A Guidebook Library: TLD's year-long randomised walkthrough of zoo guides

[MRJ]

Day 77: Belfast Zoo (1935) - Bellevue Zoological Gardens Belfast

Page count: 28 pages
Photographs: 15 black-and-white photographs
Illustrations/diagrams: N/A
Layout: Brief introductory segment providing admission information, and a comprehensive enclosure-by-enclosure walkthrough account of the zoo following a suggested route around the collection.
Map: Located on fold-out inside front cover.

A fairly rare and interesting item today; this guidebook was the very first to be released by Belfast Zoo when it originally opened in the 1930s, and as such pertains to the original Bellevue site on Antrim Road, rather than the current location of the collection immediately uphill. This is, therefore, not only a valuable historical record of the earliest days of Belfast Zoo but also (for all intents and purposes) a guidebook for a zoological collection which has now completely disappeared. I was fortunate enough to stumble across this item on AbeBooks several years ago whilst performing one of my occasional searches for material pertaining to the *other* closed zoological collection known by this name, and needless to say purchased it immediately; more recent guidebooks to Belfast Zoo are reasonably scarce on the secondary market, but items relating to the Bellevue site are vanishingly rare!

The guidebook opens with a very brief segment located on the interior front cover, discussing the opening hours of the collection, admission prices, and the various public transport services available for the collection at the time of publication; this is accompanied by a large fold-out map of the collection which, as I shall discuss anon, is copiously labelled and numbered to indicate all major exhibits and houses.

Beyond here, the main body of the guidebook more or less solely comprises a comprehensive walkthrough account of the collection at the time of publication - and therefore, more or less, at the time that it first opened to the public in 1934. As noted in the title page of the guidebook, the text was written by Richard H Hunter, the first animal manager and curator of the collection; as we have discussed previously within this thread, it is always rather interesting and enlightening when the precise author of a guidebook is made clear to the reader, given the conclusions one can often make as a result regarding the accuracy of the presented information, the aims and objectives of the guidebook, and the biases involved.

One of the key factors which renders this item so valuable - and fascinating - as a primary record of the collection at the time that it first opened is that it truly *does* represent a guidebook to the collection; whilst some items we have previously discussed within this thread follow a rough "walkthrough" style, relating the various animals and exhibits present throughout the collection in question, this guidebook comprises a step-by-step description of a suggested route throughout the zoo. Each major exhibit or animal house is presented in a very specific order - with each numbered section corresponding directly to the numbers located on the collection map and accompanying key - and bold annotations are scattered throughout the text, providing further clarification on the route the visitor should take at particular points. Furthermore, at selected points throughout the text a number of black-and-white photographic plates depicting some of the species under discussion are provided.

The quality of these accounts is reasonably high; the information presented is both interesting and detailed for the most part, discussing the wild range, behaviour and diet of the species held within the collection and providing specific information on the individual animals present at the zoo where appropriate, and the vast majority of taxa cited within the text are listed both under their common names and their taxonomic names. Interestingly, in those cases where the map includes numbered exhibits which were still empty or under construction at the time of publication, the guidebook does not omit or skip these numbers when they are reached within the walkthrough account, making a specific note that the exhibits these numbers pertain to were still under construction. This is a fairly simple touch, but one I rather like given the fact that it maintains consistency between the map and guidebook.

As can be seen below, the guidebook concludes with a brief note intended to provide clarification on how the visitor to the collection could amend the route-plan presented were they to have entered the zoo through the secondary entrance, and furthermore provides advice regarding the best time to view certain taxa; again, this is a minor touch but one I like a lot given the fact that it strengthens the quality and utility of the guidebook for the intended purpose.

As noted previously, the guidebook opens with a large and rather attractive map to the collection; given the somewhat unwieldy format of this map for the purposes of scanning, I have elected to present it across two images, rather than take a lower quality photograph from afar showing the entire map. Hopefully, this does not too much of an impediment in appreciating and interpreting the map for those reading this thread; certainly I feel that it is incredibly easy to cross-reference details and information between the main body of the text and the map itself, and follow the walkthrough account of Belfast Zoo within my own mind.

In conclusion, although this guidebook is relatively short - being limited solely to a walkthrough account of Belfast Zoo at the time of publication - it presents a well-presented, interesting and very informative look at the very earliest days of the collection; as such, it is not only an excellent zoological guidebook, but also a valuable historical document in its own right.

As always, I welcome any-and-all questions, feedback, or other remarks which anyone may have relating to this guidebook; furthermore, I would be more than happy to provide further specifics about the content presented within if anyone so desires!

Does anybody know what happened after the Zoo moved? Was the site totally cleared or are there still reminders of the old zoo?

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Does anybody know what happened after the Zoo moved? Was the site totally cleared or are there still reminders of the old zoo?

I believe that for much of the intervening time, the zoo has used the old site for storage purposes and that many of the original structures were still standing; however, I am given to understand that in the last few years the site has finally started to be cleared and demolished.

I don't know what plans - if any - the zoo has for the land now.

 

[Tim May]

... I was always just slightly puzzled by Belle Vue; was there another Manchester Zoo? ...

Yes there was another Manchester Zoo, the Manchester Zoological Gardens, which operated between 1838 and 1842.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Day 78: Birdland Park & Gardens (1964) - King Penguins

Page count: 16 pages
Photographs: 28 colour photographs
Illustrations/diagrams: N/A
Layout: Brief introduction, followed by general overview of collection.
Map: Two maps; collection plan located on interior front cover, and map showing location of collection on interior rear cover.

A fairly brief but nonetheless interesting item for discussion today; in a similar fashion to the last guidebook we discussed, this item pertains to a collection which is open in the present day, but which is no longer located on the original site described within. However, whereas the Bellevue site of Belfast Zoo was located immediately-adjacent to the current-day site, the "original" site of Birdland was located some distance from the modern site, although still within the town of Bourton-on-the-Water. As such, in many ways this guidebook represents a primary record of a closed collection rather than "merely" the early days of a present-day collection; it would, of course, be worthy of discussion either way - but at this stage the added interest which historical factors lend to a guidebook in my opinion will be no secret to those reading this thread!

After a brief introduction to Birdland, touching on the attractive setting of the collection and the number of species held at the time of publication, the main body of the text comprises a general overview of the various exhibits and species present, with brief remarks scattered throughout discussing specific individual animals, the experiences and motivations of the founder Len Hill, and information pertaining to the grounds and surrounding area. As can be seen from the images above and below which I have selected as general illustration of the content, style and tone of these segments, the level of information provided is reasonably good - with highlight species specifically cited both with their common name and their taxonomic name, and interesting facts relating to both the species on-display and the individual animals present within the collection - and the guidebook is copiously-illustrated with colour photographs depicting a wide range of species, exhibits and the general setting of the collection.

Having been published not long after the collection first opened, the range of species mentioned within this guidebook is somewhat more limited and sparse in oddities than one might expect; however, this is not to say that the text entirely lacks species of this sort, with African Darter, Hawk-headed Parrot and Spotted Bowerbird among those discussed to greater or lesser extent. Furthermore, the text goes into some detail about the specific exhibits within which the species were located, particularly where the handful of free-flight and walkthrough aviaries were concerned; this represents valuable historical information regarding the design, setting and early days of the collection.

One interesting feature of this guidebook is that it contains two maps within the interior cover pages; a plan of the collection in question on the interior front page, and a map showing the general location of Bourton-on-the-Water and therefore Birdland itself within the Cotswolds and adjacent regions of southern England. In my experience, this seems to have been quite a commonplace aspect of guidebooks published within the UK during the 1960s and 1970s, judging from the number of items within my collection which display this pattern. The latter is a fairly simple map, showing the various towns and villages surrounding the collection along with the major roads linking them together, and is therefore worthy of little further discussion. Conversely, the collection map itself is a rather attractive and aesthetically-pleasing item, being well-labelled and showing the various paths, aviaries and gardens within the collection in a clear and easy-to-interpret fashion. One aspect of this map which I find particularly appealing is the presence of a rough suggested route through the collection, always something which is both interesting and useful within a guidebook - especially one where the main body of text forms a rough walkthrough account which can be consulted alongside the map.

Overall, then, an interesting if somewhat brief and insubstantial guidebook, which nonetheless provides a valuable insight into the early days of the collection to which it pertains; even given the fact that - as noted previously - in many ways the "current" collection known by the name of Birdland is somewhat distinct from the collection discussed within these pages, it is notable that Birdland is one of the few collections of this ilk (which popped up throughout the country at the time of publication) which has survived to the present day. As such, records of the collection and the way in which it has developed have the potential to be very enlightening - even if this guidebook does not quite meet this potential.

 

[MRJ]

Interesting guide, in that I was very much aware of Birdland through my teenage years but have never seen a guide or map. I tried to visit in 1996, not sure if that was the old or new site then, but was too late in the day as the doors were shut. Never mind, in that I had already visited Slimbridge, Paradise Park and Bristol Zoo on that trip. Interesting to observe three tropical houses. Also for anybody building their own zoo, note that the gift shop should be at the exit and the gift shop site would have been great for a café (half way round, overlooking a lawn). Doing that would have increased dwell time and turnover substantially.

 

[vogelcommando]

If I even gonna make an UK-zoo-trip this collection is very high on my list. This may come because of the famous book the founder of the collection - Len Hill - 'Penguin Millionaire' is, next to the many books of Gerald Durrell, an all-time favorite of my. The book must have been written years after the publication of this guidebook and discribes how Birdland was founded , the birds and lots of other stories about the collection.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Day 79: WWT Washington (2006) - Grey Heron

Page count: 28 pages
Photographs: 1 colour photograph, 3 black-and-white photographs.
Illustrations/diagrams: c.30 black and white drawings, 56 colour images.
Layout: Brief introduction, followed by walkthrough account of collection and associated wildlife reserves, discussion of wildfowl recognition, and illustrated checklist of wildfowl species held at collection.
Map: Fold-out within front cover.

Today, we shall be taking a look at another item from one of the various Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust collections - in this case, one of the more recent guidebooks for the Washington Wetland Centre. We have, of course, already discussed one of the first guidebooks from the collection; as such, I think that there is plenty of scope for comparison between the two, and more generally observing how Washington WWT has developed over the years.

As is the case for all of the guidebooks released by the WWT in the last few decades, this particular item has been published in a rather attractive and aesthetically-pleasing pocket sized format, with fold-out pages within both the front and rear covers supplementing the contents of the main body of the text. One of the major advantages of this format choice is that it allows the guidebook to be used *as* a guide to the collection in question by the visitor in a fashion which maximises ease-of-reference and permits the guidebook to be kept in a coat pocket whilst not in use. As I will discuss anon, the text within this item is specifically tailored to this purpose, further enhancing the quality of the guidebook as a whole.

The guide book opens with a general introduction to both the WWT overall and the Washington Wetland Centre in particular, discussing the history of the collection and highlighting several of the major developments which had taken place there over the years; beyond here, the various visitor amenities located within the visitor centre and the surrounding environs are discussed at some length. It is worth mentioning here that - unlike in earlier WWT guidebooks discussed within this thread - this section is very much tailored to the collection for which the guidebook was published, rather than comprising a rote and generalised account, with descriptions of the visitor centre and the route the visitor would take in order to start making their way around the captive collection which are very much tied to the Washington site.

Much of the main body of the guidebook comprises a pair of walkthrough accounts; firstly, an exhibit by exhibit account of the captive collection at the Washington wetland centre; and secondly, a discussion of the wildlife reserve surrounding the collection. Each of these sections - as the scans provided above and below demonstrate - provide a large amount of detail about the various species located within the areas to which they refer, both in terms of their behaviour, anatomical features and wild habitat, and any relevant conservation and captive breeding work undertaken by the WWT. For instance, the section pertaining to the "Flooded Forest" exhibit area discusses the White-winged Duck captive breeding and reintroduction programme, which started when birds from WWT Slimbridge were sent to breeding centres in Thailand and India, whilst the "Arctic Tundra" section which follows contains copious discussion of the ongoing work which the WWT has undertaken since the early 1960s to research the wild population of Bewick's Swan. These accounts are all presented in the order which a visitor to Washington would encounter the exhibits concerned, and are liberally scattered with numerous attractive and detailed black-and-white drawings of some of the species discussed within the text.

Similarly, the walkthrough account pertaining to the various sections of the wildlife reserve which surrounds the captive collection is presented in the form of a suggested route through the reserve; in many ways, I think this is the most interesting portion of the guidebook as a whole, given how intrinsically tied it is to the specific location being discussed. Numerous aspects of the history and construction of the reserve are discussed at great length here, including explanations of the various design choices which have been made, the importance of specific native plants and vegetation within the larger ecosystem at play, and making note of which areas of the reserve are frequented by which animal and plant species. Being relatively familiar with the collection, I can confidently state that this portion of the walkthrough accounts most definitely evokes a *very* clear sense of what walking through the reserve is like; the text describes the tapestry of specific sounds, smells, and colours which the visitor to the collection perceives at various points in the year. Furthermore, this section also discusses the local conservation importance of the reserve as a reservoir for breeding populations of species such as curlew, avocet and various woodland songbirds.

Beyond here, the guidebook concludes with a rather interesting discussion relating to the identification and study of wildfowl species in the wild, citing aspects such as a birds shape, size, bill, plumage and overall "feel", and presenting an attractive and aesthetically-appealing colour fold-out montage within a fold-out section of the rear cover showing the range in waterfowl form and size; this latter montage is not all that dissimilar in general style and format to the waterfowl painting which was located within the central pages of some of the previous WWT guidebooks which I have discussed, and as previously noted can be readily used in conjunction with the text of the guidebook by a visitor to the collection, given the pocket-friendly format of the guidebook and the generally high level of accessibility within the text.

It would be appropriate here to discuss the fold-out map located within the interior front page of the guidebook; this is highly-detailed and appealing to the eye, with a comprehensive key listing all of the major features of both the captive collection and the surrounding wildlife reserve, and indicating four suggested routes around WWT Washington for visitors to take. These routes are tailored to the specific needs or interests of a given visitor; the Blue Trail is restricted to the central captive collection, the Red Trail extends into the southern reaches of the wildlife reserve, the Yellow Trail extends into the northern reaches of the wildlife reserve, and the Green Trail follows a route throughout the entirety of the captive collection and nature reserve.

In conclusion, this is a highly-attractive and aesthetically pleasing guidebook which not only serves the intended purpose - that is, to be actively used as a reference guide by "casual" visitors visiting WWT Washington - but also provides a large amount of detailed and interesting information about the collection to which it pertains, the wider WWT, and the conservation work undertaken by the organisation, all of which also renders it an extremely good guidebook for the more specialist collector or zoo enthusiast

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Day 80: Zoo Berlin (1908) - Flamingo

Page count: 124 pages (including photographic plates)
Photographs: 32 black-and-white photographs
Illustrations/diagrams: 38 black-and-white drawings
Layout: Comprehensive walkthrough account of collection.
Map: Fold-out at rear of guidebook

Unlike many of the other guidebooks released by Zoo Berlin in the first few decades of the twentieth century, which (as I have previously discussed, and shall doubtless discuss again in the future) often reproduced covers between editions whilst updating the interior contents of the guidebook, the edition which I shall be discussing today represents an interesting oddity, possessing as it does a rather attractive cover image rendered in an Art Deco style which is unique to this edition. My personal copy of this edition is one of several which I obtained through antiquarian booksellers operating on AbeBooks during the early months of the pandemic, when (suddenly having a lot more free time and disposable income) my long-standing effortsto obtain as complete a collection of Zoo Berlin guidebooks as possible reached new heights of activity; considering the age of the edition in question, it is in remarkably good condition boring minor rusting around the staples.

As is usual for these early 20th century editions of the Zoo Berlin guidebook, it follows a fairly standardised format; an account of the history of the collection covering around ten pages is followed by a highly-detailed, comprehensive and methodical walkthrough account of the collection at the time of publication, detailing the various animal houses and exhibits, along with the species held within. As has been the case for all of the early Zoo Berlin guidebooks I've discussed so far within this thread, the text is presented in an ornate and stylised typeface which present some challenges to read and interpret. However, the typeface *has* been updated to some extent here, being somewhat more simplified than those which have been discussed thus far, and as such it is somewhat easier for me to read, albeit in a rather slow and makeshift fashion.

Once I have the time and mental energy to put greater effort into my long-standing goal of translating the historical accounts located within the introduction pages of these guidebooks - motivated in part by the fact that I strongly suspect that some of the historical information presented within has yet to be formally published in English-language text - I think this edition may be a good place to start; the aforementioned updated typeface and increased capacity to read and interpret the text on my part will give me a "head start" of sorts, which I could then use as a jumping-off point for translations of earlier editions.

Once again, the walkthrough account provided within the main body of the text relating to the exhibits and species present at the time of publication is copiously and lavishly illustrated by numerous attractive and aesthetically-pleasing drawings, depicting various of the houses and species discussed within the text; these all appear to have been created specifically for this guidebook, as none have been reproduced from earlier editions discussed within this thread. As has been the case in previously discussed editions, the walkthrough account provides comprehensive lists of the species held within the various major exhibits and animal houses at the time of publication, with both common and scientific names cited; to the limited level that I can currently read the stylised typeface used within this guidebook, the content appears to be fairly in-depth and provides a wide range of supplementary information.

Naturally, a wide range of species which would now be regarded as unusual or noteworthy are listed within the text, including African Forest Elephant, Caspian Tiger, Azara's Zorro and Dwarf Cassowary; however, in some ways paying attention to those species which are no longer mentioned in comparison to prior editions is even more illuminating. For instance, the last thylacine held at Berlin Zoo is known to have died in 1908, although I am unaware of the precise date offhand; however, the publication of this guidebook can be placed after this event, given the fact that the species is no longer mentioned in the text nor illustrated in the supplementary photographs as had previously been the case. It is also somewhat interesting to pay attention to the taxonomy used within the text; whilst it is hardly surprising that many of the scientific names cited are outdated, there are points made which nonetheless seem remarkably prescient. It is by no means unusual for a guidebook of this time to classify the snow leopard within the now-invalid genus Uncia; however, it *is* highly unusual to find the tiger classified within this genus as the sister species to the snow leopard... a relationship which modern-day genetic studies have now demonstrated!

Whilst the three previous editions of the Zoo Berlin guidebook discussed within this thread interspersed photographic plates within the main body of the text, this edition returns to the previously-established format from the 1901 edition, whereby all photographic plates occur together at the end of the main walkthrough account. Many of the photographs used within this section have been reproduced from prior editions; however, there are nonetheless a large number of new photographs which occur alongside these. Considering the age of the photographs in question, the level of quality and clarity is remarkably high, and the photographic section as a whole provides a very interesting insight into the animal collection at the time of publication, supplementing the main body of the text rather well. It is however, something of a pity that none of the photographs depicting significant zoo structures and exhibits which were present within the 1901 edition are reproduced here.

Beyond here, the guidebook concludes with a comprehensive index citing page references for each of the major animal species discussed within the main body of the text, followed by a handful of blank pages intended for the purpose of note-taking by the zoo visitor. The pages in question within my copy of the guidebook are entirely blank, which in some regards is a pity considering how illuminating the writings of a 1908 visitor to Zoo Berlin could have been! It is worth mentioning here that, barring a small number of brief and text-heavy advertisements for products and services dotted throughout the main body of the guidebook and the accompanying index, this edition of the Zoo Berlin guidebook contains far fewer advertisements than has been the case previously; one wonders whether this is an indication that at the time of publication the Zoo was financially stable enough to not require outside investment and support of this nature.

The fold-out map provided within the rear cover of the guidebook, although generally-speaking similar in appearance to those present within previous editions, has been redesigned somewhat; a brighter and simpler colour palette results in a much greater contrast between animal houses, vegetated areas and paddocks, and the footpaths and avenues throughout the collection. I have remarked on several occasions already that the maps produced by Zoo Berlin during the early 20th century are not only excellent primary resources and documents of the status-quo at the collection as of their publication, but also extremely attractive and aesthetically-appealing works of art in their own right; despite the change in style and format, this fully continues to be true for the map we are discussing here.

As I have discussed several times in the past - and will doubtless discuss again across numerous future occasions - the guidebooks produced by Zoo Berlin in the opening decades of the twentieth century represent some of the greatest peaks that the wider canon of zoological guidebooks and printed media have ever reached in my opinion; they convey a wide range of information about the collection to which they pertain, represent valuable primary resources not only for zoo-historians but also those studying the historical and sociological setting in which the guidebooks were created, and serve as truly gorgeous works of art and literature in their own right. This particular edition is no exception.

I have certainly skated over many points which are worthy of more in-depth discussion, and as always I am very happy to answer any questions which this post has provoked - or indeed any of my previous posts within this thread. As such, I open the floor to any feedback, observations, questions or general remarks!

 

[birdsandbats]

Day 80: Zoo Berlin (1908) - Flamingo

Page count: 124 pages (including photographic plates)
Photographs: 32 black-and-white photographs
Illustrations/diagrams: 38 black-and-white drawings
Layout: Comprehensive walkthrough account of collection.
Map: Fold-out at rear of guidebook

Unlike many of the other guidebooks released by Zoo Berlin in the first few decades of the twentieth century, which (as I have previously discussed, and shall doubtless discuss again in the future) often reproduced covers between editions whilst updating the interior contents of the guidebook, the edition which I shall be discussing today represents an interesting oddity, possessing as it does a rather attractive cover image rendered in an Art Deco style which is unique to this edition. My personal copy of this edition is one of several which I obtained through antiquarian booksellers operating on AbeBooks during the early months of the pandemic, when (suddenly having a lot more free time and disposable income) my long-standing effortsto obtain as complete a collection of Zoo Berlin guidebooks as possible reached new heights of activity; considering the age of the edition in question, it is in remarkably good condition boring minor rusting around the staples.

As is usual for these early 20th century editions of the Zoo Berlin guidebook, it follows a fairly standardised format; an account of the history of the collection covering around ten pages is followed by a highly-detailed, comprehensive and methodical walkthrough account of the collection at the time of publication, detailing the various animal houses and exhibits, along with the species held within. As has been the case for all of the early Zoo Berlin guidebooks I've discussed so far within this thread, the text is presented in an ornate and stylised typeface which present some challenges to read and interpret. However, the typeface *has* been updated to some extent here, being somewhat more simplified than those which have been discussed thus far, and as such it is somewhat easier for me to read, albeit in a rather slow and makeshift fashion.

Once I have the time and mental energy to put greater effort into my long-standing goal of translating the historical accounts located within the introduction pages of these guidebooks - motivated in part by the fact that I strongly suspect that some of the historical information presented within has yet to be formally published in English-language text - I think this edition may be a good place to start; the aforementioned updated typeface and increased capacity to read and interpret the text on my part will give me a "head start" of sorts, which I could then use as a jumping-off point for translations of earlier editions.

Once again, the walkthrough account provided within the main body of the text relating to the exhibits and species present at the time of publication is copiously and lavishly illustrated by numerous attractive and aesthetically-pleasing drawings, depicting various of the houses and species discussed within the text; these all appear to have been created specifically for this guidebook, as none have been reproduced from earlier editions discussed within this thread. As has been the case in previously discussed editions, the walkthrough account provides comprehensive lists of the species held within the various major exhibits and animal houses at the time of publication, with both common and scientific names cited; to the limited level that I can currently read the stylised typeface used within this guidebook, the content appears to be fairly in-depth and provides a wide range of supplementary information.

Naturally, a wide range of species which would now be regarded as unusual or noteworthy are listed within the text, including African Forest Elephant, Caspian Tiger, Azara's Zorro and Dwarf Cassowary; however, in some ways paying attention to those species which are no longer mentioned in comparison to prior editions is even more illuminating. For instance, the last thylacine held at Berlin Zoo is known to have died in 1908, although I am unaware of the precise date offhand; however, the publication of this guidebook can be placed after this event, given the fact that the species is no longer mentioned in the text nor illustrated in the supplementary photographs as had previously been the case. It is also somewhat interesting to pay attention to the taxonomy used within the text; whilst it is hardly surprising that many of the scientific names cited are outdated, there are points made which nonetheless seem remarkably prescient. It is by no means unusual for a guidebook of this time to classify the snow leopard within the now-invalid genus Uncia; however, it *is* highly unusual to find the tiger classified within this genus as the sister species to the snow leopard... a relationship which modern-day genetic studies have now demonstrated!

Whilst the three previous editions of the Zoo Berlin guidebook discussed within this thread interspersed photographic plates within the main body of the text, this edition returns to the previously-established format from the 1901 edition, whereby all photographic plates occur together at the end of the main walkthrough account. Many of the photographs used within this section have been reproduced from prior editions; however, there are nonetheless a large number of new photographs which occur alongside these. Considering the age of the photographs in question, the level of quality and clarity is remarkably high, and the photographic section as a whole provides a very interesting insight into the animal collection at the time of publication, supplementing the main body of the text rather well. It is however, something of a pity that none of the photographs depicting significant zoo structures and exhibits which were present within the 1901 edition are reproduced here.

Beyond here, the guidebook concludes with a comprehensive index citing page references for each of the major animal species discussed within the main body of the text, followed by a handful of blank pages intended for the purpose of note-taking by the zoo visitor. The pages in question within my copy of the guidebook are entirely blank, which in some regards is a pity considering how illuminating the writings of a 1908 visitor to Zoo Berlin could have been! It is worth mentioning here that, barring a small number of brief and text-heavy advertisements for products and services dotted throughout the main body of the guidebook and the accompanying index, this edition of the Zoo Berlin guidebook contains far fewer advertisements than has been the case previously; one wonders whether this is an indication that at the time of publication the Zoo was financially stable enough to not require outside investment and support of this nature.

The fold-out map provided within the rear cover of the guidebook, although generally-speaking similar in appearance to those present within previous editions, has been redesigned somewhat; a brighter and simpler colour palette results in a much greater contrast between animal houses, vegetated areas and paddocks, and the footpaths and avenues throughout the collection. I have remarked on several occasions already that the maps produced by Zoo Berlin during the early 20th century are not only excellent primary resources and documents of the status-quo at the collection as of their publication, but also extremely attractive and aesthetically-appealing works of art in their own right; despite the change in style and format, this fully continues to be true for the map we are discussing here.

As I have discussed several times in the past - and will doubtless discuss again across numerous future occasions - the guidebooks produced by Zoo Berlin in the opening decades of the twentieth century represent some of the greatest peaks that the wider canon of zoological guidebooks and printed media have ever reached in my opinion; they convey a wide range of information about the collection to which they pertain, represent valuable primary resources not only for zoo-historians but also those studying the historical and sociological setting in which the guidebooks were created, and serve as truly gorgeous works of art and literature in their own right. This particular edition is no exception.

I have certainly skated over many points which are worthy of more in-depth discussion, and as always I am very happy to answer any questions which this post has provoked - or indeed any of my previous posts within this thread. As such, I open the floor to any feedback, observations, questions or general remarks!

The zoo kept Domestic Dogs?

 

[TeaLovingDave]

The zoo kept Domestic Dogs?

They did indeed; I translated the relevant sections of the 1903, 1905 and 1906 guidebooks for @Coelacanth18 and @TinoPup when I covered those editions several weeks ago:

Given the ornate typeface within the guidebook, and the aforementioned difficulty it presents in my interpreting the text, the following took a *very* long time to translate given the fact I had to work out what it said in German before being able to translate it through a mixture of my own faltering grasp on the language and Google. I have translated the text from all three guidebooks; the basic summary is that this area was planned to hold exotic species of canid, but at the time of publication primarily held a range of unusual domestic breeds.

1903

Spoiler: German text

Hundezwinger wird früher oder später einer umfassenden Anlage für alle hundeartigen Tiere (auch Wolfe, Schakals, Fuchse, Hyanen) meichen mussen. Von besonderen Interesse und im zoologischen Garten besonders am Platze find die aussereuropaischen Rassen: Tibethund, Japanischer Tschin (Geschenk von Rer & Co.), Chinesicher Spitz, Tuareghund, deutsschostafrikaner Hund, Togohund, Papuahund aus Deutssch-Neu-Guinea; sudrussischer Schaferpudel, Geschenk von Friedrich Falz-Fein; Livlander Bracke, Geschenck von v. Tiele-Winckler auf Blücher.

Dog pound will sooner or later have to give way to a comprehensive facility for all canine animals (including wolves, jackals, foxes, hyenas). The non-European breeds are of particular interest and particularly appropriate in the zoological garden: Tibetan dog, Japanese Chin (gift from Rer & Co.), Chinese Spitz, Tuareg dog, German East African dog, Togo dog, Papuan dog from German New Guinea ; South Russian Shepherd Poodle, gift from Friedrich Falz-Fein; Livonian Hound, gift from von Tiele-Winckler auf Blücher.

1905

Spoiler: German text

Hundezwinger wird früher oder später einer umfassenden Anlage für alle hundeartigen Tiere (auch Wolfe, Schakals, Fuchse, Hyanen) meichen mussen. Von besonderen Interesse und im zoologischen Garten besonders am Platze find die aussereuropaischen Rassen: Tibethund, Japanischer Tschin (Geschenk von Rer & Co.), deutschostafrikaner Hund, Togohund, Papuahund aus Deutssch-Neu-Guinea; sudrussischer Schaferpudel, Geschenk von Friedrich Falz-Fein; Livlander Bracke, (Geschenck von v. Tiele-Winckler auf Blücher).

Ein prachtvolles Paar edler preisgekronter Neufundlander mit Stammbaum ist Geschenk von Frau Manthen-Berlin. Eine gestromte deutsche Dogge von Rube, eine weisse Hundin mit blauen Augen, an der die Naturregal zu beobachten ist, dass weisse Hunde mit blauen Augen taub find, von Sylvester Schaffer. Eine halbblutwolf, Geschenk des Grafen Schuwaloff, hat mit einer Doggenhundin Mischlinge gezeugt, die zum Teil noch ausgepracht das Scheue, unstete Wessen des Wolfes haben. Ein Paar schwarzweisse Schlittenhunde von den Samojeden hat das Reichsamt das Innern auf Unregung von Prof. Drygalsky nach Ruckfahrt der deutschen Sudpolarexpedition uns als Geschenk uberwiesen

Dog pound will sooner or later have to give way to a comprehensive facility for all canine animals (including wolves, jackals, foxes, hyenas). The non-European breeds are of particular interest and particularly appropriate in the zoological garden: Tibetan dog, Japanese Chin (gift from Rer & Co.), German East African dog, Togo dog, Papuan dog from German New Guinea ; South Russian Shepherd Poodle, gift from Friedrich Falz-Fein; Livonian Hound, (gift from von Tiele-Winckler auf Blücher).

A magnificent pair of noble prize-winning Newfoundlanders with pedigree is a gift from Mrs. Manthen-Berlin. A brindle Great Dane from Rube, a white female with blue eyes, which shows the natural rule that white dogs with blue eyes are deaf, from Sylvester Schaffer. A half-blood wolf, a gift from Count Schuwaloff, has fathered hybrids with a mastiff dog, some of which still have the shy, unstable nature of the wolf. A pair of black-and-white sled dogs from the Samoyed were given to us as a gift by the Reich Office of the Interior at the suggestion of Prof. Drygalsky after the German South Pole Expedition had returned

1906

Spoiler: German text

Hundezwinger wird früher oder später einer umfassenden Anlage für alle hundeartigen Tiere (auch Wolfe, Schakals, Fuchse, Hyanen) meichen mussen. Von besonderen Interesse und im zoologischen Garten besonders am Platze find die aussereuropaischen Rassen: Tibethund, Kamerun-Hund, Geschenk von Ussessor Steinhausen, Hunde vom Kongo, Geschenk von L. Frobenius, deutsch-ostafrikaner Hund, Geschenk von Deivers, Togohund, Geschenk von Stationsleiter Mischlich, sudrussischer Schaferpudel, Geschenk von Friedrich Falz-Fein; Livlander Bracke, (Geschenck von v. Tiele-Winckler auf Blücher).

Ein prachtvolles Paar edler preisgekronter Neufundlander mit Stammbaum ist Geschenk von Frau Manthey-Berlin. Eine gestromte deutsche Dogge von Rube, eine weisse Hundin mit blauen Augen, an der die Naturregal zu beobachten ist, dass weisse Hunde mit blauen Augen taub find, von Sylvester Schaffer. Eine halbblutwolf, Geschenk des Grafen Schuwaloff, hat mit einer Doggenhundin Mischlinge gezeugt, die zum Teil noch ausgepracht das Scheue, unstete Wessen des Wolfes haben. Ein Paar schwarzweisse Schlittenhunde von den Samojeden hat das Reichsamt des Innern auf Unregung von Prof. Drygalsky nach Ruckfahrt der deutschen Sudpolarexpedition uns als Geschenk uberwiesen, ferner ist ein Dingo (Canis dingo), der australische Wildhund, ein Geschenk des Herrn Clotten, (????) Nord-Queensland hier untergebracht, sowie ein Paar der weissen Art des Dingo, geschenk von Dr Hartmayer, Berlin.

Dog pound will sooner or later have to give way to a comprehensive facility for all canine animals (including wolves, jackals, foxes, hyenas). The non-European breeds are of particular interest and have a place in the zoological garden: Tibetan dog, Cameroon dog, gift from Ussessor Steinhausen, dogs from the Congo, gift from L. Frobenius, German-East African dog, gift from Deivers, Togo dog, gift from station manager Mixed, South Russian Shepherd Poodle, gift from Friedrich Falz-Fein; Livlander Hound, (gift from v. Tiele-Winckler on Blücher).

A magnificent pair of noble prize-winning Newfoundlanders with pedigree is a gift from Mrs. Manthey-Berlin. A brindle Great Dane by Rube, a white female with blue eyes, which shows the natural rule that white dogs with blue eyes are deaf, by Sylvester Schaffer. A half-blood wolf, a gift from Count Schuwaloff, has fathered hybrids with a mastiff dog, some of which still have the shy, unstable nature of the wolf. A pair of black-and-white sled dogs from the Samoyed were given to us as a gift by the Reich Office of the Interior at the instability of Prof. Drygalsky after the German south polar expedition had returned, and a dingo (Canis dingo), the Australian wild dog, was a gift from Mr. Clotten (?? ??) North Queensland housed here, as well as a pair of the white species of dingo, a gift from Dr Hartmayer, Berlin.

 

[TinoPup]

They did indeed; I translated the relevant sections of the 1903, 1905 and 1906 guidebooks for @Coelacanth18 and @TinoPup when I covered those editions several weeks ago:

I don't think I ever posted info on the breeds in here. Here's the list, with translation first, German in parentheses, and then what breed they actually are.

-Tibetan dog (Tibethund) Tibetan Mastiff. A friend of a friend who has written many books on dog breeds confirmed a litter was born at the zoo in 1898. The Emperor of Germany received one as a gift in 1895.
-Japanese Chin (Japanischer Tschin) Japanese Chin
-Chinese Spitz (Chinesicher Spitz) likely Chow Chow
-Tuareg dog (Tuareghund) Azawakh
-German East African dog (deutsschostafrikaner Hund) Not sure. There aren't any current breeds, or landraces, associated with German East Africa (modern-day Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and part of Mozambique).
-Togo dog (Togohund) Not sure. There's no breeds associated with Togo (or Togoland, as it was during this time period), and using google just gets me a lot of stuff about the sled dog named Togo.
-Papuan dog from German New Guinea (Papuahund aus Deutssch-Neu-Guinea) New Guinea Singing Dog
-South Russian Shepherd Poodle (sudrussischer Schaferpudel) South Russian Ovtcharka
-Livonian Hound (Livlander bracke) / Livlander hound (Livlander Bracke) Not sure, likely a predecessor to later established breeds. Livonia dates back to the 1200s and was where Estonia and Latvia are now.
-Newfoundlanders Newfoundland
-Great Dane (deutsche Dogge) Great Dane (the part about "which shows the natural rule that white dogs with blue eyes are deaf" is completely false)
- black-and-white sled dogs from the Samoyed (schwarzweisse Schlittenhunde von den Samojeden) likely Siberian Husky
-Cameroon dog (Kamerun-Hund) likely Pariah, which is basically a mixed landrace.
-dogs from the Congo (Hunde vom Kongo) Basenji

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Full posts will be scarce in the next few days, as I've popped over to Poland for a long weekend to visit Zoo Wroclaw (my first COVID-era jaunt).

However, this does give my most recent post, on the 1908 Zoo Berlin guide, time to breathe and hopefully garner more responses and feedback - as thus far it seems a bit of a damp squib! Hopefully people will also take the opportunity to give more general feedback, queries and requests; I currently have only one item scanned for discussion on my return so will be happy to do any collection requests as a change from the randomised norm.

 

[Chlidonias]

-Togo dog (Togohund) Not sure. There's no breeds associated with Togo (or Togoland, as it was during this time period), and using google just gets me a lot of stuff about the sled dog named Togo.

The Hahoawu is from Togo.

The Wikipedia page linked here includes various African breeds, including from Cameroon and East Africa: African village dog - Wikipedia


I thought this article was interesting too: African village dogs genetically unique from all breeds | Cornell Chronicle

 

[TinoPup]

The Hahoawu is from Togo.

The Wikipedia page linked here includes various African breeds, including from Cameroon and East Africa: African village dog - Wikipedia


I thought this article was interesting too: African village dogs genetically unique from all breeds | Cornell Chronicle

Really interesting, thanks for that study link especially! I haven't seen the Hahoawu referenced in any of my stuff about African dogs, including in Sian Hall's Dogs of Africa. They would be a landrace, not a breed. Unfortunately there's little available on most breeds and landraces associated with rural/poorer Africa, Asia, etc.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Day 81: Zoo Wroclaw (1910) - Fuhrer durch den Breslauer Zoologischen Garten

Page count: 148 pages (including photographic plates)
Photographs: 46 black-and-white photographs
Illustrations/diagrams: N/A
Layout: Comprehensive walkthrough account of collection, followed by several pages of advertisements and photographic plates.
Map: Fold-out at rear of guidebook (missing from my copy)

When I randomly-selected and scanned the most recent batch of guidebooks, hoping to get through them all before I was due to travel to Poland last weekend, I was more than a little surprised and gratified to find that the final guidebook in the batch was this one, given the fact I was due to revisit the collection in question imminently. Although I was a shade frustrated that my mental energy proved insufficient to get to this guidebook in time, I feel that this has actually proved a net positive in the long run; this means that I am now able to write this review with a refreshed memory on the historical structures and buildings still present at Zoo Wroclaw in the present day, and which are discussed and pictured within the 1910 guidebook for the collection. This particular acquisition is one of my most fortuitous in recent years, having been obtained from the same German antiquarian bookseller on AbeBooks from whom I purchased the 1866 Berlin guidebook which opened this thread, and for a similarly low price - around £20 including postage, as I recall. Coincidentally, a few weeks later another copy of this guidebook was sold on the secondary market during one of the semi-regular Schüling auctions of which I have spoken previously, for just shy of €400.... as such, I am extremely lucky to have stumbled across my copy, which is in near-pristine condition barring the absence of the enclosed map.

The guidebook opens with a short segment relating to the history of (as it was then) Breslau Zoologischen Garten; as has been the case for the several guidebooks discussed within this thread which were published during this timespan by Zoo Berlin, it should be noted here that the text within this guidebook is presented in a somewhat stylised and old-fashioned typeface with which I am not entirely familiar. As such, my ability to interpret and fully-appreciate the text is somewhat more limited than I would like - although, given the fact that it is presented in German for obvious reasons, my understanding of the text is nonetheless *significantly* higher than it would be were this one of the more recent Polish-language guidebooks published by the collection. It goes without saying that, once my comprehension level for this old-fashioned typeface progresses beyond "extremely faltering", I fully intend to return to this historical segment in order to translate it into English for posterity - as I have already stated I hope to do for the similar segments located within the Zoo Berlin guidebooks of the time - given the fact that I feel such historical segments are an incredibly valuable feature of zoological guidebooks which more collections should include within their printed material. It is, incidentally, also worth mentioning here that in general format, layout and (very high) publication standards this guidebook exhibits numerous other similarities with said guidebooks, as I shall doubtless demonstrate as this post progresses.

This historical segment is followed by a more general introduction to the collection and the guidebook itself, relating a variety of key information which the visitor to the collection would find useful; this includes notes on the taxonomic standards used throughout the guidebook, the opening hours and admission prices to the collection, and an explanation of the comprehensive walkthrough format which the main body of the guidebook follows. I rather suspect that, given my aforementioned difficulty in reading the typeface used within this guidebook, this section contains other points of note which I have failed to remark upon; hopefully I will be able to remedy this in the fullness of time, if so!

The main body of the guidebook comprises a comprehensive and highly-detailed walkthrough account of the collection, methodically listing the various species displayed within each exhibit or enclosure complex; as previously noted, the general layout and typeface used within the guidebook is broadly similar to that found within the Zoo Berlin guidebooks of the time, some of which I have already discussed at significant length. As such, it is worth noting that although much of the text is presented in the same old-fashioned and stylised style as is the case throughout the remainder of the guidebook, the taxonomic names cited within the text are in a more "modern" and readily-legible typeface. This naturally means that it is fairly easy to interpret this aspect of the text, and hence work out what species were held within the collection at the time of publication; there are a number of particularly interesting points which are worth highlighting here, both in terms of the species discussed and some remarkably "modern" choices where taxonomy and species placement are concerned. For instance, the pair of Sumatran Tiger held at the collection are described as Panthera sondaica, and as such conspecific with the Javan Tiger, whilst the Sumatran White-bearded Civet is particularly cited as comprising a distinct species from the Masked Civet; although the latter point has not been officially published or researched, many zoo enthusiasts - including myself - are strongly inclined to believe that the Sumatran White-bearded Civet does indeed merit full species status. Among the most interesting species held within the collection at the time of publication - the above taxa excepted - include Spotted Linsang, Caspian Tiger and Somali Ostrich. The section concludes with a lengthy and comprehensive index to the various species discussed within the walkthrough account.

The general layout of this section is very clear and well-presented, with - as far as I have been able to determine given the aforementioned comprehension difficulties - a wide amount of information about both the species held at the collection and the exhibits they were located within; perhaps the only major shortcoming of this section is the complete lack of illustrations (photographic or otherwise) within the main body of the text, although this is at worst a minor complaint all things considered, especially given the fact that the text *does* contain regular references to the various figures present within the photographic plates located at the end of the guidebook. I shall, needless to say, discuss these in greater depth anon.

Beyond here, a substantial segment containing a wide variety of advertisements follows; as I have remarked on a number of occasions in the past, I find material of this sort extremely interesting given the insight they provide on the socio-economic climate and situation into which a guidebook has been published, and as such the bearing they have on the history of the zoological collection in question. This particular example is somewhat unusual, however, as there is rather more differentiation than usual between the advertisements and the main body of the guidebook which preceded them, to the point that this section of the guidebook contains a contents page listing each of the advertisements which follow in alphabetical order, with the advertisement pages being numbered independently. The advertisements themselves cover a relatively wide range of products and services which were available within Breslau at the time of publication, including cafes and restaurants, animal traders, wine merchants and hotels; it is quite interesting to reflect on the fact that, between the near-total destruction of much of the city centre during the dying months of WWII and the subsequent expulsion of the German population and the geopolitical shift in boundaries which marked the end of the war, it is nigh-certain that none of the businesses discussed here survived longer than around 35 years beyond the publication of this guidebook.

After the advertisement material, the guidebook concludes with a series of photographic plates separated into two distinct segments; firstly, around 14 photographs showing a variety of the major animal houses and exhibits dotted around the collection, followed by photographs depicting several of the species held within the collection at the time of publication; as mentioned previously, each of these photographs are labelled, with the corresponding numbers cited within the main body of the text. Given the fact that the former category is significantly more interesting on zoo-historical grounds and comprises the sort of material which I have previously noted enhances the value of a guidebook as a historical document, I have elected to only depict the photographs meeting this criteria within this account; many of these structures still exist in some form today despite their age, and as such I have been fortunate enough to see them very recently and can further appreciate the value of their inclusion within this guidebook. Given the number of photographs provided here, of course, I can only depict a small selection of the whole.

To briefly summarise the contents of the images I have selected, the above two photographs depict the following:

• The "Großes Raubtierhaus" or large carnivore house; this was used more-or-less unchanged in external appearance for over a century, having been constructed in the latter years of the 19th century and being used to house lions and puma until around a decade ago. The structure still stands today, but it is no longer used to hold animals.
• The "Kleines Raubtierhaus" or small carnivore house; I cannot be entirely certain, as my copy of this guidebook is missing the enclosed map, but if this is the same structure as one of the same name which is visible on an 1890 map of the zoo I have located elsewhere online it no longer exists and is currently located under the footplan of the current enclosure for Sumatran Tiger. Certainly it does not look like any of the historical structures I saw last weekend, barring the general design similarities shared by all.

Whilst the below two photographs depict the following:

• The "Affenhaus" or monkey house; this structure is still in use today, but has been slightly extended at some point in the intervening years; as far as I can tell, this image shows the northern end of the building, which now includes a large outdoor exhibit for Sulawesi Macaque with associated structural additions. The rather attractive-looking central building is still visible behind these, however.
• The "Bärenzwinger" or bear dens; these are some of the oldest surviving structures within the zoo, being retained to this day more-or-less exactly as they once stood, with minor amendments to allow them to be used as a series of owl aviaries.

The final two photographs I have elected to depict here for the purposes of further illustrating the value of this guidebook as a historical document, and the overall high quality of the content within, are as follows:

• The "Neues Hirschhaus" or the new deer house; this was indeed relatively new at the time this guidebook was published, as it is entirely absent from the aforementioned 1890 map, and still exists today as the central hub of a series of deer paddocks - which currently display Milu, domestic Reindeer and Mesopotamian Fallow Deer.
• The "Dickhäuterhaus" or pachyderm house; again, this is still used relatively unchanged into the present day, currently holding Asian Elephant, Brazilian Tapir and Pygmy Hippopotamus.

As noted previously, I am fairly certain that this guidebook originally included a fold-out map within the inner rear cover, given the presence of remnant scraps of white paper glued to the (brown) card of the cover; unfortunately I have been unable to locate anyone who owns another copy of this particular edition in order to verify these suspicions and hopefully provide me with a scan of the map for my records. As such, this is an aspect of the guidebook which (for now, at least) shall have to remain undiscussed. The best I can provide is the below birds-eye view photograph of the collection, included among the photographic plates at the rear of the guidebook.

Overall, though, this is one of the most interesting and unusual guidebooks in my collection - certainly when those published by Zoo Berlin are excluded from consideration - and moreover, one of the highest-quality, providing a vast amount of information in a well-formatted and aesthetically pleasing fashion, both as a guidebook to the collection at hand and as a historical resource in its own right, giving an insight into the socio-economic condition of Breslau in the years leading up to WWI and the zoological collection located there. Other than the complete lack of illustration within the main body of the guidebook, something which I have already lamented, there is little to criticise in this valuable and fascinating gem from my guidebook collection. As usual, I happily welcome any feedback, criticism and discussion which those reading this thread may have to offer - I can only hope that the week-long gap in posting (borne partially of a hope for further engagement with the prior guidebook post, and partially due to my aforementioned absence in Wroclaw itself and subsequent mental exhaustion) has not sapped people's interest in this thread!

 

[TinoPup]

Those are some gorgeous buildings! Amazing that most still exist.

 

[ThylacineAlive]

The elephant house is certainly... something

~Thylo

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Day 82: Cornish Seal Sanctuary (1991) - Grey Seal eating fish

Page count: 20 pages (including interior front and rear covers)
Photographs: 44 colour photographs
Illustrations/diagrams: N/A
Layout: General overview of collection and overview of work undertaken there.
Map: N/A

A shorter and simpler one today; I obtained this guidebook for the Cornish Seal Sanctuary on eBay a few years ago, having been specifically keeping an eye open for any material from the collection for a while. One of the various potential criteria which I take into consideration when it comes to additions to my guidebook collection is whether or not a guidebook fills a "gap" in my overall knowledge of the zoological landscape; in this particular case, a UK collection which I have yet to visit in person and know relatively little about. As such, there are a number of UK collections both past and present which - although I doubt I would ever go out of my way to obtain *multiple* guidebooks representing them - I like to keep tabs on where the secondary market is concerned.

The guidebook is presented in a fairly simple but easily-accessible format, with several well-illustrated double-page spreads discussing a variety of subjects relating to the collection in question; it should immediately be noted that due to the size and page format used within this guidebook, it has proven impossible to scan complete sections from the guidebook. I have, of course, tried to scan the most informative portions of any given double-page spread. The first segment within the guidebook, as can be seen above, comprises a general introduction to the Grey Seal population resident to southwestern Cornwall and the Scilly Isles, along with a brief summary of the work undertaken at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary.

This is followed by a segment discussing the education and interpretation centre located at the collection at the time of publication, detailing some of the features and material detailed within, after which - as can be seen below - the guidebook goes into some length about the various inhabitants of the collection; this section discusses the species held within the collection at the time of publication, the reason for their presence within the collection, and the low-level reintroduction breeding efforts undertaken by the Sanctuary in the hope of boosting the local wild population of Grey Seal.

Beyond here, the guidebook moves onto a segment discussing both the history of the collection and the activities undertaken every autumn and winter in order to rescue and rehabilitate undersized and/or abandoned seal pups, detailing the general layout of the collection and listing the number of pools and breeding enclosures located throughout. These accounts are accompanied by a number of "case studies" detailing some of the typical outcomes and scenarios which the Sanctuary tends to experience - for instance, discussing the fact that one case mentioned within the guidebook ultimately ended with the death of the seal pup concerned due to ingestion of noxious substances. After a double-page photographic spread showing a view across the Sanctuary and the nearby countryside, the next large-scale segment comprises an in-depth look at the activities of the on-site seal hospital, detailing the various ways in which seal pups require around-the-clock care and attention, and giving a general overview of the various stages which inhabitants of the hospital pass through before (hopefully) ultimately being re-released.

The following pair of double-page segments presented within the guidebook comprise a variety of photographic montages of the collections, on the subjects "Meanwhile, Down At The Pools", "Feeding" and "So To Release" - although little to no text is present within these segments, they nonetheless convey a relatively large amount of information about what the collection was like at the time of publication. Finally, three shorter segments cover the last double-page spread; the first and longest of these discusses the presence of a woodland walk near to the collection, whilst the latter two represent a brief promotional passage relating to the Sanctuary shop and discussion of how one would sponsor or donate to the collection.

Overall, then, this is an attractive and rather pleasant little guidebook, and one which successfully undertakes the task of not only discussing the conservation and rehabilitation work undertaken by the zoological collection to which it pertains, but also promoting the captive collection located there and providing an interesting and informative range of information about the wild seal populations located around the local area; as such, although nowhere as earth-shatteringly significant or weighty as some guidebooks I have discussed, it is nonetheless extremely good for what it is.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Day 83: Tierpark Hellabrunn (1995) - King Cheetah

Page count: 128 pages (including 20 pages of advertisements scattered throughout)
Photographs: 148 colour photographs (including 24 full-page images)
Illustrations/diagrams: N/A
Layout: Introduction, followed by discussion of the species held within the collection arranged by geozone.
Map: Fold-out map located within interior rear cover.

Today, we shall be discussing one of the very first guidebooks to enter my collection; I obtained this particular guidebook when I attended the 2013 Zoohistorica event at Bristol Zoo, where I purchased around two dozen guidebooks and was given around the same number of guidebooks for free through the kindness of various collectors attending the meeting. It may well not surprise anyone to learn that I picked this guidebook up purely on the grounds of the cover image; at the time of publication, the individual depicted on the cover was one of only two or three king cheetah displayed within a European collection, and this is still probably one of the most eye-catching and unique cover images found throughout the various zoo guides located within my collection.

The guidebook opens with a fairly brief, but nonetheless quite detailed introduction to Tierpark Hellabrunn, discussing the history of the collection and the "Geo-Zoo" concept (displaying species by geographical and ecological habitat rather than taxonomic grouping) which the various exhibits and enclosures follow, along with a prelude giving details of the most recent developments and construction projects at the collection; although the main body of the guidebook is presented solely in German-language, an abridged form of these introductory segments (omitting the passages relating to current developments) is provided in English, French, Spanish and Italian. As such, this guidebook - and similar ones issued by Tierpark Hellabrunn over the course of the 1990s - is quite possibly one of the most multi-lingual in my collection, and certainly one of the longest to contain content in more than two languages. It is worth mentioning here that these introductory accounts are illustrated by small but colourful photographs depicting various of the exhibits and species located throughout the collection; the guidebook as a whole makes very good use of colour photographs to illustrate the content within, with many of the images encompassing full pages, leading to an attractive and eye-catching format wherein the text and imagery complement one another well.

The main body of the text comprises a species-by-species walkthrough of the collection, divided into the various geozones and exhibits present at Tierpark Hellabrunn as follows; the primate house; the aquarium and terrarium; the elephant house and associated exhibits; the Australia zone; the jungle house and associated exhibits; the Africa zone; the Polar zone; the children's zoo and associated exhibits; the Asian zone; the European zone; the free-flight aviary; and the New World zone. As can be seen in the examples above and below (which have been partially-cropped for clarity due to the fact that the page format of this guidebook meant that scanning double-page spreads in their entirety was infeasible and led to sections being cut off) the accounts are well-illustrated with colour photographs, and contain a wide amount of information; in part, this is presented within information boxes at the start of each account which relay information such as the habitat, diet, and conservation status of the taxa in question, with more specific information relayed within the main body of each account. These go into further detail about aspects such as the behaviour, physical attributes and range of the species, along with the threats facing them in the wild, captive breeding successes, lifespan and other such noteworthy points. For instance, the above account relating to the cheetahs held at the collection at the time of publication notes that the "King" morph is extremely scarce in captivity; however, as can be seen from both this account and the cover image of the guidebook there was in fact a single King present at Tierpark Hellabrunn at the time of publication.

Along with these accounts, there are more general discussions about the particular geographic or ecological zones represented at the collection throughout the main body of the guidebook, located at the start of each overall section, along with introductions to the various major exhibit complexes and houses; in the case of the latter, these convey a large amount of information about the history of these structures, their general dimensions and size, and where appropriate information such as the temperature maintained within, the volume of water and quantity of vegetation present, and so forth. As such these provide a very clear picture of the collection to which they pertain and, in conjunction with the quality of the species accounts, greatly increase the value of this guidebook both as a historical document and a zoological document.

The other key strength of this guidebook - as I noted for the previous edition from the 1950s I discussed some time ago - is the high quality of the map provided within the interior rear cover, the houses and exhibits are comprehensively labelled, with the overall design of the map being both aesthetically-pleasing and extremely clear and easy to reference. The fold-out section of the rear cover also contains detailed information on the feeding times for key species throughout the collection, making note of where these differ depending on day and time of year.. The only real downside of the map, as far as this review is concerned, is merely the fact that (as I have already observed) the format and size of the guidebook as a whole prevents double-page spreads from being scanned in their entirety; as such, the below scan is slightly incomplete, although I feel that it nonetheless fully conveys the high quality of the map as a whole.

Overall, I hope that this review has gone some way to demonstrating why I have long said that the guidebooks issued by Tierpark Hellabrunn in the late 20th century are some of the best German-language material of this nature published within the timespan in question; although not quite in the league of the guidebooks formerly published by Zoo Berlin or Tierpark Berlin, they are informative, easily-accessible and aesthetically-pleasing. As a result, it is gratifying to note that after several years where the collection ceased to publish guidebooks on the grounds that the director of the time deemed material of this sort to be antiquated and surplus to requirements, the collection has once again published a guidebook in recent years.

I'm fairly certain that I have omitted much that could be stated - as such, I am happy to receive any questions, feedback or criticism which those reading this thread may have to offer and of course, any general remarks and comments about this guidebook or any other discussed within this thread are always welcome!

 

[Coelacanth18]

the high quality of the map provided within the interior rear cover, the houses and exhibits are comprehensively labelled, with the overall design of the map being both aesthetically-pleasing and extremely clear and easy to reference.

The map design in that Hellabrunn guidebook is along the lines of what I think the "ideal" zoo map should look like; artistically detailed enough that it has easily-distinguished color illustrations of specific animals, yet technically detailed enough that you can easily tell where the paths and buildings are. I'm glad you decided to scan what you could of it, as it's a great example of what a high quality map looks like IMO.

Something interesting I note in the Birdland guidebook is how much common names can change over a short period of time, such as from the 1960's to now. The spelling of "touraco", the mention of "Hyancintine Macaws", and even the labeling of a "PENQUIN POOL" on the map all stood out to me... unless the historical evolution of language is giving them too much credit and these are just typos