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Fantasy on a
Roundabout
By
Reno Litterio |
 An
obituary in the New York Times recently caught my eye.
Marvin Sylvor, at the age of 75, had devoted most of his
life to making others happy. Born in the Bronx near Yankee
Stadium, Sylvor said that he suffered a hopeless love for
carousels. Hi father, a sign painter, always took the family
to Rockaway every summer, where they would pass a carousel
near the Marine Park Bridge, but his dad would never stop.
Begging his father to let him ride the carousel, he was
forbidden to do so. Marvin became obsessed and his love for
the carousels never ceased.
The word carousel originates from the Italian “garosello’
and Spanish ‘carosella.’ The earliest carousel is known from
the Byzantine Empire bas-relief dating to around 500 AD,
which depicts riders in baskets suspended from a central
pole. Used by crusaders to describe a combat preparation and
game played by Turkish Arabian horsemen in the 1100’s, this
early device could be considered a cavalry training
mechanism; it prepared and strengthened the riders for
actual combat as they wielded their swords at mock enemies.
European Crusaders discovered this contraption and brought
the idea back to their own lands, primary to the ruling
lords and kings. There the carousel was kept a secret within
the castle walls, used for training by the horsemen. No
carousel was allowed in public. Eventually some small
carousel rides were made and installed for royalty. With the
development of craft guilds and relative freeing up of
trades in Europe and England in 1837, wagon maker Michael
Dentzel converted his wagon making business into a carousel
making enterprise. Other makers such as Heyn in Germany,
Bayol in France and England were also rapidly developing a
carousel making tradition.
Although the carousel developed gradually in European
countries such as Germany, France, England and Italy, it did
not reach its full scale development until it went into its
American phase. William H. Dentzel of Port Townsed,
Washington is the only descendent from a founding American
carousel family of the United States still making wooden
carousels. His carousels are similar to the oldest operating
carousel in the United States located in Watch Hill, Rhode
Island. The “Flying Horses” carousel was built in 1893 by
the Dare company.
Getting back to Marvin Sylvor, a proud graduate of William
Howard Taft High School in the South Bronx, who after his
Army stint, was assigned special art projects and received
an art degree from Pratt Institute in 1958. Marvin opened a
window display business. Eventually he was asked if he could
build a carousel and he answered in the affirmative. Soon,
he opened his own carousel factory, Fabricon, and received
worldwide orders.
He designed and built horses and menagerie creatures, as
they are known in the trade. Sylvor became known as the
merry-go-round man who dotted parks with fanciful painted
ponies and went on to populate the rest of the world with
galloping steeds, flying manes and sparkly gold trappings on
more than 60 carousels. In his retirement, Sylvor was quoted
as saying, “my love for the merry-go-round never stopped,
they touch some spiritual part of your soul somewhere and
they make you smile.”
Did you know that the carousel, besides being called a
merry-go-round, are also called the galloper, flying horses
and in the U.K., called a roundabout? When I have a chance
to ride a carousel, I always look for the fiercest galloping
horse with his front legs up high and the longest flying
mane as I fantasize battles to be fought and won.
I think the nearest working carousel on the South Shore is
at 205 Nantasket Avenue in Hull. The antique carousel built
in 1928, has been restored and features 66 wooden horses and
a Wurlitzer organ. For more information on the Hull
carousel’s schedule, you may call (781) 925-0472. |
About The Author
Reno J. Litterio is the cofounder of the Ward 4 Senior
Citizens Social Group in Quincy in 1992 and is now Chairman
and Director of the group. You can reach Mr. Litterio at
renowarior@ aol.com.
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