I should be thinning down on possessions -- books -- but I'm still fattening up. Anyway, life goes on...I got a couple books today at the library, off the close-out, discard table. I was looking at the table a couple days ago and this book about Gargantua wasn't there then. So it's a newbie to the discards!
The book is called Gargantua -- Circus Star of the Century, by Gene Plowden, published by Bonanza Books, 1972, hardback, a slender book at 96 pages.
According to the blurb, once upon a time, Gargantua was a household name throughout the country. Millions paid admission to see "this ugliest member of the ape family ever seen outside the jungles of Africa." From chapter one: He was "The mightiest monster ever captured by man."
The book is a biography of sorts and tells of Gargantua's handling and his career with the circus. I've only been looking at the pictures and reading a few snippets here and there. And there are lots of pictures.
There's a few pages in color. First is a circus poster from Dec. 1937 that shows an African warrior in Gargantua's clutches. Second, Gargantua with M'Toto (another gorilla) who were "married" in Feb. 1941, then billed as Mr. and Mrs. Gargantua. Third, a rather touching Christmas sentiment, with Mr. and Mrs. Gargantua framed inside a wreath, wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, in 1941. Fourth, a general publicity poster of the gorilla couple, with Mrs. Gargantua holding a "Buy War Bonds" sign. (The illustration on this blog posting is from the Google somewhere, not a graphic in the book.)
Getting toward the end, there's two pages that show the front pages of newspaper from the time when Gargantua died. The Miami Herald from Nov. 26, 1949, has him on the front page, and headlines it that he was "happy" to the end, dying "With A Snarl On His Face." The other page is from the Miami Daily News, Nov. 25, with a big black headline, "GARGANTUA DIES" and a picture of him in his cage. This news article beat other news that day in significance, including "Mad Dog Killer Loses Last Plea," with a federal district judge refusing to intervene in the scheduled execution of James Morelli, "mad dog" killer.
Page 94, the last picture page, has Gargantua's stripped-down skeleton hung on a wooden frame, with a guy assembling it for putting it on display.
