Elephant slaves and pampered parrots : exotic animals in eighteenth-century Paris / Louise E. Robbins.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Robbins, Louise E.

Series:

Animals, history, culture

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Wild animals as pets--France--Paris--History--18th century.

Wild animals as pets.

Human-animal relationships--France--Paris--History--18th century.

Human-animal relationships.

Exotic animals--France--Paris--History--18th century.

Exotic animals.

History.

France--Paris.

Physical Description:

xiv, 349 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.

Other Title:

Elephant slaves & pampered parrots

Place of Publication:

Baltimore, Md. : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002.

Summary:

In 1775 a visitor to Laurent Spinacuta's Grande Menagerie at the annual winter fair in Paris would have seen two tigers, several kinds of monkeys, an armadillo, an ocelot, and a condor -- in all, forty-two live animals. In Elephant Slaves and Pampered Parrots, Louise E. Robbins explains that exotic animals from around the world were common in eighteenth-century Paris. In the streets of the city, residents and visitors could observe performing elephants and a fighting polar bear. Those looking for unusual pets could purchase parrots, flying squirrels, and capuchin monkeys. The royal menagerie at Versailles displayed lions, cranes, an elephant, a rhinoceros, and a zebra, which in 1760 became a major court attraction.

For Enlightenment-era Parisians, exotic animals both piqued scientific curiosity and conveyed social status. Their availability was a boon for naturalists like Buffon, author of the best-selling Histoire naturelle, who observed unusual species in a variety of locations around the city. Louis XVI saw his menagerie as a manifestation of his power and funded its upkeep accordingly, while critics used the caged animals as metaphors of slavery and political oppression amidst growing political turmoil. In her engaging and often surprising account, Robbins considers nearly every aspect of France's obsession with exotic fauna, from the vast literature on exotic animals and the inner workings of the oiseleurs' (bird sellers') guild to how the animals were transported, housed, and cared for. Based on wide-ranging and imaginative research, Elephant Slaves and Pampered Parrots inaugurates a new Johns Hopkins series in the history of human-animal relations, eighteenth-century culture, and French colonialism.

Contents:

1. Live Cargo 9

2. The Royal Menagerie 37

3. Fairs and Fights 68

4. The Oiseleurs' Guild 100

5. Pampered Parrots 122

6. Animals in Print 156

7. Elephant Slaves 186

8. Vive la Liberte 206.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 311-336) and index.

ISBN:

0801867533

OCLC:

45806359