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C. W. Parker Amusement Machines and Carousel Archive Original letters, patents and photographs from the early American fairground distributor and penny arcade operator Charles Parker, Leavenworth, Kansas, comprising Carousel Ephemera: 1) C. W. Parker 1914 Catalogue, 16 pages illustrating two carousels, two band organs, a fire pumper, and six patents including two for carousel horses, with original wrapper, lightly folded but in good condition. - 2) William H. Denzel, catalogue of "Carousels and Organs". - 3) 1915 postcard depicting Parker carousel jumper. - 4) Technical drawings, advertising and correspondence relating to Parker's ride "The Snapper" built in 1927. - 5) Four patents filed by Charles E. Morris (Parker's designer) for improvements in carousels. - 6) 1917 letter on C. W. Parker headed paper relating to proposed "monkey speedways". - 7) "Automatic Shooting Range" Archive" documenting the coin-operated shooting range patented (patent included) by Morris in 1908, including technical drawings, correspondence, photographs of the "Morris Automatic Training Machine", invoices from component manufacturers. - 8) Mimeographed wartime letters addressed to Theodore Roosevelt. - 9) Photographs of the war in France. - 10) Photograph of the Parker factory in Leavenworth. - 11) Other inventions, including three auto-related patents by Morris, letters on headed paper from companies such as Ford, Studebaker and Eastman Kodak. - 12) Photograph of a working automaton model titled "Opium Den", and much more. - Literature: For an overview of the C. W. Parker firm, see Bowers "Encyclopedia of Automatic Musical Instruments", pp. 914-919. - From the 1890s until the 1930s, Charles W. Parker was a fairground operator whose business interests spanned carousels, amusement machines and the distribution of self-playing instruments by manufacturers such as Wurlitzer, Frati and Bruder. Born in Illinois in 1864, he was also a colorful character who personified many of the pioneering qualities of the American mid-west at the turn of the century. Connelly's "Standard History of Kansas and Kansans", published 1918, described Parker as "the world's Napoleon in the manufacture of amusement devices", whose plant in Leavenworth came to be known as the "Wooden Horse Ranch". According to Connelly, one of his early ventures was the purchase of a shooting range in 1882. Judging by the correspondence in this archive, the shooting range patented by his designer, Morris, in 1908 generated limited interest at its inception, despite the numerous letters he wrote introducing the machine to his contemporaries. With the outbreak of war in 1914, Morris and Parker began marketing the range as target practice for allied troops, though apparently with little success; the majority of their letters met with a negative response, while one reached Camp Perry in Georgia only after the war had ended.
Archiv des Herstellers von Unterhaltungsgeräten und Karussells "C. W. Parker" Original-Briefe, Patente, Kataloge und Photographien des amerikanischen Schaustellers und Automatenaufstellers Charles Parker, Leavenworth, Kansas: 1) C. W. Parker, Katalog von 1914, 16 Seiten mit Abbildungen von 2 Karussells, 2 Kirmesorgeln, 1 Feuerwehrpumpe und 6 Patenten (2 davon für Karussellpferde), mit Original-Hülle. - 2) William H. Denzel, Katalog: "Carousels and Organs". - 3) Postkarte von 1915, mit Abbildung eines Parker-Karussellpferds. - 4) Technische Zeichnungen, Werbung und Korrespondenz mit Bezug auf das Parker-Fahrgeschäft "The Snapper" von 1927. - 5) 4 Original-Patente von Charles E. Morris mit Neuheiten bei Karussells. - 6) Ein Brief von 1917 mit Parker-Briefkopf in bezug auf "Affen-Rennbahnen". - 7) "Automatischer Schießstand" von Morris, mit Original-Patent, technischen Zeichnungen, Korrespondenz, Photographien von "Morris Automatic Training Machine" und Rechnungen von Lieferanten. - 8) An U.S.-Präsident Theodore Roosevelt gerichtete Briefe (Kopien) aus der Kriegszeit. - 9) Kriegsphotographien aus Frankreich. - 10) Photographien der Parker-Fabrik in Leavenworth. - 11) Weitere Erfindungen inklusive 3 Morris-Patente für Automobile, Korrespondenz mit Briefköpfen von Firmen wie Ford, Studebaker und Eastman Kodak. - 12) Photographie des Unterhaltungsautomaten "Opium Den". - Und vieles weitere! - Charles W. Parker war Schausteller von den 1890er bis zu den 1930er Jahren. Sein Interesse ging von Karussells über Vergnügungsautomaten bis hin zur Vermarktung von selbstspielenden Musikinstrumenten bedeutender Hersteller wie Wurlitzer, Frati und Bruder. Der 1864 in Illinois geborene Parker war gegen Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts eine der großen Persönlichkeiten mit den Pioniereigenschaften des Amerikaners des Mittleren Westens. In Connellys Buch "Standard History of Kansas and Kansans" von 1918 wird Parker als "Napoleon der Hersteller in der Vergnügungsindustrie" beschrieben. Seine Fabrik in Leavenworth wurde bekannt als die "Holzpferde-Ranch". - Literatur: Für einen Überblick über das Parker-Unternehmen siehe "Encyclopedia of Automatic Musical Instruments", Bowers, Seiten 914-919.