Images Of America - Book Series

snowleopard

snowleopard

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Great Zoo Books!:) On the "Amazon" website these books can be had for about $18, and if you order $39 worth of merchandise then all shipping is free.

This has been touched on briefly in a thread about zoo history books, but I wanted to give this publishing company its own place on ZooChat. Arcadia has produced a long list of historical books that are all around 128 pages in length, and the publications are slightly larger than the size of traditional paperbacks. The books are packed with black-and-white photographs, and for those that are intrigued by zoo history they are "must-owns". Here is a link to the home page, and there are now 7 zoo books produced by Arcadia:

Arcadia Publishing - local history books

I own these terrific books that are exclusively about zoo history: Central Park Zoo, Knoxville Zoo, Oak Park & the Montgomery Zoo, New York City Zoos & Aquariums, and Oklahoma City Zoo & Aquarium: 1902-1959.

There are two more to be released this June: Brookfield Zoo & the Chicago Zoological Society and San Francisco Zoo.

Brookfield Zoo history book:

Brookfield Zoo and the Chicago Zoological Society - Arcadia Publishing
 
My copy of the new Brookfield Zoo History book arrived today. It was a bit of a disappointment to me...not really a history book, but more of a picture album with captions of the photographs included.
 
I now own all seven of the "Images of America" series that feature zoos, and they are basically collections of photos with captions underneath each page. The latest, on the Brookfield Zoo, has 237 historic, black-and-white images that illustrate the evolution of that famous Chicago zoo.
 
I'm bumping this thread after almost a year and a half because there are now 9 zoo-related books in the "Images of America" series and I own them all. They are not classics in terms of information, but there are many historically interesting photos in each book. Benson's Wild Animal Farm (which closed in 1987) has its own book and it was published in 2011:

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Bensons-Wild-Animal-Images-America/dp/0738574074/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1301451991&sr=8-1]Amazon.com: Benson's Wild Animal Farm (Images of America Series) (9780738574073): Bob Goldsack: Books[/ame]
 
There are now books for Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (published late in 2010) and an upcoming book to be published on July 4th about California's Jungleland that bring the total of zoo-themed books in the Images of America series to 11. Does anyone remember Jungleland? It closed in 1969 with 1,800 animals auctioned off:

Jungleland - Arcadia Publishing
 
Elephants of Jungleland

snowleopard said:
There are now books for Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (published late in 2010) and an upcoming book to be published on July 4th about California's Jungleland that bring the total of zoo-themed books in the Images of America series to 11. Does anyone remember Jungleland? It closed in 1969 with 1,800 animals auctioned off:
Click to expand...

Thank you for pointing out this soon-to-be-released book. I cannot wait to order my copy.

Elephant.se currently lists 40 elephants residing at Louis Goebel's facility in Thousand Oaks, and more are still being added as research continues.
>> "Jungleland Inc" at Elephant.se

A picture trying to identify three elephants at the location:
>> "Jungleland Mystery Photograph" at ShowMe Elephants

A few other vintage photographs:
>> "Jungleland, Thousand Oaks Calif." at Circus No-Spin Zone
 
I own 13 of the Images in America zoo books and now the 14th is due to be published. Milwaukee County Zoo is the chosen establishment:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Milwaukee-County-Zoo-Images-America/dp/1467112038/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1400542343&sr=1-6&keywords=zoo+history"]Milwaukee County Zoo (Images of America Series): Darlene Winter, Elizabeth Frank, Mary Kazmierczak, Charles Wikenhauser: 9781467112031: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]
 
Memphis Zoo is the latest zoological establishment to be profiled in the series and the history book will be published in June. Looking over my bookshelf I see that it will be the 16th zoo book in the Images of America series. Am I the only zoo nerd that buys every zoo book from the company?

Memphis Zoo:

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Memphis-Zoo-Images-America-Robert/dp/146711393X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1426872998&sr=1-1&keywords=memphis+zoo]Memphis Zoo (Images of America): Robert W. Dye: 9781467113939: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]


Complete List (with publishing date):

Central Park Zoo (2002)
New York City Zoos and Aquarium (2005)
Oklahoma City Zoo 1902-1959 (2006)
Knoxville Zoo (2007)
Oak Park and the Montgomery Zoo (2007)
Brookfield Zoo (2009)
San Francisco Zoo (2009)
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (2010)
Cincinnati Zoo (2010)
Marineland (2011)
Benson's Wild Animal Farm (2011)
Jungleland (2011)
Oklahoma City Zoo 1960-2013 (2014)
Turtle Back Zoo (2014)
Milwaukee County Zoo (2014)
Memphis Zoo (2015)
 
snowleopard said:
Complete List (with publishing date):

Central Park Zoo (2002)
New York City Zoos and Aquarium (2005)
Oklahoma City Zoo 1902-1959 (2006)
Knoxville Zoo (2007)
Oak Park and the Montgomery Zoo (2007)
Brookfield Zoo (2009)
San Francisco Zoo (2009)
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (2010)
Cincinnati Zoo (2010)
Marineland (2011)
Benson's Wild Animal Farm (2011)
Jungleland (2011)
Oklahoma City Zoo 1960-2013 (2014)
Turtle Back Zoo (2014)
Milwaukee County Zoo (2014)
Memphis Zoo (2015)
Click to expand...


I wonder how they pick what zoos to profile? That is a very eclectic list.
 
I've had a couple of questions sent to me in regards to the 16 zoo books in the Images of America series and so here is a brief overview:

- all of the books feature black-and-white photos
- each book is 128 pages in length
- there is a 2-page overview of the zoo in the front of each book
- all of the books are in chronological order, thus charting the history of each zoo
- photos dominate the books. For example, the San Francisco Zoo book has exactly 230 photos
- The series is a great reference source, with many historic photos that show zoos as they used to be or perhaps as they are now. I really enjoy seeing construction photos of exhibits that were built decades ago and I intend to continue to purchase every book that gets published in the future.

My recommendation for zoo nerds is to purchase one and then see if they like it before deciding whether or not to order any more. On every page there is generally 2 black-and-white photos with 1-4 sentences beneath each caption.
 
The 17th zoo book in the series is due out in paperback this month and this time the selected facility is Elmwood Park Zoo:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Elmwood-Park-Images-Modern-America/dp/1467115800/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1458150149&sr=1-1&keywords=elmwood+park+zoo"]Elmwood Park Zoo (Images of Modern America): Stan Huskey, Jerry Spinelli: 9781467115803: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]
 
I have the one from Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. I would love to see them do one on Reid Park Zoo and Phoenix Zoo. But maybe those zoos are too new (founded 1960's) to qualify?
 
Here is the complete list of the 21 books and 2 postcard collections that have been published by Arcadia in the Images of America series.

Central Park Zoo (2002)
New York City Zoos and Aquarium (2005)
Oklahoma City Zoo 1902-1959 (2006)
Knoxville Zoo (2007)
Oak Park and the Montgomery Zoo (2007)
Brookfield Zoo (2009)
San Francisco Zoo (2009)
San Francisco Zoo - only 15 historic postcards (2009)
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (2010)
Cincinnati Zoo (2010)
Marineland (2011)
Marineland - only 15 historic postcards (2011)
Benson's Wild Animal Farm (2011)
Jungleland (2011)
Oklahoma City Zoo 1960-2013 (2014)
Turtle Back Zoo (2014)
Milwaukee County Zoo (2014)
Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park (2015)
Memphis Zoo (2015)
Elmwood Park Zoo (2016)
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (2017)
Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo (2017)
Phoenix Zoo (2018)

I own 22 out of the 23 books, although as soon as I finish typing this sentence I'm going to go on Amazon and order the one about Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park, which somehow escaped my attention years ago.
 
snowleopard said:
I own these terrific books that are exclusively about zoo history:
Click to expand...

snowleopard said:
I now own all seven of the "Images of America" series .
Click to expand...

snowleopard said:
I own 13 of the Images in America zoo books
Click to expand...

snowleopard said:
Looking over my bookshelf I see that it will be the 16th zoo book in the Images of America series. Am I the only zoo nerd that buys every zoo book from the company?
Click to expand...

snowleopard said:
I own 22 out of the 23 books, although as soon as I finish typing this sentence I'm going to go on Amazon and order the one about Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park, which somehow escaped my attention years ago.
Click to expand...

Please let us know when you own all 23. I can't wait...
 
@Paradoxurus that came across as rather rude. You pulled a series of quotes over an 11-year period and then responded very abruptly. Hmmm...

I actually know 2-3 zoo friends that do order every book in the series and they at least share my enthusiasm. :)
 
Here is an interesting philosophical discussion about historical photos. These books are created from archived photos, which last because they are developed black and white photographic prints (that are quite archival). In the modern age of digital images, very few people or institutions actually print photographs (and if they do it is often with non-archival methods). So if someone wants to do a book series like this in the year 2100 looking back at life (in zoos or elsewhere) in the year 2000, will there be anything for them to work from? Or will all the digital images be deleted? I realize this is a digression, but as someone who previously worked at a photo lab for two decades it is something I think about. Even in my own life I print standard 4x6 inch prints when I go out to lunch with friends or go on a weekend trip and put it in a photo album for keepsake. The younger generation who are only sharing on Instagram etc will not have their childhood memories when they get older.
 
I own a couple of them, and they seem to be really all over the place in terms of quality and content :(
 
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