2-981-757 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Preparing the decorations at Colombo, Ceylon, for the Royal Visit [of the Prince of Wales], from a sketch by one of our special artists, 1876. '...the ingenious gentleman to whom the decorations...were confided bethought him of something new, and, as Ceylon is not only a great fruit store and conservatory of grandly painted flowers, but also the home of the elephant, he made arches of effigies of these magnificent creatures - arches of elephants composed of canvas and rich Oriental blossoms, arches representing the king of Ceylon beasts entwining trunks and tusks, and upraising their heads in order to let the Prince pass under. Our Illustration...shows one of these made-up elephants being borne to its place of destination. You never lose sight of the elephant in Ceylon...the effigy is everywhere'. From "Visit of the Prince of Wales to India, special Supplement, Illustrated London News", 1876.