers Postcard Club—for Pittsburgh deltiologists—but most were for friends. This is one he made of his favorite local amusement park. It shows the Carousel and Figure Eight Coaster at Rock Springs Park along with a brief history.

 

Original Paint or Not?

In 2009, while researching the carousel in Rock Springs Park, I came across an article which gave me pause. In it, the author suggested that the horses when sold at auction were not in original factory paint as advertised, but had, in fact, been repainted in 1937. The restoration work was done by a former Gustav Dentzel employee, Frances D. Schatt of the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, who apparently kept to the original colors of the Daniel Muller-designed horses. This made me wonder whether the restorative work would have had any effect on the value of the horses or the sellers claim that they were in “original park paint”. It is not as if, the horses were repainted, as many still-operating carousels have been, in the bright and often garish colors experts refer to as “park paint.” Schatt was an expert.

To seek an answer, I wrote to Lise Liepman, a carousel horse restorer who worked with Tobin Fraley at the Freels Foundation.

Dear Mrs. Liepman,

I am writing to inquire about the carousel horses that were once housed in Rock Springs Park in Chester, WV. I am currently working on a picture history book about the park and was hoping you might be able to answer a couple of questions I have.

Your friend, Tobin Fraley, used some of the Daniel Muller-carved horses from Rock Springs in his book The Carousel Animal. In fact, the horse on the frontispiece is from Rock Springs Park. Were you involved in restoring or preparing any of the Rock Springs Park horses? If so, could you share any information you have about them.

Also, I have one technical question about carousel horse restoration: In an article from the East Liverpool Review, date July 19, 1985, the writer made the following claim about the horses from the Rock Springs Park carousel:

"ANOTHER MISCONCEPTION, held by carousel experts as well as local residents, is the belief the horses had never been repainted. However, on October 7, 1937, The Evening Review reported that 'Frances D. Schatt of the Philadelphia Toboggan Company is repainting the ponies of the Merry-Go-Round at Rock Springs Park' The Philadelphia Toboggan Co. was also a manufacturer of carousels and other amusement rides. Schatt had previously been employed in Gustav Dentzel's factory and had accumulated 40 years' experience in the craft. It is understandable therefore that the work of such an experienced painter could be mistaken for original factory paint."

Would this affect the claim that the carousel was in "original factory paint"?

Would such a claim, if it were proved, affect the selling price of the carousel or its horses, or their value to current owners? A lot of people paid large sums of money in the Freels auction in 1998 for these horses. Would they be upset to hear that they were not in original factory paint?

I am trying to explain this concept in my book.

Would an expert such as youself still describe the Rock Springs Park carousel as being in "original factory paint" under these circumstances?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

Joe Comm

Unfortunately, I did not receive a response, and so, am still left with the same question: “Were Rock Springs carousel horses in original factory paint or not?” Perhaps, someone reading this blog has an answer.

Freels Foundation Sells RSP Carousel Horses

Saturday, June 13, 1998

On this date in Rock Springs Park history, The Freels Foundation’s American Carousel Museum in San Francisco, a non-profit organization for the preservation of carousels, sold its rare collection of Rock Springs Park’s Daniel Muller-designed horses at auction. On its website Brass Ring Entertainment of Sun Valley California, the present owner of the Dentzel, is offering the carousel with a combination of original and reproduction horses at an estimated cost of 1.5 million dollars.