MARCH 2005

During the fall of 2004, we received word that the American Carousel Society (ACS) planned to disband, and wished to make a generous gift to the Rocky Springs Carousel Association. The gift would be their legacy of sorts - - to make a substantial gift to a carousel which ACS members regard as one of the finest carousels remaining in the country. The grant would be used to restore certain animals from the Carousel. The ACS recommended that Lisa Parr, of Old Parr’s Inc., undertake the restoration work, as she is one of only a few people who can restore such treasures to original paint.

On November 4, 2004, Ms. Parr traveled to Lancaster, PA, to see our Carousel. She inspected all of the animals, and tested several of them to establish the existence of original paint. After her visit, Ms. Parr wrote that “The rooster (Oscar), and his beautiful available paint, was the high point of the day…. What a magnificent fellow Oscar is!”

The small test area where Ms. Parr removed layer upon layer of yellowed varnish, to reveal the 1924 Dentzel factory paint.

Marianne Stevens, founder and president of the American Carousel Society and author of Painted Ponies, recently wrote, “Not only is this carousel the finest example of the work of the Dentzel factory, but it retains its original paint, a rarity among existing carousels.” She continued, “It is also blessed with several extremely rare and desirable Dentzel figures not found on any other operating carousels and rarely seen in private collections.”

While there are several restoration processes available, we chose a method which is designed to reveal and preserve the original Dentzel factory paint, thereby preserving the value and significance of the Carousel.

On January 7, 2005, Lisa Parr arrived in Lancaster to pick up and transport six animals to her studio in Illinois for restoration. This report highlights the restoration of Oscar the Rooster, the most prized animal on the Carousel. The information on the following pages was extracted from reports provided by Lisa Parr.

Jan. 17, 2005: Report on Condition of Dentzel Rooster on Arrival at Old Parr’s, Inc.

In general, this figure, carved from pine, is in excellent structural condition. It shows extensive wear but this animal has not been abused, though heavily ridden over the years.

My understanding is that the stationary carousel was delivered to the original location in original paint, from the Dentzel factory. Later, in 1925, the carousel was sent back to the Dentzel factory, the inside stationary rows were changed to jumpers, and the factory repainted all of the animals at that time. The “original paint” visible under the darkened varnish, is actually the second coat of Dentzel factory paint. The Rooster body exhibits this second coat of paint under the heavy varnish. The trappings have been repainted many times.

Feb. 10, 2005: Preliminary Progress Report

It was interesting to discover that the Rooster was a completely different color the first time the factory painted it: blues and greens, which you can see in the close-ups.

I also did a test section on the tail, hoping there were reds and blues. Not so, but the blending is quite nice.

The first factory painting … had pin-striping. The level I am recovering does not. Even where there are carved grooves for the striping, it is one color, such as the purple saddle flap and red blanket on the Rooster.

Feb. 18, 2005: Progress Report

Though I uncovered plain color right under the thick varnish, I doubted the Dentzel factory would have re-painted an animal without their famous pin-striping on the trappings; I persisted and looked further.

Sure enough, though there has been much wear damage and rough sanding before a re-paint, the beautiful saddle flap, blanket and saddle designs are emerging. The blanket promises to be very decorative.

Mar. 16, 2005: Progress Report

At this point, the Rooster is cleaned of old varnish and I have applied one coat of Damar Restoration Varnish over the original paint, to isolate the factory layer of paint. I am beginning to paint in areas of missing paint. I will not make the paint absolutely perfect. There is much beauty in the crackle of the old paint, and I will not cover it. I will, however, match paint in the most obvious of worn and/or damaged spots.

Oscar before …

and after !