A Selection of Hallmark Ornaments: Carousels

Hallmark--then known as a greeting card company--introduced its first line of Christmas ornaments in 1973. This example dates to 1978. The first of six in Hallmark's annual "Carousel Series," it is the oldest carousel ornament in The Henry Ford’s collection. It is also one of the simplest, though it does spin--a feature Hallmark dubbed "Twirl-About Motion."

Through light, motion, and sound, Hallmark's design and technical teams collaborated to bring carousel ornaments to life. Plugging this 1988 example into the socket on a strand of Christmas lights activated a glowing effect and rotating motion. Another special feature of this ornament? It helped families commemorate baby's first Christmas!

Some ornaments depicted carousels as part of an amusement park--the very setting where real-life carousels reached the height of their popularity during the early 1900s. This playful 2003 ornament showcases a range of Hallmark's "magic" effects, with lights, sound, and motion. The cars on the "polar coaster" move, the Ferris wheel turns, and, of course, the carousel spins.

Tobin Fraley, a noted carousel historian and restorer, designed a group of Hallmark ornaments in the 1990s inspired by the style of American carousel carvers working between 1895 and 1925. This 1995 example evokes the style of carver Charles Looff and plays carousel music that might have been heard by riders on the carousels he helped build in the early 1900s.

Hallmark's ornament series helped spark the phenomenon of ornament collecting. The company has introduced more than one hundred series, and several have featured carousels and carousel figures. The “Tobin Fraley Carousel Series” of the 1990s recalled historical carousel design with realistic details. This 1994 example is based on the style of carousel figures built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company in the early 1900s.

In 1989, Hallmark released a group of four collectible ornaments depicting carousel horses--the most common carousel figure. "Holly," "Ginger," "Snow," and "Star" could be hung individually on a Christmas tree or displayed together on a specially designed stand. Their distinct poses express movement and recall a classic carousel experience.

Animals other than horses appeared as figures on "menagerie carousels" in the early 1900s--and on Hallmark ornaments in the early 2000s. Hallmark's "Carousel Ride" series aimed to recreate the look of some of the more unusual, but no less elaborate, carousel animals of a century before. This special edition "Happy Kangaroo" closed out the series of six total "Carousel Ride" ornaments in 2008.

Hallmark's "Carousel Ride" series featured some of the animal figures that might have appeared on the popular menagerie carousels of the 1900s. It also included two that customers would more closely associate with the winter holidays: "Prancing Reindeer" in 2006 and "Grand Polar Bear" the following year.

For 1989, Hallmark released "Carousel Zebra" as part of a group of ornaments named "Artists' Favorites." The ornament was sculpted by Hallmark artist Linda Sickman, who wrote that she was "fascinated with [carousel] animals, especially the unusual ones." There is a similar zebra figure on the operating 1913 menagerie carousel in Greenfield Village--though it lacks a saddle.

At least one of Hallmark's carousel ornaments was available only to the Hallmark Keepsake Ornament Club. Launched in 1987, this company-sponsored national collectors club offered sneak peeks, special deals, behind-the-scenes stories, events, and exclusive ornament access. This "Carousel Reindeer" was made specially for charter members.

Though once-thrilling amusement park carousels no longer excited most adults by the mid-1900s, they had regained popularity as kiddie rides. Walt Disney's idea for Disneyland began in the 1930s, while he was watching his young daughters ride a carousel. This carousel ornament, produced by Hallmark in 2004, was inspired by the popular Disney ride "It's a Small World."