New life for old carousels

A restoration campaign for a 1920s children’s carousel is currently underway at the Venetian Piazza of Musée des Arts Forains.

The goal of the project is to give a new life to this mythical piece acquired in 1990 in the Loire by Jean Paul Favand, creator and director of the museum. Until then, the carousel belonged to André Chenard’s private collection, inherited from a family of showmen.

Built by Coquereau and Maréchal during the Folly Years, it was restored for the first time in 2016. Recently, it was taken out of the museum’s storage, reassembled, and compared to it’s original mechanical plan, and it now functions just as it did in the good old days.

Thanks to the meticulous work of the restorers at the Pavillons de Bercy, the subjects (horses and gondolas) have regained their colors, the floor has become more sturdy and very soon the mast and ceiling will be restored to a new youth, all for the pleasure of the visitors.

After this is completed, this roundabout will be dismantled and go back to storage, and another fairground piece will take its place in another restoration campaign.

Published on 12.06.19