Charles Jamrach (born Johann Christian Carl Jamrach; March 1815 – 6 September 1891) was a leading dealer in

wildlife Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted ...

, birds and shells in 19th-century London. He owned an exotic pet store on the Ratcliffe Highway in east London — at the time the largest such shop in the world. Jamrach's nearest rival was Edward Cross, who ran a menagerie at Exeter Exchange on the Strand. Jamrach was born in Germany (either in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

or Memel). His father, Johann Gottlieb Jamrach, was chief of the Hamburg river police (the ''

Wasserschutzpolizei The ''Wasserschutzpolizei'' (WSP - literally translated "Water Protection Police" in German) is the river police that patrols the waterways, lakes and harbours of Germany around the clock. The WSP are part of the ''Landespolizei'' (State Pol ...

''), whose contacts with sailors enabled him to build up a trade as a dealer in birds and wild animals, establishing branches in Antwerp and London. Charles Jamrach moved to London and took over that branch of the business after his father's death in circa 1840. He became a leading importer, breeder, and exporter of animals, selling to noblemen, zoos, menageries and circus owners, and buying from ships docking in London and nearby ports, with agents in other major British ports, including Liverpool, Southampton and Plymouth, and also in continental Europe. His business included a shop and a museum — named Jamrach's Animal Emporium — on the Ratcliffe Highway and a menagerie in Betts Street, both in the East End, and a warehouse in Old Gravel Lane, Southwark. After a

Bengal tiger The Bengal tiger is a population of the '' Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna. The tiger is estimated to have been present in ...

escaped from its box at the Emporium in 1857, and picked up and carried off a passing eight- or nine-year-old boy, Jamrach "came running up and, thrusting his bare hands into the tiger's throat, forced the beast to let his captive go". The boy, who had approached and tried to pet the animal having never seen such a big cat before, sued Jamrach and was awarded £300 in damages. The tiger was sold to

George Wombwell George Wombwell, (24 December 1777 at Dudnorend, near Saffron Walden – 16 November 1850 at Northallerton), was a famous menagerie exhibitor in Regency and early Victorian Britain. He founded Wombwell's Travelling Menagerie. Life and wor ...

and became a popular attraction at his menagerie. The tiger's escape, and subsequent rescue, are commemorated by a bronze statue near the entrance to Tobacco Dock, a short distance from the scene of the incident. Jamrach was also largely responsible for restocking P. T. Barnum's circus after a fire in 1864. A sea snail, '' Amoria jamrachii'', was named after Jamrach by

John Edward Gray John Edward Gray, FRS (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for ...

, keeper of zoology at the British Museum, to whom Jamrach had forwarded the shell after he obtained it. Jamrach was married three times, first to Mary Athanasio; then to Ellen Downing; and finally to Clara Salter. Two of his sons, William and Albert, also became dealers in wildlife. Jamrach died in Bow on 6 September 1891. The business prospered for some time, but encountered difficulties during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. After Albert died in 1917, the firm went out of business in 1919.

Portrayals in fiction

Jamrach is mentioned briefly in '' Bram Stoker's Dracula'' as the provider of a grey Norwegian wolf to the London Zoological Gardens, which subsequently escapes. Stoker also mentions Jamrach, perhaps even more briefly, in his last novel, '' The Lair of the White Worm''. He was featured in Carol Birch's 2011 novel '' Jamrach's Menagerie'', which was long-listed for the

Orange Prize The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–12), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017)) is one of the United Kingdom's m ...

and short-listed for the Man Booker Prize. Jamrach's Menagerie was also featured in several episodes of the sixth season of the TV drama ''

Ripper Street ''Ripper Street'' is a British mystery drama television series set in Whitechapel in the East End of London starring Matthew Macfadyen, Jerome Flynn, Adam Rothenberg, and MyAnna Buring. It begins in 1889, six months after the infamous Jack the ...

'' (2016). Mentioned by

Saki Hector Hugh Munro (18 December 1870 – 14 November 1916), better known by the pen name Saki and also frequently as H. H. Munro, was a British writer whose witty, mischievous and sometimes macabre stories satirize Edwardian society and cultu ...

(H. H. Munro) in the short story "Reginald's Drama": "It would look so well on the programmes, 'Wolves in the first act, by Jamrach.'"

References

* Brenda Assael, ‘Jamrach, Charles (1815–1891)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 21 June 2011

from ''The Boy's Own Paper'', Vol. I, no. 3 (1 February 1879)

Public Monument and Sculpture Association

Victorian London
Mr Jamrach's college for young beasts
'' The Leisure Hour'', Volume 7, (no.338, 17 June 1858), p. 377-380
Front page of Saturday, 1 February 1879 edition of newspaper ''The Boy's Own Paper''

"Jamrach's"
from ''The Strand Magazine'', Vol. I, no. 4 (April 1891).

External links

Detailed description of Jamrach's business in the East End, by a Victorian clergyman who admired it.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jamrach, Charles 1815 births 1891 deaths German emigrants to England Businesspeople from Hamburg Felidae attacks Animal traders Burials in Tower Hamlets Cemetery