Category Archives: Circus

Help Required: Photographs from Selby, Yorkshire

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E H Bostock probably with Dixie the elephant around 1932

Prince LawdTanno (Spell) known to have been travelling with a menagerie and circus around 1905. Probably a lion tamer modelled on Montarno the African Lion King. Known to have travelled with Chipperfield’s French Menagerie during the early twentieth century.

Waggon containig two lions and possibly a seated trainer or keeper, also at Selby circa 1930. Not a typical B&W waggon, so it is also probably a Sanger outfit.

The following photographs have been sent to us for dating and for any other information. I have added my comments underneath each photograph, but would welcome further information via the comments section at the bottom of the post or via email: shaun.everett1@gmail.com

Thank you for your interest in this project about the local history of Selby in Yorkshire. My thanks to Mr Chilvers for providing the original photographs.

Rare view of B&W booth at Selby during 1931. This must have been one of the last times it visited the town or anywhere else, given it disbanded the following year. Shows the poor condition of the booth front.

At Selby, showing a group of Dancing Bears on the left of the picture performing for the local population. Unknown group and date. Information would be welcome.

 

Book Review: Tiger that Swallowed a Boy – John Simons

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The Tiger That Swallowed The Boy: Exotic Animals In Victorian England.
John Simons. Libri, 208pp, £ 12.00. ISBN 9781907471711. Published 4 November 2012

I have to say, I did not know of its existence till a reader tipped me off. Anyway I have this text and provide the following review, taking into consideration the other reviews already published over the last 12 months.

John Simons is Professor and Executive Dean of Arts at Macquarie University, Australia and has previously released books on animal studies including Rossetti’s Wombat: Pre-Raphaelites and Australian Animals in Victorian London, 2008.

I therefore thought this text would be a scholarly work, but it is not. It is a good read nonetheless, and includes many of the facts and myths surrounding travelling menageries. It goes far beyond these menageries and covers zoos and private menageries as well as museums.

The Times Higher Education Supplement reviewed the book and made the following observations:

Drawing in part on a “spoil heap of material” from his 2008 book Rossetti’s Wombat: Pre-Raphaelites and Australian Animals in Victorian London, which told the story of Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s menagerie, Simons offers engaging and entertaining tales of how a tapir terrorised the people of Rochdale, the growth of Belle Vue and other zoological gardens and, of course, an account of the titular tiger that swallowed the boy. Equally interesting is his consideration of the trade in exotic animals and the clash of empires, in particular those of Germany and Great Britain. Despite its entertaining stories, however, the main problem with this book is that the research appears populated with the sensational narrative style of many 19th-century voices and less so, it appears, with archival sources. Too often, Simons’ conversational style has the flavour of a cut-and-paste assemblage of anecdotes, references and ripping yarns.

I tend to agree and I am disappointed that there are no footnotes and paged or chapter referenced bibliographies, other than a final Select Bibliography. I would have expected more from a scholar, which leads me to think it was a hurried publication of an unfinished project.

Nevertheles, it makes good reading and has provided many interesting ideas that can be followed up thoroughly in future. Available on Amazon via the link below:

The Tiger That Swallowed the Boy: Exotic Animals in Victorian England

New Article: Jamrach’s Animal Emporium

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Charles Jamrach (1815 – 1891) was the leading dealer and his emporium was situated in what was then known as Ratcliff Highway in east London — at the time the largest such shop in the world. From the description the building can be placed on the 1868 Edward Weller map of London near to the Tobacco Dock somewhere along St George’s Road (to the right of North Quay).
Jamrach was born in Germany. His father, Johann Gottlieb Jamrach, waschief of the Hamburg river police, whose contacts with sailors enabled him to build up a trade as a dealer in birds and wild animals, establishing branches in Antwerp and London. George Wombwell is thought to have started in a similar fashion having made acquaintances with many sea captains coming into the London docks earlier in the century.
Charles Jamrach moved to London and took over that branch of the business after his father’s death in circa 1840. He became a leading importer with agents in other major British ports, including Liverpool, Southampton and Plymouth. As indicated in the article, his business included a shop and a museum named Jamrach’s Animal Emporium and it is thought Jamrach also had a menagerie in Betts Street in the East End and a warehouse in Old Gravel Lane, Southwark, in South London.

Added Artefacts: “Lord” Geoge Sanger’s Circus in Luton, England 1931

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The following ancient photographs were taken from a personal album of a former Luton resident. They were labelled: Sanger’s Circus in Luton, Beds 1931.

 

“Lord” George Sanger had died many years before, but his circus travelled till 1941 when it was broken up due to food rationing, a ban on performing animals(in case they escaped during an air raid!) as well as labour shortages.

These photographs represent some of the last remaining documents of a travelling circus pre-WWII. The adult elephant may be Sanger’s famous Annie(who lived over 50 years) or her younger companion Alice.

It is not known who the girls are, but they probably rode the elephants during a show. It is interesting to see the continuation of the African theme right into the 1930s. They were obviously very accustomed to handling big cats so they were probably not local Bedfordshire girls. Any further information on them and the elephant keeper in the lower photograph would be gratefully appreciated.