Carousels were being widely carved in England and Germany well before they became popular in the United States toward the end of the nineteenth century. Charles Carmel and Marcus Charles Illions were among the many Jewish carvers who fled antisemitism in Eastern Europe. Having honed their skills carving symbolic animal imagery for synagogues, they ultimately found their way to the United States. For these artists the robust carousel industry of the period proved to be the perfect outlet for their extraordinary gifts.
Marcus Charles Illions, the son of a horse trader in Russia, first began carving in England and then immigrated to the United States where he soon started his own company. Acknowledged as a great master, Illions was once referred to as “the Michelangelo of carousel carvers” by the New York Times. His horses helped define the Coney Island style, characterized by its flamboyance and abundant use of jewels and gold and silver leaf.