AA-2026-9EC5EB
On the image
A large male lion lies on bare ground in what appears to be a zoo enclosure, wearing a leather collar and chain, his mane yellowed and matted against a backdrop of weathered black wood and concrete—the permanent infrastructure of captive animal display that was once considered humane enough to charge admission for. The lion's expression suggests the particular resignation of a creature that has long since stopped believing escape is possible, his body oriented toward the shade of a crude shelter, his eyes fixed on something outside the frame with the flat affect of an animal whose instincts have been ground down by confinement and routine feeding. A metal bowl sits empty on the dust to the left, the kind of utilitarian vessel that marked the entire transactional relationship between humans and the animals they imprisoned: feed, observe, move on. The dirt floor, the chain, the rigid wooden enclosure—these were the state of the art in animal captivity decades ago, before anyone seriously questioned whether displaying a king of beasts on a patch of scorched earth was a reasonable thing to do. He is no longer magnificent; he is just there, a sunk cost in someone's operating budget.
Visually related — by likeness
Captive Lion, Mid-20th Century Zoo or Menagerie. 1940–1970. Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library, AA-2026-9EC5EB. https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/captive-lion-mid-20th-century-zoo-or-menagerie.
@misc{aaAA20269EC5EB,
title = {Captive Lion, Mid-20th Century Zoo or Menagerie},
year = {1940–1970},
howpublished = {Archive \& Atlas, Historical Image Library},
note = {Accession AA-2026-9EC5EB},
url = {https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/captive-lion-mid-20th-century-zoo-or-menagerie}
}TY - ART TI - Captive Lion, Mid-20th Century Zoo or Menagerie PY - 1940–1970 PB - Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library AN - AA-2026-9EC5EB UR - https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/captive-lion-mid-20th-century-zoo-or-menagerie ER -
From the community
Identifications, corrections, and discussion from readers — reviewed by a librarian before appearing here.
Sign in to add an identification, correction, or comment.
No notes yet — be the first to add what you know about this image.