One-of-a-Kind Handmade Folk Art Whirligig with Sawyer & Merry-Go-Round Carousel

There's a lot going on in this great old homemade whirligig wind wheel device. This piece was made by a Ukrainian immigrant. I purchased this item from his granddaughter who said that after he made it, he installed it on his dog's house in the yard. The granddaughter was in her 60's, and said she remembered seeing it on his doghouse when she was a child.

The whirligig is in fine working condition. Appears to be made with brass clock gears. When the windmill blades turn, the merry go round that is adorned with plastic grocery store dolls, and cowboys on horses, spins in circles, while a man with a crosscut saw saws away in the background. In the center of the carousel there is a whimsical mermaid figure. There's a tin hand-painted chicken at the back that acts as a weather vane and keeps the whirligig pointed into the wind.

Handmade and hand painted. Tin frame with wood supports. Tin blades and weather vane. The toys added to the carousel are factory produced toys that are strung together with copper wire. I pictured this just as I found it. It does have dust from storage as you can see in the photos. The dolls have old plastic or cellophane bags over their heads, apparently to protect it from the weather. There is a hole in the underside for mounting to a pole. 

The pole, is not included, nor is the plant stand holding the pole up. The whirligig measures a total of about 21 1/2 inches long and the blades of the wind wheel are almost 15 inches in diameter.

Refer to the photos and video for a better idea of the style, condition, and working action of the whirligig. The day wasn't quite windy enough to get a good long video, but you can check out a previous video I recorded inside that shows the whirligig working with the aid of a fan here: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/zs3mYGGJYqs