Author: JOSHUA GLEADAH artist & engraver
Title: The Death of Chunee the Elephant.
Description: c. 1826. Hand coloured engraved print, 110 x 130 mm. Chunee the elephant arrived from Bengal in 1811 and after a brief career on the stage in Covent Garden he was exhibited at The Exeter Exchange [or Change], which housed a menagerie from 1773 until 1829. The cramped conditions were not helped by the fact that he continued to grow and he became increasingly restive and eventually killed one of his handlers, for which he was fined 1 shilling. He damaged his cage by his behaviour and threatened to bring down the ceiling, and when a carpenter refused to mend his cage it was decided that he had to be killed. Guardsmen fired 152 musket balls which served only to infuriate him further and eventually he was dispatched with a poisoned harpoon. See Caroline Grigson 'Menagerie: The History of Exotic Animals in England.' (OUP, 2016) The artist/engraver, Joshua Gleadah, was active 1811 - 1836. Although a number of engravings of the scene were made by various artists I can find no holdings for this version.

Keywords: Ephemera


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