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Historic Minnesota State Fair PTC Carousel sells intact for $1.125 million; Illions carousel horse sells for $101,750 at Guernsey’s Record-Breaking December 1988 NYC Pier 88 Auction
Guernsey’s Carousel Auction • December 10, 1988 • Pier 88 • NY, NY
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Featured Carousels At Auction –
Broken Up:
– 1908 Waldameer Park, Erie, PA, Muller-Dentzel-Stein & Goldstein carousel – Archive Gallery >>>
– Fun Forest, Seattle, WA, Carmel-Borelli-Illions carousel
– Maple Leaf Village, Ontario, Charles Carmel carousel
Sold Intact:
– St. Paul State Fair Carousel, PTC #33
Guernsey’s December auction in New York City was a record-breaker to say the least. There seemed to be no limit on how high prices could go or how much people were willing to pay for antique carousel animals.
The Minnesota Philadelphia Toboggan Company, 1914 PTC #33 Carousel was saved by the “Our Fair Carousel” group in St. Paul when they purchased it before the auction began for $1,125,000.
An Illions stander topped the one hundred thousand dollar mark by selling for $101,750. Other figures sold for $86,900, $83,600, and $72,600, breaking all previous records.
The high point of the sale was not even part of the sale. The Minnesota State Fair Carousel never made it to auction, as it was sold just minutes before the sale for $1,125,000. Guernsey’s President, Arlan Ettinger announced to the crowd that, “In the name of preservation, we at Guernsey’s made every attempt to assist people who may be interested in saving this carousel for all time and as a complete unit. Our apologies to those who had interest in acquiring the twenty horses individually. Many groups wanted it, but one group in the city of St. Paul worked extra hard. That group is represented by Mr. Peter Boehm and his wife, Nancy Peterson. I am pleased to announce that the carousel has been sold to the “Our Fair Carousel” group of St. Paul for in excess of one million dollars.”
There were rumors that another bidder would have paid even more for the carousel if it had gone up for bids. William Blinstrup, owner of the carousel, and Peter Boehm, worked out the details of the sale of the carousel just prior to the start of the auction. Twenty horses from the St. Paul carousel were to be offered for sale individually at the Guernsey’s auction.
The $3,000,000, five-hour sale was held in a very large passenger pier on the west side of Manhattan and was well attended by buyers from the U,S,, Canada and some foreign countries. The auction and the saving of the St. Paul Carousel was covered in the newspapers and on national TV. Auctioneer, Arlan Ettinger carefully sold each item, giving everyone time to make their bids, while still moving the auction along at a steady pace. Guernsey’s consultant, Marge Swenson, was busy before and during the sale talking and educating the would-be buyers about the carving styles and the value of the figures.
The carousel items sold for a grand total of over $2,889,000, with other consignments such as mechanical games, cash registers, and carved fairground miniatures taking the sale over $3,000,000.
An Illions horse with a flying mane from the Fun Forest Amusement Park Carousel, Seattle, Washington sold for the World Record breaking price of $101,750 (1 0% buyer’s premium included) to become the highest priced carousel animal ever sold at auction. The horse is destined for display in the clubhouse of a race track in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Also setting new World Records were a Carmel/Borelli armored stander from Fun Forest which sold for $86,900, and an individually consigned Dentzel Tiger which brought a hefty bid of $83,600.
An Allan Herschell elephant from Waldameer Park estimated to sell at $20,000-25,000 surprised everyone with a $72,600 price, while a second Carmei/Borelli stander from Fun Forest brought $67,100.
The real high seller of the sale was the circa 1908 Waldameer Park Carousel from Erie, Pennsylvania The combined total of the 47 animals, chariot, and frame reached $1,221,550. Along with the elephant for $72,600, eleven Muller standers brought from $37,400 to $61,600 each, a goat brought $37,400 and a Dentzel deer, $27,500. Stein & Goldstein jumpers from the carousel ranged from $8,250 to $25,300 each. After the animals were sold, the carousel frame and mechanism went for $12,100.
The 36 animals and 2 chariots from the Fun Forest Carousel totaled out at over $741,400. Five of the Fun Forest horses, including a signed armored Illions stander with a carving of Lincoln were stolen from a warehouse in Seattle before the sale and were not recovered by sale time. It is thought that the armored horse might have brought as much as $100,000 if it were at the sale. The other four Carmel standers could have brought $15,000 or more apiece. A reward is still offered for the recovery of the horses.
The high sellers from the Fun Forest Carousel were the flying mane Illions stander for $101,750, and the two Carmel/Borelli standers for $86,900 and $67,100. A Looff sea monster sold for $52,800, and a Looff/Borelli lion for $44,000. An Illions armored stander, not as large as the flying mane horse, sold for $33,000. Two Carmei/Borelli chariots sold to the same bidder for $11,000 each. The high sellers on the Niagara Falls, Ontario, Maple Leaf Village Carousel were an armored Carmel jumper for $24,200, and the fifth horse to be sold, a Carmel jumper with an eagle holding flowers, for $16,500. The chariot brought $3,850. The total for all the horses and chariot was $276,375.
Eighteen horses and a lion from the Glendale Carousel were in a private collection and had been in storage for over forty years. The Looff lion sold for $19,800 and a Dentzel stander brought a bid of $14,300.
Ten Looff standers brought prices ranging from $7,700 to $14,300, and seven Looff prancers brought prices from $5,225 to $7,150.
The only figures with reserves in the catalogue were No. 33, a Carmei/Borelli armored stander; No. 61 , the flying mane Illions stander; No. 88, the Looff/Carmel sea monster; No. 169, a Dentzel prancer with an Indian head; No. 173, the Carmei/Borelli lion; and No. 192, a Dare child’s elephant. They all went much higher than their reserves except for the elephant which did not meet its estimate.
A late addition to the catalogue was an Anderson dragon with an etched mirror eye that brought a bid of $16,500. Several other animals and items were listed in an Addendum passed out at the sale. A large circa 1985 A. Ruth & Sohn band organ in need of restoration commanded a bid of $18,700. A Bayol donkey featured in “Fairground Art”, page 61, brought $35,200, ten thousand dollars over its estimate. An early Heyn elephant with a howdah brought $11,000, and a very small child’s Bayol rabbit brought $2,750.
Some corrections to the catalogue are: The rooster on page 8 was not part of the “All Rooster” carousel; the No. 164 horse was from a private collection, not Fun Forest; Nos. 86 and 87 should be reversed; Nos. 156 and 158 should be reversed; Nos. 157 and 159 should be reversed; and No. 70, pictured horse was replaced with another.
Editor’s Note: We recommend you have a Guernsey’s catalogue to understand completely the results of the sale. Condition, rarity, and degree of carving determined many of the prices. If you are using the list to determine what your horse or animal is worth, it would also be wise to get an appraisal from an experienced auction company such as Guernsey’s, or a reputable dealer, although, no one knows what the carousel market will do in the future. Correction to our list: No. 165A, Carmel chariot for $3,850 is from the Maple Leaf Village Carousel, not an Individual consignment.
RESULTS:
– From the January 1989 Carousel News & Trader magazine
REPRINTED FROM The Carousel News &Trader, January, 1989 Read this full issue online>>>
