Monday, March 20, 2006

"Jumbo" 1881 in the London Zoo


I don't think the elephant advertised above quite measured up to this guy.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Buckles, I just snail mailed you a photo of my Jumbo at six months. Photo not very clear. Gandolph is his name. Parker is my smallest. You will be able to compare the sizes anyway.

Anonymous said...

Richard Reynolds says - - -

For those interested in photographs of the great Jumbo, he or she should take a look at John Edwards’ wonderful book, LONDON ZOO FROM OLD PHOTOGRAPHS - -1852-1914 (1996). The cover pic (8x12) shows the great animal ca. 1882 with five gentlemen riding him, all of them dressed in Victorian attire, wearing derbys and with Abraham Bartlett in silk top hat. If that is not enough to whet your appetite, inside are an additional 27 others from the time he was just a punk until he came to America. This is the greatest compilation of Jumbo photos ever put together.

In addition to Jumbo the book is full of wonderful pics of hippos, rhinos, giraffes, et al, many of them the very first photos ever taken of the animal in question. There are photos of animals now extinct such as the quagga (a form of zebra), the Syrian wild ass, Tasmanian thylacine or wolf ( a flesh eating marsupial that looked like a wild dog but carried its young in the pouch like a kangaroo), and the pink headed duck. Also the incredibly rare Javan rhinoceros of which only some 70 are left on earth.

Edwards probably still has copies for sale. He can be reached at 26 Rhondda Grove, London, E3 - -5AP, England

Anonymous said...

Has anyone noticed how pathetic "FLORA" from Circus Flora looks. You would not think it was the same elephant. She was once so beautiful. Would have made a good breeder. She is very sickly looking down in Tenn. Mr Balwin made a big mistake putting her there. Does anyone know where RUAL is working now? He knows FLORA as well as anyone.

Anonymous said...

BTW at this time, 124 years ago,Jumbo was aboard the steamship ASSYRIAN MONARCH and heading for New York City.
The ship set sail from London March.26.1882 and arrived in
New York harbour April.9.1882.
Maybe next week could be Jumbo week?