Carousel

[ipsilateral]

Hey Guys,

My fiance just inherited this fantastic piece of folk art. It's a miniature mechanical carousel that plugs in and lights up and turns. Her great grandfather made it for the kids' christmases. I would love to know the date of the motor to know when he built it. I suspect late 40's early 50's. Anyone familiar with these little Dayton motors or hardware to give me an approximate date?

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Upgraded Night Vision Monocular Digital Infrared Monocular Telescope for 100% Darkness with 8X Zoom - Grab it through Amazon!

[lostcauses]

The toys used to make this appear to be 60s. Motor may or may not be earlier. A fun item, thanks for sharing. Some one took some time making it.

 

[ipsilateral]

Thanks for your reply! Yeah, it's really a funky cool piece of Americana.

 

[clovis97]

I, too, think this is later than the 50's, but this is only a guess.

Are we absolutely sure that the carousel wasn't originally a kit that someone could buy, and then assemble? I have a VERY strong hunch that it was in kit form at one time.

 

[ipsilateral]

Thanks, Clovis. Honestly, I have no idea. Could have possibly been a kit. I do know that he made several of them and was an electrician. He made some ferris wheels as well. Some were larger some smaller.. If it was a kit, there are bound to be some others out there, so I'll be interested to learn about that. It appears to be missing a finial of some kind.

 

[PROSPECTORMIKEL]

I THINK THAT IT IS JUST WHAT YOU SAID IT WAS TO BEGIN WITH.
I WAS BORN IN 1955, AND I GREW UP PLAYING WITH PLASTIC COWBOY/INDIAN AND HORSES, AS A PRESCHOOL KID. THE CENTER MAST IS A PIECE OF ALL-THREAD AND THE CONTROL BOX IS THE HANDY WORK OF A SKILLED ELECTRICIAN. EVERY THING ON THAT TOY SAYS
"HAND MADE BY SOMEONE WHO LOVED CHILDREN"
NO KITS. NO STAMPED OUT PCS. NO CUSTOM LIGHTING.
JUST MADE WITH LOVE AND TALENT.

I RAN AND MANAGED A TOY SHOP FOR 6 YEARS IN THE MID 80'S.
WOODEN TOYS, BUT I DID MAKE SOME SPECIAL ORDERS.

THIS POST CAPTURED MY ATTENTION. I HOPE I HAVE BEEN OF SOME HELP.

PROSPECTORMIKEL

 

[ipsilateral]

Thanks for weighing in! It is always helpful when someone takes the time to share their opinion.

 

[PROSPECTORMIKEL]

GLAD TO HELP OUT.
I HAVE A "THING" FOR HAND MADE TOYS.
I HOPE I DIDN'T COME OFF LIKE A KNOW-IT-ALL.
WHEN I SAW THE HORSE AND RIDER TOYS DRILLED AND ATTATCHED, I KNEW THEY LOOKED
JUST LIKE THE ONES I CUT MY TEETH ON.

OH YEAH, YOU CAN GOOGLE THE DAYTON MOTOR BY THE STAMPED NUMBER AND GET SOME INFO ON IT'S AGE. IT LOOKS LIKE A STANDARD SEWING MACHINE MOTOR.

THANKS FOR SHOWING THE TOY.
PROSPECTORMIKEL

 

[Sheldon J]

OK I think I can get close on this one, the cowboys and Indians look like the ones I had with my Roy Rogers bunk house when I was young, late 50's to very early 60's, the motor off an erector set similar era...... Yeah I'm old......

 

[jose50]

Obviously a home-made item.