The Ricky Jay Collection Part III

BOSTOCK, Edward Henry (1858 - 1940). Bostock & Wombwell’s Royal No. 1 Menagerie. Glasgow: Sam Lithgow, [ca. 1905]. Vertical pictorial color poster bears black and white photographs of four proprietors in corner vignettes, surrounded by red decorative imagery, and the central title backed with a tartan pattern. Illustration signed “Sam Lithgow, Glasgow.” 30 ¼ x 20”. Scattered small tears and losses to edges, chipping, toning.The text proudly proclaims the menagerie to be “the oldest and the best… now in its 100th year of success.” Henry’s father, James (1814 - 1878), began working for the Wombwell Menagerie in 1838 and his wedding to Emma Wombwell in 1852 formed the Bostock and Wombwell dynasty, which led to a tradition of exhibiting menageries across England, the European continent, and even America, for some nine decades.