From Mike Naughton

Scan11333, originally uploaded by bucklesw1. February 15, 1985 AUCTIONS By Rita Reif A GORILLA named Gargantua is the star of the huge circus and carrousel auction taking place tomorrow and Sunday at the Seventh Regiment Armory. The sale of more than 1,000 offerings from the collection of Circus World - the amusement park built in Orlando, Fla., by Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey - will feature rare old circus, carrousel and arcade carvings, billboards and equipment. The 6-foot-tall gorilla, who was promoted by Ringling in the 1950's and 60's as ''the world's most terrifying creature,'' appears at the armory stuffed and mounted in his 8-foot-tall walnut and glass case. Along with most of the other items to be sold, he can be seen there today from 10 A.M. to 9 P.M. at Park Avenue and 66th Street. He will be offered tomorrow in the sale - organized by Guernsey's, an auctions concern in New York - which starts at 10 A.M. and continues on Sunday at 11 A.M. ''It was a spooky experience seeing that massive being standing there staring at you,'' Joseph L. Hurt, the taxidermist who worked on Gargantua, said the other day. Mr. Hurt was seeing the gorilla for the first time since 1971. He flew in from Atlanta, where he heads a taxidermy company, to decide whether to bid on Gargantua, who is expected to sell for as much as $15,000. Gorillas are the most difficult and expensive animals to stuff, Mr. Hurt reported, adding that one done today would cost about $8,000. ''The face is bare of hair and you have no feathers to hide mistakes.'' He recalled that the only part of the gorilla that remains in the stuffed figure is the skin and hair, which were mounted over a paper body reinforced with steel rods. ''He's got a 72-inch waist, a 34-inch neck, a 54-inch chest and an arm- spread of 8 feet - that's a whopper.'' Arlan Ettinger of Guernsey's said that he has received inquiries about the sale, which is expected to bring more than $1.5 million, from collectors and dealers throughout the United States and Europe. The most valuable offering is a working carrousel executed by Marcus Charles Illions around 1921, a merry-go-round with dragon-framed chariots, snarling tigers, leopard heads and 48 prancing horses, one of which is on view in New York. The carrousel is expected to sell for more than $500,000. Among the other carrousel carvings are several consigned by other owners, including two Gustav Dentzel giraffes from the Fairmount Park merry-go-round in Philadelphia that may sell for up to $24,000 each. From the clown Felix Adler's large collection of costumes and props is his giant clown suit measuring 100 inches around the middle. (The items are estimated to sell for $100 to $1,200 each.) Mike Naughton "In an effort to publicize the stuffed Gargantua, the CW press wanted to take photos of someone small standing in front. They decided on Dalilah and Antonio. Dalilah was absolutely terrified and Barbara was crouched down out of sight holding her by the hind leg." Buckles