Tuesday, September 11, 2007

John Robinson Circus #5


Scan000010126, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

Another well known picture showing "Virginia" (Big Burma) while being advertised as captive born in 1921.

Posted by Buckles at 9/11/2007 06:10:00 AM

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beyond this example, are there any other cases of an elephant being housed and displayed inside a cage wagon in North America? Maybe one of the early 19th-century menageries? Keddah was hauled around on Ringling in a former giraffe wagon and the 1935 Cole show constructed a transport vehicle for Safari that proved to be unnecessary. Outfits in England also transported bulls in large enclosed vans, to secure the beasts from unpaid observation. What sort of beast is that in the compartment next to the baby elephant?

11 September, 2007 09:41
Anonymous said...

Richard Reynolds says - -

First off, I believe the wagon is the former Robinson hippo cage.

This photo has been published before, I think in one of the season reviews promoted by Bradbury. [It was his inspiration to publish a season review for every year of every one of the shows that comprised the circuses that were antecedents or members of the amalgamation finally known as the American Circus Corporation - -his personal favorites. He either wrote them himself or talked others into it.]

This is the only instance I know of where an elephant has been exhibited in the menagerie in a cage wagon with bars. Obviously it would have to be small elephant.

The critter to the left is a llama, or so says the sign on the cage. That too is an animal usually led around on the leash.

As “Anonymous” notes, the so-called Ringling white elephant of the 1890s - -Keddah - - was carried in a giraffe like wagon. Incidentally, that was a fraud of a white elephant, a hoax perpetuated by the “goodie two shoes” Ringlings. That is a story for another day.

RBBB’s Pawah, a genuine white elephant of 1927, was also hauled in a giraffe like wagon, extra sturdy for obvious reasons. Then, the two captive born elephants on RBBB-Blue around 1990 also had a special built wagon to haul them from train to arena.

11 September, 2007 11:44
Anonymous said...

My father told me that on shows zebras were caged animals in old days.

14 September, 2007 17:58

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