Oliver Welsh (Trans.). Zoo: A History of Zoological Gardens in the West, London: Reaktion Books, 2002

Eric Baratay and Elisabeth Hardouin-Fugier

Originally appearing in French in 1998, this English edition (reduced to Zoo from the earlier Zoos) has been given the Reaktion treatment and now bulges with more than 400 pictures. Many of these pictures are historical photographs of European and (much less often) North American zoos, though a good number are by a group of photographic artists such as Britta Jaschinski and Candida Höfer who, in recent years, have turned their lenses to zoos. The penultimate chapter of the book is a short photographic essay of “Zoos Through the Ages,” while the final chapter is an illustrated chapter on “Artists and the Zoo.” The latter essay is seemingly inspired by several short references in the main written part of the book to artistic interest in captive animals. Indeed, there are so many pictures here that it is easy to miss the text -- for a while at least.

In 2002, Tiergarten Schönbrunn in Vienna has been congratulating itself as being “the world's oldest living zoo” at 250 years old. Yet, as far as I can remember, it is not mentioned in this book. Perhaps that is because Schönbrunn is more of an old fashioned menagerie set up by royalty without any “scientific” involvement; but no matter, such anniversaries generally are aimed at increasing tourism. Many other writers on zoos have claimed to find the oldest zoos in ancient Egypt or some such place of antiquity.

Mercifully, Baratay and Hardoiun-Fugier's history of zoos focuses on the zoological garden proper arising at the end of the eighteenth, beginning of the nineteenth century. The authors state that their perspective is European, although it also is their hope “to shed light on humanity's view of wild animals in the context of the zoological garden, approached as a perfect laboratory.” In this history they have “chosen not to retell the entire story;” however their story is interesting to any slightly jaded English language readers of zoo histories in that it does have a rather strong French inflection and relies mainly on French sources. But, this is a general history of zoos and certainly one that will be very useful both for students and the more general reader. Chapters cover a multitude of topics. These include sixteenth and seventeenth century developments, which led to increased collecting by the upper classes in Europe, the decreasing role of science in zoos in the nineteenth century, the developing role of zoos as places of display and entertainment, and attempts to re-scientize zoos from the 1960s onward, but there are many more.

Two of the chapters I found of particular interest. One is on the invention of the zoo, which also covers what the authors term the “forced democratization” of the zoo. Here we learn of the differing kinds of zoo ownership and the financial troubles of many of these new organizations in the nineteenth century, which often was the main impetus to extend their publics. This chapter, the focus of which is the nineteenth century, also argues that “zoos integrated themselves into the pre-existing network of animal shows” (p. 111) and that there was a constant exchange of knowledge, personnel, and animals between zoos, traveling menageries, circuses, and events such as international exhibitions. Some context is given for this assertion across Europe and has been given in other writings; but for me, yet more elaboration of the scope of such exchanges could easily have been undertaken.
Zoological gardens have successfully reinvented themselves -- largely with the active use of television -- as benevolent places of care, education, and “active conservation.” Yet, in such times it is necessary to be reminded of the role, until very recently, of zoos in the decimation of native wildlife around the world, particularly those areas colonized by European powers. The chapter on “Imperial Glory” catalogues animal hunting, trading, methods of transportation, and animal dealers and places of dealing that increasingly led to zoo spaces. We remember that in 1824 an Indian elephant would take six months to reach Paris, while in 1870 it could take only two. The authors also point to the low survival rates of animals bound for zoos or menageries and the very short life spans of animals in zoos in the nineteenth century. Indeed, for the ways it brings together the many aspects of the grand tragedy of the mass circulations of animals since the nineteenth century, this chapter is one of the highlights of the book.
Although much of the material in this book has been covered in more detail in other places, this is a very good general history of European zoos, one of the best I have read. Although the book is weighty and unwieldy, it is not heavy or ponderous in tone. The writing is clear, informative, mainly descriptive, and comparativebut with a reasonable amount of critical analysis and interpretation. At times, this critical analysis could have gone further. It might have been good to hear why nineteenth-century attempts to acclimatize wild animals from other areas of the world were continued in France much longer than they were in England. But perhaps that is just the pedant in me.

Note
* Chris Wilbert , Anglia Polytechnic University

 

For Abstracts of all issues, including the most current, click Article Abstracts

To order Society & Animals Journal, go to our secure online ordering page

You can Search the online issues of Society & Animals, as well as the entire Society & Animals Forum (formerly PSYETA) website,
for topics and keywords of your interest: