Day 21: Chessington Zoo (1965) - Fraser's Eagle Owl
Page count: 36 (including 8 full-page advertisements)
Photographs: 22 black-and-white photographs
Illustrations/diagrams: N/A
Layout: Numbered summary of species/exhibits corresponding to map, plus general information about collection.
Map: Located within central pages of guidebook
An interesting one this time round, insofar as much as this guidebook pertains to a collection which *does* still exist, but not in the form which it took here; as such this item provides an interesting look at Chessington in the days when it was a pure zoo, rather than a theme park and resort as is the case now. The first notable feature which merits mention is that the front cover of this guidebook depicts a Fraser's Eagle Owl, a highly-unusual species now absent from captive collections. However, this species was *not* held at Chessington at the time of publication, nor at any other time as far as I have been able to discover; rather, the photograph in question was provided by the Zoological Society of London, which had originally used the image on the cover of the society magazine some time previously and which *did* keep the species in question for many years. That said, I must admit to picking this guidebook up from eBay several months ago for the sole purpose of owning an item with this species on the cover, even knowing the photograph bears no relation to the collection!
Another aspect of this guidebook which is worth mentioning up-front is the fact that a fairly significant portion is taken up with advertisements for a wide variety of products and services, with eight full-page adverts and several more taking up sections of a page; this does have the effect of padding the length of the guidebook out somewhat, but it also provides a valuable resource for those interested in the domestic and commercial history of the UK in my opinion. Many of the adverts found within are related in some fashion to the overall "zoo guide" framing device; for instance, several of the adverts for food and drink are animal themed, there are adverts for shipping companies and food manufacturers who supplied Chessington Zoo at the time of publication, and there is even an advert for an exotic pet shop in the centre of London.
After several pages of adverts such as these, and a contents page, the guidebook itself opens with a double-page segment providing a range of key information about the collection - opening times, admission charges, feeding times, services available, other attractions located within the zoo and so forth - before moving onto a potted history of the zoo and its environs, as can be seen in the above screenshot. Beyond here, the main body of the text - a methodical species-by-species and enclosure-by-enclosure walkthrough account of the collection, with each entry numbered and corresponding with the numbers/labels located on the collection map - begins; the entries are broadly speaking fairly simple but provide a reasonable level of detail, with the focus being very much placed on the specific individuals held at the collection, their origins and other such items of information which would be of interest to the casual zoo visitor. Unlike some of the other guidebooks I have discussed thus far following this general pattern, this item contains references to more than a few species which are now unusual or even absent from European collections; within are references to Beisa Oryx, Ugandan Kob, Chacma Baboon, and most intriguingly a Gharial - as far as Zootierliste is concerned, neither species of gharial was held at the collection, so I would be interested to learn which one is being referred to here!
Examples of these species accounts can be seen above; I have selected pages which also provide a glimpse at some of the aforementioned advertisements present within the guidebook, thereby killing two birds with one stone. Moreover, the first of these images also provides a fairly good look at one of the enclosures found at the collection during the timespan in question - a rather poor Polar Bear exhibit, following the usual "bear pit" format commonplace at the time, and which judging from the map contained no more land space than is visible within the photograph, the remainder of the exhibit comprising a deep pool/moat. On the lighter side, it may be noted that in the full-page advertisement for "Clayton Gina Sparkling Orange" - which incidentally demonstrates my aforementioned point about the adverts in this guidebook being largely themed around animals - it appears that amongst the animals walking two-by-two into Noah's ark, there is a pair of
male lions! No repopulating the Earth there, methinks
Beyond the species/exhibit accounts, there is a short summary of the various contents of the Pet's Corner also present at Chessington Zoo at the time of publication, with entry subject to an additional admission fee; this appears to have largely comprised a petting area of the sort that exists at many collections today, with the vast majority of the occupants being livestock such as sheep, donkeys, ponies and goats, or domesticated guinea pigs, rabbits and so forth. However, it is also mentioned that amongst the occupants at the time of publication were several more exotic species, such as parrots, bushbabies and a chimpanzee. For all intents and purposes this comprises the end of the guidebook, with the following pages containing a handful of photographs taken at various points around the zoo, and several more pages of advertisments extending onto the back cover.
As noted previously, in the central pages of the guidebook a fairly detailed and well-labelled map is present, showing the layout of the collection and (via copious numerical and textual labels corresponding to the contents of the guidebook per my above observations) whereabouts the various species and exhibits were located. However, one aspect of the map which is very much to its overall detriment is the fact that for some reason, the decision has been made to print the entire page (barring the area containing the species index, and a handful of open areas, courtyards and the car park on the map itself) onto a deep blue background, which renders the lines and layout of the map rather difficult to look at. Not to get too far ahead of myself, as I may well end up discussing other guidebooks from this collection, but this is something that seems to have been a "house style" of the sort
@gentle lemur and myself briefly remarked upon upthread... although in some of the other guidebooks I own from this time period, the effect was even worse!
Overall, then, this is a rather interesting guidebook for a collection which, although it still exists now, is doubtless all-but-unrecognisable when compared to the form it took at the time this item was published; moreover, although I have my issues with the map as noted, this is one of the better-quality examples of the "numbered walkthrough detailing each exhibit/species, with reference to an accompanying map" guidebooks which seem to have been the usual format for such items in 1960s and 1970s England.
I would be interested to hear any thoughts or feedback from those Zoochatters who may recall Chessington Zoo before the change in focus it underwent in the mid-1980s; especially anyone who recalls it from the timespan I have discussed with this guidebook. Barring this, I would be happy to provide further information on any of the species mentioned within the text on request!
)
Interesting collection, though.