Day 126: Zoo-Aquarium Berlin (1971) - Majestic Angelfish
Page count: 44
Photographs: 24 black-and-white photographs, 7 colour photographs
Illustrations/diagrams: N/A
Layout: Introduction and history of the aquarium, followed by comprehensive walkthrough account of species and exhibits within.
Map: Located on back cover of guidebook
The first of the guidebooks requested by
@Chlidonias from the batch which I obtained at Zoohistorica is one of the small handful which I specifically sought out, rather than obtaining opportunistically - or rather, although I was not seeking out this *particular* edition, I knew that one of my targets was to obtain as many guidebooks from the Berlin Zoo aquarium as possible. In the event, this was the only one I managed to pick up - but given the fact that it is a rather interesting and high-quality guidebook, and fills a gap in my personal collection, I am satisfied nonetheless. The publication of this guidebook, like the 1975 edition which I discussed some months ago, came after several decades of comprehensive repairs, rebuilding and growth subsequent to the destruction of WWII - although this particular edition is slightly older, and therefore represents an earlier stage in this process. As such, it provides an important insight into the timespan in question.
The guidebook opens with a short list of key visitor information - this primarily deals with material such as the opening times of the aquarium, feeding times for various species within, and entrance fees for daily and yearly entry. However, one interesting point which is perhaps less commonplace in modern-day zoological guidebooks, and zoological collections in general, is the presence of a section listing the requirement for a photography pass to be purchased by any visitor wishing to take photographs at the aquarium. To my knowledge, the only major European collection which still does something of this sort is Krokodýlí Zoo Protivín - which generally prohibits photography entirely but, at unpredictable times apparently determined "on the day", has been known to allow photography for those who pay for a day pass. This sort of policy makes rather more sense given the circumstances of the time, the need of the Zoo-Aquarium to recoup money wherever possible, and the fact that photographic equipment was rather bulkier and more specialist in the early 1970s... but is somewhat baffling when applied to the modern day
This information is followed by a pair of fairly brief but interesting sections; the first discusses the early history of the Zoo-Aquarium from the time it first opened in 1913 until the building was all-but destroyed during WWII, concluding with the 1952 re-opening; the second goes into some detail about the technical aspects relating to the operation and maintenance of the aquarium, covering subjects such as filtration and pressure systems, control of water temperature, and feeding schedules for the inhabitants of the collection. As I have made rather clear in the past, both of these subjects are highly interesting to me, with their presence in a zoological guidebook generally providing a strong indicator of the overall quality to come.
The main body of the guidebook comprises a walkthrough account divided into three major sections, discussing the species displayed on each floor of the aquarium; the first and longest section covers the wide range of fish and aquatic invertebrates displayed on the ground floor of the aquarium, divided into freshwater and saltwater exhibits. The majority of the species discussed within the guidebook, are referred to solely by their common name, and often only in the broadest of terms - although there are occasional points where a species is referred to by both common name and scientific name, to no apparent pattern - and therefore my ability to accurately judge which taxa are being referred to is somewhat more limited than I would like. That said, this is purely a matter of learning the German-language common names for more species - which is something that can be acquired over time, and is no bad thing to aim for!
The contents of the guidebook are illustrated throughout by a variety of attractive black-and-white photographs depicting some of the species displayed within the Zoo-Aquarium at the time of publication, with further colour images present within the central pages of the guidebook in a series of photographic plates. These photographs - both within the main body of the guidebook and in the central plates - are all fully labelled with both common and scientific names, which somewhat helps with the aforementioned issue.
The second section of the walkthrough account deals with the reptile and amphibian collection displayed on the first floor of the Zoo-Aquarium, whilst the third section discusses the invertebrate species displayed on the second floor. Curiously enough, although these two sections taken together are shorter than the first section alone, they seem to provide rather more detail overall - significantly more species are referred to in-text, and a noticeably higher proportion of the reptiles and amphibians are cited both by their common name and scientific name. This naturally means that these sections of the guidebook convey a rather stronger sense of the overall scale of the animal collection within the Zoo-Aquarium as a whole to an Anglophone reader, even if the guidebook as a whole doubtless presents this sense throughout if one is fully familiar with the German-language common names used within the first section. As I noted previously, this only provides further impetus to gain greater familiarity with the common names in question, and to improve my fluency in reading German overall!
Beyond here, the guidebook concludes with a brief segment discussing the number of species and individual animals displayed within the Zoo-Aquarium at the time of publication; as I did for the similar section provided in the 1975 edition I discussed some time ago, I feel it would be worthwhile presenting this information in full:
January 1st 1971 - total of 1438 species held, c.8030 individual animals held
Sponges and Jellyfish - 33 species, c.450 individual animals
Worms, Sea-squirts and Echinoderms - 36 species, c.150 individual animals
Crustaceans - 38 species, 360 individual animals
Insects - 105 species, c.1,975 individual animals
Arachnids - 31 species, c.100 individual animals
Molluscs - 41 species, c.800 individual animals
Freshwater Fish - 630 species, c.3,065 individual animals
Saltwater Fish - 179 species, c.330 individual animals
Amphibians - 59 species, c.160 individual animals
Lizards - 87 species, 267 individual animals
Snakes - 72 species, 118 individual animals
Tortoises and Turtles - 104 species, 217 individual animals
Crocodilians - 23 species, 38 individual animals
If one compares this list to the
previously-discussed inventory, one will note that although the number of species presented here is rather higher, the total number of individual animals held in 1971 was noticeably lower than would be the case in 1975; this rather demonstrates the point I made previously that the guidebook in question represented a collection experiencing a new peak after years of rebuilding, whilst this guidebook comes from a time when the Zoo-Aquarium was still working towards this peak.
As was the case for all guidebooks published by the collection during this timespan, the back cover of the guidebook depicts an overall map of the Zoo-Aquarium, showing an isometric cross-section view with each of the major exhibit areas clearly numbered with corresponding labels in the key below. This provides an aesthetically-attractive and easy-to-understand resource which enhances the overall value of the guidebook as a whole.
Overall, as one may have learned to expect from publications released by Zoo Berlin and the associated aquarium, this is a highly-detailed, attractive and well-produced guidebook which provides a wide range of information on the collection to which it pertains, and which represents an important historical resource relating to the growth and rebuilding of a key European collection in the decades following the Second World War.
I also have some old photos, but as per ZooChat rules, I'm banned from posting them as they were not taken by myself. Though, they were given to me by a friend with the intent that I share them on the site!
