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Stephen Polito (also known as Stephano, Stephani and Stephanus Polito; 1763/64–1814) was a
menagerie A menagerie is a collection of captive animals, frequently exotic, kept for display; or the place where such a collection is kept, a precursor to the modern zoo or zoological garden. The term was first used in 17th-century France, referring to ...
owner of
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
descent in Georgian
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. Polito was born in
Moltrasio Moltrasio ( ) is a (municipality) in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy, located about north of Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area an ...
,
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. He owned a menagerie which he toured around England in the late 18th century. He went into partnership with another menagerist named Miles in 1798, and "Miles and Polito's Menagerie" exhibited at St Bartholomew's Fair in 1799. Polito's menagerie also attended
Nottingham Goose Fair The Nottingham Goose Fair is an annual travelling funfair held at the Forest Recreation Ground in Nottingham, England, during the first week of October. Largely provided by travelling Showmen, it is one of four established fairs in the Unite ...
in 1807. Polito acquired the permanent menagerie at
Exeter Exchange The Exeter Exchange (signed and popularly known as Exeter Change) was a building on the north side of the Strand in London, with an arcade extending partway across the carriageway. It is most famous for the menagerie that occupied its upper fl ...
in the
Strand Strand or The Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * ...
in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
from the Pidcock family in 1810, and renamed it the Royal Menagerie. He continued to tour in the summer, and exhibited his animals at Exeter Exchange in the winter. The menagerie at Exeter Exchange was very popular during Polito's short period of ownership. It was visited by
William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poetry, Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romanticism, Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Balla ...
and
Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...
, and animals in his collection were painted by
Edwin Landseer Sir Edwin Henry Landseer (7 March 1802 – 1 October 1873) was an English painter and sculptor, well known for his paintings of animals – particularly horses, dogs, and stags. His best-known work is the lion sculptures at the base of Nelso ...
and
Jacques-Laurent Agasse Jacques-Laurent Agasse (April 24, 1767 – December 27, 1849) was an animal and landscape painter from Switzerland. Born at Geneva, Agasse studied in the public art school of that city. Before he turned twenty he went to Paris to study in ...
. The menagerie included exotic animals, including an elephant,
Chunee Chunee (also known as Chuny or Chuneelah; died 1 March 1826) was an Indian elephant in Regency London. Three elephants were brought to England in East India Company ships between 1809 and 1811. The third of these was Chunee. He travelled on the ...
, which was put down in 1826 after killing a keeper and becoming ungovernable and in a permanently enraged state due to
musth Musth or must (from Persian, ) is a periodic condition in bull (male) elephants characterized by aggressive behavior in animals, aggressive behavior and accompanied by a large rise in reproductive hormones. It has been known in Asian elephan ...
and a painful rotten tusk. The collection was acquired by his brother, John, after his death, and then by a former employee, Edward Cross (also John's father in law). Cross continued to tour under the name "Polito's Menagerie". It is represented on
pearlware Creamware is a cream-coloured refined earthenware with a lead glaze over a pale body, known in France as '' faïence fine'', in the Netherlands as ''Engels porselein'', and in Italy as ''terraglia inglese''.Osborne, 140 It was created about 175 ...
pottery from the 1830s.


External links


Decorative pearlware plate
(c.1830), inscribed "Politos. Royal. Menagerie", attributed to Staffordshire potter Obadiah Sherratt
Biography
of Stephanus Polito
Announcement of the arrival of the Royal Menagerie at the Exeter 'Change
from
Bishopsgate Institute Bishopsgate Institute is a cultural institute in the Bishopsgate area east of the City of London. The institute was established in 1895. It offers a cultural events programme, courses for adults, historic library and archive collections, and a ...

A playbill from the menagerie (early-mid 19th century)Interior view of Polito's Royal Menagerie, Exeter Exchange, Strand, 1812


Further reading


Stephen Polito
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...
1760s births 1814 deaths British people of Italian descent British circus owners Italian expatriates in England {{UK-bio-stub