Offered Made to Order is a fabulous re-creation of an original Coney Island "Tillie" funny face medallion that originally hung at steeplechase park in the 1950s and 60s.
A popular character, seen all around Coney Island, "Tillie — or a version of him — first appeared in the city around the turn of the 20th century, when George C. Tilyou, a showman who owned Steeplechase Park in Coney Island, expanded to Asbury Park and Atlantic City, said Don Stine, president of the Asbury Park Historical Society.
Tilyou used a portrait of a "funny face" as the park's logo. And it was painted on the Asbury Park location on the corner of Ocean and Second avenues, just north of where the Stone Pony stands today.
The Steeplechase featured a toboggan run with expansive views of the city and the sea, but over time, it fell into disrepair. It was demolished." From - https://www.app.com/story/money/business/main-street/2018/06/12/tillie-asbury-park-what-you-need-know/684701002/
These heads were originally made of plaster and were used to decorate the amusement building of Steeplechase Park in Coney Island New York.
Sometime in the 1960's, the building where these hung was torn down. If you follow this link and scroll down, you can find an image of the original head that was destroyed in the mid 1960s. https://www.coneyislandhistory.org/blog/news/face-steeplechase-opening-may-24-coney-island-history-project
Fred Fried, a well known and now deceased collector from New York City was able to save some of the originals, but from what I was able to gather, most of them were destroyed in a barn fire.
Using pictures of the original, I digitally sculpted a re-creation of this piece as close as I could to the original. The digital sculpt took about 35 hours to complete. When the digital sculpture was finished, the piece was printed in 7 pieces to be made full size, which is just about 28" tall. The total print time for the master pattern was just under 180 hours.
Once I had a full size print, work was done to assemble the full piece and ensure no 3d printing lines remained. The 3D print was used as a paint master, then a mold was made of the 3D print. With this mold, I can now offer fully finished and painted copies of this very cool piece of Coney Island history.
The head stands 28 inches tall. 20 inches wide and about 6 inches deep at the nose.
The replicas are made with a product called Aqua resin, which is a plaster-like 2 part compound which creates great casts perfect for these types of sculptures. Aqua resin is stronger than regular plaster and I also reinforce each cast with burlap. The back side is hollow with a wood cross bar in the upper part for hanging and rigidity. Each cast takes about 6 hours to cast and about 10 hours to paint and age.
Each head is painted with subdued acrylic paint and then given one layer of aging to give it an "older restoration" look. A more involved and heavier aged version is available at a higher cost. Colors of the background can be changed upon request. The outside edge of the background is embellished with gold one shot paint which really gives the piece some great flare.
Shipping is available and will be packed securely in a 32x32x12" box. Local pickup is also available should you prefer.
Should you have any questions about this piece, please don't hesitate to ask.
