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Washington, United States
loves: you win if you guessed "pets" and "museums". Also books, art history, travel, British punk, Korean kimchi, bindis, martinis, and other things TBD. I will always make it very clear if a post is sponsored in any way. Drop me a line at thepetmuseum AT gmail.com !

Monday, February 03, 2014

some wild pets


Mrs. Calvin Coolidge and her pet raccoon Rebecca, circa 1921-23
from http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3c00816

She bought the young rabbit on the sly at a bird shop, and smuggled him into the nursery in a paper bag; this bunny contraband would become Benjamin Bouncer, the first inspiration for Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit.  I'm shortly to send you to a Retronaut post with photos of wild pets, and Beatrix and Benjamin are the first pair you'll see.
Wild pets are something I can't quite get behind.  Rabbits are one thing, and I think Frida Kahlo did all right by her pet fawn Granizo ("Hail" - perhaps for his lovely spots), but Osa Johnson's cheetah frankly looks a touch disgusted to me, and I never did like the idea of Salvador Dali and his ocelot.  There's also a catalog page from a purveyor of exotic animals, and that just made me sad.  Though the photo of 50's burlesque dancer Zorita walking her snake did make me laugh.
Have a look!

(My thanks for this find to sharp-eyed Museum fan Loren K.)

1 comment:

MISS PEACH ~(^.^)~ said...

we are thrilled and proud of our hawks! They deserve this win so very much for their wonderful sportsmanship and how well they played. what was wrong with those broncos....?