Saturday, January 31, 2009

Ringling Bros. Worlds Greatest Shows #9


Scan11259, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

Posted by Buckles at 1/31/2009 06:07:00 AM

7 comments:

Wade G. Burck said...

Buckles,
It this carving on the side's or painting? It is sharp it has an "art nouveau" look to it.
Wade Burck

31 January, 2009 10:52
Buckles said...

I'm sure they were carvings.
My dad told me that when they carved those human figures on the corners the carvers would bring in a block of wood similar to a railroad cross tie.
Each would lay out his carving tools in sequence that graduated in size from a fire axe down to crochet needle.
You could tell how tell how far along they were by the size of the implement in use.

31 January, 2009 11:14
Anonymous said...

Now that is an intersting picture !

31 January, 2009 11:31
Anonymous said...

This rhino wagon was built for the 1903 season. And yes, those are bas relief carvings.

The cage was on Ringling though 1918. It wound up in Bridgeport. There is a photo of it there, sitting over in the back of the place and obviously discarded.

With its proscenium arch effect it was the most striking rhino cage ever built.

The Boo Brothers got this cage so as to house their first rhino, a Sumatran purchased from the Bronx zoo in the winter of 1902-03. Note that the carvings depict hunters in Asian dress, fitting for a Sumatran rhino’s cage. That was certainly the rarest rhino on an American circus in the last 100+ years.

Sumatrans came onto the animal market with some regularity in the late 19th century, mainly because they were then still fairly common in Malaya which the British controlled. Singapore was a major animal exporting center. Several of them found their way to the Barnum and Forepaugh shows, among others.

The problem with Sumatrans is one of diet. They are browsers and just tossing in some hay won’t do. J. A. Bailey once complained that they do not live long.

Even with today’s sophisticated animal care techniques, keeping them has been problematic.

There was a notable effort to so in the 1980s with pairs coming to San Diego, Los Angeles, Cincinnati and a single aged female to the Bronx. A number of them died in rather short order.

Cincinnati’s Sumatran rhino expert, Steve Romo, finally found the answer - -ficus leaves. He told me he was about to lose his male. It was losing weight and seemed about to go. In desperation Romo tried ficus, and it was like magic. The rhino recovered almost instantly.

Cincinnati also found the key to their breeding and has produced three calves. In light of the perilous predicament of these animals (only some 300 left), this is arguably the greatest captive animal breeding achievement ever.

Ringling’s Sumatran died around 1908 (not bad for such a delicate animal).

It was replaced in 1909 by an African black rhino that they bought from the Ruhe firm and had delivered to them when they were playing in the garden. It rode in this cage, and I think this is a photo of it.

I would like to say that the photo shows the Sumatran but I cannot see it clearly enough to make sure. Both have two horns though those of the Sumatrans are often quite small. The Sumatran has a distinctive fold over its shoulder and I cannot make it out in this pic. Incidentally this is a widely circulated photo.

When the Bronx sold the Sumatran to the Ringlings it urged them to take a photo of it because the zoo never got around to doing so - -it was there only 9 months.

The black rhino the Brothers got in 1909 would seem to be the same one that was on the show up to 1918. However, when Col Woodcock saw the circus in 1918, it was not there, and he was told it had died. I suspect that happened on the road in ’18 before Woodcock’s visit. Reason - - the rhino cage wound up in Bridgeport; presumably it was still on the train when the show went there at the end of 1918.

31 January, 2009 13:45
Anonymous said...

The show figures were made from timbers that could have served as ship masts. If the topic interests you, read Fred Fried's "Artists in Wood." This article will also be of interest, as it references famous circus works: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9805E0DF1239E033A25750C0A96E9C94619ED7CF

Note the hunters garb, especially the head scarves; is that appropriate to Sumatra or India? Maybe the designer, at the Ringlings' behest, thought in terms of the Indian rhinoceros when the carvings were being decided upon? Their wishes were later fulfilled.

Notice that the wagon has truss rods underneath, obviously to support the animal's great weight. You don't see many with them.

This photo was for sale in Europe recently, given a date of 1915 on the print. I cannot vouch for the date, it may or may not be OK. You will recall this image is in one of the Thetard volumes, and otherwise not readily encountered. To the best of my knowledge, it's the best view of this particular den.

01 February, 2009 09:09
Anonymous said...

I forwarded this photo to the world’s foremost rhino expert, Dr. L. C. Rookmaaker in England. He expressed this opinion - - -

"I would say that it is certainly a black rhino. The date [1915]would ensure that, but I think that the appearance of the animal would not allow another identification."

That is what I had thought

02 February, 2009 15:33
Wade G. Burck said...

Richard,
When you reference Steve Romo, you are indeed quoting an expert, and one of the finest in his field.
Wade

02 February, 2009 16:59

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