‘Giddy Up: Children Take the Reins’ Exhibition Opens at Pasadena Museum of History

Explore the world of carousel animals & childhood toys that rock, bounce, & roll

This spring, Pasadena Museum of History invites visitors to bask in the joyful ambiance of quintessential childhood amusements in a uniquely “Touchable” exhibition, Giddy Up: Children Take the Reins. Curated by local collector and conservator Lourinda Bray, the exhibition will be on view May 5 through September 15. Admission is free on opening day – Sunday, May 5.

The PMH galleries will be filled with a dizzying array of more than thirty-five smaller scaled carousel horses and exotic creatures that visitors of all ages will be able to see and touch. An enchanting photo booth will feature a double-seat Polar Bear from an English carousel by J.R. Anderson, circa 1920, that children and adults can climb on for a special keepsake photo.

A selection of ride-on horses/animals that rock, bounce, and/or roll, along with a wide variety of animals and carousel themed toys, will also be on view. Today we might call these the ‘interactive’ toys and amusements of yesteryear. They were specifically designed to spark children’s imaginations, encouraging youngsters to “take the reins and create their own unique stories and fictional characters as they pretended to be their favorite cowboy film stars or other fictional characters.

Giddy Up is the Museum’s second exhibition devoted solely to items from Lourinda Bray’s collection. Her Running Horse Studio in Irwindale, CA houses her nearly unimaginable menagerie, along with carousel art, miniatures, toys, and more in 7,000 square feet of merry-go-round memorabilia. Here she carefully restores figures for other collectors and for operational carousels, as well as pieces in her own collection, which spans the history of carousels from the mid-19th century to modern day, with many examples from the “Golden Age of Carousels,” 1861-1920.

This year (2019) marks the 148th anniversary of the modern carousel in the United States. National Carousel Day – Thursday, July 25 – commemorates the day in 1871 that William Schneider of Davenport, Iowa, was issued the first American patent for a carousel. In honor of the occasion the Museum will offer free admission to all visitors on July 25.  Please check the PMH website, pasadenahistory.org, for dates of other free days and special programs related to Giddy Up, including MOTA (Museums of the Arroyo) Day, May 19, and Yahoo: Happy Birthday Pasadena! on June 30.

Unique items on display in the exhibit include:

Smaller Scaled Carousel Figures, historically found on full-sized carousels, these slightly less towering animals allowed youngsters to “take the reins” and enjoy an exhilarating ride on their favorite horse or fanciful creature while adults could keep a watchful eye by taking a seat in an adjacent decorated chariot. In addition, very small children might accompany an adult in a chariot providing an opportunity for them to enjoy the carousel ride together. Older children could enjoy the freedom of gliding along while seated in a carriage drawn by two ponies while overlooking the security provided by a seat belt. In Mexico, all of the figures on a carousel were traditionally small in scale, suggesting that they were intended for exclusive use by children, not adults.

The Wonder Horse, a spring rocking horse, was a favorite childhood toy that emerged from the success of the cowboy Westerns of the late 1920s into the 1950s. Actor Tom Mix’s horse Tony was the first to be given equal billing with his human co-star and was the first to bear the name “The Wonder Horse.” As these Westerns had great appeal to children, toys, clothing, and other accessories were marketed, many of them featuring their favorite cowboys’ Wonder Horses. Tony, Trigger, Champion, Rocky Lane’s Black Jack, and the Lone Ranger’s Silver were some of the Wonder Horses of cinema that were featured in Western comic books and children’s toys.

The Shoo Fly is a child’s rocker with a seat built between two flat sides painted and cut in the shape of a whimsical figure, including horses, ducks, and swans. This small rocker was particularly suited to young children who may have found it difficult to balance on the full-size rocking horse.

Admission/Hours/Location

Giddy Up: Children Take the Reins is on view May 5 through Sept. 15, 2019. The galleries are open from 12 p.m – 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays unless otherwise noted on the Museum’s online calendar (pasadenahistory.org).

Admission is $9 General; $8 Students/Seniors; Free for PMH members and children under 12. The exhibit is free the first Wednesday of each month to people who live, work, or go to school in Pasadena and surrounding communities (Community Wednesdays). Parking is free in the museum lot and on Walnut St.

Pasadena Museum of History is located at 470 W. Walnut St. (corner Orange Grove & Walnut), Pasadena, CA 91103. For additional information, please visitpasadenahistory.org or call (626) 577.1660

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