Monday, November 09, 2009

Barnum & Bailey #2


SAVE0338, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

Posted by Buckles at 11/09/2009 06:04:00 AM

1 comments:

Richard Reynolds said...

Again, this is Barnum & London, a partnership between Barnum, Bailey, and Hutchinson. It would not change to Barnum & Bailey until 1888.

The elephant birth here celebrated is that of "Baby Bridgeport" in 1882. The sire was "Chief" and the dam was "Queen," both of them said to have been tough elephants.

Baby Bridgeport was the third elephant born in USA. The first two were "Joe" in 1875 (St. Joseph, MO with Howes' Great London) and "Columbia" in 1880 (Philadelphia WQ of Cooper & Bailey).

All three of these calves were produced by elephants from the Great London Show. They were all a part of the group imported in 1871 from Ceylon. So, they were here in plenty of time to be bred and allow for the near 2-year gestation period necessary for delivery of the fist calf in 1875. That one, "Joe," seems to have died shortly after his birth but the blessed event was duly recorded in the St. Joseph newspapers.

Though Barnum went on as though "Baby Bridgeport" was born to his elephants, the actual breeding took place on the Cooper & Bailey show in 1880 before it merged with Barnum.

The special elephant car shown at the top was in fact used in 1882 for "Baby Bridgeport" and "Queen."

It is my belief that this car was modified and re-decorated in 1884 for the white elephant Toung Taloung, imported that year as the new sensation. That animal was just about the most colossal flop of all time as an attraction.

Though T-Taloung was a genuine albino, the public was looking for an alabaster white animal. Real white elephants are just not like that.

T-Taloung toured for only two years (1884 and 1885). For 1886 he was left behind in Bridgeport WQ where he died in the terrible fire there in November 1887.

09 November, 2009 14:19

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