34 
HAMLYN'S MENAGERIE MAGAZINE. 
pigeons, and partridges from India, Africa, and 
Australia, claimed one's attention a little fur- 
ther on; while, next door to them little South 
African rock rabbits rushed bashfully back into 
the inner recesses of their residence immediately 
you proferred the hand of friendship. A few- 
steps further on a majestic eagle, who paced 
up and down his cage with lordly dignity, threw 
upon vou the keenness of his gaze, his example 
being' followed to a lesser extent by some Afri- 
can springbuck and a herd of duykerbuck, 
"The greatest novelty in my latest collec- 
tion," remarked Mr. Hamlyn, "is these sixty 
penguins, from Penguin Island Never has 
such a large number been imported before. 1 he 
bird over there, with the long legs and delicate 
fawn-grev plumage, is an African crane, and 
those others are black and white-necked swans 
and African wild ducks. I ought to tell you 
that my Polar bears, lions, and hyaenas were 
sold before I left South Africa." 
Perhaps the most interesting apartment in 
Mr. Hamlyn's establishment is that which con- 
tains the monkeys and baboons— of the latter 
he has fifty South and West African specimens 
armadilloes, mongooses, civet cats, Java apes, 
bishop monkeys from West Africa, Indian mon- 
keys, African black crows, antelopes, frogs 
snakes, and other lively creatures who would 
not make very pleasant bedfellows. 
And now something about the man whose 
name is known practically all over the world as 
a collector and importer of wild animals, birds, 
reptiles etc. Mr. John D. Hamlyn was born 
in Taunton, Somerset, in 1859', the first few 
years of his business career being spent in 
London as a shipping clerk. During his nine 
years' connection with the London Docks, he 
speculated in foreign birds and small pet ani- 
mals, which he might see on any of the numer- 
ous steamers he had to attend to in the course 
of his duties. His first purchase was an Indian 
monkev, for which he paid ten shillings, and 
which " he sold for twenty-five. After six 
months' working on his own account in this 
wav, he was offered an engagement by the late 
celebrated naturalist, Mr. Charles Jamrach, 
and purchased specimens for that gentleman 
for some six months. On leaving Mr. Jamrach, 
he started in business for himself, at 63, Upper 
East Smithfield, and since then he has_ never 
left the neighbourhood, his present premises at 
221, St. George Street, London Docks, East, 
•being but a hundred yards from the old house. 
"The business in those days." said Mr. 
Hamlvn, "was totally different from what It is 
now.' ' London was then the centre of the bird 
and animal world, and all the Continental deal- 
ers, menageries, and zoological gardens were 
supplied from the English Metropolis. The 
daily and weekly arrivals of birds and animals 
ran into many thousands of pounds. Now the 
trade has entirely drifted to the Continent, to 
French and German hands, the seafaring men 
of these countries taking up the business with 
great vigour and enterprise, and it is impossible 
for us to enter into competition with them in 
their own ports." 
In the year 1889 Mr. Hamlyn received his 
first big contract, which was to supply 1,000 
monkeys to Brooks' Monkey Show, at the Alex- 
andra Palace. Many were the congratulatory 
messages he received in connection with that 
wonderful exhibition. When Messrs. Barnum 
and Bailey visited London during the same 
year, Mr. Hamlyn was called upon to assist 
in their animal show, and during the years 1890 
to 1898 he was kept busy transhipping and mov- 
ing various shows belonging to Messrs Bostock 
and Womb well and Mr. Carl Hagenbeck, the 
well-known Hamburg dealer. All this while Mr. 
Hamlyn's own business was increasing by leaps 
and bounds, and his consignments took him fre- 
quently to Antwerp, Hamburg, and Rotterdam. 
In 1897. he was again approached by Messrs. 
Brooks to perform for them a service similar 
to that he undertook before, and he did so to 
their entire satisfaction. In 1900 to 190'4_he 
was kept employed by the various laboratories, 
hospitals, and, latterly, by the Royal Commis- 
sion on Tuberculosis, supplying them with speci- 
mens for their work. In 1904, too, he visited 
the Belgian and the French Congo, at the re- 
quest of Dr. Steegman, for the purpose of pro- 
curing chimpanzees for the Royal Commission. 
He left England in March, 1904, and visited 
numerous places in the Belgian Congo and, 
from thence travelling to the French Congo 
seaboard, stopping at such places at Loango, 
Mayamba, and finally settling down atSette- 
cama for a couple of months' stay. There he 
found the gorilla, the chimpanzee, and the man- 
drill in abundance, and he returned home intne 
following September with a very fine collection. 
The ensuing vear saw him again in the 1' rencn 
Congo, in quest of gorillas and chimpanzees 
and this trip proved one of the most successful 
ever made, for it resulted in twenty-five chim- 
panzees being obtained, and three gorillas, the 
largest number ever got together at any one 
time His collection also included the cele- 
brated lady gorilla, Miss Crowther, which was 
eventually sold to the New York Zoological 
Gardens.' The number of boxes of animals 
secured on this particular journey totalled 120. 
"I would like to say," resumed Mr. Hamlyn, 
"that the collection of gorillas and chimpanzees 
is a very risky and dangerous undertaking-- 
not so risky and dangerous in the-manner of 
obtaining The animals, but in the manner of 
