The Fenykovi elephant as 

 decorated by the Women s 

 Committee of the Smithsoii- 

 ian Associates for a medieval 

 Christmas, December 8, 

 1978. 



Elephant Unveiled 



The elephant was unveiled in March 1959. Shortly 

 thereafter, William L. Brown retired, leaving the ani- 

 mal to mark his career of almost half a century at the 

 Museum, and Neal Deaton left to set up his own husi- 

 ness. Frank Greenwell remains as the only taxidermist 

 who worked on the elephant — indeed, the only taxi- 

 dermist left on the Museum staff. About twenty years 

 afterward, Greenwell and his wife, Pat, spend six weeks 

 repairing the skin. In 1983 Greenwell gave the elephant 

 new fiberglass tusks made in the Exhil)its Department 

 model shop. 



The platform around the elephant has been modif ied 

 several times. For a few weeks a piece of elephant hide 

 was placed on the railing so that tourists could feel it, 

 but when the skin wore out it was not replaced, because 

 the African elephant had become an endangered spe- 

 cies. At one point the elephant was wired for sound, 

 and trumpeting noises shook the dome every fifteen 

 minutes; fortunately, this was discontinued. A record- 

 ing about the elephant was added for those desiring 

 more information than the label supplies. A skeleton 

 of a pygmy elephant to place beside the big one was 

 contracted for, but the skeleton turned out to be largely 

 plaster reconstruction rather than authentic bone, and 

 the contract was canceled. 



The elephant is the subject of a couple of anecdotes 

 that are part of the oral tradition of tlie Museum. As 

 indicated, the animal is in a walking position with trimk 

 and tail outstretched. No one will confirm it, but Sec- 

 retary Garmichael is supposed to have been so aghast 

 at the sight of the large open anus that he issued t>rders 



riie elephant on December 14, 1979, when the Christmas 

 dance oj the Women's Committee had the theme of "Babar 

 Visits America. " 



New Wings and a New Elephant 



101 



