Herschell-Spillman - Rooster
Catalog #008 110×102×26cm
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A hand-carved wooden carousel rooster, the companion figure to ID: 007, attributed by the owner to the Herschell-Spillman Company or Allan Herschell Company of North Tonawanda, New York (reported). The figure shares the same pose, proportions, and carving treatment as its companion — a jumper in full running extension with deeply carved feather texturing — but carries a distinctly different color scheme. The body is warm brown/golden-brown (versus 007's silver-gray), the saddle is green with yellow edge trim (versus 007's pink/salmon with gold), and the tail feather palette emphasizes green, yellow, and orange over 007's blue-dominant arrangement. Red comb, wattle, and yellow beak are consistent across both figures. The large sweeping curved tail plume reads pink-red to orange.
As with ID: 007, the body surface reads as aged and textured — consistent with old or original park paint — while the saddle and tail areas are notably vivid and may represent selective repainting or refreshed in-service color.
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Identical provenance to ID: 007. Purchased from Rusty Donohue, an Americana antiques dealer based in Baltimore, approximately 2020 (reported). Donohue acquired both roosters from a Canadian auction house, identity not specified (reported). Both purchased simultaneously under the same terms.
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See ID: 007. The trail runs: Canadian auction house (unknown) → Rusty Donohue (Baltimore Americana dealer) → current collection (reported). Machine of origin unknown. The Baltimore Inner Harbor Herschell-Spillman carousel lead identified in ID: 007 applies equally here.
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See ID: 007 for full maker history and rarity discussion. All research findings apply identically to this companion figure. The different body color and saddle scheme — warm brown/green versus 007's silver-gray/pink — is consistent with standard carousel practice of painting menagerie pairs in contrasting palettes for visual variety on the platform. The consistent carving hand, identical pose geometry, and matching proportions strongly support same-maker origin and are consistent with — though do not independently confirm — same-machine origin (inferred).
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The owner describes it as park paint (reported). The warm brown body surface — with dense carved feather texturing — reads as more authentically aged than the vivid green saddle and brightly painted tail feathers, mirroring the same two-tone pattern observed on ID: 007. Whether this reflects selective repainting, in-service touch-ups, or simply differential aging of different pigments on the same original surface requires physical examination. Structurally, the figure appears sound in all photographs. Tail feathers intact and firmly seated. A visible seam line between the body and saddle areas is apparent in Images 2 and 4 — structurally normal for a hollow-body carousel figure.
Formal condition rating: Good — Park Paint (body) / Possibly Refreshed (saddle and tail) (inferred from photographic observation; owner confirmation needed).
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Medium. Same basis as ID: 007. The Herschell-Spillman / North Tonawanda school attribution is visually consistent and owner-reported but not confirmed by factory marks or traceable machine provenance. The consistent carving style with ID: 007 adds support through the pair relationship.
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Owner interview (audio transcript) (reported) — shared with ID: 007
Four photographs: DSC_2301, DSC_2302, DSC_2307, DSC_2309 — both sides
All independent research sources cited in ID: 007 apply; no additional sources needed