2-995-925 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The new Garden of Acclimatisation at Paris - from a drawing by M. Felix Thorigny, 1860. View of the '...large stables and stallhouses viewed from the small rivulet destined to the reception of new piscine specimens...The object of the Zoological Society of Paris is to introduce, to acclimatise, and to domesticate in France every useful or agreeable variety of animal or vegetable...the new garden just completed has been arranged in such a manner as to provide for the reception and conservation of the different exotic acquisitions...whether animal or vegetable. Situated in the midst of the Bois de Bolougne, of easy access to the curious, the Garden will afford a new and interesting attraction to such persons as like to combine instruction with recreation...The profits are expected to arise from the entrance-fee to be paid by visitors, and by the sale of animals, eggs, plants, and seeds produced in the establishment...such an establishment is like a book of nature, in which we may learn the laws, the conditions, and the secrets of animal and vegetable life, study the world and its products, and become conversant with the mysteries of the creation, thus elevating the mind by degrees to the contemplation of all the works of the great Creator'. From "Illustrated London News", 1860.