| We had a small elephant on the Polack Show (Stella) that Barbara raised on a bottle. Occasionally I would take her on publicity gigs for the show. Buckles The postcard from Wuppertal is a photomontage but it really happened that a elephant cow from Circus Althoff Tuffi jumped out of the famous Wuppertal train because she paniced. This took place in the 50ties and was for publicity reasons for the circus. Fortunately the elephant fall out the Schwebebahn when the river Wupper had high water. Circus people found Tuffi healthy at the bank eating gras. After that the show was every day sold out while Circus Althoff was in Wuppertal. All the best Filipe |
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Postkarte Wuppersprung (Post Card)
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6 comments:
Buckles,
Is that an actual picture of an elephant jumping or falling out of that monorail car, or is it just a doctored photo? If it is a real photo, did the elephant survive?
I think the "ski lift" they would have been talking about would have been what is commonly known as a "cable car" which could only accomadate a small elephant because of the small entry door. You would have to let us know if the elephant would have tolerated the ride or would have spooked as soon as the cable car started. Either way, I would not have wanted to be along for the ride.
Even back in the time frame of the monorail picture, they could doctor a picture to make it look real. There was a photographer in Traverse City where I grew up that printed a picture of a street car downtown when Traverse City never had street cars.
I'm sure the picture isn't real.
In fact if you tilt the picture to the left it looks like she is on a leisurely stroll.
Good morning Buckles. This photo is not real but it describes a real event. The story goes that in July of 1950, the young circus elephant Tuffi escaped from his handler in the Ruhr area and jumped from a suspension railroad into the Wupper 46 feet below. The name of the circus was not mentioned.
Tuffi was 21 of Juli 1950 in the german town Wuppertal brought into Wuppertal Floating Train by her owner Franz Althoff. Tuffi panicked and broke the glass panes of the moving coach and landed in the Wupper River.
I belive its a trick-photo.
Tuffi was sold 1968 to Circus Alexis Gruss in France where she died 1989, at the age of 43.
http://www.elephant.se/database2.php?elephant_id=194
/Dan Koehl
This would be Hell of an act for the Steel Pier in Atlantic City.
A friend of mine recently told me that while he was on his Monte Carlo tour he included Circus Gruss on his itinerary.
He said he was absolutely bored to tears, horse act after horse act presented by the most condescending and pompous people ever to grace the circus ring.
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