Howes Great London #2

Howes animal bklt001, originally uploaded by bucklesw1. Photo #2 Besides its striking and dramatic parade wagons, far more ornate than anything heretofore shown on the streets of America, the Howes show of 1871 featured five elephants (when most shows had but 1-3) that performed a stellar ring act. Shown here is an 1876 souvenir animal booklet featuring the elephant act in a finely printed cover design. Animal booklets were first issued on menageries about 1836 and continued until the end of the century by which time their material became part of the program booklet. For decades their standardized content was repeated year to year and book to book but as a souvenir of history they harken back to the early years of the big traveling menageries and make interesting but quite rare collectibles.