ZSL Library at Regents Park -

ZSL Library at Regents Park

The ZSL Library and archive at Regents Park, London contains a range of records that are of interest to researchers. You must make an appointment in advance if you want to go along and research any of the archive material.

If you want to search the archives in advance of deciding whether to visit the library by appointment, then you can search here

Rothschild, Gray, Gould, Gerrard, are seen in the ZSL Library and archives, particularly in the Death Books

The Death Books at the ZSL Library

At the ZSL Library and archive at Regents Park, one of the most interesting set of records they have are the Death Books ranging from 1872 to 1899.

These contain daily records of which animals had died, where they had originally come from and how they were disposed of.

You will see the original handwritten records with their reflection of their Victorian patrons.

You will find historic names in these books: Gould, Gerrard, Rothschild, The Earl of Derby et al.

These Death Books proved extremely interesting to me when I was researching the source of the three Scarlett Ibis in a cabinet by Edward Gerrard. Looking through those records I saw that it was highly likely that Gerrard’s Ibis came from the ZSL in either 1872 or 1877. After their death, they’d been obtained by Mr Edward Gerrard senior and it is possible they had been prepared and kept, then used to create this wonderful cabinet.

THE BOOKS OF THE DAILY OCCURRENCES

The Books of the Daily Occurrences in the ZSL Library at Regents Park

These historic record books called The Daily Occurrences are a general record of the happenings at the two ZSL-operated zoos in London and Whipsnade.

They were completed daily, and they list the arrivals and departures, births and deaths of animals at the two zoos.

Other details mentioned in these books are the number of visitors at the ZSL and the amount of money taken on a daily basis, the names of some high-profile individual visitors, the absence of keepers, a list of unwell animals, notes on building works, and notes on the temperatures in the animal houses, and the weather.

Both sets of books are testament to the original objectives of the ZSL. These included making a contribution towards the science, understanding, and the furthering of conservation and birth of animal species.