In Memoriam – Reprinted from the October 2013 Carousel News & Trader
Anthony “Tony” Orlando – Carousel Figure Artist… 1944-2013
Restored the carousel at the Henry Ford Museum. Provided great holiday covers for The Carousel News & Trader
DEARBORN, MI. – PHOTO LEFT – Carl Wesenberg (left), Tony Orlando (kneeling), and Charles Wells (right), of the Conservation Lab, Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum. They are in the process of removing over-paint layers to reveal color and design of the decorative saddle on a giraffe during restoration of the Village’s carousel. PHOTO RIGHT – Tony Orlando, in the Conservation Lab in Dearborn, removes over-paint from a sea dragon during the ongoing restoration of the Village’s antique Herschell-Spillman menagerie carousel. Examination found that the original treatment had silver leaf applied to the body over which a transparent coating was used to simulate the appearance of glistening water on the mythical sea beast.
Archival Museum PR photos from the collection of Lourinda Bray
Anthony “Tony” Orlando, carousel restoration artist and good friend of The Carousel News & Trader from the start, passed away very suddenly, yet quietly last spring. Tony lived and worked in Dearborn, MI. The garage at his home was his workshop. Tony was very good friends with the original publishers of the CN&T, Nancy and Walter Loucks, and it was Tony who would provide the color for the first color cover of the young magazine in 1988.
For nearly two decades, Tony would empty out his entire workshop/garage to build a set for the annual holiday cover. In addition to the countless private carousel figure restorations, Tony handled the ongoing preservation and restoration of the 1913 Herschell-Spillman menagerie at Greenfield Village on the gounds of the Henry Ford Museum complex in Dearborn. Here are some thoughts from a couple of his friends, old and new, along with some of Tony’s holiday covers.
TONY ORLANDO HOLIDAY COVERS
Tribute to Tony Orlando, Carousel Restorer and Artist
By Robert and Linda Burrows, Sewickly, PA.
Tony Orlando certainly brightened our world as a carousel restoration artist and as a friend. We first met Tony in 1983 after reading about his Carousel Restoration business. The first carousel figure that was restored by Tony for us was an Allan Herschell roach mane jumper, We had purchased the horse from Bob Kissel, who was living near Cincinnati at the time. After experiencing the beautiful artistry of Tony’s first restoration, over time we had Tony restore six additional carousel figures. These included an Allan Herschell with a fox head saddle blanket, a PTC 2nd row zebra and a goat from the Crystal Beach, Ontario Carousel, a “Peek-a-Boo” mane Muller carved Dentzel Stander from Oakford Park (Jeanette, PA), a “Hunters Pride” Parker jumper and an Illions roach mane jumper. All of Tony’s restorations were works of art. He paid so much attention to authentic, original coloring and details that were as close as possible to what the factory originally produced.
