Could this possibly be a young Richard Reynolds getting his first look at a rhinoceros?
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey
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Wade G. Burck
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A Blog designed for discussion of topics related to, but not limited to, Circus, Zoos, Animal Training, and Animal Welfare/Husbandry. Sometimes opening up the dialog is the best starting point of all. And if for nothing else when people who agree and don't agree, get together and start discussing it, it will open up a lot of peoples minds. Debate and discussion even amongst themselves opens a window where there wasn't one before.
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2 comments:
I was much older than the lad shown here when this litho debuted. This is Bill Baileys’ artwork and the poster was first used in 1946 (when I was 11).
The young male African black rhino, “Bobby of Brookfield,” was the inspiration. He was born at the Brookfield zoo on September 19, 1944 at Chicago’s Brookfield zoo. He was only the 2nd rhino ever bred and born in America.
His dam was “Mary” and sire “Pharaoh.” They were captured in Tanzania (then Tanganyika, the former German East Africa) by the renowned German animal trapper and catcher, Christoph Schulz. Accompanied by his son Walter, he brought them to the USA as part of a huge animal shipment aboard the S.S. City of Lyon, landing at the port of Boston on June 21, 1935.
The details of the landing are recorded in the diary of the late Dan Harkins, Director of Boston’s’ Franklin Park Zoo. The ship was met by Edward Bean, Director of the Brookfield zoo. Harkins also told us that the rhinos and other animals were shipped by Railway Express Agency (REA) to Chicago departing Boston on June 25. They arrived at the Brookfield zoo on either June 26 or 27, 1935 having been accompanied on the trip by Director Bean.
[Note: the shipping of live animals at this time was usually handled by REA. It ran express cars at the head end of passenger trains assuring swift transportation. REA had tariff provisions allowing persons to travel with and care for the animals in the express cars.]
Bobby was named by the Beans for Robert Ringling because they wanted him to buy the calf which he did. The little rhino was shipped to RBBB in Washington DC arriving there in June 1945. That was too late for the commissioning of a poster. So, they did one the next year.
RBBB did not play Atlanta I 1946 so I had to wait until 1947 to see this litho. It was used by RBBB through 1954 by which time I was in college. After the show left here in ’54 I went all around visiting store fronts and removing window lithos. I got several of this one. In 1955 the show did not post paper so 1954 would have been the last tour for the rhino litho.
Richard,
Great stuff again, thank you. I have been meaning to ask you, what was the name of the tv special you contributed so much to about circus rail travel. It is one of the best programs on the subject that has been done to date. Was it A & E, or Discovery Channel. Is it available on DVD? I would recommend it highly to any of our readers who are interested in a complete history of rail travel.
Wade
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