Image from www.peddlersvillage.com/kids/
Last week, I received an email from a travel website, touting a deal for a stay at a lodging in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. I read the details of the promotion more closely, which stated “Includes two tickets to the fully restored Grand Carousel from the 1922 World's Fair.”
I knew that there was a wonderful old carousel in Peddler’s Village, because I had been there shortly after it opened. The part that confused me was the 1922 World’s Fair.
Hagley has an extensive collection of World’s Fair materials, from the Crystal Palace in 1851 London to the fairs in Knoxville and New Orleans in the 1980s.
I didn’t remember reading about a fair in 1922, so I did a little research, and learned that there were several fairs in 1922; Exposition Nationale Coloniale in Marseille, France; the Peace Exhibition in Tokyo, Japan; and the Exposição do Centenario do Brasil in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Hagley owns several items relating to these fairs, but they seemed unlikely settings for a carousel that ended up in Bucks County.
A quick internet search provided the real answer. The carousel was manufactured by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, and was in fact the company's showpiece at the 1922 National Association of Amusement Parks convention in Chicago.
I contacted the Special Collections Library at Penn State who owns the Proceedings of the Fourth Annual Convention of National Association of Amusement Parks (December 6-8, 1922). A researcher there was able to locate a list of exhibitors at the convention, which included the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, "Manufacturers and builders of coasters, carrousels [sic], water rides, coaster cars, machinery and plans, water ride boats.”
The Philadelphia Toboggan Company (PTC) was founded and established by Henry Auchy and Chester Albright in 1904. PTC was known for top-quality machines that are both "durable and beautiful." They manufactured 89 carousels as well as 147 wooden roller coasters.
Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters, Inc., is still in business today in Hatfield, PA. They claim to be the oldest roller coaster company and the second oldest amusement ride manufacturer in the world.
Each of their machines was sequentially numbered, and the one built in 1922 was the 59th one that PTC produced.
Carousel # 59 first operated at Schuylkill Park, Pottsville, PA (1922-1927). It then was in operation at the following locations: White City Park, Worcester, MA (1928-1948), Wedgwood Park, Oklahoma City, OK (1949-1968), Petticoat Junction Panama City, FL (1969-1985).
The original figures from the carousel were auctioned in 1986. The frame was in storage for more than 13 years before Earl Jamison, founder of Peddler's Village in Lahaska, PA, commissioned master carver Ed Roth from Long Beach, CA, to custom carve 46 figures in bass wood using traditional techniques. The restored carousel opened to the public in its current location in 1998.
I was hoping that Hagley might have a trade catalog from the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, but we do not. I only found two catalogs listed as being owned by a library. I ordered two books for our collection about the company’s history, and we’ll keep our eyes out for any catalogs that might become available for sale.
Linda Gross is the Reference Librarian, Published Collections Department at Hagley.