ABSTRACT
A circus gag popular in the 1890’s involved an elephant pianist. The master of ceremonies would announce that his trained elephant would play several tunes on the piano with his trunk. An upright piano was placed in the ring. The elephant walked slowly toward it, opened the lid and then recoiled in horror. The London Million related:
“His eye dilated with rage and fear. He lifted his trunk in the air, and with a wild scream of terror rushed out of the arena. After a flurry of excitement, the proprietor entered the ring and announced that, much to his regret, the performance had to be canceled. The fact was, he said, that the elephant had recognized in the keyboard of the piano a portion of the tusks of his long-lost mother who had fallen a prey to the ivory-hunters of Africa.”
