Food Service: Pitcher featuring Jumbo the elephant
Jumbo the Elephant (associated with)
Unknown creator, American (associated with)
Unknown creator, English (associated with)
Unknown creator, American (associated with)
Unknown creator, English (associated with)
1865 – 1890 (Date manufactured/created)
Decorative Arts
7.5 in H
, 4.5 in Diameter
Earthenware pitcher featuring Jumbo, an African elephant who became an international celebrity in the late 1800s. This pitcher, likely used to serve water, was a mass-market item, probably sold at the height of Jumbo's popularity in the 1870s and 1880s. Jumbo appears on both sides of the pitcher, with his name beneath. The handle is made to resemble a branch or woody vine, and where it joins the body of the pitcher, there is a cluster of leaves with a large white (or unpainted) flower resembling a morning glory. The painting appears to have been hastily done, which reflects its level of quality as a mass-market product. Jumbo having been painted brown rather than the grey color of an elephant, is consistent with typical colors used in Majolica pottery. There is no maker mark on the bottom, and it is unknown if this is was made in England or America. If English, it may date from about 1865 to the early 1880s when Jumbo lived at the London Zoo. If American, it may date from 1882 or later, when Jumbo was in North America.
This particular pitcher is known as Majolica ware, an extremely popular style of pottery in the 1800s. To create pieces, material was cast in a mold, and the features were then painted with colored lead glazes. The item was then fired to produce the hard shiny finish and translucent appearance.
Jumbo (about 1861-September 15, 1885) grew to be an unusually tall African elephant, about 11 1/2 feet tall at the time of his death. He was captured in Sudan when still very young, and was rather sickly while growing up. He became a main attraction at the London Zoo as the "Children's Giant Pet, " over the years, giving rides around the park to thousands of children. His sale from the London Zoo to Barnum and his partners prompted a great public outcry in England, but in typical Barnum fashion, Barnum used the negative publicity to his advantage. Jumbo arrived in America in April 1882, and thereafter was part of the circus, touring the United States and southern Canada. His arrival was widely promoted, as were his appearances in the shows. The public could not get enough of Jumbo, and manufacturers capitalized on this Jumbo-mania, producing many types of products with his name and image, while advertisers touted all kinds products with comparisons to the elephant's size or strength. Jumbo was killed by a train on September 15, 1885, while on tour in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada. He was only a young adult elephant at age 24 or 25 years old, and his death was widely mourned. His name, however, lives on as we refer to super large items, from eggs and beverages to jet airplanes as "jumbo sized." Barnum employed a taxidermist in Rochester, New York to mount the hide and skeleton separately, to be shown for a year or two in the circus as "Double Jumbo." The mounted hide was then given to Tufts College (now Tufts University) but was lost to fire in 1975; the skeleton was given to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City where the bones remain in storage today.
This particular pitcher is known as Majolica ware, an extremely popular style of pottery in the 1800s. To create pieces, material was cast in a mold, and the features were then painted with colored lead glazes. The item was then fired to produce the hard shiny finish and translucent appearance.
Jumbo (about 1861-September 15, 1885) grew to be an unusually tall African elephant, about 11 1/2 feet tall at the time of his death. He was captured in Sudan when still very young, and was rather sickly while growing up. He became a main attraction at the London Zoo as the "Children's Giant Pet, " over the years, giving rides around the park to thousands of children. His sale from the London Zoo to Barnum and his partners prompted a great public outcry in England, but in typical Barnum fashion, Barnum used the negative publicity to his advantage. Jumbo arrived in America in April 1882, and thereafter was part of the circus, touring the United States and southern Canada. His arrival was widely promoted, as were his appearances in the shows. The public could not get enough of Jumbo, and manufacturers capitalized on this Jumbo-mania, producing many types of products with his name and image, while advertisers touted all kinds products with comparisons to the elephant's size or strength. Jumbo was killed by a train on September 15, 1885, while on tour in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada. He was only a young adult elephant at age 24 or 25 years old, and his death was widely mourned. His name, however, lives on as we refer to super large items, from eggs and beverages to jet airplanes as "jumbo sized." Barnum employed a taxidermist in Rochester, New York to mount the hide and skeleton separately, to be shown for a year or two in the circus as "Double Jumbo." The mounted hide was then given to Tufts College (now Tufts University) but was lost to fire in 1975; the skeleton was given to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City where the bones remain in storage today.
EL 1989.007.001