JUMBOMANIA Exhibition Fundraiser

To commemorate the 140th anniversary of the tragic death of Jumbo, Elgin County Museum is preparing an exciting, new retrospective curated for this occasion, to open in summer 2025.

Elgin County Museum is dedicated to promoting Elgin County’s rich, historical heritage, which includes Jumbo. Although his connection to St. Thomas was a brief and tragic one, his death on September 15, 1882 in the railway city echo today both locally and farther afield. Jumbomania, the exhibition, will explore how a small, sick elephant calf on the verge of death, beat the odds and went on to conquer the world to become the first global animal superstar (and the only one who is a byword and a brand).

Preparing for this exhibition, we are collaborating with museums, archives, institutions, historians and private collectors from across Canada, the United States and as far away as England and France to compile and collect never-before seen Jumbo photographs, historical artifacts and, of course, plenty of fascinating facts. (Did you know? Jumbo’s sale to American showman P.T. Barnum sparked a legal battle to stop his sale and have him remain at the London Zoo in England. The R.S.P.C.A. also entered the picture to ensure the safe removal of Jumbo while still on British soil.)

But, as you probably can imagine, planning and presenting an exhibition of this magnitude needs donor support. Your 100% tax-deductible gift will help us with:

• Gaining permissions for photo reproduction rights

• Securing acquisitions/loans

• Expanding marketing effort to reach a wider audience

• Producing a visually engaging exhibition design

We would greatly appreciate your generosity and will acknowledge you as a donor with name recognition for Jumbomania exhibition. If you cover the full amount, you will receive acknowledgement on advertising posters, rack cards, exhibition booklet, which reads: “Jumbomania is made possible with the support of [YOUR NAME]”

I hope you are able to help us to commemorate the great Jumbo, and a legend that so many of us hold close to our identity, by supporting this major exhibition which will give the citizens of St. Thomas and Elgin, and beyond, a fascinating look at history that is not to be missed.