Avatars de Zarafa. English

In the footsteps of Zarafa, first giraffe in France : a chronicle of giraffomania, 1826-1845 / Olivier Lebleu ; translated by Cynthia T. Hahn.

Lanham, Maryland : Rowman & Littlefield, an imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc., [2020]

xiv, 185 pages : illustrations (black and white) ; 23 cm

Translated from the French.

"This engaging account traces the remarkable history of France's first giraffe, a diplomatic gift from Egyptian Pasha Muhammed-Ali to King Charles X in 1826. "Zarafa," taken by boat from Egypt to Marseilles and walked all the way to Paris, was accompanied by her Arab handlers and a famous French naturalist. She drew vast crowds along her route, sparking a giraffomania that was widely documented in art and literature. Her initial journey and then long and celebrated residence in Paris encapsulates nineteenth-century French socio-political history and highlights the emerging evolutionary theories of the time. Over fifty illustrations from the period illuminate this rare encounter with a unique animal that is now endangered and deserving of our greater attention and understanding"-- Provided by publisher.

Online version: Lebleu, Olivier, 1966- In the footsteps of zarafa, first giraffe in france Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, 2020.

English

December 02, 2020

Includes bibliographical references and index.