Tuesday, May 17, 2011

The Whale Show on King Bros. Circus in 1959

This is unbelievable!!!! I have never heard of this. Does anyone know what species of "whale" was exhibited, that was able to survive in this type of exhibit? Who's was it, and how long was it around. "Artic" may be spin, but how did they produce and filter salt water? It seems to make keeping Goliath and Colossus healthy a piece of cake!!!!

Courtesy of Bob Cline on the Circus Historical Society

12 comments:

  1. PKMay 17, 2011 at 9:33 AM

    I do not see a sign anywhere on that show front that contains the word "ALIVE".

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  2. Wade G. BurckMay 17, 2011 at 9:42 AM

    Count,
    As we have been discussing bullshit, how long does it take before a dead hippo starts stinking and doesn't exhibit well?
    Wade

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  3. PKMay 17, 2011 at 9:51 AM

    Could have been anything from a skeleton to a full mount taxidermy or a life size model.
    Tyrone Malone's "Little Irvy" show toured fairs for many years in a walk-thru show framed on tricked out reefer pulled by a custom Kenworth truck that had enough chrome on it to be visible from space.
    This show does not appear to have refrigeration equipment so I'm pretty sure it featured a stiff of some sort.

    Little Irvy:

    http://www.overdriveonline.com/owner-operator-keeping-alive-legacy-of-a-frozen-sperm-whale-and-so-much-more/

    The Count.

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  4. Wade G. BurckMay 17, 2011 at 11:51 AM

    Count De B,
    One of the reason's I value the Big Circus Sideshow is that it is truly educational and uses only authentic and real exhibits for it's museum. None of this fake, tricked up stuff for the Curator. Only priceless artifact's.
    Wade

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  5. CaseyMay 17, 2011 at 12:21 PM

    One year on Carson and Barnes Bobby had a Python Snake Show and the snake died and Bobby keep on working it for 2 weeks before the smell got to rank. When he was ask why the snake did not move and why his body was bloated Bobby would come back with "hey we just feed him a baby pig and he always sleeps for a long time after dinner"

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  6. Neil WilliamsMay 17, 2011 at 12:27 PM

    hi
    it might be one of these , in England in the sixties there were about 3 of these dead whales that would travel from town to town ,
    Hope this helps
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/herefordandworcester/content/articles/2008/05/07/whale_on_a_cart_feature.shtml

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  7. Neil WilliamsMay 17, 2011 at 12:40 PM

    here is another link to the traveling whales
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/sheffield/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8174000/8174297.stm

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  8. PKMay 17, 2011 at 10:18 PM

    Very cool links, Neil.
    Many thanks.

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  9. Wade G. BurckMay 18, 2011 at 2:35 AM

    Casey,
    I have always considered it a great travesty of zoological history, that Carl Hagenbeck is given credit for great exhibit innovation and standards, yet Oxford Fellow Prof. Dr. Gibbs is basically forgotten in the annuals of ground breaking animal exhibition. Forget panorama's, the intrepid explorer Gibb's could make it come to life with a can of shellac. I'm just saying.....
    Wade

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  10. Wade G. BurckMay 18, 2011 at 2:37 AM

    Neil,
    Thank you for the links, that is great stuff. I knew Great Britain was famous for the Cardiff Giant, but I didn't realize they also worked with the harder to maintain sea mammals as well. LOL
    Wade

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  11. AnonymousMay 19, 2011 at 8:25 AM

    Fred Pfening Jr. wrote an article about 19th century whale exhibits in the US, "Moby Dick on Rails," published in Bandwagon magazine. Long ago, Tom Parkinson penned an article about the Pacific Whaling Company, which had multiple whale cars on tour in the 1930s. It was in a magazine like True or Argosy. The specially-built PWC cars were later converted for show use.

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  12. CaseyMay 19, 2011 at 2:33 PM

    Wade thank you for recognizing the power of Prof Gibbs's mind over matter.

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