The Zoological Garden illustrated by Gustav Canton
This book is nothing much to look at from the outside – it looks like a typical Victorian cloth covered book. The full title is ‘The Zoological Garden. An Invitation to the Youth of both Sexes to Contemplate Animated Nature.’ You can glean from the title that this is an old book, dating back more than 100 years. The book itself is undated but has a contemporary gift inscription in the front dated 1863, so we will assume it is from around this time.
Upon opening it to the frontispiece and title page… wow! I changed my mind - this is a beautiful book! The frontis shows a lion attacking a crocodile outside its den where the lion’s mate and cubs are crouching, a giraffe in the background and an ichneumon in the foreground – did you know ichneumon is another name for a mongoose? I did not and had to Google it! The picture is hand-coloured, as are all 16 stone engravings, and strikingly so.
The title page also has a coloured illustration of two hunters facing up to an angry bear and their dog.
The first two pages are what attracted me to the book. And the fact that it was about Natural History was a bonus! The text is written ‘according to the best and latest authorities on the Natural Sciences’ .
The preface states: “The object of this pictorial publication is, to awaken in the mind of youth a desire for a more perfect acquaintance with the animal creation.”
The book is written as a story of two youths, Henry and Augustus, who are taken to the Zoological Garden by their uncle William. Uncle William is very knowledgeable, and the story continues as he shows them around the Zoological Garden and the many animals living there, imparting facts and teaching the boys all about the Natural World.
What really draws me to this book, as I have already mentioned, are the exquisite hand-coloured plates. They really are fascinating. I am currently looking at the plate opposite page 20 which shows a Hyaena and a jackal digging up a human corpse to feed on, a lizard, an ostrich, a gnou (sic) (also known as wildebeest), two parrots, and, last but not least, a leopard bringing down an antelope. To some, this could sound rather gruesome but I look past that and wonder at the beautiful colours and detail.
This particular copy (stock number 1311370) is rubbed and browned at the board edges, the boards are a little scuffed and the rear board is a bit grubby – hence I was ready to dismiss this book without even opening the pages. All edges are gilt and the plates are all present. There is a name and date of 25 December 1863 on the front endpaper, so obviously the book was a Christmas present for some lucky child. Being of the Victorian era and a book for children, the contents have been well handled with some marks but, amazingly, it has survived!
Overall, what a treasure to discover - it just goes to show that we should never judge a book by its cover! The illustrations truly make the book something special.
Contributed by Sonia
(Published on 10th Dec 2024)
