YPSILANTI, Mich. – A Schmidt’s Antiques Gallery Auction event reached new heights recently when a towering giraffe carousel figure from about 1905 sold for $37,500, including buyer’s premium.
Courtesy Schmidt's Antiques Inc.
The 6 1/2-foot tall, hollow-body giraffe was created by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company and entered the May auction with a presale estimate of $2,000-$4,000. And while the towering carousel figure came with surface wear, chips and minor restoration, the outside showcase figure from a three-row carousel was a thing of beauty for the winning bidder from Oxford, Md.
The figures in the outside row of a carousel featured the most elaborate decoration because they were the easiest for the public to see. Unusual animals such as tigers, polar bears, pigs, ostriches, goats and, of course, giraffes are sought-after by collectors.
Courtesy of carouselhistory.com
Carousels are believed to date back to Europe in the 1700s. The modern carousel was introduced in the U.S. in the 1860s and by 1915 at least 13 U.S. companies were making carved carousel figures. In 1904, the Philadelphia Toboggan Company was established by Henry Auchy and Chester Albright. From its founding until shortly after the Great Depression, PTC manufactured 87 carousels. Approximately 35 original PTC carousels are still in operation today.
The company continues to operate as Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters, Inc. PTC is the oldest roller coaster company and the second oldest amusement ride manufacturer in the world. The company built 147 wooden roller coasters, 82 of those coasters are still in operation.
Courtesy of Western Reserve Historical Society
In 1910, PTC created a new, larger, grander carousel for Euclid Beach Park in Cleveland with four rows of horses, three inside rows of “jumpers” and an outside row of nearly life size stationary horses and two chariots. Euclid Beach Park and the carousel closed in 1969. Thanks in part to the work of the late Ralph Kovel and his wife, Terry, as well as a legion of others, a program was launched in 1997 to return the ride to its previous glory. Restored by Carousel Works in Mansfield, Ohio, the grand landmark opened to the public in the fall of 2014 in the Carousel Pavilion at the Cleveland History Center, 10825 East Blvd., Cleveland.
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