Day 109: Zoo Berlin (1914) - Zebra
Page count: 144 pages (including photographic plates)
Photographs: 33 black-and-white photographs
Illustrations/diagrams: 64 black-and-white drawings
Layout: Comprehensive walkthrough account of collection.
Map: Fold-out at rear of guidebook
One of the most satisfying things about collecting zoological guidebooks is the chance to make unexpected discoveries; sometimes, this may entail learning new and surprising things on reading a guidebook for the first time, whilst on other occasions the thrill lies in discovering a rare or unusual item for sale in an unexpected or unassuming location. However, accidentally uncovering the existence of an item which (as far as you know) has either been entirely forgotten or was never noticed in the first place is a greater discovery still. In a very roundabout way, this thread has proven responsible for precisely such a turn of events relating to the guidebook we shall be discussing today.
The existence of the 1914 edition of the Zoo Berlin guidebook has always been well-known, of course - it is not *quite* as scarce as some of the other editions I have discussed which were published during the opening years of the 20th century, and I know of several collectors who own this edition, but surviving copies are nonetheless not particularly commonplace. The copy I purchased in mid-2020 via an Italian antiquarian bookseller on AbeBooks proved to have been comprehensively and professionally repaired at some point - the entire guidebook had been rebound as a hardback, with the original cover cut off and glued onto the front of the new binding. However, the damage which it had presumably endured at some unknown point in the past had one lasting impact - the fold-out map which had been included within the back cover of the guidebook was absent. Given the intrinsic value which the map would have held as a historical record of the collection, this was a bit of a blow - but one which was somewhat balanced by the vastly-reduced fragility of the guidebook itself, and resulting ability to read it with greater ease. As such, this particular edition is the one I have taken to using most often to practice my ability to interpret the archaic typeface used within this era of Zoo Berlin guidebooks. Overall, I was happy to put the idea of seeking out an intact copy on the back-burner, and it remained there until March this year when - having completed my collection of 20th century guidebooks published by Zoo Berlin - I decided to look into the matter once again.
As chance would have it, I was fortunate enough to find an intact copy within a few weeks, and added it to my collection alongside the repaired copy, thinking that I would keep the latter for reading and reference - and this is where the story gets quite interesting. When I ran my random number generator last week to select the next handful of guidebooks for scanning and discussion, a Zoo Berlin guidebook was among those selected; given my decision to cover the guidebooks published by said collection chronologically, it naturally meant that the time had come to discuss the 1914 edition. I initially decided to scan from my repaired copy due to the greater ease in opening pages fully, and therefore only scan the collection map where the recently-obtained intact copy was concerned. However, something odd caught my eye during the scanning process.... the text on several pages did not entirely line-up across the two copies. A closer examination showed that this seemed to be a result of subtle differences in the typeface used, rather than additional content - although the ornate nature of the typeface means that I am still not entirely certain of this, given I cannot read the text with ease. The below images show the same passage from the history segment located at the start of the guidebook; the differences are subtle, but undeniable:
The upshot is this; it appears that there were at least two distinct versions of the 1914 edition printed, with the only apparent difference being the precise typeface used. On tentatively enquiring elsewhere online in the hope others knew the circumstances, or had noticed this fact themselves, I was met with silence.... perhaps unsurprisingly, given the fact that it is unlikely many would have reason to look closely at multiple copies!
Considering the fact that the differences are extremely subtle, this post is intended to cover *both* versions of the 1914 guidebook; in the event, incidentally, I decided it would be best to select scans purely from the intact copy I recently obtained, lest I discover greater differences at a later date. As is well-established by this point within the "canon" of Zoo Berlin guidebooks published over the course of the early 20th century, the guidebook opens with a lengthy and detailed historical account relating the 70 years which had elapsed since the collection first opened in 1844. Despite my limited ability to parse the ornate typeface used within these early guidebooks - which is marginally easier to read in the repaired copy which entered my possession originally, but still presents distinct difficulties - it is obvious that this account has been extended and updated to cover the years which had elapsed since the previous edition of the guidebook, with perhaps an additional half-page of content discussing the recent opening of the Zoo-Aquarium close to the Elefantentor entrance to the collection. One will note, incidentally, that the title page once again credits the authorship of this guidebook solely to Ludwig Heck, the zoo director; by this point in time, his assistant Oskar Heinroth (previously credited as co-author) had become the Aquarium director, a role he would remain in for over 30 years until his death within the ruins of the aquarium building a few weeks after the end of WWII in Europe. My usual remarks about the great value of this historical account, and my desire to translate the various iterations published within these guidebooks for wider consumption, can be taken as read at this point!
The main body of this guidebook, like those which preceded it, comprises a detailed exhibit-by-exhibit walkthrough account of Zoo Berlin at the time of publication, with comprehensive lists of the various species located within the collection and numerous attractive illustrations accompanying the text. Although I cannot be entirely certain, at least until my ability to interpret the typeface used within this guidebook has improved, I suspect that the text itself has been entirely overhauled and updated beyond the small edits which have sometimes occurred between editions; not only would this make sense given the aforementioned fact that Ludwig Heck is once again credited as the sole author of the text, but moreover the length of the guidebook as a whole has increased by around a dozen pages in total. This increase could, of course, be partially attributed to the presence of additional segments relating to new houses and exhibits; perhaps the two most notable of these are those pertaining to the newly-constructed zebra house, and the aforementioned Zoo-Aquarium. Both of these structures, of course, survive at the zoo to this day - some of the few which remain over a century on from the publication of this guidebook.
Another noteworthy addition to this segment of the guidebook is the fact that the number of supplementary illustrations has increased noticeably when compared to prior editions; many of the illustrations are reproduced from earlier guidebooks, of course, but there are a surprising number of new images occurring throughout the text. Satisfyingly, many of these comprise general views of the zoo, or depictions of smaller and less notable exhibits - precisely the sort of information which it is easy to overlook, and which provide an incredibly valuable insight into the state of the collection at the time of publication.
As usual, the guidebook is littered with several advertisements for various goods, services and businesses operating within Berlin at the time of publication; however, it is perhaps a sign of the times, and the impending spectre of war, that there is a noticeable drop in the overall density of such material when compared to prior editions. Nonetheless, the presence of advertisement material of this sort - no matter how little - represents a valuable resource for those interested in the socio-economic history of Berlin during the early decades of the 20th century, as I have discussed at length previously.
The main body of the guidebook once again concludes with a series of photographic plates depicting a wide variety of the species held within the collection at the time of publication, followed by a comprehensive index of the species and exhibits cited within the text. Although several of these images have been recycled from previous editions of the guidebook, there are a surprising number of new additions to the roster; moreover, many of the species depicted here are noteworthy, either due to their scarcity in modern-day zoological collections, their current taxonomic status, or the fact they represent some of the first of their kind to be displayed in captivity. As can be seen above and below, I have scanned a handful of these photographic plates as representation of the whole, with my general selection criteria being aimed towards highlighting some of the most unusual taxa; it is particularly worth pointing out the fact that the subspecies of Black Rhinoceros depicted above is now extinct, that one of the plates below depicts both the Tsessebe and Tiang races of topi, and that (perhaps surprisingly given the husbandry standards one would expect at the time) the Long-beaked Echidna visible in the other plate below would survive until 1943, potentially being one of the losses inflicted by wartime bombing raids. Perhaps the most unusual photograph within the guidebook, however, is not included among these plates - on the interior rear cover, a photograph is provided of an elephant pulling a cartload of beer barrels through the streets of Berlin!
As previously discussed, the main reason I was driven to obtain a second copy of this guidebook was the fact that my original copy lacked the accompanying fold-out map of the collection; given my strong appreciation for the maps produced by Zoo Berlin during this timespan, both as documents of historical and zoological importance and as items of aesthetic and artistic merit, one can hardly blame me for this decision!
In general design and format, the map very much resembles those which preceded it; however it does differ in a number of regards, most notably the presence of the Zoo-Aquarium building, but with several other key differences visible with careful observation and attention. Given how high-quality and attractive the preceding maps were, of course, this is no bad thing.
To conclude; this is, as one may have learned to expect from the guidebooks published by Zoo Berlin throughout the early years of the 20th century, an extremely interesting, informative and high quality item which represents a valuable historical resource both for those interested in zoological history and those whose interests are somewhat less specialised. The print quality, format and other production standards are universally high - doubtless one reason why the guidebook is still in fantastic condition despite being over a century old at this point - and if I were to guess, the fact I have now established this edition saw at least two print runs strongly suggests that this edition in particular sold very well indeed. Perhaps one day I will discover more about the motivation behind the newly-discovered variant version of this guidebook.
One could make a fairly strong argument that considering the fact that the decades following the publication of this guidebook would be dominated by periods of financial hardship, hyperinflation and (after a brief resurgence in fortunes during the 1930s) utter destruction, this guidebook marks the final days of a golden age for Zoo Berlin..... quite literally the end of an Imperial phase, to steal a turn of phrase from the world of music! It is certainly an indisputable fact that this would be the final time for many decades that a Zoo Berlin guidebook would be quite this detailed, in-depth and lengthy, as we shall doubtless discuss in the fullness of time.
In the meantime, I open the floor up for feedback, questions and comments!
Page count: 144 pages (including photographic plates)
Photographs: 33 black-and-white photographs
Illustrations/diagrams: 64 black-and-white drawings
Layout: Comprehensive walkthrough account of collection.
Map: Fold-out at rear of guidebook
One of the most satisfying things about collecting zoological guidebooks is the chance to make unexpected discoveries; sometimes, this may entail learning new and surprising things on reading a guidebook for the first time, whilst on other occasions the thrill lies in discovering a rare or unusual item for sale in an unexpected or unassuming location. However, accidentally uncovering the existence of an item which (as far as you know) has either been entirely forgotten or was never noticed in the first place is a greater discovery still. In a very roundabout way, this thread has proven responsible for precisely such a turn of events relating to the guidebook we shall be discussing today.
The existence of the 1914 edition of the Zoo Berlin guidebook has always been well-known, of course - it is not *quite* as scarce as some of the other editions I have discussed which were published during the opening years of the 20th century, and I know of several collectors who own this edition, but surviving copies are nonetheless not particularly commonplace. The copy I purchased in mid-2020 via an Italian antiquarian bookseller on AbeBooks proved to have been comprehensively and professionally repaired at some point - the entire guidebook had been rebound as a hardback, with the original cover cut off and glued onto the front of the new binding. However, the damage which it had presumably endured at some unknown point in the past had one lasting impact - the fold-out map which had been included within the back cover of the guidebook was absent. Given the intrinsic value which the map would have held as a historical record of the collection, this was a bit of a blow - but one which was somewhat balanced by the vastly-reduced fragility of the guidebook itself, and resulting ability to read it with greater ease. As such, this particular edition is the one I have taken to using most often to practice my ability to interpret the archaic typeface used within this era of Zoo Berlin guidebooks. Overall, I was happy to put the idea of seeking out an intact copy on the back-burner, and it remained there until March this year when - having completed my collection of 20th century guidebooks published by Zoo Berlin - I decided to look into the matter once again.
As chance would have it, I was fortunate enough to find an intact copy within a few weeks, and added it to my collection alongside the repaired copy, thinking that I would keep the latter for reading and reference - and this is where the story gets quite interesting. When I ran my random number generator last week to select the next handful of guidebooks for scanning and discussion, a Zoo Berlin guidebook was among those selected; given my decision to cover the guidebooks published by said collection chronologically, it naturally meant that the time had come to discuss the 1914 edition. I initially decided to scan from my repaired copy due to the greater ease in opening pages fully, and therefore only scan the collection map where the recently-obtained intact copy was concerned. However, something odd caught my eye during the scanning process.... the text on several pages did not entirely line-up across the two copies. A closer examination showed that this seemed to be a result of subtle differences in the typeface used, rather than additional content - although the ornate nature of the typeface means that I am still not entirely certain of this, given I cannot read the text with ease. The below images show the same passage from the history segment located at the start of the guidebook; the differences are subtle, but undeniable:
The upshot is this; it appears that there were at least two distinct versions of the 1914 edition printed, with the only apparent difference being the precise typeface used. On tentatively enquiring elsewhere online in the hope others knew the circumstances, or had noticed this fact themselves, I was met with silence.... perhaps unsurprisingly, given the fact that it is unlikely many would have reason to look closely at multiple copies!
Considering the fact that the differences are extremely subtle, this post is intended to cover *both* versions of the 1914 guidebook; in the event, incidentally, I decided it would be best to select scans purely from the intact copy I recently obtained, lest I discover greater differences at a later date. As is well-established by this point within the "canon" of Zoo Berlin guidebooks published over the course of the early 20th century, the guidebook opens with a lengthy and detailed historical account relating the 70 years which had elapsed since the collection first opened in 1844. Despite my limited ability to parse the ornate typeface used within these early guidebooks - which is marginally easier to read in the repaired copy which entered my possession originally, but still presents distinct difficulties - it is obvious that this account has been extended and updated to cover the years which had elapsed since the previous edition of the guidebook, with perhaps an additional half-page of content discussing the recent opening of the Zoo-Aquarium close to the Elefantentor entrance to the collection. One will note, incidentally, that the title page once again credits the authorship of this guidebook solely to Ludwig Heck, the zoo director; by this point in time, his assistant Oskar Heinroth (previously credited as co-author) had become the Aquarium director, a role he would remain in for over 30 years until his death within the ruins of the aquarium building a few weeks after the end of WWII in Europe. My usual remarks about the great value of this historical account, and my desire to translate the various iterations published within these guidebooks for wider consumption, can be taken as read at this point!
The main body of this guidebook, like those which preceded it, comprises a detailed exhibit-by-exhibit walkthrough account of Zoo Berlin at the time of publication, with comprehensive lists of the various species located within the collection and numerous attractive illustrations accompanying the text. Although I cannot be entirely certain, at least until my ability to interpret the typeface used within this guidebook has improved, I suspect that the text itself has been entirely overhauled and updated beyond the small edits which have sometimes occurred between editions; not only would this make sense given the aforementioned fact that Ludwig Heck is once again credited as the sole author of the text, but moreover the length of the guidebook as a whole has increased by around a dozen pages in total. This increase could, of course, be partially attributed to the presence of additional segments relating to new houses and exhibits; perhaps the two most notable of these are those pertaining to the newly-constructed zebra house, and the aforementioned Zoo-Aquarium. Both of these structures, of course, survive at the zoo to this day - some of the few which remain over a century on from the publication of this guidebook.
Another noteworthy addition to this segment of the guidebook is the fact that the number of supplementary illustrations has increased noticeably when compared to prior editions; many of the illustrations are reproduced from earlier guidebooks, of course, but there are a surprising number of new images occurring throughout the text. Satisfyingly, many of these comprise general views of the zoo, or depictions of smaller and less notable exhibits - precisely the sort of information which it is easy to overlook, and which provide an incredibly valuable insight into the state of the collection at the time of publication.
As usual, the guidebook is littered with several advertisements for various goods, services and businesses operating within Berlin at the time of publication; however, it is perhaps a sign of the times, and the impending spectre of war, that there is a noticeable drop in the overall density of such material when compared to prior editions. Nonetheless, the presence of advertisement material of this sort - no matter how little - represents a valuable resource for those interested in the socio-economic history of Berlin during the early decades of the 20th century, as I have discussed at length previously.
The main body of the guidebook once again concludes with a series of photographic plates depicting a wide variety of the species held within the collection at the time of publication, followed by a comprehensive index of the species and exhibits cited within the text. Although several of these images have been recycled from previous editions of the guidebook, there are a surprising number of new additions to the roster; moreover, many of the species depicted here are noteworthy, either due to their scarcity in modern-day zoological collections, their current taxonomic status, or the fact they represent some of the first of their kind to be displayed in captivity. As can be seen above and below, I have scanned a handful of these photographic plates as representation of the whole, with my general selection criteria being aimed towards highlighting some of the most unusual taxa; it is particularly worth pointing out the fact that the subspecies of Black Rhinoceros depicted above is now extinct, that one of the plates below depicts both the Tsessebe and Tiang races of topi, and that (perhaps surprisingly given the husbandry standards one would expect at the time) the Long-beaked Echidna visible in the other plate below would survive until 1943, potentially being one of the losses inflicted by wartime bombing raids. Perhaps the most unusual photograph within the guidebook, however, is not included among these plates - on the interior rear cover, a photograph is provided of an elephant pulling a cartload of beer barrels through the streets of Berlin!
As previously discussed, the main reason I was driven to obtain a second copy of this guidebook was the fact that my original copy lacked the accompanying fold-out map of the collection; given my strong appreciation for the maps produced by Zoo Berlin during this timespan, both as documents of historical and zoological importance and as items of aesthetic and artistic merit, one can hardly blame me for this decision!
In general design and format, the map very much resembles those which preceded it; however it does differ in a number of regards, most notably the presence of the Zoo-Aquarium building, but with several other key differences visible with careful observation and attention. Given how high-quality and attractive the preceding maps were, of course, this is no bad thing.
To conclude; this is, as one may have learned to expect from the guidebooks published by Zoo Berlin throughout the early years of the 20th century, an extremely interesting, informative and high quality item which represents a valuable historical resource both for those interested in zoological history and those whose interests are somewhat less specialised. The print quality, format and other production standards are universally high - doubtless one reason why the guidebook is still in fantastic condition despite being over a century old at this point - and if I were to guess, the fact I have now established this edition saw at least two print runs strongly suggests that this edition in particular sold very well indeed. Perhaps one day I will discover more about the motivation behind the newly-discovered variant version of this guidebook.
One could make a fairly strong argument that considering the fact that the decades following the publication of this guidebook would be dominated by periods of financial hardship, hyperinflation and (after a brief resurgence in fortunes during the 1930s) utter destruction, this guidebook marks the final days of a golden age for Zoo Berlin..... quite literally the end of an Imperial phase, to steal a turn of phrase from the world of music! It is certainly an indisputable fact that this would be the final time for many decades that a Zoo Berlin guidebook would be quite this detailed, in-depth and lengthy, as we shall doubtless discuss in the fullness of time.
In the meantime, I open the floor up for feedback, questions and comments!
other unusual taxa depicted within the photographic plates include Dwarf Cassowary, Kagu, Southern Horned Curassow and Golden Guenon.
I just happened to spot it when it had a few hours to go, having been talking about it mere hours earlier, and chucked my hat into the ring!
