Dan Ducello's Zoological Exhibition And Museum Of Living Wonders Broadsides & Ephemera

Illustrated broadside, 26.25" x 9" plus margins. Place and time of appearance stamped in black below title. CONDITION: Good, torn in half across center and repaired on verso with tissue, small piece of cloth tape adhered to edge of top margin, a few tiny punctures, .5" x 1.5" loss at lower margin, no losses to the text. An unrecorded broadside advertising an appearance in Gardiner, Maine of Ducello's touring zoological exhibition, featuring illustrations of lion tamers performing with lions and exotic wild animals. This production of Dan Ducello's Zoological Exhibition and Museum of Living Wonders took place on Wednesday and Thursday, the 24th and 25th of October, ca. 1880. The exhibition embraced rare living wild animals from around the world including a very large African lion and lioness, whose keeper was to enter the den with them and put his head in the lion's mouth in full view of the audience. It is claimed here that this keeper was the only animal trainer in the U.S. who successfully performed this daring feat. Also part of the exhibition were the large African Spotted Hyenas (or "the man eaters of Africa"; "these animals are savage, untamable and possess great strength"), as well as Tigers, Leopards, Panthers, Bears, Monkeys, Apes, and more. Ducello was to explain and lecture on the various natures and habits of the wild animals. The exhibition started at 2 O'clock, and at 3 O'clock all the wild animals were fed, which gave every visitor an opportunity of witnessing "one of the grandest sights ever seen in this place." Elevated seats were arranged such that the entire audience could have an unobstructed view of the animals in their cages while being fed. "Everyone will have an opportunity to witness, at their leisure, the works of the great creator." It is emphasized that this is a "moral and instructive exhibition which every person, old and young, should surely attend." Ducello, identified here as the business manager, is known to have operated Dan Ducello's Zoological Exhibition from at least 1876 to 1879. W. Wilder is identified as Treasurer and C. H. Henderson is listed as Business Agent. No copies of this broadside recorded in OCLC. REFERENCES: Slout, William Lawrence. Olympians of the Sawdust Circle (San Bernardino, CA: The Borgo Press, 1998), p. 85.