1915 Carousel Outer Row Horse, Charles Carmel

A century ago, going out on a date often included a visit to the carousel. Although now extremely rare, carousels (aka: merry-go-rounds) were once so popular that five thousand machines populated the American countryside. Most of these contained from thirty to fifty carved wooden horses and other “menagerie” animals. A community was considered fortunate to be in possession of a carousel carved by one of 9 dedicated carving studios. One of the most legendary of these was that of Brooklyn’s own Charles Carmel.

The saga of this handsome vintage Charles Carmel carousel outer row standing* horse, 60” h x 64” w, is nothing short of extraordinary. Hand-carved at Carmel’s Ocean Parkway (Brooklyn, NY) workshop, it rode on a grand Coney Island carousel for twenty five years. However, with the depression, interest in amusement parks wained and this complete Carmel carousel was sold to a buyer in, of all places, Bogota, Colombia. There, for the next half century, the horses spun to the delight of the children from that South American city. (*Outer row “standers” were the best of the best.)

In the 1980’s, an American gentleman, in Bogota on business, spotted workers dismantling the old carousel. On his return to the States, he contacted Guernsey’s which for years had built a reputation for offering the finest vintage carved figures. With nothing else to gone go on, the head of the auction house traveled to Colombia and, following a week-long search, found the more than fifty horses that had ridden on the now fabled machine.

Convincing the carousel’s owner that the discovery of these horses would cause excitement were they returned to the States, the carvings were then transported through terrorist-held land until they reached the coast and a ship ready to bring them to New York, the city from which they originally came.

Three large containers were delivered directly to the grounds of NYC’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts where, under the tent of the Big Apple Circus, an auction of these animals was to take place. Also in the sale: the complete Coney Island Wax Museum. However, as soon as the containers were opened and as the horses were about to be carried into the tent, uniformed DEA agents swooped in believing the cavities of these beautiful carved animals might indeed contain illicit material. Once convinced that this was not the case, the auction proceeded with the Carmel horses fetching record amounts.

After being loved by the family of the buyer from that Guernsey’s 1980’s auction, this wonderful horse is being offered again.