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New York circa 1905. "Bostock, Dreamland, Coney Island." This popular attraction was part of British-born animal impresario Frank Bostock's zoological empire. 8x10 glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
The buildings were temporary, quickly built, and quite flammable!
Seeing the standard ordering of "Lions, Tigers, Bears", and this photo far predating the Wizard of Oz, it made me wonder if it was a coincidence, or if the expression "Lions, Tigers and Bears" is much older.
Apparently, it's much, much older. Searching Google Books, it goes back to at least 1768 in something called "Tales" translated from Persian of Inatulla of Delhi. Which vaguely maybe sounded like Tales of the Arabian Nights, but searching the Project Gutenberg version of that finds no such phrase.
Anyone know the true origin of that phrase to satisfy my idle curiosity?
Were these buildings on Coney Island substantial, permanent buildings? Or were they temporary, quickly built buildings like at some of the World's Fairs or Pan An Expositions? While most of this building looks solid there is a strip near the top of the building under the Bostock name that looks like painted tar paper.
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