The Carousel Horse

Many of you know that I really like the old school, hand-carved carousels that once operated up and down the Jersey Coast.
One of the masters of the Philadelphia style carousel horse was William Dentzel. The carousel that still operates on Casino Pier in Seaside is the Floyd Moreland Dentzel/Loof Carousel. It lists Loof's name along with Dentzel because the carousel contains figures carved at both men's workshops.
William was the son of German immigrant Gustav who taught his son how to carve classic poses in their horses with delicate trappings, gently flowing manes but no jewels. At the height of the golden age of carousels in America ( 1900-1930) Dentzel had forty craftsmen producing 5-6 carousels a year in his Philadelphia workshop.
I was fortunate enough to purchase this Dentzel horse several years ago from a woman in California. She owned it for years and it was in need of a new home. She believed it came from an old carousel that once ran in San Fransisco. I was told by an expert that it is quite rare as it still has the original paint on it and was carved to stand on all fours which is unusual. He told me never to paint it.
I posted this earlier on the FaceBook page but wanted you to enjoy it as a high res image on the new blog.
If you get a chance visit the carousel at Casino Pier.
Emil