The comment about Gunther never having put his head in a lion’s mouth (or having presented lions, either), reminded me of an old song about a 19th-century animal trainer who was probably more famous than GGW. This rhyme dates back to the 1840s-50s and, surprisingly, I have met several people in my lifetime who know many of the verses even though Isaac Van Amburgh (1808-1865) last performed a century-and-a-half ago.
Van Amburg is the man
Who goes with all the shows;
He goes into the Lion’s den
And shows you all he knows,
He puts his head in the Lion’s mouth
And keeps it there a while,
And when he pulls it out again
He greets you with a smile.
After each of the many verses is a refrain or chorus:
For the Elephant now goes round.
The band begins to play—
Those boys around the monkey’s cage
Had better keep away.
The illustration is called a “penny plain” (colored versions cost two pennies—a tuppence) souvenir print and dates from Van Amburgh’s time in England and Paris (1837-45). Both Queen Victoria (who saw Van Amburgh six times in as many weeks) and later the Duke of Wellington commissioned mammoth paintings by Sir Edwin Landseer of Van Amburgh.
Dick Flint
Baltimore |
3 comments:
Van Amburgh died in 1865, but his name lived on in a title through 1922, 57 years later, a mere 88 years ago. Arthur Saxon had the idea to write his biography and it's too bad that he didn't follow through, it would have been a great book. Van Amburgh never owned any of the shows that bore his name. Surprising that no photograph of him is known today, while there are several views of his contemporary, Jacob Driesbach.
" A tamer of lions full grown, was training a big cat alone.
But the fearless artiste, turned his back on the beast. Now the lion performs on his own."
from my book, 'Wild Animal Circus - True tales from the Carson & Barnes Circus' Dennis Younger
I have found a small engraving of Colonel E Daniel Boone's partner, Millie Carlotta, putting her head in a lions mouth. In 1892 a newspaper reporter suggested to Colonel Boone that putting his head in the lions mouth was the hardest trick to teach... he said "On the contrary it is one of the easiest and safest. I hold the mouth open with both hands and I can feel the least attempt to bring the jaws together with my fingers...it is well, however, to know your beast pretty thoroughly before trying it".
(If you want a copy of the engraving email paulgriffiths@vrsar.wanadoo.co.uk)
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