The Afterlives of Animals

A Museum Menagerie

Samuel J. M. M. Alberti

• Publisher: University of Virginia Press
• Year: 2011
• eBook ISBN: 9780813932088
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Science History
• Index: History

In the quiet halls of the natural history museum, there are some creatures still alive with stories, whose personalities refuse to be relegated to the dusty corners of an exhibit. The fame of these beasts during their lifetimes has given them an iconic status in death. More than just museum specimens, these animals have attained a second life as historical and cultural records. This collection of essays—from a broad array of contributors, including anthropologists, curators, fine artists, geographers, historians, and journalists—comprises short "biographies" of a number of famous taxidermized animals. Each essay traces the life, death, and museum "afterlife" of a specific creature, illuminating the overlooked role of the dead beast in the modern human-animal encounter through practices as disparate as hunting and zookeeping. The contributors offer fresh examinations of the many levels at which humans engage with other animals, especially those that function as both natural and cultural phenomena, including Queen Charlotte's pet zebra, Maharajah the elephant, and Balto the sled dog, among others. Readers curious about the enduring fascination with animals who have attained these strange afterlives will be drawn to the individual narratives within each essay, while learning more about the scientific, cultural, and museological contexts of each subject. Ranging from autobiographical to analytical, the contributors' varying styles make this delightful book a true menagerie.

Contributors: Samuel J. M. M. Alberti, Royal College of Surgeons * Sophie Everest, University of Manchester * Kate Foster * Michelle Henning, University of the West of England, Bristol * Hayden Lorimer, University of Glasgow * Garry Marvin, Roehampton University, London * Henry Nicholls * Hannah Paddon * Merle Patchett * Christopher Plumb, University of Manchester * Rachel Poliquin * Jeanne Robinson, Glasgow Museums * Mike Rutherford, University of the West Indies * Richard C. Sabin, Natural History Museum * Richard Sutcliffe, Glasgow Museums * Geoffrey N. Swinney, University of Edinburgh

INDEX

Italicized page numbers refer to illustrations.

Alfred (gorilla), 5–6, 9, 75, 88, 134–47

Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery sign, 140

American Museum of Natural History, New York, 48, 135, 138, 152, 160

An-An (panda), 169, 181–83

antelope, 40, 66

anthropomorphism, 9, 44, 96, 135, 140–47, 220–21

art, animals in/as, 8–12, 22, 41–42, 50, 70, 95, 112–29, 139, 175, 178, 181–82, 199–200, 204, 208, 211–13, 216, 228. See also satire

asses, 17–33

authenticity, 52, 65, 107, 160, 204–10, 228

baboons, 40, 78–82

Balto (husky), 1, 6, 9, 92–108

Frederick Roth’s statue of, 93

Barnum, P. T., 38, 40, 46, 48

Baron of Buchlyvie (horse), 68, 141

Bartholomew Fair, London, 27, 39

BBC. See British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

bears, 11, 66, 80, 97, 171–72, 177, 214. See also polar bears

Belle Vue Gardens, Manchester, 11, 40–53, 75–76, 79–83, 173. See also Iles, Gerald; Jennison, James (and family)

Benjamin, Walter, 120, 164–65

Berlin Zoo, 135, 169

biogeographies, 3, 88, 110–29

biography. See object biography

birds, 6, 10, 28, 45, 86, 95–97, 110–29, 175, 222. See also hen harrier

Blaschka, Leopold, 227–29

Blue Boar Inn, York, 26–27, 32

Bostock, Edward Henry (and menageries), 39–40, 48, 58–63, 66, 68

Brambell, Michael, 170–72

Brazenor, Harry, 11, 83

Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery, 88, 134, 136–40, 144–47

Bristol Zoo, 135–39, 143–46

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), 70, 170, 178–81, 190–91

British Museum (Natural History). See Natural History Museum, London

Brookside...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: The Dead Ark
• “The Queen’s Ass”: The Cultural Life of Queen Charlotte’s Zebra in Georgian Britain
• Maharajah the Elephant’s Journey: From Nature to Culture
• Sir Roger the Elephant
• “Under the Skin”: The Biography of a Manchester Mandrill
• Balto the Dog
• The Biogeographies of a Hollow-Eyed Harrier
• Biological Objects and “Mascotism”: The Life and Times of Alfred the Gorilla
• Neurath’s Whale
• The Afterlife of Chi-Chi
• The Thames Whale: The Difficult Birth of a Celebrity Specimen
• Enlivened through Memory: Hunters and Hunting Trophies
• An Afterword on Afterlife
• Further Reading
• Notes on Contributors
• Index