Tuesday, November 08, 2011

From Buckles #2

SAVE1149 by bucklesw1
SAVE1149, a photo by bucklesw1 on Flickr.

"Big Monkey!"

Posted by Buckles at 11/08/2011 05:18:00 AM

5 comments:

Jim A. said...

My guess is this is Susie, a female gorilla displayed at the Cincinnati Zoo from 1931 until 1947. She would be joined by her trainer, Bill Dressman, for lunch everyday.

08 November, 2011 06:56
Chic Silber said...

Big monkey photo on the way

08 November, 2011 09:27
Richard Reynolds said...

This is Susie in Cincinnati, looking overweight.

Celebrated as the Graf Zeppelin gorilla, she arrived on that great German dirigible when it docked at Lakehurst , NJ on August 4, 1929.

This was the first shipment of animals ever to come to America from Europe by air. In addition to Susie, the live cargo consisted of a companion chimpanzee plus 600 canaries, all consigned by the Ruhe animal firm in Germany.

Susie had arrived in Germany in 1927 and was a well toured animal when she left for America. Once here she became the property of the Jersey Pet Stock Co. in Newark. A certain John Lucadema and William Dressman took over her exhibition.

Susie was a peripatetic gorilla. She was a special side show attraction on Ringling-Barnum in Philadelphia in 1930 and again in 1931 at early canvas dates. She made other cameo field show appearances as well - - Johnny J. Jones carnival (April 1930), 101 Ranch & Wild West on Long Island (July 1930), and the Rubin & Cherry carnival (August 1930). Additionally, she was exhibited at Chicago’s Lincoln Park zoo, Toronto’s Canadian National Exhibition, Madison Square Garden’s Pet Show, and World’s Museum, East Side Resort, NY. For these appearances she traveled around in a glass-enclosed cage mounted on a truck.

Finally on June 11, 1931 she landed in the Cincinnati Zoo, its first ever gorilla. She died there in October 1947.

08 November, 2011 10:13
Old Whitey said...

I think I used to date this lady's daughter back in high school. I got the idea she didn't quite approve of me.

08 November, 2011 12:52
Jim A. said...

The chimpanzee mentioned by Richard went to the St. Louis Zoo and was given the name, Louie Zep.

08 November, 2011 20:45

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