Day 100: Belle Vue Zoo Park (1902) - Belle Vue Gardens Manchester Official Guide
Page count: 32 pages
Photographs: N/A
Illustrations/diagrams: 12 drawings showing assorted species in collection
Layout: General introduction, followed by species-by-species walkthrough of collection, assorted visitor information and an account of the Boer War.
Map: Fold-out attached to inner front cover
Satisfyingly, the guidebook which was randomly-selected as the hundredth to be covered within this thread is one of the more unusual rarities within my collection; as I have remarked in the past, guidebooks for Belle Vue Zoo tend to be much sought-after due to the cross-pollination between those interested in zoological collections, those interested in circuses and theme parks, and those interested in speedways and other such sporting venues, and even those published in more recent years often sell for significant amounts of money. As such, I was extremely surprised to stumble across this guidebook on AbeBooks several months ago, which was being sold by a second-hand bookseller in southwest Canada for only £20 - even with the postage costs, which almost doubled the overall price, I felt this was a massive bargain given the fact the sales listing claimed it was from the early 20th century.
Once the guidebook arrived, I realised just *how* lucky I had been; per the publication information on the title page, this particular edition was published in 1902, and on consulting the master list of UK guidebooks maintained by the Bartlett Society I discovered that (prior to this copy falling into my possession) none were known to be extant. Moreover, the guidebook was in mint condition, with little-to-no damage having been inflicted by the ravages of age. As a result, this has immediately become one of the key treasures of my personal guidebook collection.
The guidebook opens with a very brief introduction detailing various means of reaching the collection, and which immediately betrays the fact that the target audience for the zoo was rather more "highbrow" than the common populace of nearby Manchester, given several references within; for instance, a reference to stable-blocks capable of housing several hundred horses available for the use of visitors, and a subsequent reminder that "the admission to the Gardens for the coachmen or servants accompanying each carriage is, however, the same as for other visitors".
Beyond here, the main body of the text comprises a comprehensive walkthrough account of the collection at the time of publication, with each aviary, cage or exhibit numbered in turn and the species within listed by both common name and scientific name, along with their rough location of origin; a handful of these accounts provide further odds-and-ends of information, such as diet, remarks on the age or condition of the specific animals displayed, or in some cases the name and address of the individual who donated the animals to the zoo. These accounts are supplemented throughout by rather attractive - if somewhat stylised - illustrations depicting various of the species held within the collection at the time of publication. Naturally, one of the key difficulties when reading through this walkthrough account from the point of view of a modern-day zoo enthusiast is the fact that - given the length of time which has elapsed since the publication of this guidebook - not only are the common names used within the text often somewhat archaic, but in many cases the scientific names are also out-of-date. As such, although it is entirely possible to use this guidebook to piece together a rough list of the species displayed at Belle Vue Zoo in 1902 - something which, in point of fact, I plan to attempt when time and mental energy allows - the task is not as simple as it may initially seem.
At various points in the walkthrough account, the text discusses various of the buildings, structures and amenities which the visitor to the collection would encounter during the course of the day beyond the zoological exhibits themselves; these include the hothouses and conservatories, various "refreshment rooms" and lavatories, an ornamental maze, areas for athletics, croquet and tennis, ballrooms, a music hall and a museum of natural history. The lattermost of these contained not only a variety of animal specimens - largely former inhabitants of the zoological collection - but also a variety of live reptile exhibits. Overall, the walkthrough account conveys a rather comprehensive view of the collection to which it pertains; given the extreme age of the guidebook, the rarity of material from Belle Vue during this timespan, and the fact that the collection itself ceased to exist nearly half a century ago, the overall value of this account to the zoo historian is immeasurable despite the aforementioned difficulties in interpreting certain aspects of the text.
Beyond here, the guidebook provides a comprehensive list of the various means by which visitors to the collection could reach Belle Vue by public transport, along with further discussion of the amenities available to those who were able to visit the collection by private coach; as far as a modern-day reader is concerned, this section is primarily valuable as a historical document providing primary evidence for the socio-economic landscape of Manchester and the surrounding areas at the time of publication, describing as it does the variety of public transport routes in operation, and displaying inherent prejudices and assumptions relating to the class and disposition of visitors to the collection.
The following section of the guidebook - a lengthy account of the Battle of Paardeberg, which took place during the Second Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902, and was one of several battles during said war which (as a complete sidenote) my great-grandfather fought in as an under-age recruit - would tend to strike the reader as something of a non-sequitur were one unaware of the long tradition (even at this point of time) of the so-called "Pyrodramas" which took place at Belle Vue Zoo throughout the latter half of the 19th century and into the early decades of the 20th century; these comprised regular firework displays which would take place each day against the backdrop of massive painted dioramas depicting a major battle or event from history, supplemented by actors and animals. Each year, the focus of the Pyrodrama event would shift and a new diorama would be installed; as one might have guessed by this point, during the 1902 season the Pyrodrama event was themed around the Battle of Paardeberg. Curiously enough, however, the guidebook itself makes no mention of the Pyrodramas or indeed the "firework island" on which they took place, with the only allusion being the aforementioned historical account itself.
The guidebook concludes with further key information for visitors; a menu and pricelist for the various food and drink sold within the "refreshment rooms" at Belle Vue, and a comprehensive list of locations throughout Manchester, Salford and Stockport alongside the relevant cab fares to/from the zoo. These, once again, represent
precisely the sort of information which provides an incredibly valuable primary resource not only for zoo enthusiasts with a historical interest, but moreover anyone interested in the wider social and socio-economic history of Manchester and surrounding areas of northwest England.
The final aspect of this guidebook which must be discussed is the highly-attractive and detailed fold-out map of the collection which is located within the front cover; this represents a work of art as much as it does a map for the zoo visitor, depicting the collection from an dimetric birds-eye view which possibly sacrifices some level of ease-of-reference in the name of aesthetic appearance. However, the map *is* well-labelled, with numbers corresponding to a wide range of zoological exhibits, visitor amenities and attractions listed within the provided key. The only real issue with the map, as far as the purposes of this thread are concerned, is that due to the length of the map when fully unfolded I have been unable to scan the entire document in a single image; rather, the following two images have been scanned and cropped in order to (I hope) match one another as closely as possible in scale and dimensions, thereby allowing a sense of the entire map to be gleaned.
Overall, this is an incredibly interesting, rare and unusual document which represents a valuable resource for zoological historians, social historians and economic historians alike, and which moreover provides a massive amount of detailed information about the zoological collection to which it pertains in an attractive and enjoyable fashion. For obvious reasons, then, this is one of the most important treasures in my guidebook collection.... certainly once one discounts those items from Zoo Berlin and Tierpark Berlin!
As noted previously, once I have the required time, mental energy and motivation, I plan to set aside a few hours to methodically go through the species list presented within this guidebook and transcribe an up-to-date version for the reference of modern-day zoo enthusiasts and historians, particularly given the fact that (if the Bartlett Society master list is accurate) I own the only known copy of this particular edition of the Belle Vue guidebook. However, in the meantime I would be more than happy to answer any questions which those reading this thread may have about the contents of this guidebook.... and of course, the usual call for people to flow freely with feedback, comments, criticism and so forth applies as ever!
as even if one were to assume they pulp/recycle items they don't think they would be able to sell, I can't see why they would do so for zoo guidebooks and not for the rafts of tourist guidebooks and pamphlets for stately homes, museums, railways and so forth which I *have* seen sold in their charity shops!
off the top of my head, I can think of at least nine (Chester, Twycross, Penscynor, CERZA, Linton, Banham, Suffolk, Muncaster, South Lakes) and I've probably omitted some!