Original artwork for Chessington Zoo and Circus Transport Poster by D. W. Burley,

£2,500 · Offered by Maggs Bros Ltd

Poster apparently unrecorded, although a similar poster by D. W. Burley (featuring roaring lion, and same “Chessington Zoo Circus” font) was sold with another from the same era, in 2017 by London Transport Auctions. The design is for an advertisement for the Zoo and Circus at Chessington, in collaboration with Southern Railway. The poster’s design fanfares Chessington as “England’s Largest Private Zoo” and mentions the Circus’ show times (3 and 6). It also outlines how to get there (“Near Surbiton Easily Accessible by Road, Coach or Bus”), and mentions ticketing options (“Cheap rail fares … including Admission to Zoo, Circus etc, issued from many S[outhern]. R[ailway]. Stations. For particulars enquire at Booking Office”). The founder of Chessington, Reginald Goddard, had the idea for a Zoological Gardens from a young age, but it didn’t materialise until he bought Burnt Stub mansion and the surrounding land. After acquiring a “lion, [and] a den of monkeys” to join his existing St Bernard dogs, Chessington Zoo first opening in 1931 (see Foster, 1949, p. 157). The Zoo grew in size and popularity throughout the 1930s, and the collaboration with Southern Railway undoubtedly helped with ticket sales. It is possible that this poster was never used, as it dates from 1939 and, with the outbreak of WW2 in September in that year, large public gatherings were outlawed, meaning the immediate closure of all zoos. In fact, that first winter, according to Frank Foster’s 1949 book about Circ

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