Galloping Around

Lovely, Simply Lovely

I enjoy sketching and watercolor painting carousel horses, either on paper or canvas.

It was not until three years ago, that I noticed how much of an influence they have on my artwork. So, I had to ask myself, is it the carousels or the horses? Well, my daughter gave me a sketchbook on different horse breeds. It was the horses, with their beauty and grace that really got me interested. The ribbons, flowers and streamers were just the icing!

I have a collection of several music boxes and small turn key carousels as well as minature horses with the posts and a wind-up key. There is something elegant about them. They gave me more reason to just read up on the colorful creations.

Not Kid Stuff

Back in the 1100's , the Crusaders had a sport with horses and riders. The French called it "carrousel". A major event was the ring-spearing tournament. A man would ride his horse toward a small ring hanging from a tree limb or a pole. It was tied with brightly colored ribbons. The object was to spear the 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 had carved horses and chariots suspended from chains.

Early carousels had no platform. The animals would hang on poles or chains and they were powered by real animals walking around in a circle.

The carousel developed gradually in Europeean countries such as Germany, France, England and Italy. It really got popular in America when German maker Michael Dentzel sent all four of his sons to America. In 1860, one of his sons, Gustav Dentzel, set up his family carousel in Philadelphia to test the American market. He set up his cabinet and carousel workshop in Germantown, Pa. and was a success.

The first steam powered carousel was created by Thomas Hurst and shown at the 1861 New Year Fair in Lancashire, England. Eventually, electric motors were installed and electric lights were added.

Carousels consist of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. Usually the seats are in the shape of horses or other animals mounted on posts. Many of these posts are moved up and down through gears to make them appear to be galloping.

Fun Facts:

Chariots Riding benches were provided for those who did not want to ride on an animal. Some were very fancy and appeared to be pulled by the horse in front.

Stander This indicates that the animal has two or more legs on the carousel floor and does not move up and down.

Jumper This indicate a particular animal moves up and down as the carousel turns

Flying Horses Horses that were suspended from chains making them appear to be flying.

Roundabout Another name, along with merry-go-round.

Menagerie Animals other than horses. They could be goats, pigs zebras and tigers. They could also be dragons or unicorns.