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Now completely revised. A history of the modern zoo.
In this revised edition of Savages and Beasts, Nigel Rothfels traces the origins of the modern zoo to the efforts of the German entrepreneur Carl Hagenbeck, the most successful dealer in exotic animals in the nineteenth century. Building from his core business in animals, Hagenbeck eventually became even more famous for his large ethnographic exhibitions and circus ventures.
When Hagenbeck opened his Animal Park near Hamburg, Germany, in 1907, he brought together all his business interests in a revolutionary zoological park. He moved wild animals out of their cages and into "natural landscapes" and, in the process, invented a new way of imagining captivity. Through the use of theatrical scenery, the animals and people performing in his ethnographic exhibitions appeared to be living in their native lands. This revised edition addresses ethical concerns about the representation of indigenous peoples and animals and includes a host of new images and photographs.
By examining Hagenbeck's enterprises, Savages and Beasts demonstrates how ideas about the role of zoos and the nature of animal captivity developed in the late nineteenth century. Rothfels provides a much-needed historical perspective on the connections between the development of modern zoos and their colonial histories.
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Gardens of History
2. Catching Animals
3. Ethnographic Exhibits
4. Paradise
Conclusion
Notes
A Note on Sources
Index
Nigel Rothfels is a professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is the author of Elephant Trails: A History of Animals and Cultures and the editor of Representing Animals.
"When first published in 2002, Savages and Beasts helped create the field of animal history and inspired many writers, myself included. With this fully revised edition, Nigel Rothfels brings new material and perspectives to his classic work, drawing us once again into the entwined histories of colonialism and the exotic animal trade. You'll never look at zoos the same way again."
– Jason Colby, author of Orca: How We Came to Know and Love the Ocean's Greatest Predator
"A lucid, thought-provoking book which charts the complex origins and ethics of the modern zoo. Through the prism of Carl Hagenbeck's multifaceted entertainment empire, Rothfels reveals the brutal casualties of the wild beast trade, the commercial and aesthetic origins of the bar-less zoo and the entangled histories of exhibiting animals and humans, from walrus pups to Sámi reindeer herders."
– Helen Cowie, author of Victims of Fashion: Animal Commodities in Victorian Britain
"Rothfels's Savages and Beasts masterfully reveals the wild side of zoos – where science, empire, and spectacle collide in cages and enclosures. A brilliant romp through the entangled and 'unnatural' histories of taming nature, this book is a roaring good read for anyone who's ever wondered about the legacies of animals in zoos."
– Mieke Roscher, University of Kassel, co-editor of the Handbook of Historical Animal Studies
