Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1891-11-07
FAMOUS IN HIS LINE.
cb.ri.. Jamrach, Who Was Noted Tor
u,s wild Beasts and Curiosities'

r,nracb. Who Was Noted Tor
,I,s wild Beasts and Curiosities'
Cborles Jamracb was hardly less gen
o-oIIv known in the world of showmen
than B,rnum himself lie had collect
od in his London shop for nearly fifty
voors wild birds and beasts from all
narts of the globe, and hal Distributed
tbem among the geological gardens ana
travelling menageries of every clvlllzed
country. His place of business in Rat
cliff highway, East London, was the
Mecca of sailors from the South seas
who found there ready sale for any
curious fowl, reptile or savage brute
that he had taken in the tropics.
.Jamrach was omnivorous. a rattle
snake or an elephant, a monkey or a
tiger, a parrot or a panther, was alike
welcome at his door. He would buy
a polar bear as readily as he would buy
a spring chicken, for he was wealthy,
always had large supply OF money at
hand. and had such widespread rela-
tions with the animal dealers of the
world that he was sure in due time to
find a market for every rare specimen.
He had. moreover, establishments in
Antwerp and Hamburg, and to keep
all three places well stocked he was
obliged to buy freely.
The power of Jamrach in the captive
animal world was well illustrated in
1865. when Barnum's menagerie was
DESTROYED. He received most of the
orders to duplicate the lost animals,
and in a remarkably short period had
landed in London by his numerous
agents the collection of wild beasts
which Barnum subsequently exhibited
in the biggest show on earth.
As beftted a man named Jamrach
In an English city, the curious old man
of Ratcliff highway was something of a
universal genius Late in his life he
did not confine himself to collecting
animals, but opened his shop to all
sorts of curios. Porcelain from China.
carvings from Japan, weapons from
the South seas, cloths from Asia Mi
nor and ornaments from the Dark
Continent were gathered by him with
careful choice, yet in large quantities.
Anybody in London who wished some
thing odd went to Jamrach's, and few
persons left the shop empty handed.
Despite its many attractions for the
curious, it is remarkable that wealth
and fashion found its way to Jamrach's
place, for the shop was not free from
dangers and was in a very disreputable
neighborhood. The wild beasts OF
jungle and plain were only in tempo
rary cages and had not yet been broken
by confinement. Accidents were fire.
quent, and Jamrach, who never felt
fear, had many life and death combats
in his dingy place. Once a leopard
burst its bars while some twenty chill
dren stood before the cage. Jamrach
sprang forward with a switch in his
hand, and by a little whipping and pure
drove the beast back to its
place.
The last of Jamrach's seventy-six
years were not his best from the trades
mans point of view. The decline of
country fairs with their travelling
shows and the abating of the fancy for
pet parrots and monkeys and imported
cats and dogs reduced the activity of
his business notably, and Jamrach of
ten mourned for the days when he
could afford losses through illness and
other causes to the extent of SIS, 900 or
more annually. Still Jamrach never
bitterly, and died as he
had lived, at peace with the world
New York Sun.