Just 100 years ago there were as many as 3,000 operational carousels in the United States. Today there are only 150 antique merry-go-rounds in service. That there are even this many is largely due to the work of people like Bette Largent, president of the National Carousel Association.
Collectors Weekly spoke to Bette Largent, restoration expert Pam Hessey, and several others about the golden age of carousels, the origins of brass rings, and a carousel animal's 'romance' side.
(thanks Ben)