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INTACT CAROUSEL WILL CROSS BLOCK ART NORTON’S FLORIDA AUCTION APRIL 23, w/1 cut

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AUBURNDALE, FLA. — Owned by the same family for 93 years, a classic Coney Island-style carousel built by the Mangels Company in 1909 will be offered intact for one bid as an operating antique carousel at an auction Wednesday, April 23, by Norton Auctioneers of Coldwater, Mich.

The 45-foot-diameter classic boasts three rows of original wood carved horses and animals including three Charles Looff goats, camels and giraffes, as well as carved horses. This is thought to be the only original hand carved carousel in Florida.

Alfred and Nettie Wintersteen purchased the machine in 1915 and it has remained in the family ever since. It operated at Harvey’s Lake Amusement Park in Harvey’s Lake, Penn., until the park was sold at auction by Norton’s in 1984.

The carousel was in storage from 1984 until 1987 when Mary Ann Wintersteen leased it to Old Town, a Kissimmee, Fla., antique-style amusement area. It later was operated at International Market World in Auburndale, according to David A. Norton, chairman and CEO of Norton Auctioneers. The carousel is a valuable piece of Americana and history and will attract attention around the globe.

Norton’s has sold more than 175 carousels at auction and is known worldwide for the auction of amusement parks, carnivals, zoos, tourist attractions, circuses, railroads, museums, arcades, family entertainment centers and unusual collections.

Norton added that less then 150 antique carousels remain and the majority are in prominent parks and museums and will never be offered for sale. “The sale of antique carousels today is unusual,” he said.

One distinction of this rare machine is that the Mangels Company used animals carved by the world’s most famous carvers such as Looff, Soloman Stein, Harvey Goldstein and Charles Carmel.

For additional information, www.nortonauctioneers.com or 517-279-9063.