The Ricky Jay Collection
The Ricky Jay Collection
(Elephant) | The first elephant in America
Auction Closed
October 28, 08:54 PM GMT
Estimate
7,000 - 10,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
(Elephant)
The Elephant. Providence, Rhode Island: Carter and Wilkinson, 1797
Broadside (250 x 196 mm). Large woodcut of elephant at top, letterpress text; old folds, browned, foxed, dampstain, closed tears, a few small holes costing three or so letters. Matted, framed, and glazed with Plexiglas; not examined out of frame.
"The most respectable Animal in the World"
Transported from India, the famed elephant arrived in New York on on 13 April 1797, aboard a ship captained by Jacob Crowninshield. Born in Salem in 1770, as a young man Crowninshield went into partnership with three of his brothers, ultimately commanding trade ships between the United States and India. He was later elected a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts. In addition to his political savvy, Crowninshield was a keen businessman. After having purchased the elephant for $450, he sold it to a Welshman for $10,000. As the elephant was exhibited up and down the eastern seaboard for a number of years, it's likely that, despite its eyewatering price tag, the animal generated significant profits for the Welshman.
The broadside describes the elephant as four years old, and weighing roughly 3,000 pounds, "but will not have come to his full Growth till he shall be between 30 and 40 Years old." The advertisement goes on to note that he "eats 130 Weight a Day, and drinks all Kinds of spiritous Liquors; some Days he has drank 30 Bottles of Porter, drawing the Corks with his Trunk." And while he apparently never attempted to hurt anyone, spectators were issued the following warning: "The Elephant having destroyed many papers of Consequence, it is recommended to Visitors not to come near him with such papers." While the elephant was consistently described as male, after seeing the creature in Salem on 29 August 1779, the Reverend William Bentley observed that he was, in fact, a she.
A rare broadside, heralding the first elephant to be exhibited in the United States
REFERENCE:
EE, pp. 56-57
Transported from India, the famed elephant arrived in New York on on 13 April 1797, aboard a ship captained by Jacob Crowninshield. Born in Salem in 1770, as a young man Crowninshield went into partnership with three of his brothers, ultimately commanding trade ships between the United States and India. He was later elected a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts. In addition to his political savvy, Crowninshield was a keen businessman. After having purchased the elephant for $450, he sold it to a Welshman for $10,000. As the elephant was exhibited up and down the eastern seaboard for a number of years, it's likely that, despite its eyewatering price tag, the animal generated significant profits for the Welshman.
The broadside describes the elephant as four years old, and weighing roughly 3,000 pounds, "but will not have come to his full Growth till he shall be between 30 and 40 Years old." The advertisement goes on to note that he "eats 130 Weight a Day, and drinks all Kinds of spiritous Liquors; some Days he has drank 30 Bottles of Porter, drawing the Corks with his Trunk." And while he apparently never attempted to hurt anyone, spectators were issued the following warning: "The Elephant having destroyed many papers of Consequence, it is recommended to Visitors not to come near him with such papers." While the elephant was consistently described as male, after seeing the creature in Salem on 29 August 1779, the Reverend William Bentley observed that he was, in fact, a she.
A rare broadside, heralding the first elephant to be exhibited in the United States