World’s Most Complete Original English Juvenile Carousel on Display in DuBois

DUBOIS – A crafted piece of history is now available for viewing at the Winkler Gallery of Fine Art in DuBois.

According to the Clearfield County Recreation and Tourism’s Web site, the Winkler Gallery of Fine Art is now displaying a 19th century children’s carousel.  The children’s carousel was made in 1896 by W. H. Halstead in London, England.  The horses were hand crafted at Burton-upon-Trent by C. J. Spooner the premier wood carver in England. 

 The original mechanism was a hand crank and later converted to steam.  At the advent of automobiles, four of the original gondolas were removed and replaced with models of the De Dion automobile.  In 1900 the De Dion was the largest automobile manufacturer in the world producing 400 cars. 

 In the 1920s a showman, J. W. Waddington, converted the carousel to electric.  In 1938 it went into storage in Switzerland after the seats had been recovered and horses touched up.  It remained there until it was discovered in 1996 and brought to America. 

 This is the piece’s first public display in 80 years.  With all the original horses and the original parts, it is the world’s most complete and original English juvenile carousel.