London Zoo and the Victorians, 1828-1859 (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780861933518)

London Zoo examined in its nineteenth-century context, looking at its effect on cultural and social life.

At the dawn of the Victorian era, London Zoo became one of the metropolis's premier attractions. The crowds drawn to its bear pit included urban promenaders, gentlemen menagerists, Indian shipbuilders and Persian princes - and Charles Darwin himself. This book shows that the impact of the zoo's extensive collection of animals can only be understood in the context of a wide range of contemporary approaches to nature, and that it was not merely a manifestation of British imperial culture.
The author demonstrates how the early history of the zoo illuminates three important aspects of the history of nineteenth-century Britain: the politics of culture and leisure in a new public domain which included museums and art galleries; the professionalisation and popularisation of science in a consumer society; and the meanings of the animal world for a growing urban population. Weaving these threads together, he presents a flexible frame of analysis to explain how the zoo was established, how it pursued its policies of animal collection, and how it responded to changing social conditions.

Author: Takashi Ito
ISBN-10: 0861933516
ISBN-13: 9780861933518
Publisher: Royal Historical Society
Language: English
Published: 02/21/2020
Pages: 216
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.70d