Animal Attractions: Nature on display in American zoos by Elizabeth Hanson, Princeton University Press, 拢19.95, ISBN 0691059926
Savages and Beasts: The birth of the modern zoo by Nigel Rothfels, Johns Hopkins University Press, 拢26, ISBN 0801869102 Reviewed by by Adrian Barnett
A ZOO is not a zoo without an elephant, so said the good people of Boston back in the 1920s. The Boston Globe began a campaign to get the city鈥檚 children to donate their pocket money to buy three beasts about to be retired by a local circus. Not only would this educate the masses, but also unify the people of a racially and fiscally diverse city. Fifty thousand people turned out to see 鈥渢heir鈥� elephants take up residence.
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Elizabeth Hanson鈥檚 Animal Attractions is full of such stories as she tracks the trajectory of the zoo in the consciousness of the American public. And a fascinating parabola it is, from late 19th-century source of civic pride to modern, conservation-oriented biopark, via vilified jail for beasts and weekend gawping-place where the weirdness of subjugated nature could be safely viewed.
Hanson covers the social evolution of how we have seen zoos, and delves into changes in how zoos see themselves. She explores how over time, the ways the animals were exhibited mirrored social changes in the perceived relationship between animals and humans, and also gives fascinating insights into how animal collectors and collecting expeditions often determined what could be exhibited.
Hansen鈥檚 Animal Attractions is an excellent summary of an often-ignored subject which, despite its title, also deserves attention from those interested in European zoo history.
Nigel Rothfels casts his net a bit wider, focusing on the 19th-century origins of modern zoos and the man who made it all happen. Carl Hagenbeck, a German animal dealer and zoo visionary, was the owner of the first zoo without bars, and he invented the use of a moated display and many other now-standard techniques. Savages and Beasts is a fine read, in which good use of picture archives has complemented the writer鈥檚 extensive documentary research.