Sign on Looff Carousel About Charles I. D. Looff

Charles I. D. Looff

Looff came to America in 1870 at the age of 18. After setting in Brooklyn, N.Y. and being trained previously as a woodcarver in Schlesmig Holstein (Then a Danish Province), his first five years in America were spent as a furniture maker by day and a carousel carver by night. Being one of the earliest of American carousel carvers and creating his first three carousels himself, he greatly influenced the styles of the other carousel companies. His very first carousel was placed in Coney Island in 1876 and carried menagerie (other than horses) on board. Additionally, his early animals were the first to incorporate glass and composition ornamentation and the use of the "Bird" saddle-back design.

Like a true artist, Looff was never satisfied to use set patterns for any length of time with only a variance of side ornamentation. His carvings were always changing with the times and his animals easily fell into three distinct categories. His earliest animals (1876 - 1888) were sweet and gentle. His middle phase of carving (1889 - 1900) created some of the most elegant and well - carved animals in existence today. Horse heads were finely chiseled, manes were intricately carved, and full figures or faces were created behind the cantle of the saddle as ornamentation. The Looff company changed its pattern of carving during the final phase of carving (1901 - 1918). Only then did the animals become flamboyant and highly stylized depicting the categorization now placed upon Looff's carvings as "Coney Island" style.

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