E is for Elephant: British Picture Books and the Tropical Empire, 1860-1910
During the second half of the 19th century, a curious and quiet invasion occurred in the pages of children’s literature: the animals of the tropics suddenly appeared in their picture books. Jaguars, monkeys, giant snakes, tigers, hippos, and zebras were abruptly part of every child’s animal knowledge. “E” was no longer for “Ewe,” but for Elephant, and “Z” could finally be solved by the Zebra. The lucky child could even go to the London Zoo and pay a small fee to ride an elephant around the park.
This exhibit considers the relationship between the British Empire and the tropical landscape by investigating the portrayal of jungle animals in popular children’s picture books in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The newly-popularized images of jungle animals communicated crucial values about imperial power and the natural world. But more than merely recasting the tropes of imperialism that have been identified in other genres, jungle scenes enabled a particular kind of discourse that intertwined lessons about power and lessons about nature. The children of the British Empire were taught how to conquer, control, and scientifically know the natural world as a crucial part of their education as imperial citizens.