| "George Conklin and his baby elephant coming down the stairs of St, Vincent's Hospital in 1908." George Conklin- Died in Brodgeport , Conn. 2/25/24. 1870-74 John O'Brien Circus...........1875-86 W.W. Cole............Barnum & Bailey 1887-07 |
Friday, January 04, 2008
George Conklin #6
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3 comments:
This was an imported baby, not one born in the US. The ruse was eventually exposed.
Richard Reynolds adds - -
Yes, this was an imported calf that the Ringlings tried to pass off as captive born in Bridgeport. There was a big ruckus in the press over it. That was the first year B&B was under RB control.
The Ringlings were proud of their reputation as honest showmen but they were not above the ruse when it came to elephants. They had that bogus white elephant in 1897 and then tried to pass off Baby Boo as Ringling born in 1903. She had come from Hagenbeck with her mother.
Were Barnum & Bailey innocent at the time anyway? - even the birth of 'Little Corona' in Europe with the show gets hardy (? any) press mentions - so was it simply another baby split from its mother?
Certainly, even the show's supposedly 'white elephant' has several sources saying it was faked....
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