Out for the day visiting “Jumbo the Walnut Elephant.” Jumbo was an exhibit from the 1893 World’s Fair that was later displayed in Los Angeles, California, in the 1920s. Created by the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, Jumbo was made of 850 pounds of walnuts on a wire frame. 

Photographs 2 Minutes
Mabel Normand and walnut elephant: Silent star, Mabel Normand stands in front of a life-size “walnut elephant”. The Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce exhibit of California agricultural products featured this life-sized figure, which was prominent in displays throughout the country. Los Angeles, California. Image ca. 1925. American. Security Pacific National Bank Collection. Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, publisher. TESSA, digital collections of the Los Angeles Public Library. Fair use license. via https://tessa2.lapl.org/digital/collection/photos/id/112376
Jumbo the walnut elephant: The Exhibit Hall at the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce building at Broadway near First Street in the early 1920s. Here, “Jumbo” the walnut elephant illustrated the walnut production of Los Angeles County, which was then second in importance to citrus. Also visible, a mini-structure in the likeness of the White House also made out of walnuts, and behind that, a “tree” made out of jars full of citrus or other fruit. Los Angeles, California. Image ca. 1925. American. Security Pacific National Bank Collection. Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, publisher. TESSA, digital collections of the Los Angeles Public Library. Fair use license. via https://tessa2.lapl.org/digital/collection/photos/id/112656
Walnut Elephant from Los Angeles County. California Midwinter International Exposition, San Francisco, California held in 1894. American. Photograph/postcard #8052. Jumbo as he was seen earlier. I. W. (Isaiah West) Taber, photographer (1830-1912). California State Library Collections with a link here https://csl.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma990014732790205115&context=L&vid=01CSL_INST:CSL though I found it on Calisphere.
California products exhibit: the caption reading, Elephant Made of Walnut Shells, Life-sized figure was prominent in displays of California products throughout the country. With a later 1961 caption but from the same California Midwinter International Exposition held in San Francisco in 1894. Undated image ca. 1894-1904. American. Photographer not given. Herald Examiner Collection, TESSA, digital collections of the Los Angeles Public Library. Fair use license. via https://tessa2.lapl.org/digital/collection/photos/id/17676

Frank Wiggins, the superintendent of events for the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, conceived of the idea to create a larger than life sized “walnut elephant” that was to be displayed at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. 850 pounds of unusually large California walnuts were needed to cover the wire framework used to create this famous pachyderm. Needless to say, it achieved lasting fame for the city and the Chamber.

Published by sarahbguestperry

On a voyage to see how much mileage I can get from the creative ability and eye for images that my family thought was useless. On line art curator, fiction writer and now blogger. Historian's daughter. Follow me . . .even I have no idea where I'm going next.

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