[Loose Photographs]: Bronx Zoo

SANBORN, Elwin Roswell

Published by New York, 1910

About this Item

A collection of 25 sepia-toned gelatin silver photographs measuring around 4.5" x 6.5" with some printed captions. About very good with chips and some creasing. A collection of photographs taken by Elwin Roswell (E.R.) Sanborn of animals at the New York Zoological Park, later renamed the Bronx Zoo, between 1902 and 1910. These images show the various animals at the zoo, including the prize Barbary lion, Sultan, who was a major draw for visitors of the zoo. Most of the photos feature a stamp from the zoo on the verso and some include a New York Zoological Society blind stamp. Sanborn began working at the zoo when it opened in 1899 as the artist in charge of guidebook production. From there he worked his way through the ranks at the organization becoming the zoo's jack of all trades before finally becoming its photographer. The director, William Temple Hornaday, used freelance photographers at first not thinking there was enough work for a fulltime employee. However, Sanborn thought this wasn't the case and began photographing the animals and eventually "established the Bronx Zoo's first photo department in 1901." He split his time between photographing the zoo animals and traveling the world capturing conservation expeditions including a trip to the Galapagos Islands in 1928 with the New York aquarium. Although he left thousands of negatives to the zoo, prints of his work are scarce. An interesting archive of images taken by an important zoological photographer in the early 1900s. Seller Inventory # 431778

Bibliographic Details

Title: [Loose Photographs]: Bronx Zoo

Publisher: New York

Publication Date: 1910

Binding: Unbound

Condition: Very Good