A leaping carousel cat, early 20th century,
carved at the Dentzel Carousel
Company, Philadelphia.
Now in the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum.
Photo courtesy of Trip Advisor.
|
One of four cats on the
Woodside Park Dentzel Carousel.
We cannot tell what
this cat has in its mouth.
A bird, perhaps?
Photo by Smallbones [CC0],
via Wikimedia Commons.
|
I have found several of these carousel cats, and as far as I
know they were all made in Philadelphia at the G. A. Dentzel Steam and Horse
Power Carousel Company. They were made or inspired by Sicilian master carver Salvatore
Cernigliaro, who immigrated to the United States in 1902 and worked for Dentzel’s
for some 25 years. Cernigliaro was especially known for his rabbits, dancing
bears, and cats. The cats are leaping happily, tail up, and have a fish in the
mouth. Some Dentzel cats carry a bird, frog, crab, or squid.
The carousel cat pictured at the top of this post is currently at the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum in Williamsburg, Virginia. We can’t say for sure whether it was
carved by Cernigliaro himself, but it does follow his imaginative, fanciful style.
Cats on the Woodside Park Dentzel
Carousel, early 20th century.
Photo by Smallbones [CC0],
via Wikimedia Commons.
|
The next two cats are both from Philadelphia’s Woodside Park
Dentzel Carousel, now in that city’s Please Touch Museum. Some of the animals
on this carousel date from 1908, though the ride did not open until 1924. The
carousel has been fully refurbished, so if you are in Philadelphia you can
actually take a ride on it. Try to ride on one of the four cats, but if those are
taken you’ll have many other animals to choose from: there are also 40 horses, two
pigs, two goats, and four rabbits.
[She of Little Talent reminds me to tell you that
information for this post came from the 1990 book Grab the Brass Ring: The American Carousel by Anne Dion Hinds, as
well as the
International Museum of Carousel Art.]
No comments:
Post a Comment