Paris' "Human Zoo" - the Legacy of the Jardin d'Acclimatation

The charming Jardin d'Acclimatation is a children’s zoo and park located in the north end of the beautiful Bois de Boulogne on the west side of Paris. The Musee des Enfants, or Children’s Museum, located in the park, hosted a small exhibit which closed recently entitled “Acclimatations/Exhibitons: L’invention du Sauvage” or "The Invention of the Savage." When I first noticed posters around town for the show I mistakenly thought that the girl in the red coat was taking pictures with her iPhone. She is in fact holding a chocolate cookie, which she is offering to the children on the other side of the fence. In either case the poster was a bit unsettling considering it was advertising an exposition at a children’s museum in a popular children's amusement park and petting zoo.


My curiosity piqued, I set off for the Jardin d'Acclimatation. This zoological garden was opened by Emperor Napoleon III in 1860 and for over 150 years has hosted countless millions of visitors and has been the stage for several bizarre Parisian stories - elephants that get served for dinner, a tower for pigeons, the location of the stockyards during the Siege of Paris, and the focus of today's blog - human exhibitions. The small gallery in the Musee des Enfants covers the same themes as a much larger exposition at the musee du quai Branly with a similar title - "L'invention du Sauvage" - which was on display November 2011 until June 2012 (hosting 265,000 visitors), but unlike the musee du quai Branly with its modern facilities beneath the Eiffel Tower, the windows of the Musee des Enfants look out directly onto the grounds where human exhibitions took place. 

To begin, a bit of background is necessary on human exhibitions. Beginning with Columbus, explorers returned from their voyages with inhabitants of their new found lands in tow. Originally these peoples were presented only to the royal courts who funded expeditions, but by the 19^th century a mix of imperialism, scientific interest, good old-fashioned capitalism, and voyeurism came together for the rise of ethnic displays and entertainment shows. Starting in 1810 with the exhibitions of Saartjie Baartman, known as "The Hottentot Venus," the practice of human exhibitions grew rapidly through the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. The most famous examples were the freak shows of the Barnum and Bailey Circus, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, World Fairs, and Universal Expositions, as well as smaller cabaret shows such as a show featuring Zulus at the Folies Bergères in Paris.

That brings us back to the Jardin d'Acclimatation, which really does earn top ranking as a place for ethnic exploitation. In 1877, a group of Nubians were displayed in the park with such success that over 35 exhibitions followed, displaying various ethnic groups between 1877 and 1931. The popularity and effect of these shows should not be underestimated as they drew countless millions of visitors over the years. For example, in 1883 more than 900,000 curious visitors came to see the exhibitions - those on display were 21 people from Sri Lanka in June, two families of Araucanians from the Andes in July, twenty-two Kalmyks from Siberia in September, and fifteen Indians from Nebraska in October. Those on display inhabited "authentic" reproductions of their native villages to give viewers a glimpse into the lives of those living in the far corners of the world. 

Tourist postcards, posters, and other souvenirs testify
to the merchandising prospect of human exposition.

The museum exhibit points to several reasons as to why the shows came to an end. Most notably a general lack of interest from the public lead to their demise. By the 1930s urban dwellers were increasingly accustomed to seeing different people from different cultural backgrounds and motion pictures took viewers to the far corners of the world in the comfort of a theatre. 

An advertisement for an exhibition, early 20th Century

Le Jardin d'Acclimatation, 2013

Unfortunately, there are few remaining documents containing insight from those who were exhibited. While there is evidence that some people were well aware of what they were signing up for, one can't help but feel sorry for the children that were forced to spend part of their childhood on display for Parisians enjoying a day in the park. 

Today, the Jardin d'Acclimatation, mostly registers on your to-do list if you're visiting Paris with young children who need to run around in a grassy space (a rarity in Paris). The unique history of the park is displayed on numerous exhibit panels around the grounds, although years of re-landscaping have long removed any trace of where the ethnographic spectacles took place. If you're interested in this subject, the musée du quai Branly published a wonderful catalogue to their exhibit. To learn more about their exhibit click here. If you're in Paris on a nice day I highly recommend a stroll through the Jardin d'Acclimatation, which is a short walk from the Porte Maillot metro station -the same way visitors reached the park a century ago for these exhibitions!