BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk// X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Wild Animal Skins in Victorian Britain: The Belle Vue Zoo\, Manche ster - Professor Ann Colley\, SUNY Distinguished Professor\, Dept. of Engl ish DTSTART:20141126T130000Z DTEND:20141126T140000Z UID:TALK54339@talks.cam.ac.uk CONTACT:Graham Allen DESCRIPTION:In the Victorian period one of the most popular places where t he public could see displays of wild skins was the zoo. Opportunities were plentiful. Thanks to the growth of empire\, to improved transportation\, as well as to newly opened routes to distant lands\, it was now more possi ble than ever to collect and bring back creatures or their skins from far- away regions and put them on view before a population eager to see exotic animals and birds. According to one commentator\, in the 1860s\, throughou t Europe\, zoological gardens were being established at the rate of one a year.\n One of these establishments was the Belle Vue Zoo in Manchester\, founded by a former silk weaver in 1836. This is a zoo that tends to recei ve minimal attention by those fascinated with either the history of Manche ster or the history of zoos in Victorian Britain. Compared to the more est ablished and intellectually prominent London Zoological Society Gardens\, this provincial and transparently commercial (and very popular) institutio n\, once located just three miles from the center of industrial Manchester \, tends to be regarded as being relatively inconsequential. I suggest\, h owever\, that it is not a place to be overlooked\, for Belle Vue in the mi d to late nineteenth century offers a vital portrait of its surroundings. Rather than compete with places like the London Zoo\, Belle Vue chose to p resent itself as an institution primarily dedicated to the celebration of its industrial and imperialistic context. Belle Vue was an extension of no t only its neighboring manufacturing city but also the nation’s enthusia sm for empire.\nIn this talk\, I shall demonstrate Belle Vue’s commitmen t to its manufacturing and imperialistic context. Belle Vue Zoo both celeb rated and replicated the industrial surroundings of Manchester. Looking at the zoo from a distance\, people in the mid-nineteenth century would have remarked upon the establishment’s dazzling grounds\, illuminated either by Belle Vue’s own gas works or by the electricity powered by its robus t generators. They also would have caught sight of the zoo’s buildings\, humming with the action of the steam-driven machines within. By utilizing the most up-to-date technology\, Belle Vue was an extension of its neighb oring manufacturing city. Furthermore\, its founder encouraged the presenc e of the working classes.\n In addition to showing off the power of indust ry\, Belle Vue Zoo also dedicated itself to glorifying Britain’s imperia listic achievements. As a consequence\, it populated its grounds with powe rful reminders of Britain’s economic\, military\, and political campaign s throughout the globe. The zoo’s collections of exotic beasts from Brit ain’s colonial territories placed its visitor in this larger internation al context. But even more dramatically – if not excessively\, the zoo’ s spectacular evening reenactments of recent battles\, which demonstrated Britain’s superiority\, created a dramatic set of imperialistic portrait s. Begun in 1852\, these shows distinguished Belle Vue from its competitor s and insured the zoo’s financial success. With their display of technol ogical wonders\, these performances were extraordinary to watch. In this t alk\, in addition to demonstrating Belle Vue’s indebtedness to its indus trial context\, I shall describe several of these productions and show sli des of the amazing sets built for these mock battles.\n LOCATION:Combination Room\, Wolfson College END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR